Notes from Shanghai



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photo: Anna Pumer Photography |
Author Liese O'Halloran Schwarz chose her "top 10 books about self-reinvention" for the Guardian.
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Pop lit quiz: "Guess the book titles using only emoji," Electric Lit challenged.
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"Jane Austen loathed the Prince Regent, who later became George IV, but he might have been one of her first readers," the New York Times reported.
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"After nine tries, the husband of celebrity chef Paula Deen has won the Ernest Hemingway Look-Alike Contest," the Guardian reported.
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Author Lauren Groff recently tweeted a list of "40 of the books that make up my brain."
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A 2,000-year-old mystery papyrus reveals its secrets," Atlas Obscura reported, adding: "For centuries, no one could read it."
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"Which Great American Read are you?" Penguin Random House wondered.
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From Peter Carey to Cormac McCarthy, author Paul Howarth shared his "top 10 tales from the frontier" with the Guardian.
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From Catullus to Dylan Thomas, author Ruth Padel picked her "top 10 elegies" for the Guardian.
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Bustle revealed "7 surprising things librarians do other than check out books."
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"A literary themed hotel in Portugal is a bookworm's dream complete with its own library and even a gin bar," the Times Mirror.
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On September 1, 1998, readers in the United States got their first magical taste of what would become a global phenomenon. In the 20 years since Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone cast its spell on children and adults alike, J.K. Rowling's world of wizardry has summoned seven books, plus spinoffs, eight movies, plus spinoffs, whole amusement parks and a Diagon Alley's worth of other odds and ends. No fan of fantasy or young reader growing up in the late '90s/early aughts will ever forget the Boy Who Lived, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named or any of the dozens of other unforgettable characters and places sprung from Rowling's fertile imagination.
The celebrations surrounding such a major anniversary for such a storied franchise are as widespread and bewitching as their source material. Besides all kinds of parties and events, publishers are planning special editions of the Harry Potter books. Scholastic has released the seven Potter titles with new cover illustrations by Caldecott Medalist Brian Selznick. (They still include the original interior decorations by Mary GrandPré.) For those who can wait, the titles will appear next month as a boxed set, adorned with crests of each Hogwarts house and a closeup of Harry. --Tobias Mutter
Discover: Set in Shanghai, Lucy Tan's debut novel follows Wei and Lina Zhen's family crisis over the return of Wei's prodigal brother, who was also Lina's first love.
Discover: A loving family is thrown into crisis when a secret from the patriarch's past emerges.
Discover: Mary Bennet, the awkward middle sister, finally gets to tell her own story in this acerbic, surprising debut novel.
Discover: Gathered for a carefree vintage voyage to Hawaii, a cultured mix of guests and crew find that sailing into the past doesn't leave the troubled present behind.
Discover: Radio silence, and all the mystery it brings, clouds a modern romance set in Gloucestershire, England.
Discover: As the passengers of two boats struggle for survival after a disastrous meeting at sea, Australian politicians refuse to respond.
Discover: In 1984 Georgia, a lost generation of mutated children forced apart from normal society reaches adolescence.
Discover: A young woman mired by grief relocates to a small, seaside town where her presence fosters healing in herself--and others.
Discover: This is a winning collection of funny and touching essays about growing up black and gay in the South.
Discover: War and its effects and climate change are the focus of these confrontational essays.
Discover: In this interactive adventure, you're trapped in a land of stories, where your only chance of escape is to rescue a missing prince with a pencil as your only weapon.
Discover: With only one lap left, can the Princess beat the other fairytale characters in Tom Angleberger and Dan Santat's NASCAR-style storybook race?
Discover: Five years after his death, Denis reconnects with his still-living 12-year-old twin brother to solve the mystery of his own death in this dark and twisty middle-grade novel.
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The Queens of Crimeby Marie Benedict
Dear Reader, The Queens of Crime is in keeping with my earlier novels and yet, at the same time, something entirely new. It's an ode to strong women, the writerly life, the power of friendship, and my beloved aunt, who fed me a steady diet of Golden Age of Mystery novels in my middle school days. Email trademarketing@stmartins.com with the subject line "The Queens of Crime Sweepstakes" for a chance to win one of five copies! Marie Benedict |
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