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In The Club

In The Club Jan 24

Welcome back to In The Club, a newsletter of resources to keep your book group well-met and well-read. Let’s dive in.

This newsletter is sponsored by It Should Have Been You by Lynn Slaughter.

It Should Have Been You by Lynn SlaughterLiving in her sister’s shadow has never been more dangerous.

Five months ago, Clara Seibert’s twin sister was murdered. Struggling under the weight of newfound and unwanted attention, the only thing that makes Clara feel normal is ghostwriting an advice column for her school’s newspaper—until she starts receiving threatening emails in her staff inbox.

“It should have been you…but soon.”

Calling current (and/or aspiring) librarians! We’re giving away a library cart, in honor of our new library-focused newsletter Check Your Shelf, and you can enter here.

More Read Harder picks! Here are some recommended comics written or illustrated by a person of color.

For the mystery fans: The Edgar Award nominees have been announced, and it’s a bang-up list. The award categories cover a ton of ground including Best Novel, Best Fact Crime, Best Juvenile, and more, so whatever flavor of mystery your group is looking for, there are options here.

Got some parents in your group? We’ve got a Books About Parenting post that might have some good discussion fodder for you!

Want to read outside the lines? If your group isn’t tied to a genre, or would like to break out of it, we’ve got a list of books that break genre rules that has some REALLY GREAT BOOKS on it. I’ve been to book clubs for In Cold Blood, In The Woods, and Visit From the Goon Squad and can cosign. (I also really need a book group for Gnomon.)

Speaking of genres, want to read more hard sci-fi? If you’ve never had a group debate about the definitions of various kinds of sci-fi, let me tell you that that alone could fill an hour. Here’s a primer on hard sci-fi, complete with classic and contemporary picks.

Read like Mindy Kaling: Christy collected some of Mindy’s favorite reads from her Twitter/Instagram, you’re welcome. Discussion idea: pair one of these with one of her memoirs, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? or Why Not Me?, and see if you can’t find some through-lines or connections!

Read Latina: PW has an excellent post recommending Spanish-language female authors, many of whom might be completely new to you.

And that’s a wrap: Happy discussing! 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 (including the occasional book club question!) you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Your fellow booknerd,
Jenn

More Resources: 
– Our Book Group In A Box guide
– List your group on the Book Group Resources page

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TestRiotRundown

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Today’s Riot Rundown is sponsored by Dara Horn’s Eternal Life, on sale now from W. W. Norton.

Rachel has a problem: she can’t die. Her recent troubles are only the latest in a litany spanning dozens of countries, scores of marriages, and hundreds of children. In the 2,000 years since she made a bargain to save the life of her first son back in Jerusalem, she’s tried everything to free herself. As the twenty-first century begins and her children and grandchildren develop technologies that could change her fate, Rachel knows she must find a way out. Eternal Life celebrates the bonds between generations, the power of faith, the purpose of death, and the reasons for being alive.

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Today In Books

National Book Critics Circle Awards Finalists: Today in Books

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Dynamite Entertainment, publisher of Nancy Drew & The Hardy Boys.

National Book Critics Circle Awards Finalists

The National Book Critics Circle announced the finalists for the 2017 awards. The 30 finalists fell into six categories––autobiography, biography, criticism, fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Finalists include Masha Gessen’s The Future is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia, Thi Bui’s The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir, and Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. The awards will be presented on March 15 at the New School in New York City. Find the complete list of finalists here.

Book Publisher Seized In China

Gui Minhai, a Hong Kong-based book publisher with Swedish citizenship, was seized by police officers on a train headed for Beijing. He was one of five Hong Kong booksellers who disappeared in 2015, only to resurface in police custody in China. The bookseller was released from detention last October. According to the New York Times, supporters are calling the detention of Mr. Gui and the other booksellers “a campaign by the Chinese government to shut down publishers of books offering unsparing criticism and also unflattering gossip about the party elite.”

New A Wrinkle In Time Trailer

Those of us anticipating the upcoming adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time were treated to another peek at the film with the release of a new trailer from Disney UK. See more of the cast, including Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Mindy Kaling as the Mrs Ws, more eye candy settings, and more Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin.

 

We’re giving away a library cart! Enter to win here.

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New Books

Dragon-Plagued Cities, A Contemporary Frankenstein Tale, And More New Books

It’s Tuesday (again!) which means there are a bunch of faboo new releases! (Why, yes, I did watch a lot of Animaniacs as a child.) I have a few more awesome books for you below and you can hear about several more great titles on this week’s episode of the All the Books! Jenn and I talked about a few amazing books we loved, including Brass, Eternal Life, The Milk Lady of Bangalore, and more.

OH! Did you know Book Riot is giving away a library cart? WELL WE ARE. Because that’s how we roll. Enter to win here.

let's talk about loveLet’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann

Alice’s romantic dreams were dashed when her girlfriend dumped her after Alice confessed to being asexual. Now she’s planning to spend her summer alone, binge-watching television and working at the library. Then she meets Takumi and her heart sings. Is she ready to risk their friendship to confess feelings that Takumi may not reciprocate or even understand? This is a heartfelt debut that is perfect for young (or not-so-young) readers, especially those still working out their place in the world. More asexual representation like this in books, please.

