Newsletters Dev – Page 1270

Win a Dark Horse Comics Coloring Book Prize Pack!

Post author By Jeff O'Neal
Post date October 21, 2017

We have ten Dark Horse Coloring Book prize packs to give away! Winners will each get five Dark Horse coloring books: Serenity, Buffy, Halo, Star Trek, and ST: TNG.

Dark Horse brings you an elite line of coloring books, perfect for anyone who loves to color! These beautiful books come packed with forty-five highly detailed, brand-new black-and-white images to color however you choose. With original illustrations by the best artists in the industry, and produced in close collaboration with show creators and game developers, these books are must-haves for fans!

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

Today In Books

LeVar Burton Is Not Being Sued After All: Today in Books

Post author By Sharifah Williams
Post date October 20, 2017

“You Don’t Have To Take My Word For It”

LeVar Burton and WNED reached a settlement in the lawsuit that accused Burton of “theft and extortion” for alleged trademark violations, including his use of the catchphrase, “You don’t have to take my word for it.” WNED has withdrawn its suit. Burton credits his fans for the turn of events–outcry erupted when WNED brought the suit claiming Burton’s contributions to Reading Rainbow and the show’s value could be separated. It’s a complex tale, and I’m sure Burton would encourage you to read the full story.

Violence at the Frankfurt Book Fair

Violence broke out at the recent Frankfurt Book Fair after event organizers invited far-right publishers to participate. Amid protests and event cancellations, Achim Bergmann, director of Germany’s leftist publishing house and record label Trikont, was punched in the face after making comments while walking past an event organized by a right-wing newspaper. Another, Nico Wehnemann who was protesting at a far-right stand, claims he was tackled by a neo-Nazi and beaten by private security forces.

Corduroy’s Comeback

It’s Friday. Let’s end with some happy news. Corduroy is getting a sequel 50 years after its publication, and the book will be written by *drumroll* Oscar award-winning actress Viola Davis! The children’s book will be titled, Corduroy Takes a Bow and it’ll tell the story of the teddy bear’s first trip to the theater. What a delight. Look out for it September 2018.

Don’t forget, we’re giving away $500 to the bookstore of your choice! Click here to enter.

Thank you to Penguin Teen, publisher of Turtles All The Way Down by John Green, for sponsoring today’s newsletter.

Turtles All the Way Down is about love, resilience, and the power of lifelong friendship. But at its heart is Aza Holmes. Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also navigating daily existence within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.

Book Radar

To Be or Not to Be, That Is Riz Ahmed’s Question, and More News

Post author By Liberty Hardy
Post date October 20, 2017

Welcome to another Monday! Any Monday that starts off with Hope you’re reading something marvelous! Enjoy your week, and be excellent to each other. – xoxo, Liberty

Children’s Books About Cuba, Huge Bookstore Gift Card Giveaway, and More!

Post author By Karina Glaser
Post date October 20, 2017

Hey Kid Lit friends,

Cuba is a country that I am just starting to learn more about, and I’m so glad to have children’s books to help me in my understanding.

Margarita Engle is probably the most well known Cuban-American children’s book writer. Her newest picture book is All the Way to Havana, gorgeously illustrated by Mike Curato. This story follows a young boy and his family as they pile into their car to celebrate the birth of a new baby across the island. Because U.S. – Cuban relations have been strained since 1959 and Fidel Castro had placed a ban on foreign vehicle imports, Cuba is filled with classic cars from the 1950s that are kept running by a hodgepodge of improvised, handmade parts. As you travel through this book, you glimpse this part of Cuba’s history in an unforgettable way.

Sponsored by The Little Red Wolf, written and illustrated by Amélie Fléchais.

Once upon a time, in the middle of a mysterious forest stood a strange tree house, the home of a little wolf known to all as Little Red Wolf …

Lose yourself in in the dark forests of Amélie Fléchais’ spectacular artwork. A young wolf, on a journey to bring his grandmother a rabbit, is charmed by the nice little girl who offers to help him…but nice is not the same as good.

