Riot New Media – Page 879

Here’s the Sci-Fi Series That Inspired Elon Musk: Today in Books

Post author By Tirzah Price
Post date February 23, 2020

🇺🇸 US or 🇬🇧 UK?: Which YA Book Cover Do You Prefer?

Post author By Kelly Jensen
Post date February 22, 2020

Sponsored by audiobook edition of Diamond City by Francesca Flores and read by Frankie Corzo.

Good things don’t happen to girls who come from nothing…unless they risk everything.

Aina Solís is as mysterious as the blood magic she protects. After the murder of her parents, Aina takes a job as an assassin to survive and finds a new family in those like her: the unwanted and forgotten.

DIAMOND CITY: built by magic, ruled by tyrants, and in desperate need of saving.

The audiobook of Diamond City, read by Frankie Corzo, is full of action, romance and dark magic. This first installment in Francesca Flores’ breathtaking fantasy duology will leave listeners eager for more!

Hey YA Readers!

Do you pay attention to book covers across different countries? I know I love taking a peek at how different publishers choose to highlight their books.

For many years, books published in the UK took advantage of more illustrated covers. If you’ve walked a book store any time in the last couple of years in the US, you’ve likely seen this is much more common here now than photographic covers. But even though the styles tend to be more similar now between the US and UK than previously, they can still present a different image all together.

Let’s take a peek at some of the US and UK covers of new and beloved YA book covers. Which do you prefer?

What Momma Left Me by Renée Watson

This book’s US and UK covers deserve a little back story first. This was Watson’s first book and it published 10 years ago with these covers (hardcover on left, paperback on right):

The initial hardcover was illustrated, but it certainly looks young. This is one of those books that falls right at the YA/MG divide, but the cover gives it a younger look. The paperback offers us a photograph and uses empty space pretty cleverly. But the font also reads fairly young.

The cover on the left is the new US edition, which came out in 2019. It’s so lovely and appealing, both for middle grade and YA readers. The cover on the right is the UK edition, hitting shelves there for the first time. It captures a lot of the new US edition while also being wholly unique. I especially love the font for Renée’s name.

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo (May 5)

Both of these covers are powerful. The US edition includes fire escape ladders, which gives it such an urban feel. On the right, that aspect is missing and while the planes aren’t as obvious on the UK edition, if you peek at the “A” in Clap, you’ll see it.

One Of Us Is Next by Karen M. McManus

The US cover on the left is really different from the UK cover on the right. Both convey the high school setting well, but it’s different. The UK edition includes a tag line which, for me, makes it a little more compelling than the visuals of the US edition (“Truth or dare turns deadly. Which would you choose?”).

Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed

I love the ways that the UK cover on the left and the US cover on the right connect and diverge. The teens on the covers wear the same outfits in each line, have the same stances in them, and yet, it’s not just the color change that makes them different. It’s the font and focus on the title.

I’d love to know about the choice to put the plant outside the door on the top of the UK cover, where it’s not present in the US edition (or a part of the story, as far as I remember).

Foul Is Fair by Hannah Capin

Both the US cover, featuring a maximalist palate of colors and shapes, as well as a fierce female on it, as well as the UK cover, with a little bloody lipstick, are eye-catching. It’s pretty clear this isn’t a rom com, I think, but rather, a story of revenge. I personally like the lipstick just a tiny bit more because of the way it’s so bare in execution and yet features a lot of clever little details (and the tag line helps, too). But talk about a US cover that’s unlike anything else out there now, too.

What do you think? Do you prefer the US or UK covers for any of these books?

Thanks for hanging out, y’all, and we’ll see you later this week!

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

**Psst — you can now also preorder my upcoming August release, Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy!

Today In Books

Typewriters Make Comeback With Kids: Today In Books

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date February 22, 2020

Sponsored by Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang with First Second.

Typewriters Make Comeback With Kids

Time to feel old! A shop in Philadelphia teaches a typewriting class and kids are showing up and enjoying learning to type like they did in the olden days. “As one girl in the video explains, she likes how typewriting forces you to focus on what you’re writing because you won’t be able to easily fix your mistakes.” The grass is always greener… I guess.

Fiction Matters

The HBO series adaptation of the Watchmen comic taught a moment in history that many were unaware of: the Tulsa Race Massacre in 1921, when a white mob descended on a predominantly Black neighborhood killing hundreds of Black people and leaving thousands homeless. Now it seems the show’s opening scenes may have spotlighted one of the country’s worst moments, moving schools to finally officially teach it. “Oklahoma’s education department will provide the framework of a curriculum in April that’s designed to provide ‘extra support and resources’ when teaching students about the massacre. It will be officially incorporated into lesson plans beginning in the fall.”

