This Week In Books
June 1, 2024 Edition
The world of books was so quiet last week that we had to check several times just to make sure it was still there. Turns out, nobody was home. So we took a week off from the TWIB. But we’re back again with a few juicy tidbits on celebrity book clubs, Colleen Hoover’s continued world domination, pizza, anarchy, and George R.R. Martin’s chance to get it right.
Are Debuts Down in the Dumps? Esquire ran an article this week about how difficult it is to launch debut fiction. We tend to agree that, yes, the industry has changed and the old formula that used to work to promote books doesn’t work anymore. There are fewer news outlets that cover books. Social media and streaming services have fractured our attention span into infinitely more and smaller shards. But we here at The Book Tide have an unreasonably optimistic view of the book world, and we remain certain that debut authors will continue to find success. They might just have to do it the old fashioned way: with beautiful storytelling and word of mouth. When people read a book they love, they tell their friends. Then those friends tell more friends. Careers are built one book, one reader, and one story at time.
Reese Witherspoon’s Literary Empire: The New York Times profiled Reese Witherspoon and the literary empire she has created over the last fifteen years. Frustrated with the availability of roles for an actress in her thirties, Witherspoon created her own production company and began adapting books to film in 2012. Then she began sharing her favorite books with fans on Instagram and that became an official book club: Reese’s Book Club. Her selections reliably go on to become bestsellers and many have been optioned for film. Witherspoon has a knack for picking readable, relatable books that audiences love. Why? Because she’s honed in on stories about women. That Witherspoon is one smart cookie.
The Never Ending Fame of It Ends With Us: Last TWIB we discussed Colleen Hoover and the subset of people who are waiting in the wings to pan her books. We can’t help but feel that the world has more CoHorts than CoHaters, as evidenced by the trailer for It Ends With Us setting a record 128.1 million views in its first twenty four hours. We’ve got nothing but love for CoHo around these parts. Get it girl.
The Book Is Always Better: Bestselling author of the Game of Thrones series, George R. R. Martin, took to his blog this week to slam film adaptations of books. For the most part we tend to agree with him. The book is always better. Martin, though, is in a unique position because HBO completed their adaptation of Game of Thrones before he had actually written the book. Opinions vary but I think it’s safe to say that fans were, overall, disappointed with how the show ended. We have our opinions about good storytelling and satisfying conclusions, but now we’re curious if Martin will take advantage of HBO’s failure (i.e. the world’s biggest and most expensive focus group) and give Game of Thrones the ending it deserves?
Magpies, Moonflowers, and Murders: Anthony Horowitz’s bestselling novel Magpie Murders was adapted by PBS in 2022. Featuring an editor who sets out to solve the mysterious death of an author whose final chapter of their murder mystery is missing. The sequel, Moonflower Murders, which follows the same book within a book format has also been adapted by PBS. (Fun fact: @Ariel Lawhon and @J.T. Ellison happened to stumble across the set for Moonflower Murders while at Howth Castle, in Ireland last year. Because of course.) The trailer dropped this week and the second season is set to release in the fall. Who needs all the drama of American politics when you can have cozy British murder mysteries and tea? Hand me my pink shawl, I go by Ms. Marple now.
RIP Romantic Beach Reads: The queen of the beach read, Elin Hilderbrand, has laid down her crown and announced her retirement from the genre. Her newest novel, Swan Song, which releases next month will be her last beach book. She has long claimed that she would stop writing them when she ran out of interesting material to write about. Well, I guess 30 is the magic number then. Don’t fret, dear reader, Hilderbrand is not leaving us out in the cold. She has a literary novel in the works as well as at least one film adaptation brewing. And she’s also working on a young adult novel with her daughter. It looks like the queen of beach reads is set to become the Queen of Books. Well played, Your Majesty.
Grisham Takes Up The Mantle: John Grisham is coming in with a beach read of his own, the third in his Camino Island series, Camino Ghosts. This also marks his 50th book. Every single one of his previous books have been #1 bestsellers. Are we worried that this one won’t make that coveted spot? No. Will that stop us from buying this one? Also no.
Reading to Save The Planet: NPR asks which is better for the environment: printed books or e-readers? Listen, you could tell me that every ebook will save eleven baby seals and I’d still plunk down money for a hardcover. I’d risk the papercuts and carpal tunnel just to hold a book in my hands. To smell it. These books are my friends. They love me back. No, I’m not weird, you’re weird.
Our Fairy God-Author: Since this is basically a
stan account we were so pleased to see Print Runs and Paychecks feature her in a Q&A. J.T. is the New York Times bestselling author of over 30 books (and counting!) and she has some great advice for authors on how to survive and thrive in this crazy wonderful business. If you are an author or have ever dreamed of becoming one, you should check out both that interview and JT’s newsletter The Creative Edge for invaluable writing advice.Unfinished Manuscript: When Michael Crichton died in 2008 he left an unfinished manuscript behind. For years his widow held on to that manuscript, looking through all his research, trying to assemble the whole story. When she was satisfied that she had everything he had gathered and written, she began the search for someone to finish the story for him. Finally that long list was narrowed down to just one name: James Patterson. Patterson has collaborated on numerous novels including presidents and politicians, but this is the first time he has worked with a deceased author. Patterson put aside his apprehension and worked to infuse Chrichton’s science-heavy voice with his own page-turning plotting method. Now, sixteen years after Crichton’s death, that novel will finally be published. Eruption is the story of an impending volcanic eruption and the geologist that must save as many people as possible. Will the combination of two such mega-famous last names produce a hit as explosive as its premise? I mean, is lava hot?
