Explore the world's economies from China to Great Britain in Something Will Turn Up and China's Disruptors. Or, focus on yourself with Disrupt You! and The Achievement Habit!
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Go Set a Watchman is the book on everyone's mind and social media feeds this week. On July 14th it will enter the hands of the general populace, after a lot of negative press following the pre-release of the first chapter on Friday July 10th. To get caught up on some of the buzz around Harper Lee's new release, check out the following stories.
Harper Lee is 88, and has been a very private person for much of her life. There are questions concerning her mental health, and thus ability to approve the publication of her novel. Read The New York Times on Harper Lee's Health↦ .
One of the players in the politics behind the publication of Go Set a Watchman is Harper Lee's lawyer Tonja Carter. Jezebel thinks that she is a shady figure, that may be taking advantage of the ailing author. Read More ↦
Records show that Go Set a Watchman is an early draft of To Kill a Mockingbird, that was drastically edited by Harper Lee and her editor at the time, Tay Hohoff. Which story the beloved Mockingbird or the dark, racist Watchman aligns more with Lee's vision? Read More ↦
NPR reviewed the book over the weekend calling it "A Mess That Makes Us Reconsider a Masterpiece". It appears that among literary circles, Go Set a Watchman was best left unpublished. Read More ↦
Where does this leave all of the children named Atticus after the character who was one of the most loved literary depictions of progressive politics. Read More ↦
The LA Times is asking people to rethink the racist Atticus in Go Set a Watchman as a character who evolved into the beloved that we meet in To Kill A Mockingbird. Read More ↦
Everyone close to Harper Lee, or Nelle as her confidants call her, says that Lee is excited about Watchman. Mary Murphy, director of Harper Lee: Hey Boo, released a web exclusive showing Lee recieving the book. Read More ↦
The numbers are in, Watchman sells 1.1 million copies in the first week alone, with 3.3 million in print. Read More↦
Want to make your own opinion?
Get The BookOr enter to win a copy by retweeting the below tweet:
Dying to read the new Harper Lee book? RT this tweet for a chance to #win Go Set a Watchman. #giveaway pic.twitter.com/pbrEBKsoy2
— NewInBooks (@NewInBooks) July 13, 2015
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Hey, lets be honest: Technology and the Internet are fantastic tools that we use every day. But, you know, some of us have a love/ hate relationship with those ads that show us that pair of shoes that we looked at online last week (we aren't paranoid... they are FOLLOWING US!). And we might be just a little tripped out by virtual reality and the prospects of AI. For those of us that are a little afraid of the internet (but use it anyway) these Science Fiction books are the perfect reads to solidify our paranoia! I mean... the perfect ways to spend our downtime offline!
The Circle by Dave Eggers is a fantastic book. Picture a world in which, next week, Facebook and Paypal merge, adding some Google +-esque additions to the system, and VOILA! You have the world of The Circle. Get ready to learn just a few potential uses of drones, personal cameras, and social sharing!
The Affinities by Robert Charles Wilson is an interesting thought experiment on potential social uses of the same sorts of algorithms that decide whose posts you see on social media/ whose profiles you see on dating websites. In The Affinities, an algorithm, based off of the results of basic test scores, sorts people into different groups that show similar traits, and thus are able to work together and foster friendships with little fuss. It's the perfect answer to "How to make friends after college"... but maybe not the best option for society at large...
Reamde by Neal Stephenson is a technothriller hosting a cast of not quite stable characters who spend just as much time cheating in virtual worlds, as they dogaming the system in the physical world. Fast paced and full of fire power, read Reamde to find out the implications of a virtual virus that targets MMO players, holding their bank accounts hostage.
Avogadro Corp by William Hertling is in the class of novels that turns science fiction into science fact. When an AI is accidentally formed in a moment of angry coding, the development team for new email software is thrilled when their program receives extra funding, until they realize it isn't a human pulling the strings. Robopocalypse with less guns and in a more believable modern day, Avogadro is psychological, smart, and an edge of your seat read.
