Category: Book Radar

What If Lara Jean Wrote Hate E-mails Instead of Love Letters? and More Book Radar!

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date June 30, 2023

Sponsored by

Hi Book Friends!

Happy Monday, and Happy July! I have to say, July is always a weird month for me. July 22 is my brother’s birthday, and if he were still alive he would be 36 this year. I love doing things throughout the month of July to honor my brother and celebrate his life, but it’s always a little bittersweet, and it’s always a month I lean into comfort as much as possible. So some things I have planned this month…Rewatching Heartstopper. Going to see Barbie, possibly multiple times (I already got my ticket for July 20). Getting vegan ice cream. Writing some new stuff. And yeah, reading a lot of books. So now that I put my July intentions out there, let’s talk books!

What do S.A. Cosby, Khaled Hosseini, Sarah Bakewell, and Yahdon Israel have in common? They’ve been guests on Book Riot’s newest podcast, First Edition where BookRiot.com co-founder Jeff O’Neal explores the wide bookish world. Subscribe to hear them and stay to hear Book Riot’s editors pick the “it” book of the month.

Book Deals and Reveals

Here’s the cover reveal for Axie Oh’s ASAP, the companion novel to the author’s YA novel XOXO. Oh’s new book hits shelves on February 6, 2024

What if Lara Jean of To All the Boys I Loved Before wrote hate e-mails instead of love letters? Then you’d have I Hope This Doesn’t Find You by Ann Liang. Here’s the cover reveal for Liang’s upcoming rivals-to-lovers YA romcom. It’s also out on February 6.

Soyoung Park’s critically-acclaimed South Korean YA duology has been translated into English by Joungmin Lee Comfort, and now Entertainment Weekly is sharing an excerpt and an exclusive cover reveal of Snowglobe.

USA Today announced on Twitter that the USA Today Booklist is back after its brief hiatus.

Warner Brothers and DC Studios have cast their Clark Kent and Lois Lane for the upcoming Superman: Legacy film, directed by James Gunn.

St. Martin’s Press has purchased North American rights to Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench. In the book, Dench will explore the many Shakespearean roles she’s played, including Ophelia and Lady Macbeth. It’s out in April 2024.

With the rise of fan fiction publishing and TikTok, microgenres — genres that have defined and specific plots — have reached new heights.

The trailer for Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is here! The movie will be released nationwide in theaters on September 8.

L.A. County Library will become the third major system offering digital library cards and ebook access statewide.

Grab your TBR. It’s about to explode with our roundup of summer 2023 YA books hitting shelves between July and the end of September.

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!

Delighting velocireaders since 2017, Book Riot’s New Release Index will keep you in the know about all the latest books. Start your 14-day free trail today.

Can’t Wait for This One!

While You Were Out by Meg Kissinger (Celadon Books, September 5)

It’s not something I’ve discussed at length in this newsletter, but I think we all know that the way we discuss and confront mental health issues in our society…could use some work. Pulitzer Prize finalist Meg Kissinger has spent the past two decades reporting on America’s mental health system. Now the author is releasing a very personal book about her family’s struggles with mental health.

Kissinger grew up in the 1960s in the suburbs of Chicago, and to the outside world, she had an ideal family situation. The Kissinger family consisted of eight kids and two loving, supportive parents. But behind closed doors, the family was dealing with difficulties invisible to the public eye. Kissinger’s mother struggled with anxiety and depression and was heavily medicated. Her father was often manic and violent, and many of her siblings also struggled with bipolar disorder and depression. Two of her siblings would end up dying by suicide. No one outside of the Kissinger family knew what they were secretly fighting against. The family refused to talk about it, and to everyone else, they seemed like warm, darkly humorous people who spent summer days having fun on the shore of Lake Michigan and winter holidays on the ski slopes.

In this memoir, Meg Kissinger explores the hidden struggles of her family and how that sparked her interest in a journalism career exposing America’s flawed history with mental health care. While You Were Out combines the best elements of memoir and investigative journalism to explore mental health and its treatment. It’s coming out this fall, and I can’t wait!

What I’m Reading This Week

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Piñata by Leopoldo Gout

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert

A Twisted Love Story by Samantha Downing

Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur

Monday Memes

I think reading books your friend recommends to you should be considered its own love language. It truly means the world to me when friends read books I recommend to them.

And Here’s A Cat Picture!

A lot of times, when I’m working at my computer, Murray likes to hop up and help me. So say thanks to Murray for helping me write this newsletter today. He was such a good helper. Look how proud he looks!

Thanks for hanging out, everyone! I’ll see you next time.

Emily

Book Radar

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Writing a Book and More Book Radar!

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date June 28, 2023

Sponsored by

Dear Book Friends,

How is your week going? I was sick last week, but I’m feeling much better now. Of course, that means that now Ben is sick because he always waits until I’m better to get sick himself (and then he whines about it twice as much as I did). This is our routine. Anyway, all is well! So let’s chat books.

Looking for fascinating stories, informed takes, useful advice, and more drawn from our collective experience as power readers, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and bookish professionals? Subscribe to The Deep Dive, a biweekly newsletter to inform and inspire readers, delivered to your inbox! Your first read (The Power Reader’s Guide to Reading Logs & Trackers) is on the house. Check out all the details and choose your membership level at bookriot.substack.com.