A new face to this haunting fairy tale – for children and adults alike.

IN STORES NOW!

I have been really excited about the amazing Katherine Paterson’s new book, called My Brigadista Year (Candlewick, 10/24/17). A fictional story based on the real events of Fidel Castro’s literacy campaign, thirteen-year-old Nora joins Castro’s army of literacy teachers who go out to the countryside to teach fellow Cubans how to read and write. A story written in the beautiful way that only Katharine Paterson can achieve, I also learned a lot about Cuba’s history and got a taste of what life must have been like in 1960s Cuba.

Two other middle grade novels with Cuban settings were released this year. Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar is based on the author’s own experiences growing up in New York City in the 1960s after moving from Cuba. Ruthie is just starting to adjust to life in the new neighborhood when a car accident puts her in a body cast and confined to her bedroom. A beautiful story about family, cultural differences, and the role of art to heal lonely hearts.

Refugee by Alan Gratz follows the lives of three refugee families, one of them being Josef, a German Jew fleeing Hitler’s in the 1930s. Josef and his family aboard the St. Louis, en route to Cuba. Another storyline follows Isabel, a girl who boards a raft for America with her family to escape Castro’s Cuba in 1994. A heartbreaking book filled with meticulous historical detail, and a great book to introduce to kids who see the news and wonder what life for refugees is really like.

Last, another book by Margarita Engle and illustrated by Sean Qualls called The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Marzano. Born into the household of a wealthy slave owner in Cuba in 1797, Juan Francisco Manzano spent his early years by the side of a woman who made him call her Mama, even though he had a mama of his own. Denied an education, young Juan still showed an exceptional talent for poetry. His verses reflect the beauty of his world, but they also expose its hideous cruelty.

Onto new releases! These all come out this Tuesday, October 24th!

A Boy, a Mouse, and a Spider: The Story of E.B. White by Barbara Herbert, illustrated by Lauren Castillo (Roaring Brook Press)
When young Elwyn White lay in bed as a sickly child, a bold house mouse befriended him. When the time came for kindergarten, an anxious Elwyn longed for the farm, where animal friends awaited him at the end of each day. Propelled by his fascination with the outside world, he began to jot down his reflections in a journal. Writing filled him with joy, and words became his world. A lovely picture book with enchanting illustrations.

Winter Dance by Marion Dane Bauer, illustrated by Richard Jones (HMH Books for Young Readers)
Snow is coming, and it’s time to get ready! The squirrel gathers nuts, the geese soar south, and the snowshoe hare puts on its new white coat. But what should the fox do? Each animal advises the fox that its own plan is best, but the fox thinks otherwise—yet it’s not until he meets a golden-eyed friend that he finds the perfect way to celebrate the snowfall. A perfect picture book for the changing seasons.

Fox and the Bike Ride by Corey R. Tabor (HarperCollins)
It’s the day of the animals’ annual bike ride, and Fox is not excited. Every year it’s the same old, same old. Fox wants adventure. He wants action-adventure. He wants danger–action-adventure! (And snacks too, of course.) So he secretly schemes to make this the most unforgettable trip ever—and his friends are coming along, whether they want to or not!

The Nutcracker Mice by Kristin Kladstrup and Brett Helquist (Candlewick)
A sweet middle grade book about the world’s tiniest ballet fans living in Saint Petersburg’s famed Mariinsky Theater: the Mariinsky mice, including Esmeralda, a rising dancer in the Russian Mouse Ballet Company. Despite being unable to control her tail, Esmeralda has just been assigned the lead role of Clara in a ballet debuting at Christmas: The Nutcracker. But when she learns that the new ballet features mice as villains, her excitement turns to horror: the mice of Saint Petersburg will never come to see such a production. Meanwhile, nine-year-old Irina is convinced that the mice she’s seen in the Mariinsky — the mice her father, the custodian, is supposed to exterminate — are not only fans of the ballet, but dancers themselves.

