Category: Book Radar

It’s Monday! We have to treasure the time we have together today, because I will not be paying your inbox a visit this Thursday, because of Thanksgiving. So today I have several fun book-related things for you, and, of course, a cat picture.

Please enjoy the rest of your week, and the holiday if you’re celebrating, and remember to be excellent to each other! I’ll see you again next Monday. – xoxo, Liberty

Here’s Monday’s trivia question: How much did Tom Clancy get from the Naval Institute Press in 1984 for his debut novel, The Hunt for Red October? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reels, and Squeals! 

Mackenzi Lee’s The Gentleman’s Guide To Vice & Virtue is being made into a film for HBO Max.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia talks about her upcoming book. No, the other one. (Yep, she has two out next year!)

Here’s the first look at The Down Days by Ilze Hugo, which is already leading the race for my favorite cover of 2020.

Showtime is making a series from Jacob Tobia’s memoir Sissy.

C.L. Polk announced her third novel, coming in the fall of 2020.

Here’s the first teaser of Michael B. Jordan in the adaptation of Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse.

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows, and forthcoming People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd, have been picked up for series development.

Scholastic will develop three movies for the Hallmark channel.

Here’s the latest cast updates for HBO’s adaptation of I Know This Much Is True.

David Tennant will play serial killer Dennis Nilsen in a three-part series, based on Brian Master’s book, Killing for Company.

Book Riot Recommends 

At Book Riot, I work on the New Books! email, the All the Books! podcast about new releases, and the Book Riot Insiders New Release Index. I am very fortunate to get to read a lot of upcoming titles, and learn about a lot of upcoming titles, and I’m delighted to share a couple with you each week so you can add them to your TBR!

Excited to read:

Crooked Hallelujah by Kelli Jo Ford (Grove Press, July 14, 2020)

One of my goals for next year is to read more Native voices, because they are woefully underrepresented in the arts. So I am excited to pick up this book to help me with that goal. It’s about four generations of Cherokee women in the 1970s and 1980s in Oklahoma and Texas.

What I’m reading this week:

Deacon King Kong: A Novel by James McBride

Stay and Fight: A Novel by Madeline ffitch

The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black

A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh

You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington by Alexis Coe

Pun of the week: 

Two antennas got married last Saturday. The reception was fantastic.

Here’s a kitten cat kitten picture:

Here’s a flashback to Zevon and Farrokh when they were four months old.

And this is funny.

I cannot get enough of Baby Yoda.

Trivia answer: $5000.

You made it to the bottom! Thanks for reading! – xo, L

Happy Thursday! I am back once again to talk about all things books. I have started thinking about my annual 150 favorite books list that I do each year on Twitter, and I am still considering a favorite books of the decade post. I don’t know that I can even pick my 100 favorites – there are so many great books to choose from!

I am doing this all in between reading, of course. I am halfway through Firewatching by Russ Thomas and I did not want to put it down – I hope the second half holds up when I return to it after I finish this newsletter! Whatever you are doing or reading this week, please remember to be kind to yourself and others. I’ll see you again on Monday! – xoxo, Liberty

Trivia question time! What does the ‘T.S.’ in ‘T.S. Eliot’ stand for? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

Elvis Presley’s granddaughter, Riley Keough, will star in the adaptation of Daisy Jones and the Six.

The winners of the National Book Awards were announced last night!

Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins is going to be adapted by Sony Pictures!

HarperCollins Children’s Books has announced the debut of Heartdrum, an imprint devoted to publishing books by Native creators.

The trailer has been released for season four of The Expanse.

The Lord of the Rings series has been renewed for a second season ahead of the release of its first season.

Eragon author Christopher Paolini announced his first science fiction novel.

Mindhunter’s Holt McCallany has joined Guillermo Del Toro’s Nightmare Alley adaptation.

A limited series adaptation of The Man In The Rockefeller Suit is in the works.

Dracula‘s Renfield is getting his own time to shine.

Here’s the first trailer for the new Call of the Wild adaptation with Harrison Ford.

Maid by Stephanie Lands is being turned into a Netflix series.

Joan Allen is the latest to join the cast of the adaptation of Stephen King’s Lisey’s Story.

Viacom has lined up remakes of Oliver Twist and How Green Was My Valley.