Book Deals and Reveals

Author Nia Davenport has shared the cover of her YA thriller Out of Body. Davenport says this story is about “two Black teens, terrifying body swapping, and one girl’s race against time to figure out what the heck happened to her and if her best friend has a sinister secret.” It’s out from Balzer + Bray in February 2024.

And here’s the cover of Sarah Mughal Rana’s upcoming debut novel Hope Ablaze. This novel follows the story of a Muslim teen trying to find her voice in post-9/11 America. It’s also out in February 2024.

Next up: check out the cover and an excerpt from the highly-anticipated new thriller from Stacy Willingham. Willingham’s Only if You’re Lucky is out from Macmillan Publishers on January 16, 2024.

Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn will be adapting Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books for the BBC. Refn, director of Drive, Only God Forgives, and The Neon Demon, will be the creator and executive producer of the mini-series, which has begun production.

Former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has announced she is writing a book that will focus on leadership rather than politics. Ardern did not announce a release date for the book, but she did say that she was working with a team of publishers — Penguin in New Zealand and Australia, Macmillan in Britain, and Crown in the United States.

Blumhouse TV is adapting Clémence Michallon’s debut novel The Quiet Tenant for the small screen.

The literary criticism magazine Bookforum is returning in August with a new publishing partner: The Nation.

Random House Worlds, an imprint of Random House, has announced a collaboration with Marvel Entertainment for an adult novel series that will explore the classic Marvel tradition of What If…? storytelling. The series will launch on March 12, 2024 with What if… Loki Was Worthy? by Madeleine Roux.

These new horror manga and manhwa will thrill, chill, and leave you with horrifying images that will haunt your nightmares — in the best way.

Here are the winners of the 2023 Locus Awards, including the best horror novel, fantasy novel, sci-fi novel, and more.

Book Riot Recommends

Subscribe to First Edition for interviews, lists, rankings, recommendations, and much more, featuring people who know and love books.

Prepare Your Shelves!

A Twisted Love Story by Samantha Downing

July is seriously right around the corner (what the heck?) which means it’s time to prepare our shelves for all of these excellent July books that are heading into bookstores this coming month. One I’m really excited about? Samantha Downing’s A Twisted Love Story. I know Downing is really well-known and loved for her book My Lovely Wife, but I thought Downing’s 2021 book For Your Own Good was even better (think Election, but a thriller. I can’t get enough of it). But I think her latest one has the potential to be even better.

A Twisted Love Story is all about whatever the opposite of a fairy tale romance is. When things are good between Wes and Ivy, they’re really good. But when they’re bad, it’s catastrophic. Wed and Ivy make up and break up all the time. But one thing they’d rather forget: the night of their worst-ever break up, a night when things got out of control, and someone ended up dead.

Destructive relationships that lead to murder are no good in real life, but reading about them in thrillers is fascinating. And because this is Samantha Downing, you can expect plenty of surprises in this book as well. This is not a regular domestic thriller. It’s one of the cool ones. (cue Amy Poehler in Mean Girls.)

Words of Literary Wisdom

“I’m an abolitionist, which means I’m interested in investing in communities to address problems rather than carceral answers that don’t serve communities at all. Murderers and rapists do great harm, but the carceral institutions in this country do little to mitigate that harm. In fact, they do more harm to individuals and communities. The carceral state depends on a dichotomy between innocent and guilty, or good and bad, so that they can then define harm on their terms, in the name of justice, and administer it on a massive scale to support a capitalistic, violent, and inherently inequitable system.”

— Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

And Here’s A Cat Picture!

Look! New cat alert! Okay, no I didn’t get a new cat, but my friend did. Last week, I got to cat sit and spend lots of time with this sweet girl. So everyone, meet Ramona! She’s a cutie. It was really difficult to get her to be still enough to take a picture. You know how cats are.

And that is all for Thursday’s Book Radar, friends! It seems like there’s a cold going around, so I hope you’re staying well. Take your vitamins. Hydrate. Remember to wash your hands.

Emily

Book Radar

Stephen Graham Jones’ ANGEL OF INDIAN LAKE Cover Reveal and More Book Radar!

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date June 23, 2023

Sponsored by

Happy Monday, Book People!

How goes it? If you were here last week, you’ll know I’ve been under the weather. Well…I am slowly starting to feel better. My voice isn’t 100%, but I am able to squeak out a few sentences every now and then. And lucky, I can still type, so the newsletter show must go on! Let’s talk books!

Book Deals and Reveals

Tor.com has shared the cover of Cadwell Turnbull’s long-awaited sequel to No Gods, No Monsters, entitled We Are the Crisis. The novel is forthcoming November 7, 2023 from Blackstone Publishing.

Crime Reads is sharing the cover an an excerpt of Angel of Indian Lake, the thrilling conclusion of Stephen Graham Jones’ Indian Lake Trilogy. The book is out from Saga Press in March 2024.

Puffin books is sharing the cover of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Chalice of the Gods, illustrated by Khadijah Khatib. The book is out globally on Sept 26.

We Need Diverse Books has shared the cover of RELIT: 16 Latinx Remixes of Classic Stories, edited by Sandra Proudman, with cover art by Valentino Lasso. This book is out in February 2024.

Everyone’s talking about Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, and thankfully, you won’t have to wait long for the sequel! Here’s the cover reveal for Iron Flame, out on November 7!

