Category: Today In Books

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Today In Books

SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE Banned in UAE: Today in Books

Netflix Releases Trailer for Live-Action One Piece Adaptation

Netflix has released a trailer for its live-action adaptation of One Piece, based on the best-selling manga series of the same name written by Eiichiro Oda. The eight-episode series stars Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy, who assembles a crew and sets out on a high seas adventure. The series, created by Matt Owens and Steven Maeda, also stars Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro, Emily Rudd as Nami, Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp, and Taz Skylar as Sanji. One Piece premieres on Netflix on August 31.

Leah Johnson Announces She’s Opening A Bookstore

Bestselling author Leah Johnson has announced that she’s opening a bookstore! The author of You Should See Me in a Crown, Ellie Engle Saves Herself, and Rise to the Sun tweeted: “This has been one of the worst years in history for book banning, but they can’t ban us or our stories. Which is why I’m so excited to announce that IM OPENING A FREAKING BOOKSTORE!!!!” Johnson says that her bookstore, Loudmouth Books, is “all about uplifting the work of marginalized authors and highlighting diverse stories.” Right now, Johnson has set up a gofundme so that you can support the store. Loudmouth Books will be opening soon in Indianapolis. In the meantime, you can buy books from their Bookshop page.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Banned in the UAE

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has been banned in the United Arab Emirates for reasons that haven’t been officially disclosed. But it seems likely that the ban is connected to a “Protect Trans Lives” poster that can be seen in one scene in the movie. Viewers have also speculated that Gwen Stacy’s character is transgender-coded. During the film, Gwen “comes out” to her father in a way that felt familiar to many trans viewers. The character also sports the colors of the trans flag in her hair, and the blue and pink colors also feature prominently in Gwen’s universe. The United Arab Emirates ban was announced only a week ahead of the film’s intended release date in the UAE on June 22.

Watch This, Read That: 9 Great Shows & Films Paired With Equally Great Books

If you love these recent TV shows and movies, add these fantastic books to your reading pile next.

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Holly Black’s THE PRISONER’S THRONE Gets A Cover Reveal: Today in Books

The Witcher Showrunner Says Season 3 is a “Much More Direct Adaptation” of the Book

The Witcher showrunner, creator, and executive producer Lauren Schmidt-Hissrich says that Season 3 of the Netflix series will be a “more direct” adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski‘s book Time of Contempt. Schmidt-Hissrich told Collider, “Just from a basic writing perspective, the book is so easily adaptable…It can be broken down into big events.” The Witcher season 3 will star Henry Cavill in his final season as Geralt of Rivia. In the next season, he will be replaced by Liam Hemsworth. Season 3 premiers July 29 on Netflix.

Best Friends Buy Secondhand Bookstore and Become TikTok Famous

Best friends and bookstore co-owners Carla Cary and Clio Bruns catapulted into minor TikTok fame this spring after launching the account @bookshopbesties. The duo, both 26, purchased Spare Time Books in April of this year and began documenting their journey fixing up the store on their TikTok account. Now, as of June 14, they had more than 94,000 followers and 1.1 million likes. Their first video has more than 3 million views.

Holly Black’s The Prisoner’s Throne Gets A Cover Reveal

Cosmopolitan has shared an exclusive cover reveal of Holly Back’s The Prisoner’s Throne and an interview with the author. The book, which is the second part of Black’s new Elfhame duology, is set to publish on March 5, 2024. When Cosmopolitan asked Black to describe her new book in three words, the author said, “Siblings. Revenge. Longing.” The book is now available for preorder.

8 Award-Winning Queer Books You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

These queer books are award winners — and you probably have not heard of them. Here’s why you should read them.

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Director Mike Flanagan Gives Update on THE DARK TOWER TV Show: Today in Books

Rebecca F. Kuang Shares the Books that Shaped Her with Good Housekeeping

Rebecca F. Kuang, author of Babel, The Poppy War trilogy, and Yellowface, is sharing with her fans the books that helped shape her as part of an ongoing series from Good Housekeeping. “This is impossible to overstate — books are everything to me,” the author told Good Housekeeping. “Books have made me constantly curious, hungry to learn and just full of wonder. They’re an endless source of delight that will never run out.” Huang’s list of favorites includes Remains Of The Day and An Artist Of The Floating World, both by Kazuo Ishiguro, and Kim Kelly’s Fight Like Hell.

Director Mike Flanagan Gives Update on The Dark Tower TV Show

During a Q&A at the Tribeca Film Festival on Thursday, The Haunting of Hill House director Mike Flanagan gave an update on his proposed version of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series. Flanagan told moderator Justina Ireland that he sees The Dark Tower as his dream project. “I’m very optimistic that we’re on a great path with that,” Flanagan said. “We have good partners, we can’t talk about it, but I think it’s going to happen. I can’t say for certain, but we look good. So I’m hoping that’s up there.” Flanagan’s next project is a miniseries adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher, which is set to premiere on Netflix this fall.

