Category: Book Radar

THE GLASS HOTEL by Emily St John Mandel Will Be a Series and More Book Radar!

Post author By Liberty Hardy
Post date September 4, 2019

Sponsored by Vesuvian Books, publisher of Speak No Evil by Liana Gardner.

The daughter of Appalachian snake handlers becomes a ward of the state after a tragedy leaves her orphaned.
“… highly emotional.” ~School Library Journal
“… a very powerful novel that depicts the cruelty and injustice of the world while also highlighting the ever-present beauty that few see when struggling with dark issues. The book displays the power that love and music have even in the darkest of times.” ~US Review of Books

Hello, starbits! How’s your September going so far? Mine is filled with books, which is just how I like it. I have a lot of great things to tell you today, what with there being no newsletter last Monday and all. I hope 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

P.S. More fun news: be sure to enter Book Riot’s giveaway of the year’s 10 best mystery/thrillers so far!

Trivia question time! What actor was originally cast as Aragorn in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings film trilogy? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

Emily St John Mandel’s upcoming novel, The Glass Hotel, is being adapted for television, with Mandel herself writing the pilot.

The trailer for Just Mercy with Jamie Foxx and Michael B. Jordan has arrived.

Hulu is already developing the Handmaid’s Tale sequel based on The Testaments by Margaret Atwood, which comes out next week.

Buenos Aires-based author K Ferrari has sold his first novel in English, Like Flies from Afar, to Canongate.

Kate Mulgrew has joined the cast of Mr. Mercedes.

Nic Stone is writing a Black Panther novel about Shuri, to publish next year. And former Rioter Preeti Chhibber is writing about the Avengers!

Rooney Mara has joined Guillermo Del Toro’s Nightmare Alley adaptation.

Will Poulter has been cast in the lead of the Lord of the Rings series.

Authors Jenny “The Bloggess” Lawson and Etaf Rum are opening bookstores, in San Antonio and Rocky Mount, respectively!

Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea Cycle is being adapted for television.

The 2019 Booker Prize shortlist has been announced.

Here’s the trailer for the third season of Anne with an E on Netflix.

Daniel Henney will play al’Lan Mandragoran in the Wheel of Time series.

The New York Times talked to the Stanford assault victim, Chanel Miller, who is publishing her memoir on September 24. (TW: sexual assault.)

BJ Novak is releasing a companion edition to The Book with No Pictures.

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:

Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler (Knopf, April 7, 2020)

NEW ANNE TYLER. I read everything she writes. She is my go-to comfort read. I have always loved her, since I was a kid. Favorite Tyler novel? Saint Maybe. There was something a few years ago in an interview where I swear I heard that she said she wasn’t going to publish anymore novels after she reached her twentieth one, but I am glad that has turned out not to be true. This one is about a meticulously organized tech programmer whose life is tipped into chaos when a teenager arrives, claiming to be his son. I can’t wait! Tyler is so good at human nature.

What I’m reading this week.

docile k.m. szpara Docile by K.M. Szpara

The Knockout Queen: A Novel by Rufi Thorpe

Last Couple Standing: A Novel by Matthew Norman

Think Black: A Memoir by Clyde W. Ford

The Silvered Serpents by Roshani Chokshi

And this is funny.

Hahahaha.

Trivia answer: Stuart Townsend.

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

Book Radar

MOON GIRL AND DEVIL DINOSAUR Headed to the Disney Channel and More Book Radar!

Post author By Liberty Hardy
Post date August 29, 2019

Sponsored by Born to Fly by Steve Sheinkin.

A few short years after American women finally got the right to vote, a group of trailblazers soared to new heights in the first women’s air race across the U.S. Follow the lives of legend Amelia Earhart, who has captivated generations; Marvel Crosson, who built a plane before she learned how to fly; Louise Thaden, who shattered altitude records; and Elinor Smith, who made headlines when she flew under the Brooklyn Bridge at 17. These awe-inspiring stories culminate in a suspenseful, nail-biting race that brings to life the glory and grit of the early days of flying, expertly told by the master of nonfiction history, Steve Sheinkin.

It’s that time again! I have some cool stuff to share with you today. A bit of end-of-summer news and some exciting tidbits. (Also, how is summer over???) As you can imagine, I spend a LOT of time looking at catalogs and book news, so I like being able to transfer the stuff I put in my brain to this newsletter to share with everyone else. So kick back, relax, and enjoy. I hope you have a great rest of your week, and remember to be kind to yourself and others. I’ll see you again on Thursday, because Monday is a holiday. Which reminds me of this. – xoxo, Liberty

Trivia question time! How many of Emily Dickinson’s poems were published during her lifetime? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

Bruce Holsinger’s new novel The Gifted School will be adapted for television.

