Category: Today In Books

Obama Wrote College Love Letters You Can Read

How horrified would you be if some school collected your love letters and let the whole world read them? Emory University’s Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library not only obtained Barack Obama’s love letters from the 1980s; the school is making them available to the public. The letters were written to Alexandra McNear, his Occidental College girlfriend. I can just picture Michelle rolling her eyes and smirking.

Australia vs. Amazon

When Amazon announced it would be setting up shop in Australia, readers and indie booksellers did not greet the news with applause according to the New York Times piece covering the story. It sounds like Australia and Portland would get along–they’re all about that local indie experience, and who can blame them? Borders didn’t succeed when they tried to move in, so it’ll be interesting to see how things pan out for the behemoth Amazon.

Chiwetel Ejiofor Leads Adaptation Of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

What would a bookish day be without bookish adaptation news? Chiwetel Ejiofor, perhaps best known for his starring role in 12 Years a Slave began production on his adaptation of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. The story follows 13-year-old William Kamkwamba who has to leave his beloved school when his family can no longer afford to send him. Thanks to his resourcefulness and the school library, the boy finds a way to build a windmill that saves his village. Ejiofor will direct, write, and star in the film.

Thank you to Penguin, publisher of Warcross by Marie Lu, for sponsoring today’s newsletter.

For millions, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down Warcross players who bet on the game illegally. But as she becomes more entangled, Emika uncovers a sinister plot with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.

In this sci-fi thriller, #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu conjures an immersive, exhilarating world where choosing who to trust may be the biggest gamble of all.

Dixie District Schools Issue Administrative Directive To Ban “Inappropriate” Books

The National Council of Teachers of English reported on an Administrative Directive sent by the superintendent of the Dixie District Schools to all the district school directors and principals. The directive stated that books and school materials containing any profanity, cursing, or inappropriate subject matter will be barred from the schools. This piece of work claims to reflect the values of the community, but the community said WTF. The Dixie County Advocate Facebook page is teeming with comments from community members who do not agree with, and are incensed by the ban. Did we all accidentally fall into a time machine?

The 2016 VIDA Count Is Out

I’m not even going to pretend I already read through the extensive 2016 VIDA Count published today. There’s so much to dive into, and also some infographics to ease the data analysis. The VIDA Count, which tallies the gender disparity in major literary publications and book reviews, feels particularly important right now. This year’s introduction begins, “When Donald Trump kicked off his campaign with ‘Make America Great Again,’ every person in the country knew the coded message he was selling: Let’s get back to a time when queers were in the closets, segregation ruled public spaces, poor people were victims of their own failings, and moreover, white men determined the course of the country.”

California Says, Never Mind About That Autograph Mandate For Booksellers

Because booksellers were understandably not cool with it. The state’s mandate required booksellers to get a certificate of authenticity before they could sell autographed books priced at more than five dollars. It should be noted that the law didn’t exclusively apply to books, but to all autographed items. A few months ago, Book Passage owner Bill Petrocelli filed a lawsuit arguing that guest author lectures and book signings “are fundamental to First Amendment freedoms.” Facing the wrath of booksellers across the state, California governor Jerry Brown signed a bill exempting books from the law.

We’re giving away $500 to spend at the bookstore of your choice! Click here, or on the image below to enter:

Man Booker Prize Awarded To Lincoln In The Bardo

The results are in! George Saunders has been awarded the Man Booker prize for his first novel, Lincoln in the Bardo. This is the second time in a row the Man Booker has been awarded to an American; Paul Beatty won the 2016 prize. Saunders is the author of six collections of short stories, but he broke out of that format to write an imaginative novel surrounding the burial of Abraham Lincoln’s 11-year-old son. The story’s unique, screenplay-esque format seems to have played a big role in the decision to award the prize to Saunders. If you haven’t listened to the audiobook, it is an experience (with a cast of 166 narrators).

Hogwarts Express To The Rescue!

In odd, jealousy-inducing news, a family was rescued by the Hogwarts Express. Alright. It’s unlikely that staff came around with a cart of pumpkin pasties and Bertie Bott’s, but it was the Jacobite steam train used to depict the Express that picked up a stranded family from Scotland’s West Highlands. Now, I wouldn’t necessarily want to lose my canoe and find myself imperiled, but how do I arrange a pickup departing for Hogwarts?

