Riot New Media – Page 16

Cassandra Clare Shares Cover of THE RAGPICKER KING and More Book Radar!

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date June 21, 2024

Sponsored by

Dear Book Friends,

We’ve made it around to Monday again, which means it’s time for another Book Radar. Summer is officially here, by the way, which means it’s officially time for me to retreat into my cave and read books until the weather gets normal again. I hate hot weather. Thankfully, I’ve brought my laptop into my cave with me, so I can still bring you all the book news.

Book Deals and Reveals

Paste Magazine has shared the cover of Costanza Casati’s Babylonia. This novel retells the story of Semiramis, the Assyrian Empire’s only female ruler. It’s out on January 14, 2025.

Here’s an an excerpt from The Get Off by Christa Faust, and a cover reveal! It’s out from Hard Case Crime on March 18, 2025.

And here’s the cover of Embodied Exegesis: Transfeminine Cyberpunk Futures, a new anthology edited by Ann LeBlanc. It’s out from Neon Hemlock on August 27.

Apple TV+ has shared the trailer for the upcoming limited series The Lady in the Lake, based on the Laura Lippman book of the same name. The seven-part series, starring Natalie Portman, will air on Apple TV+ starting on July 19.

Cassandra Clare shared the cover of The Ragpicker King with Entertainment Weekly. The sequel to Clare’s 2023 novel Sword Catcher will be out on March 3, 2025.

John Mulaney will narrate the upcoming audiobook Glory Days by former SNL writer Simon Rich. The audiobook will be published this July by Hachette Audio.

Here are Libro.fm’s bestselling audiobooks of all time. Which ones have you listened to?

Good news: print sales were up in May! These were the bestselling books of May 2024.

Book Riot Recommends

Hi, welcome to everyone’s favorite segment of Book Radar called Book Riot Recommends. This is where I’ll talk to you about all the books I’m reading, the books I’m loving, and the books I can’t wait to read and love in the near future. I think you’re going to love them too!

Learn something new, sharpen your skills, and expand your horizons with our Better Living Through Books newsletter. Better Living Through Books is your resource for reading material that helps you live the life you want. From self-help to cookbooks to parenting to personal finance, relationships, and more, Better Living Through Books has got you covered. If it’s part of life, it can be part of your reading life. Sign up for your free subscription to Better Living Through Books today, or become an All Access member starting at $6 per month or $60 per year and get unlimited access to members-only content in 20+ newsletters, community features, and the warm fuzzies knowing you are supporting independent media.

Prepare Your Shelves!

Midnight Rooms by Donyae Coles (Amistad Press, July 2)

Next week, this chilling gothic historical novel is hitting shelves, and while that might not seem like the perfect summer beach read, it is the perfect read if (like me) you’re more of a dark cave dweller during the hotter months. So make some space on your bookshelf right away, I say. This one is going to be a good time.

Midnight Rooms has been compared to books like Catherine House and movies like Crimson Peak, which is a whole vibe. It’s England in 1840. Orabella Mumthrope is the orphaned daughter of a white man and a Black woman. She has zero prospects and no connections, so when a strange man appears and declares his interest in marrying her, Orabella is surprised. She didn’t think she would ever get married, but with her uncle’s debts, she has to consider the offer seriously, especially because the man claims to be from a ridiculously wealthy family.

And so Orabella allows Elias Blakersby to sweep her away to his family estate, Korringhill Manor. The home is not what she expected. Everything is falling apart, and the servants seem nervous. There is some strange hidden darkness in this house. Rooms are locked up, and every corner seems to hide secrets. What’s more, Orabella starts to have vivid nightmares that begin to leak into her days, and in the morning she wakes up with strange bruises. What is real and what is imagined? And is Orabella slipping into madness?

What I’m Reading This Week

Sacrificial Animals by Kailee Pedersen

A Magical Girl Retires by Park Seolyeon

Here for the Wrong Reasons by Annabel Paulson and Lydia Wang

Don’t Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones

The Astrology House by Carinn Jade

Monday Memes

It’s Chappell Roan summer, so here are some Chappell Roan bookish memes for you. I hope you enjoy!

And Here’s A Cat Picture!

calico cat resting in the window on top of two cat beds

The sun is still out, and Cersei is enjoying her window again. I love how she’s got both beds stacked under her, because she is a queen. I’ve never seen a more relaxed kitty!

Well, friends, I hope you have a lovely week. I’ll catch you on Thursday. <3

Emily

Kissing Books

Rival Families and a Beachside Romance

Post author By P.N. Hinton
Post date June 21, 2024

Sponsored by

Welcome, or welcome back, to the Kissing Books newsletter. I’m PN Hinton, your guide to all things romance-related. Thanks for taking time from your day to give this a read! I hope this newsletter helps to brighten up your day just a little bit more.