Here’s the trailer for V Wars, the Netflix series based on Jonathan Maberry’s book.

An adaptation of Scott Westerfield’s Midnighters series is on the way.

Here’s the first full-length trailer for the upcoming adaptation of Cats.

Book Riot Recommends 

At Book Riot, I work on the New Books! email, the All the Books! podcast about new releases, and the Book Riot Insiders New Release Index. I am very fortunate to get to read a lot of upcoming titles, and learn about a lot of upcoming titles, and I’m delighted to share a couple with you each week so you can add them to your TBR! (It will now be books I loved on Mondays and books I’m excited to read on Thursdays. YAY, BOOKS!)

Excited to read:

A Peculiar Peril (The Misadventures of Jonathan Lambshead) by Jeff VanderMeer (Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), July 7, 2020)

It’s a young adult novel from Jeff VanderMeer. I REPEAT: A YOUNG ADULT NOVEL FROM JEFF VANDERMEER. We are only a couple weeks away from the release of his next novel for grownups, and now I have learned we are getting another book from him next year. It’s the first of a two-volume fantasy about a teen boy who inherits his grandfather’s mansion, discovers three strange doors, and learns his grandfather did not die of natural causes.” YES YES TAKE MY MONEY. 

What I’m reading this week.

A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh

The Unsuitable by Molly Pohlig

Firewatching by Russ Thomas 

You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington by Alexis Coe

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid (Reread because OMG it’s so good.)

And this is funny.

I love Baby Yoda.

Song stuck in my head:

“Hot Girl Bummer” by Blackbear

Trivia answer: Thomas Stearns.

You made it to the bottom! High five. Thanks for reading! – xo, L

Happy Monday!!! I hope you had a lovely weekend. I feel like my year is finally calming down. I hope to coast through the last six weeks, reading books and watching Elementary. (I really think I might be a detective in an alternate timeline.)

Also, can we talk for a minute about how it’s the last year of the decade?!? I feel like no one was prepared. Suddenly, everyone is like, “WHOA LAST YEAR.” Myself included! Perhaps I will do a round-up of my favorite books of the decade somewhere. More likely, my head will explode from trying to narrow the list down, LOL.

(TL;DR: Boooooooooooooooks!)

Please enjoy the rest of your week, and remember to be excellent to each other! I’ll see you again on Thursday. – xoxo, Liberty

Here’s Monday’s trivia question: What are the only two Spike Lee films to receive a PG-13 rating? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reels, and Squeals! 

The adaptation of Alexa Martin’s Intercepted will be penned by Power screenwriter Heather Zuhlke.

Here’s the trailer for the new adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing on PBS.

Spike Lee will direct an adaptation of Ron Wimberly’s graphic novel, Prince of Cats.

Zoe Saldana will star in Netflix’s adaptation of Tembe Locke’s memoir, From Scratch.

Here’s the first look at the cover of The Princess Will Save You by Sarah Henning.

Chris Morgan has signed a deal with Sony Pictures to adapt The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell, The Ripleys by Duane Swierczynski, and If I Die Tonight by Allison Gaylin.

Carolina De Robertis announced her upcoming novel, The President and the Frog, coming in 2021.

And Robin Wasserman shared the cover of her upcoming 2020 book, Mother Daughter Widow Wife.

And Arvin Ahmadi announced his next book, scheduled for a fall 2020 release.

Book Riot Recommends 

At Book Riot, I work on the New Books! email, the All the Books! podcast about new releases, and the Book Riot Insiders New Release Index. I am very fortunate to get to read a lot of upcoming titles, and learn about a lot of upcoming titles, and I’m delighted to share a couple with you each week so you can add them to your TBR!

Excited to read:

The Sprawl: Reconsidering the Weird American Suburbs by Jason Diamond (Coffee House Press, August 11, 2020)

Jason Diamond is one of the first people I started following on Twitter, because we seem to have the same sense of humor and esoteric taste in micro-histories and pop culture. So I am excited to see what he has to say about the suburbs, since from reading his memoir, Searching for John Hughes: Or Everything I Thought I Needed to Know about Life I Learned from Watching ’80s Movies, that we did not grow up in the idyllic suburb fantasy that movies and television pitched us.

