Newsletters Dev – Page 1274

101217-BecauseIWasAGirl-Riot-Rundown

Post author By Devin Service
Post date October 12, 2017

Today’s Riot Rundown is sponsored by Because I Was a Girl, edited by Melissa de la Cruz.

Whether they’re young or old, household names or behind-the-scenes players, so many women have incredible stories to tell. And now is their chance.

Because I Was a Girl showcases true stories from an inspiring roster of talented, diverse women ages 10 to 88 about the obstacles they’ve faced because of their gender — and the dreams they’ve made come true. This beautifully designed book is the perfect gift for young women to show them that they can do and be anything.

The Stack

101217-TheCrow-The-Stack

Post author By Devin Service
Post date October 12, 2017

Today’s The Stack is sponsored by Gallery 13.

This special hardcover release of the 2011 edition continues the legacy of The Crow as the powerful journey of an avenging angel and a celebration of true love…as fierce, intelligent, and unforgettable as when it was first conceived.

Audiobooks

5 Audiobooks to Help You Do Business Humanely

Post author By Jeff O'Neal
Post date October 11, 2017

Hi, I’m Jeff O’Neal, filling in for Katie this week. Earlier this month, Book Riot celebrated its sixth anniversary, and it got me thinking about all the learning I’ve had to do to be part of running it. I went quickly from being an academic to trying to be a business person–with no experience at all in managing people, money, strategy, product development, and on and on.

Audiobooks! is sponsored this week by Overdrive for Libby.

Meet Libby, a new app built with love for readers to discover and enjoy eBooks and audiobooks from your library. Created by OverDrive and inspired by library users, Libby was designed to get people reading as quickly and seamlessly as possible. Libby is a one-tap reading app for your library who is a good friend always ready to go to the library with you. One-tap to borrow, one-tap to read, and one-tap to return to your library or bookshelf to begin your next great book.

But I am a bookish sort, so I turned to books to learn. And as I was trying to cram more book-time into my life, my ad hoc business education came via audiobook. By my count, over the last six years I’ve listened to about 150 books picked with the hope that they would help me be a better planner, manager, employee, thinker, leader, colleague, entrepreneur, and executive. And I wanted to try to do it humanely. Of the many, many books I’ve listened to, here are the five that stand above the rest. In no particular order:

Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher and William Ury

There were many things that scared me about entering the world of business, but the knowledge that negotiation would become a near daily exercise was perhaps the most terrifying. Getting to Yes lays out a strategy for thinking about negotiations not as an irredeemably adversarial process, but one that can proceed rationally and collaboratively, given the right frame of mind. I’ve recommended this book to darn near anyone who will listen because, as Fisher and Ury point out, we negotiate in our daily lives all the time and the same thinking they suggest can offer improvements in almost all areas of your life.

Radical Candor by Kim Scott

Working with people is difficult. They are, after all, other people. And even if you generally like the people you work with, conflict arises. Or even worse, it doesn’t. Things don’t get said that need saying. People aren’t told what they are doing wrong (and right). Our fear of confrontation or hurting someone’s feelings prevents us from having the hard, scary, and necessary conversations we should be having. Radical Candor, as the name implies, is a framework for being honest with co-workers, bosses, and employees that is uncommon in our lives. We’ve incorporated a lot of Radical Candor here at Book Riot, and while it has had its difficult moments, I think we are a markedly better place to work because of it.

The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande

We all have a lot of crap to do. A lot. We have spreadsheets and to-do lists and outlines and sticky notes and bullet journals and you know what? We still make mistakes. Gawande suggests that so many of our mistakes could be avoided by the good-old checklist. Using examples from surgery to aerospace, Gawande shows how common, and preventable, serious mistakes are among even the most expert professionals. It will be especially beneficial if part of your work includes repeated tasks, as it is in the moments when we are the least on the lookout for error that our most egregious screw-ups can happen.

Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Where The Checklist Manifesto is about avoiding things you know to be errors, Thinking Fast and Slow is about the mistakes you didn’t even know you were making. In fact, it’s about mistakes all of humanity didn’t know humans were prone to making. It is a titanic work of far-reaching influence and applicability. And it is not super-fun to read. But, if you are interested in making better decisions, avoiding costly cognitive biases, and in general knowing why the heck you make the decisions that you do, there is nothing like Thinking Fast and Slow.

Grit by Angela Duckworth and Peak by Anders Ericcson.