Reign of Outlaws by Kekla Magoon (Bloomsbury) (P.S. The first book in the series, Shadows of Sherwood, is an ebook deal – see below!)
When twelve-year-old Robyn Loxley set out to save her parents, she never could’ve predicted that she would become Robyn Hoodlum, leader of the rebellion against the harsh government led by Ignomus Crown. But Robyn’s attempt to free her parents has failed, and on top of that, her friends have been captured. And now Crown has given her 72 hours to turn herself in–or else. Now Robyn must decide between sacrificing herself, saving her parents and friends, or advancing the rebellion. With the stakes higher than ever, will Robyn be able to succeed?

The Elephant Whisperer (Young Reader’s Adaptation): My Life With the Herd in the African Wild by Lawrence Anthony (HarperCollins)
When Lawrence Anthony was asked to accept a rogue herd of elephants in his reserve in South Africa, it was the last chance for these elephants. If Anthony didn’t take them, they would be shot. But he had no experience with elephants at all. What was he to do? Take them on, of course! What follows is an exciting and heartwarming series of adventures, in which Anthony learns about elephants and becomes part of their family. Full of both triumph and tragedy, this fascinating account of living with the majestic elephant is unforgettable.

The Whiz Mob and the Grenadine Kid by Colin Meloy, illustrations by Carson Ellis (HarperCollins)
It is an ordinary Tuesday morning in April when bored, lonely Charlie Fisher witnesses something incredible. Right before his eyes, in a busy square in Marseille, a group of pickpockets pulls off an amazing robbery. As the young bandits appear to melt into the crowd, Charlie realizes with a start that he himself was one of their marks. Yet Charlie is less alarmed than intrigued. This is the most thrilling thing that’s happened to him since he came to France with his father, an American diplomat. So instead of reporting the thieves, Charlie defends one of their cannons, Amir, to the police, under one condition: he teach Charlie the tricks of the trade.

Ryan Quinn and the Lion’s Claw by Ron McGee
Ryan Quinn has never been a normal kid, and after everything that happened in Andakar, he’s about as far away from normal as could be. His parents want him to forget all about his death-defying escape, his role in the Emergency Rescue Committee, and the fact that they’ve been keeping secrets from him his whole life. But forgetting just isn’t an option for Ryan—not when there’s a traitor in the ERC who’s looking to ruin Ryan’s parents and expose the whole organization. (HarperCollins)

Ebook Deals

Shadows of Sherwood by Kekla Magoon, $1.99

I Wish You More by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by Tom Lichenheld, $1.99

Ember Falls by S. D. Smith and Zach Franzen, $1.60

Wildwood by Colin Meloy, illustrations by Carson Ellis, $1.99

This has been a fun week of reading for me. All three of these books are hilarious with lovable characters. I adored Sidetracked by Diana Harmon Asher, a book about seventh grade Joseph Friedman who, at the encouragement of his Resource Room teacher, joins the track team. (Spoiler alert: he’s not a natural runner.) In Greetings from Witness Protection by Jake Burt, Nicki Demere gets plucked from foster care to help keep a family safe in witness protection. And if you’ve been following these newsletters, you know that I LOVE Debbi Michiko Florence’s chapter book series. The third in the series, Jasmine Toguchi: Drummer Girl will be released on April 3, 2018.

Want more book recommendations? Check these links out:

The Best Children’s and YA Books of October 2017, by the Brightly editors

Best Books of October, chosen by Amazon’s editors
Ages 3-6
Ages 6-8 (Beginning and Early Readers)
Ages 9-12 (Grades 4-6)

8 Halloween Picture Books for You and Your Little Goblin, via Book Riot

Great Books About Amazing Girls, via Book Riot

15 Beautiful Books That Introduce Mexican Culture and History to Kids, via Brightly

And hey, did you know that Book Riot is giving away a $500 gift certificate to the bookstore of your choice? Enter to win using this link (contest open until November 26th)!