Rachel Lynn Solomon, author of The Ex Talk, is back with a new, fun romcom. And ahead of its release, Entertainment Weekly is sharing an excerpt from the book, entitled Business or Pleasure.

Wednesday breakout star Emma Meyers has been cast as the leading role of Pip Fitz-Amobi in the upcoming BBC adaptation of Holly Jackson’s YA murder mystery novel series A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.

Blumhouse TV has landed the rights to adapt Clémence Michallon’s debut novel The Quiet Tenant.

Make an impact this month by supporting these classrooms asking for LGBTQ+ books for their students via DonorsChoose.

Book Riot Recommends

Subscribe to First Edition for interviews, lists, rankings, recommendations, and much more, featuring people who know and love books.

Prepare Your Shelves!

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim (Hogarth, August 29)

If the name Angie Kim is somehow unfamiliar to you, then you’re likely one of the only people who didn’t read Miracle Creek back in 2019. Miracle Creek was one of the buzziest titles of that year, but I think Happiness Falls is going to be even more popular with readers (if that’s even possible). So if you want to be cool and read what all the cool people are reading this August, then prepare your shelves! Angie Kim’s sophomore novel is coming.

Happiness Falls is a character-driven mystery/thriller narrated by 20-year-old Mia, a Korean American girl who lives with her parents, her twin brother John, and her 14-year-old brother Eugene in Virginia. One day Eugene and his father go out for a walk and don’t return for a long time. When Eugene finally comes back, he’s alone and covered in blood. Eugene is the only person who knows what happened to their father…and he can’t speak.

Both a dramatic and moving family portrait and an edge-of-your-seat crime investigation, Happiness Falls is filled with shocking twists and turns at every corner. And it’s out in two short months, so get ready! It’ll be here before you know it.

What I’m Reading This Week

Manslaughter Park by Tirzah Price

The Troop by Nick Cutter

Orange by Ichigo Takano

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert

Monday Memes

It’s not that the books aren’t good. And yet…why do I always end up doing this?

And Here’s A Cat Picture!

Before you go, how about a relaxing image of a cat resting in the shade to calm your nerves and to get you through your week? I’m feeling better already just looking at this peaceful little buddy.

And that is all, friends. Have a wonderful rest of your week. See you Thursday!

Emily

Book Radar

BRIDGERTON Shares First Images from Season 3 and More Book Radar!

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date June 21, 2023

Sponsored by

Hi Book Friends!

How’s it going? I guess I partied too hard in Portland because I lost my voice and have just been talking in ASMR voice for most of the week. It’s very relaxing, probably, but not great for teaching fitness classes, which is what I do when I’m not reading or writing about reading. Anyway, since talking is out of the question at the moment, let’s focus on books.

Book Deals and Reveals

the imposition of unnecessary obstacles book cover

Tordotcom has shared the cover of Malka Older’s The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles, the follow-up to the cozy space opera detective mystery The Mimicking of Known Successes. The cover art and design is by Christine Foltzer. The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles will be available February 13, 2024.

Author Shane Hawk has shared the cover of the upcoming Indigenous dark fiction anthology Never Whistle at Night.This collection of “wholly original and shiver-inducing tales” is out from Vintage on September 19.

Netflix has released the first official photos from Bridgerton Season 3, which follows the love story of Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton. Season 3 is loosely based on Bridgerton author Julia Quinn’s fourth book, Romancing Mister Bridgerton.

Netflix has also released a trailer for its live-action adaptation of One Piece, based on the best-selling manga series of the same name written by Eiichiro Oda. One Piece premieres on Netflix on August 31.

Cosmopolitan has shared an exclusive cover reveal of Holly Back’s The Prisoner’s Throne and an interview with the author. The book, which is the second part of Black’s new Elfhame duology, is set to publish on March 5, 2024.

During a Q&A at the Tribeca Film Festival on Thursday, The Haunting of Hill House director Mike Flanagan gave an update on his proposed version of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series.

Bestselling author Leah Johnson has announced that she’s opening a bookstore! The author of You Should See Me in a Crown set up a GoFundMe to support the project, and she has already reached her goal! Loudmouth Books will be opening soon in Indianapolis. In the meantime, you can buy books from their Bookshop page.

Lashana Lynch will be starring opposite Eddie Redmayne in the Peacock and Sky series adaptation of Frederick Forsyth’s The Day of the Jackal.

Six authors have been shortlisted for the 2023 Miles Franklin award, Australia’s highest literary honor.

A new queer indie bookstore is splitting profits with LGBTQ authors and spreading queer joy and literacy with a rainbow book bus.

Here are the books 11 of the biggest and most interesting book clubs have chosen as their picks for June 2023, including Yellowface by R.F. Kuang.

Esquire has released a list of 20 of the best queer books out this year so far, and it’s a diverse mix of genres and styles.

Book Riot Recommends

Subscribe to First Edition for interviews, lists, rankings, recommendations, and much more, featuring people who know and love books.

Can’t Wait for This One!

Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao (Feiwel and Friends, April 16, 2024)

We’re keeping with the green and purple book covers for this round of Book Radar. Are you feeling it? Okay, but no, seriously, I didn’t just pick this book because it’s purple, even though that is my favorite color. I chose it because it’s a new YA contemporary novel about two asexual, aromantic characters. And, yeah, it’s exciting seeing more books with that kind of rep in them. Which is why I can’t wait for this one (and its purple cover)!

