Category: Book Radar

Hello, all you cats and kittens! Welcome to another Thursday of bookish news and excitement. Are you excited about the Booker Prize longlist? There are a couple books I am DYING to read. Now, on to the newsletter, so I can get back to reading! I hope whatever you’re doing, you 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

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Sponsored by a few of the summer and fall picks of the Class of 2k19 books, 20 authors, 20 MG and YA novels debuting in 2019.

THE GRIEF KEEPER: “A tender tale that explores the heartbreak and consequences of when both love and human beings are branded illegal.” – Fall JLG Selection
THE BEST LIES: “A gripping story of love, obsession, and the space in between.” – Kirkus Reviews
THE TENTH GIRL: “Faring’s exquisite prose weaves a tale that is both seductively eerie and wildly original.” —April Genevieve Tucholke, author of The Boneless Mercies
THE STORY THAT CANNOT BE TOLD: “By turns surprising, poetic, and stark, The Story That Cannot Be Told is one that should most certainly be read.”—Alan Gratz, NYT bestselling author of Refugee

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Trivia question time!  Who was born Frederick August Kittel in 1945? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

Hulu is getting ready for a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series.

Here’s the first look at The Witcher with Henry Cavill.

And speaking of Netflix adaptations, here’s the first peek at Dracula.

And Viola Davis will star in Netflix’s adaptation of August Wilson’s play Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

And the first trailer for HBO’s Watchmen series.

Marvel is relaunching the X-Men series. (Here’s a great Twitter thread of all the Marvel news that came out of the SDCC.)

Here’s the first look at the cover of The Unwilling by Kelly Braffet, coming next year. (I AM SO EXCITED.)

There’s an Ursula K. Le Guin documentary coming to PBS in August.

Lois Lowry is publishing her first book in verse.

An adaptation of the Heathen comic is on the way!

And so is a series adaptation of Barkskins by Annie Proulx.

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:

The Glass Hotel: A Novel by Emily St. John Mandel (Knopf, March 24, 2020)

I mean, who isn’t excited about this??? This is her first novel since Station Eleven, which is still talked about all the time. This one says it is “a captivating novel of money, beauty, white-collar crime, ghosts, and moral compromise in which a woman disappears from a container ship off the coast of Mauritania and a massive Ponzi scheme implodes in New York, dragging countless fortunes with it.” I CANNOT WAIT.

What I’m reading this week.

The Vexations by Caitlin Horrocks

The Last Stone: A Masterpiece of Criminal Interrogation by Mark Bowden

The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia by Emma Copley Eisenberg

Speaking of Summer: A Novel by Kalisha Buckhanon

And this is funny.

I have watched this 1000 times and I am still laughing.

Trivia answer: August Wilson. 

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

Welcome to another Monday! I hope this is the week you win the lottery and never have to work again, instead spending your remaining days reading books and playing with baby animals. Fingers crossed! Whatever happens, please enjoy the rest of your week, and remember to be excellent to each other! I’ll see you again on Thursday. – xoxo, Liberty

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Sponsored by Dynamite Entertainment

Eating candy nonstop and watching TV all day sounds great . . . until you actually do it, as the kids of Bayport High find out when all the adults vanish! The world’s greatest (high school) detectives — Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys! — must team up to solve the mystery! Whether it’s going under cover, sneaking out at night, chasing weird buses, or following a strange smell, they know it’ll take all their wits to get their parents and teachers back . . . that is, if Joe and Frank don’t kill each other first.

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Here’s Monday’s trivia question: What actress was originally going to play Grizabella for the original run of Cats in the West End in 1981, but had to leave three weeks before it started after she was injured? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reels, and Squeals!

Undead Girl Gang author Lily Anderson has a new two-book deal.

Javier Bardem is in talks to play King Triton in Disney’s live-action Little Mermaid.

Elle UK deputy editor Kenya Hunt will publish a memoir next year entitled GIRL.

Archivist Wasp author Nicole Kornher-Stace announced a new book.

Five Feet Apart authors Rachael Lippincott and Mikki Daughtry, will next publish All This Time.

Love, Simon star Nick Robinson will join the cast To Kill A Mockingbird on Broadway.

A Jack Reacher series is in the works.

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover is being made into a movie.

Lev Grossman and the Russo brothers are making a space opera.

Sneak Peeks

Here’s the new extended trailer for His Dark Materials.