Here’s Hailee Steinfeld as Emily Dickinson in the new trailer for Dickinson, debuting this fall on Apple TV+.

Rainbirds author Clarissa Goenawan announced her new book.

And Sarah Gailey announced a third title coming from them in 2020.

Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur to be an animated series for the Disney Channel.

Here’s Meryl Streep in the trailer for The Laundromat, based on Jake Bernstein’s non-fiction book Secrecy World.

And here’s the trailer for The King with Timothée Chalamet and Robert Pattinson, inspired by Shakespeare’s Henry work.

Tor.com revealed the cover for Hearts of Oak by Eddie Robson. (Tor.com, March 17, 2020)

Shiny! Here’s the cover for Godshot by Chelsea Bieker. (Catapult, April 7, 2020)

Book Riot Recommends

Excited to read:

The Knockout Queen by Rufi Thorpe (Knopf, April 28, 2020)

I JUST learned about this last night and I am over the moon! I love, love, love her other novels, The Girls of Corona del Mar and Dear Fang. I love them like WHOA. She is amazing, and I cannot wait to read this! It’s about two high school students who learn each other’s lives are not as they seem. SIGN ME UP.

What I’m reading this week.

the deep rivers solomon The Deep by Rivers Solomon with Daveed Diggs, et al.

Think Black: A Memoir by Clyde W. Ford

The Silvered Serpents by Roshani Chokshi

This Tender Land: A Novel by William Kent Krueger

And this is funny.

THIS IS THE CUTEST. (NSFW: There is a curse word in the body of the tweet, but it’s the cutest video, I promise.)

Trivia answer: Ten.

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

Book Radar

Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx in JUST MERCY and More Book Radar!

Post author By Liberty Hardy
Post date August 25, 2019

Sponsored by Here We Are: American Dreams, American Nightmares by Aarti Namdev Shahani, published by Celadon Books

On sale October 1, Here We Are: American Dreams, American Nightmares follows the lives of Aarti, the precocious scholarship kid at one of Manhattan’s most elite prep schools, and her dad, the shopkeeper who mistakenly sells watches and calculators to the notorious Cali drug cartel. Ultimately, Here We Are is a coming-of-age story, a love letter from an outspoken modern daughter to her soft-spoken Old World father. She never expected they’d become best friends.

Hello, and welcome to another episode of “UGH I WILL NEVER READ EVERY BOOK I WANT.” I have some fun stuff to tell you about – so much adaptation news! – and of course, a trivia question, a pun, and a cat picture. Basically, I’m helping start the week off right. 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 year was the Pulitzer Prize expanded to include online and multimedia entries? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reels, and Squeals!

William Jackson Harper is joining the adaptation of The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.

Here’s the first official trailer for Edward Norton’s adaptation of Jonathan Lethem’s Motherless Brooklyn.

Here’s the first look at Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx in the adaptation of Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson.

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King is being adapted into a film. (I didn’t realize there were any of his older books left that haven’t been adapted!)

A Ms. Marvel series in the works for the upcoming streaming service DisneyPlus.

Dmitry Glukhovsky’s Metro 2033 is getting a movie adaptation.

Cover Reveals

Here’s the first look at Keep It Together, Keiko Carter by Debbi Michiko Florence. (Scholastic Press, May 5, 2020)

And here’s a peek at the US cover of The Golden Thread: How Fabric Changed History by Kassia St Clair. (Liveright, November 12)

Book Riot Recommends

Loved, loved, loved:

All Cats Are Introverts by Francesco Marciuliano (Andrews McMeel Publishing, October 15)

I never get tired of these books of cat poems. I Could Pee on This was the first, and they’ve all been funny. They are written from a cat’s POV and feature great full-color illustrations. Marciuliano has really captured the essence of cats. By which I mean their destructive natures when they aren’t busy ignoring us. This is the perfect gift for the cat lover in your life! (I mean you. It’s you, isn’t it?)

What I’m reading this week:

The Seep by Chana Porter

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger

Cold Storage by David Koepp

Cantoras by Carolina De Robertis

Pun of the week:

Did you hear about the guy who got hit in the head with a can of soda? He was lucky it was a soft drink.