I am coming out from a bit of a reading slump. One book took me forever to finish because I felt that it dragged on longer than it needed to, and I DNFed another at 50% because I just couldn’t anymore. And I know it was those two books because I started Leather & Lark and that was like a breath of fresh air to my reading life.

Now, it may be a bit concerning that the book that breaks this is an actual enemies-to-lovers trope with a fake marriage between a contract killer and a ‘multiple deleter’ to boot. But a win is a win. I’m also reading Director’s Cut which is just as entertaining as the previously mentioned title, albeit on the opposite side of the spectrum.

Bookish Goods

picture of "this Barbie reads...." bookmark

“This Barbie Reads…” Magnetic Bookmark by LikeStarlightStudio

As last year’s blockbuster proved, Barbie is eternal and is multi-faceted. Of course I choose the “romance” option here but there are four other options or you can get a custom order made. Prices start at $5.

New Releases

The Accidental Proposal by Y. M. Nelson

Jason is enamored with his new girlfriend, Fortune, and knows that she is the one he wants to spend the rest of his life with. But when a meet-up with his friends ends in a verbal altercation between her and one of his oldest friends, he is forced to face the fact that one of his oldest friends is a racist and firmly opposed to his interracial relationship. When it becomes apparent that this is a rift that won’t be mended, Jason soon finds himself having to choose between the love of his life and lifelong friendships that he may have already outgrown.

Please note that while this can be read as a standalone, it is second in the series. Also be sure to check the author’s site for trigger and content warnings.

The Mended Hearts Bookshop by Sienna Waters

After Ash inherits a bookshop from an aunt she never even knew, she looks at it as an opportunity to take a vacation and have some quiet time from the busyness of the city. She wasn’t expecting her neighbor would be Pen, a bubbly plus-size baker who is determined to win her new neighbor over through the magic of pastries. As time passes, Ash begins to acclimate to Pen and small-town life. But is the happiness she found there enough to make her want to give up her life in the city and settle there permanently?

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

I am sure we can all agree that Romeo & Juliet is not a romance at all. That said, it can’t be argued that the formula of a family rival preventing two lovers from getting together is still used in a lot of romances today. I know I’ve read a few like this in the past and have enjoyed them since they, of course, ended with a happily ever after. That is the theme for today’s recommendations as well. Enjoy!

One Summer Night by Caridad Pineiro

Maggie Sinclair and Owen Pierce have always been drawn to one another, going so far as to share a single kiss one steamy summer night. Unfortunately, their families are bitter rivals, which means that they are unable to explore those feelings any further. When Maggie begins to have business trouble, Owen sees a marriage of convenience as a way to unite their families as well as give in to their desires. Neither expected to develop real feelings for each other or what would happen when they have to choose between the family they grew up with and a chance at true love.

It Had to Be a Duke by Vivienne Lorret

After Verity’s snobby neighbor returns from Town, boasting about her successful Season, Verity announces her engagement to Magnus Warring, the Duke of Longhurst in return. The problem there? Not only is she not engaged to him, but his family is her family’s sworn enemy. News of his alleged betrothal reaches Magnus as he is about to marry another woman to save his family from financial ruin. When he confronts Verity about the fib, she begs him to keep up the ruse for one week. After that, they can return to their respective lives. But as they soon find out, a lot can happen in one week, even true love.

And that’s all she wrote for today. If you’re ever interested in what I do between the sends, you can always give me a follow over on Instagram under @pns_bookish_world. Until then, happy reading and stay hydrated!

The Kids Are All Right

Summer Olympics, Dolls, & More Great Kids’ Books!

Post author By Margaret Kingsbury
Post date June 21, 2024

Sponsored by

Happy Sunday, kidlit friends! I hope you’re managing to stay cool. We’ve already gotten into the triple digits here in Nashville. This morning we’re planning to splash in a creek with some friends to cool down.

Today, I review Summer Olympics-themed children’s books plus two great new releases.

Bookish Goods

Girl Reading in Tree Print by LAKoerner

A summery scene, though I have to say, I don’t think I’ve ever read in a tree. How does one carry the book and necessary water bottle and snacks up the tree? $33+

New Releases

Bao’s Doll by Bo Lu

This moving picture book is based on the author’s childhood. Bao and her Taiwanese immigrant mother can’t seem to agree on anything. Whenever Bao asks for something, her mother tells her about her impoverished childhood and Bao doesn’t feel heard. Every other girl at school has a white all-American Amanda doll, and Bao wants one, too. When her mother doesn’t buy one, Bao steals it and is immediately caught. This action, however, leads to a deeper bond between mother and daughter.

