Sponsored by The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar and Harper Perennial.
In 1780s London, a prosperous merchant finds his quiet life upended when he unexpectedly receives a most unusual creature—and meets a most extraordinary woman—in this much-lauded, atmospheric debut that examines our capacity for wonder, obsession, and desire with all the magnetism, originality, and literary magic of The Essex Serpent.
Hellooooooo! Happy Thursday! I accidentally typed ‘Harpy Thursday’ first, and realized that works too. I am totally a book harpy. (BRB, changing my business cards.) Now, I hope you are sitting down, because there is some exciting news in today’s newsletter. I wouldn’t want you to get overstimulated and fall down. Okay, all set to go? Great! I hope you have a great rest of your week, and remember to be kind to yourself and others. I’ll see you again on Monday! – xoxo, Liberty
P.S. More fun news: be sure to enter Book Riot’s giveaway of the year’s 10 best mystery/thrillers so far!
Trivia question time! What is the name of the fictional author of The Princess Bride in William Goldman’s The Princess Bride? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)
Deals, Reals, and Squeals!
Rena Barron’s Kingdom Of Souls trilogy has been acquired by Michael B. Jordan’s production company.
Duchess Goldblatt, everyone’s favorite fictional Twitter user, has written a real memoir.
IT’S HERE: io9 has the first look at the upcoming full-length Murderbot novel from Martha Wells, called Network Effect.
Here’s the cover reveal of Quotients by Tracy O’Neill. (Soho Press, May 12, 2020)
Here’s the trailer for the adaptation of Josie & Jack by Kelly Braffet!
Alyssa Cole has a thriller coming next year AND it’s going to be a movie too!
John Mulaney will play Henry David Thoreau in Apple TV+’s Dickinson.
My First Black Boyfriend, Chris Rock’s forthcoming book of essays, will be out in the fall of 2020.
Here’s a look at the adaptation of Caitlin Moran’s How to Build a Girl.
There was a brief rumor yesterday that Hollywood wants to remake The Princess Bride but Cary Elwes isn’t having it.
Elton John’s The Devil Wears Prada musical has set a pre-Broadway run on Chicago.
The trailer for season two of Castle Rock has teased the origin story of Annie Wilkes.
And here’s the first official trailer for Raising Dion on Netflix.
Ellen Oh announced two upcoming book deals.
Here’s the first look at the cover of The Daughters of Ys by M.T. Anderson. (First Second Books, May 2020)
The 2019 National Book Awards longlists are rolling out this week. Here are the nominees for young people’s literature, works in translation, and poetry.
And Wayétu Moore shared the cover of the upcoming memoir The Dragons, The Giant, The Women (Graywolf Press, June 2020)
Here’s the trailer for the new adaptation of The Secret Garden. (Me, I am 1987 version, all the way, because Barret Oliver. And that one also featured Colin Firth btw.)
V.E. Schwab’s The Archived book series is being made into a show for The CW.
Book Riot Recommends
At Book Riot, I work on the New Books! email, the All the Books! podcast about new releases, and the Book Riot Insiders New Release Index. I am very fortunate to get to read a lot of upcoming titles, and learn about a lot of upcoming titles, and I’m delighted to share a couple with you each week so you can add them to your TBR! (It will now be books I loved on Mondays and books I’m excited to read on Thursdays. YAY, BOOKS!)
Excited to read:
Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (Tor.com, June 2, 2020)
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH it’s the sequel to Gideon the Ninth!!! I cannot wait to read this. In fact, if I could skip straight from today to June 2nd, I would. Sorry everyone who will miss Halloween, Hanukkah, Christmas, their birthdays, etc. But this is TOO EXCITING. But really, even with the extra day next year, June will be here before you know it. It’s already practically OCTOBER.
What I’m reading this week.
The Unwilling by Kelly Braffet
Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi
Remember by Patricia Smith
The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis
Rat Rule 79 (Yonder) by Rivka Galchen, Elena Megalos (Illustrator)
And this is funny.
But…why?
Trivia answer: Simon “S.” Morgenstern.
You made it to the bottom! High five. Thanks for reading! – xo, L