Here’s a kitten picture:

They’re easier to handle if you glue them together.

And this is funny.

Oh, dystopia.

Trivia answer: 2011.

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

Book Radar

These Two Authors Co-wrote the 4th Matrix Film and More Book Radar!

Post author By Liberty Hardy
Post date August 21, 2019

LOVE, SIMON to Be a Disney Series and More Book Radar!

Post author By Liberty Hardy
Post date August 18, 2019

Sponsored by The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs, the new book from New York Times bestselling author Katherine Howe. On sale now from Henry Holt.

A magical bloodline. A family curse.

Can Connie break the spell before it shatters her future?

The new book from Katherine Howe, bestselling author of The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane.

“There’s real magic in this book.” –Kathleen Kent

New York Times bestselling author Katherine Howe returns to the world of The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane with a bewitching story of a New England history professor who must race against time to free her family from a curse.

Hello, and happy Monday! As I am writing this, it is Friday afternoon and the new season of Mindhunter has just dropped. So now I am trying to figure out how I can marathon-watch the whole season *and* also read a bunch of books this weekend. I really need a clone! (Just kidding, nobody wants that.) Hopefully by the time this reaches you, I will have figured out a good solution. 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 is the main villain in Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast novels?? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reels, and Squeals!

Netflix announced the premiere date of To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You, and mentioned the third film is already in production.

The cast has been revealed for There’s Someone Inside Your House, the adaptation based on the novel by Stephanie Perkins.

Here are the details about the second season of The Haunting of Hill House.

Love, Simon, based on the book Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli and adapted as a movie, is now going to be a Disney series, with a new lead actor.

And The Last Letter from Your Lover by Jojo Moyes is getting a screen adaptation.

The TV adaptation of Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast series has been picked up by Showtime.

Lev Grossman’s The Magicians will start over as a new comic series.

And Sarah Chalke will star in the Netflix series Firefly Lane, based on the book by Kristin Hannah.

Cover Reveals

Here’s the first look at The Hidden Girl and Other Stories by Ken Liu. (Gallery / Saga Press, February 25, 2020)

Epic Reads shared a video of a peek behind the scenes for the cover shoot of Deathless Divide, the sequel to Justina Ireland’s Dread Nation, with a cover reveal at the end!

Book Riot Recommends

Loved, loved, loved:

who says you're dead Who Says You’re Dead?: Medical & Ethical Dilemmas for the Curious & Concerned by Jacob M. Appel MD

Okay, everyone who thinks they’ll ever shuffle off their mortal coil: stop reading here. The rest of you, come with me. This book is full of fascinating information and ethical questions that you may or may not have wondered, like donor matches – should people be told if they are tested and it turns out they don’t actually match with their family? And if you’re on life support, who decides when you’re dead? There are these and a lot more hypothetical scenarios to get your brain gears going. Yes, this is morbid and unsettling stuff, but we’re all gonna go sometime, baby.

What I’m reading this week:

To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers

Dominicana: A Novel by Angie Cruz

Things We Didn’t Talk About When I Was a Girl: A Memoir by Jeannie Vanasco

Deadland (DS Alexandra Cupidi) by William Shaw

Pun of the week:

I took a pole and 100% of the occupants were angry with me when their tent collapsed.

Here’s a kitten picture:

These two goofs.

And this is funny.

When people don’t read the book.

Trivia answer: Steerpike.

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

Book Radar

Awkwafina Will Star as CONSTANCE VERITY and More Book Radar!

Post author By Liberty Hardy
Post date August 14, 2019

Charlie Jane Anders is Working on the Y: THE LAST MAN Show and More Book Radar!

Post author By Liberty Hardy
Post date August 9, 2019

Sponsored by A Single Light—releasing September 17 from New York Times bestselling author Tosca Lee

Six months after taking shelter from a pandemic, cult escapee Wynter Roth and ex-soldier Chase Miller emerge from their bunker to find a country ravaged by disease. As Wynter learns the truth of what transpired in their absence, she is called upon once again to help save a nation she no longer recognizes. The gripping sequel to The Line Between, which New York Times bestselling author Alex Kava calls “Everything you want in a thriller.”