Sophie and Jo are both asexual, aromantic students at Wellesley College. Despite knowing that she’ll never fall in love, Sophie Chi runs an Instagram account, doling out relationship advice to all of her classmates. But nobody but her roommate knows that she’s the true face behind the “Dear Wendy” account. Meanwhile, when Joanna “Jo” Ephron created “Sincerely Wanda,” she didn’t think it would take off and become as popular as “Dear Wendy.” And yet here she is, a rival to the oh-so-popular Instagram account.

Tensions between the two accounts grow online, but in real life, Jo and Sophie find themselves bonding over their shared aroace identities. The two even join forces to set up a campus organization for other a-spec students. But will the two remain friends when they discover their true identities?

Words of Literary Wisdom

“It came down to that flexibility of a person’s mind. An ability to withstand horrors and snap back, like a fresh elastic band. A flinty mind shattered. In this way, he was glad not to be an adult. A grown-up’s mind…lacked that elasticity. The world had been robbed of all its mysteries, and with those mysteries went the horror.

Adults didn’t believe in old wives’ tales. You didn’t see adults stepping over sidewalk cracks out of the fear that they might somehow, some way, break their mothers’ backs. They didn’t wish on stars; not with the squinty-eyed fierceness of kids, anyway. You’ll never find an adult who believes that saying “Bloody Mary” three times in front of a mirror in a dark room will summon a dark, blood-hungry entity.

Adults were scared of different things: their jobs, their mortgages, whether they hung out with the “right people,” whether they would die unloved. These were pallid compared to the fears of a child—leering clowns under the bed and slimy monsters capering beyond the basement’s light and faceless sucking horrors from beyond the stars. There’s no 12-step or self-help group for dealing with those fears.

Or maybe there is: you just grow up. And when you do, you surrender the nimbleness of mind required to believe in such things—but also to cope with them. And so when adults find themselves in a situation where that nimbleness is needed…they can’t summon it. So they fall to pieces: go insane, panic, suffer heart attacks and aneurysms brought on by fright. Why? They simply don’t believe it could be happening. That’s what’s different about kids: they believe everything can happen, and fully expect it to.”

— The Troop by Nick Cutter

What I’m Watching This Weekend

I started watching the new season of Black Mirror a few days ago and it is so good! Excited to have the show back after what seems like 1,000 years!

And Here’s A Cat Picture!

The cats are trying to help me heal by sitting in my lap, staring at me, and just being like, “Hey Mom, talk! You can do it!” Cats truly are the best nurses.

And that’s a wrap on Thursday’s Book Radar, friends! I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and I’m excited to see you next week. Take care!

Emily

Book Radar

BTS Finally Reveals Cover of Upcoming Book and More Book Radar!

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date June 16, 2023

Sponsored by

Happy Bookish Monday, Book Friends!

We’ve survived another weekend and are barreling forward towards summer, which is typically my least favorite time of the year. I know it’s an unpopular opinion. But as someone who has lived most of my life in the south, summer is a hellish season that stands between me and the sweet joy of fall. But this year I’m trying to be more optimistic. I’m not living in the south anymore. This new season of Love Island is really bringing the drama. And most importantly, we have so much good bookish content to look forward to. Let’s dive into it.

Book Deals and Reveals

K-Pop group BTS has finally revealed the cover up their upcoming book Beyond the Story. The highly-anticipated (and highly speculated about) oral history book is coming out from Flatiron Books on July 9.

Lee Mandelo’s The Woods All Black is coming out from Tordotcom Publishing! Here’s the cover reveal.

Read Riordan has the exclusive cover reveal of It Waits in the Forest, a YA thriller from Sarah Dass. This “chilling tale of magic, murder, and how far we’ll go to protect what’s ours” is out in May 2024.

And here’s the cover of The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers. This magical novel is perfect for fans of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and The Starless Sea. It’s out in January 2024.

Netflix series XO, Kitty announced on Instagram that it has been renewed for a second season.

Rainbow Rowell has announced a new novel in a tweet posted on June 14. Rowell wrote, “This book has a title now — and a plan! I will tell you about it soon.”

Bestselling author David Baldacci has inked an eight-book agreement with Grand Central Publishing. The deal covers six thrillers and two standalone historical novels.

Rachel Hawkins, author of The Wife Upstairs, has sold the world English rights to two new novels to St. Martin’s. The Storm will be released in January 2025, and the second, currently untitled book is planned for a January 2026 release.

Now that we’re almost halfway done with 2023, here are the most popular books on Goodreads so far. There’s something here for everyone.

Here are the books 11 of the biggest and most interesting book clubs have chosen as their picks for June 2023.

Here are Amazon’s 20 best books of the year so far, followed by a list of the editors’ personal favorites.

Book Riot Recommends

Subscribe to First Edition for interviews, lists, rankings, recommendations, and much more, featuring people who know and love books.

Prepare Your Shelves!

Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon (Berkley, July 4)

Rachel Lynn Solomon’s romcoms (think The Ex Talk and Weather Girl) are always such fun treats. One of the things that’s going to make summer 2023 even more joyful? A brand new fun little treat from this author. Business of Pleasure is coming out on July 4 (finally, a reason to celebrate!), so prepare your shelves.