And if you think you can handle watching cats with boobs, here’s the trailer for 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:

Mary Toft; or, The Rabbit Queen by Dexter Palmer (Pantheon, November 19)

Please forgive me, I have been quite unwell this past week, and I did not get to an upcoming release. But I still wanted to share one with you! I loved Palmer’s Version Control, which came out a couple years ago, so I am dying to get my hands on this one. This one is unbelievably based on a true story of a woman in the small town of Godalming, England in 1726 who gave birth to dead rabbits. SOLD. Sounds amazing. (Except for the dead rabbit bit, poor bunnies.)

What I’m reading this week:

The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia by Emma Copley Eisenberg

From the Wreck by Jane Rawson

The World Doesn’t Require You: Stories by Rion Amilcar Scott

Pun of the week: 

Light travels faster than sound. That’s why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

Here’s a kitten picture:

Cat loaf.

And this is funny.

Lol.

Trivia answer: Judi Dench.

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

Happy Thursday! Guess what? It’s my birthday today! I will be spending it reading books. Because duh. That’s the only thing I like to do! I hope whatever you’re doing, you 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

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Sponsored by Penguin Random House

Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor with her sisters. Once there were twelve of them, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls’ lives have been cut short. Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that her sister’s deaths were no accidents. The girls have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, and Annaleigh isn’t sure whether to try to stop them or to join their forbidden trysts. When Annaleigh’s involvement with a mysterious stranger who has secrets of his own intensifies, it’s a race to unravel the darkness that has fallen over her family—before it claims her next.

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Trivia question time! What U.S. President read one book a day? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

Naveen Andrews will star in the adaptation of Gabrielle Zevin’s The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry.

Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce is being adapted for the screen.

Lakeith Stanfield will star in the adaptation of Kwame Onwuachi’s memoir Notes From a Young Black Chef.

The second season of Mindhunter now has a release date.

The Distance From Me to You by Marina Gessner is getting an adaptation.

Simon & Schuster is publishing another book from the Younger television series.

The adaptation of Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy, starring Michael B. Jordan, will be released at the end of this year. (Just in time for awards season.)

And for some reason, there’s already going to be a reboot of Gossip Girl.

And here’s the trailer for Vita & Virginia, about the relationship between Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West.

Cover Reveals

Here’s the first look at the cover for Maya and the Rising Dark by Rena Barron. (HMH Books for Young Readers, May 5, 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:

Real Life by Brandon Taylor (Riverhead Books, February 18, 2020)

For as long as I can remember, Taylor has been an exciting and essential voice to literary conversations on social media, so I am thrilled that we will have a chance to read a book by him. The blurb tells me “an introverted African-American transplant from Alabama, is at odds with the lakeside Midwestern university town where he is working toward a biochem degree.” Can’t wait! AND THAT COVER.

What I’m reading this week.

The World Doesn’t Require You: Stories by Rion Amilcar Scott

The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep by H. G. Parry

The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia by Emma Copley Eisenberg

From the Wreck by Jane Rawson

And this is funny.

Snort.

Trivia answer: Theodore Roosevelt. 

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

Happy Monday! I hope you had a fun weekend (or a bad weekend, if that’s more your thing, my little Wednesday Addams.) I am quite under the weather today, so I am keeping it brief, but I still have a couple of great things to share with you today. And as always there’s a kitten picture. (Three more months and then I will have to refer to it as a ‘cat picture.’ HASHTAG SOB.) Enjoy the rest of your week, and remember to be excellent to each other! I’ll see you again on Thursday. – xoxo, Liberty

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Sponsored by Doubleday

In this bravura follow-up to the Pulitzer Prize, and National Book Award-winning #1 New York Times bestseller The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida. Based on the real story of a reform school in Florida that operated for one hundred and eleven years and warped the lives of thousands of children, The Nickel Boys is a devastating, driven narrative that showcases a great American novelist writing at the height of his powers.

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Here’s Monday’s trivia question: Whose bones were supposedly found at Glastonbury Abbey in 1191? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reels, and Squeals!

Brian K. Vaughan’s Paper Girls is being adapted for television.

Phoebe Dynevor & Regé-Jean Page to star in Shondaland’s Bridgerton adaptation for Netflix.

ALL THE MUPPET ARMS: Congratulations to Rioter Jenn Northington! She’s publishing an anthology of Arthuriana retellings with former Rioter Swapna Krishna! It has an AMAZING line-up of contributors.

Poet and former Youth Laureate Amanda Gorman has a book deal.

HarperCollins Children’s Books has announced plans to launch HarperAlley, a graphic novel imprint, in the fall of 2020.