The Magic Never Fades: People Magazine talked with Mary Pope Osborne about her Magic Tree House series, which is still going strong more than 30 years after the release of the first book. Osborne just published the 39th book, Windy Night With Wild Horses. The series has delighted children for decades and at 75, with over 140 million copies sold, Osborne shows no sign of slowing down. There are both new titles and graphic novel adaptations of her backlist in the works. Meanwhile I still can’t spell “recommend” correctly the first time.
Free Pizza For Reading: Pizza Hut is in the 40th year of its “Camp Book-It” program where kids can earn free pizza for reading books. While I am a little (read a lot) upset that I did not know about this program when I was a kid, I applaud the combination of two of my favorite things in this world: pizza and books. Throw in a coffee and I’d be in heaven.
You Like It Darker: Stephen King spoke with NPR about his new book of short stories, You Like It Darker. The interview includes the origins of the one story that took him 35 years to finish and his conclusion that no matter what he writes it is not possible to gross out his readers (on second thought, the title of the book should have clued us in on that). He also addressed the question of how many books he has actually written–the very question we posed here a few months ago. The answer? Uncle Stevie doesn’t even know. He’s shooting for 100, though. But how will we know when he gets there?
Children of Anguish and Anarchy: Tomi Adeyemi’s best selling YA fantasy series Legacy of Orisha is set to release its third installment, Children of Anguish and Anarchy. Adeyemi rose to fame with this groundbreaking fantasy series featuring an all black cast of characters and based on her own West African heritage. People Magazine posted an exclusive audio clip of the new book narrated by Cynthia Erivo–the actress who is playing Elphaba in the new Wicked film. We think this is brilliant all the way around.
Men Don’t Read Books By Women: Women’s Prize Trust commissioned a study drawn from Nielson BookData into the reading habits of men and women. The results show that men, for the most part, do not read books written by women. While the numbers are split fairly evenly for male authors–55% male readers to 45% female readers, female authors have a majority female readership–81% female to 19% male. I don’t want to believe this study, but it rings true. The question is why? Does it have to do with the genres predominantly written by men and women? Is there a deeper bias happening? Regardless, J.K. Rowling clearly understood this disparity and acted accordingly.
Big Screen Books: Indie darling production company A24 has just struck a deal with Mack Books to publish its screenplays. The company behind motion picture hits such as Everything Everywhere All At Once, Ex Machina, Midsommar, and more has sold its screenplays and books on its website to its devoted fan base for years. But this deal with Mack Books is the first time that a producer and publisher have teamed up. Now A24’s books will be available in bookstores worldwide beginning in September. Usually it is books that get made into movies not the other way around. But after a quick scroll through A24’s current shop, we can’t help but be excited for a new way to enjoy our favorite films.
TikTok Shop: The New York Times profiled Keila Shaheen, a self-published journal author, who was catapulted to fame and fortune by TikTok. Shaheen created The Shadow Work Journal, a self help book designed to guide readers into exploring their shadow selves. The shadow self is “the hidden aspects of your psyche.” Shaheen self-published the journal in 2021 but came to fame a year later when TikTok started selling products directly through the app. Not a licensed therapist, but with a background in business and psychology (even a stint working for TikTok as a creative strategist), Shaheen has sold more than a million copies of the journal and has since signed a lucrative deal with traditional publishing. Kaheen might be the first non-fiction author that TikTok has spurred to instafame. Our stance: we hate TikTok except when it helps authors.
Weird Wisdom: New York Times bestselling author Kate White has written numerous thrillers and the research always takes an interesting turn. White wrote for Crime Reads about all the interesting things she has learned about life from researching her books. From tips on how to respond in a crisis, to the fear of buttons, to body language, to sleep paralysis and all the random facts that make their way into her novels. She even worked tips on how to interview well into her new novel, The Last Time She Saw Him. It’s a two for one deal–a great read and career advice, all in one book!
Deep Dive: See below for all the extra deep cuts of this week’s book news.
Time Magazine’s summary of all the Bridgerton books.
Jodi Picoult on book bans, research and her new book about the woman behind Shakespeare.
Embroiled in claims of racism, Romance Writers of America files for bankruptcy.
Caleb Carr, author of The Alienest, has died
DogMan is back with a brand new addition.
The Sympathizer: the differences between the novel and the series.
Lemony Snicket, aka Daniel Handler, just released a memoir detailing his path to writing his best selling novels, A Series Of Unfortunate Events.
Netflix adds new cast members for the second season of The Sandman by Neil Gaiman.
Catch Up with Ariel over at I’m So Glad You Asked where she’s explaining how success = finishing.
Marybeth is chronicling the path to her newest novel over at I Will Tell You This.
Fantastic! Thank you so much. I so enjoy your articles