Category: Book Radar

This is What TikTok is Reading in 2023 and More Book Radar!

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date May 24, 2023

Sponsored by

The Thursday vibes are real, friends.

What does that mean? It means it’s been a long week and I can’t believe it’s not Friday yet. Ya girl is tired. I just want to cuddle cats and bury myself in quilts. That’s what I mean by Thursday vibes. What does Thursday mean to you? Let me know. And in the meantime, let’s talk books or something.

Book Riot has a new podcast for you to check out if you’re looking for more bookish content in your life. First Edition will include interviews, lists, rankings, retrospectives, recommendations, and much more, featuring people who know and love books. You can subscribe to First Edition on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your podcatcher of choice.

Book Deals and Reveals

everyone who can forgive me is dead book cover

Marie Clare revealed the cover of Jenny Hollander’s Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead. This twisty thriller is out from Minotaur Books on February 6, 2024.

The first trailer for the musical film The Color Purple has finally dropped! The Color Purple is out in theaters on Christmas Day.

Jane Lynch, Robert Colindrez, Carrie Brownstein, Roxane Gay, and Jenn Collela will offer their voice work in Audible’s Dykes to Watch Out For, an adaptation of Alison Bechdel’s comic series.

Best-selling author Megan Abbott’s latest novel is being adapted for the big screen. In a tweet, Megan Abbott wrote, “I’m so excited about this. Plus: when (& only when) the WGA strike ends and we get our fair contract, I’ll be writing the script.” Abbott’s novel Beware the Woman is coming out on May 30.

Marvel’s weekly podcast has announced that Daredevil will relaunch with Daredevil #1 on September 13. Taking over for writer Chip Zdarsky is Saladin Ahmed, the beloved Miles Morales and Ms. Marvel writer.

Actress Thora Birch will be making her feature directorial debut on an adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s 2004 crime novel Mr. Paradise.

Chiwetel Ejiofor will be joining the cast of Venom 3, starring Tom Hardy. Details about Ejiofor’s character are still being kept under wraps, but Hardy will return as the titular character and serve as producer.

Barnes & Noble Union Square’s ticketed event with Ali Hazelwood in conversation with Adriana Herrera and Sarah MacLean is sold out. But you can attend the event virtually by purchasing a ticket from Eventbrite.

Want to see South Carolina’s first and only independent queer bookstore open its doors? Then support Queen Haven Books on Kickstarter!

Meg Cabot is sharing the first 50 pages of her new novel Enchanted to Meet You, the next in her Witches of West Harbor series.

Barnes and Noble is putting on the costume of a local indie bookstore, but their inner mechanics are still all big-box chain corporation. How should we feel about Barnes & Noble now?

Fantasy to YA, romance to lit fic, this is what TikTok is reading in 2023.

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!

Can’t Wait for This One

Learned by Heart by Emma Donoghue (Little, Brown and Company, August 29)

Emma Donoghue’s Room is a book I still can’t stop thinking about years later. And yes, I know she’s written several great books since then, but it still goes back to Room for me. Could Learned by Heart usurp Room and become my new favorite Emma Donoghue novel? With this premise, it’s very possible. Also, look at this cover! I have heart eyes.

Learned by Heart is based on a true story and was written after years of research and real words from Anne Lister’s (the “first modern lesbian“) secret journal. Eliza Raine was an heiress who was orphaned and sent to England from India when she was only 6 years old. At the age of 14 in the year 1805, Eliza is sent to Manor School for young ladies. There she meets Anne Lister, a brilliant tomboy who is always getting herself into trouble. This book is their love story, full of passion and heartbreak.

Learned by Heart isn’t out until the end of August, but with the way this year is going, that’s basically tomorrow. I can’t wait!

Looking for fascinating stories, informed takes, useful advice, and more from experts in the world of books and reading? Subscribe to Book Riot’s The Deep Dive to get exclusive content delivered to your inbox.

Words of Literary Wisdom

“It’s not so much that I like him as a person, God, but as a boy he’s very handsome.”

— Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

What I’m Watching This Weekend

Well, The Little Mermaid is out this weekend, and just like every millennial who grew up wishing they were Ariel, I will be at the theater watching the new live action remake. Do I think it will be good? Look, probably not. But I do think Halle Bailey looks beautiful and sings like an angel. Hot take: the only Disney live action remake that’s been good so far is Aladdin. I’m ready for the hate mail, but I will die on this hill.

And Here’s A Cat Picture!

We’ve been having a bit of nice weather lately, and the cats are loving sitting by the screen door and checking out the tennis players in the park across the street. Yes, our cats are big tennis fans, it’s true. They probably know more about tennis than I do.

Okay…well. Hopefully the weekend gets here soon, right? I hope it’s a good one for you!

Emily

Book Radar

Here’s the Trailer for KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON and More Book Radar!

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date May 19, 2023

Sponsored by

Dear Book Friends,

Welcome back after another fabulous, fun, sunny weekend. It’s hard not to feel positive and excited about the week ahead when the weather’s like this. I hope you’re also having lovely weather where you are, and I hope you’re ready to talk about books. Because here we go.

