Riot New Media – Page 820

The News is Depressing, But This Newsletter Also Has a Camel Library

Post author By Katie McLain
Post date June 12, 2020

Swords and Spaceships for June 12: Trans and Nonbinary SFF Showcase

Post author By Alex Acks
Post date June 12, 2020

Sponsored by our Summer Reading Pack Giveaway courtesy of Harlequin.com.

We’re giving away a Summer Reading Pack courtesy of Harlequin.com. The prize pack which includes the following titles: Sunrise on Half Moon Bay by Robyn Carr, The Sea Glass Cottage by RaeAnne Thayne, The Summer of Sunshine and Margot by Susan Mallery, Heartbreaker by B.J. Daniels, Family for Beginners by Sarah Morgan.

Well, this has sure been a week, hasn’t it? But we did it, shipmates! We made it to Friday. Drink some water. Stretch. Unclench your jaw. It’s Alex, with some news and important (if difficult) essays, and then a bunch of books by trans and nonbinary authors for your perusal.

Something that brought me a lot of joy this week: if I haven’t mentioned it recently, I’m a dedicated player of the game Destiny. The look forward to the coming content gave me happy chills. And started my Tuesday this week in an exciting way.

Looking for non-book things you can do to help in the quest for justice? blacklivesmatter.card.co

News and Views

I’m not going to get into Those Statements by She Who Shall Not Be Named, because I’m sad and angry and frankly? Incredibly tired. But here are a few things worth reading:

Book Riot’s succinct statement.
Kacen Callender (author of Queen of the Conquered) shares their deeply personal story over at Them.
Gabrielle Bellot writes about transphobia and growing up with Harry Potter.
All around good human Daniel Radcliffe responds over at the Trevor Project.
Tamora Pierce was a balm to my soul today.

Bogi Takács has done a twitter thread of books by Black intersex authors.

The finalists for this year’s Sturgeon Award have been announced.

New short story from K.M. Szpara: We’re Here, We’re Here

E. Catherine Tobler wrote a short story about a gay fashion vampire: True in His Fashion

Charlie Jane Anders on: Everything is broken! What do I write about?

Soulstar (third book in the series C.L. Polk started with Witchmark) has a cover and I want it now!

Also, A Desolation Called Peace (sequel to A Memory Called Empire) has a cover and it’s gorgeous! (full disclosure: Arkady and I share an agent.)

Bill & Ted Face the Music has a first trailer now.

Ronald McNair’s Civil Disobedience: The Illustrated Story of How a Little Boy Who Grew Up to Be a Trailblazing Astronaut Fought Segregation at the Public Library

On Book Riot

This week’s SFF Yeah! is about Black women in SFF.

How A Wrinkle in Time got me through depression.

Give Me More Sirens in Fantasy

Enter before the end of the month and you could win a 1-year subscription to Audible or a $250 Barnes and Noble gift card.

Free Association Friday: Trans and Nonbinary SFF Showcase
For reasons that should be obvious, I want to shine a spotlight on books written by trans and non-binary authors. Here’s a selection that’s just the tip of the rainbow iceberg. (And don’t forget Kacen, to whom I linked above!)

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas – A trans boy named Yadriel accidentally summons the wrong ghost when he attempts to prove he’s a real Brujo… and then the ghost won’t leave.

Ardulum by J.S. Fields – Neek ekes out a living piloting a dilapidated transport, but her dreams are haunted by a traveling planet, Ardulum, which visited her people long ago and brought them art and technology before vanishing.

No Man of Woman Born by Ana Mardoll – A collection of short stories in which trans and nonbinary character subvert gendered prophecies.

Automaton by D.J. Goodman – In the near future, the creator of the first robot indistinguishable from a human discovers that some are willing to kill her over her creation. In the far future, an automaton discovers a human wandering in the woods… something that should be impossible because humans have been extinct for 300 years.