Ghostwriter Chandler Cohen is used to feeling invisible. That sort of comes with the territory. But when she shows up to a book signing for a book she wrote and the “author” doesn’t even recognize her? It’s just a little too ghosty for her tastes. That same night, Chandler has an awkward one-night stand with C-list actor Finn Walsh. And as if things couldn’t get worse, she later discovers her next ghostwriting project…is writing Finn’s memoir. You would think keeping your name off of the books would keep you out of the drama!

For this whole project to work out, Chandler is determined to keep their relationship as professional as possible. But when Chandler admits to Finn that their one-night hook-up was, well, underwhelming, Finn is determined to change. And so they strike a deal. Whenever they’re not working together on the book, they’ll work together to help Finn perfect the art of pleasure. Hence the title.

What I’m Reading This Week

The Troop by Nick Cutter

Everything the Darkness Eats by Eric LaRocca

Orange by Ichigo Takano

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert

Monday Memes

I know we all know about this book cover trend at this point, but the memes are still funny.

And Here’s A Cat Picture!

an orange cat with marbling in a bathroom sink

When you start your Monday by going to brush your teeth, only to find a cat in the sink, it’s a good Monday.

I hope your Monday goes this well. And have a wonderful rest of your week. See you Thursday!

Emily

Book Radar

RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE Gives Fans a First Look and More Book Radar!

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date June 14, 2023

Sponsored by

Happy Thursday, Book Friends, and greetings from Portland!

Have you ever taken three books with you for a two-day trip? Well…I do often. Because you just never know when you might finish all the books and need a back up (or two). Especially when you’re taking the train. Anyway, I know you’re book people, so you probably understand this. Why bring one book when you can bring three, am I right? Okay, let’s chat books.

Book Deals and Reveals

David Sedaris is publishing his first children’s book, Pretty Ugly, a collaboration with Olivia creator Ian Falconer. It will be published on February 27, 2024, from Toon Books, an imprint of Astra Publishing House. You can preorder here.

Amazon’s Prime Video has released the first images from its adaptation of Casey McQuiston’s novel Red, White & Royal Blue.

Following backlash after her announcement of her novel The Snow Forest, author Elizabeth Gilbert announced she was pausing the project. Response to this announcement has been…mixed.

Juno Dawson’s fantasy trilogy Her Majesty’s Royal Coven has been optioned for TV by Left Blank Pictures, the producers of The Crown.

The first Sailor Moon Cosmos released in theaters earlier this month, and now the trailer has dropped for part 2 of two-part feature film series. Sailor Moon Cosmos: Part 2 is scheduled to hit theaters in Japan on June 30.

TikTok star Eli Rallo is releasing a new book, and Cosmopolitan has revealed the cover. I Didn’t Know I Needed This will be out on December 12 from Harvest (an imprint of HarperCollins).

Book bans in the United States are at an all-time high, but so are LGBTQ+ book sales, according to a new study.

These are Libro.fm’s most pre-ordered books of summer 2023. What are you eager to listen to?

Book Riot Recommends

Subscribe to First Edition for interviews, lists, rankings, recommendations, and much more, featuring people who know and love books.

Can’t Wait for This One!

Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig (Del Ray, September 26)

If you feel like you’re in a rut with horror fiction and have read every kind of story there is to read, then clearly you haven’t read Chuck Wendig yet. His horror novels are super weird in the best possible way. And I promise you that you’ve never read a story like Black River Orchard.

Something strange is happening in the town of Harrow. As the season changes to fall, trees in the town’s orchard start to sprout strange new fruit: apples with deep red skin so dark they almost look black. The people of Harrow soon learn that taking a bite from these apples makes everything better. They make you stronger, happier, more confident, more powerful…and with every bite you only want to eat more. Soon, everyone in the town becomes obsessed with the new apples. But what they don’t know is that the apples have a dark history. And then the leaves begin to fall…

If you want to find out all of the secrets of the orchard in Harrow, then you’ll have to wait until this fall. But clearly, this is going to be the quintessential fall read. I mean, apples! Dark magic! Scary stuff! I can’t wait. This one’s out on September 26.

Words of Literary Wisdom

“Maybe it’s impossible to live life without any regrets. Even when you know the future…you’ll still mess up.”

— Orange by Ichigo Takano

A Moment to Honor Cormac McCarthy

I wasn’t quite sure how to work this into the newsletter, but I also felt like it needed to be acknowledged. We lots a literary legend earlier this week. Cormac McCarthy lived a long life and published some of the best books of American literature, books that will remain part of the literary canon long after we’re all gone. Read more here about the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Road, No Country for Old Men, and Blood Meridian.

And Here’s A Cat Picture!

I don’t have anything clever to say about this picture. I just saw Murray doing this and basically died because it’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. I hope you enjoy the cute.

Alright! Time for me to finish all of these books so I can justify bringing them with me. I hope you’re doing great. I hope you keep doing great over the weekend. See you next time!

Emily

Book Radar

Fantasy Horror ALICE IN WONDERLAND Retelling Coming Soon and More Book Radar!

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date June 9, 2023

Sponsored by

And just like that we’re back around to Monday!

The world just keeps spinning, doesn’t it, Book Friends? Did you have a good weekend? I certainly did. It’s summer now, despite what the calendar might say. You know how I know? Love Island is back on my TV. Will watching Love Island every day all summer affect my reading schedule? Only time will tell. Just know this whole time I’m talking about books, I’m secretly thinking about Love Island. I hope this doesn’t make you think less of me. I have always been honest about who I am. Anyway, here’s the hot book goss.

