Category: Today In Books

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Pegasus Books’ A Necessary Evil by Abir Mukherjee.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Remains Rediscovered

The Kubla Khan author’s remains had been moved, and their location forgotten in the church where visitors can find plaques memorializing Coleridge. But a recent excavation revealed his coffin, and the coffins of his family members, in a wine cellar located right under an inscription that reads, “Beneath this stone lies the body of Samuel Taylor Coleridge.” The church hopes to renovate the space to allow visits into the cellar.

Lumberjanes’ First Original Graphic Novel

BOOM! Studios announced an original graphic novel from the world of Lumberjanes. Lumberjanes: The Infernal Compass will explore the relationship between Lumberjane Scouts Molly and Mal. This is the first original graphic novel from the comic series; it will be written by Eisner Award nominee Lilah Sturges and illustrated by polterink. An official release date has not been announced.

2018 Man Booker International Prize Shortlist

The Man Booker International Prize shortlist of six books was released. The prize “celebrates the finest works of translated fiction from around the world,” and awards £50,000 to be divided equally between the author and translator. Shortlisted works include Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi (Iraq), translated by Jonathan Wright; and, The White Book by Han Kang (South Korea), translated by Deborah Smith. Click here for the full list.

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 School for Psychics by K.C. Archer.

Scholastic Unveils 20th Anniversary Harry Potter Covers

Scholastic has unveiled new covers for the seven titles in the Harry Potter series. For now, it seems the covers are only available to the U.S. market. You can find them on June 26, ahead of the September 1 publication anniversary.

King of Sweden Steps In On Nobel Prize in Literature Deadlock

Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf has announced a plan to make it easier for the members of the Swedish Academy, which awards the Nobel Prize in Literature, to resign. Three of the Academy’s members recently vacated their seats in protest against the decision not to expel the poet Katarina Frostenson. Frostenson’s husband has been accused of sexual harassment, among other things. As the successor of the Academy’s founder, the king has claimed authority over its statutes.

Free Digital Archive Of Vintage Children’s Books

As it turns out, the University of Florida Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature has a digital archive of 6,000 children’s books from the 19th and early 20th century. The collection is free to read online. Titles include Aesop’s Fables, The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, and the Grimm’s Fairy Tales.

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 Avery / TarcherPerigee, publisher of 50 WAYS TO GET A JOB by Dev Aujla.

A “New” Tolkien Book Will Be Published

J.R.R. Tolkien wrote The Fall of Gondolin while convalescing in the hospital after the Battle of the Somme. His son, Christopher, edited the work, which Tolkien described as “the first real story of Middle-earth.” The story features a reluctant hero, a dark lord, and a big battle narrative. Sounds about right.

The 2018 BTBA Longlist

The Best Translated Book Awards announced the 2018 longlists for fiction and poetry. The longlists feature authors from twenty-five different countries, writing in eighteen languages, and published by twenty-six different presses. They include Remains of Life by Wu Wu He, translated by Michael Berry; The Iliac Crest by Cristina Rivera Garza, translated by Sarah Booker; and, Things That Happen by Bhaskar Chakrabarti, translated by Arunava Sinha.

Cassandra Clare’s New Ebook De-Listed By Amazon

Son of the Dawn, an e-book by Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan, was de-listed by Amazon after the company misidentified it as a fraudulent listing. The book was launched as part of Clare’s small-publishing initiative. According to Clare, the explanation she received from Amazon was that they didn’t believe she would self-publish, and assumed the listing was an attempt to impersonate her. The book was taken down on April 6, and relisted the following day.

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 Penguin Random House, publisher of No One Ever Asked by Katie Ganshert.

Top 10 Challenged Books Of 2017

The American Library Association released its list of the most challenged books of last year. The list is topped by Jay Asher and Sherman Alexie. The reasons cited for the banning of their books is unrelated to the recent sexual harassment allegations made against both authors. Alex Gino’s middle grade book, George, is on the list for including a transgender child, and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini was thought to “lead to terrorism” and “promote Islam.” Click here for the full list.