Rachel Friedman Breaks the Rules by Sarah Kapit, illustrated by Genevieve Kote

This charming first book in a new chapter book series centers a young Jewish girl with ADHD who loves gymnastics. Rachel’s life has a lot of rules, which she mostly doesn’t follow. Her single dad makes a deal with her: if she can follow the rules for one week, she can go see her gymnast idol. But when Rachel’s cat escapes the house, she breaks an important rule to save her. Can she convince her dad to let her go see her idol anyway?

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

The Summer Olympics are about a month away, but I’m already getting excited about them. Here are four children’s books to have on hand as they approach!

Swimming Toward a Dream by Reem Faruqi, illustrated by Asma Enayeh

This picture book tells the amazing true story of refugee Olympic swimmer Yusra Mardini. As a child in Damascus, Mardini loves to swim and dreams of participating in the Olympics. But when war strikes Syria, she and her family are forced to flee. The boat’s motor gives out, and she helps pull it to safety with her swimming skills. She begins swimming again while living in a refugee camp in Germany, and she’s asked to join the 2016 Olympics as a member of the first ever refugee team.

Wings of an Eagle by Billy Mills & Donna Janell Bowman, illustrated by S. D. Nelson

This is another inspiring picture book biography, this time about Lakota gold medalist Billy Mills. Mills begins running after his mother dies. When Jim Thorpe wins an Olympic gold medal, Mills wonders if he could be in the Olympics, too. When his father dies, he puts aside his dreams to work and help take care of his siblings. In high school, he begins running again, but a health problem—which turns out to be diabetes—plagues him. Nonetheless, he receives a college scholarship, but racism threatens to derail his dreams once more. He joins the Marines, and after failing to qualify for the Olympics in 1960, he makes it to the 1964 Olympics, where he wins a gold medal. Extensive back matter includes photographs, information about the nonprofit Mills founded, a timeline, and much more. This picture book releases on July 2.

Kid Olympians: Summer by Robin Stevenson, illustrated by Allison Steinfeld

This is a fantastic collective biography of summer Olympians for middle grade readers. It’s divided into four parts: “Racing Ahead,” “Making History,” “Swimming into Summer,” and “Speaking Out.” It includes 16 short biographies of Olympians like Simone Biles, Michael Phelps, Serena Williams, Wilma Rudolph, and more. The illustrations are vibrant and expressive.

Record Breakers at the Olympic Games by Rob Walker

This nonfiction for middle grade readers provides lots of photographs from previous Summer Olympics as well as fun facts. It focuses on modern Olympic games, and it features sections divided by discipline, from basketball to gymnastics to the Paralympics. It includes details about top performances, new additions to the Olympics, record-breakers, and more. It’s a fun one for kids to flip through.

Tigers at the nashville zoo, the kids are all right

We recently visited the Nashville Zoo, where the tiger exhibit now includes three tiger cubs. The eight-month-olds were teething on some bones. The zookeeper told us they had to give them separate bones to keep them from fighting with one another. Siblings are the same regardless of species!

If you’d like to read more of my kidlit reviews, I’m on Instagram @BabyLibrarians, Twitter @AReaderlyMom, Bluesky @AReaderlyMom.bsky.social, and blog irregularly at Baby Librarians. You can also read my Book Riot posts. If you’d like to drop me a line, my email is kingsbury.margaret@gmail.com.

All the best,

Margaret Kingsbury

Canada Giveaways

062124-FlagshipAudDev-Jun2024-CAGiveaway

Post author By Vivek Patel
Post date June 21, 2024

We’re giving away a surprise box of 10 banged-up books to one lucky reader!

Enter here for a chance to win, or click the image below!

Book Riot’s Tailored Book Recommendations ships lots of new hardcover and paperback books to subscribers. Some of the books get a bit banged-up in transit, and dinged corners or smudged dust covers mean they can’t go out to customers — but they’re still the same great books! Give them a home and get hours of reading for free. Fill out the form above, and you will be entered to win. All you have to do is sign-up for our Better Living Through Books newsletter for reading that helps you live the life you want.

True Story

Even MORE Books for Pride!