Backlist bump: Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Kathryn Ormsbee

our lady of the prairieOur Lady of the Prairie by Thisbe Nissen

There’s a hurricane headed to town, but that’s the least of Phillipa’s problems. The theater professor has just had a passionate affair while teaching away from home, now is returning for her daughter’s wedding, where she will have to endure her menacing mother-in-law, her husband, and all the baggage she left behind while she was gone. But what would happen if she walked away? Nissen’s sharp, funny novel explores what it means when a woman stands up for herself and starts putting herself first in her own life.

Backlist bump: The Good People of New York by Thisbe Nissen

frankenstein in baghdadFrankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi

A scavenger in US-occupied Baghdad stitches together the body parts of corpses in an effort to get citizens a proper burial, and a grieving mother claims it as her son. But when the corpse goes missing, a series of murders begin plaguing the city, leading to an undead killer who must be stopped. This is an inventive way to talk about the horrors of war, loss, and what it’s like to live in a war-torn city.

Backlist bump: Escape from Baghdad! by Saad Hossain

the sky is yoursThe Sky is Yours by Chandler Klang Smith

A dystopian epic about a future city called Empire Island, plagued by dragons, violence, and chaos, and three young people who must battle fire, the future, and themselves to survive in the world. I love the idea of a future world with dragons. This is a genre-bending delight!

Backlist bump: Seraphina by Rachel Hartman (For more dragons. I am so into dragons right now.)

That’s it for me today – time to get back to reading! If you want to learn more about books new and old (and see lots of pictures of my cats, Millay and Steinbeck), or tell me about books you’re reading, or books you think I should read (I HEART RECOMMENDATIONS!), you can find me on Twitter at MissLiberty, on Instagram at FranzenComesAlive, or Litsy under ‘Liberty’!

Stay rad,

Liberty

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The Goods 2

30% Off Sitewide

Why? Because we like you. Get 30% off sitewide*, and fill your closet with bookish looks.

*some exclusions apply.

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Giveaways

We Have 50 (!) Copies of ELEVATE by Joseph Deitch to Give Away!

 

We have 50 copies of Elevate by Joseph Deitch to give away to 50 Riot readers!

Here’s what it’s all about:

A modern world can often make us feel even more lost as we struggle to find meaning. Joseph Deitch shares his lifelong pursuit of wisdom and growth in this accessible, practical, down-to-earth gift to readers. Elevate will increase your awareness and help you progress in all that you do and care about with five clear insights and ten essential skills.

Elevate is a celebration of life and the wisdom we have access to. It’s a formula for turning frustration into fascination…and into the growth of our great innate powers of intellect and self-direction.

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

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Check Your Shelf

Check Your Shelf Test Run

Hello! This is a test post for Check Your Shelf so that I can make sure I did all the things I was supposed to do on the ops side.

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The Goods

Last Chance – Best Books of 2017!

The time to hesitate is through. Today is the last day to snag our Best Books of 2017 box and kick off your year with amazing books (which satisfy some of the tasks on the Read Harder Challenge, BTW).

The box contains 4 books and 3 awesome bookish gifts, with a total value that exceeds the $100 price.

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TestRiotRundown

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Today’s Riot Rundown is sponsored by Your One And Only by Adrianne Finlay.

Jack is a walking fossil. The only human among a sea of clones. It’s been hundreds of years since humanity died off in the slow plague, leaving the clones behind to carry on human existence. Over time they’ve perfected their genes, moving further away from the imperfections of humanity. But if they really are perfect, why did they create Jack? Meanwhile, Althea-310 struggles with the feeling that she’s different from her sisters. Her fascination with Jack doesn’t help. As Althea and Jack’s connection grows stronger, so does the threat to their lives. What will happen if they do the unthinkable and fall in love?

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Today In Books

Rare Harry Potter First Edition Stolen: Today in Books

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by BALLS by Chris Edwards.

Rare Harry Potter First Edition Stolen

A rare first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, described as the “Holy Grail” for Potter collectors, and worth £40,000, was stolen from a Norfolk bookshop. (Is this the beginning of a real life version of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry except with a Rowling book rather than a Poe? P.S. Happy Birthday, Poe!). The book was one of only 500 copies with Rowling listed as Joanne Rowling, and 300 of those copies went to libraries. Police are appealing for help tracing this book, and several other valuable titles that were stolen.

Edgar Allan Poe Nominees Announced

Fittingly, on this the 209th anniversary of the birth of Edgar Allan Poe, the Mystery Writers of America announced the Nominees for the 2018 Edgar Allan Poe Awards. This year’s Poe Awards honor “the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television published or produced in 2017.” Nominees include Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke, Idaho by Emily Ruskovich, and Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann. Check out the full list and categories here.

HarperAudio Will Produce Audiobooks On Vinyl

Hey, hipsters! HarperAudio is planning to produce a series of spoken word vinyl audiobook titles this year. The series will launch in April with Wild Horses Vinyl Edition by Joe Hill, read by Nate Corddry. Other “vinyl-first” editions will include A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket and Love Poems by Nikki Giovanni. Digital editions will accompany the vinyl audiobooks.