Newsletters Dev – Page 1187

Student Volunteers Replacing School Librarians Criticized: Today In Books

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date June 9, 2018

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Tonight I’m Someone Else by Chelsea Hodson from Holt Paperbacks.

Student Volunteers Replacing School Librarians Criticized In Scotland

Three Scotland schools are testing out a trial program from the Scottish Borders council that will place pupils and volunteers in school library staff positions for cost-cutting reasons. Many parents, experts, librarians, and unions are critical of this plan: “Librarians do not just open the library door and check out books: they have the knowledge and skill to support learners in their study and research, and to support literacy skills.”

He Once Got Himself Arrested On Purpose–And 12 Other Surprising Facts about George Orwell

If your well of facts for “Hey did you know” is running low Mental Floss has put together a list of surprising facts about novelist Eric Arthur Blair, the man behind the pen name George Orwell. You probably already know he wrote Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four but do you know how many foreign languages he knew? Or that he coined the term “cold war?”

Poet Gwendolyn Brooks Statue Unveiled

Poet Gwendolyn Brooks is now the first black, Chicago-based poet honored with a statue and memorial in a city park. Just another “first” for this extraordinary poet who was also first the black person to win a Pulitzer Prize (for Annie Allen) and the first black woman to be the poet laureate of Illinois. If you’re in Chicago you can see her statue at her namesake Gwendolyn Brooks Park or enjoy your weekend with a poetry collection: A Street in Bronzeville.

Don’t forget we’re giving away $500 to the bookstore of your choice! Kiss a four-leaf clover and enter here!

Giveaways

Win THE WIFE BETWEEN US by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen!

Post author By Jeff O'Neal
Post date June 8, 2018

We have 1 copy of The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen to give away to a lucky Riot reader! And it comes with a Lo & Sons weekender tote!

Here’s what it’s all about:

The instant New York Times Bestseller!

“A fiendishly smart cat-and-mouse thriller” —New York Times Book Review

“Buckle up, because you won’t be able to put this one down.” —Glamour

“Jaw dropping. Unforgettable. Shocking.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“The best domestic suspense novel since Gone Girl.” —In Touch Weekly

When you read this book, you will make many assumptions.

You will assume you are reading about a jealous ex-wife.

You will assume she is obsessed with her replacement – a beautiful, younger woman who is about to marry the man they both love.

You will assume you know the anatomy of this tangled love triangle.

Assume nothing.

Twisted and deliciously chilling, Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen’s The Wife Between Us exposes the secret complexities of an enviable marriage – and the dangerous truths we ignore in the name of love.

Read between the lies.

Go here to enter for a chance to win, or just click the cover image below:

Today In Books

Anthony Bourdain Has Died: Today in Books

Post author By Amanda Nelson
Post date June 8, 2018

Sponsored by Blood Will Out by Jo Treggiari

Anthony Bourdain Has Died

Anthony Bourdain, world-famous chef, television host, and author of Kitchen Confidential, A Cook’s Tour, and many other books, has died from suicide at age 61. His body was found in his hotel in France, where he was staying to film his show Parts Unknown. “Chef Gordon Ramsay honoured him as a man who ‘brought the world into our homes and inspired so many people to explore cultures and cities through their food’.”

Stranger Things Books Are Coming in the Fall

Penguin Random House announced today upcoming books about/set in the universe of the hit Netflix series Stranger Things. The releases begin with a behind-the-scenes book and a young readers’ gift book coming out this fall, and next year author Gwenda Bond will a prequel novel about Eleven’s mother. The books will have audiobook versions–here’s hoping the cast reads them!

James McAvoy to Star in BBC’s Adaptation of His Dark Materials

Actor James McAvoy has been cast to play Lord Asriel in the BBC’s eight-part adaptation of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series (Daniel Craig played the part in the full-length movie). The adaptation will be directed by Tom Hooper, and will also star Lin Manuel-Miranda and Clarke Peters.

We’re giving away $500 to spend at the bookstore of your choice! Click here to enter.

Unusual Suspects

“I Have Just Resolved A Crime Via Twitter!”

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date June 7, 2018

Hello mystery fans! Hope you have a good book to read this weekend!