Book Deals and Reveals

Tor.com has revealed the cover of Joma West’s Twice Lived, “a novel about family and friendships, about loss and acceptance, and about the ways we learn to deal with the sheer randomness of life.” The novel is out on February 2, 2024, from Tordotcom Publishing.

The trailer for Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon has dropped! The movie, based on the book of the same name by David Grann, stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, Robert De Niro, and Jesse Plemons. It will be in theaters on October 6 and on Apple TV+ on October 20.

Callaway Arts & Entertainment has acquired world print, e-book, and audio rights to Bob Dylan: Mixing Up the Medicine. The book is by Mark Davidson, curator and director of the Bob Dylan Archive, and archivist Parker Fishel. It’s set to be released in October.

Mary Kay McBrayer, author of America’s First Female Serial Killer, will be publishing her second true crime book Madame Queen: the Life and Crimes of Stephanie St. Clair with Park Row Books.

The beloved Marvel character Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan) will be dying in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man #26, which is releasing later this month.

The first photos from the set of the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s It Ends with Us have been released, and fans are less than impressed.

The lyrics of Johnny Cash will be collected for the first time in a new book. The book, entitled Johnny Cash: The Life in Lyrics, will be published on November 14.

The cover of Sarah J. Maas’ House of Earth and Blood has sparked controversy after readers noted that the back of the UK edition of the book credits Adobe Stock for the illustration of a wolf on its cover.

On May 12, New Leaf Literary & Media split with agent Jordan Hamessley, and several clients were told they would no longer be represented. The authors and illustrators immediately took to Twitter to express their frustration.

Book Riot Recommends

Prepare Your Shelves!

Nightbloom by Peace Adzo Medie (Algonquin Books, June 13)

In June, Peace Adzo Medie, the author of the Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick His Only Wife, is back with a second novel. So it’s time to get excited and prepare your shelves.

Cousins Selasi and Akorfa grew up together in Ghana and were completely attached at the hip. They would do anything for each other and spent every moment together. Selasi was the loud, outspoken one, and Akorfa was the quiet and contemplative one. They balanced each other out and made each other better.

But then Selasi begins to change, becoming quiet and hostile and shutting her cousin out. And Akorfa gets accepted to an American university and wants to become a doctor one day. But leaving Ghana for America isn’t everything Akorfa dreamed it would be. And until Selasi and Akorfa reconcile and make sense of what happened between them — and the role Akorfa played in Selasi’s change— neither cousin will be able to move forward with their lives.

Nightbloom is a beautifully written celebration of the complexities of female friendships. It’s a stunning story that centers the experiences of African-born women living in America. And I would say it’s a must-read, so get ready to add this to your TBR this June!

What I’m Reading This Week

Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson

The Daydreams by Laura Hankin

The Last Word by Taylor Adams

Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

Are You There God? It’s Me , Margaret by Judy Blume

Be sure to check out First Edition, where BookRiot.com co-founder Jeff O’Neal explores the wide bookish world. Interviews, lists, rankings, retrospectives, recommendations, and much more, featuring people who know and love books. Subscribe to First Edition on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your podcatcher of choice.

Monday Memes

One thing you should know about me. I will always share a meme from the upcoming Barbie movie.

And Here’s A Cat Picture!

This Monday, we’re featuring the handsome Remy once again. As I write this, Remy has a serious case of the zoomies, but there are a lot of times during the day where you can find him cuddled up on the bed or just chilling in the window. No matter where he is or what he’s doing, his little white bib is always on point.

And that’s all for Monday’s Book Radar! I hope you have an amazing week, friends.

Emily

Book Radar

The Black Girl Survives in These Horror Short Stories and More Book Radar!

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date May 17, 2023

Sponsored by

Y’all. It is HOT outside.

Am I the only one who feels like we just skipped right over spring and went straight into summer? My body and my electricity bill are not ready for the heat! Welp, time to retreat to the indoors to write this newsletter and tell you about all of the book things. I hope you enjoy.

Book Deals and Reveals

the black girl survives this one book cover

Desiree S. Evans and Saraciea J. Fennell are editors on a new YA horror short story anthology called The Black Girl Survives in This One, and Tor.com has the cover reveal! The anthology is out April 2, 2024 from Flatiron Books.

Book Riot’s got the exclusive cover reveal for Alice Oseman’s novella This Winter, which is about to be published in the U.S. for the first time. The new edition comes out September 5, 2023 and features a new cover designed by Alice Oseman. The book will also feature bonus content: “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” featuring Nick and Charlie from Heartstopper, with illustrations and with captions by Alice Oseman.

For readers who loved Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House and Clay McLeod Chapman’s Ghost Eaters, check out Ghost Tamer by Meredith R. Lyons. It’s out this September from CamCat Books, and here’s the cover reveal!

Here’s the cover reveal for the next book in the Emily Wilde series! Heather Fawcett’s Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands is out January 2024.

Tor Books has acquired four books from Hugo Award-winning author Amal El-Mohtar. The books include two novels, one novella, and one short story collection. El-Mohtar’s new novella is slated for a fall 2024 release. The remaining projects will follow.

Rachel Hawkins, the author of bestselling thrillers The Wife Upstairs and Reckless Girls, is back with a new novel, The Heiress, and PASTE has the cover reveal! The book will be out on January 9, 2024.