Buzzy since Nexus' initial publication in 2012, The Nexus Trilogy by Ramez Naam (Whose third and final installment, Apex, came out in May 2015) pulls the reader into a near-future in which a nano-drug that can link human minds together creates social and political drama. What happens when enough of the populace is linked? Welcome to a post-human society.
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My great aunt Henrietta Bingham was almost never mentioned while I was growing up in the 1970s and 80s, but when I heard that she'd spent time in London among the Bloomsbury crowd (the coterie of intellectuals and artists that formed around Virginia Woolf and her sister the painter Vanessa Bell) I took notice. And when my grandmother said in an aside during an oral history I did with her in the 1990s that she was incredibly sophisticated and alluring, but "an invert, you know," I was intrigued. Born in time to catch the Jazz Age wave, she danced the Charleston and Black Bottom and deployed her legendary sexual and social magnetism to cover up the demons that plagued her, collecting besotted lovers of both sexes from Bloomsbury artists to tennis champions, royalty, and theater stars along the way. Tallulah Bankhead once confronted her, grabbing the pearls around Henrietta's neck: "You promised these to me!"
Well, I'm a little stuck in the 20th century right now. I'd like a dinner party that included Henrietta Bingham, Noel Coward, Sigmund Freud, and ... Lorrie Moore. Coward was friends with Henrietta and of course possessed of an unparalleled wit. Freud because I just would like to feel his aura and his mind at work. Lorrie Moore because of her exquisite sensitivity to human feeling.
Lily King, Euphoria.
Currently craving time with my kids and getting back to cooking.
Wonderland--as in Alice.
A "Nostalgia" essay for Vogue and a song biography of Stephen Foster's "My Old Kentucky Home." How did the wrenching lament of a slave being sold down river become a celebration of hoop skirts and "Southern Heritage" with capital S and H.
Quote from me: "Pharmaceuticals have their own cold poetry."
Quote from Henrietta's lover, John Houseman (Academy Award-winning actor) that just the memory of riding in a car with her, a silver flask full of bourbon on the seat between them, seeing her strong and beautiful hands on the wheel, looking over into her violet eyes, would produce "orgasms of uncontrollable weeping."
"Curiouser and curiouser"--Lewis Carroll and simply "Dig deep."
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Movies, Miscavige, Mockingbirds and more in this week's News in Books!
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee is coming out next Tuesday! It is the most pre-ordered book in her publisher's history (our team definitely accounts for a few of those pre-orders!) But Harper once vowed never to publish this book, what changed? Read More ↦
The Guardian is live blogging the pre-release of the first chapter today, Friday July 10th. Read More ↦
R.L. Stine is the most prolific children's author in history, and Jack Black is the lead in a movie adaptation of his books.
Which is better: reading on paper, or on an eReader? The research consistently shows that reading physical books is better for comprehension. Why? Because we have adapted to a more "scanning" reading style on screens, and the physicality of a book helps us remember the plot. Read More ↦
Mrs. Pearl Thompson was denied the right to check a book out of the Raleigh, NC public library in 1942, during the Jim Crow era. In a special ceremony on July 8th, she was awarded a library card at the age of 92, from the same institution that had denied her one so many years ago. CELEBRATE! Read More ↦
Barnes and Noble announced that they are officially doing away with their international eBooks division. This is likely spelling the beginning of the end for the once big time book retailer. Read More ↦
Apple lost the lawsuit against the US Department of Justice, which found them guilty of illegal price-fixing back in 2013. They will pay out $450million to consumers. Read More ↦
Ronald Miscavige, the father of David Miscavige, the current leader of The Church of Scientology, has signed a publishing deal with St. Martin's Press for his upcoming memoir. No publication date has been announced, but in light of some.. lets just say familial strife... in recent years, it is known that Ronald's stories are unlikely to be flattering for the controversial church. Read More ↦
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The Mountain Story is about the ordinary becoming extraordinary. Captivated by this tale of beauty, truth, life and death, we reached out to learn more:
It’s a story about four hikers lost together in the mountain wilderness that overlooks Palm Springs. Four people. Five days. Three survivors. Eighteen-year-old Wolf Truly goes up the mountain with the intention of taking his life and instead meets three strangers who change him forever.