What I’m reading this week:

The Deep by Alma Katsu

Skyward by Brandon Sanderson

Will Haunt You by Brian Kirk

Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland

Song of the Crimson Flower by Julie C. Dao

Pun of the week: 

I’m an archaeologist, so my life is in ruins.

Here’s a kitten cat picture:

Look at this beautiful picture my friend Emily took of Farrokh!

And this is funny.

So many Disney jokes this week with the release of Disney+.

Trivia answer: Malcolm X and Crooklyn, 

You made it to the bottom! Thanks for reading! – xo, L

It’s Thursday, and time to talk books! BUT FIRST: I just started watching Elementary (I am usually 2-10 years behind on media LOL) and I loooooooove it. It is exactly the fun, ridiculous, murder-y goodness I was hoping for. I was looking for a good crime show because I have moved from my weeks-long horror book phase into a mystery phase. Mystery will always be my first and favorite genre. I hope you’re reading something great this week, whether it’s a mystery, a romance, or anything else that has words and pages. READING IS THE BEST. Please remember to be kind to yourself and others. I’ll see you again on Monday! – xoxo, Liberty

Trivia question time! What classic novel was published under the pseudonym Currer Bell? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

Here’s the first look at HBO’s adaptation of Matt Ruff’s Lovecraft Country.

Today is full of cover reveals! Our very own BR contributor Adiba Jaigirdar has a book coming out next year, and we’ve got the cover reveal!

And here’s the first look at Astrid Scholte’s upcoming standalone YA novel, The Vanishing Deep.

And here’s the cover of Maria Dahvana Headley’s Beowulf: A New Translation.

One more: The cover of Super Host, the upcoming debut novel from Kate Russo.

And here’s the cover of He Started It by Samantha Downing.

Author Carolina Ortiz announced a queer Jane Eyre!

Netflix has already renewed The Witcher for a second season.

Sarah Michelle Gellar will star in a limited series adaptation of Sometimes I Lie, based on the novel by Alice Fenney.

The pilot of the adaptation of The Peripheral by William Gibson has been picked up for a series.

Book Riot Recommends 

At Book Riot, I work on the New Books! email, the All the Books! podcast about new releases, and the Book Riot Insiders New Release Index. I am very fortunate to get to read a lot of upcoming titles, and learn about a lot of upcoming titles, and I’m delighted to share a couple with you each week so you can add them to your TBR! (It will now be books I loved on Mondays and books I’m excited to read on Thursdays. YAY, BOOKS!)

Excited to read:

Wooooooooo, I just learned about two titles coming next year from Riverhead Books that I cannot wait to get my eyeballs on! The first is Little Eyes: A Novel by Samanta Schweblin (March 5, 2020). As you’ve probably heard me say, I am OBSESSED with her novel, Fever Dream, and her collection of stories this year, Mouthful of Birds, is amazing. The description of her new novel is incredible: it’s about stuffed animal camera pets called “kentukis”. “These creatures can reveal the beauty of connection between farflung souls – but they also expose the ugly humanity of our increasingly linked world. Trusting strangers can lead to unexpected love and marvelous adventure, but what happens when the kentukis pave the way for unimaginable terror?” I mean omg, right?!?

The other is The Vanishing Half: A Novel by Brit Bennett (June 2, 2020). It seems like her first novel, The Mothers, came out so long ago! I loved that book and cannot wait to see what she has for us next. The description says it’s “about twin sisters, inseparable as children, who ultimately choose to live in two very different worlds, one black and one white.”

Both books sound remarkable, and I am almost equally excited to see what the covers are going to look like. COME ON, 2020, HURRY UP AND GET HERE.

What I’m reading this week.

Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland

Snow: A Scientific and Cultural Exploration by Giles Whittell

Song of the Crimson Flower by Julie C. Dao

Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall

I Hold a Wolf by the Ears: Stories by Laura van den Berg

And this is funny.

Book tours are stressful.

Song stuck in my head:

“Young Blood” by The Naked and Famous

Trivia answer: Jane Eyre.