Amazon has announced plans to create a new Lord of the Rings massively multiplayer online game (MMO). The as-yet-untitled game will be developed by Amazon Games Studio, the same team behind Amazon’s MMO New World.

A new book from late country legend Loretta Lynn will be published later this month. Before her death last year, Lynn wrote A Song and a Prayer: 30 Devotions Inspired by My Favorite Songs alongside artist and ordained minister Dr. Kim McLean. The book will be published by Worthy Books on May 23.

McKenna Grace and Asher Angel are set to star in Alloy Entertainment’s 99 Days, based on the New York Times bestselling teen romance novel by Katie Cotugno.

DC Comics is giving Wonder Woman a daughter named Trinity in the upcoming anniversary issue Wonder Woman #800. The comic hits stores in June.

The second season of Apple TV+’s adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation is coming soon, and here’s the new trailer! The season premieres on July 14.

A recent poll asked 10,000 TikTok U.S. and Canadian users if they are reading more because of BookTok, and here are the results.

Here are the winners of the 58th Annual Nebula Awards, including for novel, novella, novelette, and YA/Middle Grade fiction.

Book Riot Recommends

Can’t Wait for This One

What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher (Tor Nightfire, March 26, 2024)

I feel like I’ve been hyping up this sequel for quite some time, but now that we have a cover and a release date and all the details, it’s time to get into it. Let’s talk about this book, because it’s going to be a must-read in 2024. 2024? I know, we’re talking about 2024 already. It’s unsettling. But here we are.

What Feasts at Night sees the return of retired soldier Alex Easton (from T. Kingfisher’s What Moves the Dead). Miss Potter asks Easton to travel to Gallacia, but when they get there, they find the home completely empty. No one is there, the caretaker is dead, and the grounds are strangely silent. Gallacian folklore has the townspeople whispering of a breath-stealing being taking up residence in Easton’s home. But what is the truth behind what’s going on?

Words of Literary Wisdom

“The streets you walk, the food you eat, the job you work, the method of transportation you choose, the beauty products you purchase, the shows you watch, the links you click, the way you sit on a train, the way your speak to waiters, the way you take your coffee — everything affects everyone. Find a way to believe this, even when sober.”

— The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty

What I’m Watching This Weekend

So the Seattle Independent Film Festival is well underway, and I’ve been finding time to go see a few of the fest’s offerings. Last weekend, I went to see My Animal, a horror film from director Jacqueline Castel. This weekend, I think I’m going to go see Theater Camp. If you don’t live in Seattle, but you still want to check out some of the movies, be sure to check their website for the streaming options. There are quite a few movies that will be available to stream next week! I’m planning to watch a few more that way.

And Here’s A Cat Picture!

Today, we’re featuring my youngest child Remy! Remy is a beautiful tuxedo boy all the way from New York. He has white paws, but he has one tiny black spot on his front right paw and I’m obsessed with it. Anyway, thanks for letting me share.

And that is all for today’s Book Radar! Have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you next week!

Emily

Book Radar

BTS is Releasing a Memoir, Not Taylor Swift, and More Book Radar!

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date May 12, 2023

Sponsored by

Book Friends!

Happy Monday, and welcome to another round of Book Radar. I’m so glad you’re here and so excited to talk to you about everything going on with books right now. There’s a lot to get through today, so let’s skip the small talk. Grab a coffee. Grab a snack. Let’s dive right in.

Book Deals and Reveals

In case you missed it! Reese Witherspoon revealed the cover of Kiley Reid’s highly anticipated sophomore novel Come and Get It. In the words of the author herself, “Woo Pig.” Come and Get It is out from G.P. Putnam’s Sons on January 9, 2024.

And here’s the cover of Edward Underhill’s This Day Changes Everything. The story features a grumpy trans boy and a sunshine queer girl. And it’s out February 13, 2024!

Okay, remember how we were just talking about that mystery memoir and how everyone thought it was Taylor Swift? Sorry, Swifties. Turns out it’s K-Pop stars BTS releasing a memoir!

Did you love Knives Out but wish it was magical? You’re going to love These Deadly Prophecies by Andrea Tang. Check out the cover reveal here, and it will be out on February 6, 2024.

Outlander has released the first full trailer for season 7. The first half of Outlander season seven premieres June 16.

The next Stephen King story to get adapted for the big screen is going to be the short story “The Monkey,” first published in 1980 and then included in King’s 1985 collection Skeleton Crew.

Feminist Press has created a T-shirt to raise funds to support continued publishing of queer and trans authors. You can purchase the shirt for $27-29 on Bonfire now.

Netflix has began filming a film adaptation of the Mexican classic Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo, starring Black Panther’s Tenoch Huerta.

Watch what you read. Find the most exciting books being made into movies through the rest of 2023 and early 2024!

Grammy-winning gospel singer-songwriter Tasha Cobbs Leonard has sold her book Do It Anyway to WaterBrook Multnomah. The publisher says the book offers “a revelatory and uplifting message about discovering the transformation unlocked when we show up to hard things with resilient faith and perseverance.” It’s set for a summer 2024 release.

