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Awards & Buzzy Book News

2022 International Booker Prize shortlist is announced.

The 2022 Hugo Awards finalists are announced.

The 2022 Whiting Award Winners are announced. NPR also covers the story, featuring “10 emerging writers.”

The 2022 Anisfield-Wolf Award Winners are announced.

Random House and creative content platform Sugar23 are teaming up to establish the Sugar23 Books imprint, according to Deadline. 

Pen America publishes a report on the rising school book bans.

Matthew McConaughey and his wife Camila Alves are on NYT’s best sellers lists for Greenlights (Crown: Random House) and Just Try One Bite (Dial), respectively. Both People and Fox News cover this story.

A Captain America comic has sold for $3.1 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter. NYT also has more.

Book Riot highlights “The Most Popular Fantasy Books on TikTok.”

Page to Screen

April 8:

Sonic the Hedgehog 2, based on associated titles. Paramount Pictures. Reviews | Trailer

All the Old Knives, based on the book by Olen Steinhauer. Amazon. No reviews | Trailer

Green Eggs and Ham, based on the book by Dr. Seuss. Netflix. Reviews | Trailer

Tiger & Bunny, based on associated titles. Netflix. No reviews | Trailer

April 9:

Fallen Angels Murder Club: Heroes and Felons, based on the books by R. Franklin James. Lifetime. No reviews | Trailer

Reviews

NYT reviews Scary Monsters by Michelle De Kretser (Catapult): "a brilliant use of negative space, and contributes to the lasting power of this fine and stereoscopic contemplation of the migrant experience." Also, High Minds: The Victorians and the Birth of Modern Britian by Simon Heffer (Pegasus): "Apart from detailing the conditions that motivated this sudden turn toward high-mindedness, Heffer’s history offers little explanation for it." Plus, four short reviews on the newest in crime and mystery including: Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li (Tiny Reparations Books), The Investigator by John Sanford (Putnam), One-Shot Harry by Gary Phillip (Soho Crime), and The Oxford Brotherhood by Guillermo Martínez (Abacus).

The Washington Post reviews Titan of Tehran: From Jewish Ghetto to Corporate Colossus to Firing Squad - My Grandfather's Life by Shahrzad Elghanayan (AP: Ingram): "an important testament to the hopes and disillusionment of Iranian’s Jewish community." Also, The Shame Machine: Who Profits in the New Age of Humiliation by Cathy O’Neil (Crown): "is not a diary of O’Neil’s grief but instead a data-driven, anecdote-fueled narrative of the multitude of human experiences that are targets for ridicule and others’ reward." Plus, Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole by Susan Cain (Crown): "a noble and welcome effort to expand the language of vulnerability — and Cain remains a respected thought leader — the book suffers from hopscotch evidentiary support, a meandering structure and a sustained mood of inquiry. For a subject as relevant, that is indeed bittersweet." And, a couple more reviews posted today.

NPR reviews Heartbroke by Chelsea Bieker (Catapult; LJ starred review): “The reader can always see the consequences of reckless desire before the protagonists, filling these pages with the dread that comes with yearning for the impossible.” Also, Fresh Air reviews Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel (Knopf): “an ingeniously constructed, deeply absorbing novel that summons up three fully realized worlds in three distinct time periods — including the 25th century.”

Tor.com reviews Wild and Wicked Things by Francesca May (Redhook: Orbit; LJ starred review): “has been described as a retelling of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby with a sapphic romance and a twist of real magic. That description is accurate, though May creates a whole new book here, one that has Gatsby flourishes but veers off into its own world and own story.”

NYT reviews Private Notebooks: 1914-1916 by Ludwig Wittgenstein, trans. by Marjorie Perloff (Liveright): “a strange and intriguing record — illuminating when it comes to Wittgenstein’s preoccupations, his sexual anguish, his continuous struggles with his “work” in philosophy, along with his intermittent comments about his “job” in the military.”

Book Marks has "The Best Reviewed Books of the Week."

Briefly Noted

Margo Jefferson speaks to Vulture about how writing her memoir, Constructing a Nervous System (Pantheon; LJ starred review), was a “true act of defiance.” Also, she fills out NYT's By the Book Questionnaire.

The Rumpus interviews Jennifer Egan, The Candy House (Scribner; LJ starred review), about revisiting her characters, “the performative nature of social media, and why her writing practice requires ‘layers of readers.’”

Aamina Ahmed, author of The Return of Faraz Ali (Riverhead; LJ starred reviews), talks about how his book “uses noir to examine class, caste, and gender in Pakistani history” in a conversation with Electric Lit. 

Chelsea Bieker chats with Shondaland about “her debut short-story collection” Heartbroke (Catapult; LJ starred review).

Trixie Mattel and Katya will release a second book, Working Girls: Trixie & Katya’s Guide to Professional Womanhood (Plume), and Entertainment Weekly has a first look. 

Tor.com shares an excerpt of The Gauntlet and the Fist Beneath by Ian Green (Ad Astra). Also, a cover reveal for Gemma Amor’s Full Immersion (Angry Robot). 

Electric Lit provides “7 Books About the Chinese Exclusion Act.”

Book Riot curates a list of “Queer TBR for Spring” and also, has “15 Books About Lesser-Known Women Who Made History.”

AV Club gathers “The 15 most essential music bios (and autobiographies) so far this century.”

CrimeReads shares a “list of coming-of-age mysteries and thrillers.”

The Seattle Times has “6 new paperbacks to add to your spring reading list.”

Bustle provides “The Most Anticipated Books of April 2022.”

Town & Country shares “The Best Books to Read This April.”

NYT lists “12 New Books We Recommend This Week" and "New in Paperback."

Authors on Air

Emmanuel Acho, author of Illogical: Saying Yes to a Life Without Limits (Flatiron), talks to Brené Brown on her podcast Unlocking Us. 

Chloé Cooper Jones, Easy Beauty: A Memoir (Avid Reader Pr.: S.& S.), discusses “self-erasure, vulnerability, and writing about tennis as a Dodge” with The Maris Review podcast.

NPR’s Life Kit features Catherine Price, author of The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again (Dial) and her advice on “how to have real fun - even when life’s got you down.”

Ragnar Jónasson’s Outside (Minotaur) will be adapted as a feature film by Scott Free Productions. Deadline has more on the story. Also, Amy Poehler will adapt The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter by Margareta Magnusson (Scribner) for the Peacock streaming service. 

Whoopi Goldberg will star in the adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys (Morrow) as covered by AV Club, Gizmodo, and The Root. 

Parade helps fans of Hallmark Channel’s Chesapeake Shores with all 14 books of author Sherryl Woods’ series before the finale of the show.

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