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Canada Giveaways

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We’re giving away five copies of The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris to five lucky Riot readers!

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

Here’s what it’s all about:

Get Out meets The Devil Wears Prada in this electric debut about the tension that unfurls when two young Black women meet against the starkly white backdrop of New York City book publishing. A whip-smart and dynamic thriller and sly social commentary that is perfect for anyone who has ever felt manipulated, threatened, or overlooked in the workplace, The Other Black Girl will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last twist.

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Giveaways

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We’re giving away five copies of One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston to five lucky Riot readers!

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

Here’s what it’s all about:

Casey McQuistion, author of the runaway New York Times bestselling debut Red, White, & Royal Blue, returns with an irresistible new novel that Time Magazine calls “a dazzling romance, filled with plenty of humor and heart” about two girls lost in time and each other. But for how long? Bestselling author Jasmine Guillory raves, One Last Stop is “dreamy, otherworldly, smart, swoony, thought, and hilarious—all in all, exactly what you’d expect from Casey McQuiston! Read One Last Stop today because sometimes love stops you in your tracks.

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Riot Rundown

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Today In Books

Scholarship Launched in Honor of John Le Carré: Today in Books

The Curtis Brown Literary and Talent Agency Launches Scholarship in Honor of John Le Carré

The Curtis Brown Literary and Talent Agency has launched a new scholarship in honor of the late thriller author John Le Carré. The annual scholarship will cover the cost of the Curtis Brown three-month online course Writing Your Novel, which runs from September 6th to December 13th. This scholarship is part of The Breakthrough Writers’ Programme, a new outreach program that aims to offer opportunities for under-represented writers. 

Never Have I Ever Star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan to Lead Pride and Prejudice Reimagining

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, star of Never Have I Ever, has been cast as Lizzie Bennet in the upcoming Netflix contemporary Pride and Prejudice adaptation. The new Netflix movie, entitled Netherfield Girls, will be written and directed by Becca Gleason. No other cast members have been officially announced yet.

Celebrate Pride Month With Queer Author Panel, Featuring Shing Yin Khor, Wendy Heard, and Leslie Anne Frye-Thomas

On Thursday, June 17, celebrate Pride Month by joining a Queer Author Panel online, hosted by LA County Library. On the panel, authors Shing Yin Khor, Wendy Heard, and Leslie Anne Frye-Thomas will discuss their experiences writing and publishing as queer people. The panel will take place at 7pm Pacific time, and you can register here.

2021 International Booker Prize Winner Announced

At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop has been announced as the 2021 International Booker Prize Winner. Read more about the prize and the winner.

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True Story

Pride Month Book Picks

I feel like a queer elder, which is so weird because I literally only came out 10 years ago, but things have changed SO much since then. I feel like I was just hunched over my laptop at 1 AM watching the livestream of the marriage equality debates in the Hawaii legislature (which is the sort of hedonistic lifestyle I indulged in in my 20s), and now here I am married to an awesome lady and no one in my life thought it was a whole big thing, because it’s already pretty dang normalized. In urban areas. And among the people in my life, because, let’s be fair, why keep the other people with you.

But for real, not only did we go from truly-mostly-not-great film, TV, and books, now we have award-winning, AMAZING things! Kind of frequently! A lot of it’s white and queer people are still dying onscreen more than anyone should be comfortable with, but it’s so much further than we were 10 years ago.

SO, that being said, happy Pride to everyone under the LGBTQ+ umbrella. Let’s look at some books:

Queer: A Graphic History by Meg-John Barker, illustrated by Jules Scheele

This graphic history looks at how we “came to view sex, gender and sexuality in the ways that we do; how these ideas get tangled up with our culture and our understanding of biology, psychology and sexology; and how these views have been disputed and challenged.” It’s kind of like, how do we look at queer theory and some Big Ideas, but do it in an illustrated and more comprehensible way.

I Must Resist Cover

I Must Resist: Bayard Rustin’s Life in Letters by Bayard Rustin

Rustin was the organizer of the 1963 March on Washington (yes, the “I Have a Dream” event) and had an enormous influence on Martin Luther King, Jr, but he is not as well known as others in the Civil Rights movement. Why? Because he was openly gay. While it is near-impossible to truly know a person, I would argue that reading their letters is a better way than reading a biography. This collection gathers over 150 of Rustin’s letters, spanning almost four decades of his life (he died in 1987). What a way to learn more about him.