From Book Riot and Around the Internet

The Best Mystery Audiobooks for Road Trips

7 Books About Cults That Demonstrate How Dangerous Groupthink Really Is

Sponsored By The Shimmer by Carsten Stroud, from MIRA Books

A police pursuit kicks Sergeant Redding and his trainee, Julie Karras, into a shoot-out that ends with one girl dead and the driver of the SUV fleeing. Redding stays on the hunt, driven by the trace memory that he knows that running woman.

Redding and his partner chase a seductive serial killer who can ride ‘The Shimmer’ across decades. The stakes turn brutal when Jack, whose wife and child died in a crash the previous year, faces a terrible choice: help catch the killer, or change time itself and try to save his wife and child.

Catapult has a monthly column that explores out of print African-American authors and last month the spotlight was on Charlotte Carter and her noir novel Rhode Island Red. (While the paperback/hardcover are out of print you can still read it in ebook.)

Giveaway: Book Riot is giving away $500 to the bookstore of your choice! Enter here you lucky people!

News and Adaptations

Here’s the official trailer for the adaptation of The Girl in the Spider’s Web, which will be in theaters November 9th.

Rea Frey’s Not Her Daughter, releasing in August, has sold its film and television rights. The novel is “The story of a child kidnapped away from a mother who isn’t sure she wants her back.” Well now I’ve got to read it to find out why…

Kelley Armstong’s popular Canadian Rockton crime thriller trilogy has sold TV rights to Temple Street Productions (Orphan Black and Queer As Folk). If you like to read the books first: City of the Lost; A Darkness Absolute; This Fallen Prey.

The Lambda Literary Awards were announced and here are the crime winners: The Fact of A Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich (Review); Night Drop by Marshall Thornton; Huntress by A.E. Radley.

After Hulu decided not to go forward with its adaptation series of Joe Hill’s crime graphic novel Locke & Key, it seems Netflix has swooped in and is locking in that deal. But it won’t be the Hulu series– apparently Netflix’s deal is for the rights and there will be redevelopment and recasting. Guess we’ll have to stay tuned.

Not an adaptation but if you’ve been wanting more Gillian Flynn in your life she co-wrote the upcoming thriller Windows with Steve McQueen. Watch the trailer here.

The BBC’s fantastic Killing Eve (adapted from Luke Jennings’ Codename Villanelle) will stream later this year on Hulu.

True Crime

California judge unsealed suspected Golden State Killer’s search and arrest warrants.

An editor from The Staircase apparently fell for the doc’s subject and I swear Twitter always gives me the news I don’t want to know. Here’s the thread.

And in fake news: The Twitter Crime Mystery that Gripped Spain “Police! I have just resolved a crime via Twitter! You need to deal with it immediately,” wrote a Spanish social media user going by the name of Mr Brightside on Saturday afternoon.

Kindle Deals

cover image: zoomed in on half of a japanese woman's face as tear rolls down her face Penance by Kanae Minato, Philip Gabriel (translation) is $2.99! (Dark, character driven crime novel: full review)

All three books in Marcia Clark’s (yes, that one) Samantha Brinkman series are each $1.99: Blood Defense; Moral Defense; Snap Judgement. (review)

Currently Reading:

I really enjoyed William Shaw’s procedural The Birdwatcher (review) and had wanted more of one of the side characters. And my wish was granted with Salt Lane which follows DS Cupidi as the main character. So far it’s really scratching my itch for a good procedural.

After Blackout I was left with wanting more cults so I’m making my way through Cult X which has the bonus for fans of university lectures as it also goes into religious/philosophical/scientific lectures.

And I’ve been craving more YA mysteries lately so I started, and am really enjoying, Marisha Pessl’s Neverworld Wake. It has a super strong voice from the beginning.

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And here’s an Unusual Suspects Pinterest board.

Until next time, keep investigating! And in the meantime come talk books with me on Twitter, Instagram, and Litsy–you can find me under Jamie Canaves.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own you can sign up here.

True Story

The Amazon, Alzheimer’s and More New Books of June

Post author By Kim Ukura
Post date June 7, 2018

Hello, fellow humans! I decided to devote this first newsletter of June to a selection of the great new books that came out this week. These hardly even scratch the surface, but feature the Amazon jungle, refugees, Alzheimer’s disease, and British nobility.