Manners For Kids

A medieval conduct book for kids, The Lytille Childrenes Lytil Boke, meant to teach children table manners (Don’t burp or pick your nose!) has now been digitized as part of the British Library’s new children’s literature website, Discovering Children’s Books. The site also has “original manuscripts, interviews and drafts by authors from Lewis Carroll to Jacqueline Wilson.” What a time to be alive.

Book Radar

THE PRINCE AND THE DRESSMAKER Musical News and More Book Radar!

Post author By Liberty Hardy
Post date February 21, 2020

Sponsored by Neal Porter Books/Holiday House.

The ONLY authorized picture book about Mister Rogers, written and illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell. Hello, Neighbor! features the full beloved cast of characters of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, both human and puppet. The soft and gentle illustrations that accompany the remarkably humble story reflect the kindness Fred Rogers promoted day in and day out. Matthew Cordell takes us on a tour of Fred’s life, career, and studio, and shares the impact the show had on children all over the world. A very personal essay concludes the book, along with a more detailed biography and unique visual glossary.

Happy Monday! Welcome to another week of “YAY BOOKS!” If this week is half as good as last week, it’s going to be amazing! I read several wonderful books, one of which I will tell you about today, and I received great news that I can’t wait to share when it’s ready. And most importantly, I discovered that the Gummi Bears cartoon is streaming on Disney+. A+ week, would repeat.

Whether you’re reading a book or watching a movie or juggling lemurs, I hope you’re having a great time, too. Please enjoy the rest of your week, and remember to be excellent to each other! I’ll see you again on Thursday. – xoxo, Liberty

Here’s Monday’s trivia question: What author cowrote the screenplay for the 1956 adaptation of Moby-Dick, alongside the director, John Huston? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reels, and Squeals!

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang is being made into a movie musical!

Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite storyboards are being made into a graphic novel.

Here’s the second trailer for Little Fires Everywhere.

Christoph Waltz will star in a show based on Tom Holt’s satirical office fantasy series.

Dan Brown has a picture book on the way.

Former Knopf assistant editor Zakiya Dalila Harris has sold her debut novel in a seven-figure deal.

Maurene Goo’s YA novel I Believe in a Thing Called Love is getting the adaptation treatment.

Here’s the first look at Mark Oshiro’s Each of Us a Desert.

Game of Thrones alum Kristofer Hivju will join season 2 of The Witcher.

Rainn Wilson has joined the cast of The Power.

Delilah Dawson announced a post-apocalyptic plague thriller.

Dark Harvest set to be turned into a horror film.

Bebe Neuwirth will join the cast of The Flight Attendant, based on the novel by Chris Bohjalian.

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!

Loved, loved, loved:

Days of Distraction by Alexandra Chang (Ecco, March 31)

I read this recently and it immediately went to the top of my list of favorite books of 2020. It’s a beautiful, heart-crushing meditation on race, family, and relationships. The 24-year-old Asian American narrator struggles each day with many problems, including being unappreciated and overlooked at work; her relationship with her white boyfriend (who still mispronounces her name after five years); and her parents and their tempestuous interactions, even after years of divorce. When her boyfriend moves to upstate New York for grad school, she sees it as a chance to make changes and possibly new beginnings. The narration of Days of Distraction is extremely internal, like a Jenny Offill novel. It’s such a sensitive and smart debut novel, and I can’t wait for everyone to read it. I’m also getting ready to read Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong, which I have heard from many people is the best nonfiction of the year, and I have a feeling it is going to cover a lot of what was discussed in this novel.

What I’m reading this week:

Destination Wedding by Diksha Basu

Home Baked: My Mom, Marijuana, and the Stoning of San Francisco by Alia Volz

The Price You Pay by Aidan Truhen

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho

Pun of the week:

Bad puns…it’s how eye roll.

Here’s a cat picture:

Freddie Purrcury was really pressing his luck this week.

And this is funny.

And speaking of cats…

Trivia answer: Ray Bradbury.

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

The Goods

Read. Think. Vote.

Post author By Rebecca Joines Schinsky
Post date February 21, 2020

Reading is an inherently political act. Start your election year wardrobe with the new Get PoLITical collection from Out of Print. Choose from tees, totes, hats, and more.

Shop the collection.

Today In Books

Dan Brown’s First Picture Book: Today In Books

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date February 21, 2020

Sponsored by Shadow Mountain Publishing.