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My Sister: How One Sibling’s Transition Changed Us Both by Selenis Leyva and Marizol Leyva

I really love the family aspect of this. Selenis Leyva, known from Orange Is the New Black, co-writes this book with her sister about growing up in the Bronx in a Latinx household, about Marizol transitioning, their relationship as sisters, how Caitlin Jenner does not stand for all trans experiences, their relationship with Laverne Cox, and more.

The Stonewall Reader, edited by the New York Public Library and Jason Baumann

June 28, 2019 was the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, and if you love primary sources, boy is this great for you. Edited by the New York Public Library, it compiles “first accounts, diaries, periodic literature, and articles from LGBTQ magazines and newspapers that documented both the years leading up to and the years following the riot.” A lot of accounts about this seminal event in American queer history.


For more nonfiction new releases, check out the For Real podcast which I co-host with the excellent Kim here at Book Riot. If you have any questions/comments/book suggestions, you can find me on social media @itsalicetime. Until next time, enjoy those facts, fellow nerds.

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Unusual Suspects

8 Thrillers And Mysteries To Read This Summer

Hello mystery fans! It’s that time of the week where I give you all the interesting things to click, listen to, and read–including Kindle ebook deals–related to all things mystery.

From Book Riot And Around The Internet

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Liberty and Danika talk new releases, including Dead Dead Girls (A Harlem Renaissance Mystery) by Nekesa Afia on the latest Read or Dead!

15 of the Best Romantic Thriller Books to TBR

Quiz: Which Supernatural Thriller Should You Pick Up Next?

Eight thrillers and mysteries to read this summer

The perfect recipe for a cozy mystery

The Troubles live on in Belfast Noir, a genre perfectly suited to its crimes

New True Crime Books to Read This Summer

New Crime Drama Whitstable Pearl Is A Cosy Murder Mystery With A Dark Side

BritBox To Adapt M.L. Longworth’s Crime Novels Into TV Series ‘Murder In Provence’

Announcing The Winners of the 2021 Lambda Literary Awards (Congrats to all including Tom Ryan for I Hope You’re Listening– definitely pick up if you’re a fan of true crime podcasts in mysteries. Review)

Book reviews: A Detroit hero in ‘Dead of Winter’; mystery and ghosts in ‘Bitterroot Lake’

Jane Casey’s ‘Killing Kind’ Set For TV Adaptation By Sony’s Eleventh Hour Films

Best Mystery Series: Listens That’ll Take You Right to the Crime Scene

(spoilers–which is why I haven’t read this yet) ‘Mare Of Easttown’ Brings Up Conflicting Feelings About Cop Shows

Giveaway: Win a 1-Year Subscription to Audible!

Giveaway: Enter to Win A Library Cart!

A Bit Of My Week In Reading

Currently Reading: All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris. I am a sucker for legal thrillers and/or lawyer leads. This starts with a lawyer going to meet her mentor in their law firm, finding him dead (apparent suicide), and pretending like she didn’t find him, which then leads to her getting promoted to his job. I want to know ALL the secrets NOW!

Finished Reading (more excellent audiobooks): Why Fish Don’t Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life by Lulu Miller. I thought this was a memoir/biography about a woman with depression (including suicidal thoughts) who sought out information about a scientist who overcame so many obstacles with his research being destroyed because he always kept going no matter what. Which it is, but it also takes some serious hard left turns into an unsolved murder and the history of eugenics in the US, and why the title of the book is actually true. It was excellent and unexpected! And I also finished the super hyped, and deserving, Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid, which I loved and realized that its narrator, Nicole Lewis, has become a top favorite recently.

Super excited can’t wait: The 6th Lady Sherlock book from Sherry Thomas releases this November–are we there yet?!– and I can’t wait to read Miss Moriarty, I Presume?

Kindle Deals

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Murder in the Crooked House by Soji Shimada, Louise Heal Kawai

If you like remote mysteries, locked-room mysteries, and nods to Agatha Christie and Sherlock, this one is for you! And it’s a steal at $1.99. (Review)

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The Gone Dead by Chanelle Benz

If you’re a fan of literary suspense, Southern literature, and past mysteries, grab this one currently on sale for $1.99! (Review)

The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

If you’re looking for a YA page-turner with an excellent cover, you can snag this one for $1.99. (Review)


Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. See upcoming 2021 releases. 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 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.