I am cheating and am combining two picks for my last selection. Sue me. But, I do have a good reason to do so. Grit and Peak go really well together. Not only do they both have four letters, but they also are both about how to excel at…well just about anything. Peak is about how mastery is achieved through consistent effort and increasing levels of instruction and error-correction. Basically, if you want to get good at something, you have to put in the hours and figure out a way to identify areas that need improvement and how to improve them. The short version: practice a lot with a great coach.

Grit is about how important the motivation behind wanting to get good is. It’s easy to say “play the violin for 20,000 hours with a professional coach and you will get good.” What is hard is actually having the grit to put in the hours. How do we keep going? Can it be taught? Learned? What can we do to instill it in ourselves, our company, or even our children?

So those are my five (six) picks. I’ve read them all more than once. I plan on reading them all again, multiple times. I think, if you’ll let them, they can make your work, and life, better too.

Today In Books

2017’s MacArthur Genius Grant Winners: Today in Books

Post author By Amanda Nelson
Post date October 11, 2017

2017’s MacArthur Genius Grant Winners

The “Genius” grant, given to those who have “shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction,” has been awarded to 24 artists, writers, historians, activists, and more for 2017. Among them are Book Riot favorite Jesmyn Ward, and Pulitzer Prize winner Viet Thanh Nguyen. See the full list of winners, along with many of their accomplishments, here.

Man Banned (Temporarily) From Library for Hiding LGBTQ DVDs

A patron of an Oregon library was banned for six months for purposefully hiding films he thought contained LGBTQ characters (he was, literally, judging them by their cover). The patron had complained in the past about those same materials, and had a history of vandalizing or tampering with materials. Some of the DVDs he hid were never recovered, causing the library to need to purchase replacements. ” Any similar incident would lead to a lifetime ban from the Baker County Public Library.”

A Waterproof Kindle is Finally Coming!

An Amazon Kindle Oasis that you can use by the pool is on its way– the latest version can be submerged in fresh water for up to an hour (but not salt water). The Oasis is the fanciest Kindle, at $250-$350, depending on what bells and whistles you want included. If that’s too rich for your blood, the Kobo H20 is $180.

Win a Copy of ECHO AFTER ECHO by Amy Rose Capetta!

Post author By Jeff O'Neal
Post date October 11, 2017

We have 10 copies of Echo After Echo by Amy Rose Capetta to give away to 10 Riot readers!

Here’s what it’s all about:

Zara Evans has come to the Aurelia Theater, home to the visionary director Leopold Henneman, to play her dream role in Echo and Ariston, the Greek tragedy that taught her everything she knows about love. When the director asks Zara to promise that she will have no outside commitments, no distractions, it’s easy to say yes. But it’s hard not to be distracted when there’s a death at the theater—and then another—especially when Zara doesn’t know if they’re accidents, or murder, or a curse that always comes in threes. It’s hard not to be distracted when assistant lighting director Eli Vasquez, a girl made of tattoos and abrupt laughs and every form of light, looks at Zara. It’s hard not to fall in love. In heart-achingly beautiful prose, Amy Rose Capetta has spun a mystery and a love story into an impossible, inevitable whole—and cast lantern light on two young women, finding each other on a stage set for tragedy.

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

What's Up in YA

Dolly Parton Writes Music For YA, Authors of Color Take On Mental Health, & More YA News

Post author By Kelly Jensen
Post date October 11, 2017

Good Monday, YA Readers!

What’s Up in YA? is sponsored this week by Earth Hates Me: True Confessions from a Teenage Girl by Ruby Karp.

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.

I’ve been collecting a boatload of YA news over the last month, and there’s no time like the present to share it. Be prepared for a lot of adaptation news and updates (among other things, of course!).