Book Deals and Reveals

Zoe Hana Mikuta has revealed the cover for her upcoming novel Off With Their Heads, a new fantasy horror Alice in Wonderland retelling. The cover features art from Tran Nguyen and a design from Zareen Johnson. It’s out from Disney Hyperion on April 23, 2024!

A gamer boy and a theater girl fake dating? Yes please! Here’s the cover of Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce. It’s out on January 9, 2024.

Oscar-winning actor Michael Caine has announced his debut novel, Deadly Game, will be published in November.

And here’s the beautiful cover of Splinters, a memoir by Leslie Jamison. The book is out from Little, Brown on February 20, 2024.

SJ Sindu has a new short story collection coming out this October! It’s called The Goth House Experiment, and here’s the cover reveal.

Clarkson’s Farm producer Expectation will be adapting comedian Pope Lonergan’s memoir I’ll Die After Bingo for TV.

Crime Reads has the exclusive cover reveal and an excerpt from the upcoming novel The Graveyard Shift by Maria Lewis. It’s coming in September from Datura Books.

The Biden Administration announced it will be appointing a new anti-book ban coordinator to address the rise in censorship across the country.

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Prepare Your Shelves!

Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur (Avid Reader Press, June 27)

This might seem like hyperbole, but I am being 100% real. Adrienne Brodeur’s 2019 memoir Wild Game is one of the best memoirs I have ever read. And so yes, when I found out she had a new novel coming out, I was really, really excited. Well, friends, it lives up to the hype. I’m so excited that this book will soon be out in the world for everyone to read, so prepare your shelves now!

Set in the summer of 2016, Little Monsters is a family saga that follows the story of the Gardners. Ken and Abby lost their mother when they were young and have been haunted by the loss of her ever since. The siblings were raised by their brilliant oceanographer father, Adam, in a remote home on Cape Cod. Now that they’re older, their relationships with their father are complicated and strained, to say the least.

As Adam nears his 70th birthday, he decides to stop taking his bipolar medication in the hopes of making one last scientific discovery before his death. Adam chooses to keep this decision a secret, but he’s not the only member of his family who’s hiding something.

Little Monsters is a beautifully told story full of imagination and heart. Just like with her memoir, Brodeur tackles complicated family dynamics with nuance and compassion. This is the perfect summer book for readers who want something a bit meatier to dig into this season. It’s one you won’t forget.

What I’m Reading This Week

My Murder by Katie Williams

Everything the Darkness Eats by Eric LaRocca

Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado

The Last Word by Taylor Adams

Orange by Ichigo Takano

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

Monday Memes

Books that embrace high culture and low culture? A vibe.

And Here’s A Cat Picture!

Guess who also loves Love Island? Murray. Well, it puts him straight to sleep, but, like, in a good way. Probably. Look how happy he looks.

Aaaand…that’s a wrap on Monday’s Book Radar! I hope your week goes well. See you Thursday!

Emily

Book Radar

Noah Baumbach to Publish Memoir and More Book Radar!

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date June 7, 2023

Sponsored by

Welcome to another Thursday Book Radar, Book Friends!

How have you been? For me, life has been pretty hectic lately, but I’ve been doing my best to take breaks for fun. Because joy and fun are a part of living a healthy life, right? Some highlights from this past week: I did some wine tasting on Bainbridge Island, I saw Garbage in concert (yes, Shirley Manson was there), I went to my favorite Silent Reading Party, and tonight I’m going to the Stranger Thing Experience. Good times! Work hard, play hard. Etc.

Anyway, you’re here to talk books, so let’s do that!

Book Deals and Reveals

Tordotcom Publishing has revealed the cover of celebrated author Sofia Samatar‘s “mystical, revolutionary space adventure” The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain. The book is out on April 16, 2024.

Author Cormac McCarthy is currently working on a script for the film adaptation of his 1985 novel Blood Meridian. In April, it was announced that the film adaptation would be directed by John Hillcoat, who previously adapted McCarthy’s novel The Road.

Filmmaker Noah Baumbach is set to publish his first book with Knopf. The writer-director’s currently untitled memoir was acquired in a highly competitive auction by Jordan Pavlin, Knopf SVP and Editor-in-Chief.

Rickey Fayne’s debut novel All God’s Children is slated for a 2025 release from Little, Brown and Company. An excerpt from the book, which has been described as reminiscent of work by authors like Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, and Ralph Ellison, appeared in American Short Fiction and was a finalist for a National Magazine Award.

Bestselling author Lisa Gardner has signed a three-book, North American rights agreement with Grand Central Publishing. The first book, Still See You Everywhere, is scheduled for a March 2024 release.

Seth Wickersham, a senior writer at ESPN, has signed a two-book, world rights agreement with Hyperion Avenue. According to the publisher, the first book, The Quarterback, explores “American ambition” as seen through the lens of the “unique role of quarterback.” It’s slated for a fall 2025 release.

Davis School District in Utah has officially banned the Bible from elementary and middle schools. The Book of Mormon may be next.

Barnes & Noble just released their “Best Books of the Year (So Far),” and the list is full of surprises.

From passport services to staff social workers, here are tons of things U.S. public libraries offer that you might not know about.