You made it to the bottom! High five. Thanks for reading! – xo, L

Welcome to another Monday, my little book huggers! It was another excellent reading weekend in Libertyville. I spent some time dropping awesome 2020 titles on Twitter, I drooled a bit over my recent book mail, and I watched a few episodes of Castle Rock with fellow Rioter Jamie Canavés. (She lives in Florida, but it’s fun to watch episodes at the same time and text each other while it’s on. Especially since I’m in Maine, just like the show!) I hope you had an excellent weekend too. Please enjoy the rest of your week, and remember to be excellent to each other! I’ll see you again on Thursday. – xoxo, Liberty

Here’s Monday’s trivia question: The Great Ormond Street Hospital in the London borough of Camden famously received the rights to what classic novel? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reels, and Squeals! 

Oprah’s next book club pick is Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout.

Here’s the first trailer for Megan Abbott’s Dare Me, debuting on the USA Network.

Tananarive Due announced a graphic novel adaptation of her horror screenplay.

Here’s the trailer for Wendy, the upcoming Peter Pan-related film.

Talia Hibbert announced her new novel: Take a Hint, Dani Brown.

There’s a musical adaptation of Scotland, PA, the amazing movie of Macbeth set in a 1970s fast food restaurant starring my girlfriend Maura Tierney.

And here’s the trailer for the new version of The Invisible Man starring Elisabeth Moss.

Zoraida Córdova shared the first look at Wayward Witch, her upcoming third book in the Brooklyn Bruja series.

And Kelly Yang shared the cover of her next book: Parachutes.

Hulu announced the stars of Monsterland, the upcoming series based on the short stories from Nathan Ballingrud’s collection, North American Lake Monsters.

And here’s the first look at A Song Below Water, Bethany C. Morrow’s upcoming young adult novel.

There’s a musical adaptation of Chelsea Clinton’s children’s book She Persisted debuting off-Broadway.

Book Riot Recommends 

At Book Riot, I work on the New Books! email, the All the Books! podcast about new releases, and the Book Riot Insiders New Release Index. I am very fortunate to get to read a lot of upcoming titles, and learn about a lot of upcoming titles, and I’m delighted to share a couple with you each week so you can add them to your TBR!

Loved, loved, loved:

Network Effect (The Murderbot Diaries Book 5) by Martha Wells (Tor.com, May 5, 2020)

If you haven’t heard me say it before, allow me to say it again: The Murderbot Diaries is one of the most perfect series I have ever read. It’s an award-winning, four-novella series about a rogue, self-aware security robot who hates humans and emotions, and just wants to stream entertainment shows, yet also wants to help humans. They are some of the smartest, funniest books I have read, and I was SO sad when I read the fourth and supposedly last one last year. BUT PLOT TWIST: There’s a full-length Murderbot novel coming in 2020! I received it on Friday and immediately dropped everything and read it, and I am here to report that it is also AWESOME. I love Murderbot so much. If you haven’t read them yet, what are you waiting for??!?

What I’m reading this week:

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho

I Hold a Wolf by the Ears: Stories by Laura van den Berg

A Song Below Water: A Novel by Bethany C. Morrow

Solstice: A Tropical Horror Comedy by Lorence Alison

Acid for the Children: A Memoir by Flea

Pun of the week: 

What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta.

Here’s a kitten picture:

Zevon and Farrokh turned one this weekend! I guess I will now have to refer to this as a cat picture. *SOB* It went by so fast! It means that they’ve been causing chaos in my life for ten months now. Today is also Millay’s birthday! She’s nine this year, but not nearly as cooperative when it comes to having her photo taken.

And this is funny.

Rakesh Satyal is a gift.

Trivia answer: Peter Pan by J.M Barrie. 

You made it to the bottom! Thanks for reading! – xo, L

Happy Thursday, readers. I hope you’re getting lots of good reading time in even though it’s dark at like 12:30pm or something now. (Whyyyyyyyyyyyy.) I was in Boston earlier this week and picked up some fun stuff to read – which I am going to do as soon as I finish this newsletter! Please remember to be kind to yourself and others. I’ll see you again on Monday! – xoxo, Liberty

Trivia question time! What 1986 film did Tori Amos audition for the lead role? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

Tori Amos announced that she has a book coming in 2020: Resistance: A Songwriter’s Story of Hope, Change, and Courage.

Marie-Helene Bertino announced her new novel, Parakeet.

Charlie Jane Anders announced her new book too: Even Greater Mistakes.

Here’s the beautiful cover of Megha Majumdar’s upcoming novel, A Burning.

Sarah MacLean has partnered with Jordandené for a line of romance-loving, sex-positive, feminist collection.

