Author: Maria Cristina Garcia Lynch

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by our Unusual Suspects giveaway of $100 to the bookstore of your choice!

Samuel Beckett Almost Missed Out on the Nobel

The Swedish Academy keeps their committee notes sealed for fifty years. And that’s how, in 2019, we’re finding out that 1969 Nobel laureate in Literature Samuel Beckett nearly missed the cut.

Choose Your Own Adv—

—nope, not gonna finish that phrase. Because the CYOA people are hella litigious. They’re coming after Netflix in response to the popular Netflix show Bandersnatch.

Name That Animal

Buzzfeed says it takes a genius to fill in the animal blanks in this book title quiz. How soon can I expect my Mensa card in the mail?

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Nightchaser by Amanda Bouchet.

The Return of the Ring

Did you know that Michelle Yeoh used her own emerald ring in the film adaptation of Crazy Rich Asians? Well, she broke it out again for the Golden Globes red carpet.

Gotta Catch ‘Em All

There are 85 libraries in the Los Angeles County library system, and this couple is making a hobby out of visiting all of them. As of this writing, they’ve got 45 down. #RelationshipGoals

These Beetles Have a Lot to Live Up To

Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion. They’re Game of Thrones dragons. But now, they’re also real-life beetles. Entomologist Brett Ratcliffe named his new discoveries Gymnetis drogoni, Gymnetis rhaegali, and Gymnetis viserioni as an homage to one of his favorite series, but also as a way of bringing attention to the discoveries yet to be made in the insect world.

This edition of Today In Books is sponsored by Inspirational Books Publishing.

Look For More Outlander In 2019

Author Diana Gabaldon revealed on Twitter that she’s got two more Outlander books in the pipeline. Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone will bring the total volumes to nine in 2019, and book ten will follow sometime after.

Alice Walker Doubles Down

Remember that time a beloved author praised an antisemitic crackpot in the pages of a major newspaper? If you were expecting any apologies or promises to reexamine thinking, Alice Walker would like you to know that you are asking too much from 2018. She published a statement reiterating her admiration for the recommended author. Ick(e) indeed.

Second-Grader’s Book Accepted Into the Library of Congress

The Library of Congress does not accept every single book ever published in America. But it has acknowledged Kayla & Kyle The Walking Dictionaries: Election Day, a vocabulary-building book by seven-year-old Nicholas Buamah. Way to go, Nicholas!

Sponsored by Book Riot’s 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2018 Giveaway.

Bookish Auction

You can name a character in Celest Ng’s next book. Or Curtis Sittenfeld’s. Or a whole bunch of other authors. Or you could get autographed copies of books from so many other authors! These items are all up for grabs as part of an online auction benefiting Immigrant Families Together. Bid before December 20.

Lois Lane Is Dead; Long Live Lois Lane

You know how one of the laws of the universe is that matter can neither be created nor destroyed? It’s like that in the DC Universe with Lois Lanes, apparently. In the same weekend Amy Adams told Aquaman’s Nicole Kidman that she was most likely finished with the cinematic role, we got a teaser clip of Bitsie Tulloch’s appearance as Lois in the latest DC crossover event on the CW.

Don’t Blinkist

I think we all can agree that we don’t have the time to do all the reading we would wish. Enter the website Blinkist, which condenses books into summaries meant to be read in 15 minutes, give or take. The Guardian tried it so you don’t have to.

This edition of Today In Books is sponsored by Page Anchor.

Books > People

There’s a Norwegian town that is home to 280 people…and over 150,000 books. I haven’t run the numbers, but I would think most towns have more books than people. I guess if you want this kind of ratio AND fjords, this is the place.

Best Reward System Ever

At this Buffalo, New York, elementary school, kids can earn tokens redeemable in special vending machine. How special? It dispenses books. What a fun way to build up a child’s personal library!

It’s Like Rain On Your Wedding Day*

Martin Dorey’s book No. More. Plastic.: What You Can Do To Make A Difference was supposed to help consumers reduce their plastic footprint. Imagine his horror at discovering that his US distributor is shrink-wrapping his book. According to the BBC, Penguin UK is trying to remedy the situation.

*Yes, I know that song is not actually an example of irony, but it got stuck in my head and at least I’m not alone now.

This edition of Today In Books is sponsored by Black Balloon, an imprint of Catapult, publisher of Northwood by Maryse Meijer.

Cyber Monday eReading Alert

If you’re in the market for a new Kindle, Nook, or Kobo, watch this page for the best Cyber Monday deals. There are also some great ebook deals to be had, including what amounts to 96% off of three months of Kindle Unlimited for new subscribers.