Here’s this year’s short list for the National Book Awards in Young People’s Literature. Read any of them? I’m about 3/4 of the way through Far From The Tree and y’all, it’s the real deal (as is Mexican Daughter — haven’t yet read the other titles but getting there!).
Malinda Lo offers up her annual look at LGBTQ in YA. These numbers offer some optimism, but also remind us that no, cis boys aren’t missing in YA lit. They’re still the largest population of characters.
A great piece about why teens should be reading about police brutality and racism (with a book list, natch).
First glimpses from the set of The Hate U Give. Hi, ready for this now!
Read Lockwood & Co? You might soon see it on the small screen.
City of Saints and Thieves is ready for its big screen treatment. I haven’t read this one but it’s sitting near the top of my to-read.
Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli are teaming up to write a YA book.
On the most recent episode of Hey YA, Eric Smith and I talked about celebrity YA books. One of the things we mentioned was the lack of press for Cara Delevingne’s debut, Mirror Mirror. Here’s a nice pice about the book and about Delevingne’s experiences with depression and how that informed her book.
I didn’t realize that the Beinecke had a big children’s archive collection, but now I’m glad I know, thanks to the fact they’re getting Judy Blume’s papers. (True story: I interviewed for an internship there in graduate school and it was the most intense and disastrous interview I’ve ever done).
An excellent look at 12 women of color and why they write about mental health in their YA books.
One Of Us Is Lying is getting the small screen treatment. Not surprised, since this one has “TV show” written all over it and has been a NYT bestseller for a while now.
A spin-off of Pretty Little Liars is in the works, based on the spin-off YA series The Perfectionists.
I did not know there were plans for either a Monster adaptation nor an Ophelia adaptation (by Walter Dean Myers and Lisa Klein respectively). Now I do.
Freeform has ordered more episodes of Shadowhunters.
Trailer and release date for the final film in the Maze Runner trilogy.
I have never heard of the book Air, but it’ll be a movie. I am definitely curious since it’s social justice based.
Dolly Parton is writing original songs for the adaptation of Julie Murphy’s Dumplin and tbh, this is the best news.
Here’s another adaptation announcement I’m excited about. No link: I got this one straight from Reed herself — Amy Reed’s THE NOWHERE GIRLS, about three girls who come together to avenge the rape of a fellow classmate and in the process trigger a change in the misogynist culture at their high school transforming the lives of everyone around them, to Management 360 (GAME OF THRONES, STEVE JOBS).
BuzzFeed asks you to answer some random questions and gives you a YA recommendation. Mine wasn’t too bad.
Here’s the trailer for Marvel’s upcoming The Runaways, a YA-aimed comic that’s definitely worth picking up if you haven’t.
I’d be remiss in not at least linking out to The Worst Bestseller podcast, wherein I was a guest on the show discussing the legendary 23-hour New York Times Bestseller brought down by CSIYATwitter, Handbook for Mortals. Sorry and you’re welcome!

And finally, though this was a publishing-wide event, so many YA authors coordinated and participated that it is worth sharing. Look at how much money was raised for Puerto Rico relief efforts:

Snap up some cheap YA reads…

Conveniently, all of these particular titles are the first in a series. So try ’em out while they’re inexpensive before making the full commitment.

Snag National Book Award short list author Robin Benway’s Also Known As for $2.

If you’re itching for some fantasy, Julie Kagawa’s The Iron King is a mere $2.

And Kimberly McCreight’s The Outliers — for the thriller fans — is also only $2.

____________________

Thanks for hanging out and we’ll see you back here next week!

— Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars

Unusual Suspects

A Q&A with Attica Locke, A Very Agatha Christie Halloween, and More

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date October 10, 2017

Hello fellow mystery fans! He did the mystery mash! The mystery mash. It was a forensics smash… (Sorry, not sorry.)

Sponsored by The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey

Rosalind’s secrets didn’t die with her.

Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock is deeply unnerved when a high school classmate is found strangled, her body floating in a lake. And not just any classmate, but Rosalind Ryan, whose beauty and inscrutability exerted a magnetic pull on Smithson High School.

Rosalind’s enigmas frustrate and obsess Gemma, who has her own dangerous secrets—an affair with her colleague and past tragedies that may not stay in the past. Brilliantly rendered, THE DARK LAKE has characters as compelling and mysteries as layered as the best thrillers from Gillian Flynn and Sophie Hannah.

Great Start to a Very Long Running Mystery Series:

A is for Alibi (Kinsey Millhone, #1) by Sue Grafton: I did something I rarely do and started all the way at the beginning of a very long running mystery series! How long you ask? Well the series has a title for every letter of the alphabet and is currently at Y (Y is for Yesterday). The final in the series looks to release in 2019, so I’ve got a lot of reading to do!

The first book in the series introduces us to Kinsey Millhone, a thirty-two year old California PI with two ex-husbands and zero kids. She’s mouthy, observant, a good liar, and while I love me an unlikable female character, for those who don’t, she doesn’t cross into that territory. Her current case is a woman just released from prison after finishing her sentencing for murdering her husband. Except she claims she never did, and wants Millhone to find out who actually did. Being that the murdered husband was a womanizing divorce lawyer, Millhone has plenty of suspects to reevaluate while also keeping an eye on the widow–wouldn’t be the first time someone claimed to be innocent who was not. Millhone isn’t all business though, as she seems to have an eye for the fellas… A solid mystery, great detective character (reminded me of my love for Kat Colorado), humorous, and with a bit of action. I totally get why so many people love Millhone and this series and look forward to continuing.