Jeremy Corbyn and Len McCluskey to Publish “Accessible” Poetry Collection

An accessible poetry collection entitled Poetry for the Many will be published in November. The collection, edited by Jeremy Corbyn and Len McCluskey, will contain contributions from Russell Brand, Maxine Peake, Michael Rosen, Melissa Benn, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Ken Loach, Morag Livingstone, Francesca Martinez, Gary Younge, and Karie Murphy. Murphy says the aim of Poetry for the Many is to “embrace poetry and shake off any notion that it is not something to be read, written, or appreciated by working-class people.” The collection will publish in November.

The Book Club Picks from June 2023, from Roxane Gay’s to Reese’s

Here are the books 11 of the biggest and most interesting book clubs have chosen as their picks for June 2023, including Yellowface by R.F. Kuang.

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Bestselling Mystery Author Carol Higgins Clark Dies at 66: Today in Books

Daredevil: Born Again and The Penguin Productions Paused Until After WGA Strike

Daredevil: Born Again and The Penguin will finally shut down production until the end of the WGA Strike. This decision comes after both productions were targeted by WGA East picketers on multiple occasions. The Daredevil revival is currently three months into an eight-month shoot on an 18-episode new season for Disney+. The Penguin is an eight-episode drama for Max from Warner Bros Television and DC Studios.

Shane Hawk Shares Cover for Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology Never Whistle at Night

Author Shane Hawk has shared the cover of the upcoming Indigenous dark fiction anthology Never Whistle at Night. This collection of “wholly original and shiver-inducing tales” introduces readers to “ghosts, curses, hauntings, monstrous creatures, complex family legacies, desperate deeds, and chilling acts of revenge” and features new work from celebrated Indigenous authors, including Darcie Little Badger, Rebecca Roanhorse, Tommy Orange, Nick Medina, Cherie Dimaline, and many more. The anthology also features an introduction from Stephen Graham Jones. It’s out from Vintage on September 19.

Bestselling Mystery Author Carol Higgins Clark Dies at 66

Actress and bestselling mystery author Carol Higgins Clark has died at age 66 in Los Angeles. Carol battled appendix cancer and even made short PSA films to warn people of its dangers. She is the daughter of author Mary Higgins Clark, who died three years ago at the age of 92.

Elliot Page Does Not Owe You A Legible Timeline: On the Beauty of Nonlinear Queer & Trans Storytelling

The nonlinear structure of Pageboy is not a gimmick. It’s part of a rich lineage of queer and trans storytelling.

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Rainbow Rowell Announces New Book: Today in Books

XO, Kitty Renewed for a Second Season on Netflix

Yesterday, the Netflix series XO, Kitty announced on Instagram that it has been renewed for a second season. The romantic comedy series created by Jenny Han is a spinoff of Netflix’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, based on the novel of the same name by Han. Anna Cathcart stars as Kitty. The series also stars Minyeong Choi as Dae, Gia Kim as Yuri, Sang Heon Lee as Min Ho, Anthony Keyvan as Q, and Peter Thurnwald as Alex, Yunjin Kim as Jina, Sarayu Blue as Trina, John Corbett as Dan Covey, Michael K Lee as Professor Lee, Jocelyn Shelfo as Madison, and Regan Aliyah as Juliana. The announcement of the show’s renewal comes four weeks after the series’ premiere on the streaming service.

Barbara Kingsolver Wins the Women’s Prize for Fiction for Second Time

Barbara Kingsolver has won the 2023 Women’s prize for fiction for her Pulitzer prize-winning novel Demon Copperhead. Kingsolver is the first person to win the award twice in its 28-year history. She previously won the prize in 2010 for The Lacuna. Kingsolver was also shortlisted in 2013 for Flight Behavior. The Women’s Prize is awarded for the best full-length novel of the year written by a woman and published in the UK. The prize includes £30,000. This year’s judging panel — which consisted of chair Louise Minchin, Rachel Joyce, Bella Mackie, Irenosen Okojie, and Tulip Siddiq — voted unanimously for Kingsolver’s novel. Minchin said the panel was “deeply moved by Demon, his gentle optimism, resilience and determination despite everything being set against him.”

Rainbow Rowell Announces New Book

Rainbow Rowell has announced a new novel in a tweet posted on June 14. Rowell wrote, “This book has a title now — and a plan! I will tell you about it soon.” She additionally shared a link for a Spotify playlist Rowell created for her new novel as she writes it. Rowell says fans can expect more information about the novel in the next couple of weeks, or “maybe even sooner!”

Messy Sapphic Novels for Fans of The Ultimatum: Queer Love

Whether you’re Team Xander, Team Vanessa, or Team “WHY WOULD ANYONE DO THIS,” these books are perfect for fans of The Ultimatum: Queer Love.