The Fault in Our Stars. My daughter is twelve. We shared the book, then the movie. Love. Sigh.
We – my family and I – were city people until we moved to the Santa Monica Mountains in southern California. Here I fell in love with nature, the palms and the cactus, the bobcats in my backyard, the wild parrots and screech owls, the coyotes that prowl the creek beside the house. I don’t have as much time to hike as I’d like, but do enjoy a walk down the winding road in the canyon where I live.
I made numerous trips up the mountain in the tram. I hiked on the mountain with a member of Riverside Mountain Search and Rescue, Matt Jordon, a guy who really knows the mountain and could answer my questions about logistics and believability. We hiked a few times a year over the course of my writing the book. He was a valuable advisor.
I can remember wanting to be a writer from the time I was six years old and my mother gave me Hans Christen Anderson’s The Little Mermaid for my birthday.
I am craving balance. Life feels so all or nothing.
I’d go back to my hometown, Chatham, Ontario. It’s where I became a writer, where I set my first 3 books, where my family, my two brothers and my folks still live.
A jar of dry erase markers that I use to update my schedule on the big white board above my plain black desk.
Quit. Encouragement is important but sometimes your greatest motivation comes from the detractors.
My husband and I have been together for more than thirty years and spent the first half of our union living like starving artists. I was writing and acting and he was acting and making short films. Our motto is and always has been, “We’re up now but we’ll down again.” In The Mountain Story, Wolf’s family motto is, “There will be sway.” Similar in that it’s a reminder that the pendulum swings wildly and randomly and we’re all just along for the ride.
Lori Lansens is the author of the new book The Mountain Story.
Connect with Lori
Author Website
Twitter
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Ever wished you knew people who love books as much as you do? Welcome to the beautiful world of book blogging, where everyone is passionate about books. We picked out some of our favorite posts to introduce you to all that the book blogosphere has to offer.
The Bucket List quenches our Wanderlust with this series dedicated to books in a specific place or country.
Kate Tilton knows how to have fun, whether it’s through author interviews entirely made of gifs or when she’s discussing book boyfriends on #K8Chat with her favorite authors, you’re sure to burst out in laughter while reading her posts.
Maura4u writes captivating book reviews and ponders ideas that speak to the mind, heart and soul. You will leave this site feeling rejuvenated and empowered.
Books is Wonderful has reviews, called The Book Buzz, that will leave you wanting more, which she supplies via frequent giveaways of the most recent book she’s reviewed.
Kel at Booked til Tuesday will keep you updated on the hottest YA books, and the best memes in the book blogosphere like Art it Up or Top Ten Tuesday.
About to Read takes on the old phrase “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover” head on, and tells us to Go ahead and judge. Her column Monday Musings are full of insightful comments about literary themes.
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The RITA awards, the Romance publishing industry's highest award of distinction, are awarded on the 25th of July. So this month, we are taking a look at the top contenders for the award, and reading as many as we can! Check out the 2015 RITA award nominees.
These authors broke into the genre with flying colors. Who will end up on top? We shall see..
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The book is a memoir about my unusual childhood growing up working in the film
industry. I appeared in more than forty TV shows and films, such as Mrs. Doubtfire, Independence Day, Matinee, Rambling Rose, as well as some super cheesy movies-of-the-week and a couple of projects that ended up entirely on the cutting room floor. Being on set was my life.
The book also chronicles my decision to retire from the film industry at the age of twenty-two, after an eighteen-year career. I realized that I didn't want to be one of those stereotypical child actor cautionary tales. I had enjoyed acting for a while, but when I realized that my passion for the job was gone, it was time for something new. So, I left Los Angeles to search for a different path for myself.