10 Years Later, We Still Love Bella’s Normcore Lewks

Let memory lane deliver you to 2008, when we were first blessed with the denim and plaid of the first Twilight movie. That Pacific Northwest uniform is a definite mood, and here’s a look back at it and all the awkward adolescence it conveyed.

We Are Dolphinately Here For Julie Andrews In “Aquaman”

Aquaman’s standalone film keeps getting better and better, and it hasn’t even come out yet. Now we hear that Dame Julie Andrews lends her voice to a CGI fish monster?! I’m setting up my tent and sleeping bag outside of my local cinema as soon as I hit “send” on this newsletter.

This edition of Today In Books is sponsored by Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan.

Tom Cruise Is Shorter Than Jack Reacher

Are you a Jack Reacher fan for whom Tom Cruise just didn’t measure up in the film adaptations? Good news: author Lee Child agrees. He’s negotiated his way to a Cruise-less television version of the ex-army investigator’s adventures, and invites fans to suggest tall(er) actors for the lead role.

Husband Brings Wife Flowers

Michelle Obama, a writer and lawyer from Chicago, is on tour for her memoir Becoming. While at a stop in Washington, D.C., her husband surprised her onstage with a bouquet. Flowers are nice, but I think we’d all rather he just go get his old job back…

Book Sells After Nearly Three Decades On The Shelf

An indie bookstore in northwest England has had a children’s biography of William the Conqueror in stock since 1991. And yesterday, somebody bought it. The bookshop touchingly tweeted, “We always knew its day would come.”

This edition of Today In Books is sponsored by Tor Teen, publisher of The Darkest Star by Jennifer L. Armentrout.

Translators Are Getting Their Due

The Atlantic takes the occasion of the National Book Foundation’s upcoming announcement of the first Translated Literature Prize to highlight the growing appreciation for the work that literary translators do.

Women Authors Are Over Half Of This Indie Bookstore

If you’re ever in Singapore, stop by The Moon bookstore and peep their shelves. What makes their stock so noteworthy? Founders Sarah Naeem and Lee Jiaqian have made a deliberate attempt to diversify their shelves, and have wound up with a healthy representation of female authors.

Tom Hanks Held A Baby At The Portland Book Festival

The Portland Book Festival took place this weekend, and beloved actor Tom Hanks was a special guest. He was appearing as an author and his friends and family must be very proud of him, but what really matters is that he’s proud of himself he brought a fussy baby onstage and you can see the adorable photo here. It’s the one captioned, “Tom Hanks with a baby.”

This edition of Today In Books is sponsored by Penguin Random House Audio.

National Novel Generation Month Is A Thing

Coders are writing programs in a bid to generate the best 50,000-word novel. I’m not sure how they measure “best,” but you can follow along here to see how their projects are going. A couple are already completed!

Pennsylvania Prisoners Can Request Books Again

Pennsylvania’s Department of Corrections had previously announced new restrictions on how inmates may receive books, making the process confusing and expensive. Book donation organizations and others advocating on behalf of inmates made themselves heard, and the DOC is once again allowing book donations.

Katie Paterson’s Future Library

This is an amazing project that is difficult to sum up in a few sentences. There is a a clearing one hour outside of Oslo. In that clearing, a thousand spruce trees will grow until 2114. At that time, the trees will be made into the paper on which 100 previously unpublished novels will be printed (including one donated by Margaret Atwood).

This edition of Today In Books is sponsored by Waterhouse Press.

Ntozake Shange, 1948-2018

I don’t really know what to say about the loss of groundbreaking literary and theatre artist Ntozake Shange. So visit Essence and read how black women memorialized her on Twitter, and then maybe pick up for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf.

Shirtless FSU Book Guy

Clemson was absolutely demolishing Florida State. A shirtless FSU fan took out a book and started reading. The Internet fell in love. And we now know that this icon is FSU professor Bruce Thyer, and that he was reading Gillian Flynn’s Dark Places.

It’s Never Too Late To Return an Overdue Book

You may have heard about the copy of Spoon River Anthology that was checked out from a Louisiana library in 1934…and returned on October 1 of this year. Currently, the maximum fine is $3, but the library waived it. Yet the story doesn’t end there! This week, the family who returned the book donated $1,542.65 to the library in memory of their late mother, who had borrowed the book as an eleven-year-old. Why that strange number? Late fees in 1934 were $0.05 per day, of course.

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