She of the Fallen Stars by Dane Figueroa Edidi – All you need to know is that it’s space opera, and there are trans space pirates.

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi – A trans girl tries to figure out how to stop monsters that no one will admit exist, aided by a terrifying creature who came from one of her mother’s paintings.

Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee – Best, silliest summary: “Two ghosts have an argument about daylight savings time. Billions die.” (But make it space opera.)

A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe by Alex White – Treasure hunters in a race to find the greatest war ship the galaxy has ever seen, which has long been missing.

The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion by Margaret Killjoy – A young woman investigating her best friend’s suicide traces him to a community of squatters watched over by a protector spirit… just as the spirit begins to turn on its summoners.

Stealing Thunder by Alina Boyden – A former crown prince leaves behind her royal life–and hateful father–to become a dancer and thief. But when she crosses paths with a prince of another kingdom, she loses her heart and finds herself embroiled in dangerous politics again.

Love after the End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction edited by Joshua Whitehead – An anthology of utopian speculative stories by Two-Spirit and queer Indigenous writers.

Spellhacker by M.K. England – After a plague released by an earthquake devestates kills thousands and makes magic a commodity controlled by a nasty corporation, Diz and her friends make their living stealing and reselling it. And this is going to be the last heist they ever have to do…

See you, space pirates. You can find all of the books recommended in this newsletter on a handy Goodreads shelf. 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.

What's Up in YA

YA Ebook Deals Upon YA Ebook Deals!

Post author By Kelly Jensen
Post date June 12, 2020

Sponsored by Our Summer Reading Pack Giveaway courtesy of Harlequin.com

We’re giving away a Summer Reading Pack courtesy of Harlequin.com. The prize pack which includes the following titles: Sunrise on Half Moon Bay by Robyn Carr, The Sea Glass Cottage by RaeAnne Thayne, The Summer of Sunshine and Margot by Susan Mallery, Heartbreaker by B.J. Daniels, Family for Beginners by Sarah Morgan.

Hey YA Readers:

Don’t sleep on these deals this weekend. There are a lot of them, and many expire on Sunday. Treat yourself to a host of new reads without spending a whole lot of your cash.

Deals are current as of Friday, June 12.

This Book Is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewell is essential reading right now and you have no excuse for $3.

Black Girl Unlimited by Echo Brown, which came out earlier this year and is so worth your reading time, is $3. It is a story of Black Girl Magic.

Ben Philippe’s A Field Guide to the North American Teenager, a humorous and heart-filled fish-out-of-water story, as well as award-winning title, is $2.

Who Put This Song On? by Morgan Parker is one of my all-time favorite YA depictions of mental illness and it’s funny, too. $3.

Enter a fantasy world with Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron for $2.

Mark Oshiro’s award-winning Anger Is A Gift is on sale for $3.

E. Lockhart’s We Were Liars is one thriller fans will want to try. $2.

Printz-honor book and YA book in translation The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi is $3.

Celebrate queer YA with All Out edited by Saundra Mitchell — stories of queer teens through history by so many of your favorite YA authors. $2.

Speaking of queer YA (there will be a lot of it here!), Alex London’s Black Wings Beating is $3.

Claire Kann’s Let’s Talk About Love is $3 and it celebrates Blackness and queerness.

Anna-Marie McLemore’s When The Moon Was Ours is $3. Blanca and Rosa, another of her magical queer stories, is also on sale for $3. Dark and Deepest Red? Also $3.

Want something witchy? Tess Sharpe and Jessica Spotswood’s Toil and Trouble anthology of witch stories is $4.

Spotswood’s The Radical Element anthology of radical girls through history is on sale for $1. So many great authors and stories in this collection!

So you want queer witches? Amy Rose Capetta’s The Lost Coast is for you. $3.

Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed’s brand new Yes, No, Maybe So is $3.

After The Shot Drops by Randy Ribay is $3.