Students Harass An Indigenous Australian Poet

After Australian high school students read a poem by an Indigenous Australian author in their English exam, they used a Facebook group of almost 70,000 to share memes ripping the poem and poet apart. The Facebook groups, which were open for discussion of the Higher School Certificate, became a breeding ground for videos, messages, and memes of the ugliest sort. The horrors prompted Australian authors and poets to defend award-winning Ellen van Neerven and her poem Mango, from her latest collection Comfort Food. I sincerely hope these children aren’t our future.

And don’t forget, we’re giving away $500 to the bookstore of your choice! Click here to enter.

Thank you to Kiss Me in New York by Catherine Rider from KCP Loft for sponsoring today’s newsletter.

Fans of Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares and Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist will love this sweet, satisfying meet cute. It’s the perfect book for anyone who sees the romance in a swirl of snowflakes at the top of the Empire State Building, or anyone who’s wondered if true love was waiting at the other end of the airport ticket counter.

Marvel Drops New Black Panther Trailer

There isn’t much to say here except watch it! The Black Panther film, directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, and Lupita Nyong’o, arrives in theaters on February 16. We’ve been getting glimpses of the stunning visuals and excellent cast since the adaptation’s announcement. Today’s trailer did not disappoint.

Rebooting The Nancy Drew Reboot

NBC is picking up after CBS by developing a new series based on Nancy Drew (the pilot for CBS’ series Drew was not picked up). CBS will still produce the series, and the writers and executive producers of Drew also remain on board, but the NBC series will follow a completely different storyline. Rather than focusing on an adult Nancy Drew, the series will focus on the author of the female teen detective books who turns to her two friends and muses when she gets swept up in a real-life murder mystery. Now who will they cast?

The Animated Legacy Of Virginia Woolf

Woolf scholar and doctoral candidate Iseult Gillespie outlined Woolf’s biography, and her innovative literary techniques and thoughts, through a TED-Ed video. The video also talks about Shakespeare’s sister who represents every woman hindered by domesticity in contrast to her male counterpart who pursues his goals unhindered. If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about the great writer and her contributions to literature and progressive thought, this is a fun way to get that insight.

Also, good news: we’re giving away $500 to the bookstore of your choice! Click here to enter.

Thank you to Workman Publishing, publisher of Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything, for sponsoring today’s newsletter.

What won’t we try in our quest for perfect health, beauty, and the fountain of youth?

Looking back with fascination, horror, and a dash of dark humor, Quackery recounts the lively, at times unbelievable, history of medical misfires and malpractices. Ranging from the merely weird to the outright dangerous, here are 67 outlandish, morbidly hilarious “treatments”, exploring their various uses and why they thankfully fell out of favor. With vintage illustrations, photographs, and advertisements throughout, Quackery seamlessly combines macabre humor with science and storytelling to reveal an important and disturbing side of the ever-evolving field of medicine.

Mississippi School District Pulls To Kill a Mockingbird From Curriculum: Today in Books

The Biloxi School District pulled To Kill a Mockingbird from its 8th grade curriculum this week, citing some “language in the book that makes people uncomfortable.” No specifics about what language or who was uncomfortable, which in its way makes the whole thing worse. When asked about the decision, district superintendent didn’t even acknowledge the specifics of the case, but just said, “There are many resources and materials that are available to teach state academic standards to our students. These resources may change periodically. We always strive to do what is best for our students and staff to continue to perform at the highest level.” Curriculums change. Heck, there are probably better novels for modern 8th graders to read. But answer the damn questions honestly and openly.

Comics Shops and Bookstores Battle for Graphic Novel Supremacy

In a presentation this week, NBD BookScan’s Kristen McLean gave an overview on the state of the graphic novel retail world. Over the last several years, sales of graphic novels are above $400 million per year. And interestingly, most of that buying is now happening through bookstore and other retailers and not comic book shops. This increase in spending, and the shift of where the spending happens, is largely new to a new demographic of buyers, who McLean says are younger and female.

No Magic Bullet for Speed-Reading

Some recent technologies designed to accelerate reading times without eroding comprehension seem to be largely useless. A new study found that trying to comprehend text at 1,000 words per minute (rather than the more typical 700), resulted in inferior comprehension. Guess we will just have to wait for those Matrix plugs after all.

Today in Books is Sponsored by The Lost Causes by Alyssa Embree Schwartz and Jessica Koosed Etting from KCP Loft

They’re the last people you’d ask to help with anything, much less a murder investigation. The rich girl, the obsessive, the hypochondriac, the addict and the hot-tempered athlete. Lost causes. But with the help of a dangerous serum, the FBI erases the teens’ past problems and unlocks a psychic ability within each of them. In return, all they have to do is help find the killer who’s turned their small-town upside down. Compulsively readable, The Lost Causes sweeps readers into the place where science fiction and mystery meet.