A Little Q&A: Attica Locke (I give authors I’m excited about 5 questions and let them answer any three they’d like.)

bluebird bluebird And ohmygod I’m so excited! Attica Locke is one of those writers that I will pickup any book she writes–and watch any show she is a producer/ writer for: Empire. She wrote one of my favorite opening scenes in a novel which takes place in a historic plantation house: The Cutting Season. And her recent novel Bluebird, Bluebird (which you’ve heard me raving about for months) and the Texas ranger character Darren Mathews are now all time favorites of mine. Locke is not only a great writer when it comes to plotting mysteries but my favorite thing about her writing are her characters–who are always completely alive in my mind from their introduction–and her ability to 100% immerse me in her settings.

And here’s Attica Locke:

Attica Locke photo by Mel Melcon, Los Angeles Times

If you were forced to live the rest of your life as one of your characters who would it be?

Darren Mathews in the newest book, Bluebird, Bluebird ’cause he gets to carry a gun. And I like bourbon probably as much as he does.

If you were to blurb your most recent/upcoming book (à la James Patterson):

“It’s my favorite, but don’t tell the others.”

The last book you read that you loved?

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Thanks Attica! I’m going to have to bump Eleanor Oliphant up on my reading list. And I really hope that Bluebird, Bluebird is the beginning of a series because I need more Darren Mathews!

Cozy Mystery October Read!

Hallowe’en Party (Hercule Poirot #36) by Agatha Christie: I’ve been wanting to reread Christie for-EV-er, and while I was planning on finally reading her in order, I couldn’t pass up reading this one for Halloween. It was an entertaining, cozy reread for me, but does have some political and societal things that may have gotten some side-eye– like every character believed the only answer to who the culprit could be was a mental patient released because of overcrowding. The adults really didn’t seem to like children much, which for some reason I found amusing, and I enjoyed the look at Halloween and the games played in the opening. It’s certainly not a happy Halloween party (a thirteen-year-old girl is found “drowned” in the apple bobbing bucket). But Poirot, asked by the host of the party to look into it even though the police are on the case, will solve the cas,e and all will be explained by the end of the book. (You can read Christie out of order, except leave the final Poirot novel for last.)

Links to Click:

Over on Book Riot I added even more books to The Past is Gonna Get ‘Cha mysteries.

I’m so freaking excited that Kathleen Kent’s The Dime has a script commitment because it’s a fantastic book perfect for an adaptation.

Excited for Riverdale‘s season 2? Here’s an interview with Ashleigh Murray (Josie): “We’re only just getting into the thick of the turmoil that’s happening between Josie and the Pussycats.” (Premieres Oct. 11th on the CW)

Speaking of S2 premieres: Good Behavior will be back on TNT Oct. 15th. If you need a s1 recap here you go.

Netflix’s Mindhunter (based on the true crime book Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit) will be streaming Oct. 13th.

Great Books In Kinds Deals! (But there’s a caveat: I have no idea when the sales expire! As of me sending this out they are on sale, fingers crossed they stay that way until you get your ebook.)

Speaking of the fantastic Attica Locke Black Water Rising (Jay Porter #1) is $4.99

Megan Abbott’s noir novels Bury Me Deep and The Song is You are each $3.99

Silent City (Pete Fernandez Mystery #1) by Alex Segura is .99cents (Miami journalist turned PI throughout series.)

The Undertaker’s Daughter by Kate Mayfield is $4.99 (Memoir of growing up in a small town as the mortician’s daughter.)

And Sometimes I Wonder About You (Leonid McGill #5) by Walter Mosley is $4.99 (NYC-based PI.)

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And if you like to put a pin in things here’s an Unusual Suspects 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.

Today In Books

New Fifty Shades of Grey Book Coming (Yes, Again): Today in Books

Post author By Amanda Nelson
Post date October 10, 2017

New Fifty Shades of Grey Book Coming (Yes, Again)

E.L. James is releasing a new book in the Fifty Shades universe, this time a re-telling of Fifty Shades Darker from Christian’s perspective. The new book is called…wait for it...Darker. James already re-told the first book in the series from the hero’s (?) perspective with Grey, so it looks like she’ll be doing the whole trilogy. More details and info from the press release here.