One more thing: the New York Public Library is automatically resetting all kids’ and teens’ book fines to zero! High school students ages 18 and up can have their fines cleared in person through November 2, 2017. Find out more here.

That is it for me this week! I’d love to know what you are reading this week! Find me on Twitter at @KarinaYanGlaser, on Instagram at @KarinaIsReadingAndWriting, or email me at karina@bookriot.com.

Until next week,
Karina

Don’t interrupt Izzy – she’s reading!

*If this e-mail was forwarded to you, follow this link to subscribe to “The Kids Are All Right” newsletter and other fabulous Book Riot newsletters for your own customized e-mail delivery. Thank you!*

Giveaways

Win a Copy of EARTH HATES ME by Ruby Karp!

Post author By Jeff O'Neal
Post date October 20, 2017

We have 10 copies of Earth Hates Me: True Confessions from a Teenage Girl by Ruby Karp to give away to 10 Riot readers!

Here’s what it’s all about:

“This book is filled with juicy young person wisdom.” –Amy Poehler

Earth Hates Me presents a look inside the mind of the modern teenager–from a modern teenager’s perspective. The Sixteen-year-old author addresses issues facing every highschooler, from grades to peer pressure to

Snapchat stories, and their complicated effects on the teen psyche.
Ruby advises her peers on the importance of feminism (“not just the Spice Girls version”), dealing with jealousy and friend break-ups, family life, and much more. The book takes an in-depth look at the effect of social media on modern teens and the growing pressures of choosing the right college and career.

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

Today In Books

Obama’s Love Letters Go Public: Today in Books

Post author By Sharifah Williams
Post date October 19, 2017

Obama Wrote College Love Letters You Can Read

How horrified would you be if some school collected your love letters and let the whole world read them? Emory University’s Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library not only obtained Barack Obama’s love letters from the 1980s; the school is making them available to the public. The letters were written to Alexandra McNear, his Occidental College girlfriend. I can just picture Michelle rolling her eyes and smirking.

Australia vs. Amazon

When Amazon announced it would be setting up shop in Australia, readers and indie booksellers did not greet the news with applause according to the New York Times piece covering the story. It sounds like Australia and Portland would get along–they’re all about that local indie experience, and who can blame them? Borders didn’t succeed when they tried to move in, so it’ll be interesting to see how things pan out for the behemoth Amazon.

Chiwetel Ejiofor Leads Adaptation Of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

What would a bookish day be without bookish adaptation news? Chiwetel Ejiofor, perhaps best known for his starring role in 12 Years a Slave began production on his adaptation of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. The story follows 13-year-old William Kamkwamba who has to leave his beloved school when his family can no longer afford to send him. Thanks to his resourcefulness and the school library, the boy finds a way to build a windmill that saves his village. Ejiofor will direct, write, and star in the film.

Thank you to Penguin, publisher of Warcross by Marie Lu, for sponsoring today’s newsletter.

For millions, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down Warcross players who bet on the game illegally. But as she becomes more entangled, Emika uncovers a sinister plot with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.

In this sci-fi thriller, #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu conjures an immersive, exhilarating world where choosing who to trust may be the biggest gamble of all.

Swords and Spaceships

Swords and Spaceships Oct 20

Post author By Jenn Northington
Post date October 19, 2017

Hello, chevaliers and chimeras! Today we’re talking Provenance and Forest of a Thousand Lanterns, plus robot fighting leagues, dark fantasy, queer sf/f, and much more.

This newsletter is sponsored by The Bloodprint by Ausma Zehanat Khan.

The Talisman, a superstitious patriarchy that suppresses knowledge and subjugates women, is growing in power throughout the land. The only ones who are strong enough to stand up to their darkness are the Companions of Hira, a group of influential women whose power derives from the Claim – the magic inherent in the words of a sacred scripture. Foremost among them is Arian and her fellow warrior, Sinnia. As they search for a miraculous symbol of hope that can destroy the Talisman’s leader, Arian and Sinnia know that this mission may well be their last.