Dan Brown’s First Picture Book

You may know Dan Brown for The Da Vinci Code and his thriller series starring Robert Langdon–Tom Hanks in the films–but he’s now venturing into children’s book author territory with his first picture book Wild Symphony, illustrated by Susan Batori. And there’s more: the book will be accompanied by a classical music album also by Dan Brown who is a musician.

Rage Baking

Simon & Schuster just published Rage Baking: The Transformative Power of Flour, Fury, and Women’s Voices as a collection of essays and recipes by many women giving voice to the political act of “rage baking.” Problem is that Tangerine Jones’s voice isn’t in the book, or even acknowledged, even though her social media handles and website are all “ragebaking.” Jones started using the phrase, hashtag included, in 2015 when she began using baking as self care because “Being black in America means you’re solid in the knowledge that folks don’t give a true flying fuck about you or anyone who looks like you.”

2019 Bram Stoker Awards

Looking for your next horror or dark fiction read? Perfect timing, the 2019 Bram Stoker Awards finalists have just been announced! Go forth and read with your dark little hearts. Ps: Five Midnights is getting a sequel!!

The Kids Are All Right

Children’s Books About Voting and Voting Rights!

Post author By Karina Glaser
Post date February 21, 2020

Sponsored by Book Marks: A Reading Tracker.

Meet your new reading buddy: an all-in-one spot to record everything and anything book related. Inspired by bullet journaling, Book Marks offers ideas for setting up a multitude of book tracking pages with a mix of fill-in prompts, charts, lists, and plenty of dot-grid pages to customize. To help expand your literary horizons, the journal also includes a section of recommended reading lists compiled by Book Riot. Use Book Marks to jot down what you’re currently reading, what’s on your nightstand, your favorite quotes, new vocabulary words, memorable characters, your reviews of recent reads, and more. A clever bonus: the back flap has a punch-out bookmark!

Hi Kid Lit Friends,

With primary elections happening all over the United States in the next few months, I’ve been getting a lot of questions from my kids about voting. We’ve been reading some books about the topic to get a better understanding about voting history and why it’s so important to be engaged in the political process. There are so many great new books about this topic!

Vote for Me! by Ben Clanton (author of the Narwhal and Jelly series!) is a funny book about the two-party political system. Donkey wants your vote, but so does the elephant. And each will do just about anything to win your support. Brag? Sure! Flatter? Absolutely! Exaggerate, name-call, make silly promises and generally act childish? Yes, yes, yes and yes. Soon, the tension mounts, and these two quarrelsome candidates resort to slinging mud (literally) and flinging insults.

Lillian’s Right to Vote by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Shane W. Evans, is about Lillian, a one-hundred-year-old African American woman, who makes a “long haul up a steep hill” to her polling place. Along the way, she sees more than trees and sky—she sees her family’s history. She sees the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment and her great-grandfather voting for the first time. She sees her parents trying to register to vote. And she sees herself marching in a protest from Selma to Montgomery.

Granddaddy’s Turn: A Journey to the Ballot Box by Michael S. Bandy and Eric Stein, illustrated by James E. Ransome, begins with a young boy working on the farm with his Granddaddy. But life on the farm is not just work; Granddaddy always makes time for play, especially fishing trips. One morning, when Granddaddy heads into town in his fancy suit, Michael knows that something very special must be happening—and sure enough, everyone is lined up at the town hall! For the very first time, Granddaddy is allowed to vote, and he couldn’t be more proud. But can Michael be patient when it seems that justice just can’t come soon enough?

Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote by Tanya Lee Stone, illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon is a book about an extraordinary woman who fought for the right for women to vote. From an early age, Elizabeth Cady Stanton knew that women were not given rights equal to men. But rather than accept her lesser status, Elizabeth went to college and later gathered other like-minded women to challenge the right to vote.Here is the inspiring story of an extraordinary woman who changed America forever because she wouldn’t take “no” for an answer.

Suffragette: The Battle for Equality by David Roberts is a new book that explores the suffragette movement in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Women in both of these countries experienced imprisonment and hunger strikes for decades. I really enjoyed both the information provided as well as the marvelous illustrations in this book. Roberts presents the stories of Millicent Garrett Fawcett, Emmeline Pankhurst, Ida B. Wells, Susan B. Anthony, and many more heroic women and men.