Amistad has acquired world rights to an essay collection edited by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Jericho Brown. The collection, entitled How We Do It, is “a book on the craft of writing that explores the Black creative spirit through the words of more than 30 acclaimed authors,” according to the Publisher. This one’s out in July.

Book Riot Recommends

Prepare Your Shelves!

Girls and Their Horses by Eliza Jane Brazier (Berkley June 6)

Is this book and the title giving your Thoroughbreds vibes? Because it does for me. And hopefully other people remember the movie Thoroughbreds because it was great. Either way, here we have a thriller featuring rich folks and horses and such, and it’s so fun.

Set in Southern California, Girls and Their Horses follows the story of the Parker family, a nouveau rich family who moves to an exclusive community to give their family a fresh start. And yes, that fresh start includes horses. Heather Parker enrolls her daughters in riding lessons at Rancho Santa Fe Equestrian, and she becomes a “Barn Mom.” The Barn Moms are wealthy women who gather together, gossip, drink wine, and help prepare their daughters for competition.

Soon, the Parker family becomes wrapped up in the world of mean girl cliques and dark secrets. At the end of the summer, there will be a horse show in which all the daughters will compete.The pressure is on, and every mother thinks her daughter deserves to win. But before the summer is over, someone will end up dead.

Girls and Their Horses is out from Berkley on June 6, so prepare your shelves!

What I’m Reading This Week

The Daydreams by Laura Hankin

House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson

The Last Word by Taylor Adams

Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado

Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

Monday Memes

I really identify with this, as someone who contemplates the books I have left to read much more often than I actually, you know, read. Plus…it’s Destiny’s Child, y’all.

And Here’s A Cat Picture!

This Monday, let’s give it up for my beautiful calico girl Cersei. Let’s boop her pink nose and pet her soft paw and say, “Thank you, universe, for calico cats.”

Now that we’ve all taken a moment to be thankful for calico girls, I will let you get on with your day! Have a wonderful week, friends. We’ll see each other again on Thursday.

Emily

Book Radar

Viral TikTok Video Helps Get Author A Sequel and More Book Radar!

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date May 10, 2023

Sponsored by

Dear Book Friends,

It’s Thursday, and it’s finally starting to feel like spring up here in the PNW. Still, I have to admit, I’ve spent a lot of time on the couch this week watching Beef and Queen Charlotte on Netflix. Oops. I hope to get out and enjoy the weather this weekend though! How has your week been going? Have you been outdoors enjoying yourself, or have you been a giant couch potato like me? More importantly, are you ready to talk books?

Book Deals and Reveals

Get ready for The Mayor of Maxwell Street. This debut novel follows an ambitious Black debutante and a young biracial conman who meet “on the bloody streets of Chicago when the ’20s first began to roar.” Check out the beautiful cover, designed by Amy King. This one’s out from Hyperion Avenue on January 16, 2024.

The Nerd Daily has revealed the cover for Ivy Ngeow’s romantic suspense-thriller The American Boyfriend. It’s out from Penguin Random House SEA on July 25.

And here’s the cover of Alebrijes by Newberry Award-winning author Donna Barba Higuera. This middle grade sci-fi novel will be out on October 3 from Levine Querido.

Where are my cat people at? You’re going to love the cover of John Scalzi’s Starter Villain, with art from Chesley Award-winning Tristan Elwell. This one will be out on September 19 and you can preorder it here.

Remember when Lloyd Deveraux Richards’ daughter posted a TikTok video that went viral and helped Richards’ book become a bestseller? Well, he’s just sold the rights to a second thriller, Maidens of the Cave, which will be a sequel to his first novel Stone Maidens.

Jennette McCurdy, bestselling author of the memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died, has announced a new book club that she will facilitate on her Instagram account.

Marvel Studios is shutting down preproduction on its vampire thriller Blade. The studio says it will restart production once the strike is over.

Christina Hendricks is attached to star in the upcoming psychological thriller Reckoner, based on the short story by the late Rachel Ingalls.

Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal are in talks to star in an adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s award-winning novel Hamnet, directed by Chloé Zhao.

Philanthropist Melinda French Gates hopes that her new book imprint, Moment of Lift Books, can help others gain a new perspective on gender equity and “what it’s really going to take” to get there. The imprint’s first release is Radical Inclusion by David Moinina Sengeh.

Check out what all the online book clubs are reading in May, from dystopian fiction to historical fiction set in old Hollywood.

Machine learning and AI have grown leaps and bounds — so why are algorithmically generated book recommendations still so bad?

Book Riot Recommends

Can’t Wait for This One!

Kween by Vichet Chum (Quill Tree Books, October 3)

I don’t know about you, but I love the energy of this cover. Maybe it’s because I love purple. Maybe it’s because this cover is super cute. Either way, I’m excited to read this one when it comes out in October, and after I tell you about it, I think you will be too.

Soma Kear is a queer Cambodian American teen whose slam poetry videos have gone viral. Soma’s verses are how she makes sense of the world and finds a connection to her true self. But with everything going on at home and her Ba’s deportation to Cambodia, is Soma really ready to put herself out there? And when Soma’s school decides to on a spoken word contest, will she be brave enough to share her truest self — her fears, her uncertainties — with the world?

Vichet Chum’s debut novel promises to be a celebration of Khmer identity, queerness, and “embracing the complicated histories that shape who we are and want to be.”