Here’s an opportunity to splurge on your personal library: we’re giving away a $500 giftcard to the bookstore of your choice!

Need darker books for the darker days of winter? Have some dark fantasy. As Vernieda notes, it’s hard to pin down exactly what “dark fantasy” is, but I do love this list. There are some old favorites (Margo Lanagan!) and new ones to discover (Claymore!!).

If you’ve been dreaming of robot fight club since Rock’em Sock’em Robots, the future is looking promising. One US and one Japanese robotics company faced off in the ring, and expressed hope that a formal fighting league would follow. I’m still not over how the US robot could hold up to TWO PILOTS.

One Tor writer contemplates their year in queer sf/f — and it was a good one. I’ve read and loved many of the books on this list, and can only hope along with Liz that this is a positive sign of books to come.

Need a Last Jedi reading list? We can help with that. I adored Bloodline by Claudia Grey, and anxiously awaiting Ken Liu’s Legends of Luke Skywalker! (Although please note, those are the only Star Wars novels I’ve read outside of Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy many many moons ago, so I am by no means an expert.)

Are you watching Star Trek: Discovery? I am! (Thank the gods old and new for friends who will lend you a CBS log-in.) And this piece about Michael Burnham’s name gave me all the thoughts.

Looking for some off-the-radar reading material? Unbound Worlds put together a list of 26 under-rated sf/f books and I definitely agree that you should read most (all?) of them.

Today in reviews, I’ve got a comedic space opera and an antagonist origin story for you!

Provenance by Ann Leckie

Having read the first two books in the Imperial Radch series, I thought I knew what to expect from an Ann Leckie novel. Turns out, I was wrong! It does have the intergalactic politics, pronoun fluidity, and queer/nonbinary characters we’ve enjoyed in previous books, but Provenance is also a comedic, much more light-hearted take on the space opera.

Ingray, our occasionally careless and ultimately clever heroine, has been competing with her sibling for their adopted mother’s regard — and, eventually, her job — for most of her life. Her latest attempt in family one-upmanship sends her to a trade planet where she hires contractors to break a smuggler out of prison, in an attempt to retrieve the famous historical artifacts that they stole. Nothing from this point on goes as planned. There are aliens, gun battles, mechanical spiders, family squabbles, intergalactic treaties, and a murder mystery, as well as a pointed look at the way we invest meaning into objects. There’s also a couple love stories and some shenanigans with shoes. Did I mention it’s really funny?

If you’ve read the Ancillary books, the Radch gets a few shout-outs that fans will be happy to see. And if you particularly enjoyed the humor in Ancillary Mercy, bump this one up on your TBR. For those of you new to Leckie’s work, I can’t think of a better place to start. In particular, those who have been looking for found-family, character-driven books comparable to Becky Chambers’ Wayfarers series are going to want to pick this up.

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns (Rise of the Empress #1) by Julie C. Dao

Beautiful young woman, destiny foretold, powers she doesn’t understand: it sounds like a heroine story you’ve heard before. But Forest of a Thousand Lanterns is an unexpected and compelling surprise. Inspired by East Asia as well as the evil queens of fairytales, it follows Xifeng as she sets of to try to become the Empress of Feng Lu — no matter the cost.

Raised by her abusive aunt Guma, Xifeng has experienced very little kindness and it shows. The 3rd person narration sticks close to her perceptions of others, and they’re … uncharitable, to say the least. Taught to value her beauty, she judges others for their looks; taught to set herself apart and above, she looks down on those not willing to seize power for themselves. Her blind spots are a mile wide, and her struggles to do what one might consider “the right thing” are indeed struggles. Of course, it doesn’t help when a dark god is offering you everything you’ve ever wanted.

All of which made this one of the most gripping anti-hero stories I’ve read this year. I love a good antagonist, and Dao has created a complex and believable one in Xifeng. So often we watch characters make bad choices just, kind of, because? But Xifeng’s reasons are clear, even when we can’t agree with her actions. This is an exploration of the dark side of female power, and a promising beginning to a new fantasy series.

