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Stephen King's New Book

BookCon 2015 is happening right now, and people are buzzing about Stephen King's new book. It's called Finder's Keepers, and comes out on June 2nd!

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If you're a Stephen King aficionado, take our quiz to see how many Stephen King books you've read!

I was in Maine last week, and drove by Stephen King's house in celebration of his new book's release. Many of King's novels are set in a fictional town called Derry, based on his hometown of Bangor, Maine. King's influence on Bangor is obvious, from the "Welcome to Derry" sign to the "SK Tours" busses. His house is fitted with an iron gate that can only be described as creepy. Driving past was such a cool moment, and I'll imagine King penning Finders Keepers from that porch as I read it!

[h3]About Finders Keepers[/h3]


Publication Date: June 2, 2015

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A masterful, intensely suspenseful novel about a reader whose obsession with a reclusive writer goes far too far—a book about the power of storytelling, starring the same trio of unlikely and winning heroes King introduced in Mr. Mercedes.

“Wake up, genius.” So begins King’s instantly riveting story about a vengeful reader. The genius is John Rothstein, an iconic author who created a famous character, Jimmy Gold, but who hasn’t published a book for decades. Morris Bellamy is livid, not just because Rothstein has stopped providing books, but because the nonconformist Jimmy Gold has sold out for a career in advertising. Morris kills Rothstein and empties his safe of cash, yes, but the real treasure is a trove of notebooks containing at least one more Gold novel.

Morris hides the money and the notebooks, and then he is locked away for another crime. Decades later, a boy named Pete Saubers finds the treasure, and now it is Pete and his family that Bill Hodges, Holly Gibney, and Jerome Robinson must rescue from the ever-more deranged and vengeful Morris when he’s released from prison after thirty-five years.

Not since Misery has King played with the notion of a reader whose obsession with a writer gets dangerous. Finders Keepers is spectacular, heart-pounding suspense, but it is also King writing about how literature shapes a life—for good, for bad, forever.

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Bookish Fun From Around the Web | May 29

Check out neat things that came up on the Internet this week for book lovers!

The Kindle Gets New Typography

Amazon has officially unveiled Bookerly, the first typeface designed from scratch for the Kindle, as well as rolling out a new layout engine that brings us better text justification, kerning, drop caps, image positioning, and more! Read More ↦

Bookerly Font

New Wasp Named After Harry Potter Characters

Remember the dementors from JK Rowling's Harry Potter series? Now, all entomologists will have to remember them too! A species of wasp discovered in Thailand has been named after the soulless creatures because they are capable of robbing their victims of their senses, turning them into zombies (and easy prey). Read More ↦

Fitzgerald's "Gatsby" House is For Sale

For just $3.9 million, you can buy the house where F. Scott Fitzgerald began writing The Great Gatsby - and had some crazy parties of his own. "According to legend, the Fitzgeralds threw wild parties in the house, Zillow writes, with 'house rules' such as: 'Visitors are requested not to break down doors in search of liquor, even when authorized to do so by the host and hostess.'" Read More ↦

Happy Belated Towel Day!

Happy Belated Towel Day! Fans of sci-fi author Douglas Adams (and other hoopy froods) will recognize the 25th of May as a tribute to the late author. This year, Towel Day got a shout-out from space! Read More ↦

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpQfWLkKbhw&w=560&h=315]

Tanith Lee

On a sadder note, Tanith Lee, lauded science-fiction, horror and fantasy author, passed away this week. She published over 90 books, over 300 short stories and won many accolades throughout her prolific career. Read More ↦

 

#FridayFiveChallenge: May 29

This week, we decided to try the #FridayFiveChallenge! Here's how it works:

  1. Go to your favorite book blog (like NewInBooks.com!) or online bookstore
  2. Pick a genre
  3. Pick a book solely based on its cover
  4. Read the description and a review or two
  5. Decide whether you'll BUY or PASS
  6. Tell the world about it!