Juno Dawson’s Hollow Pike will be a TV series.

Here’s the cover reveal of Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev.

There’s still at least one Game of Thrones spinoff still headed our way.

Here are the 2019 World Fantasy Award Winners.

Not Even Bones by Rebecca Schaeffer is now a webcomic.

And here’s the 2020 Carnegie Medals shortlist.

Book Riot Recommends 

At Book Riot, I work on the New Books! email, the All the Books! podcast about new releases, and the Book Riot Insiders New Release Index. I am very fortunate to get to read a lot of upcoming titles, and learn about a lot of upcoming titles, and I’m delighted to share a couple with you each week so you can add them to your TBR! (It will now be books I loved on Mondays and books I’m excited to read on Thursdays. YAY, BOOKS!)

Excited to read:

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi (Knopf, July 14, 2020)

Believe it or not, it has already been three years since Homegoing was released. I think that book is amaaaaaaaaazing, and I know many of you think so as well. So we can all be excited together for the arrival of her new novel in 2020! This one is about a troubled Ghanaian family in Alabama. I cannot wait to get my hands on this.

What I’m reading this week.

Queen of the Conquered (Islands of Blood and Storm) by Kacen Callender

Kingdomtide by Rye Curtis

Acid for the Children: A Memoir by Flea

Beheld by TaraShea Nesbit

And this is funny.

So cute.

Song stuck in my head:

“Night Shift” by Lucy Dacus

Trivia answer: Howard the Duck.

You made it to the bottom! High five. Thanks for reading! – xo, L

Happy Monday! Did anyone manage to get in their extra hour of reading time this weekend? I sure did! I have had a heck of a year, but I finally seem to be picking up speed again with my reading. I wish I could stop time and read for months. But then those months would probably turn into years, because who am I kidding, I would never stop! ULTIMATE DREAM.

Moving on: I have a some bookish news for you today. Please enjoy the rest of your week, and remember to be excellent to each other! I’ll see you again on Thursday. – xoxo, Liberty

Here’s Monday’s trivia question: Who directed the 1987 horror classic Hellraiser, based on the novella by Clive Barker? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reels, and Squeals! 

Alex Bledsoe’s The Tufa Series has been optioned for television.

Here’s the first look at The Empire Of Gold, the final book in S.A. Chakraborty’s Daevabad Trilogy.

Hub City Press announced an upcoming anthology about the new American South by writers of color.

And here’s the first look at Cemetery Boys by Aidan Thomas.

Eve L. Ewing’s Electric Arches is being made into an anthology series.

Karolina Waclawiak shared the cover and release date of her upcoming novel, Life Events.

Netflix released the trailer for The Witcher with Henry Cavill.

Here’s the first look at Zoë Kravitz is Hulu’s High Fidelity reboot.

Lady Gaga will star in a film about the Gucci family fashion dynasty, based on the book The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed by Sara Gay Forden.

Clive Barker’s Books of Blood will be a feature film on Hulu.

Book Riot Recommends 

At Book Riot, I work on the New Books! email, the All the Books! podcast about new releases, and the Book Riot Insiders New Release Index. I am very fortunate to get to read a lot of upcoming titles, and learn about a lot of upcoming titles, and I’m delighted to share a couple with you each week so you can add them to your TBR!

Excited to read:

These Women by Ivy Pochoda (Ecco, May 19, 2020)

I learned about this upcoming book just last night and I am soooooooo excited because Ivy Pochoda writes amazing crime novels, and this one claims to be “a serial killer story like you’ve never seen before—a literary thriller of female empowerment and social change.” SIGN. ME. UP.

What I’m reading this week:

Kingdomtide by Rye Curtis

The Dark Lord Clementine by Sarah Jean Horwitz

Lobizona: A Novel (Wolves of No World Book) by Romina Garber

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

Queen of the Conquered (Islands of Blood and Storm) by Kacen Callender

Pun of the week: 

R.I.P boiled water. You will be mist.

Here’s a kitten picture:

Zevon was a Weeble for Halloween.

And this is funny.

I feel the same, honestly.

Trivia answer: Clive Barker. 