Post author By Kendra Winchester
Post date June 20, 2024

Sponsored by

Next week, I’m headed on a mini writing retreat with my IRL writing group. Our group text is full of our TBRs, because who can write all day without taking reading breaks, right? Naturally, my tote is full of nonfiction. I especially can’t wait to get to my titles for Disability Pride Month, which I will definitely be starting early. So stay tuned for those! But in the meantime, here are even more Riot Recs for LGBTQ+ Pride.

Bookish Goods

a photo a beach towel featuring a design of a tarot card. On the tarot is an illustration of a skeleton holding a stack of books.

The TBR Tarot Card by BinkyGrlCreations

I love this beach towel version of “weird girl lit.” It’s perfect for beach adventures or trips to the pool. $33

New Releases

Make It Count: My Fight to Become the First Transgender Olympic Runner by CeCé Telfer

In Make it Count, CeCé Telfer tells the story of how she became the first trans woman to win an NCAA championship. In spite of the endless transphobia and racism she experienced online, Telfer pushed herself to be the best time and time again.

1974: A Personal History by Francine Prose

In 1974, Francine Prose was in her 20s and living in San Francisco. She started a relationship with activist Anthony Russo, one of the men who leaked the Pentagon papers. Prose’s memoir is a sort of time capsule, taking readers back to this moment when so much of the United States was about to change.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones

I love when poets write prose, and Saeed Jones is no exception. He writes so beautifully, with every sentence, every word, carefully chosen. His memoir follows his life growing up as a gay Black boy in the South, trying to find a place for himself when everyone around him kept telling him everything about him was wrong. He was too Black, too gay, too loud—always too much for the people around him, especially some of his family members. Jones has such a beautiful way of writing about his complex relationships with his mom and his grandmother, two women he loved dearly. It’s so difficult to love your family while also understanding that they don’t love ALL of you, just the parts they like. I can’t do this memoir justice, but let me tell you, if you’re a memoir lover, this one needs to be at the top of your list.

Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson

Novelist Jeanette Winterson made her debut with Orange Is Not the Only Fruit, a queer coming-of-age novel. The protagonist is adopted by conservative Christian parents and eventually becomes a preacher. But when she realizes she’s queer, her life becomes even more complicated. This first novel remains her most autobiographical. But with Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?, Winterson shares the true version of her younger years, admitting that her childhood was more difficult than she originally depicted in Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. Mrs Winterson, her adoptive mother, rained down verbal abuse and a host of different punishments, like locking Winterson out in the cold. Winterson’s memoir interacts with her debut novel in such a unique way, laying out all the ways Winterson fictionalized her life and tried to make it more believable. I recommend reading Oranges and then Why Be Happy, which gives you an incredible portrait of Winterson’s life.

a photo of Gwen, a black and white Cardigan Welsh Corgi, sitting on concrete. She's looking up and licking her lips.

That’s it for this week! You can find me over on my substack Winchester Ave, over on Instagram @kdwinchester, on TikTok @kendrawinchester, or on my podcast Read Appalachia. As always, feel free to drop me a line at kendra.d.winchester@gmail.com. For even MORE bookish content, you can find my articles over on Book Riot.

Happy reading, Friends!

~ Kendra

Check Your Shelf

Rating Systems That Don’t Need to Exist

Post author By Katie McLain
Post date June 20, 2024

Sponsored by

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. This week, y’all. Good grief. In slightly better news, the cicada infestation is supposed to die down by the end of June…just in time for the annual cicadas to emerge! Oh joy!

Attention librarians, booksellers, and book nerds! You can apply to become a Bibliologist for Tailored Book Recommendations and get paid for your bookish knowledge! TBR is a subscription-based book recommendation service where customers receive three hand-picked recommendations per quarter that are tailored to their specific reading likes and dislikes. Of special interest: bibliologists who can recommend across a variety of genres. Click here to read more and fill out an application.

Libraries & Librarians

Cool Library Updates

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library expands in North Carolina with a new bilingual book collection.

Book Adaptations in the News

Bridgerton fans will have to wait two years for Season 4.

Netflix is adapting Agatha Christie’s The Seven Dials Mystery.

Kate Winslet is starring in the HBO adaptation of Hernan Diaz’s Trust.

John Grisham’s The Rainmaker was adapted for film in 1997, and now it’s being relaunched as a limited series.

Howard Blum’s true crime book When the Night Comes Falling: A Requiem for the Idaho Student Murders is being developed as a scripted series.

Stephen King’s The Institute is being adapted as a series, starring Ben Barnes & Mary-Louise Parker.

AMC is adding to its Anne Rice Immortal Universe with The Talamasca.

Henry Selick is developing Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

Why adapting YA books is uniquely challenging.

Censorship News

States that have banned book bans.

Fighting public school book bans with the Civil Rights Act.