New Chuck Palahniuk Book, Too!

The author of Fight Club (among many other books) has a new novel called Adjustment Day coming out May 1, 2018. Here’s the unsurprising bit: “Now, Adjustment Day blows past all previous markers for impropriety with a brilliant, hilarious, and outrageous story that is perfect for our era. Every reader, of every stripe, will find something in Adjustment Day that is as profoundly wise, funny, and affecting as it is offensive. And, make no mistake, everyone will be offended.” What, a Palahniuk book will be offensive? Stop the presses.

Leo Tolstoy’s Mac ‘n Cheese Recipe!

Sergei Beltyukov has translated and republished a book of Tolstoy family recipes, including coffee cake, spiced mushrooms, and yes, mac n’ cheese: “Bring water to a boil, add salt, then add macaroni and leave boiling on light fire until half tender; drain water through a colander, add butter and start putting macaroni back into the pot in layers – layer of macaroni, some grated Parmesan and some vegetable sauce, macaroni again and so on until you run out of macaroni. Put the pot on the edge of the stove, cover with a lid and let it rest in light fire until the macaroni are soft and tender. Shake the pot occasionally to prevent them from burning.” Not entirely sure what vegetable sauce is, but I’d eat it.

Sponsored by Life Detonated by Kathleen Murray Moran

The gripping true story of Kathleen Murray, a young mother whose life was changed on September 11, 1976 when her husband, a NYPD bomb disposal expert, was killed by a terrorist’s bomb. It details her journey out of poverty, and her own determination to take care of her two young sons as she starts over.

In The Club

In The Club Oct 11

Post author By Jenn Northington
Post date October 10, 2017

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 Penguin Random House Audio.

Listen to your book club’s next pick. Visit TryAudiobooks.com/bookclub for suggested listens and for a free audiobook download of The Knockoff!

With fall ramping up, it’s back to juggling busy school and work schedules with social engagements like date nights, yoga with friends, and book club. Luckily, you can listen to your book club’s next pick so you can stay on top of it all.

It’s Spooktober! Halloween is one of my favorite holidays — candy and costumes, how can you go wrong? So expect lots more links of this sort in the coming weeks. For today, I’ve got two:

Have some haunted house stories, which are truly a mainstay of creepy fiction.

Kristen Bell, RuPaul, LeVar Burton, and several more amazing actors are part of a new murder mystery podcast! It’s called Deadly Manners, and it’s a 1940s-style radio drama. The first three episodes are live right now, and might make a good change of pace for your group this month.

Can’t (or don’t want to) make time for an IRL book club? Join a Goodreads group! We’ve put together a guide to help you find the right one.

The National Book Award finalists have been announced! While you could wait for the winners, I love mining the shortlist. Whether you want Young Adult, fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, this is an excellent year to pick up a nominee.

What is a mystery Skype? It’s a thing that book clubs do apparently! I had no idea. It’s a bit like 20 Questions, in which you pair up with another book group and try to guess where in the world each other are. If you want to skip a book discussion and just do something fun, this might be a perfect choice.

For all my foodies: Here’s a list of memoirs from the culinary world, all written by women. There are several on here that I’d never heard of, alongside standards like Blood, Bones, & Butter and Tender at the Bone, and I now have a bunch on my TBR. Many of these also include recipes, in case your group is feeling inspired to cook!

Spotlight On: Kazuo Ishiguro

Last week Kazuo Ishiguro won the Nobel Prize for Literature, which was a bit of a surprise since he didn’t make it onto the betting list. He’s most famous for Never Let Me Go — which was adapted not once but twice — and Remains of the Day, but he’s the author of six other books. There’s no time like the present to pick him for your next discussion! Here are a few other links to help you out.

Not sure where to start? We can help.

Why is this an important win? A bookseller rejoices and explains.

The NYT is throwing some mild shade. “Formidable and not uninteresting,” really???? That’s what you’re going with? Well ok.

Slate discusses Never Let Me Go and The Buried Giant in particular.

And here’s an interview with Ishiguro from the Daily Beast’s archives.

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 (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

The Goods

Wheelhouse – One Week Left

Post author By Rebecca Joines Schinsky
Post date October 10, 2017

Let’s be real, books aren’t just IN your wheelhouse, they basically ARE your wheelhouse. And there are just 6 days left to reserve your limited-edition 6th anniversary Books Are In My Wheelhouse tee. Preorder by 10/16.

Get the party started with $5 off any tote when you buy Lit Chat, our new card game for book lovers.