The Next President by Kate Messner, illustrated by Adam Rex (3/31/20, Chronicle), is a great picture book that gives context to that mysterious presidential figure and makes us remember that presidents are normal people, too. It describes how when George Washington became the first president of the United States, there were nine future presidents already alive in America, doing things like practicing law or studying medicine. And when JFK became the thirty-fifth president, there were 10 future presidents already alive in America, doing things like hosting TV shows and learning the saxophone. Furthermore, today there are at least 10 future presidents alive in America. They could be playing basketball, like Barack Obama, or helping in the garden, like Dwight D. Eisenhower. They could be solving math problems or reading books. They could be making art—or already making change.

Finally, You Call This Democracy? How to Fix Our Government and Deliver Power to the People by Elizabeth Rusch (3/31/20, HMH Books for Young Readers) is a great book for older readers (recommended for readers twelve and older). This book looks at flaws in the system, with each chapter breaings down a different problem plaguing American democracy, exploring how it’s undemocratic, offering possible solutions (with examples of real-life teens who have already started working toward them), and suggesting ways to effect change.

Around the web…

The Lasting Magic of The Snowy Day, via Book Riot

Dan Brown to Make His Picture Book Debut, via Publisher’s Weekly

Joni Mitchell’s ‘Life Illusions’ Recalled in Selina Alko Picture Book, via Publisher’s Weekly

What are you reading these days? Let me know! Find me on Twitter at @KarinaYanGlaser, on Instagram at @KarinaIsReadingAndWriting, or email me at KarinaBookRiot@gmail.com.

Until next time!
Karina

*If this e-mail was forwarded to you, follow this link to subscribe to “The Kids Are All Right” newsletter and other fabulous Book Riot newsletters for your own customized e-mail delivery. Thank you!*

The Fright Stuff

Aliens–The Fright Stuff

Post author By Mary Kay Brayer
Post date February 21, 2020

Good News From Book Sellers and Bad News From Libraries

Post author By Katie McLain
Post date February 21, 2020

Sponsored by Crooked River, the new Agent Pendergast novel from Preston & Child

Ordinary-looking shoes float in on the tide and wash up on a Florida beach—each one with a crudely severed human foot inside. FBI Special Agent Pendergast—a “modern-day Sherlock Holmes (Associated Press)—gets called away from his own Florida vacation and reluctantly agrees to visit the crime scene, but is quickly drawn in by the incomprehensible puzzle. An early pathology report only adds to the mystery. With an ocean of possibilities confronting the investigation, no one is sure what happened, why, or from where the feet originated. And they desperately need to know: are the victims still alive?

Welcome to Check Your Shelf! This is your guide to help librarians like you up your game when it comes to doing your job (& rocking it).

It’s Friday! Did we all make it in one piece?

Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

Syracuse librarians are warned to watch out for “First Amendment auditors” who have threatened to test the library’s free speech policies and the rights for citizens to film in public.
What public libraries need to know about the Coronavirus.
(TW: violence) A library security guard was killed after being stabbed repeatedly by a patron, seemingly without provocation.
Two teens have been arrested on suspicion of starting a fire in a public library that left one firefighter dead and another missing.
Someone filmed a porn movie around and inside a public library during business hours. Just…please…don’t do this. Library employees have enough to deal with.
California senator proposes a bill that would provide free library cards to all K-12 school children in California. (Finally some good news this week!)

Cool Library Updates

Israeli librarians win a global Wikipedia competition.

Worth Reading

This library hosted a “Bad Romance” event on Valentine’s Day. I really don’t like the thought of librarians making fun of someone’s reading material, but this romance author says she doesn’t see a problem with poking fun at the same tropes that romance authors themselves make fun of. Thoughts?
The NYPL releases its list of “125 books we love” in honor of its 125th anniversary.
Legal advice for librarians about service and support animals, book displays, and video recording.
Do you have any patrons who wish that the card catalog system was still in use? Well, there are some rural Maine libraries that still let patrons search for books the old fashioned way!
Play musical bookcases in your school library to get more books in students’ hands.

Book Adaptations in the News

Missy Elliott and John Mulaney are now starring in the upcoming Cinderella movie, which will also star Pierce Brosnan, Minnie Driver, and Billy Porter as the Fairy Godmother. Sign. Me. Up.
Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne are starring in the film adaptation of the true crime book The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder by Charles Graeber. (Great true crime book, btw!)
Director & casting updates for the adaptation of A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay, which is one of my favorite horror novels!
An Aladdin sequel is in the works.
HBO Max is adapting More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera.
Maggie Gyllenhaal makes her directorial debut with an adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s The Lost Daughter.
You no longer need a Netflix subscription to watch To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before!
Disney’s probably going to censor the F-bombs in the upcoming film release of Hamilton. (I doubt that will stop everyone who will probably be singing along in the theaters though…)
Teaser trailer for Dev Patel in The Green Knight.