The Mansion That Inspired The Great Gatsby is For Sale

The Long Island mansion that was the inspiration for Gatsby’s home in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is for sale for about $17 million. When Fitzgerald lived in Great Neck, New York, he befriended Mary Harriman Rumsey (local railroad heiress), who lived in the house. It’s complete with a caretaker’s cottage–but there’s no pool. Which is probably for the best.

Librarian’s Multi-Million Dollar Donation to UNH Goes to…a Scoreboard?

Robert Morin was a quiet librarian who left $4 million to the University of New Hampshire upon his death. The school allocated only $100,000 of that money to its library, and instead spent the rest on a football scoreboard and its career center. The school has earned a reputation for extravagant spending under its current leadership, especially on athletics, and is now receiving extensive criticism for its use of Morin’s money.

Overdrive Announces New Big Library Read

Overdrive’s Big Library Read “is an opportunity for those with a valid library card to read the same digital title at the same time without any wait lists or holds. Participating in this event allows your library to offer a new simultaneous use title for community-wide access from your library at no cost. It’s a worldwide digital version of a local book club, and an opportunity for your library to generate more interest in your digital collection beyond the bestsellers.” Their new pick is The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti!

Sponsored by Life Detonated by Kathleen Murray Moran

The gripping true story of Kathleen Murray, a young mother whose life was changed on September 11, 1976 when her husband, a NYPD bomb disposal expert, was killed by a terrorist’s bomb. It details her journey out of poverty, and her own determination to take care of her two young sons as she starts over.

Olive Garden Fan Fiction Exists

A Twitter user put out a call for short stories based on a sentence in an essay about Olive Garden that she liked, and…people…are…writing them?? The result are weird genre-benders, science fiction, cosmic considerations our humanity’s place in the universe and more. Including, one assumes, breadsticks and unlimited salad.

LGBTQ YA By the Numbers

YA author Malinda Lo has been tracking stats about YA novels with LGBTQ characters released by mainstream publishers since 2011, and has just released a report about 2015-2016. The report is worth reading as a whole, but some of the biggest takeaways are that the amount of LGBTQ YA coming from big publishers has doubled in the last decade (yay!), and 55% of LGBTQ YA books are about cis boys (boo).

Cher is Releasing a Memoir

There is goodness left in the world, and that goodness is bringing us a new “intimate” memoir from Cher. HarperCollins is going to be her publisher, and there’s no title or release date yet. The memoir will cover the singer’s whole life it seems like, from childhood to her Sonny and Cher days to her solo career. Please, please, please let her narrate the audiobook.

Sponsored by Penguin Teen

Eighteen-year-old Xifeng is beautiful. The stars say she is destined for greatness, that she is meant to be Empress of Feng Lu. But only if she embraces the darkness within her. Set in an East Asian-inspired fantasy world filled with both breathtaking pain and beauty, Forest of a Thousand Lanterns possesses all the hallmarks of masterful fantasy: dazzling magic, heartbreaking romance, and a world that hangs in the balance. Fans of Heartless, Stealing Snow, and Red Queen will devour this stunning debut.

2017’s MacArthur Genius Grant Winners

The “Genius” grant, given to those who have “shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction,” has been awarded to 24 artists, writers, historians, activists, and more for 2017. Among them are Book Riot favorite Jesmyn Ward, and Pulitzer Prize winner Viet Thanh Nguyen. See the full list of winners, along with many of their accomplishments, here.

Man Banned (Temporarily) From Library for Hiding LGBTQ DVDs

A patron of an Oregon library was banned for six months for purposefully hiding films he thought contained LGBTQ characters (he was, literally, judging them by their cover). The patron had complained in the past about those same materials, and had a history of vandalizing or tampering with materials. Some of the DVDs he hid were never recovered, causing the library to need to purchase replacements. ” Any similar incident would lead to a lifetime ban from the Baker County Public Library.”

A Waterproof Kindle is Finally Coming!

An Amazon Kindle Oasis that you can use by the pool is on its way– the latest version can be submerged in fresh water for up to an hour (but not salt water). The Oasis is the fanciest Kindle, at $250-$350, depending on what bells and whistles you want included. If that’s too rich for your blood, the Kobo H20 is $180.