HBO Develops Docuseries Based On I’ll Be Gone In The Dark

A docuseries based on Michelle McNamara’s true-crime book, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, is in the works at HBO. In the book, McNamara investigates the Golden State Killer, an elusive predator who terrorized California for over a decade. McNamara unexpectedly died in her sleep in 2016; her husband Patton Oswalt said, “HBO taking on this story will advance the passionate pursuit that Michelle shared with dozens of men and women in law enforcement – to solve the mystery of one of California’s most notorious serial killers.”

Bookseller Organizes Protest Against Neo-Nazis

The New York Times wrote a piece on a bookseller who organized a protest in response to a neo-Nazi march through Berlin’s old Jewish quarter. Jörg Braunsdorf decided to act after he witnessed the 2016 neo-Nazi march through the neighborhood where his independent bookstore is located. The Residents’ Initiative for Civil Courage was born in Tucholsky Bookstore thanks, in part, to his leadership.

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

Today in Books is sponsored by Ebb & Flow by Heather Smith from Kids Can Press:

A New Study Finds Patterns in Bestselling Books

A study of the New York Times bestseller lists found that there are predictable factors that made a book more likely to become a bestseller. Books that are fiction, released around Christmas, and fall in the mystery or thriller category tend to have a better chance of making the list. Also in the finding, fiction authors are more likely to repeat as bestsellers than non-fiction authors, though a non-fiction bestselling title tends to spend longer on the list.

Our Bodies, Ourselves to End 40-Year Print Run

The once-revolutionary Our Bodies, Ourselves will be going out of print after more than 40 years. The book came out to much acclaim and controversy (and an impressive 250,000 copy initial print run) in 1973. The small non-profit that controls the title says that they can no longer afford to publish updates to the title.

Adapting J.D. Salinger in Iran

One of the side-effects of the chilly relations between the U.S. and Iran is that U.S. copyright doesn’t apply to Iran. And so while J.D. Salinger’s well-known hatred of Hollywood has long prevented Western film adaptations of this work, there has been at least one major Salinger adaptation in Iran: Pari (1995) from Iranian filmmaker Dariush Mehrjui, based on Franny and Zooey.

Today in Books is sponsored by Meet Me in the Strange by Leander Watts:

The AIA and ALA Announce Their Awards for Best New Libraries

Every year, the American Institute of Architects and The American Library Association recognize achievement in library design. The six honorees come from big cities and small towns, from main libraries to branches. Congrats to the winners—and especially to the communities that got these gems.

Black-Owned Independent Bookstores On the Rise

There has been widespread discussion of the growth in the number of independent bookstores over the last several years, and it seems that the trend is also happening among black-owned locations. According to Troy Brown who has been tracking black-owned stores for almost 20 years, the number has doubled from 54 stores in 2014 to 108 last year.

Marie Curie’s Notebooks Still Dangerously Radioactive

This isn’t news, but it came across my dashboard for the first time this week, so I am counting it. Apparently, Marie Curie’s research notebooks are still hazardously radioactive, even 100-years later (to the point you have to sign a waiver to access them and go into a lead-lined chamber). I guess it makes sense that if you have plutonium lying around while you try to figure out why it is glowing, you are going to get some after effects. The notebooks will eventually be safe to handle normally—in about 1,500 years.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by My Lady’s Choosing: An Interactive Romance Novel by Larissa Zageris and Kitty Curran, published by Quirk Books.

Nobel Prize In Literature Shaken By #MeToo Resignations

Three members of the Swedish Academy, which hands out the Nobel Prize in Literature, resigned in light of sexual harassment allegations made by numerous women against an unnamed man who has “strong ties to the Academy.” The resignations came after the Academy split ties and funding from the man, and after a meeting to discuss a press statement planned for release next week. Because membership in the Academy is for life and members who quit aren’t replaced until after their death, the Academy’s permanent secretary is looking at revising those rules.

What Happened To VA Teens Sentenced To Read?

Last year, a group of Virginia teenagers were sentenced to read books after defacing a building with hate messages. The building was the historical Ashburn Colored School. The New York Times caught up with one of the sentenced teens, who seems to have reflected on the damage inflicted post-sentencing. “I was wrong, it means a lot to people who were affected by them. It reminds them of the worst things, losing family members and friends,” said one of the teens who read 12 Years a Slave, among other books. Click here to read about the reactions from the community and the authors.