Cover Reveals 

Here’s the first look at So We Can Glow, the upcoming story collection for Leesa Cross-Smith. (Grand Central Publishing, March 10, 2020)

And the first peek at Infinity Son from Adam Silvera. (HarperTeen, January 14, 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!)

Loved, loved, loved:

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid (January 7, 2020, G.P. Putnam’s Sons)

I went on and on about this book on All the Backlist! last week, so I’ll try to keep it brief, but OMG. I think I may have just read the best book of 2020, and it’s only July of 2019, lol. It is an absolutely perfect novel about race, privilege, white guilt, power, money, and love. It starts with a young black woman being confronted by a security guard when she takes the white child she is babysitting into the grocery store, and every chapter ratchets up the tension and the hard truths from there. Mark. This. Down. Now.

What I’m reading this week:

Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu

The Second Sleep by Robert Harris

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

A Prayer for Travelers by Ruchika Tomar

(I have been reading like fifteen bits of books at a time. I need to wrap a few of them up, LOL.)

Pun of the week: 

What did the duck say when she purchased new lipstick? “Put it on my bill.”

Here’s a kitten picture:

Zevon is unsympathetic to my pain.

And this is funny.

All books for all seasons!

Trivia answer: King Arthur’s.

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

Happy Thursday! Here are a few things for your brain to chew on. Make sure to brush your brain’s teeth after! I hope whatever you’re doing, you 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

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Sponsored by Dynamite Entertainment

When Jessica falls in love with her Shakespeare teacher, she begins to act like her studious twin sister Elizabeth to impress him. Now it’s up to Elizabeth to make sure that all’s well that end well – but with Jessica playing her role, will anyone be able to tell which twin is which?

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Trivia question time! Which of Shakespeare’s plays is the shortest? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

George R.R. Martin has teased the Game of Thrones prequel.

P. Djèlí Clark has signed on for a debut novel and two new novellas with Tor.com!

Howard Bryant’s book The Heritage will be adapted into a docuseries.

And there will also be a documentary about the Truly Tasteless joke books of yesteryear.

Dahlia Adler is editing an anthology of Shakespeare retellings, featuring a zillion amazing authors.

John Constantine is joining the Sandman universe.

Cover Reveals

Here’s the first look at  Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen! (Epic Reads, February 4, 2020)

And the first peek at Go To Sleep (I Miss You): Cartoons from the Fog of New Parenthood by Lucy Knisley. ( First Second, February 25, 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:

The Janes: An Alice Vega Novel by Louisa Luna (Doubleday, January 21, 2020)

I really loved Two Girls Down, the first book in this series, so I am over the moon that we get a new one next year! I thought Alice Vega was an excellent flawed character. Not flawed in all the same ways they usually make detectives. She was very realistic. I can’t wait to read this one. You should read Two Girls Down while we wait.

What I’m reading this week.

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

The Second Sleep by Robert Harris

The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory

Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather

And this is funny.

Give this person an award.

Trivia answer: The Comedy of Errors only has 1,787 lines and 14,369 words. 

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

Well, that was the fastest week ever! How is everyone out there? I had a busy week of reading and trying to keep the cats calm while my neighbors shot off fireworks pretty much every night. While last week was full of fireworks, it was a pretty slow news week, but I still have a couple of things to share with you today, including a kitten picture, of course. Enjoy the rest of your week, and remember to be excellent to each other! I’ll see you again on Thursday. – xoxo, Liberty

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Sponsored by Dynamite Entertainment

The adventure begins for children and adults alike, as the classic character Rainbow Brite comes to comics and brings a little color to your life! Wisp and Willow are best friends who live in a small town. They are inseparable, until one night Wisp discovers something is stealing the color from the world! To escape their grasp, Wisp must use her wits and the help of a new friend…from somewhere else.

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Here’s Monday’s trivia question: What 1877 classic novel was a bestseller in 2004? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reels, and Squeals!

Mckenna Grace will star in and produce an adaptation of Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett.

Netflix is getting a Sandman series from Neil Gaiman.

And a Harry Potter show is in development for Warner Brothers.

Nathalie Emmanuel from Game Of Thrones fame is being considered for the role of Storm.

Tor announced Over the Woodward Wall, a new fantasy series from Seanan McGuire arriving in 2020.

Rachel Howzell Hall announced a new detective series.

Lock Every Door by Riley Siger is being made into a series by Paramount.