And that’s a wrap! 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.

Q’apla!,
Jenn

True Story

Living With Transient Seniors in an RV: Behind the Writing of NOMADLAND

Post author By Kim Ukura
Post date October 19, 2017

This week’s newsletter is something a little different, a longer piece exploring the ins and outs of writing the kind of narrative, investigative nonfiction that I love to read.

Jessica Bruder’s Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century is a look into the growing number of transient older Americans that are helping boost large sectors of the seasonal economy. To tell their story, Bruder spent weeks at a time in an RV (an adapted 1995 GMC Vandura with a jaunty teal stripe) following these “workcampers” from months working in Amazon warehouses, at National Forest campgrounds, and in sugar beet harvests.

Sponsored by The 57 Bus, a true story by Dashka Slater

One teenager in a skirt.

One teenager with a lighter.

One moment that changes both of their lives forever.

A single reckless act during an 8-minute bus ride leaves one teen severely burned and the other charged with two hate crimes and facing life imprisonment. The 57 Bus is Dashka Slater’s true account of the case that garnered international attention and thrust both high school students into the spotlight.

After I finished the book, I really wanted to know more…Where did this idea come from? What were the challenges in reporting? How did Bruder’s relationships with her subjects form and change? Luckily for me, Bruder was able to take a few minutes to answer my questions, which you can read below.

The Initial Idea

Bruder pointed to two articles that helped steer her towards the ideas that would become Nomadland – a 2011 piece in the Allentown Morning Call on the dangerous conditions inside an Amazon warehouse, and a 2012 Mother Jones article that briefly mentioned a program to hire retirees, CamperForce.

Photo by Todd Gray, via www.jessicabruder.com

In both cases, Bruder noticed something in the article that intrigued or alarmed her, then used that spark to dig deeper.

“Nobody ever wants to talk about the fact that the sausage is made that way, because the idea is like, somehow, we magically come up with everything in a hermetically sealed, pure, vacuum,” she said. “This stuff is in reach, you just have to pay attention.”

Although there are some retirees who still use RVs recreationally, Bruder said she slowly became aware of “a totally different strata of folks who were permanently on the road,” moving from seasonal employer to seasonal employer to make ends meet.

“That seemed kind of wild too because we’re in a workplace where ageism is so rampant, and then you’ve got this underground senior network of employers,” said Bruder. “A lot of the jobs are low-paid and pretty tough. (The story) hooked my subculture brain, it hooked my social justice brain, and I really wanted to learn more.”

Beginning the Story

Bruder was so intrigued by the idea that she used her hotel stipend from a conference to instead rent a car and drive out to Nevada to begin talking to seniors living in RV parks near an Amazon warehouse. After her initial reporting, Bruder pitched the story to Harper’s Magazine, who agreed to send her back out to Nevada to do a few more days of reporting.

“I got it in my mind that I wanted to go to this place called Quartzite, Arizona, which is where a lot of nomads kind of go financially dormant through the winter. You’ve got tens of thousands of people on the public lands, using solar panels, living super cheap. I borrowed a tent and went out there for a few weeks and wrote the story based on that,” she explained.

Photo Credit: www.jessicabruder.com

From Magazine to Book

Bruder’s story – “The End of Retirement” – was published in the August 2014 edition of the magazine. But Bruder said she felt like there was more to the story.

“I had so much B-roll, just buckets and buckets of things that didn’t fit,” she said. “And I still wanted to know what was going to happen to these people! I got to spend a little bit of time with them, and I really couldn’t stop thinking about them.”

Bruder used the advance from her book deal with W.W. Norton to purchase a van on Craigslist.

“A lot of people, when you’re doing your passion project, you have to do it on spec, and I don’t know if I could have done all of this like that,” Bruder said. “Getting a camper van, that’s an audacious thing to do!”