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Check Your Shelf

Jeeves, Bring Me My Next Book

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. If anyone’s wondering from the last newsletter, the Cubs lost when Blaine and I went to the game on Sunday, but honestly, being back at a live baseball game was hashtag-worth-it. Easily the most enjoyable Cubs loss I’ve ever watched. And now Blaine and I just have an excuse to try and get tickets to another game this season.

But this isn’t a baseball newsletter – this is a library newsletter! Let’s library!


Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

The Maryland state bill that would ensure public libraries the right to license and lend ebooks available to consumers in the state has become law.

(TW: transphobia) Halifax Pride has announced that they are ending their partnership with the Halifax Public Library after library officials said that they would not remove the book Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters by Abigail Shrier from their collections.

This patron returned an overdue Bob Dylan record to an Ohio library 48 years past its due date along with an apologetic note.

Cool Library Updates

In the Rochester Public Library’s recent survey about their shift to a fines free policy, nearly 50% of responders said that eliminating fines improved their access to materials during the pandemic.

Worth Reading

To survive, libraries must transform.

If you want a closer look at how libraries can show the impact of their services, make sure to read this interview with Christian Lauersen, the director at the Roskilde Library in Denmark.

Thieves can make millions at the library.

The book club of this reader’s dreams was at the library all along.

Book Adaptations in the News

Netflix’s Anna K, a contemporary adaptation of Anna Karenina, will be its first Russian original drama series.

Apple orders a series adaptation of The Big Door Prize by M.O. Walsh.

Alex Michaelides’ upcoming novel The Maidens has been snagged for a series adaptation.

Casting update for Sandman and Bridgerton Season 2.

29 movies based on books that are actually worth watching.

Books & Authors in the News

Lois Ehlert, beloved children’s illustrator of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, has died at age 86.

Akwaeke Emezi made the cover of Time magazine as a Next Generation Leader.

Mary Parrish’s firsthand account of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre has been published 100 years later.

Award News

The winners of the 2021 Lambda Literary Awards have been announced.

David Diop wins the 2021 Booker International Prize for At Night All Blood is Black.

Jalal Barjas wins the 2021 International Prize for Arabic Fiction.

The US Selfies announce their 2021 shortlist.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

The Portage NAACP created a coloring book to teach children the ABC’s of social justice.

On the Riot

100 years of the Newbery Medal.

A guide to the fantasy and science fiction award scene.

A day in the life of an indie bookseller.

On the unpredictable impact of books.

Being a “book butler” is actually a thing!


All right, you crazy kids. I hope you all had a relaxing holiday weekend, and I hope you’ve been able to enjoy the shorter work week this week. Catch you on Tuesday!

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading Children of Chicago by Cynthia Pelayo.

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Swords and Spaceships

Swords and Spaceships for June 4

Happy Friday, shipmates! AND HAPPY PRIDE!!!! It’s Alex, and I’ve got some links for you this glorious first Friday of June, and some books with bi protagonists. Have a safe and happy start to pride, and I will see you on Tuesday!

Thing that I must always retweet: HAPPY PRIDE, Y’ALL

Let’s make the world a better place, together. Here’s somewhere to start: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/ and anti-asianviolenceresources.carrd.co


News and Views

Congrats to the winners of this year’s Lambda Literary Awards!

Becky Chambers is doing a virtual tour

The Age of Autonomous Killer Robots May Already Be Here

Get in, losers, we’re going to Venus

There’s a “Darth Vader” house

LOL I love Sean Bean

SFF eBook Deals

Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente for $2.99

Angelfall by Susan Ee for $0.99

The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison for $0.99

On Book Riot

What to read after watching Shadow and Bone

Future Shocks: 10 sci-fi thrillers to get your pulse racing

Quiz: Which supernatural thriller should you pick next

This week’s SFF Yeah! podcast is about many things, including… Muppet arms?

This month you can enter to win a 1-year subscription to Audible, a Kindle Paperwhite, your own library cart, a $250 gift card to Powell’s Books, an iPad Mini, and a summer reading prize pack.

Free Association Friday: Pride Month Week 1!