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Can’t Wait for This One!

Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (Feiwel & Friends, March 19, 2024)

Ok y’all. We’re going to have to wait for this one for a while, so strap in. But how could I not hype it up almost a year in advance? I mean! That cover! That title! The fact that this is Àbíké-Íyímídé’s sophomore follow up to the amazing and widely-loved Ace of Spades. This one is going to take readers by storm in 2024. So go ahead and mark your calendars. You won’t want to forget about this book.

Where Sleeping Girls Lie is a YA contemporary mystery that follows Sade Hussein, a high school student who is transferring to the elite and prestigious Alfred Nobel Academy boarding school for her junior year. After Sade’s roommate Elizabeth mysteriously disappears, the rest of her classmates suspect Sade, the strange new girl, is somehow involved. And with rumors following her around campus, Sade soon becomes entangled with a strange group of girls collectively known as the “Unholy Trinity.”

When no one else seems to know (or care) what happened to Elizabeth, Sade decides to take matters into her own hands and investigate the disappearance herself. But the further she and her friend Baz dive into the case, the more troubling Elizabeth’s disappearance becomes. And the more dark secrets about the school they uncover. Then a student is murdered (dun dun DUN).

Words of Literary Wisdom

“Fire is immense and immeasurable; it will keep expanding, reproducing, until water or air stop it. If the Lord cherishes us, why are we so fragile and fire so grand? Pointless debate. We are the fire, and the fire is us. We were born with electricity in our hearts, the divine flame.”

— Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy

Thursday Memes

I know Monday is our regularly schedule meme day, but I’m all thrown off because of the recent Memorial Day holiday (I know it wasn’t that recent but just go with it). And I couldn’t wait til Monday to share this gem.

I mean, this is, after all, breaking Taylor Swift news.

And Here’s A Cat Picture!

Cersei and I have been catching up with The Ultimatum, and yeah, these relationships are exhausting. Look at her. She. Can’t. Even.

And that is all for today, everyone! I hope you’re remembering to have fun. I hope you find joy this weekend. I hope you have a nice brunch with friends or something. Much love!

Emily

Book Radar

Mara Wilson to Narrate Chuck Tingle’s CAMP DAMASCUS and More Book Radar!

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date June 2, 2023

Sponsored by

Happy Monday, friends! And oh, HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!

First Monday of the month is giving me positive feelings. Even though I don’t get super excited about summer, I am feeling optimistic about June. I’m hoping to get more reading done this month. I’m hoping to start writing more. I have June resolutions, okay? Do you have any hopes and dreams for the summer? Reach out and let me know! And now…all the book things.

Book Deals and Reveals

For Chuck Tingle’s first full-length, traditionally published novel, Camp Damascus, actress Mara Wilson will be narrating the audiobook.

Tordotcom Publishing has revealed the gorgeous cover of The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohammed. The art & design is by Andrew Davis, and the book will be out in winter 2024!

On Twitter, author Darcy Coates has shared the cover of her upcoming YA horror novel Where He Can’t Find You. The book will be out on November 7!

Hasan Minhaj has joined the cast of It Ends With Us. The actor/comedian will play Marshall opposite Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in Wayfarer Studios and Sony Pictures’ film adaptation of the Colleen Hoover novel.

Vaseem Khan has just been elected as the new chair of the Crime Writers’ Association, becoming the first person of color to chair the association in its 70-year history.

Amazon Studios has shared a video of the opening title for season 2 of Good Omens, ahead of of the season’s July 28 release.

After three years in development, Netflix has decided to scrap their adaptation of Keira Cass’ bestselling novel The Selection.

From drag queen story hours to bookish dance parties, find out how queer-owned bookstores across the U.S. are celebrating Pride.

Books Inc., the oldest independent bookstore in California’s Bay Area, is making book fairs accessible to underserved students.

BookTok is a hottest thing in the publishing industry. Here are 9 authors that leveraged TikTok popularity to help get a book deal.

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Prepare Your Shelves!

The Sea Elephants by Shastri Akella (Flatiron Books, July 11)

Since it’s Pride Month, I thought we should highlight some really great LGBTQ+ books coming out soon. First up, let’s talk about The Sea Elephants, Shastri Akella’s debut novel. It’s out from Flatiron Books on July 11, so prepare those shelves.

Knowing that he can never be the kind of son his father wants him to be, Shagun leaves his home and enrolls himself in an all-boys boarding school. But what he’s hoping to find isn’t awaiting him at the school. Instead, Shagun finds connection and belonging when he encounters a traveling theatre group. Shagun easily falls in with the group, performing and reimagining the Hindu stories from his childhood. And he falls in love with a photographer named Marc.

But as much as Shagun wants to find happiness with his new found family, it’s not that easy to shake the shame he feels. Nor is it easy to forget his father’s threats to send him off to a conversion camp. And as the past continues to haunt his present, Shagun will have to decide if he’s strong enough to fight for his own happiness.

Subscribe to First Edition for interviews, lists, rankings, recommendations, and much more, featuring people who know and love books.

What I’m Reading This Week

The Magical Language of Others by E.J. Koh

Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson

The Last Word by Taylor Adams

Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

Uzumaki by Junji Ito

Monday Memes

Let’s share some queer bookish memes for Pride Month. Can anyone else identify with the obsession with The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith? NO!??! You’re missing out. That book is fire.