New Online Spanish Language Store Coming To The U.S.

Libros in Español launches on April 15 with a couple thousand physical Spanish language titles. Filipe Silva, the site’s founder and former associate director of Latin American and Spanish-language sales at Penguin Random House, will be selecting all titles for sale on the site. Silva also told Publisher’s Weekly that Libros in Español will serve as a literary agent for Hispanic U.S. authors of works in Spanish starting this autumn.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Someday, Somewhere by Lindsay Champion from KCP Loft.

The Secret Codes Of Elderly Library-Goers

A library assistant shone a light on the secret codes of elderly library-goers through a Twitter thread that went viral. Through another patron, Georgia Grainger discovered that many of the “wee old women” books in her library had the page number 7 marked with pen. When she told her manager about the strange phenomenon, she learned that numerous elderly clientele use (varying) secret codes to mark which books they’ve read. Other Twitter users chimed in with their own code encounters.

New Full-Length Fahrenheit 451 Trailer

HBO dropped a new full-length trailer for its upcoming film adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. The film about the banning and burning of books in a dystopian future stars Michael B. Jordan and Michael Shannon, and premieres May 19 on HBO. Watch the trailer here!

Maggie Smith And More Harry Potter Vets Join Mobile Game Cast

The most recent news about the Harry Potter Hogwarts Mystery mobile game announced that Maggie Smith and other actors from the Harry Potter films, including Warwick Davis as Professor Flitwick, Sally Mortemore as librarian Irma Prince, and Michael Gambon as Professor Dumbledore, will lend their voices to the experience. Huzzah!

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Avery / TarcherPerigee, publisher of 50 WAYS TO GET A JOB by Dev Aujla.

The Hate U Give Is Re-shooting With Riverdale Star

Late yesterday, we received word that the adaptation will be re-shot with Riverdale star K.J. Apa who will replace actor Kian Lawley as the protagonist’s boyfriend. Though the film had wrapped up shooting, the switch was necessitated by the discovery of a video that showed Lawley making racial slurs. Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give is about racism, so that was a “no” for keeping Lawley on the cast.

Man Booker Reverses Decision On Nationality Listing

We have an update on the news about the Man Booker changing long listed author Wu Ming-Yi’s nationality from Taiwan to Taiwan, China. After receiving criticism for bowing to pressure from China, the Man Booker’s organizers announced that they would list the country/territory of authors up for the prize, rather than their nationalities, in the future. Wu’s listing will go back to “Taiwan.” Of the decision, Wu wrote that the “prize has affirmed that the will of literature is based on honesty and freedom.”

Joan Silber Wins PEN/Faulkner Award

Silber won the award for Fiction for her book of linked stories, Improvement. Last month, she also won the National Book Critics Circle fiction prize for Improvement. The story is one told from multiple points of view, circling a single mother living in New York with a boyfriend who conducts a cigarette smuggling scheme.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Dynamite Entertainment, publisher of Pierce Brown’s Red Rising.

Kathryn Hahn To Star In Mrs. Fletcher

HBO ordered a pilot for the series adaptation of Tom Perrotta’s Mrs. Fletcher. Kathryn Hahn will star as Eve Fletcher in the comedy about a mother and son who explore their newfound freedom after the son goes to college. Perrotta will write the pilot and executive produce.

Man Booker Changes Taiwanese Author’s Nationality

The Man Booker came under fire for changing a prize nominee’s nationality. Long listed author of The Stolen Bicycle Wu Ming-Yi posted the news of his nomination and made positive mention of the fact that his nationality was listed as Taiwan, rather than Taiwan, China. About two weeks later, the Man Booker changed the line in response to pressure from Beijing whose stance is that the self-governed island is part of China. People took to Man Booker’s Facebook page to criticize the move. Wu has declined to speak on the subject.

Neil Gaiman Is Bringing Gormenghast Back To TV

Back in 2000, BBC produced a four-part miniseries of Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake’s classic fantasy series about the (super-weird) inhabitants of a crumbling mansion, and now Neil Gaiman is bringing it back to the small screen. Gaiman has been working on the adaptation, originally planned as a film, for a couple of years with the blessing of Fabian Peake (Mervyn’s son).