Sponsored by Tonight I’m Someone Else, Chelsea Hodson. Published by Holt Paperbacks.

From graffiti gangs and Grand Theft Auto to sugar daddies, Schopenhauer, and a deadly game of Russian roulette, Chelsea Hodson probes her desires in these essays to examine where the physical and proprietary collide. She asks what our privacy, intimacy, and bodies are worth in the increasingly digital world of liking, linking, and sharing. This tender and jarring collection is relevant to anyone who’s ever searched for what the self is worth.

But before we get into the newsletter, a quick reminder that Book Riot is giving away $500 to the bookstore of your choice. Think of all the books you could get with $500 – probably every one mentioned in this newsletter, plus more. Enter here!

Third Bank of the River by Chris Feliciano Arnold – This book is a history of the Amazon River, “from the arrival of the first Spanish flotilla to the drones that are now mapping unexplored parts of the forest.” It’s also an exploration of the conflict between the isolated tribes that live along the river, and the modern businesses and criminals who want to use the land and resources. I’ve read a lot of historical nonfiction about this area, but nothing contemporary, so I’m very curious.

Goodbye, Sweet Girl by Kelly Sundberg – In this memoir, Sundberg chronicles her marriage, tracing it from a love story to a terrifying look at domestic abuse. She writes about why she stayed in a violent relationship, the stories she told herself about their life together, how her childhood in an isolated Idaho town contributed to her feelings on marriage, and how she eventually left her husband. I am not sure I will be able to read this one, but it sounds really moving and important.

The Boy on the Beach by Tima Kurdi – Ever since I finished Exit West by Mohsin Hamid I’ve been keeping my eyes open for books about refugees and the refugee crisis to help me learn about it more. This memoir is about the family of Alan Kurdi, a Syrian boy who drowned while fleeing the country and, in death, became a symbol for the entire crisis. Tima Kurdi, living in Vancouver at the time, recognized her nephew and the journey he was trying to make. In this book she recounts her own emigration from Syria and her work as an advocate for the displaced.

Somebody I Used to Know by Wendy Mitchell – This is another one I may or may not be brave enough to actually read. In 2014, when she was just 58 years old, Wendy Mitchell was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. In this memoir, she writes about her mental decline, her advocacy for people with this disease, and her efforts to “outwit” her Alzheimer’s as long as possible. Again, tough but important.

Sick by Porochista Khakpour – This book has been on many, many most-anticipated book lists, but it snuck up on me a little bit. For most of her adult life, Khakpour has been sick, but struggled to get a diagnosis for her condition. Feeling ill contributed to mental health problems and drug addictions, and cost her a lot of money, until she finally was diagnosed with Lyme’s disease. This book is about all of that, and the ways that the medical system fails to adequately address female illness.

Homelands by Alfredo Corchado – Corchado came to the United States from Mexico in 1987, and soon made a close group of friends at a local Mexican restaurant. Over the next 30 years, the friends meet regularly, “coming together of their shared Mexican roots and their love of tequila.” This book is a collection of their stories, told alongside the larger narrative of the last great Mexican migration during the 1970s and 1980s. This book seems particularly relevant in our current political climate.

Black Klansman by Ron Stallworth – When I saw the first movie trailer for BlacKkKlansman, I did not realize it was based on a book! This memoir is about the first black detective in the Colorado Springs Police Department, who poses as a white man and is invited to join the Ku Klux Klan. Since he obviously can’t go to meetings himself, he partners with a white police officer to infiltrate the KKK and sabotage the organization from within.

Those Wild Wyndhams by Claudia Renton – British aristocrats! I am still on a British bender thanks to the Royal Wedding, so of course this one caught my eye. This book is a “dazzling portrait of one of England’s grandest, noblest families,” focusing on four sisters who were “confidantes to British prime ministers, poets, writers, and artists, their lives entwined with the most celebrated and scandalous figures of the day.” In my head, this is sort of like rich, British, Little Women, but that could be totally off.

And with that, I’m out! You can find me on Twitter @kimthedork, and co-hosting the For Real podcast here at Book Riot. Happy reading!

Swords and Spaceships

Swords and Spaceships Jun 8

Post author By Jenn Northington
Post date June 7, 2018

Happy Friday, aliens and archivists! Today I’ve got reviews of The Wrong Stars by Tim Pratt and The Book of M by Peng Shepherd, plus some film news, SF in translation, YA picks, and more.