Why is Midwest Tape/hoopla creating a new rating system for library purchases?

This digital library offers hundreds of free LGBTQ books in response to the wave of book bans across the country.

An appeals court ordered the Llano County (TX) library system to return 8 of the 17 books that were previously banned. The other 9 are staying off shelves while the appeal plays out.

Mission CISD (TX) received a demand last month from a conservative group to potentially remove hundreds of titles from the school library. The district’s response? “Remove the books? We’re on it!”

This is in response to a (paywalled) book banning story out of San Antonio, but this tweet from TXFReadomFighters really hits the nail on the head for a lot of school districts: “We need school administrators to step up and stick to their published library reconsideration policies. When you cater to groups creating chaos they learn that is the way to do it and just come back for more.”

Houston ISD has faced some strong backlash after a photo was posted of the former library at Askew Elementary School after it had been transformed into a detention center (oops…sorry…New Education System).

Fort Bend ISD (TX) is discussing a proposed policy that would give the superintendent the power to decide when to remove a book, and they could only be challenged by the school board.

They came for the school library, and now they’re at the public library in Escambia County, Florida.

Moms for Liberty isn’t a fan of the Volusia (FL) School Board’s new Media Selection for Print and Non-Print Materials policy.

With censorship on the rise, this Providence (RI) librarian says the state needs to do more to protect libraries.

Police are investigating a bomb threat made against the Woodstock Library (NY) which was apparently made in retaliation to a recently held drag queen story hour.

Uncovering the cover-up: how the Republican Pennridge (PA) school board directors secretly banned books.

“Two children’s books are being recommended for exclusion from Carroll County [MD] public schools’ prekindergarten and kindergarten family life curriculum.” The books in question depict families other than the traditional cisgender heterosexual nuclear family model, so of course the books can’t be used.

Howard County (MD) students were mostly quiet about book bans — until now.

“In a 3-1 vote, the Rockingham County School Board voted to leave the Virginia School Board Association and join the conservative School Board member association.” Yeah, this sounds like a sensible move. They also postponed a vote on two challenged books that the review committee recommended retaining.

Two vague and dangerous book ban bills in South Carolina target public and school libraries.

(Paywalled): More about the dissolution of the Baldwin County Library Cooperative (AL).

Clean Up Alabama is fundraising for the Autauga-Prattville Public Library’s legal fees, fees that the library has because of Clean Up Alabama’s actions against the library. Make it make sense.

“A group of Limestone County citizens is hoping to raise $5,000 to hire [legal] representation to consider next steps in their fight against the Athens-Limestone Public Library [AL] board.” The fight is over representation on the Library board, but the fundraiser is being hosted on a far-right crowdfunding website, and several of the people involved have appealed to the state to intervene in funding the library until the matter of board representation is settled.

(Paywalled): Tears and questions erupt as the Shelby County (AL) library board is pushed out of office.

(Paywalled): St. Charles (MO) officials have delayed the vote to close several library branches.

Knox County Schools (TN) failed to pass a proposal that would have banned all materials that depict sexual imagery.

A newly proposed Ohio bill would defund public libraries for displaying books deemed “harmful to children.” So libraries could be defunded because of their book displays.

The Carmel Clay (IN) school board voted to keep All Boys Aren’t Blue in the high school library.

The Iron River Public Library (WI) is facing calls to shut down the library entirely because they only relocated a challenged book a year ago, instead of removing it.

“The Le Sueur-Henderson School Board [MN] is drafting a policy aiming to give parents the opportunity to restrict their child’s access to certain books,” but some people say that the policy needs to actually remove books that they deem inappropriate.

The James River Valley Library System (ND) estimates that it cost the library $54,500 in taxpayer dollars to review the children and teen collections for “explicit sexual material.” Four books were relocated and no books were removed entirely, so that’s $13,625 per book. I appreciate this choice quote from library trustee Robert Hoekstra: “‘Thanks to our state legislators for this undue burden on the library with one of the dumbest pieces of legislation I ever heard of in my life.’”

The Oklahoma Supreme Court (OK) ruled in favor of the Edmond Public School District and said that the state Department of Education overstepped its authority by demanding that the district remove two titles.

“Before school begins this fall, Utah officials will send a list of books to all public schools, ordering their ‘disposal.’”

Orem (UT) has adopted new policies aimed to protect employee free speech after the city faced a First Amendment lawsuit last year.

(Paywalled): Boise (ID) libraries prepare for more liability under “harmful” materials law. What’s changing?

A new Lodi school district (CA) policy will allow parents to restrict book access for their teens.

