New Frankenstein Adaptation, Obituary of Robert W Fuller, Bookshop.Org Sales Are Soaring, Good Spot Bookshop Opens in Davenport, IA, Kamala Harris Publishes Memoir, Seven Percent of Ro Devereaux by Ellen O'Clover, The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center, Kills Well With Others by Deanna Raybourn, Things We Hide From the Light by Lucy Score, and The Bell Witches by Lindsey Kelk

Welcome to August, the hottest month of the year, and one that I don't enjoy for many reasons, (Heat, sweating, sunburn, mosquitos, pollen-laden air). Today would have been my father's 93rd birthday, if he had lived past 2019. My dad's insistence on optimism and gullibility, even in the face of terrible people taking advantage of his good nature (like the grifters he got involved with during the last few years of his life, who took his house and his finances and shoved him into the worst nursing home in Des Moines, to die alone of Lewy Body Dementia) was one of his worst failings, and, along with his philandering and need to be the center of attention at every party (and my dad considered every group of people gathered for even a funeral a party) made him something of a tragic figure towards the end of his life. But he was a good dad to me, and his emphasis on education changed my life for the better. RIP Dad, and happy birthday, wherever you are. Below are some interesting tidbits and a lot of reviews. Enjoy.

 

I've never been a fan of horror, and IMO, Frankenstein was more of a horror novel with a social subtext than it was science fiction, Still, I have read it multiple times and watched at least 3 film adaptations. This looks to be an exciting new spin on the man and the monster novel, and I'm sure GdT will do something unexpected with it that will leave us all gasping in wonder.

 

Something Monstrous This Way Comes

Guillermo del Toro has been working on an adaptation of Frankenstein in one way or another for decades. The long-awaited film, starring Oscar Isaacs as Victor Frankenstein and noted book lover Jacob Elordi as the monster, hits Netflix in November and promises to be one of the year’s biggest adaptations. Vanity Fair‘s exclusive preview includes interviews with del Toro, Isaacs, and Elordi, who reveal that while, yes, Frankenstein is a story about a scientist driven mad by ambition, this version is also about one of literature’s most persistent themes: "toxic family dynamics." Shut up and take my money. Hard to imagine someone better suited to adapt the story that virtually invented science fiction than a modern master of the genre. The teaser trailer released last month has me feeling pretty confident about this one.

This amazing man lead a righteous life. RIP, Mr Fuller.

 

Obituary Note: Robert W. Fuller

Robert W. Fuller, "who crusaded against what he defined as rankism--the denigration of society's outcasts and underachievers as 'nobodies'--even though he himself, as a physics professor, college president and prolific author, was indubitably a 'somebody,' " died July 15, the New York Times

reported. He was 88.

In 2017, he facetiously thanked President Trump for "giving rankism a

face--his own scowling, mocking face"--to become "the poster boy for

rankism and for jump-starting a Dignity Movement."

Fuller was a math and physics prodigy "who never graduated from high

school and never earned a bachelor's degree (though he obtained advance

degrees)," the Times wrote. He was 15 when he entered Oberlin College,

and 33 when he returned to become the college's youngest president.

A self-described "citizen diplomat," he arranged exchanges between

Soviet and American scientists to foster better relations during the

Cold War. He started the nonprofit Hunger Project with singer,

songwriter, and actor John Denver and EST founder Werner Erhard to

challenge "systems of inequity that create hunger and cause it to

persist." He also helped start Internews, which aimed to help

journalists develop free and fair media coverage.

In many of his books, Fuller wrote that rankism "manifests itself

perniciously in many ways. They include, he said, lifetime academic

tenure, which insulates college faculty from accountability to students

and administrators, and the proliferation of nuclear weapons," the Times

reported.

His first book, Somebodies and Nobodies: Overcoming the Abuse of Rank

(2003), had blurbs from Betty Friedan, Francis Fukuyama, and Studs

Terkel, who called it a "wonderful and tremendously important book."

Insisting he had nothing against hierarchies, Fuller "espoused what he

described as a dignity movement, the goal of which was to achieve a

'dignitarian society.' Its platform was encapsulated in a manifesto that

paraphrased Marx and Engels: 'Nobodies of the world, unite. You have

nothing to lose but your shame,' " the Times wrote.

In a q&a with himself on his blog, Fuller warned that rankism "stifles

initiative, taxes productivity, harms health and stokes revenge.... We

do believe that once you identify a problem, it's solvable," he wrote.

"What I haven't mentioned is that solving old problems reveals new ones.