This newsletter is sponsored by Epic Reads and The Bird and the Blade by Megan Bannen.

When the kingdom is conquered by enemy forces, Jinghua she finds herself a conspirator in the escape of Prince Khalaf and his father.

While on the run, Jinghua’s feelings for Khalaf begin to evolve into an impossible love. But Khalaf seeks to restore his kingdom by forging a marriage alliance with Turandokht, who requires all potential suitors to solve three impossible riddles to win her hand. If they fail, they die.

With Khalaf’s life and kingdom at stake, Jinghua must reconcile her past with her feelings for Khalaf . . . even if it means losing him to the girl who’d sooner take his life than his heart.

Craving some feminist YA fantasy? Us too, and these have all been released in 2018!

Thinking about sci-fi in translation is something Dale Knickerbocker (editor of the Lingua Cosmica anthology) has done a lot of, and I love this interview with him.

A film historian sat down and ranked Star Wars by screen time for women, and the results are not surprising, but very telling. It is deeply sad that all of the prequels underperform everything except for A New Hope. Not because I care for the prequels (I do not!) but because we clearly lost ground there.

In exciting film news, Cat Valente’s Space Opera is getting an adaptation! I cannot wait to hear how they interpret the music from the book.

And of course, I could not pass up this Patronus quiz. I got a Komodo dragon which is miles more exciting than whatever I got on Pottermore (clearly, since I don’t even remember).

How about some ebook deals? Molly Tanzer’s queer rewrite of The Picture of Dorian Grey, Creatures of Will and Temper, is on sale for $2.99. The first book in Michelle Sagara’s Elantra series, Cast in Shadow, which I’ve recommended several times on various podcasts, is on sale for $1.99! And Zoo City, by personal favorite Lauren Beukes, is $2.99. Enjoy!

And now, reviews!

The Wrong Stars by Tim Pratt

Take some Firefly and Aliens, mix with a dash of Douglas Adams and Lovecraft, then make it queer and racially diverse, and you’ve got something like The Wrong Stars. I found it thanks to this excellent Twitter thread, which exploded my library holds list, and I am so grateful to the OP for it!

The White Raven’s motley crew are a little bit mercenaries, a little bit salvage, and a little bit freighters; they patrol the edges of the solar system, taking what jobs they can get. They’re doing pretty well when they stumble across a wreck of a 500-year-old spaceship and discover it has a survivor on board, in cryo-sleep. A lot of things don’t add up about this (what is the craft doing where it is? How did it survive for so long? How did it not get found earlier?), and things only get more complicated when they wake up the survivor. The story she tells about an alien encounter doesn’t jive with the established relationships humanity has with the alien race they call the Liars. In the process of trying to find out what really happened to her, they stumble upon a galactic conspiracy that changes everything.

This book takes a ton of my favorite tropes and mashes them all together with glee and skill. Found family; alien encounters; wormhole travel; space stations; the complications of galactic law enforcement; AI; and a ticking clock race to the finish — I literally could not ask for more. Pratt gives all his characters and his galactic civilizations depth, his action sequences are page-turners, and the tone stays light-hearted (and sometimes even meta) despite the high stakes. I don’t use the word “rollicking” often, but it applies here. The sequel should be out this fall, and I will be awaiting it with the grabbiest of grabby-hands.

The Book of M by Peng Shepherd

Set in a version of our world where people’s memories are disappearing along with their shadows, The Book of M asks big questions about identity and love, and provides a road trip through a shattered America along the way. It is, hands down, one of my favorite books of 2018 so far.

Max and Ory have been holed up in a hotel ever since the epidemic started. No one knows how or why it spreads, but people around the world are losing their shadows, then their memories, and then dying. It’s not just memories of friends and families; eventually, the shadowless forget to eat, or how to breathe. So far the couple is managing fine — until the day Max’s shadow disappears. Ory comes back from a supply-gathering trip to find her gone, and heads off in search of her. Meanwhile Naz — an Olympic-bound archer who is forced on the run with her sister — is just trying to stay alive. Her journey from her apartment in Boston to DC gives us a close-up view of the crumbling urban spaces of the Northeast. As Max, Ory, and Naz’s stories begin to overlap and intersect, there is hope, terror, and magic aplenty.

