HBO Lets You Watch 39 Things Free
Don’t have HBO but wish you did? You can kind of have it: Starting today, April 3rd, HBO Now and HBO Go will have a bunch of content you can watch without a paid subscription. And of course I’m telling you because I spotted adaptations and docs that have excellent books to read after, like Bad Blood by John Carreyrou (banana pants!) and Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (his narration on the audiobook is perfection!). There’s also some Nancy Drew, and the classic The Bridges of Madison County.
James Patterson Helps Indies
Mystery and thriller author James Patterson has launched the campaign #SaveIndieBookstores which has partnered with Book Industry Charitable Foundation, American Booksellers Association, and Reese Witherspoon’s book club. The campaign will collect donations and create grants with the money to go to selected ABA members who apply for the grants. Patterson has pledged $500,000.
Macmillan Publishers Makes Cuts
“Macmillan Publishers has laid off an undisclosed number of employees across all divisions, temporarily reduced pay for select employees, and implemented a hiring freeze…” Holtzbrinck, Macmillan’s parent company, has made these decisions as a preemptive cost-saving measure in anticipation of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact. Employees who earn $60,000 a year or less will not be part of the salary reductions, which will be in place for everyone above that salary until June.