Author: Sharifah Williams

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Penguin Random House Library Marketing.

Here Are Your 2018 Hugo Awards Winners

Congratulations to N.K. Jemisin who won Best Novel for the third year in a row (and gave us an unforgettable, timely acceptance speech)! Jemisin won for The Stone Sky, the final book in the Broken Earth trilogy. Other winners included All Systems Red by Martha Wells for Best Novella, and “Welcome to your Authentic Indian Experience™” by Rebecca Roanhorse for Best Short Story. Check out the full list (dominated by women) here.

Barack Obama’s Favorite Summer Reads

Obama came through with another list of books to check out. You may have heard of some of these buzzy titles already, including An American Marriage by Tayari Jones, and Educated by Tara Westover. “This summer I’ve been absorbed by new novels, revisited an old classic, and reaffirmed my faith in our ability to move forward together when we seek the truth,” Obama said of his faves.

Trump Sends Cease-And-Desist To Omarosa’s Publisher

Déjà vu is Trump sending a cease-and-desist letter to Simon & Schuster ahead of the publication of Omarosa Manigault Newman’s White House tell-all, Unhinged: An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House. You may remember that Trump’s lawyer sent a letter to Michael Wolff’s publisher for Fire and Fury (that didn’t go well for Trump). S&S said they “are proceeding as planned with publication of Unhinged by Omarosa Manigault-Newman, confident that we are acting well within our rights and responsibilities as a publisher.”

And don’t forget, we’re giving away a stack of books from Season 2 of Recommended, in honor of the upcoming third season of the podcast! Click here to enter.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by A WILLING MURDER by Jude Deveraux from MIRA Books.

Freeze Drying Process Recovers Damaged Rare Books

The California State Library managed to save hundreds of rare books using a freeze drying process. Over the winter, a ceiling leak damaged the books, some of which dated back to the 1800s. Thankfully, many of these books are ready for reshelving!

ALA Fellow Responds To Tor’s E-Book Embargo

Over at Publisher’s Weekly, the ALA’s appointed digital content fellow, Sari Feldman, addressed Tor’s recent e-book embargo for libraries. Feldman described the SFF publisher’s experiment to learn if library lending is negatively impacting retail e-book sales as a wake-up call for librarians to protect patrons’ access to digital content. “I am ready to take a fire hose to this problem,” said Feldman.

Watch Out For Watchmen

HBO ordered a full series for Watchmen, based on the comic by Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons. We also have the full cast lineup, which includes Regina King and Jeremy Irons (what what). HBO’s first superhero series arrives in 2019.

And don’t forget, we’re giving away a stack of books from Season 2 of Recommended, in honor of the upcoming third season of the podcast! Click here to enter.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Temper by Nicky Drayden.

Soap In A Box

YA Twitter was stirred up by the penis-shaped soap (NSFW images of said soap are in the linked article) delivered in fandom subscription boxes for Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses. The Book Boyfriend Box was not an official marketing item from the publisher. Some criticized erotic merch in a box for a YA book, and some noted that the book is New Adult. The box creator reminded everyone that the book includes explicit sex scenes, and the box was adult-rated. One issue to be addressed is that the box also included erotic fanart and fanfiction, and, as the article states, “for-profit fanfic is generally viewed as copyright infringement.”

Anne With An E Renewed For Third Season

Expect a third season of Anne With an E from Netflix and CBC in 2019. The second season of the series, based on Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, is currently available on Netflix and will premiere in Canada on CBC September 23. “Our beloved Anne will be 16 years old when we return to this season full of romantic complications, bold adventures and dramatic discoveries,” said showrunner Moira Walley-Beckett.

Keanu Reeves’ Esoteric Imprint

The headline really makes this story, but the story itself is interesting too: Keanu Reeves is publishing an imprint of esoteric books. Reeves launched X Artists’ Books with his business partner, artist Alexandra Grant, in Los Angeles. Click through for the New York Times’ T Magazine profile of the imprint.

And don’t forget, we’re giving away a stack of books from Season 2 of Recommended, in honor of the upcoming third season of the podcast! Click here to enter.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Lion Forge.