Words of Literary Wisdom

“After all, money was like bunnies – once you had a certain amount of hundreds in your wallet, they just kept multiplying. Either people respected you and gave you opportunities that led to more money, or you put it in the stock market, sat back and watched it give birth over and over again.”

— Happy & You Know It by Laura Hankin (I’m manifesting these words of literary wisdom right now)

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.

I feel like this week we have to acknowledge the Taylor Swift memoir conspiracy. So let’s dive in.

So for the past week or so, Taylor Swift fans have been taking to social media to share their theories about an upcoming potential memoir and hints that the musician may (or may not) be dropping about this memoir’s release. In fact, people are so convinced that this unnamed memoir from an undisclosed celebrity is going to be a Taylor Swift memoir that the book has already pushed the mysterious book up the charts.

But Swifties? I’ve got bad news. It has been confirmed that the memoir is not, in fact, by Taylor Swift. So who is the mystery author? Now people are speculating that it might be BTS, but we’ll have to wait and see!

And Here’s A Cat Picture!

two cats on a wood floor waiting for their morning treats

Here’s a little peek into our daily routine. Every morning, the cats get fed and then they immediately go over to the treat drawer to await their treats. So yes, here they are awaiting their morning treats. They are terribly spoiled.

And that’s all for today, friends! I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you soon.

Emily

Book Radar

DUNE: PART TWO Official Trailer Released and More Book Radar!

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date May 5, 2023

Sponsored by

Happy Monday, Book Friends!

We’ve made our way to another week and somehow we’re also deep into May now? I don’t know how to feel about anything anymore. But don’t worry. Nothing a little coffee won’t fix. Why don’t you grab your own cup of coffee (or tea, I guess), have a seat, and we’ll chat books?

Book Deals and Reveals

Here’s a cover reveal, excerpt, and guest post all rolled into one! Check out Jennifer Weiner’s The Bigfoot Queen over on the School Library Journal. The cover is designed by Laura Lyn DiSiena and Irene Vandervoort. It’s illustrated by Ji-Hyuk Kim.

Meanwhile, Tor.com has revealed the cover of H. A. Clarke’s The Feast Makers, the final installment of the Scapegracers trilogy. It’s available March 26, 2024 from Erewhon Books.

Fan-favorite webtoon Lumine is coming out in print! Here’s a look at the cover of volume 1, which will be out from WEBTOON Unscrolled on December 5.

Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal are in talks to star in an adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s award-winning novel Hamnet, directed by Chloé Zhao.

Christina Hendricks is attached to star in the upcoming psychological thriller Reckoner, based on the short story by the late Rachel Ingalls.

Netflix has handed out a third and final season renewal to Sweet Tooth, the series based on the DC comics.

Oscar winner Taika Waititi is in negotiations to direct an adaptation of Klara and the Sun, based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro.

Sci-fi fans, get ready for Dune: Part Two! Here’s the trailer.

The Seattle Public Library is offering free access to banned books. The Seattle Public library is the second to offer free library cards through an initiative started by the Brooklyn Public library.

Book Riot Recommends

Prepare Your Shelves!

im not supposed to be in the dark book cover

I’m Not Supposed to be in the Dark by Riss M. Neilson (Henry Holt & Company, May 9)

Here’s another book you should get excited about right now, because it comes out tomorrow. This one comes from Riss M. Neilson, author of 2022’s Deep in Providence. It’s a ghost story. It’s a romance. It’s a story of friendship. You get the idea. It’s a must-read.

Seventeen-year-old Aria Cayetano used to see ghosts. But when she started drinking a special tea given to her by her grandfather, the visions go away. Then a decades old rosebush suddenly dies across the street, and Aria is certain something supernatural is going on. While Aria would love to look into what happened to the rosebush, the plant in question sits in the lawn of her friend-turned-enemy Derek Johnson. She’s not exactly sure what caused them to have a falling out all those years ago, but she knows he doesn’t want anything to do with her now.

Then out of nowhere Derek starts talking to her again. And while at first Aria thinks her friend has returned to her, she soon realizes what’s really happening. Derek has been possessed by a ghost, and if Aria doesn’t get the ghost out, Derek might die.

What I’m Reading This Week

are you there god its me margaret book cover

Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret by Judy Blume

Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang

House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson

Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado

Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

Monday Memes

My husband tries to get me to stop buying books all the time. I’m telling him this next time.

And Here’s A Cat Picture!

More pictures of cats in windows, but I love this one because you can see Murray’s lil face reflected in the window. I die.

And that is all I’ve got for you today. Go out and live your lives! Be free!

Emily

Book Radar

Oprah Winfrey Chooses Her Next Book Club Book and More Book Radar!

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date May 3, 2023

Sponsored by

Happy Thursday, friends!

What a week this has been. I’m totally thrilled for this weekend, because I have zero plans and I can’t wait to just wing it. Maybe catch up with my reading. Maybe the sun will come out again. We just have to get through Thursday and Friday first, friends, and then we’re home free! Let’s talk books to get us through to the weekend.

Book Riot has a new podcast for you to check out if you’re looking for more bookish content in your life. First Edition will include interviews, lists, rankings, retrospectives, recommendations, and much more, featuring people who know and love books. You can subscribe to First Edition on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your podcatcher of choice.