IT’S PRIDE MONTH, Y’ALL! Get out your rainbow bookmarks and prepare for your first of four Very Queer Fridays. This year, I want to kick off with some bi/pan SFF, because they should be visible on the page and in the street every darn day of the year. I haven’t put C.L. Polk’s Kingston Cycle in the list because I know I mention it all the time but here is your reminder that if you put Witchmark, Stormsong, and Soulstar together, you get the bi pride flag!

Cover of The Devourers by Indra Das

The Devourers by Indra Das

Bi. Werewolves. In Mughal India. Told through a college professor named Alok transcribing notebooks (and even stranger and creepier pages) of a bizarre and mysterious story that he must know the end of. The two clashing worlds of the past have their darker parallels in the fascination Alok shows for the fascinating teller of the story.

Silver Moon by Catherine Lundoff

Also. Bi. Werewolves. A divorced, middle-aged woman discovers that the “great change” of her life isn’t just the cessation of menopause–it comes with a side of lycanthropy. The good news is, her home town has an all female wolf pack that’s eager to welcome her in. The bad news is, there’s hunters out here.

(Full disclosure: Catherine Lundoff’s small press has published two of my books.)

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Ship of Smoke and Steel by Django Wexler

A chaotic murder bi who works as a criminal enforcer suddenly finds herself with an even more powerful and exacting boss when she’s arrested and brought in to work for the emperor’s spymaster. The job she’s handed is impossible: to steal a legendary ghost ship. The consequences of failure are unimaginable: her sister’s death.

The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson

Demane is an earthbound demigod that has been labeled as a sorcerer–not entirely correct, but perhaps easier for people to understand. He follows a beautiful man who is also descended from gods, and together it’s up to them to protect the caravan in their charge from the terrors that stalk the road.

The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley

Tough as nails bi woman just trying to get by in the hellscape of being in a corporate militia starts living her life out of order every time she’s turned into light and sent to a new battlefield. And what she learns during the experience is just how much she and her fellow soldiers have been lied to.

Point of Hopes by Melissa Scott and Lisa Barnett

Two! Two bi men ah ah ah. And what are they doing? Investigating kidnappings, trying to keep the populace of their city from blaming it all on foreigners, and hoping to get it all done before a major astrological event really blows up the city.

Seven Tears at High Tide by C.B. Lee

A broken-hearted boy named Kevin lets seven tears fall into the sea and wishes for a summery of happiness and love. What he gets is a mysterious boy named Morgan he has to save–who then later shows up at his doorstep to confess his love. Morgan is a selkie who will have to return to the sea at the end of the summer… and this is only the first complication they both have to deal with.

False Hearts by Laura Lam

Conjoined sisters Taema and Tila were raised in a cult before escaping to San Francisco where they are surgically separated. Ten years later, Tila has been arrested for murder and is possibly involved in a criminal syndicate that runs drugs. Taema is given the option to go in undercover as her sister–and maybe save Tila’s life in the process.

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

Did you think I had stopped yelling about how much I love this book? YOU THOUGHT WRONG. Beyond the lush writing and the parallel world plots and thriller twists, the main character has big bi energy and she should be appreciated for that as well.


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.

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Kid Lit Giveaways

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We’re giving away five copies of Enduring Freedom by Jawad Arash and Trent Reedy to five lucky Riot readers!

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

Here’s what it’s all about:

Baheer, a studious Afghan teen, sees his family’s life turned upside down on September 11th, 2001, when they lose their livelihood as war rocks the country.

A world away, Joe, a young Army private, has to put aside his dreams of becoming a journalist when he’s shipped out to Afghanistan.

When Joe’s unit arrives in Baheer’s town, Baheer is wary of the Americans, and Joe doesn’t trust Baheer, but they discover they have a lot more in common than either could have realized. But can Joe and Baheer’s friendship survive the pressure that their families and countries put on them?

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Giveaways

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Book Riot is teaming up with Uncharted to give away one Kindle Paperwhite! Fill out the form here and sign up for the Uncharted newsletter for a chance to win!

A little more about Uncharted: Uncharted is a new Literary Magazine coming August 2021 with the goal to create a space where writers and readers can truly gather together to share and experience outstanding stories, specializing in Sci-Fi & Fantasy/ Horror & Thriller/ Crime & Mystery writing. Uncharted will be publishing new work every week from emerging and established authors, and running prestigious contests to make sure our authors get the chance to make real money and earn real recognition. We’ll regularly publish writing advice, community news, essays, interviews and more—all centered around our shared love and excitement of great genre stories.