The Seward Public Library (AK) also received a bomb threat in response to a scheduled drag story hour. The library was evacuated, but the program was moved to the nearby Alaska SeaLife Center.

The Mat-Su (AK) school board is reinstating a few banned books in school libraries. Not all of them, but a few.

Books & Authors in the News

“Indian authorities have granted permission for the prosecution of the Booker prize-winning Indian novelist Arundhati Roy over comments she made about Kashmir at an event in 2010.”

Numbers & Trends

The most-read books on Goodreads last week.

The best-selling books of the week.

Award News

The 2024 Nebula Award winners were announced.

On the Riot

Meet the cast of Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us.

The 10 most Instagrammable bookstores in the world.

The top 10 book podcasts to tune into in 2024.

the tail end of a black cat sticking out of a black tote bag

Pictured: If there’s a bag somewhere, you can be sure Dini will have to crawl inside to inspect it.

It’s Friday, folks, and that means it’s only 2 weeks until my birthday! I’ll catch you next week!

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Swords and Spaceships

Writing Stories for the Devil

Post author By Alex Acks
Post date June 20, 2024

Sponsored by

Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I’ve got new releases and a couple of recent indie books for your perusal to close out the week. I ended up dipping out of the genre this week and read Courtney Milan’s The Marquis Who Mustn’t, which I just devoured. I laughed, I chortled, I cackled, and I respected the heck out of Courtney keeping the personal stakes high while avoiding every single trope the genre-savvy gremlin that lives in my brain insisted was definitely going to turn up. If you like a romance, I heartily recommend it. Have a wonderful weekend! Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Tuesday!

Bookish Goods

A cute sticker of a devil with a cocktail in a martini glass

Devil With a Cocktail Sticker by FreshDesignsBySummer

This sticker is so dang cute, I couldn’t resist. And of course, it really goes with the first of our new releases below. Devils just wanna have fun (and definitely not do their work). $3

New Releases

The Witchstone by Henry H. Neff

The Drakeford Curse has been going on for centuries, mutating its victims and generally making a family’s life deadly and deeply unpleasant. And now Laszlo, an 800-year-old demon, has been put in charge of the curse…except he’s entirely uninterested in doing that nitty gritty duty, and his ratings show it. He’s given six days to shape up to be melted back into primordial ooze. This brings him to the doorstep of Maggie Drakeford, who is 19 and desperate to save herself and her family—desperate enough to take the chance Laszlo offers her, even if it’s a certainty that he’s lying.

Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil book cover

Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil by Ananda Lima

This collection of interconnected short stories starts with a writer sleeping with the devil at a Halloween party in 1999…and then as her life unfolds, that writer produces stories for him, telling tales that are both utterly impossible and fundamentally true.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

Here are a couple of small press releases that came out recently, leaning into strange manifestations of emotion and trauma as reality.

Hollow Tongue by Eden Royce

Maxine Forrest is reluctantly driven back to her childhood home by a financial situation best described as “dire.” She finds the old house empty, her parents missing, and the memory and history of the house a force that wreaks change on her, both metaphysically and physically.

Cover of Things I Want Back From Your by Elizabeth Stix

Things I Want Back From You by Elizabeth Stix

This collection of 20 linked short stories chronicles the bizarre, angsty, and astonishing lives of those who live in the fictional suburb of San Encanto, California.

See you, space pirates. If you’d like to know more about my secret plans to dominate the seas and skies, you can catch me over at my personal site.

Unusual Suspects

5 mysteries to read this summer — and their authors reveal their reading lists

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date June 20, 2024

Sponsored by

Hello, mystery fans! I am currently obsessed with the Lore Olympus graphic novel series — the art is gorgeous, it’s hilarious, and the tension is *chef’s kiss — and I’m thinking of making it my whole personality.

Bookish Goods

black and white screen print tote bag with a graphic image of a drag queen reading to kids in the library story time

Support your local drag queen tote by CancelEmpires

Fabulous tote bag is fabulous. ($25)

New Releases

cover image for The Nature of Disappearing

The Nature of Disappearing by Kimi Cunningham Grant

For fans of atmospheric crime novels, fictional missing person cases, estranged friendships, and past secrets!

Estranged exes Emlyn and Tyler find themselves on a road trip in search of a past friend, Janessa. Tyler is certain that something has happened to Janessa, especially since she’s stopped posting on social media, but since the cops don’t think that’s enough to investigate, he begs Emlyn, his former girlfriend and Janessa’s former best friend, to please help. Emlyn is currently basically babysitting tourists as a fishing and hunting guide in Idaho, but she relents and agrees to help Tyler. They set off in search of Janessa, which forces Emlyn to face her past as readers learn how she met both Janessa and Tyler and the unraveling of each relationship.