Boom Studios’ will have its first crossover storyline between its ongoing Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel comic series.

Mallory O’Meara is following up her book about Millicent Patrick with a book about the history of women making and drinking alcohol around the world.

A TV detective drama is coming, based on the classic Inspector French novels by Freeman Wills Crofts.

Mackenzi Lee is postponing The Madness Blooms.

Anna Karenina is getting another adaptation.

J.A. Bayona will direct Amazon’s Lord Of The Rings series.

Cover Reveals 

Here’s the first look at Xeni: A Marriage of Inconvenience by Rebekah Weatherspoon. (2020)

And Tor.com shared the first look at Nino Cipri’s Finna. (Tor.com, February 25, 2019)

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!)

Loved, loved, loved:

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

Okay, I’m not going to lie, I would buy this book SIMPLY for the cover. But the insides were amazing too! January Scaller is a young girl of seven living with her father’s benefactor, Mr. Locke, while her father travels the globe. Being curious as children tend to be, January explores Mr. Locke’s mansion and finds a book that claims that portals between worlds are real. And what Harrow does to make us feel this is the first time we’ve read a book about portals between worlds is in itself magic. I adored every second of this magical novel filled with fascinating ideas and a headstrong heroine.

What I’m reading this week:

The Saturday Night Ghost Club by Craig Davidson (FYI: He also writes as Nick Cutter.)

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

The Reunion by Guillaume Musso

A Prayer for Travelers by Ruchika Tomar

Pun of the week: 

The scarecrow said, “This job isn’t for everyone, but hay, it’s in my jeans.”

Here’s a kitten picture:

My funny feline.

And this is funny.

How can you run out of snacks???

Trivia answer: Anna Karenina.

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

RABBIT, RABBIT! It’s the first day of July – how bananas is that??? The year is halfway over! It’s like I blink and it’s a month later. Which may have something to do with always having my nose in a book lol. We are in peak summer season for books, which means not as much news, but I have a little bit of fun stuff for you today. Because of the holiday, I will be off on Thursday, but I’ll sure as heck see you next Monday! Enjoy the rest of your week, have a Happy 4th, and remember to be excellent to each other! I’ll see you again on Thursday. – xoxo, Liberty

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Here’s Monday’s trivia question: What author went to school with actor Doug Bradley, who later played the author’s most famous character in the films? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reels, and Squeals!

Colson Whitehead mentioned his next project after The Nickel Boys in his cover interview for Time magazine.

We have such sights to show you: Hellraiser is getting a television series.

Melissa McCarthy is in talks to play Ursula in a live-action Little Mermaid.

Fiona Shaw joins Millie Bobby Brown in the adaptation of the Enola Holmes books by Nancy Springer.

Cover Reveals 

Here’s the cover of The Deep by Alma Katsu! (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, March 10, 2020)

Here’s the amazing cover of And I Do Not Forgive You: Stories and Other Revenges by Amber Sparks. (Liveright, February 11, 2020)

And the first look at The Illness Lesson: A Novel by Clare Beams. (Doubleday, February 11, 2020)

Here’s the first look at The Red Lotus, the upcoming novel from Chris Bohjalian. (Doubleday, March 17, 2020)

And here’s the first look at This Vicious Cure by Emily Suvada. (Simon Pulse, January 21, 2020)

And ohmygoodness, it’s the reveal of a book called Ronan the Librarian. (Roaring Brook Press, April 21, 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!)

Loved, loved, loved:

The Great Pretender: The Undercover Mission That Changed Our Understanding of Madness by Susannah Cahalan (Grand Central Publishing, November 5)

Cahalan takes a close look at the mental health industry, something that interested her after nearly being put into a psychiatric unit herself, before her disease was discovered. (Which you can read about in the wonderful Brain on Fire.) She covers the history of institutions; the horrific conditions of such places past and present; Nellie Bly’s famous ten days on Blackwell’s Island; and the experiment that brought the lack of understanding of mental illnesses to light despite the widespread treatment of them. How do patients get diagnosed when every mental illness has so many different – and sometimes overlapping – symptoms? Why is mental illness not treated like a physical disease, when it it located in the brain, a physical object in the body? I have never been more interested in the brain than I have been since this winter, when I experienced the effects of a long bout of sleep depravation first hand. (Most of which I don’t even remember, which freaks me out!) I found this book fascinating, and I am sure this is going to be another big book for Cahalan! (Also, you should totally read Bly’s book while you wait for this one.)