The van gave Bruder some additional flexibility for her reporting. Instead of just stopping by for a few days at a time, Bruder was able to spend weeks or months following the people she planned to write about, becoming a part of the community rather than just a journalist writing about their lives.

“I wish I were better at writing on the road and in the van, but all I could make myself do (on the road) was keep a daily reporter’s journal where I’m going through the notes I’ve written down and rehydrating them so they make sense,” said Bruder. “I did a lot of jump in, jump out reporting.”

Navigating Relationships

One of the challenges of spending so much time in a community is building relationships while also reporting on what you learn.

“In a normal situation, when I’m there everybody knows what I’m doing. Everyone knows I’m there as a reporter. If I worry somebody’s forgetting, sometimes I remind them,” Bruder said.

The book includes a couple of exceptions to this practice – Bruder went undercover in an Amazon warehouse and a sugar beet harvest – but Bruder said in those cases she made sure to focus on her experiences, rather than things she learned about other workers.

In one challenging instance, the subject she originally planned to make the main character of the Harper’s piece had to back out of the project. The man was hired to work full time at Amazon – something Bruder said she had never seen happen – and worried that his comments made as a seasonal employee would threaten his livelihood. After some discussion, Bruder had to find a new character for her magazine piece, but ended up using parts of his story in the book using a pseudonym.

“I’ve covered politics and I’ve covered policing, but these people are civilians,” Bruder said. “You want people to talk to you, but you want to make sure that they understand what you’re doing and why you’re there and how it all works. Narrative is messy because you come to like people – I know I did – and you’re all very human out there.”

On Narrative Nonfiction and Immersion Journalism

One of the challenges Bruder notes in the book was figuring out a satisfying ending for a story about people who have lives that extend beyond the confines of the book.

“When you’re doing nonfiction we’re really at the mercy of the world and what happens in it,” Bruder said. “As much as you shape elements of your story, you’re also sort of dragging off the back of the wagon the whole time and just hanging on.”

Bruder got to follow up on one thread from the book already, in an article for WIRED. The piece is billed as an adaptation of Nomadland, but it includes “a whole lot of new reporting,” Bruder said. She also hopes to do more writing on the criminalization of homelessness.

Bruder also noted that a big part of writing a book like this one, immersing in a subculture to understand it better, is just spending time with people.

“In the era of the accelerated news cycle and social media and so much quick hit reporting, if you want to do something like this you really have to be willing to marinate and spend a lot of time that’s not directed interview time with people,” she said. “In my mind, when you’re getting it right with subculture journalism, you’re going in and you’re learning about a group of people who may seem pretty different from the outside, but when you get close they have more in common with all of us than you may initially realize. My favorite journalism is the kind that helps promote that kind of empathy.”

And that’s the end for this week! Thanks for indulging me in something a little different for this newsletter. I’ll be back to a more regular format for next week, when I’m hoping to gather up some links on upcoming nonfiction adaptations to keep on your radar. Happy reading!

Giveaways

Win a Copy of THE UNTETHERED SOUL by Michael A. Singer!

Post author By Jeff O'Neal
Post date October 19, 2017

We have 10 copies of The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer to give away to 10 lucky Riot Readers!

Here’s what it’s all about:

“Read this book carefully, and you will get more than a glimpse of eternity.”—Deepak Chopra, author of Life After Death: The Burden of Proof

What would it be like to free yourself from limitations and soar beyond your boundaries? What can you do each day to discover inner peace and serenity? The Untethered Soul—now a New York Times bestseller—offers simple yet profound answers to these questions. Whether this is your first exploration of inner space, or you’ve devoted your life to the inward journey, this book will transform your relationship with yourself and the world around you.

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

The Stack

101917-Pashmina-The-Stack

Post author By Devin Service
Post date October 19, 2017

Today’s The Stack is sponsored by Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani.

In this heartwarming graphic novel debut, Nidhi Chanani weaves a tale about the hardship and self-discovery that is born from juggling two cultures and two worlds.