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Scarlett Johansson Confirms Top Secret Marvel Project: Today in Books

Fan Fiction Writers are Trolling AIs with Omegaverse Stories

Fan fiction writer’s work is being used to train generative AIs, and now these writers are fighting back by participating in a week-long writing marathon called “Knot in my Name.” The marathon encourages fanfic writers to publish as much of their Omegaverse fanfiction as possible in an attempt to mess with AI generators. “Most of us aren’t aspiring writers,” said fanfic writer and marathon organizer MotherKat. “This is our hobby, the space we go to escape the misery of our jobs being automated away… We can’t fix what [the AI] have already done, but if we can have this irreverent little moment, maybe we can make scraping in the future less palatable to the venture capital guys if they know we, well, we got slick all over it.”

John Romita Sr., Legendary Marvel Artist, Dies at 93

Legendary Marvel artist John Romita Sr. has died. The announcement was made on Tuesday evening via Twitter by his son, John Romita Jr, who is also a successful comic book artist himself. “I say this with a heavy heart, my father passed away peacefully in his sleep… He is a legend in the art world, and it would be my honor to follow in his footsteps.” Romita co-created several iconic Marvel characters, including Wolverine, the Punisher and Mary Jane Watson. He was 93 years old and passed peacefully in his sleep.

Scarlett Johansson Confirms Top Secret Marvel Project

Speaking with Comicbook.com at the Asteroid City press junket, Scarlett Johansson confirmed that a “top secret” Marvel project is still in the works, but it has been put on pause due to the WGA writers’ strike. Marvel President Kevin Feige had noted previously that he was working with Johansson in a producing capacity on a “non-Black Widow related top-secret Marvel Studios project.” Johansson told Comicbook.com, “It is still happening, [but] not currently because nothing is happening right now. We’re all sort of in this holding pattern as we wait out the writers’ strike and potentially our own guild strike, and so on and so forth.” Johansson also said that developments were happening shortly before the WGA strike began at the beginning of May. Details beyond that are currently being kept under wraps.

Things To Do Instead of Watching The Flash Movie

Despite the controversy surrounding the film, The Flash movie hasn’t been pulled. But you don’t have to watch it — here’s what to do instead.

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Signs Book-Rating Bill: Today in Books

Red, White & Royal Blue Gives Fans First Look at Upcoming Adaptation

Amazon’s Prime Video has released the first images from its adaptation of Casey McQuiston’s novel Red, White & Royal Blue. The upcoming romantic comedy stars Taylor Zakhar Perez as Alex, the son of the President of the United States (Uma Thurman), and Nicholas Galitzine as Prince Henry of Britain. Red, White & Royal Blue premieres on August 11 on Prime Video.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Signs Book-Rating Bill

On Monday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill banning explicit books in school libraries. The bill also included additional measures to increase parents’ input in Texas classrooms. Abbott calls this bill, titled the Restricting Explicit and Adult-Designated Educational Resources Act (or the READER Act), a move towards “parental empowerment.” Signing the bill alongside supporters at the Capitol on Monday, Abbott said, “Some school libraries have books with sexually explicit and vulgar materials. I’m signing a law that gets that trash out of our schools.”

Sailor Moon Cosmos: Part 2 Trailer Released

The first Sailor Moon Cosmos released in theaters earlier this month, and now the trailer has dropped for part 2 of two-part feature film series. Sailor Moon Cosmos: Part 2 is scheduled to hit theaters in Japan on June 30. There is still no word on when the films will be available to watch in the U.S. Previous iterations of the new Sailor Moon adaptation have released in the U.S. on Netflix, so here’s hoping we’ll have word soon!

The Literary Life of Elliot Page

Get to know Elliot Page through his love of books and literature, as well as the bookish roles he’s played.

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Alice Oseman’s LOVELESS Pride T-Shirt Supports Not A Phase Charity: Today in Books

Elizabeth Gilbert Pulls Russian-Set Book from Publishing Schedule

Following backlash after her announcement of her novel The Snow Forest, author Elizabeth Gilbert announced she was pausing the project. Gilbert’s new book is set in Siberia and follows a family who flees Soviet forces and escapes to the forest where they can “protect nature against industrialization.” In a video statement on Twitter, Gilbert said, “I have received an enormous massive outpouring of reactions and responses from my Ukrainian readers expressing anger, sorrow, disappointment, and pain about the decision that I would choose to release a book right now … set in Russia. I am making a course correction.” Gilbert told fans that now is not the time for this book, and instead she would be focusing on other projects.