Book Deals and Reveals

The Nerd Daily has revealed the cover of Kate Anderson’s upcoming novel Here Lies Olive. It’s out on October 24 from Flux Books.

Jurassic Park meets Hummingbird Salamander in Ray Nayler’s upcoming eco-thriller The Tusks of Extinction. It’s coming January 16, 2024, from Tordotcom Publishing, and here’s the cover reveal.

Twenty years later Jeanne DuPrau is back with a new book, Project F. Publishers Weekly has revealed the cover of this new book, which will be out from Random House Children’s Books this October.

Penguin Random House announced that an unpublished Gabriel García Márquez novel will be published across Latin America in 2024. An English edition of the novel has not yet been announced.

Oprah Winfrey has chosen her next book club pick — and it’s Abraham Verghese’s The Covenant of Water. This is Verghese’s first novel since 2009’s Cutting for Stone.

Author Emily Dunlay’s forthcoming novel Teddy will be out from Harper in 2024. The story is set in 1960s Rome and follows the wife of an American diplomat who is trying to hide a scandal from her past.

Grand Central has acquired the rights to Daniel Aleman’s first adult novel, Sorry to Disappoint. Publication is planned for fall 2024.

A new trailer for Kenneth Branagh’s next Hercule Poirot Mystery has been released. The film, A Haunting in Venice, is based on Agatha Christie’s 1969 novel Hallowe’en Party and will be out on September 15.

From local challenges with prizes to online programs, these are the best summer reading programs 2023 has to offer kids!

Book Riot Recommends

Can’t Wait for This One!

What Kind of Mother by Clay McLeod Chapman (Quirk Books, September 12)

Every Clay McLeod Chapman novel has felt like a new and exciting exploration into horror unlike anything done before. There’s something that feels almost dangerous about reading his novels because it’s hard to predict where the story will go. Which is why I am so, so, so excited about his upcoming Southern Gothic horror novel What Kind of Mother.

Madi Price left home as a teen mom. But now that she’s strapped for cash, she has reluctantly returned to her hometown of Brandywine, Virginia, with her 17-year-old daughter in tow. Madi scrapes by working as a palm reader at the local farmer’s market. Here’s where she reconnects with old high school flame Henry McCabe, whose infant son went missing five years ago. Everyone assumes Henry’s son is dead, but when Madi reads his palm, she sees haunting visions that suggest otherwise.

Words of Literary Wisdom

“Instinct doesn’t exist. Morals don’t exist. They were just fake
sensibilities that came from a world that was constantly transforming.”

— Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata

What I’m Watching This Weekend

Friends, has anyone seen Renfield? I know that it got sort of middling reviews, but now it’s available streaming, so it seems like a good, fun one to watch this weekend. It’s got a great cast, and I’m a sucker (pun intended) for anything Dracula–related. Speaking of movies, I also need to get to the theaters to see Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret ASAP. It looks so good!

BTW, horror fans…saw Evil Dead Rise last weekend and yeah, it was pretty great.

And Here’s A Cat Picture!

My little tuxedo boy Remy has been getting so cuddly as he gets older. And he loooves snuggling up on the bed. Just look at his little white paws. I love him.

Sorry, I had to gush about this cat for a little while. The whiskers! The tail!

And that is all, friends. I hope your week ends on a high note, and I’ll see you on Monday!

Emily

Book Radar

Sir Patrick Stewart Reveals Cover of Memoir MAKING IT SO and More Book Radar!

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date April 28, 2023

Sponsored by

Dear Book Friends,

It’s Monday again, and I’m excited for the sunny weather and chill week we have ahead of us here in Seattle. Also, I feel like I should let you know there’s a cat in my lap. So in general, things are going great for me. I hope you had a great weekend and are looking forward to the week as well! Let’s chat books.

Book Deals and Reveals

Sir Patrick Stewart has shared the cover of his upcoming memoir Making It So. “Revisiting my life from my earliest memories and into the present has been an illuminating journey for me,” the actor shared on Instagram. “It’s a life lived far beyond my expectations, and I hope you enjoy reading the book this fall.” Making It So is out on October 3.

Tor Nightfire has announced T. Kingfisher’s sequel to the bestselling novella What Moves the Dead. The novella-length sequel What Feasts at Night is coming March 2024!

Speaking of book announcements…Kamilah Cole announced a new YA fantasy debut “inspired by Jamaica and Zendaya’s 2018 Met Gala ‘Fit.” So Let Them Burn is coming January 1, 2024.

Check out the cover of Jami Nakamura Lin’s debut book, The Night Parade: A Speculative Memoir. The art is by the author’s sister, who also illustrates the full-color interior. It’s out from Mariner Books on October 24.

And here’s the cover for Fit for the Gods, an anthology of mythological retellings edited by Book Riot’s very own Jenn Northington and S. Zainab Williams.

Amazon Studios’ adaptation of Casey McQuiston’s bestselling novel Red, White & Royal Blue has a release date. The film, starring Taylor Zakhar Perez as Alex and Nicholas Galitzine as Henry, will premiere on August 11.

