Category: Today In Books

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Clara Voyant by Rachelle Delaney.

Tom Wolfe (1931-2018)

The literary world is remembering journalist, novelist, and sharp dresser Tom Wolfe, who passed away in New York this week. Contributor Sarah S. Davis notes that “more coverage of Wolfe’s passing is in The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, and New York magazine, three publications he wrote for during his life.”

New Anne Frank Pages

Did you know that Anne Frank’s notebooks are removed from storage only every 10 years? During the most recent examination, researchers at the Anne Frank House were able to use new photo-imaging technology and discovered two previously concealed pages that demonstrate Frank’s developing literary tone.

Nobody Is Laughing

The Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize, the UK’s only prize for comic fiction, will go unawarded this year. The judges lament that of the sixty-two novels under consideration, exactly zero got more than a “wry smile” out of them. And no, they are too polite to release the longlist.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Geekerella by Ashley Poston, published by Quirk Books.

Kristen Stewart To Adapt Lidia Yuknavitch’s Memoir

Kristen Stewart is taking on feature films, starting with an adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch’s memoir, The Chronology of Water. According to a Festival de Cannes interview, Stewart is making the film this summer. She’s writing the screenplay, but the starring role will go to a to-be-determined actor.

A Massive Beastie Boys Book

Speaking of memoirs, Beastie Boys will release a 600-page book this fall. Beastie Boys Book follows the band’s career, and includes contributions from Amy Poehler, Colson Whitehead, Spike Jonze, Wes Anderson, photographs, and even a cookbook from chef Roy Choi.

Waterstones Sparks The Ire Of Indies

Waterstones is in hot water with independent bookstores. Booksellers are accusing the company of opening unbranded shops that masquerade as independent bookstores in areas where indies already exist. Owners of these indies say Waterstones’ actions go against earlier comments made by the company’s chief executive James Daunt, that the chain’s smaller shops are being opened in towns that wish they had indies, but don’t.

Sponsored by Chuck Palahniuk’s Adjustment Day, on sale now from W. W. Norton.

Ms. Marvel Movie is “Definitely, Sort Of” Happening

In a tweet over the weekend, news broke that Marvel Studios is planning to add Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan to the MCU after the audience meets Captain Marvel. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige says, “Ms. Marvel [the movie] is definitely sort of in the works. We have plans for that after we’ve introduced Captain Marvel to the world.” Ms. Marvel is a fan favorite, and our fingers are crossed at BR HQ that she gets her own movie.

Nancy Drew Gets a Intersectional, Queer Makeover

In more comics happenings, Dynamite Entertainment has introduced a new, modern Nancy Drew series with characters of color, an openly feminist main character, and an openly queer best friend George. “Our Nancy is all sass and brains and indomitable will. She’s ultimately the hero that saves the day. And that’s important. I think she’s absolutely a hero for young girls to look up to, as Nancy has always been,” says writer Kelly Thompson.

New Teasers for George R. R. Martin Stuff Over at SyFy

George R. R. Martin’s 1987 novella Nightflyers is being adapted over at SyFy, and the teaser trailer is now available. “The series follows eight maverick scientists and a powerful telepath who embark on an expedition to the edge of our solar system aboard The Nightflyer – a ship with a small tightknit crew and a reclusive captain — in the hope of making contact with alien life.” Of course, things go badly. Take a look.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Read It Forward Book Recs.

This Could Be The Future Of Books

Serial Box serializes books like podcast episodes so they are bite-sized and release weekly for about 10 to 16 weeks. They also have a print edition you can read on ereaders so you can switch between listening and digital reading. I don’t know, this sounds a lot like an audiobook you have to wait for chapters of and pay as you go along ($1.59 per episode) but everyone reads differently so this may totally work for you–in which case, get your serialized reading on and enjoy!

Test Your Literary Quote and Geography Knowledge

It’s the weekend, let’s play a literary game: The Guardian has a fun quiz for you to guess the city based on a literary quote. Which city did Margaret Atwood describe as ‘New York without the garbage and muggings’? Which writer called one London area ‘ungentrified, ungentrifiable’?