Juno Dawson’s Her Majesty’s Royal Coven Getting Series Adaptation

Juno Dawson’s fantasy trilogy Her Majesty’s Royal Coven has been optioned for TV by Left Blank Pictures, the producers of The Crown. The first book in the trilogy was published last year. The second novel, The Shadow Cabinet, is set for publication in the U.S. on June 20. Jess Brittain, who previously worked Skins, will adapt the books for the TV series. Juno Dawson said in a statement, “Jess Brittain really understands women and tells wonderful stories about them. I can’t wait to work with her to bring the coven to a global audience.”

Alice Oseman’s Loveless Pride T-Shirt Supports Not A Phase Charity

Alice Oseman and Eco Kaila are producing a limited-edition Loveless Pride T-shirt in support of the Not A Phase charity. All profits from this collaboration will go to the Not A Phase foundation, which aims to give the trans+ and gender-nonconforming community space to thrive, while also working with organizations to promote positive change. Eco Kaila says these shirts will be a very limited run, so grab yours before it’s too late!

Riding the Korean Wave: the Rise of Korean Webtoons

After the splash of K-pop and K-drama, webtoons are the next Korean Wave, and they will be more accessible than ever soon.

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Sarah Jessica Parker Joins Elysha Chang on GMA to Discuss New Book: Today in Books

David Sedaris’ First Children’s Book Pretty Ugly to be Published Next February

David Sedaris is publishing his first children’s book, a collaboration with Olivia creator Ian Falconer. The concept for the book Pretty Ugly began 20 years ago and was finished shortly before Falconer died in March. The book explores the age-old question of what makes someone pretty and what makes someone ugly. It will be published on February 27, 2024, from Toon Books, an imprint of Astra Publishing House.

Sarah Jessica Parker Joins Elysha Chang on Good Morning America to Discuss New Book

Elysha Chang’s A Quitter’s Paradise is the first book to be published by Sarah Jessica Parker’s imprint SJP Lit, and the duo stopped by Good Morning America to discuss Chang’s new book. A Quitter’s Paradise is Chang’s debut novel. It published on June 6 and is now available in bookstores everywhere.

Lambda Lit Announces Jaquira Díaz as the 2023 Winner of the Jeanne Córdova Prize for Lesbian/Queer Nonfiction

Lambda Literary has announced Jaquira Díaz as the winner of the Jeanne Córdova Prize for Lesbian/Queer Nonfiction. Díaz is the author of Ordinary Girls: A Memoir. The award, which goes to a writer “committed to nonfiction work that captures the depth and complexity of lesbian/queer life, culture, and/or history,” was established in 2018. It includes a cash prize of $2,500. This year’s prize was judged by Sarah Schulman and Lynn Ballen.

The First Lines of These Queer Books Will Make You Want to Read Them ASAP

Sometimes all it takes is a compelling first line to draw you into a book. Consider these first lines of queer books with THAT magic.

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White House Announces New Position to Combat Book Bans: Today in Books

Cosmopolitan Reveals Cover for Eli Rallo’s I Didn’t Know I Needed This

TikTok star Eli Rallo is releasing a new book, and Cosmopolitan has revealed the cover. In this collection of personal essays, Rallo gives readers her honest (and often funny) take on dating and romance, including tips, tricks, and survival guides. Rallo tells Cosmopolitan that she always wanted to write a book, but thought it would be fiction. “I always knew that personal essays were my strength, but it just never truly occurred to me,” Rallo said. I Didn’t Know I Needed This will be out on December 12 from Harvest (an imprint of HarperCollins).

White House Announces New Position to Combat Book Bans

In celebration of Pride Month, the White House has announced a set of actions designed to protect LGBTQ+ communities, including the appointment of a new coordinator within the Department of Education to combat to the rising number of book bans. Details are still to come, but the White House says the new position will “work to provide new trainings for schools nationwide on how book bans that target specific communities and create a hostile school environment may violate federal civil rights laws.” In a statement, the White House said, “Across the country, our nation faces a spike in book bans—efforts that disproportionately strip books about LGBTQIA+ communities, communities of color, and other communities off of library and classroom shelves. Book banning erodes our democracy, removes vital resources for student learning, and can contribute to the stigma and isolation that LGBTQIA+ people and other communities face.”

The Boogeyman Director Rob Savage Wants to Adapt Stephen King’s The Langoliers

With the box office success of Rob Savage’s The Boogeyman, the director is already looking towards his next Stephen King adaptation project. And he knows exactly which book he’d like to adapt: The Langoliers. Savage told the Kingcast podcast, “After [Stephen King] saw The Boogeyman, he emailed me saying, ‘We should work together again on something!’ and immediately I was like, ‘I really want to adapt The Langoliers‘ and he was really enthusiastic about that. But I think the rights are all tied up, so we’re trying to untie them.”

Bookworm Reads Review: How Does it Compare to Goodreads and Storygraph?

How does the new app-first reading tracker Bookworm Reads hold up? A full review of Bookworm Reads (+ comparison to Goodreads).