On this week’s episode of Hey YA, I talked about With The Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo (and told you nothing new you didn’t already know about how great it is!). $3.

Cynthia Leitich Smith’s Hearts Unbroken is on sale for $1.

Alternate history with zombies book Dread Nation by Justina Ireland is $3.

Queer, There, and Everywhere by Sarah Prager, highlighting queer history and its leaders, is $2.

This Is Kind Of An Epic Love Story by Kacen Callender is $2.

Meredith Russo’s If I Was Your Girl can be yours for $3.

The Weight of Stars by K. Ancrum is on sale for $3.

Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts) by LC Rosen is on sale for $2 (and so dang good!).

For sure, the following deals will expire Sunday. The ones above may last longer. Because there are so many, I’m going to just list them with the price. Click to your heart’s content to learn more — many of these are big standalone reads or the first title in a series.

American Royals by Katherine McGee $2.

The Fountains of Silence by Rute Sepetys $3.

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh $3.

The King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo $5.

The Lovely War by Julie Barry $3.

Not Even Bones by Rebecca Schaeffer $3.

All Your Twisted Secrets by Diana Urban $2.

The Queen’s Assassin by Melissa de la Cruz $3.

The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White $3.

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard $3.

Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy $2.

Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera $3.

Nyxia by Scott Reintgen $2.

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan $4.

Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay $3.

Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson $2.

Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte $3.

The Library of Lost Things by Laura Taylor Namey $2.

Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones $4.

Don’t Read The Comments by Eric Smith (yes, that one!) $2.

The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas $2.

Seafire by Natalie C. Parker $3.

Bloody Jack by LA Meyer $3.

Light It Up by Kekla Magoon $3.

How It Feels to Float by Helena Fox $3

In The Key of Nira Ghani by Natasha Deen $3.

The Best Laid Plans by Cameron Lund $3

Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith $5

The Edge of Anything by Nora Shalaway Carpenter $3

You’ll find plenty of good reading here, y’all. Wow, wow, wow. I’m going to give my money a little workout, too.

Thanks for being here, and we’ll see you on Monday.

— Kelly Jensen, @heykellyjensen on Instagram and editor of Body Talk, (Don’t) Call Me Crazy, and Here We Are.

Today In Books

Drone Delivering Library Books: Today In Books

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date June 11, 2020

9 Great British Mystery Series You Won’t Want to Put Down

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date June 11, 2020

Pride Month Reads

Post author By Alice Burton
Post date June 11, 2020

Sponsored by our 1-year Audible subscription giveaway courtesy of Macmillan Audiobooks.

We’re giving away a 1-year subscription to Audible to one lucky winner, courtesy of Macmillan’s Audiobooks Newsletter.

Pride Month happens in June because the Stonewall Riots were in June. On June 28, 1969, New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, allegedly groped queer women, beat patrons, and finally, someone reportedly shouted, “Why don’t you guys do something?” The ensuing chaos, rioting, and destruction of property are now seen as the foundation of a movement that saved innumerable lives and led to immense social change. I’m just saying.

Stonewall Riots: Coming Out in the Streets by Gayle E Pitman. I love YA nonfiction. It frequently gives you exactly as much information as you really need about a subject. If you want a more thorough understanding of Stonewall than just its most known talking points, this gives you a background on LGBTQ+ NYC before, during, and after the riots, and it does it through objects, which is awesome. A lot of the objects are photographs, but they also include a dress and a matchbox, among other items.

No Tea, No Shade: New Writings in Black Queer Studies edited by E. Patrick Johnson. If you like a survey of a topic via essays, do I have the book for you! 19 essays are collected here, focusing on Black gender and sexuality. Authors include scholars, activists, and community leaders. Did you know there was a ’90s magazine by and for Black lesbians called Black Lace? Neither did I.

Queer: A Graphic History by Dr. Meg-John Barker. 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.” I know those are a lot of words! But it’s pretty accessible and does a good job giving a history + breaking down some complicated ideas.