And Here’s A Cat Picture!

a closeup of black and white cat's little feet and face

Ugh…you know what’s cuter than a cat picture? A close-up cat picture. I was trying to take a picture of Remy’s cute lil paws here. But then he went and started sniffing my phone. Adorable.

Okay, well, stick around and gaze at my cute cat all you want, but I’m gonna go for now. See you on Thursday?

Emily

Book Radar

Kellye Garrett Wrote a New Novel and More Book Radar!

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date May 31, 2023

Sponsored by

Happy Thursday, Book Friends!

Wow, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? How did you survive? What did you do with your long weekend? I survived by watching all of the new episodes of The Ultimatum, chilling with audiobooks, taking boxing classes, and oh yeah lots of cat cuddles. You know, the usual. And now that we’re all caught up on our holiday weekend activities (for those of us who had a holiday), let’s chat books.

Book Deals and Reveals

Here’s the cover for Gretchen Felker-Martin’s Cuckoo. This book will be out March 19, 2024.

Kellye Garrett has announced the completion of her latest novel, Missing White Woman. “I somehow managed to write a book,” Garrett tweeted. “Four times now & I’m still shocked each time I do it.”

Goodreads is sharing the cover of the latest novel from Alex Michaelides, The Fury. This one’s out on January 16, 2024.

More exciting cover reveals? Don’t mind if I do. Here’s the cover of Megan Lally’s That’s Not My Name, out on January 2, 2024!

Literary Hub has revealed the cover of Marie-Helene Bertino’s upcoming novel Beautyland, which will be published by Farrar Straus & Giroux on January 16, 2024.

Amazon has given a series order to the scripted drama series Butterfly, based on the Boom Studios graphic novel of the same name. Daniel Dae Kim is set to star and executive produce the project.

Japanese Breakfast posted on Twitter the details for an open casting call for Crying in H Mart. The casting call for the film’s lead asks for an “18-25 year old Korean American to play the role of Michelle [Zauner].” To respond to the casting call, send a creative video introduction to hmartopencallcasting@gmail.com.

The upcoming graphic novel Brooms — written by Jasmine Walls and illustrated by Teo DuVall, with colors by Bex Glendining and letters by Ariana Maher — won’t be out until October 10. But io9 is sharing a special preview.

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Prepare Your Shelves!

Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Del Ray, July 18)

What the heck? It’s June! Which means July is right around the corner. Which means… it’s almost time for the latest book from Silvia Moreno-Garcia and wow, what a time to be alive. This author keeps publishing hits after hits and I just keep reading them. If somehow you haven’t read one of her novels yet, I think SIlver Nitrate is a great place to start. So get ready!

Set in Mexico City in the 1990s, Silver Nitrate is a horror/thriller novel that focuses on Montserrat, a talented sound editor who nevertheless can’t seem to get into the inner circle of the film industry. Basically, it’s a total boy’s club, and the only one who takes notice of Montserrat at all is her best friend, a soap opera star named Tristán.

When Tristán discovers that his new neighbor is cult horror director Abel Urueta, Tristán sees an opportunity for both himself and Montserrat to jumpstart their careers. After Urueta failed to finish his last film, the director swears he’s been cursed for life. Now he wants Tristán and Montserrat to help him film the final scenes to lift the curse forever. But lifting a curse is never easy, and everyone involved in the film begins to feel a darkness surrounding them and the project.

Subscribe to First Edition for interviews, lists, rankings, recommendations, and much more, featuring people who know and love books.

What I’m Reading This Week

Bunny by Mona Awad

Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson

The Last Word by Taylor Adams

Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

The Magical Language of Others by E.J. Koh

What’s Up in the Book Community?

My iPhone is constantly telling me I spend too much time staring at my screen, which is honestly so rude. But this means I spend a lot of time scrolling around the online book community: BookTube, Bookstagram, BookTok, BookLinkedIn (JK. That’s not a thing…I don’t think). You get the idea. Don’t have the time, energy, or the will to do all of that yourself? No problem. I got you. In this weekly section of Book Radar, we’ll take a look at something cool, interesting, and/or newsy that’s going on in the book community.

It’s been a minute since we took a look at the book community, but with summer on the horizon, the world of books is poppin’.

Did you participate in Book It! as a kid? You know, with the personal pan pizzas and all that good stuff? Have you, like me, been chasing that high ever since? Well, check with your local library, because they might have a treat for you, adult reader.

For instance, at the Seattle Public Library, they’ve partnered with Seattle Arts & Lectures (SAL) to create a Summer Book Bingo card for adults. If you achieve bingo or blackout, you will be entered to win lots of fun prizes. Maybe not a personal pan pizza, but, like, other stuff! You can download a BINGO card, fill it out, and send it in by end of day on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023. And if you’re looking for suggestions in each of the book BINGO categories, they’ve got suggestions for you as well.

I am so, so excited to be participating in this BINGO challenge this summer. Is your library doing anything similar? Would love to hear about it!

And Here’s A Cat Picture!

Murray looks a little grumpy in this picture because he was trying to go to bed, and Ben pulled a pillow out from under him. But still, no matter what the reason, this mean mug is more adorable than it has any right to be. I hate to make light of my cat’s misery, but like…look at him.

And with that, I wish you a good rest of your week and a wonderful, restful weekend! Farewell!

Emily