I white-knuckled my way through the last few chapters of this plot, both because of the final battle sequence (it’s a doozy) and the final puzzle piece of character interactions. Then I cried, and had to just sit on the couch for a bit to put myself back together again. Shepherd has written a beautiful, thoughtful, and engrossing debut, and I can’t wait to see what she does next.

And that’s a wrap! You can find all of the books recommended in this newsletter on a handy Goodreads shelf. If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Happy Pride this month and all months!,
Jenn

Today In Books

U.S. Poetry Readers Have Almost Doubled: Today in Books

Post author By Sharifah Williams
Post date June 7, 2018

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by We Are Gathered by Jamie Weisman from HMH.

Poetry Readers In The U.S. Have Almost Doubled

New research by the National Endowment for the Arts has shown that poetry readers in the U.S. have almost doubled in the past five years. People ages 18–24 and African American, Asian American, and other non-white readers make up the largest increase in poetry readership. The increase has been attributed to a number of factors including social media, and the pursuit of insight and comfort during challenging times.

Watch The Girl In The Spider’s Web Trailer

The newest installment of the Lisbeth Salander movies–or, rather, the Millenium series adaptations–has a trailer. The film adaptation of The Girl in the Spider’s Web (the fourth book in the series–this one written by David Lagercrantz, not Stieg Larsson) does not include a bunch of spoilers, according to director and co-writer Fede Alvarez (Don’t Breathe). Claire Foy (The Crown) plays Salander, and Swedish actor Sverrir Gudnason (Borg vs. McEnroe) plays Blomkvist.

When You Just Can’t Wait For That Library Book

I mean, I get impatient waiting for books to become available, but a Hong Kong librarian took reader’s anticipation to a new level. The librarian in question has been arrested for allegedly stealing patrons’ personal information. The reason? She wanted to expedite the return of loaned out books she wanted to read. By reporting their cards stolen and changing their passwords, the librarian compelled patrons to return their books immediately. Yeesh.

Don’t forget we’re giving away $500 to the bookstore of your choice! Enter here!

Giveaways

Win a Copy of THE BURNING GIRL by Claire Messud!

Post author By Jeff O'Neal
Post date June 7, 2018

We have 10 copies of Claire Messud’s The Burning Girl to give away to 10 Riot readers!

Here’s what it’s all about:

Julia and Cassie have been friends since nursery school. They have shared everything, including their desire to escape the stifling limitations of their birthplace. But as the girls enter adolescence, their paths diverge and Cassie sets out on a journey that will put her life in danger and shatter her oldest friendship. The Burning Girl is a complex examination of the stories we tell ourselves about youth and friendship, and straddles, expertly, childhood’s imaginary worlds and painful adult reality―crafting a true, immediate portrait of female adolescence. A New York Times bestseller and finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.

Go here to enter for a chance to win, or just click the cover image below:

Riot Rundown TestRiotRundown

060718-TheHawkman-Riot-Rundown

Post author By Natalia Heroux
Post date June 7, 2018

Today’s Riot Rundown is sponsored by The Hawkman, by Jane Rosenberg LaForge

Set against the shattering events of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, an imaginative American schoolteacher and a homeless Irish musician survive bloodshed, poverty, and sickness only to be thrown together in an English village. Hiding from the world in a small cottage, reality shatters their serenity, and they must face the parochial community. Unbeknownst to everyone, a legend is in the making—one of courage and resilience, even as outside forces threaten to tear them apart.

The Stack

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Post author By Devin Service
Post date June 7, 2018

Today’s The Stack is sponsored by CubHouse, an imprint of Lion Forge.

The Wormworld Saga Vol. 1: The Journey Begins

Written and Illustrated by Daniel Lieske

This gorgeous fantasy epic follows Jonas, a young boy from our human world, who stumbles into an alternate universe through a painting in his grandmother’s attic. When the portal closes behind him Jonas must find another way home and begins a journey through this strange and mesmerizing land. Along the way he meets Raya, who becomes his guardian in the new world. But there are many things Raya is not telling Jonas, and this world is not peaceful.

Volume one is in stores now!