From you we learned 'it takes a village.' Going forward, it's going to

take a galaxy."

Some actual good news for bookstores and online sites that aren't lining the pockets of billionaires. Congrats, fellow bibliophiles, for making it happen!

 

Bookshop.org Sales Are Soaring

Hold onto your butts. Bookshop.org has reported a 65% year-over-year increase in sales in the first half of 2025. This would be an eye-popping number any time, but it’s especially remarkable since industry-wide sales are down so far this year. CEO Andy Hunter attributes $1 million of the additional revenue—just 5% of overall sales—to Bookshop.org’s better-late-than-never ebook platform, which launched in January and another $1.5 million to its recent Anti-Prime Sale. What’s driving the rest of the growth? My best guess is that anti-Amazon sentiment and consumer boycotts have hit a tipping point with the kind of left-leaning, middle- and upper-middle-class readers who are willing and able to pay a premium to avoid supporting companies whose policies conflict with their personal and political values. And it doesn’t hurt that inflation and tariffs seem to have lessened Amazon’s ability to offer deeper discounts and faster shipping than other book retailers.

I lived in Davenport with my family when I was 3 years old, and though I don't remember a lot, I do have fond memories of shopping downtown with my mom, and getting ice cream. This will be a great addition to their shopping area, and I hope they're successful.

 

Good Spot Bookshop Debuts in Davenport, Iowa

Good Spot Bookshop opened in June at 102 East Kimberly Road in Davenport, Iowa. KWQC reported that the "warm and inviting indie bookstore located very near to NorthPark Mall specializes in romance fiction, ranging from sweet and subtle to delightfully spicy."

The store hosted its grand opening celebration recently, and KWQC noted that "the space is a cozy retreat for anyone seeking a new literary escape or a

thoughtful gift."

"I read romance novels for the last 20 years," said owner Christine

Goodall. "I think there's a romance book out there for everyone. I think

everyone should be included in that. And so I just wanted a place where

you felt happy and comfortable."

Since opening, she noted that business "has been good. It's been a

learning curve but everybody that's been coming in has been so

welcoming, so genuinely nice, and it's been great meeting people that

enjoy the same genre of book I do. And just getting to talk and chat has

been great."

I can hardly wait for the debut of Harris' memoirs....she was an amazing candidate, and I really with she'd run for governor of California, where she'd have a huge impact on the country's farming and immigration. Still, I'm sure this smart woman will have a lot of interesting things to say about what its like to be a woman of color in a presidential race.

 

Kamala Harris to Publish Memoir About 2024 Race

One year to the day that she began her for president and one day after declaring that she will not run for governor of California, Kamala Harris has announced that she will publish a memoir about the experience. 107 Days is due out September 23 from Simon & Schuster. Harris made the reveal in a video released this morning , accompanied by a caption explaining that, "This book is not a recap of our race. It is a candid and personal account of my journey — the shortest presidential campaign in modern history." Details about the deal have not been disclosed. I wonder how Joe Biden is feeling about his $10 million advance today?

 

Seven Percent of Ro Devereaux by Ellen O'Clover is a delicious YA romance novel, a contemporary update to the "finding yourself" genre of YA fiction, including a lot of computer and coding information that actually makes sense in light of how AI is taking over our phones and computers these days. Here's the blurb: Modern romance fans will love this clever, charming, and poignant debut novel with a masterful slow-burn romance at its core about a girl who must decide whether to pursue her dreams or preserve her relationships, including a budding romance with her ex-best friend, when an app she created goes viral.

Ro Devereux can predict your future. Or, at least, the app she built for her senior project can.

Working with her neighbor, a retired behavioral scientist, Ro created an app called MASH, designed around the classic game Mansion Apartment Shack House, that can predict a person’s future with 93% accuracy. The app will even match users with their soulmates. Though it was only supposed to be a class project, MASH quickly takes off and gains the attention of tech investors.

Ro’s dream is to work in Silicon Valley, and she’ll do anything to prove to her new backing company—and the world—that the app works. So it’s a huge shock when the app says her soulmate is Miller, her childhood best friend with whom she had a friendship-destroying fight three years ago.

Now thrust into a fake dating scenario, Ro and Miller must address the years of pain between them if either of them will have any chance of achieving their dreams. And as the app takes on a life of its own, Ro sees that it’s affecting people in ways she never expected—and if she can’t regain control, it might take her and everything she believes in down with it.