I got absorbed into the audiobook narrated by Emily Pike Stewart.

I remain a fan of Kimi Cunningham Grant’s atmospheric writing. Backlist readers should definitely pick up These Silent Woods and Fallen Mountains.

(TW attempted date rape with drug at bar/ addiction off-page, side character/ brief past miscarriage loss, no detail/ hunting/ animal cruelty)

Devil’s Kitchen by Candice Fox

For fans of heist crews, thrillers, and an undercover on the team!

An NYC firefighter squad has taken advantage of having the kind of job where they can create scenarios to give them access to buildings where they can case out the place for a future heist. Andy Nearland has been hired to go into the crew undercover to find out what happened to one of its member’s girlfriend and son, who have vanished…

Looking for more new releases? Check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

I recently bought the paperback of Quan Barry’s We Ride Upon Sticks, and its neon pink cover made me think about how dark most of the crime genre book covers are, so I went in search of some neon covers!

The Lagos Wife by Vanessa Walters (Previously titled as The Nigerwife)

For fans of fictional missing person cases, family drama, dual POVs, outside the US setting, and past and present stories!

Nicole Oruwari is a British woman of Jamaican descent who moved to Lagos, Nigeria, when she married Tonye. Now she’s a part of the Nigerwives (pronounced like Nigeria), who are foreign women married to Nigerian men. After a boat trip, however, she disappears, and the aunt who raised her, Claudine, travels to Lagos to find out why she’s getting no information on what happened to her niece. She’s not greeted with a great reception, no one seems concerned, and it looks like Tonye is already set to remarry…

The audiobook has two great narrators: Dami Olukoya and Debra Michaels.

(TW mentions of partner abuse, domestic abuse scene/ briefly mentions past suicide, no detail/ mentions past addiction, overdose/ past child sexual abuse)

The Less Dead by Denise Mina

For fans of Glasgow, a struggling main character, family drama, mysteries about a past mysterious death, and crime novels!

Margot is pregnant and grieving her adoptive mother. She has yet to tell her boyfriend about the pregnancy because they’re separated after an incident where she felt he betrayed her confidence. (His brother is dating Margot’s best friend.) When she reaches out to an adoption agency to contact her birth mother’s sister, she learns that her aunt only accepted the request after learning that Margot is a doctor because she wants access to a database through Margot to prove that a cop killed Margot’s birth mother years ago…

I’ve been a fan of everything I’ve read by Denise Mina. She’s a great comp for fans of Tana French, and both have extensive backlists of procedurals and standalone novels.

(TW stalking/ suicide mentioned as threat, no detail/ past disordered eating/ domestic abuse/ rape cases, including teen prostitution/ addiction)

News and Roundups

From corporate law to crime thrillers, Atlanta author likes to right wrongs

Akwaeke Emezi’s novel Little Rot is a thrilling but difficult descent into darkness

From Ripley in Italy to True Detective in Iceland, How Locations Were Key For Top Emmy Contenders

ITV psychological thriller with ‘next James Bond’ is best crime series viewers have watched ‘in years’

Every Ruth Ware Mystery Novel, Ranked According to Goodreads

Jennifer Esposito Tapped To Direct Shake, Female-Centric Crime Drama From Ryan Binaco

Rahul Kohli Joins Amazon’s We Were Liars In Recasting

Resident Alien Moves To USA Network With Season 4 Renewal

Lady in the Lake Trailer: Natalie Portman and Moses Ingram’s Lives Converge Around Mysterious Woman’s Death

5 mysteries to read this summer — and their authors reveal their reading lists

Browse the books recommended in Unusual Suspects’ previous newsletters on this shelf. See upcoming 2024 releases and mysteries from 2023. Check out this Unusual Suspects Pinterest board and get Tailored Book Recommendations!

Until next time, keep investigating! In the meantime, come talk books with me on Bluesky, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and Litsy — you can find me under Jamie Canavés.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own, you can sign up here.

Giveaways

062024-JuneEACHouse-Giveaway

Post author By Vivek Patel
Post date June 20, 2024

We’re teaming up with Macmillan Audio to give away a $250 donation to the library of the winner’s choice!

Enter here for a chance to win, or click the image below!

Here’s a bit more from our sponsor: Macmillan Audio’s Listening Librarians Newsletter is dedicated to highlighting all things audiobooks to the library community, including new releases, narrator spotlights, behind-the-scenes content and phenomenal media hits. This quarterly newsletter will help librarians stay up to date on upcoming titles, access early audio programs, and hear personal recommendations from the Macmillan Audio team. Join us!