It’s about the universal search for who we really are, and the challenges and rewards of living a life that feels authentic. We all struggle with how to live truthfully within the constraints and expectations of life. We all need to figure out who we want to be when we grow up.
I worked with Robert Duval when I was 11 year old and I absolutely adored him. He would just sit with me and talk about life and acting. He told me to never forget that “it’s only a movie.” He didn’t want me to get too caught up in the rollercoaster of the actor’s life. When I was thinking about leaving the film industry, and was worried that everyone would think I was crazy – I remembered his advice. It’s only a movie. There is so much more to life than just a job title, even if that job involves movies.
I prefer quiet when I write. But I am pretty much always serenaded by my dog snoring under my desk.
I have been completely enamored with Brené Brown lately. Her work on vulnerability and courage feels particularly relevant to me these days. Curling up with one of her books feels like grabbing a cup of tea with a particularly insightful best friend. I’d like to interview her and try to convince her to be my real life BFF.
This is such a fantastic question. It might be Owen from A Prayer For Owen Meany. Although I have a lingering crush on Theo from The Goldfinch.
Cuddled up on the couch with my husband, my dog and my books. Alternating reading with napping is the best way to spend any day.
Nelson Mandela. I was pretty obsessed with South Africa when I was a kid. I still am, actually.
Two plants, lip balm, a million scraps of paper with writing ideas scribbled on them and an essential oil diffuser.
“To J, everyday” – the dedication to my husband.
(That’s my sweet answer. All my other favorite lines contain bad language.)
I love New Dominion Bookshop in Charlottesville, VA
I have a door in my office that is covered in my all of favorite quotes, so it’s hard to pick just one. But this one sums it up for me.
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
― Howard Thurman
Lisa Jakub is the author of the new book You Look Like That Girl.
Connect with Lisa
Author Website
Twitter
Facebook
"At the age of twenty-two, Lisa Jakub had what she was supposed to want: she was a working actor in Los Angeles. She had more than forty movies and TV shows to her name, she had been in blockbusters like Mrs. Doubtfire and Independence Day, she walked the red carpet and lived in the house she bought when she was fifteen."
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Ahh, love! Do you like to read your romance novels out in the open, or are you relieved that you can secretly read Fifty Shades of Grey on your Kindle? Either way, romance novels are, officially, the most popular fiction genre. This week we celebrate romance with our favorite romance book blogs!
The best part about Smexy Books is that they don’t just review romance, they review all of its sub-genres as well. So whether you like traditional, historical, LGBT, or erotic romance literature, Smexy Books will have great content for you to read!
The smuttier the novel, the better! That is what The Book Vixen lives by—they review anything from contemporary to paranormal romance. Along with the standard five-star rating system, The Book Vixen also determines romance novels by a “sensuality rating system,” so whether you’re looking for an erotic or innocent romance read, The Book Vixen has rated it for you.
Romance Novels for Feminists strives to review books that encourage feminist values. They review all sub-genres of romance, and reviews are released on Tuesdays. Their tagline says it all: Romance Novels for Feminists is “for readers who like a little equality with their love.”
Book Chick City reviews many sub-genres of romance but also reviews urban fantasy novels! Besides having a trendy theme with guest posts, interviews and other author features, Book Chick City also expands into a Youtube channel and hosts its very own #LetsTalkRomance tag.
Not only does All About Romance review books, but they have book “cover conversations,” reader’s choice features, a list of the top 100 romance novels, and author interviews. All About Romance is a very interactive website for people who like romance fiction.
The Fifty Shades of Grey series cannot be denied as a worldwide phenomenon, with E.L. James’ newest novel Grey selling 1.1 million copies in just four days. Laters, Baby! is a blog/fan site for fans of Fifty Shades, and it has everything an E.L. James fan needs: recommendations of similar books, related news, and even a “Fifty Shades Podcast” where fans get together each week to discuss topics related to the series.
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