Hi Book Friends!
It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for more Book Radar! I have to be honest. This has felt like the longest week of all time, so it feels like I haven’t talked to you in forever, even though it was just a few days ago. Anyway, I have a whole lot of book tea to spill, so let’s get to it!
Book Deals and Reveals
Elle shared the cover of Colored Television by Danzy Senna, designed by Lauren Peters-Collaer. The book is out from Riverhead Books on July 30.
Here are the finalists for the 2024 Audie Awards. Winners will be announced at the Audie Awards Gala at The Avalon in Los Angeles on March 4.
Whoopi Goldberg is releasing a new memoir inspired by the lives of her late mother and brother and her struggle with grief. Goldberg says Bits & Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me is “dedicated to anyone who’s found themselves on a scary path not of their choosing or dealing with loss.” It’s out on May 7.
Crime Reads shared the cover of Gabino Iglesias’s House of Bone and Rain, along with an excerpt from the novel. It’s out from Mulholland Books on August 6.
Paul Murray and Fern Brady have won the inaugural Nero book awards. Murray won for his novel The Bee Sting, while Brady took home the nonfiction prize for her memoir Strong Female Character.
Paul Mescal is set to play William Shakespeare in a film adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet, directed by Chloé Zhao. Mescal will appear alongside Jessie Buckley, who will play Shakespeare’s wife, Anne Hathaway.
HBO is adapting Gillian Flynn’s novel Dark Places as a limited series. Flynn will serve as co-creator, writer, and co-showrunner on the project.
The term “romantasy” really blew up in 2023. Let’s take a look at what other bookish portmanteaus could emerge next.
Pulitzer-winning author N. Scott Momaday has died. He was the first Native American author to win a Pulitzer Prize. He passed away on January 24th at age 89.
Book Riot Recommends
Hi, welcome to everyone’s favorite segment of Book Radar called Book Riot Recommends. This is where I’ll talk to you about all the books I’m reading, the books I’m loving, and the books I can’t wait to read and love in the near future. I think you’re going to love them too!
2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Sign up today!
Can’t Wait for This One!
Little Rot by Akwaeke Emezi (Riverhead, June 18)
Whenever Akwaeke Emezi has a book coming out, you know it’s going to be a big deal. And what I appreciate most about their books is that you’re never quite sure what to expect. From romance to literary fiction to speculative fiction to young adult literature, Emezi isn’t afraid to play with genres and make them something fresh and new. And their upcoming 2024 release, Little Rot, looks to be a new, exciting exploration. Think crime thriller, but make it literary.
In an attempt to get over a recent break-up with his long-term girlfriend, Aima, Kalu attends a sex party hosted by his friend Ahmed. But what starts off as a simple night of fun kicks off a series of events that will drag Kalu and his friends into the dark, corrupt underbelly of this Nigerian city.
Little Rot is out on June 18, so get your library holds ready, because this is certain to be a popular one.
Words of Literary Wisdom
“The work of telling is essential, and it is not enough. There is always the danger that the energy of the injustice will exhaust itself in the revelation—that we will be horrified but remain unchanged. The reason for this, I suspect, is that these are stories we all already know. A girl was assaulted. A boy was molested. The producer, the judge, the bishop, the boss. To hear these stories spoken aloud is jarring, but not because it causes us to reconsider who we are and how we are organized. It is only when power is threatened that power responds.”
— Notes on a Silencing by Lacy Crawford
And Here’s A Cat Picture!
Cersei is sleepy. And…same. A nap next to a Sailor Moon manga? This is where I am, spiritually.
And on that note…I’m going to go read a book. Have a wonderful weekend, friends! I’ll see you next time.