The Kids Are All Right

Hey, I Recognize that Name: 8 Celebrity Picture Books Worth Reading

Post author By Samm Saxby
Post date June 20, 2024

Sponsored by

This post is written by Rachel Rosenberg.

There are a lot of celeb-penned children’s books out in the world, written with varying levels of goodness. After all, not all writers are created equal, but publishers are unlikely to turn down aspiring picture book writers who already have fans and clout. So, how do you find which celebrity picture books are worth reading? I have done the work and read many of them, and now I’ll give you my picks.

My choices aren’t about the figures personally—some famous folks whose acting work I love have written kids’ books that I’ve read but won’t revisit. While some of the books on this list are by celebs I’m indifferent to in general, I love their books because they come from storytellers with genuine charm, insight, and panache.

So these eight books are my favourites, pairing well-written stories with an appealing voice and purpose. Plus, they’re matched with beautiful illustrations that elevate and complement the words.

The Enchanted Symphony by Julie Andrews, Emma Walton Hamilton, and Elly MacKay

This one inspired a real love-fest on the Children’s Librarian staff chat at work, we all loved it. Piccolino’s father is a maestro at their village’s opera house. Their home is busy and popular; that is, until a mysterious mist blankets everything and sends all the people home for an extended stay. When Piccolino and his father figure out a way to bring joy back to the village, the fog disappears. Andrews was inspired by how arts and nature brought people joy during the pandemic, and her story reflects that movingly.

The Sissy Duckling by Harvey Fierstein and Henry Cole

I’m a Fierstein fanatic, and this 2002 picture book of his does not disappoint. Elmer is a happy duckling who loves make-believe and cookie decorating. Sadly, he can’t find other boy ducklings who enjoy the same types of play, so his disappointed dad tries to coach Elmer in sports. Using wit and whimsy, Fierstein’s duckling hero finds the strength to confidently follow his heart and proudly be the duck he is.

cover of Sulwe by Lupita Nyong'o, illustrated by Vashti Harrison

Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o and Vashti Harrison

Nyong’o’s picture book is about a little girl named Sulwe, who struggles because her skin is darker than that of her parents and sister. She is self-conscious that it makes her less appealing to friends at school. The illustrations beautifully capture Nyong’o’s text, which portrays an important experience with nuance and sensitivity.

Please, Baby, Please by Spike Lee, Tonya Lewis Lee, and Kadir Nelson

Simple, repetition-heavy text accompanied by Nelson’s gorgeous illustrations makes this a win. Exhausted but loving parents plead with their little one to eat her peas, share her toys, and go back to bed. And as the parent of a newborn, I found the parental bargaining very relatable. All of that made for a funny, baby-friendly picture book.

Cover of Bompa's Insect Exhibition by Suzuki

Bompa’s Insect Expedition by David Suzuki, Tanya Lloyd Kyi, and Qin Leng

Suzuki, a famous scientist and environmentalist, co-wrote a nonfiction picture book about two children and their grandfather exploring nature together. Bompa and the twins, Nakina and Kaoru, wander around the backyard and examine insects. The twins ask questions that Bompa replies to with accessible information. Leng’s art is charming and provides silliness to the fact-based text, making the book fun to read and a great learning tool.

The Book With No Pictures by B. J. Novak

This book goes over bananas popular with kiddos, it’s a surefire hit during story times. True to its title, there are no pictures, but large font, nonsense words, and interactive text all combine to make this book the equivalent of child catnip.

Remember to Dream, Ebere by Cynthia Erivo and Charnelle Pinkney Barlow

Every night, before bed, Ebere’s mother reminds her to dream. Ebere’s imagination is vast, and with each subsequent sleep, she fills out the details of her nighttime dreams. Erivo’s text is simple and calm, with gentle repetition, and the illustrations are playful and endearing.

The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit by Emma Thompson and Eleanor Taylor

Did you know that Emma Thompson wrote multiple Peter Rabbit books? This one was the first, written in conjunction with Peter’s 110th anniversary, and Thompson perfectly captures the mischievous spirit of the originals. Fun fact: I worked at Selfridges’ book department when this was published, and we hosted Thompson for a meet and greet—she wore adorably whimsical mismatched veggie earrings.

There you go, eight celebrity picture books that are worth reading. There are a ton of celebrities getting in on the kidlit scene and it can be overwhelming to choose which ones to spend time on, but I promise that these will delight you and your favourite kiddos when you sit down for storytime.