Remember last week when the book news was light and our mood was even lighter? Well, we hope you enjoyed it because the drama is back with the vengeance of a thousand tropes. And our mood? Our mood thrives in this environment. Let’s get crackin’:
SPD Goes Under: On Friday, March 29, Small Press Distribution closed its doors without warning. For the last five decades SPD helped small and independent publishers get their books to retailers. What does this mean for publishing? Well, it's now harder for smaller publishers to find distribution. And there are big questions about whether these publishers will be paid for books already sold, or if they will have to pay to reclaim the books that were in SPD’s possession before its sudden closure. Many might not be able to recover from this sudden upset. (Not cool). What does this mean for you as a reader? Fewer choices on your shelves and less availability of books that don’t fit into mainstream publishing. Come on folks. This is America. Less is never an option for us. We need more choices, more books, more opinions. The Book Tide remains unapologetically greedy on this point.
Windham-Campbell Windfall: The Windham-Campbell Prize announced its eight winners of 2024. Now, this isn’t just some nice little plaque you can hang on your wall and humble-brag about during cocktail parties. (Zero shade intended toward the plaques. I love plaques! Give me all the plaques! Except on my teeth–this is a flossing-positive website). No, Sir, this prize comes with a cool $175,000 for each of the eight winners. Now this is my kind of award. A stack of cash money to go along with my fancy plaque? Sign me up. Bonus: NPR gave a glowing review to one of the winners: Hanif Abdurraqib’s There’s Always This Year, a nonfiction account of his outlook on life filtered through the lens of basketball. Sounds like a slam dunk to me.
Ancient Book Auction: One of the oldest books known to man is headed to auction and is expected to bring in millions. The Crosby-Schoyen Codex is a portion of the Bible handwritten by a scribe over the course of 40 years. It hails from Egypt when writing on scrolls had become old hat and codices were the hot new accessory. It’s fitting that the precursor to the modern book is the oldest and still the best selling book of all time. If you just can’t get enough old books, check out this profile of the Antiquarian Book Fair from the New York Times. With poison books, a receipt from Sylvia Plath, fake fairy pictures and more there’s something for every old-book obsessed collector. We’re hoping they’ve retired the human skin binding however.
Word Origins: How does the word fiasco come from glassblowing? Why does muscle come from the word mouse? What do avocados have to do with testicles? (Other than the obvious and by “obvious” I mean just look at them). Merriam-Webster released a list of 10 words that have a remarkable origin story. I will meet you at trivia night and I will bring my slapstick in order to control the bedlams.
The Bard’s Forgotten Sister: Not much is known about Joan Shakespeare Hart, the only sibling of William Shakespeare to outlive the famous playwright. In fact it was only recently that Joan is suspected of being the author of a devoutly Catholic pamphlet that has long puzzled historians. The pamphlet was found in the rafters of William’s childhood home and was signed by a J Shakepeare. It was assumed that it belonged to his father John. For centuries this pamphlet was considered proof that the bard was raised in a secretly Catholic household during a time when the Church of England persecuted followers of the Roman church. But new research into the matter suggests that Joan was the Skakespeare who penned the pamphlet. This gives us a precious small glimpse into her life. Some might wonder why we should care about Joan at all as it’s her brother who was the famous writer in the family. But I think we can all celebrate a previously voiceless woman from history making a little noise. Taking notes now. Look in my attic later.
Simon & Schuster & Shimkin: Most of the time we only focus on the stories that publishers bring us from their list of authors. We can easily forget that publishers have origin stories too. Publisher’s Weekly reminded us of Simon & Schuster’s 100 year history as a preeminent publisher that began with four bestselling crossword puzzle books and has expanded over the last 100 years to include some of the most notable names in publishing history. Richard Simon and Max Schuster and, later, Leon Shimkin, ushered the publishing house from its infancy to the juggernaut it is today. Here’s to 100 more years of publishing greatness.
Making It Up: Carter Wilson interviewed over a hundred different authors for his podcast Making It Up. Rather than asking them about their books, he focused on just learning about their lives and in the process discovered the similarities that connect writers from vastly different career levels, genres, and backgrounds. Most striking is that almost every author suffers from an incurable case of imposter syndrome. I can verify with 100% accuracy that this is true, we all are making it up, all of the time. And we’re waiting for that guy with the clipboard to show up and escort us out of the party. It’s a real thing, that fear of the clipboard.