Transgender History, second edition: The Roots of Today’s Revolution by Susan Stryker. What a helpful and informative book for a time when certain authors are making all KINDS of claims. I’m really excited to look at this one more closely. Stryker spends a chapter each on terms, history (starting from the mid-19th c.), liberation, and this second edition has a final chapter that focuses on 2000 to present day (present being 2017). If you’re interested in academically nerding out, she also wrote The Transgender Studies Reader, which came out in 2006.

Warrior Poet: A Biography of Audre Lorde by Alexis De Veaux. Lorde called herself a “Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet.” Add librarian and civil rights activist to that list, among other things. De Veaux’s biography won the Lambda Literary Award and leads you through Lorde’s personal and professional growth until passing at the too-young age of 58 in 1992. For further reading, check out Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches.

The Stonewall Reader edited by the New York Public Library. Primary sources!! Ok, this is super cool because it gives you lots of pieces important to the LGBTQ+ movement, but they’re bite-sized, so you can read one or two or five things at a time, or pick and choose what you want to read, and it doesn’t have to be in order (I know that idea will make some of you panic). They’re split up into Before/During/After Stonewall. Awesome.

Take care of yourselves, nonfictionites. As always, you can find me on social media @itsalicetime and co-hosting the For Real podcast with Kim here at Book Riot. Until next time, enjoy those facts, fellow nerds.

Read This Book

Read This Book: Cantoras by Carolina de Robertiis

Post author By Tirzah Price
Post date June 11, 2020

Sponsored by Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev and William Morrow paperbacks.

In Sonali Dev’s Recipe for Persuasion, Ashna Raje finds herself in such desperate need of a way to save her beloved restaurant, she agrees to join Cooking With the Stars. Enter Rico Silva, her celebrity teammate and first love. Both believe the other abandoned them in a time of need, but can they heal the wounds of the past and find a way to work together?

Welcome to Read This Book, a weekly newsletter where I recommend one book that I think you absolutely must read. The books will vary across genre and age category to include new releases, backlist titles, and classics. If you’re ready to explode your TBR, buckle up!

Continuing our LGBTQ+ readathon for Pride Month, this week’s pick is Cantoras by Carolina de Robertis.

Content warning: sexual assault, conversion therapy, homophobia, talk of political torture and violence

Today, Uruguay is one of the most egalitarian of South American countries. It was the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2013, and it has a large middle class. But this wasn’t always the case. This novel opens in the 1970s, only a few years into a military dictatorship, and follows five women who live in the capital, Montevideo. Anita, Flaca, Romina, Malena, and Paz all discover one another and recognize that they are cantoras, women who love other women. To escape the oppressive environment of the city for a week, they head to a small town on the coast, where they camp on the beach and feel the most free they’ve ever been. They decide to buy a shack there, and over the next ten years that place becomes their refuge from the world as their relationships shift, but their friendship remains.

This is a really eye-opening and incredible book that looks at what life was like under the dictatorship, not just for queer people, but for anyone who dissented. The friendship between these five women is powerful, and they support and love each other like no other. For them, finding their refuge is an awakening to their identities, and they can explore who they might want to be when no one is looking. The effects of these discoveries are felt throughout nearly every aspect of their lives when they return home–relationships are broken off, new lovers are found, political callings are discovered, and new careers are forged. The author also examines how the dictatorship absolutely ruins lives–one woman in this group is never able to process what happened to her as a young woman, and is not given the space to heal while she must remain vigilant against drawing any attention to herself. There are moments of deep sadness and tragedy, but the book ends on such a bittersweet note, reminding readers of how hard LGBTQ+ people have fought for their rights and just how far we’ve come in a few short decades. I can’t think of a better book to read for Pride month.

Bonus: This book just came out in paperback last week, so be sure to pick up a copy!