Welcome to another week! I hope everyone had a good weekend. I suffered an unfortunate mishap at the end of last week that left me with a swollen eye, so I only read a little to try and rest it. (And by ‘unfortunate mishap’ I mean ‘a cat jumped on my face while I slept’.) But it’s getting better and I’m excited about all the upcoming books and adaptations! And so many cover reveals 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: What comic book writer worked on the television series Lost for its third through fifth seasons? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reels, and Squeals!

Charlie Jane Anders is working on the Y: The Last Man show!

Idris Elba to star in Concrete Cowboys, based on the novel by Greg Neri.

Rioter Eric Smith is a co-editor of an upcoming anthology jam-packed with amazing talent.

Dashka Slater, author of The 57 Bus, will publish a new nonfiction YA book in 2022.

Lady Boss by Jackie Collins is set to become a series.

Cover Reveals

Here’s the first look at the cover of Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed. (Balzer + Bray, February 4, 2020)

EW has the first look at The Only Good Indians, the upcoming horror novel by Stephen Graham Jones. (Gallery / Saga Press, April 7, 2020)

And here’s the cover reveal of Prosper’s Demon by K. J. Parker. (Tor.com, January 28, 2020)

And here’s the first look at the final book in the Judah Cannon trilogy, Holding Smoke, by Steph Post. (Polis Books, January 28, 2020)

And here’s a peek at Heart of the Moors: An Original Maleficent: Mistress of Evil Novel by Holly Black. (Disney Press, October 8, 2020)

And Unnamed Press revealed The Wanting Life by Mark Rader. (Unnamed Press, February 25, 2020)

Book Riot Recommends

Loved, loved, loved:

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins (Flatiron Books, January 21, 2020)

If you haven’t heard of this book yet, just wait – you will. I picked it up half a dozen times but had to set it down for work reading, before I finally squeezed it in and WOW. It’s about a bookstore owner named Lydia who lives in the Mexican city of Acapulco. When her journalist husband publishes an article about the local cartel, it brings tragedy into their lives. Forced to flee, Lydia takes her eight-year-old son, Luca, and tries to make her way to the United States, away from the cartel. This is a powerful gut punch of a book. It’s timely and so well done, it might as well be nonfiction. Like I said, you’re going to hear a lot about it from everyone soon.

What I’m reading this week:

18 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern Forensics by Bruce Goldfarb

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

How Quickly She Disappears by Raymond Fleischmann

My Friend Anna: The True Story of a Fake Heiress by Rachel DeLoache Williams

Pun of the week:

I was walking through a quarry, and I said to the foreman, “That sure is a big rock!” “Boulder,” he corrected me. So I stuck out my chest and shouted, “THAT SURE IS A BIG ROCK!”

Here’s a kitten picture:

So dramatic.

And this is funny.

Poor doggo.

Trivia answer: Brian K. Vaughan.

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

Book Radar

Daveed Diggs Will Play Frederick Douglass in THE GOOD LORD BIRD and More Book Radar!

Post author By Liberty Hardy
Post date August 7, 2019

Sponsored by There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool with Fierce Reads

The Age of Darkness approaches. Who will stop it… or unleash it?With chaos on the horizon, five souls are set on a collision course: A prince exiled from his kingdom. A ruthless killer known as the Pale Hand. A once-faithful leader torn between his duty and his heart. A reckless gambler with the power to find anything or anyone. And a dying girl on the verge of giving up. One of them—or all of them—could break the world. Will they be savior or destroyer? Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Kristin Cashore, and Sabaa Tahir.

Happy Thursday! It is I, the Book News Fairy, here to once again sprinkle a little book news in your face orbs. The slow summer news rolls on, but there are a few great things to share with you while you work, or float in the pool, or polka. Whatever you’re doing, I hope 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

Trivia question time! Which of the Baby-Sitter’s Club books does Ann M. Martin say was the hardest to write.? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

Hamilton Tony winner Daveed Diggs to will play Frederick Douglass in the Showtime limited series adaptation of The Good Lord Bird by James McBride.

Duchess Meghan Markle will publish her first book, a picture book about her rescue dogs.

The animated short Hair Love, based on the children’s book by Matthew A. Cherry, will premiere in theaters before Angry Birds 2.

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi will now be a Disney movie.

Alicia Silverstone will star in the Baby-Sitter’s Club reboot.

Netflix has ordered 10 episodes of Tiny Pretty Things, based on the book by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton.

Hot stuff! With The Fire On High by Elizabeth Acevedo is being adapted into a movie.

Lindsey Leavitt’s novel Going Vintage will be a film.