A collection of Amy Winehouse’s previously unseen journal entries will be published in a new book. The book, entitled Amy Winehouse: In Her Words, will be out on August 31 from HarperCollins.

Netflix has released the trailer for XO Kitty, a To All the Boys spinoff series. XO, Kitty premieres on Netflix on May 18.

Netflix has confirmed that Heartstopper will return for a second season on August 3.

Kennedy Ryan’s bestselling novel Before I Let Go is in development at Peacock from Universal TV & UCP.

The 2023 Women’s Prize shortlist has been announced. The list has new authors as well as previously nominated authors. Here are the details.

Book challenge attempts almost doubled in 2022, most targeting books about LGBTQIA+ people or by authors of color. Here are the top 13 most-challenged books of 2022.

Book Riot Recommends

Prepare Your Shelves!

The Daydreams by Laura Hankin (Berkley, May 2)

Who didn’t love 2000s teen shows? I mean! The OC! Gossip Girl! I, for one, was all in. And now, believe it or not, we’re far enough removed from the 2000s that we can look back and have nostalgia for our television days of yore. And yes, we can even read fiction about it. Enter the latest from Laura Hankin, The Daydreams, which is giving us that 2000s nostalgia we didn’t even know we needed with a huge helping of drama. Best of all, it’s coming out this week, so prepare your shelves!

The Daydreams was the show everyone was talking about back in 2004. The series boasted a wholesome teen cast, great ratings, and romance that fueled all sorts of ships and fan fiction. But after the live season finale of season two went awry, all four of the main cast members went their separate ways.

Years have passed, and although the stars of the show have moved on with their lives, fans of the series are demanding a reunion special. Each cast member has their own reason for agreeing to do a reunion, and as the team bands back together, some of that original 2000s magic from The Daydreams actually starts to come back. But some of the show’s secrets begin to resurface as well. Will this reunion be the stars’ opportunity to end the series on a good note? Or will this be a bigger disaster than the live finale?

What I’m Reading This Week

Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang

House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson

Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado

Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy

Uzumaki by Junji Ito

Sailor Moon: Vol. 8 by Naoko Takeuchi

And be sure to check out First Edition, where BookRiot.com co-founder Jeff O’Neal explores the wide bookish world. Interviews, lists, rankings, retrospectives, recommendations, and much more, featuring people who know and love books. Subscribe to First Edition on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your podcatcher of choice.

Monday Memes

Here’s a fun fact that you probably don’t know about me. I love the Brontës. I studied them in grad school. Oh, is that not fun? Well, it was for me. Anyway, here are some Charlotte Brontë memes in honor of her birthday (very belatedly…it was in April).

And Here’s A Cat Picture!

orange cat resting across two beds in window

The sun is out, which means we’ve got more cats in windows, friends! And I know we put two beds in the window for two cats, but Murray has found a way to rest in both beds at once. What do you think? Does this look comfy?

And that’s all for Monday’s Book Radar, friends! I hope you have the best day, and I’ll see you on Thursday.

Emily

Book Radar

Nobel Peace Prize Winner Malala Yousafzai Publishing New Memoir and More Book Radar!

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date April 26, 2023

Sponsored by

Hi Book Friends!

I hope you’re having a wonderful week. Today, I took the day off from work and spent the day wine tasting, so I’m feeling very relaxed and ready to talk books. So let’s get right into it, shall we? Here are all the book things you should know!

Interested in fascinating stories, informed takes, useful advice, and more from experts in the world of books and reading? Check out our newest newsletter, The Deep Dive, to get exclusive content delivered to your inbox! Choose your membership level today at bookriot.substack.com

Book Deals and Reveals

Netflix has confirmed that Heartstopper will return for a second season on August 3. The series, based on Alice Oseman’s graphic novels of the same name, has also already been renewed for a second season.

Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and author of the bestseller I Am Malala, is publishing a new memoir with Atria Books. Atria described the book as a “revealing journey of self-discovery — a breathtaking story of recovery and search for identity, a candid exploration of her coming-of-age in the public spotlight, and an intimate look at her life today.”

Screenwriter and author Staci Robinson is publishing a biography entitled Tupac Shakur: The Authorized Biography. Robinson knew Shakur in high school and was selected by Shakur’s mother to write the book. Publication is set for October.

YA author Mary E. Pearson is publishing her adult debut, The Courting of Bristol Keats with Flatiron. Flatiron said the novel “follows a grieving young woman who learns that her father’s death may have been faked, and is plunged into an unexpected world of gods, fae, and monsters.”

Over the past three years, entry-level wages at many publishing houses have risen 23%, on average, in response to unions, inflation, and a demand for a living wage.

Ada Limón has been appointed to serve a two-year second term as the nation’s 24^th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry. This is the first time a laureate will serve a two-year term.

Kennedy Ryan’s bestselling novel Before I Let Go is in development at Peacock from Universal TV & UCP.

At this year’s London Book Fair, literary agency Jenny Brown Associates launched an award for debut novelists in the UK aged 50 and above. The new award invites unpublished writers without an agent to submit the first 5,000 words of their novel by May 31.

Brandon Sklenar has been cast to star alongside Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in the upcoming film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel It Ends With Us.

Apple TV+ has released the first trailer for the new series Lessons in Chemistry, starring Brie Larson.

