The Biggest Book News of the Week
Here are the biggest stories we covered in Today in Books from last week:
Florida Recommends Pride & Prejudice to Read about ‘American Pride.’
Florida, ground-zero for book-banning and censorship, continues to fumble the point of books and reading with its recent decision to include Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice in a list of recommended books for reading about ‘American Pride.” The Department of Education’s inclusion of Austen’s 1813 novel comes with no explanation, excuse, or apparently abashedness. About the only thing you can say for P&P’s relation to America is that it was published after the Declaration of Independence—that is the United States actually existed. I don’t think the U.S. is even mentioned in Pride & Prejudice. Is it possible that someone just saw the word “Pride” in the title and threw it in? And is this actually the explanation that makes the most sense, dumb as it is? I think so.
Hachette Reorgs Workman, with Admired Imprint Algonquin Young Readers Moving to Little, Brown
This shouldn’t have come as a surprise, as there was a clause in Hachette’s acquisition of Workman that restricted layoffs for three years after the deal closed. Well, here we are three years later and the layoffs, with the euphemism of the day “reorg” carrying the human cost water, are here. I am a bit surprised to see that Algonquin Young Readers will be discontinued—it is a greatly admired imprint in the YA space. And though Algonquin on the adult side isn’t affected by this current round, I am nervous. A loss of an autonomous, even in the context of a major publisher, Algonquin would be lamentable.
Shogun Leads TV Contenders with 25 Emmy Nominations
It’s the best TV show I’ve seen this year, and I really can’t think of a category in which it is nominated that it doesn’t have a strong chance of winning—all 25 of them. if it wins for Best Drama Series, would it be the first TV show to do so where most of the dialogue is in a language other than English? The other notable adaptations getting nominations are The Three Body Problem and Slow Horses. I like all three, but Shogun, man. Shogun.
The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century: The Readers Make Their List
The content bonanza that is The New York Times’ List of the Best Books of the 21st Century continues with the most interesting follow-on piece yet: the reader selections. I have spent a couple of minutes looking over it and have a few initial observations. First, the original list is more interesting by a mile. There are more book club picks, commercial blockbusters, and internet darlings on this list, which is absolutely expected and meaningfully more mainstream than the main list. Second, three of the top six reader picks didn’t appear in the original list. Third, Never Let Me Go is #9 on both lists and puts it in conversation I think for the Book of the Century (so far, caveat caveat). Third, Where the Crawdads Sing is #59 on this list. No comment.
Dune: Prophecy Coming to HBO this November
This six-episode Dune: Prophecy got a release month today, along with a spiffy new teaser. The prequel series is based on a 2012 book in the Dune Universe, but not written by Frank Herbert, or even any of the other Herberts that have written Dune material. I am at this point pretty much out on prequel stuff to franchises I like, but this show is about the origins of the Bene Gesserit, and by the looks of it these space witches are engaging in some top-shelf palace intrigue. I will give it a go.
University Library Receives Bomb Threat “In The Name of Donald Trump”
Just after 8 p.m. Monday, July 15, Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky, received a pair of bomb threats via email. One was to the university dining hall and the other to the university library. Bellarmine officials posted a warning about the threat to their social media and evacuated the premises of both.
“In the name of Donald Trump I have hidden highly lethal lead azide devices in the library and cafeteria,” read the email. The university took ever precaution and by 10 p.m., cleared both buildings for reentry. No bomb was found in either. Some reports claim that this incident might be tied to a faculty member put on unpaid leave after their comments about the attempted assassination.
The Best New Book Releases Out July 16, 2024
Now for new books—if you’ve been waiting on these series continuers, Deborah Harkness’s fifth All Souls book, The Black Bird Oracle, is out. And, though you can read it without having read books from the TikTok-popular The Inheritance Games series, Jennifer Lynn Barnes’s The Grandest Game takes place in the same world.
In fantasy, Minsoo Kang’s The Melancholy of Untold History is an East Asian mythology-inspired saga spanning 3,000 years. Meanwhile, YA romance is serving up a precious M/M meet cute with Cursed Boys and Broken Hearts by Adam Sass, and The Ping-Pong Queen of Chinatown by Andrew Yang, a romance that centers around the filming of a mockumentary.
In today’s featured books, there’s a teenage slasher, a subversive horror anthology, missing sisters, cute beach romance, and more.
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