What I’m reading this week:

The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom

In at the Deep End by Kate Davies

Akin by Emma Donoghue

Pun of the week: 

Just burned 2,000 calories. That’s the last time I leave brownies in the oven while I nap.

Here’s a kitten picture:

My (no longer) little orange gorillas.

And this is funny.

The struggle is real.

Trivia answer: Clive Barker.

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

Happy Thursday! Here is some great stuff to smoosh in your brainpan. Because book stuff is the best smoosh stuff! I hope whatever you’re doing, you 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

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Sponsored by Dynamite Entertainment

Underpowered and overwhelmed, Kenton tries to hold the Sand Masters together as forces political and personal conspire against them. Now, in one final push, Kenton must tap the most dangerous depths of his own abilities to combat the enemies within his own guild, and discover the truth behind the ambush that killed his father and almost destroyed the Sand Masters for good.

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Trivia question time! What show inspired the Traveling Symphony’s motto “survival is insufficient” in Emily St. John Mandel’s novel Station Eleven? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

Patrick Somerville is adapting both Made for Love by Alissa Nutting and Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.

And speaking of Emily, she revealed information about her new novel The Glass Hotel.

Constance Wu will star in the Goodbye, Vitamin adaptation.

Stephen King’s The Stand miniseries announced its all-star cast.

Keegan Michael-Key to star with Meryl Streep, Ariana Grande and more in Ryan Murphy’s Netflix musical adaptation of Prom.

Joe Hill is writing and overseeing a new line of DC horror comics, including a contribution from Carmen Maria Machado.

Universal Pictures has optioned the rights to The Giver of Stars, a new novel from Jojo Moyes.

Marvel unveils one-act plays featuring Ms. Marvel, Thor, and other heroes.

George Clooney to direct and star in Lily Brooks-Dalton’s Good Morning, Midnight.

Lincoln Lawyer series in development at CBS from David E. Kelley.

Daisy Ridley is reportedly the top choice for the Batgirl film.

Cover Reveals

Samantha Irby shared the amazing cover of Wow, No Thank You, her upcoming memoir. (Vintage, Spring 2020)

Here’s the first look at Don’t Overthink It: Make Easier Decisions, Stop Second-Guessing, and Bring More Joy to Your Life, the upcoming book from Anne Bogel. (Baker Books, March 3, 2020)

And the first look at Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold. (Balzer + Bray, February 25, 2020)

Sneak Peeks

Here’s a clip of the new Ophelia movie with Daisy Ridley and Naomi Watts.

Here’s the trailer for the final season of Orange is the New Black.

And here’s the first photos of the adaptation of Jane Austen’s unfinished novel Sandition.

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:

The Last Day by Andrew Hunter Murray (Dutton, February 4, 2020)

I am going to be completely honest with you: I don’t remember why I wrote this down. I have a short list where I add upcoming titles that have been recommended to me, and I don’t remember who told me I needed to read this one. That said, the plot sounds amazing, about a plausible dystopian near-future and a scientist who is doing her damndest to save the world. And the planet’s rotation has stopped and the US population now inhabits the lower half of Great Britain which sounds bananas. I am indeed excited to get my hands on it!

What I’m reading this week.

From Hell to Breakfast by Meghan Tifft

In at the Deep End by Kate Davies

Mary Toft; or, The Rabbit Queen: A Novel by Dexter Palmer

Girls Like Us by Cristina Alger

And this is funny.

Start them young.

Trivia answer: Star Trek: Voyager.

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

Hello, hello, hello! IT’S MONDAY. But don’t fret: there’s lots of fun things to read about today! I would never let you be completely miserable on Mondays. Enjoy the rest of your week and remember to be excellent to each other! I’ll see you again on Thursday. – xoxo, Liberty

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Sponsored by Doubleday

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Night Circus, a timeless love story set in a secret underground world–a place of pirates, painters, lovers, liars, and ships that sail upon a starless sea.

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Here’s this week’s trivia question:  What children’s book author also wrote more than 800 songs? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reels, and Squeals!

Ngozi Ukazu announced her follow-up to Check, Please.

Riverdale’s Asha Bromfield has sold her first YA novel.

Melissa Broder announced her next novel: Milk Fed.

The Devouring Gray author Christine Lynn Herman also announced her next book.

Noelle Stevenson is publishing a graphic memoir called The Fire Never Goes Out.

Maureen Johnson discussed the last book in her Truly Devious trilogy.

Daveed Diggs will narrate the audiobook for The Deep by Rivers Solomon.