Let’s Roundup This Week’s Adaptation News

Between the world news and all the adaption news that drops during the week it’s easy to miss announcements so I’ve collected for you some of the things we found out this week. The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan (Irish crime thriller releasing July 3rd) has been optioned for film. Ryan Coogler, the Black Panther director, is totally here for a film centered on the women of Wakanda. Annette O’Toole (Mama Kent!) and Corbin Bernsen (Shawn’s Papa!) have been cast in season 2 of The Punisher. Annette Bening (Heart eyes emoji) has been cast in the Captain Marvel film. And John Green’s Looking for Alaska is in final deal stage to be an eight-episode series on Hulu.

Sponsored by Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami new in paperback from Vintage Books.

The Hard-to-Find Stephen King Novel

King’s 1977 novel Rage, published under his pen name Richard Bachman, is about a young man who murders two faculty members at his school and then takes his algebra class hostage with a gun. King “let the book fall out of publication in 1998 after real-life tragedies allegedly inspired by ‘Rage'”, but the book is still findable on Amazon…for $500-$700. I read the book in high school when it was in a second-hand copy of Bachman stories I found at Goodwill. Which I gave away after I finished reading it. Of course.

Ronan Farrow to Publish Book About Sexual Abuse Reporting

Ronan Farrow will expand on his reporting on sexual abuse in a new boo to be published by Little Brown. Called Catch and Kill, the book will “reveal the full extent of his reporting, and what he discovered about how far private investigators, former spies, high-priced lawyers, and embattled executives allegedly went to terrorize, intimidate and silence the women whose stories helped launch an international conversation on sexual misconduct and the abuse of power.” Can’t wait to rage-read this one.

Is Handmaid’s Tale Merch Going Too Far?

The popularity of the adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale has led to the inevitable explosion of THT-themed merchandise available for purchase, and a conversation has begun about whether commodifying a show about violence against women is a capitalist bridge too far. “Looking at the Handmaid’s swag, I’m reminded of my time as a health-care marketing writer, when I interviewed women in breast-cancer support groups; these women loathed all things pink ribbon.” Something to think about.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Trazer: Kids of Stolen Tomorrow by Joseph O. Adegboyega-Edun.

The Diversity Gap In Children’s Publishing

The Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) released statistics on the number of children’s books by and about people of color published in 2017. The report shows that the number of diverse books hit 31%, which is the highest year on record since 1994. However, the number of books actually written by authors of color shows little progress, up only 1% from 2016’s abysmal 6%.

Teach This Poem Wins Innovations In Reading Prize

The Academy of American Poets won this year’s Innovations in Reading Prize for its “Teach This Poem” program. The three-year-old program helps teachers add poetry to their curriculum through weekly, curated resources, and strives to make poetry more accessible to students. Past winners of this National Book Foundation award include Barbershop Books, inspiring young black boys to read, and Next Chapter Book Club, a reading program for adolescents and adults with disabilities.

Chelsea Clinton’s New Children’s Activism Book

Chelsea Clinton has another children’s book in the works. Start Now! You Can Make a Difference is a book about standing up for your beliefs, aimed at young activists. Clinton is already a bestselling children’s book author with her previous titles She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World and She Persisted Around the World: 13 Women Who Changed History.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Surface Tension by Mike Mullin.

Atticus Finch v. Atticus Finch

A court will decide if Aaron Sorkin’s stage adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird is sufficiently faithful to the book—and soon. The granting of the producer’s motion to expedite the proceedings effectively consolidated the suit in Alabama and the one in New York, and set a trial date for June 4 in Manhattan. It’s the same day as the 2018 Tony Awards, so theatre geeks have a lot to…look forward to?

Avengers Team Up with Little Free Library

After acquiring the rights to Spider Man, Disney must know that with great power comes great responsibility. And we think they’re using that power wisely: “Avengers: Infinity War”-themed Little Free Libraries will be popping up nine U.S. communities on Saturday. Disney, in partnership with Little Free Library and First Book, will make sure the libraries are operational for the next two years.