You made it to the bottom! Thanks for reading! – xo, L

It’s Thursday! Congratulations, you’ve made it halfway through the week. And it’s Halloween!!!! I have no plans to go out, but I may still paint my face like Gideon the Ninth just for sitting around the house. And don’t forget we turn the clocks back an hour this weekend – it’s my favorite day of the year. An extra hour of reading time!

Anyhoo, I have some fun stuff to tell you about today. I hope you’re reading something wonderful right now, and that you get full-size candy bars when you go trick-or-treating. And remember to be kind to yourself and others.  I’ll see you again on Monday! – xoxo, Liberty

Trivia question time! What happens in David Copperfield by Charles Dickens when Peggotty laughs or gets too emotional? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

Patrick Schwarzenegger has received a lead role in Amy Poehler’s adaptation of Moxie.

Marie Kondo has a new book about cleaning up at work coming out next year.

HBO has pulled the plug on the first of its planned Game of Thrones spinoffs.

Here’s the trailer for DC’s new Hill House Comics.

Europa Editions announced the new Elena Ferrante novel, The Lying Life of Adults, which will publish next year and is translated by Ann Goldstein.

This Twitter thread about reading Dracula for the first time is to be applauded. (Head up: NSFW.)

Here’s the star-studded trailer for The Personal History of David Copperfield.

Mackenzi Lee announced a third Montague siblings book: The Nobelman’s Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks.

Mat Johnson is writing a Spider-Man comic.

Book Riot Recommends 

At Book Riot, I work on the New Books! email, the All the Books! podcast about new releases, and the Book Riot Insiders New Release Index. I am very fortunate to get to read a lot of upcoming titles, and learn about a lot of upcoming titles, and I’m delighted to share a couple with you each week so you can add them to your TBR! (It will now be books I loved on Mondays and books I’m excited to read on Thursdays. YAY, BOOKS!)

Excited to read:

Actress by Anne Enright (W. W. Norton & Company, March 3, 2020)

I am a huge fan of Enright’s Man Booker-winning novel The Gathering, even though, GAH, is it sad. And The Green Road is also magnificent! So I am so thrilled to learn this week that she has a new novel on the way next year! It’s about the daughter of a famous Irish stage actress looking to learn the truth about her mother.

What I’m reading this week.

Lobizona: A Novel (Wolves of No World Book 1) by Romina Garber

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

Queen of the Conquered (Islands of Blood and Storm) by Kacen Callender

On Swift Horses: A Novel by Shannon Pufahl

A Rip in Heaven by Jeanine Cummins

And this is funny.

The Cats movie is only following one account on Twitter.

Song stuck in my head:

Frank Sinatra by Cake. (Why, yes, I did just start watching The Sopranos for the first time.)

Trivia answer: Her buttons pop off.

You made it to the bottom! High five. Thanks for reading! – xo, L

Happy Monday, readers! I had a blast doing the Dewey’s Readathon this weekend. (Next one is April 25, 2020 – save the date!) I discovered that the secret to staying up all night to read for a 24-hour marathon is to read scary things all day until you’re too afraid to go to sleep, lol. TOTALLY WORTH IT.

And THIS weekend contains my favorite day of the year: when we turn the clocks back! That’s an extra hour of reading time, which is THE BEST. I can’t wait! Until then, I have a teeny bit of bookish news for you today. Please enjoy the rest of your week, and remember to be excellent to each other! I’ll see you again on Thursday. – xoxo, Liberty

Here’s Monday’s trivia question: When was Encyclopaedia Britannica, the first English-language encyclopedia, first published? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reels, and Squeals! 

Here’s the current news on the adaptation of Adib Khorram’s Darius the Great is Not Okay.

Random House with publish Imbolo Mbue’s second novel, How Beautiful We Were, in June of 2020.

Here’s the cover for Sarah MacLean’s final Bareknuckle Bastards novel, Daring and the Duke. (Avon, June 30, 2020)

Maia and Alex Shibutani, sibling ice dancers and Olympic bronze medalists, have written a middle grade series together. The first book, Kudo Kids: The Mystery of the Masked Medalist, comes out next year.

Here’s the first look at Grace Lin’s middle grade Mulan novel.

Saladin Ahmed will pen the new Conan the Barbarian comic.

Here’s the trailer for the HBO miniseries of Stephen King’s The Outsider, starring Jason Bateman.