Publisher Recalls Cookbook After Critics Said Recipes Could Be Dangerous

A publisher recalled a cookbook after readers expressed concerns about the dangers of consuming some of the recipes. Crown Publishing, Rodale and author and Instagram influencer Johnna Holmgren agreed to discontinue the publication and promotion of Tales From a Forager’s Kitchen. Rodale stated that it took “very seriously the concerns expressed by readers regarding the preparation and cooking of recipes with raw ingredients (mushrooms and elderberries).”

First Look At BBC’s Eugene McCable Adaptation

The BBC gave us a first look at its forthcoming period drama Death and Nightingales. The three-part drama based on Eugene McCable’s Irish classic stars Jamie Dornan (The Fall) and Matthew Rhys (The Americans). The novel is described as a story of love, betrayal, deception, and revenge, set in 1885 in a world of spies, and taking place over a tense 24-hour period.

Los Angeles Hosts African American Book Expo

This weekend, Los Angeles County will host the African American Book Expo at the SOL Venue in Carson, California. The Expo, which launched last year in Dallas, brings readers of African American books together with publishers and authors. The event is free and sounds wonderful, if you can make it!

And don’t forget, we’re giving away a stack of books from Season 2 of Recommended, in honor of the upcoming third season of the podcast! Click here to enter.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Flatiron Books and Legendary by Stephanie Garber.

Librarians On The Case, Solving Your Title Conundrums

Librarian sleuths! A team of librarians banded together to solve title mysteries for readers. New York Public Library reader services librarian Gwen Glazer assembled a team of librarians to participate in this “Title Quest” hackathon. Read about this delightful event (and their snacks) here.

Adaptation News

A few adaptation items in today. Apple has secured the rights to develop a series based on Min Jin Lee’s novel, Pachinko. Patrick Wilson, Laysla De Oliveira, and Harrison Gilbertson will star in the Netflix adaptation of Stephen King and Joe Hill’s thriller, In The Tall Grass. And, finally, a Slaughterhouse-Five series is now in development at Epix.

3 Ukip Members Suspected Of Involvement in Attack On Socialist Bookstore

We’ve got follow-up news on the far-right attack on socialist bookstore Bookmarks in London. Ukip has suspended three members suspected of being involved in the attack. According to the report on the incident, “Twelve men, one of whom was wearing a Donald Trump mask, entered the central London shop as staff were closing for the day, knocking over displays and ripping up magazines while chanting far-right slogans. ”

And don’t forget, we’re giving away a stack of books from Season 2 of Recommended, in honor of the upcoming third season of the podcast! Click here to enter.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Doubleday Books.

Harlem Renaissance Classic Will Be Adapted

Nella Larsen’s Harlem Renaissance novel Passing will be adapted for a feature film. Rebecca Hall (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) is writing the script and will direct; Tessa Thompson (Westworld) and Ruth Negga (Loving) will star in the story exploring racial passing. What a dream team!

Bookstore Attacked By Far-Right Protestors

Twelve men, one wearing a Donald Trump mask, targeted socialist bookshop Bookmarks in an attack over the weekend. The men who entered the London bookshop shouted right-wing slogans at those inside, ripped up magazines, and knocked over displays. The community has rallied around the shop, donating money to replace damaged stock and to increase the store’s security. Bookmarks is planning to host a free public “solidarity” event with author appearances on August 11.

Getting Inked At The Library

Certified Tattoo Studios partnered with The Denver Public Library Friends Foundation, providing bookish tattoos to raise money for the non-profit. Tattoos were $50 to $200 and ranged from Dr. Seuss and Harry Potter to the library logo. What a cool idea!

And don’t forget, we’re giving away a stack of books from Season 2 of Recommended, in honor of the upcoming third season of the podcast! Click here to enter.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by the Magnetic Collection from Lion Forge.

Which Blume Book Do You Want To See Adapted?

Judy Blume asked her Twitter followers which of her books readers would like to see adapted into a movie or series. It sounds like the big fan favorite was Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Hopefully, we’ll see a Blume adaptation update in the near future!

Amazon Pulls Racist Items In Response To Criticism

Amazon had to remove some racist propaganda, including literature, from its site after receiving criticism from advocacy groups. A report from the Partnership for Working Families and the Action Center on Race & the Economy pointed to specific items with white supremacist slogans and hate speech. Though Amazon said it removed those specific items, NPR found more of the same still available for purchase.