Speaking of Doctor Strange…

I never say no to an audiobook read by Benedict Cumberbatch. And now I have a new nonfiction audiobook on my TBR (TBL?). So I’m going to learn all about the nature of time because Mr. Cumberbatch will read me The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli. They should really get that man to narrate terms of service. Like, all of them.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Disney Publishing Worldwide.

Romance Novelist Trademarks “Cocky”

This one’s baffling. Faleena Hopkins has been writing to other romance authors whose books use the word “cocky,” telling them she’s been granted the official registered trademark of the word in relation to romance books, and threatening legal action if they don’t change their titles. And the romance community responded. The Romance Writers of America is also on the case with an intellectual property lawyer.

Justin Cronin’s The Passage Gets Series Order

For all of us who, despite the endless nightmares, couldn’t stop reading Justin Cronin’s The Passage series–good news! Fox has given a series order to the adaptation. The TV series is described as an “epic, character‐driven thriller” about a government experiment with a dangerous virus. The story follows young Amy, played by Saniyya Sidney (Hidden Figures), and Brad Wolgast, played by Mark‐Paul Gosselaar (Saved by the Bell–obviously his seminal role).

Parents Are Divided Over Alex Gino’s George

The New York Times wrote about new developments in the story of a district (now two districts) withdrawing from the 2018-2019 Oregon Battle of the Books over the reading list’s inclusion of George. George is Alex Gino’s middle grade book about a transgender child. Parents are divided, but The OBOB is standing by their decision to include the book. Read the full story here.

Tomorrow’s the last day to enter to win 15 of the year’s best mysteries so far!

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Read It Forward Book Recs.

Hamilton: The Exhibition

Chicago gets first crack, lucky ducks. The Hamilton musical writer and creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and his producer Jeffrey Seller are opening “an interactive, immersive, one-of-a-kind, only-in-Chicago attraction designed to tell the story of Alexander Hamilton and the founding of America.” Don’t worry too much about that “only-in-Chicago” part–the exhibition will likely go on tour.

What Happened To FanCon?

If you fell down the rabbit hole of #FanConFallout trying to make sense of what happened to the event poised to be a celebration of marginalized fandom communities, you might want to read this Vulture story. The piece takes us behind the convention collapse so far-reaching and damaging that Roxane Gay accused the organizers of “willful delusion” and “malfeasance,” and LeVar Burton wrote, “I am extremely distressed and disappointed by the sh*t show that #UniversalFanCon has become.”

The Fate of Barnes & Noble

People are talking about Barnes & Noble’s seemingly bleak fate. A New York Times Opinion piece noted that revenue from Nook has fallen more than 85 percent since 2012, physical book sales have plummeted, stores are closing across the country, and staff has been reduced across stores. TechCrunch responded to the Times‘ call for B&N to be saved by posing the question “Why save B&N if writing is doomed?” Which is just…what?

And don’t forget to enter to win 15 of the year’s best mysteries so far!

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Exit Strategy by Charlton Pettus, new from Hanover Square Press.

11 Authors Share US Bookstores Worth Traveling For

Lonely Planet asked eleven best-selling writers to share what US bookstores they thought were worth traveling for. It’s a great list with coast to coast picks and an author even picked a mystery bookstore. But don’t take my word for it–see what bookstores Tayari Jones, Laura Lippman, NK Jemisin, Brad Meltzer and more chose. And then pack your bags–but leave one suitcase empty for all those books you’ll be lugging back home.

A University Library Moved Books Off Campus Angering Patrons

The University of Texas-Austin moved 75,000 books and periodicals to storage in order to make room for tech hardware, including a 3D printer. It turns out many patrons preferred the physical books over technology: “A library without books is not a library.” The Dean was not swayed however by student and staff protests saying the removal of the books stands.

The 24 Most Popular Book Club Reads On Goodreads

Goodreads users have pretty excellent taste when it comes to picking reads for their book club because this is a great list. Book Clubs aim to read books that will create conversations while also trying to satisfy a wide range of reading tastes and that’s what I see here from Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere to David Grann’s true crime Killers of the Flower Moon. And hey, no worries if you aren’t part of a book club–you can just use this list as a great TBR.

And only a few more days left to enter to win 15 of the year’s best mysteries so far!