Happy reading,

Tirzah

Find me on Book Riot, the Insiders Read Harder podcast, All the Books, and Twitter.

If someone forwarded this newsletter to you, click here to subscribe.

Audiobooks

Audiobooks 6/11

Post author By Vanessa Diaz
Post date June 11, 2020

Sponsored by Andrews McMeel Publishing

If you’ve been itching to convert your craft into a career, your side-hustle into a start-up, or just want to think about work-life balance in a new way, then The Multi-Hyphen Life is for you. In The Multi-Hyphen Life award-winning British author-podcaster Emma Gannon explains that it doesn’t matter if you’re a part-time PA with a blog, or an accountant who runs an online store in the evenings—whatever your ratio, whatever your mixture, we can all channel our own entrepreneurial spirit to live more fulfilled and financially healthy lives. Now also an audiobook read by the author.

Hola Audiophiles!

Hey friend, yes you. It’s almost Friday and you made it. I know we’re all feeling a lot of ups and downs right now between working on anti-racism and getting our hearts broken by once-beloved fantasy authors. I see you, I honor you, and I invite you to take a moment today to breathe, stretch, hydrate, perhaps meditate or take a nap. Thank you for spending some of your precious time with me today – let’s do this audiobook thing.

Ready? Let’s audio.

New Releases – June 9th (publisher descriptions in quotes)

The Secret Women Sheila Williams by Sheila Williams, read by Zakiya Young (fiction) – Elise isn’t feeing very namaste: she recently lost her mother, her marriage has fallen apart, and this 90 minute yoga class just isn’t where its at today. After an epic faceplant in downward facing dog, she gets to chatting with two other women who aren’t feeling it today either. They strike up a conversation and end up going for dinner after class. Over tacos, margaritas, laughs, and then tearful confessions, a friendship between these three members of the Daughters of Dead Mothers Club is formed.

Narrator Note: Zakiya Young is an experienced theater actress and relatively new to the audiobook thing. Her narration is unsurprisingly wonderful!

Rebel Chef: In Search of What Matters by Dominique Crenn, read by Hope Newhouse (biography/memoir) – Dominique Crenn is the owner and executive chef at renowned San Francisco restaurant Atelier Crenn. This memoir begins with chronicle of her childhood in Brittany, France, starting with her adoption at 18 months and her early indoctrination into the world of food. We then follow Crenn on her journey to becoming a chef, breaking down barriers and developing her own unique philosophy of food before finally opening up her own restaurant and becoming the first woman in America to earn a two Michelin star rating. Fun fact: she’s also currently the only one with a three star rating.

Bonus: Watch her episode of Chef’s Table on Netflix for a fun dive into her restaurant’s artistic concept. There are absolutely some who will find this kind of cuisine pretentious (and little snobby towards “simple” food, I’ll give you that). But Crenn’s passion and creativity are undeniable and so fun to watch.

Narrator note: I confess I wish Dominque Crenn had narrated this herself because I love her French accent so much, but Hope Newhouse does a great job. She reads a ton of Laura Bradbury’s work if you’re familiar with those.

The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon, read by Je Nie Fleming (romance, fiction) – Samiah is a software engineer who’s on a hot garbage date and live-tweeting its awfulness for the world to see. Those tweets go viral and then one women but TWO women are all, “Ummmm, why is my man on a date with another woman?” They show up at the restaurant, confront his three-timing ass, and then the three wronged women ride off together into the friendship sunset. Over a round of Moscow mules, they make a pact to take a break from dating and focus on themselves. As luck would have it though, the new hottie at the office puts a twinkle in Samiah’s eye. Should she stick to the plan or take a chance on love? And is this new guy keeping secrets of his own? I have been leaning hard into romance for joy in these times and enjoyed this one on so many levels: strong female friendships, an office romance, the struggles of Black women in the workplace and specifically in STEM. So good!