Book Riot Recommends 

At Book Riot, I work on the New Books! email, the All the Books! podcast about new releases, and the Book Riot Insiders New Release Index. I am very fortunate to get to read a lot of upcoming titles, and learn about a lot of upcoming titles, and I’m delighted to share a couple with you each week so you can add them to your TBR!

Loved, loved, loved:

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (Tor.com, June 2, 2020)

I have read this book, and I know this is horrible, but I can’t really tell you anything about it except OMG IT’S SO GOOD. I mean, it mayyyyy even be better than Gideon the Ninth – it’s THAT good. But to tell you anything about it would be a spoilers for people who read the first one, and HUGE spoilers for people who haven’t read it yet. (What are you waiting for????) So let me just say one more time: HOLY CATSSSSSSSSS IT’S SO GOOD. And I’ll leave it at that.

What I’m reading this week:

On Swift Horses: A Novel by Shannon Pufahl

The Only Child: A Novel by Mi-ae Seo

A Rip in Heaven by Jeanine Cummins

The Second Sleep by Robert Harris

The Rosewater Redemption (The Wormwood Trilogy Book 3) by Tade Thompson

Pun of the week: 

I used to be afraid of hurdles, but I got over it.

Here’s a kitten picture:

Zevon is the captain of the S.S. Fruit Bowl.

And this is funny.

Mad that I laughed at this.

Trivia answer: In 1771 in Edinburgh, Scotland. 

You made it to the bottom! Thanks for reading! – xo, L

It’s Thursday! How the heck are ya? Me, I’m doing pretty shiny. I’ve been reading a lot of spooky books to get in the Halloween mood, and I just learned a couple of my favorite older movies are available to stream. (The Last Seduction and Ghost World, both probably problematic rubbish now, but fingers crossed they hold up.) I have some fun stuff to tell you about today. I hope you’re reading something wonderful right now, and have a great rest of your week. And remember to be kind to yourself and others.  I’ll see you again on Monday! – xoxo, Liberty

Trivia question time! How old was Mary Shelley when she wrote Frankenstein? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

André Holland joins the cast of the adaptation of Nella Larsen’s Passing, which will also star Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga.

Here’s the first look at 10 Things I Hate About Pinky, Sandhya Menon’s follow-up to When Dimple Met Rishi and There’s Something about Sweetie.

There’s going to be a role-playing game based on N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy.

Lee Pace and Jared Harris will star in an adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation for Apple TV+.

Here’s the first look at the cover of Where Dreams Descend: A Novel (Kingdom of Cards) by Janella Angeles. (Wednesday Books, June 2, 2020)

Chelsea Harris has joined the cast of Snowpiercer.

Two reimaginings coming our way: The Brides from Dracula and a Mary Shelley show.

The anonymous author of the 2018 Trump op-ed is publishing a book.

And Katherine Applegate has written a sequel to The One and Only Bob, due on shelves in the spring of 2020.

Book Riot Recommends 

At Book Riot, I work on the New Books! email, the All the Books! podcast about new releases, and the Book Riot Insiders New Release Index. I am very fortunate to get to read a lot of upcoming titles, and learn about a lot of upcoming titles, and I’m delighted to share a couple with you each week so you can add them to your TBR! (It will now be books I loved on Mondays and books I’m excited to read on Thursdays. YAY, BOOKS!)

Excited to read:

Network Effect: A Murderbot Novel by Martha Wells (Tor.com, May 5, 2020)

A WHOLE MURDERBOT NOVEL???? Is it my birthday?!? I love the four Murderbot novellas with the heat of a thousand suns, so I cannot wait to read a whole novel-length adventure with everyone’s favorite sarcastic sentient security bot. I reeeeeeeeally want a Murderbot show. Or movie. Or both. I LOVE THEM.

What I’m reading this week.

Blood Countess (A Lady Slayers Novel) by Lana Popović

Solitary: Unbroken by Four Decades in Solitary Confinement: My Story of Transformation and Hope by Albert Woodfox

Carrie Fisher: A Life on the Edge by Sheila Weller

Godshot: A Novel by Chelsea Bieker

And this is funny.

That’s quite a trick.

Song stuck in my head:

Gorilla, You’re a Desperado by Warren Zevon.

Trivia answer: Only 18!

You made it to the bottom! High five. Thanks for reading! – xo, L