Potter Returns To The Big Screen

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is returning to theaters to mark the book’s 20th anniversary (based on the U.S. pub date). All 141 Cinemark XD locations will screen all eight Potter films from August 31 through September 6. Tickets go on sale August 3, and Cinemark will be selling week-long passes.

And don’t forget, we’re giving away a stack of books from Season 2 of Recommended, in honor of the upcoming third season of the podcast! Click here to enter.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Suicide Club by Rachel Heng. A novel about living. Published by Henry Holt & Co.

Tooting All The Horns

Ahem, guess whose children’s book was optioned by Amy Poehler’s production company? None other than Book Riot’s own Contributing Editor Karina Yan Glaser, author of The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street! We are super thrilled for her, and cannot wait to see her excellent book come to life onscreen. Congrats, Karina!

Happy Birthday, James Baldwin

The teaser trailer for the adaption of James Baldwin’s If Beale Street Could Talk gave me the chills. The story follows Tish, a black woman in Harlem, who’s trying to prove her fiancé innocent of a crime while carrying their first child. The film is written and directed by Barry Jenkins, who also wrote and directed the award-winning 2016 film Moonlight.

Rick Riordan Isn’t Having It

Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, clapped back at a random Twitter troll who tweeted this statement to the author: “If you had less gender dysphoria in your ‘kids books’ you might sell more … remember, it is parents who buy them.” In response, the bestselling author broke down the comment to illustrate its intolerance.

We’re giving away a stack of books from Season 2 of our Recommended podcast, in honor of Season 3! Click here to enter.

We’re giving away our favorite Books of 2018…so far. Go here to enter for a chance to win, or just click the image below. Good luck!

Happy 38th, Harry!

Snapchat wished Harry Potter a happy 38th birthday with a Bitmoji lens. Snapchatters hopped onto their broomsticks for rounds of Quidditch through the new augmented reality feature. It looks like it’s still available, so choose your House, and catch that Golden Snitch!

The Rise of “Brainy Books”

The Guardian wrote about the rise of “brainy books,” that is, “’long-tail’ nonfiction titles, often works on politics, economics, history or medicine that attempted to synthesise or challenge received thinking on the subject.” The Bookseller was the first to notice the publishing phenomenon, which it called the “brainy backlist,” and the piece notes the enduring success of Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari as an example. Here’s their list of the best brainy books of this decade, led by Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge.

Asian Authors Challenge the West’s Dominance of Fantasy

OZY explored the rise in interest in epic fantasy centered around East Asia written by Asian authors. The article pointed to Jin Yong’s Legends of the Condor Heroes trilogy, which is getting its first English translation, as well as Ken Liu’s The Grace of Kings and JY Yang’s Tensorate series, among other books that have found recent success in the West. And it notes some factors that may be encouraging the publication of these works, including the shift from paper to digital submissions, which makes it easier for international authors to submit their work, according to Carl Engle-Laird, associate editor at Tor Publishing.

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NY Library Card Gives Free Access to 33 NYC Museums

A new initiative is allowing members of the New York, Brooklyn, and Queens Public Libraries to sign up for a Culture Pass giving them free access to more than 33 New York City museums. This includes the Met, Morgan, Whitney, Frick, Guggenheim, and MoMA. Use it if you’ve got it, and learn more here.

Parable of the Sower Getting Graphic Novel Adaptation

The team that just won an Eisner for the graphic novel adaptation of Octavia Butler’s Kindred will be back together to adapt Butler’s Parable of the Sower. Writer Damian Duffy and artist John Jennings are taking on the dystopian sci-fi novel, but no word yet on a release date.

IKEA Creates In-Store Reading Rooms

IKEA is creating reading rooms in its Wembley (London) store in partnership with the Man Booker Prize (please make this happen worldwide, please, please?). The reading rooms will be open between July 31 and August 5, and visitors can take home a free book, but all slots must be booked online in advance. “As the boundaries between our work and home lives become more blurred, it’s become harder to switch off. Our homes aren’t the haven they once were. Yet reading for just six minutes a day can be enough to reduce stress levels by more than two-thirds,” the company stated on its website.