Narrator Note: Je Nie Fleming is an actor, singer, and writer who brings those acting skills to her narration. She has this rich, lower-pitched tone that I find absolutely scrumptious.

Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho, read by Catherine Ho (fiction) – This is pitched as Crazy Rich Asians meets Bridget Jones’ Diary, to which I say thank you. Andrea Tang is 33 and living the dream; she’s a successful lawyer, has fun-loving friends, her social life is poppin’ and she has a posh condo in Singapore. All she has to do now is make partner at her firm, though her family thinks she’s incomplete because she’s unmarried and childless. Then a chance encounter with a charming and wealthy entrepreneur offers her a glimpse of an easy life in the lap of luxury that would also satisfy her family. But…. she can’t stop thinking about her office rival, the last man her family would approve of.

Narrator Note: You may recognize Catherine Ho from books like How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang or Ship of Smoke and Steel by Django Wexler.

Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier, read by Jeena Yi (fiction) – Our main character is 18 years old, pregnant, and working as a pizza delivery girl in suburban LA. She’s grieving the death of her father and in denial about her unhappiness, avoiding the attempts at support from her loving mother and boyfriend. Then she meets Jenny, a stay-at-home mom new to the neighborhood who depends on weekly pickled-covered pizza deliveries in order to feed her young son. “As one woman looks toward motherhood and the other toward middle age, the relationship between the two begins to blur in strange, complicated, and ultimately heartbreaking ways.”

Narrator Note: Jeena Yi is one of the narrators in the cast for Frances Cha’s If I Had Your Face which has been on my list!

Latest Listens – HA!

My focus is all over the map right now, but that’s okay. What I’ve prepared instead is a list of audiobooks to celebrate both queer and Black voices (including several Black queer voices). Again, went with a list sans descriptions in the interest of getting lots of selections on the page. Look em up, read em up.

You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson, read by Alaska Jackson

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas, read by Avi Roque (out September 2020)

Redefining Realness by Janet Mock, read by the author

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi, read by the author

The Clancys of Queens by Tara Clancy, read by the author

Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore, read by Vikas Adam, Mia Barron and Almarie Guerra

A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney, read by Jacob York, Jeanette Illidge, and Matthew Barnes

Homie by Danez Smith, read by the author

You Can’t Touch My Hair by Phoebe Robinson, read by the author

All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson, read by the author

Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn, read by Sharon Gordon

Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, read by Ramon de Ocampo

Real Men Knit by Kwana Jackson, read by Keylor Leigh

Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi, read by the author

Small Doses by Amanda Seales, read by the author

All My Mother’s Lovers by Ilana Massad, Rebecca Lowman

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams, read by Shvorne Marks

Wade in the Water by Tracy K. Smith, read by the author

Everything Under by Daisy Johnson, read by Esther Wane

From the Internets

Audiofile suggests these seven historical fiction audiobooks for kids and teens

I’m really excited for Libro.fm’s Summer Listening Challenge! Play Audiobook Bingo for a chance to win Libro.fm swag and a year’s worth of audiobooks!

Also up on the Libro.fm blog now: interviews with Brit Bennett and Nicole Dennis-Benn and a list of audiobook recs from Black bookstagrammers.

Audible has a roundup of playlists up now: classic lit by Black authors, Black voices in romance, International Black authors, and a top 10 list of Black audiobook narrators

I missed that it’s Audiobook Month because…. well, look around. Thanks to Kobo for reminding me.

Nerd Daily invites you to #ReadWithPride with these audiobook recommendations

Over at the Riot

6 of the Best Audiobooks by Black Authors

Thanks for hanging with me today! Shoot me an email at vanessa@riotnewmedia.com with your burning book club questions or find me on Twitter and the gram @buenosdiazsd. Sign up for the Audiobooks newsletter, catch me once a month on the All the Books podcast, and watch me ramble about even more new books every Tuesday on our YouTube channel.

Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa

Giveaways

061120-AudibleEAC-Giveaways

Post author By Hannah Cherie Hudson
Post date June 11, 2020

We’re giving away a 1-year subscription to Audible to one lucky winner, courtesy of Macmillan’s Audiobooks Newsletter. Simply fill out the form here to enter!

Here’s a little more about the Macmillan Audiobooks Newsletter: Sign up to receive information about new releases, advance clips, special offers and more, all related to your favorite audiobooks and authors.

Book Radar

THE HATE U GIVE Is Streaming for Free and More Book Radar!

Post author By Liberty Hardy
Post date June 10, 2020

Sponsored by our Summer Reading Pack Giveaway courtesy of Harlequin.com

Happy Thursday! Today I have a little bit of book news, a blurb about my love for Mexican Gothic, a cat picture, and more. I have been sick in bed all week, watching Bob’s Burgers and reading books. It’s not a horrible way to spend time, really, minus the not feeling good part. But I am on the mend and hoping to be back to 100% by the weekend!

Whatever you are doing or watching or reading this week, I am sending you virtual hugs. Please be safe, and remember to wear a mask and wash your hands. And please be mindful of others. It takes no effort to be kind. I’ll see you again on Thursday. – xoxo, Liberty

Trivia question time! What is the name of Starr’s father in The Hate U Give? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

The film adaptation of The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas is streaming for free right now. And here are five more films about systemic racism you can view for free right now.

Here’s the first trailer for the adaptation of You Should Have Left.

Here are 20 happy queer books to check out for Pride Month. And 3 great queer YA books by Black authors. A 6 great audiobooks by queer Black authors.

Here’s the newest cover in C.L. Polk’s Kingston Cycle series.

And here’s the trailer for the I’ll Be Gone in the Dark docu-series coming to HBO, based on the book by Michelle McNamara.

Book Riot Recommends

At Book Riot, I work on the New Books! email, the All the Books! podcast about new releases, and the Book Riot Insiders New Release Index. I am very fortunate to get to read a lot of upcoming titles, and learn about a lot of upcoming titles, and I’m delighted to share a couple with you each week so you can add them to your TBR! (It will now be books I loved on Mondays and books I’m excited to read on Thursdays. YAY, BOOKS!)

Loved, loved, loved:

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Del Rey, June 30)

You only have to wait two more weeks for this fantastic novel! It was everything I wanted and more. The story of a young wife shut away in her husband’s family’s secluded home, thinking that nefarious things are afoot, is not a new story. But in Moreno-Garcia’s hands, it’s a new excellent version of the story. It’s set in Mexico in the 1950s: After her newly-wed cousin, Catalina, sends a letter begging for help, Noemí Taboada travels to High Place, a stately manor in the countryside, to help her. When she arrives, her cousin says it was a misunderstanding. Catalina’s handsome husband, Virgil, says Catalina has been sick with tuberculosis and doesn’t know what she’s saying. But Noemí doesn’t think Catalina has the right symptoms, and when she herself experiences some super weird and creepy goings on in the home, she decides she needs to intervene. But will the family let her go? Will the house let her go? This is A+++ creepsville territory, a new gem in the gothic genre crown.

What I’m reading this week.

Saving Ruby King by Catherine Adel West

Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire

The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway

White Tears/Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color by Ruby Hamad

The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes by Elissa R. Sloan

Song stuck in my head:

Dim All the Lights by Donna Summer

And this is funny:

THE CUTE, IT BURNS.

Happy things:

Here are a few things I enjoy that I thought you might like as well:

Purrli: This website makes the relaxing sounds of a cat purring.
Here are livestreams of animals. I particularly enjoy the bat one.
And more cute animal pictures.
Music Catch, one of my favorite desktop games. I also still play Lemonade Stand occasionally.
Disney Emoji Blitz!

And here’s a cat picture!

Trivia answer: Maverick.

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