Sponsored by Penguin Teen

Eighteen-year-old Xifeng is beautiful. The stars say she is destined for greatness, that she is meant to be Empress of Feng Lu. But only if she embraces the darkness within her. Set in an East Asian-inspired fantasy world filled with both breathtaking pain and beauty, Forest of a Thousand Lanterns possesses all the hallmarks of masterful fantasy: dazzling magic, heartbreaking romance, and a world that hangs in the balance. Fans of Heartless, Stealing Snow, and Red Queen will devour this stunning debut.

New Fifty Shades of Grey Book Coming (Yes, Again)

E.L. James is releasing a new book in the Fifty Shades universe, this time a re-telling of Fifty Shades Darker from Christian’s perspective. The new book is called…wait for it...Darker. James already re-told the first book in the series from the hero’s (?) perspective with Grey, so it looks like she’ll be doing the whole trilogy. More details and info from the press release here.

New Chuck Palahniuk Book, Too! 

The author of Fight Club (among many other books) has a new novel called Adjustment Day coming out May 1, 2018. Here’s the unsurprising bit: “Now, Adjustment Day blows past all previous markers for impropriety with a brilliant, hilarious, and outrageous story that is perfect for our era. Every reader, of every stripe, will find something in Adjustment Day that is as profoundly wise, funny, and affecting as it is offensive. And, make no mistake, everyone will be offended.” What, a Palahniuk book will be offensive? Stop the presses.

Leo Tolstoy’s Mac ‘n Cheese Recipe!

Sergei Beltyukov has translated and republished a book of Tolstoy family recipes, including coffee cake, spiced mushrooms, and yes, mac n’ cheese: “Bring water to a boil, add salt, then add macaroni and leave boiling on light fire until half tender; drain water through a colander, add butter and start putting macaroni back into the pot in layers – layer of macaroni, some grated Parmesan and some vegetable sauce, macaroni again and so on until you run out of macaroni. Put the pot on the edge of the stove, cover with a lid and let it rest in light fire until the macaroni are soft and tender. Shake the pot occasionally to prevent them from burning.” Not entirely sure what vegetable sauce is, but I’d eat it.

Sponsored by Life Detonated by Kathleen Murray Moran

The gripping true story of Kathleen Murray, a young mother whose life was changed on September 11, 1976 when her husband, a NYPD bomb disposal expert, was killed by a terrorist’s bomb. It details her journey out of poverty, and her own determination to take care of her two young sons as she starts over.

Amazon Reviews Are the New Battleground of American Politics

Is history being written “not by the victors, but by the customer reviews“? The day after the release of Hillary Clinton’s What Happened, the Amazon review section for the book began to mirror the electorate: a slew of five stars, and a slew of vitriolic, aggressive, often violent one stars. Amazon then removed about 900 of the reviews, citing “community guidelines.” White Nationalist reddit users have also used one-starring attacks to drop the rating of Mark Bray’s AntiFa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook. There’s little data about how much a book’s star rating on Amazon influences sales, but how many people will be turned away from a book because of star ratings left by people who have admittedly never, and will never, read it?

The Rupi Kaur Backlash Begins

Rupi Kaur, the famous poet who got her start on Instagram, has sold over 2.5 million copies of her book Milk and Honey, and has just released a new collection called The Sun and Her Flowers. The think-pieces about how her work isn’t “real” poetry have begun, a few of which are linked to in this NYT profile. The pieces are undeniably condescending, perhaps having to do with the fact that Kaur is a young (25) woman. Her style isn’t for everyone, but I find it both refreshing and predictable that a young woman of color would be responsible, at least in part, for making poetry mainstream again.

LeVar Burton Reads Goodnight, Moon to Neil deGrasse Tyson

And because it’s Monday and it’s been a rough October, here’s a video of LeVar Burton (yes, that LeVar Burton) reading a children’s book to Neil deGrasse Tyson (yes, that Neil deGrasse Tyson).

Sponsored by PageHabit – get 10% off your first box with code “RIOT”.

PageHabit offers monthly book boxes curated and annotated by acclaimed authors for the most diehard bookworms. Each box comes with an exclusive, author-annotated new release, a written letter from the author, a bonus short story, fun bookish goods and instant membership into an active online book community of over 20,000 members. For every box purchased, PageHabit makes a donation to support children’s literacy around the world, so you can read well and do good. Readers can choose from eight genres including Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Historical Fiction and more. Get 10% off your first box with code “RIOT”.