Learning that all aps/programs that apply to society have side effects that are damaging and unpredictable is just one of the ways this novel's characters work towards becoming mature enough to take responsibility for their actions, both good and bad, and intentions. I liked that Ro didn't succumb to falling in love with her former friend Miller right away, and that the two of them had to work together to figure Ro's way out of the mess she'd made with her match-making program and her heartless, greedy mother's evil intent behind it.This was one of those YA books that transcends the genre, and has some great lessons in it for everyone about hubris. I'd give it a B+ and recommend it to any tech-savvy YA reader who is interested in coding and apps and second chances.

 

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center is a witty, wise and wonderful page-turner of a romance with plenty of laughter and tears and truly sparkling prose. Here's the blurb: Bestselling author Katherine Center's next laugh out loud, feel good rom-com about writing your own story.

She’s rewriting his love story. But can she rewrite her own?

Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. She’s spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies―good ones! That win contests! But she’s also been the sole caretaker for her kind-hearted dad, who needs full-time care. Now, when she gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates―The Charlie Yates! Her personal writing god!―it’s a break too big to pass up.

Emma’s younger sister steps in for caretaking duties, and Emma moves to L.A. for six weeks for the writing gig of a lifetime. But what is it they say? Don’t meet your heroes? Charlie Yates doesn’t want to write with anyone―much less “a failed, nobody screenwriter.” Worse, the romantic comedy he’s written is so terrible it might actually bring on the apocalypse. Plus! He doesn’t even care about the script―it’s just a means to get a different one green-lit. Oh, and he thinks love is an emotional Ponzi scheme.

But Emma’s not going down without a fight. She will stand up for herself, and for rom-coms, and for love itself. She will convince him that love stories matter―even if she has to kiss him senseless to do it. But . . . what if that kiss is accidentally amazing? What if real life turns out to be so much . . . more real than fiction? What if the love story they’re writing breaks all Emma’s rules―and comes true? 

 

This sweetheart of a novel was beautifully written and so expertly plotted that I was on page 100 before I even realized I'd started reading it! And I fell in love with the characters, so much so that I couldn't put it down and read it from afternoon to evening of one day. Emma, the female protagonist, was a true delight, funny, fun and intelligent, while the male protagonist, Yates, was a butthead with a heart of gold whose life was changed irrevicably by the edition of Emma, who believes in hope, happiness and love, and is willing to die on that hill. Great quote from near the end of the book, by Charlie Yates "Humanity at its worst is an easy story to tell--but its not the only story. Because the more we can imagine our better selves, the more we can become them." AMEN to that! I'd give this delight of a book an A, and recommend it to anyone who is jaded about love and love stories.

 

Kills Well With Others by Deanna Raybourn is an espionage thriller with four female protagonists over the age of 60 who are total bad-ass assassins, out to right wrongs and rid the world of evil dictators and others (How I wish that they were real! They could help us out with our current fascist despot in the white house!) Here's the blurb: Four women assassins, senior in status—and in age—sharpen their knives for another bloody good adventure in this riotous follow-up to the New York Times bestselling sensation Killers of a Certain Age (authors note, I read and LOVED Killers of a Certain Age!).

After more than a year of laying low, Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, and Natalie are called back into action. They have enjoyed their time off, but the lack of excitement is starting to chafe: a professional killer can only take so many watercolor classes and yoga sessions without itching to strangle someone...literally. When they receive a summons from the head of the elite assassin organization known as the Museum, they are ready tackle the greatest challenge of their careers.

Someone on the inside has compiled a list of important kills committed by Museum agents, connected to a single, shadowy figure, an Eastern European gangster with an iron fist, some serious criminal ambition, and a tendency to kill first and ask questions later. This new nemesis is murdering agents who got in the way of their power hungry plans and the aging quartet of killers is next.

Together the foursome embark on a wild ride across the globe on the double mission of rooting out the Museum’s mole and hunting down the gangster who seems to know their next move before they make it. Their enemy is unlike any they’ve faced before, and it will take all their killer experience to get out of this mission alive. 

 

I adore these elderly women, who refuse to let age get the better of them, and use the fact that older women are invisible to society to their advantage all the time. Billie, who is bloodthirsty but determined, is still my favorite, but the others have their special talents honed to a razors edge, too....and they're not afraid to push those talents to the edge if need be, in getting their man. All of Raybourn's books are extremely well written, and this genre requires fast-moving plots, which she provides in spades. I couldn't stop turning pages until the explosive ending. I'd give this sequel an A, and recommend it to anyone who has read and enjoyed the first book in the series...and while you're at it, check out Raybourn's Veronica Speedwell series, which is just as juicy and delicious as her thrillers.