The Sicilian Inheritance: Jo Piazza’s new novel The Sicilian Inheritance is loosely inspired by an unsolved murder in her own family. After writing her novel, Piazza then became obsessed with solving the actual murder. She traveled to Sicily to uncover the truth about her great-great grandmother's death while trying to avoid the wrath of the Italian Mafia. In a twist to that old trope, life is now imitating art.
Inkworld Returns: Cornelia Funke is back with a new novel in her young adult Inkheart series: Inkworld: The Colour Of Revenge. I could not get enough of this book about a girl whose father could make stories come alive by reading them aloud. If it resonated with you too (and if you loved the books, take a listen to the incredibly talented Brendan Frasier as audiobook narrator), then you will be pleased to know that Meg, Mo, and Dustfinger are back for a new adventure. Let’s put a wrap on 2024 because it simply can’t get better from here. Unless of course the actual color of revenge turns out to be puce. I’m more of a revenge = burnt sienna kinda girl myself.
Stranger Than Her Fiction: Patricia Highsmith has long been considered the master of writing a morally bankrupt yet charming protagonist. Netflix’s adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley now brings Highsmith back to the center of the conversation. The Independent profiled Patricia Highsmith and it turns out that she was perhaps even stranger than her famous characters. Per The Independent: “Friends recall her eating chunks of raw meat, deliberately setting her hair alight at the dinner table, and throwing a dead rat at a guest through an open window…” From a traumatic childhood, to dabbling in stalking, erratic social behaviors, being famously anti-semitic, and smuggling snails across the border in her bra, Highsmith clearly toned it down for her fiction. Got it. The authors-behaving-badly trend started with Highsmith.
Favorite Stephen King Story: Stephen King’s debut novel, Carrie, turned 50 this week and it has everybody talking about Uncle Stevie again. (Honestly, my favorite conversation anyway). NPR polled and readers voted for their favorite King novel. And People Magazine listed the best tv and movie adaptations of his books. One article claims he has written over 60 novels while the other claims almost 100. I took to the trusty and always reliable internet to sleuth out exactly how many he has published and it doesn’t even know. (It’s a mystery that only Uncle Stevie can solve). What’s your favorite King novel? And why is it 11/22/63?
Down The Rabbit Hole: What child doesn’t secretly desire to jump into the pages of their favorite picture book? For that matter what adult wouldn’t want to leap into the primary colored bedroom of Goodnight Moon or the black and white sketches in Where The Sidewalk Ends or take a scroll with Frog and Toad? Well, now all of our elementary school dreams have come true. A husband and wife team have created a museum/bookstore of fantastic proportions. Former bookstore owners, Pete Cowdin and Deb Pettid, converted an old tin can factory into a magical wonderland that brings your favorite picture books to fullsize life. Licensing books from authors that represent every gender, culture, and ethnicity, they have built a virtual Wonderland in the heart of Kansas City. With big plans to expand upwards with a story lab, library, print shop, galleries, and rooftop bar this is the literal home of my dreams. If you need me, I’ll be making pasta with Strega Nona. I live here now.
Adaptations Abound: We talk a lot about tv and movie adaptations around here. I will unashamedly admit that I love it when my favorite books get made into a movie or tv show. It gives me endless opportunities to discuss which was better: the book or the movie (answer: the book, always the book–unless that book happens to be Forrest Gump or The Princess Bride). I die on this hill: Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Lord Of The Rings trilogy is nothing short of genius. Also, his work on The Hobbit was a travesty. Seeing our favorite stories on a screen gives us a whole new way to enjoy them (or hate on a bad adaptation). Miller’s Book Review talked this week about why we are seeing so many more adaptations than we used to. TLDR: a popular book brings a built in fan base during a risky film environment. I couldn’t agree more and between the books and the films, they can have all my money. Here are all the book-to-screen adaptations that we are looking at this week: The Tearsmith, Family Reservations, Turtles All The Way Down, Worry, The Image Of You, Imperfect Women, and Knuffle Bunny.
Deep Dive: See below for all the extra deep cuts of this week’s book news.
Celebrity book club picks for April: Reese’s Book Club: The Most Fun We Ever Had, Read With Jenna: The Husbands, GMA Book Club: Just For The Summer
Bill Clinton announced a forthcoming memoir
Eoin Colfer (famous for his middle grade Artemis Fowl series) announced a new book in his middle grade Juniper Lane series.
What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jiménez wins Pen/Faulkner award
Jeff Vandemeer announced a 4th book in his Southern Reach series
Catch Up with Ariel Lawhon over at
. She’s talking about book tour and plotting novels.Go check out what
is up to. She’s talking about why you should never–no really, never–order salmon at a sport’s bar.