Kylie Bunbury to star with Demi Moore in a Brave New World series.

A Dark Crystal comic book series will accompany the Netflix show.

Cover Reveals 

Here’s the first peek at the cover of A Phoenix First Must Burn: Sixteen Stories of Black Girl Magic, Resistance, and Hope edited by Patrice Caldwell. (Viking Books for Young Readers, March 10, 2020)

And here’s the cover of The Dragon Egg Princess, the upcoming middle grade novel from Ellen Oh. (HarperCollins, March 3, 2020)

And the first look at the new Laura Ruby: Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All. (Balzer + Bray, October 1)

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!)

Loved, loved, loved:

The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht (Tor.com, September 24)

Ohhhhhh, what a deliciously disturbing little delight this is! It’s about a town called Elendhaven, which seems to be on a black moon after the North Pole split in two. And there is a creature called Johann, who has come out of the sea, and he likes nothing more than to murder. Johann teams up with a frail magician to double the evil, double the fun (and engage in an effed up courtship), and together they set about plotting horrible plots. This is like the anti-Edward Scissorhands. It’s a 160-page-long gothic grotesquerie that I wish was 1600 pages.

What I’m reading this week:

Erosion: Essays of Undoing by Terry Tempest Williams

Mary Toft; or, The Rabbit Queen: A Novel by Dexter Palmer

Akin by Emma Donoghue

American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century by Maureen Callahan

Pun of the week: 

It was an emotional wedding. Even the cake was in tiers.

Here’s a kitten picture:

Farrokh sleeps like he’s dancing in A Charlie Brown Christmas.

And this is funny.

Took me a second. It’s very clever.

Trivia answer: Shel Silverstein.

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

Hello from my secret volcano lair, where I am currently plotting world domination. JK, I’m reading and petting cats. Being in charge of the world would take up too much precious reading time. In any case, it is Thursday, and I have bookish things to tell you! I hope whatever you’re doing, you 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

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Exiled Charmer Leena Edenfrell is running out of time. Empty pockets forced her to sell her beloved magical beasts—an offense punishable by death—and now there’s a price on her head. With the realm’s most talented murderer-for-hire nipping at her heels, Leena makes Noc an offer he can’t refuse: powerful mythical creatures in exchange for her life. Plagued by a curse that kills everyone he loves, Noc agrees to Leena’s terms in hopes of finding a cure. Never mind that the dark magic binding the assassin’s oath will eventually force him to choose between Leena’s continued survival…and his own.

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Trivia question time! What author’s name was James Oliver Rigney, Jr., before he changed it to his famous pen name? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

Suzanne Collins is releasing a Hunger Games prequel in May of 2020.

Riverhead Books is publishing Lidia Yuknavitch’s first story collection.

Elizabeth Acevedo became the first writer of color to win the Carnegie medal in its 83-year history.

Rosamund Pike will play Moiraine in the Wheel of Time series adaptation.

Joy Harjo is the first Native American U.S. Poet Laureate.

Janet Mock signed a landmark deal with Netflix.

Julie Andrews will voice Lady Whistledown in Shondaland’s Bridgerton series for Netflix, based on Julia Quinn’s novels.

Paramount made a 7-figure film deal for the rights to the upcoming thriller The Chain by Adrian McKinty.

Cover Reveals

Here’s the cover reveal for Madness Blooms by Mackenzi Lee. (And here’s her response to feedback on the jacket copy.) (Flatiron Books, February 4, 2020)

And coincidentally, here’s a similar cover reveal for Splinters of Scarlet by Emily Bain Murphy. (HMH Books for Young Readers, July 21, 2020)

And here’s the cover reveal of Unnatural Magic by C. M. Waggoner. (Ace, November 5)

Sneak Peeks

Here’s the trailer for The Rook, the series adaptation based on the novel by Daniel O’Malley.

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:

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, January 7, 2020)

I’ve been hearing buzz about this debut novel since last year, and we still have six months to go. It’s about a white blogger whose African American babysitter is confronted by a security guard for being with a white child. The whole episode is filmed, and in turn, brings up trouble from the past for the blogger, and harassment for the babysitter. In other words, it sounds 1000% plausible. I can’t wait to read it!

What I’m reading this week.

The Chain by Adrian McKinty

The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone by Felicity McLean

My Time Among the Whites: Notes from an Unfinished Education by Jennine Capó Crucet

And this is funny.

This made me laugh for like 10 minutes.

Trivia answer: Robert Jordan.

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