 

Things We Hide From The Light by Lucy Score starts out as a mystery thriller and somehow segues into a spicy romance full of laughter and lots of sex in closets and other unexpected places. Though I do like romances between "grumpy" guys and "sunshine" gals, I was disturbed by the guys possessive and sexist need to coerce the female protagonist to give up her life's work/job in another town to be his emotional support lover and wife in his rinky dink town. Nash's description as an "Alpha Male" who is muscular and much taller/larger than Lina (female protagonist) is just another way of saying he's a messed up and depressed bully who "needs" Lina to be his ad hoc therapist and pull him out of his mental health crisis (instead of seeing a professional therapist, which is what he really needs). Here's the blurb: 

Author Lucy Score returns to Knockemout, Virginia, following fan-favorite Things We Never Got Over with Knox's brother Nash's story.

Nash Morgan was always known as the good Morgan brother, with a smile and a wink for everyone. But now, this chief of police is recovering from being shot and his Southern charm has been overshadowed by panic attacks and nightmares. He feels like a broody shell of the man he once was. Nash isn't about to let anyone in his life know he's struggling. But his new next-door neighbor, smart and sexy Lina, sees his shadows. As a rule, she's not a fan of physical contact unless she initiates it, but for some reason Nash's touch is different. He feels it too. The physical connection between them is incendiary, grounding him and making her wonder if exploring it is worth the risk.

Too bad Lina's got secrets of her own, and if Nash finds out the real reason she's in town, he'll never forgive her. Besides, she doesn't do relationships. Ever. A hot, short-term fling with a local cop? Absolutely. Sign her up. A relationship with a man who expects her to plant roots? No freaking way. Once she gets what she's after, she has no intention of sticking around. But Knockemout has a way of getting under people's skin. And once Nash decides to make Lina his, he's not about to be dissuaded…even if it means facing the danger that nearly killed him.

 

See, that whole thing about making Lina "his" really sets my feminist back up. Women are not slaves, they're people who need to have their own agency to make their own decisions, instead of having a man coerce them into what he wants from them and for them. It is completely misogynistic to try and force a woman into an emotional corner to get what you want or feel you need from her...what about what she needs? Her needs are NOT subordinate to a guys. I also refuse to believe that good sex will brainwash a woman, especially a strong one like Lina, into giving up her life to be used by a mentally messed up guy like Nash. Even though he's very protective of her, again, it's unbelievable that a woman who can take care of herself would find a big guy bashing some nasty creeps fer her to be irresistibly sexy...and make her fall in love with the big handsome guy with a great arse. Though the prose is clean and crisp and the plot engrossing, I would have to give this overly long novel a B, and recommend it to anyone who isn't bothered by misogyny. 

 

The Bell Witches by Lindsey Kelk is a YA romantasy with magic and mayhem and a somewhat weak plot. Here's the blurb: 

YOU’LL WANT TO BE ONE. UNTIL YOU KNOW THEIR SECRETS.

After sixteen-year-old Emily’s father tragically dies, she is forced to live with the only family she has left, an aunt and grandmother in the heart of Savannah, Georgia in a house as beautiful as it is mysterious.

But all is not what it seems with the Bell family; they’re hiding a magical secret.

When Emily meets the alluring Wyn, she forms a connection that feels like it was always meant to be. As the spark between them grows more powerful, her life takes an exhilarating and terrifying turn; but every step closer to him, takes her a step further away from her family.

Emily will find out that blood is always thicker than water…There's no bond greater than magic.

As is usual in these types of fantasy novels of the old South, the young person, usually a female protagonist, is expected to sacrifice her life to save the town and the family magic legacy, until she falls for a guy from the wrong side of the tracks, and realizes she deserves a life of her own, and her own love, too. Emily is kind of a wimpy and weak character who goes along with everything her grandmother wants her to do, though she knows, intrinsically, that something's wrong, and that her Aunt and grandmother are lying to her about her ability to stop the coming apocalypse. When she discovers that Wyn, her beloved, is a were wolf, the novel starts to veer off a bit into (UGH) Twilight territory, with its "hot" vampires and werewolves vying for the love of the female protagonist, in this case, a powerful witch. Though Emily actually kills Wyn's brother, all is forgiven in an instant because he was a violent man who liked to kill, and because Wyn is so enamored of Emily that he suddenly doesn't care about his family. Weird. I'd give this uneven novel a B-, and recommend it to fans of Twilight and other YA magical coming of age stories.