Karin Gist and Lee Daniels Entertainment to develop Our Kind Of People, inspired by Lawrence Otis Graham’s book Our Kind Of People: Inside America’s Black Upper Class.

Hillary and Chelsea Clinton are writing their first book together: The Book of Gutsy Women.

Sam Maggs is writing a YA novel of The Unstoppable Wasp for Marvel.

And here’s the cover reveal for The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo. (Tor.com, March 24, 2020)

Book Riot Recommends

Excited to read:

deacon king kong holder Deacon King Kong by James McBride (Riverhead Books, March 3, 2020)

His first novel since the National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird! I loved that novel so much, and his stories and James Brown book that have come out since. This one is about the shooting of a drug dealer in 1960 and the repercussions for people around the event, told in McBride’s signature wit and sharp humor. SO EXCITED.

What I’m reading this week.

Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets, and Advice for Living Your Best Life by Ali Wong

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

18 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern Forensics by Bruce Goldfarb

Polite Society by Mahesh Rao

And this is funny.

Doggos are the best.

Trivia answer: Claudia and the Sad Good-bye.

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

Book Radar

Ava DuVernay on Her Upcoming DC Comics Film and More Book Radar!

Post author By Liberty Hardy
Post date August 5, 2019

Sponsored by The Ventriloquists by E.R. Ramzipoor, published by Park Row Books

Brussels, 1943. Street orphan Helene survives by selling copies of the country’s most popular newspaper, Le Soir, now turned into Nazi propaganda. Helene’s world changes when she befriends journalist, Marc Aubrion, who draws her into a secret network that publishes dissident underground newspapers. The Nazis track down Aubrion’s team and give them an impossible choice: turn the resistance newspapers into Nazi propaganda that will sway public opinion against the Allies, or be killed. Faced with no decision at all, Aubrion has a brilliant idea. While pretending to do the Nazis’ bidding, they will instead publish a fake edition of Le Soir that pokes fun at Hitler and Stalin.

Hellooooooooo! I hope you had a fabulous weekend. I certainly did. I read books, pet the cats, and watched the second season of Derry Girls. In short: it was perfect. But I can’t believe we’re already in August! There are soooo many amazing books still to come in 2019, and lots of great news, a bit of which I’ve gathered here. 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: “A screaming comes across the sky” is the first line to what novel? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reels, and Squeals!

Nicole Dennis-Benn’s novel Patsy is the Today Show’s August Read with Jenna book club pick.

A special edition of the Fleabag script is being published.

Samantha Irby started a newsletter!

Nightmare Fuel has the cover reveal of The Return by Rachel Harrison and it is giving me life. (Berkley, March 24, 2020)

Ava DuVernay discussed her upcoming movie for DC Comics.

Edward Snowden’s memoir will be published in September.

The new adaptation of The Stand has added four more members to the cast.

Caleb Roehrig has written a werewolf comic for the Archie universe.

Here’s the trailer for Satanic Panic, written by author Grady Hendrix.

Book Riot Recommends

Loved, loved, loved:

The Reckless Oath We Made by Bryn Greenwood (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, August 20)

This is a beautiful, heart-squeezing book about a young woman named Zee, who’s trying to hold her life together as it falls to pieces all over the place, and a neurodiverse young man named Gentry who believes he is a knight and that he is sworn to protect her. Their gentle, unusual relationship is at the heart of a story about family and love and saving yourself. Greenwood continues to be an astounding writer. (Full confession: Gentry literally talks in Olde English, and it takes a page or two to get into the rhythm, but then it adds so much to the story.)

What I’m reading this week:

Polite Society by Mahesh Rao

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead: A Novel by Olga Tokarczuk, Antonia Lloyd-Jones (Translator)

The Aosawa Murders by Riku Onda, Alison Watts (translator)

Things We Didn’t Talk About When I Was a Girl: A Memoir by Jeannie Vanasco

Echoes from the Dead by Johan Theorin, Marlaine Delargy (translator)

Pun of the week:

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

Here’s a kitten picture:

Such attitude. (Catitude?)

And this is funny.

Bock bock.

Trivia answer: Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon.

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

Book Radar

Madeline Miller’s CIRCE is Going to Be a Series and More Book Radar!

Post author By Liberty Hardy
Post date July 31, 2019

Hello, readers! I hope this newsletter helps brighten your Thursday a little. There’s some exciting news, and a few other fun things. Whatever you’re doing, I hope 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