Ted Lasso star Juno Temple is in talks to join Tom Hardy in a lead role in the upcoming film Venom 3. Details about Temple’s character are being kept under wraps.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Tamora Pierce’s Song of the Lioness Quartet, Athenium is reissuing special editions of the books.

Book Riot Recommends

Can’t Wait for This One!

The Liberators by E.J. Koh (Tin House Books, November 7)

Poet and translator E.J. Koh released her memoir The Magical Language of Others back in 2020, but I, like many readers, still can’t stop thinking about it in 2023. Now Koh is releasing her debut novel, The Liberators, a literary novel spanning continents and four generations of two Korean families.

After their arranged marriage, Insuk and Sungho move from South Korea to San Jose, California. In a new country, Insuk feels grief over the loss of her home and everything she left behinds, and she enters into an affair that will change the course of two families’ lives over many generations. Koh’s novel weaves in real historical events, from the Gwangju Massacre to the 1988 Olympics, to tell the story of family legacies, loss, memory, love, and war.

The Liberators will be out from Tin House Books on November 7, and it’s sure to include some of the most beautiful prose you’ve read all year. Make sure to put this one on your TBR!

Do you need help finding your next great read? Subscribe to Tailored Book Recommendations for really great reads year-round.

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. When we die, we return to the elements. Ashes to fucking ashes.”

— Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy

What I’m Watching This Weekend

I’m finally catching up with some of those TV shows I know I should have been watching but just hadn’t gotten around to watching yet. At the top of my list are Yellowjackets and Swarm. Are you watching these too? Or have you watched them? I would love to hear your thoughts!

And Here’s A Cat Picture!

Sweet Cersei Anne continues to be a hermit. hiding in her little cat house. Her new trick, as you’ll see in this pic, is pushing the pillow halfway outside of her house so that it’s even harder for the other cats to get to her. Relatable, TBH.

Aaaand…that is all for today, friends! Have a great weekend.

Emily

Book Radar

TWILIGHT is Being Adapted into a TV Series and More Book Radar!

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date April 21, 2023

Sponsored by

Hello Book Friends!

Happy Monday! I hope your weekend was great. My dad is in town visiting, so I’ve been doing some of the touristy things in the city that I hadn’t gotten to do yet. But it’s Monday, so it’s time to stop playing and start getting serious. About books.

Book Deals and Reveals

Spring is here, but we’re already looking towards Christmas. Here’s the cover reveal of Lisa Unger’s new novella Christmas Presents, out from Mysterious Press on October 24, 2023.

Tim O’Brien has sold the world rights to America Fantastica, the author’s first novel in two decades, to Peter Hubbard at Mariner Books. The book is slated for an October release.

Teju Cole has sold the U.S. rights to his second novel Tremor to Caitlin McKenna at Random House. The publisher described the book as “a powerful, wide-ranging work of fiction that explores what constitutes a meaningful life in a violent world.”

Apple TV+ has canceled the Jason Katims-produced drama Dear Edward, which was based on the novel of the same name by Ann Napolitano.

Lamar Giles’ young adult novel The Getaway is being developed for TV by Sony Pictures Television and Don Cheadle’s This Radicle Act.

Leigh-Anne Pinnock of the pop group Little Mix has announced that she has written a memoir. Believe, co-written by Natalie Morris, will be out on October 26, 2023 and is available to preorder now.

Prize-winning author Lydia Davis says her new short story collection will not be available on Amazon. Our Strangers will be published in the U.S. on October 1 and will only be available in physical bookshops, Bookshop.org, and selected online independent retailers.

With all the challenges that the book publishing industry currently faces, what will the future bookstore look like?

The latest PEN report on the state of U.S. book banning: more bans, more book ban laws, more proliferation of misinformation.

A Twilight show is being made! In addition to Stephenie Meyers being involved with the production, here’s what else we know so far.

Book Riot Recommends

Prepare Your Shelves!

Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli (Balzer + Bray, May 2)

I’m a huge fan of Becky Albertalli’s novels. I’ve been hooked ever since I read Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda in one day. That might not seem like a big deal to some of you super readers out there, but to me, that means something. And I know I’m not alone. A lot of people enjoy these books, and at this point, this author probably needs no introduction. But if you’ve somehow missed out on Becky Albertalli and/or didn’t know this book was coming, here it is! Prepare your shelves.

Imogen Scott is straight, but she considers herself an LGBTQ+ ally. She’s attended every Pride Alliance meeting. Her sister is queer. Her two best friends are queer. Her friend Lili is newly out and off to college hanging out with her cool, queer college friends. Imogen is happy for Lili and is ready to support her friend in any way she can. So when Lili lies to her friends and says she and Imogen used to date, she’s all in to play along. Even if she is totally straight…except maybe she isn’t.

Imogen, Obviously is an exploration of queerness, sexuality, identity in all of their nuances. It’s a story that also seems to be especially near and dear to the author. And it’s a story that will be relatable for anyone who has ever questioned their sexuality. This is such an adorable, fun read that’s also thought-provoking and heart-warming. And it’s coming out in just a few short weeks!

Do you need help finding your next great read? Subscribe to Tailored Book Recommendations for really great reads year-round.