Here's my contribution to the #FridayFiveChallenge:




Try for yourself on NewInBooks.com, and tell us about it at @NewInBooks! See you on Twitter 🙂

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Get to Know Taylor Antrim, Author of Immunity

Taylor Antrim has written two novels, The Headmaster Ritual (Houghton Mifflin, 2007) and Immunity (Regan Arts, May 2015). When not penning his own books, Antrim is a senior editor at Vogue. A fresh twist on the dystopian genre, Immunity is set in the New York City of an America ravaged by an Ebola- like pandemic. We were intrigued by the book's setting and fast-paced story and reached out to ask Antrim a few questions:

Taylor Antrium Immunity headmasterritual

What's it like being a senior editor at Vogue?

Having worked at several other magazines, I’d say it’s like being called up to the majors. The standards are very high and the pace fast-fast-fast. I edit a range of features—food, politics, arts-and-culture profiles (not much fashion—they know better). I have smart colleagues; it’s a demanding environment—I love it

Tell us about this summer's hottest new accessory, aka, your new book?

Yes! The bold jacket design blew me away. When I showed it to Vogue’s Beauty Director Sarah Brown, she immediately placed it on her desk, surrounded it with a still life of fresh flowers, snapped a picture and posted to Instagram. 

That said, the story is pretty dark—a cautionary tale about one young woman’s journey through a pretty frightening near-future New York. It’s set two years after a catastrophic pandemic and the plot has elements of a medical thriller: My heroine, Catherine, has a small device implanted under her skin that is supposed to keep her immune from any outbreaks. She gets mixed up with some twisted people who cater to the outrageous whims of the 1%--and finds herself in quite a bit of peril. The story is a little violent, a little scary, a little funny, a little sexy, and definitely fast-paced.

If Immunity is turned into a movie, who would you pick to play Catherine?

How about Alicia Vikander, who came by the Vogue offices not long ago? Or Felicity Jones? Or Chloe Grace Moretz? It’d be just the thing for some ingénue looking to try a dark role on for size.

 What is the name of the adorable pup on your Twitter profile pic?

Isabel!  She’s a schnoodle and we call her Izzy.  That picture was taken when she was a baby—but now she’s 8! Time flies. She likes to sit on my lap while I write, which helps keep me in place.  

What's your favorite restaurant in New York? 

My wife and I now have two kids—a three-year-old and a newborn, which means nights out at restaurants are sadly few and far between.  That said, Petite Crevette on Union St in Brooklyn has been a perennial favorite for its whole fish, and our local place, Walter’s in Fort Greene, is a go-to for oysters and martinis.

What's the last book you read? 

I read a ton, but weirdly can’t always remember the very last thing I finished. Here are two that recently knocked me out. How to Be Both by Ali Smith and Miranda July’s The Last Bad Man. Loved that Miranda July novel. I’ve also been devouring Len Deighton spy novels from the 70s and 80s—a total guilty pleasure. 

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by? 

One summer I biked around Provence and up the legendary Mt. Ventoux (a famous climb in the Tour de France). As cars passed me laboring my way to the summit, the drivers kept leaning out of their windows to shout, in French, Courage! I still say that to myself all the time—when I’m sitting down to write, or heading in for a busy day at work, or just trying to get my three year old to brush her teeth. Deep breath. Courage!

If you love dystopian fiction, be sure to grab Immunity today and let us know what you think!

Be sure to connect with Taylor on his website, on Twitter, and on Facebook!

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What's Buzzing at BEA

Book Expo America is ON. Hundreds of authors and thousands of readers and bloggers (including some of our team members!) are currently swarming around Javits Center in New York City, taking in the literary awesomeness surrounding them. If you have the chance to go to BEA one year, we highly recommend it. It's a great experience as a reader and a blogger.

And yes... this is how the NiB team at our HQ feels:

We rounded up the buzziest bits of the first day of BEA 2015 to get you in the bookish spirit, whether you're one of the lucky souls at Javits or not.