Books & Authors in the News

Charles Portis, author of True Grit, dies at 86.
Hallie Rubenhold, author of The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper, is planning a Whitechapel mural to celebrate the lives of these women.
A Harvey Weinstein juror was almost kicked off the trial for reading My Dark Vanessa.
Essence does a great profile of Jason Reynolds.
How Agatha Christie’s The Pale Horse may have inspired a murderer.

American Dirt

Myriam Gurba, one of the leading voices speaking out against American Dirt, has revealed death threats against her.
Roxane Gay, Myriam Gurba, and other authors discuss the publishing crisis after American Dirt.
There’s been a jump in sales for Latinx authors following American Dirt’s publication.
An open invitation to Oprah Winfrey from #DignidadLiteraria.
The American Dirt backlash has book publishers reviewing their diversity efforts.

Award News

Missed this in last week’s newsletter, but an especially big shoutout to Hair Love for winning Best Animated Short Film at the Oscars! Here’s a brief history about how the story went from Kickstarter to an Oscar winner.
Longlist for the PEN/Faulkner Award and the British Book Awards.
Winners of the 2019 Ripped Bodice Awards for Excellence in Romance Fiction.

Pop Cultured

Billie Eilish co-wrote and recorded the theme to the upcoming Bond film, No Time to Die. Have you heard it yet? It’s pretty awesome.
Rian Johnson says “all bets are off” when it comes to casting the sequel to Knives Out.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

British booksellers that are fighting back against digital algorithms with personalized subscription services. Plus a look at how indie bookstores can beat Amazon at the bookselling game.
Arizona bookstores have partnered in a drive to register Arizona voters and hopefully persuade them to vote blue in the upcoming election.
After J.K. Rowling’s transphobic comments last month, this bookstore announced plans to donate to the trans children’s charity Mermaids every time they sell a book by J.K. Rowling.
5 things this writer learned from tearing through a 50-book crime series over the span of 5 months.
9 Airbnbs with libraries that would make Belle jealous.
Take yourself and a favorite book on a book date.
If you’re not familiar with book nooks, prepare to meet your newest obsession.

Found on Book Riot

Unexpected roles and amazing feats of librarianship.
A day in the life of a public librarian.
The importance of diversity in school libraries.
Book Riot, Library Journal, School Library Journal, and the Horror Writers Association release the 2020 Summer Scares reading list.
A reading guide and book club questions for The Underground Railroad.
Does anyone actually know how to raise a reader?
Toward a philosophy on book collecting.

Thanks for hanging! Catch you next time!

Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

True Story

Presidents’ Day Reading List

Post author By Alice Burton
Post date February 20, 2020

Sponsored by Book Marks: A Reading Tracker.

I was really tempted to put Rutherford B. Hayes: Warrior and President on here (see how I still did?), but I want to give you all some pretty digestible reads in the wake of Presidents’ Day. Here’s the thing: A lot of our presidents (and presidential candidates) have not been great. Many have been average. Some have been seriously harmful. Some have been tremendous. Many have been mixes of all these things! Everything is complicated, so here are some book picks to help you sort the wheat from the chaff:

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin. This Pulitzer Prize-winning Lincoln biography traces his political success to his extraordinary empathy. If you’ve been to the Petersen House exhibits (this is the house where Lincoln died in D.C.) then you know about the Abraham Lincoln book tower (it’s 34 feet tall and 8 feet in circumference). Thousands and thousands of books have been written about Lincoln, but if you’re looking for one of the best-reviewed of all time, check this one out.

Unbought & Unbossed by Shirley Chisholm. This is Chisholm’s 1970 account of her life, from being a young girl growing up in Brooklyn to America’s first African American Congresswoman, all of which leads up to her 1972 presidential bid. She talks about speaking up against Vietnam, advocating for the pro-choice movement before Roe vs. Wade, and the consequences of a government that cannot hear the people. For a follow-up read, check out The Good Fight.

Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar. There’s a lot of glorifying of George Washington, which needs to be tempered by some real grounding in his reality as a fallible human being. Never Caught definitely accomplishes that, highlighting the story of Ona Judge, enslaved by Martha Washington’s family, who escaped and who the Washingtons could not let go.

So many books about presidents! And they will continue to be written! Lincoln has at least 15,000 books written about him, which is already so many, and then we have 44 other presidents, all with books about them (there’s someone staking their scholarly career on being the authority on Millard Fillmore, and y’know what, you do you). Happy Post-Presidents’ Day to all!