Celebrities Galore.

Here's just a smattering of the celebrity authors who will be at BEA this year: Mindy Kaling (our love for her has already been documented), Emeril Lagasse, Aziz Ansari, Kunal Nayyar, and Nathan Lane. That's not to mention the famous authors we've adored for years, like Judy Blume, James Patterson, Rainbow Rowell, and Lee Child!

https://twitter.com/mindykaling/status/603601757856378881

Lots of Stats on Reading.

There has been a lot of buzz this year on the state of reading in America. Here's one of the most quoted statistics (it's a doozy), and an article people are passing around (it's a bit out-of-date but still interesting).

The doozy of an oft-quoted stat:

The article:

Hilarious Gifs.

We hereby pronounce @JeremyWest Funniest Tweeter of BEA thus far. Take a look at these gems:

Thanks for the laughs, @JeremyWest.

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The Best Jonathan Franzen Quotes from BEA

Book Expo America opened today with a conversation between Jonathan Franzen and Laura Miller of Salon.com. Franzen's new book, Purity, will be released on September 1, 2015.

jonathan-franzen-quotes
The crowd for Franzen at BEA 2015

Here are our favorite quotes from the interview:

For laughs:

"I'm searching your words for implicit criticism" (the opening remark from Franzen)

"I wasn't nervous when I got on stage, but I am getting increasingly so"

On writing:

"It gets harder to write novels, not easer."

"People are not generally as funny or well-spoken in life as they are on the page. "

"I was not fully in control of what I was doing with my first novels"

"Plotting is easy. Story is not the same as plot. It has to be character driven to work"

"I don't like them better, but I like them almost as much" - in answer to "Do you like your characters better than people?

"If it's an adventure for the writer some of that will rub off on the reader. "

On Purity, his new book:

"I have no idea where the story came from" - in response to the question: Where did you get the idea for Purity?

"Frankly, I took money from people for the book. So I wanted to write a readable, page-turning book. I want the reader to finish the book, to get to the end of it, and then decide if they liked it or not."

"It helps to start with a character in an untenable, anxiety-producing situation. So something has to change right off the bat. People under stress also tend to be funny."

"Pip says what she thinks. A lot. She has outbursts. People think she is a hostile person. I have a lot of sympathy for hostile people."

"A long chapter on an icky guy is still icky. But if he loves somebody it may redeem him enough to take the edge of that ickyness."

"I kept wishing I could come up with another title. The letters PUR - something about them is icky."

"What's a novel without some irony"

On free speech:

"I am certainly not going to take back my support for free speech because of Russell Brand. "

"I think new technologies foster conformism because shaming is so intense in new media. Even though its supposed to be free speech, a lot of self-censorship is happening. "

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New Thriller and Mystery Books | Week of May 26th

This week the international thrills of Radiant Angel will transport you to a hostile, resurgent Russia while The Underwriting pits the power of Wall Street against the savvy of Silicon Valley. Interested in something with a little more science? Check out J.T. Ellison's new release What Lies Behind, a shocking medical thriller.

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New Biographies & Memoirs | Week of May 26th

Interested in the mingling of cultures? Pick up Carlos Fraenkel's Teaching Plato in Palestine, a deeply intelligent travelogue with hints of philosophy and politics. Looking for a laugh? Pick up Mamrie Hart's You Deserve a Drink, the popular youtuber's crazy collection of cocktails and crazy stories.

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New Book Releases in Literary Fiction | Week of May 26th

Getting plenty of buzz this week (including an interview with NPR) is Sarai Walker's Dietland, a look into the stigmas and pressures that women, in the protagonist's case, fat women, face in American society.  Paolo Bacigalupi, author of the renowned The Windup Girl, has a new book this week: The Water Knife. Get ready to give your fingers a work out flipping through this near future thriller's pages!

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