Hey hey hey, Book Dragons and fellow bibliophiles! It's that time, another bunch of tidbits and reviews coming your way from my corner of the world. We're having unusually hot weather this week, so I've been staying indoors in the AC and reading mainly Kindle ebooks, with some few paper books thrown in for good measure. I got 5 new books for Mother's Day and a new comforter and sheet set, so I'm all set for some in-bed reading marathons. May your summer reading lists be bursting with thrilling new volumes by great authors!
I used to read "The Pigeon" books to my son when he was a little boy, and he always loved the rebellious nature of the Pigeon, who did the exact opposite of what he was told to do, or not do. I'm thrilled that Mo Willems is creating a whole company around these books and bringing them to other media, like TV and movies. Though my son is no longer a child, I bet he will also be excited to see the rascally Pigeon brought to life on the big and small screen.
Mo Willems Launches Hidden Pigeon Company
Author and illustrator Mo Willems, Stampede Ventures, and RedBird Capital Partners have formed Hidden Pigeon Company https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscFLcwuwI6akxdUxxEw~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6iVDsOkpoMLg-gVdw,"a multiplatform kids and family content venture that will leverage Willems's best-selling catalogue of children's books and intellectual property across all entertainment platforms," Deadline reported. HPC will be led by Kathy Franklin as CEO.
"The Hidden Pigeon Company takes its name from how kids and former kids delight in finding The Pigeon hidden in every one of my books," said Willems. "It is my hope to create a similar bit of surprise and delight in the fabric of everything we make or do. I am thrilled to have found wonderful collaborative partners to make that hope a reality."
The creation of HPC follows Stampede Ventures and Mo Willems's existing producing partnership, which has already done two specials on HBO Max:Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Underground Rock Experience and Storytime All Stars Presents: Don't Let the Pigeon Do Storytime (2020),which was nominated for two daytime Emmys.
In addition, HPC will house a publishing imprint called Specific House, which has partnered with Barnes & Noble's Union Square & Co. publishing operation to launch Willems's new adult humor book, Be the Bus--The Lost & Profound Wisdom of the Pigeon, as well as The Pigeon Will Ride the Roller Coaster!, and the upcoming Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Sleigh!, which will be the Pigeon's first holiday book.
"We've deeply enjoyed the success of our partnership with Mo and Cher Willems to date, and it's shown us that the popularity of his IP and the appetite for premium family entertainment are a powerful combination," said Greg Silverman, Stampede Ventures' CEO and founder.
I really need a copy of this book, as I'm one of millions of women who do carry the emotional/mental load for my entire household, which is very painful and stressful. I wish that this app were real, because I'd be one of their first customers.
Book Review: The Wife App
Carolyn Mackler's razor-sharp adult fiction debut imagines one answer to a persistent question: What if women got paid for all the "mental load" tasks that wives usually do for free? After she finds out her husband is cheating (again), Manhattan tech product manager (and mom of twins) Lauren Zuckerman files for divorce.
While toasting her new life, she and her two best friends, Madeline and Sophie, hit on an idea: a "wife app" that would pay women to wrangle the minutiae of other people's lives. Though the other two initially see it as a joke, Lauren takes the idea and runs with it, resulting in a wild ride that will reshape how they all think about work and relationships.
Mackler (The Universe Is Expanding and So Am I) shifts among her three protagonists' voices, chronicling their struggles with career and parenting, as well as their larger existential (and romantic) worries. Heiress Madeline has devoted her life to mothering her daughter, Arabella, a Juilliard pre-college cellist. But the prospect of Arabella spending a school year with her dad (Madeline's ex) in London threatens to upend their cozy mother-daughter existence. Sophie loves her work as a literacy teacher, but it barely pays the bills for her and her two sons, especially since her musician husband left her for another woman. With financial and emotional buy-in from Madeline and Sophie, Lauren takes the leap--developing, testing, and launching the app, then dealing with the triumphs and trials of owning a small business.
As the women work out the kinks of the app--accepting assignments, establishing firm boundaries with clients, hiring other "wives" and juggling their new workloads--Mackler examines the cultural norm of women shouldering the mental (and logistical, and often emotional) burdens for their families. Her characters grapple (sometimes hilariously) with the growing pains of a start-up and its sudden success, but still have to manage their own mental loads (occasionally becoming clients of the app themselves). All three of them also have unexpected romantic encounters, which may (or may not) have lasting effects on their lives. Throughout the book, their friendship--not perfect, but honest and warm--helps ground all three women. Mackler also adds a few sensitive subplots around the trio's children and their issues, including anxiety, questioning one's gender identity, and the everyday trials of adolescence.
Smart, wincingly funny, and occasionally sexy, Mackler's novel is a 21st-century ode to female empowerment and women pursuing what they really want--while still juggling childcare, camp forms, and relationships like the pros they are. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams
I've always admired Roxane Gay, and I'm so excited that she's got her own imprint and will be publishing fiction and creative non-fiction with a wide range of diversity, I'd imagine. This is a short but excellent interview with Gay, so she can explain what is happening with her new venture...CONGRATULATIONS, Roxane Gay!
Roxane Gay's Mission: 'To Publish Books I Love'
Roxane Gay's talents are wide-ranging and deep. She has published fiction (such as An Untamed State, Black Cat/Grove), nonfiction (Hunger: A Memoir (of My Body), Harper Perennial), essay collections (Bad Feminist, Harper Perennial), has edited collections (The Selected Works of Audre Lorde, W.W. Norton), and also writes opinion pieces and the "Work Friend" column for the New York Times. Next month, she will launch Roxane Gay Books with Grove Atlantic Press. She shared with Shelf Awareness the impetus and hopes for her imprint.
With all that you are already doing, what inspired you to start a publishing imprint? And please say a little about the timing of your launch: Why now?
Many years ago, I ran a micropress called Tiny Hardcore Press. I published these beautiful, small but mighty books, on a shoestring budget. I loved finding interesting work, editing it, and having a hand in bringing it into the world, but I always wondered what it would be like to publish books with more resources and support. Over the years, I wondered if an imprint might be possible, and one day I asked my agent if she thought it was possible. She did, and we approached both of my publishers. Ultimately, Grove Atlantic felt like the perfect home for Roxane Gay Books. In terms of why now: honestly, why not?
Tell us more about your micropress, and what lessons benefited you asyou start your imprint at Grove/Atlantic. What might you like to do differently?
I learned a lot about not only editing books and working with authors, but also the logistics of book distribution. Figuring out the best envelopes for shipping and dealing with the USPS was... humbling. I also learned that many hands really do make light work. It's challenging to have to do nearly everything yourself the way micro-publishers generally have to. With my imprint, I'm excited to collaborate with my longtime fiction editor Amy Hundley, Morgan Entrekin, Judy Hottensen, Deb Seager, my publicist John Mark Boling, and the rest of the Grove team, and learn more about the publishing process at a much larger scale.
Would you say your imprint has a mission?
My only mission is to publish books I love and hope others will, too.
What kinds of books do you hope to publish? You've said you're looking "for the kind of books I love to read." What does that look like? Your interests seem so wide-ranging.
I'm primarily interested in fiction and memoir/creative nonfiction. I love immersive stories with flawed protagonists. I love expansive world building. I love a little or a lot of darkness in a story. I am a fairly omnivorous reader, so I can't narrow down what I like beyond work that grabs me by the throat and squeezes, hard.
I started reading Nancy Drew Mysteries when I was about 9 or 10 years old, and I loved them, because Nancy was so clever and didn't let anyone stand in her way when she was solving a mystery. Imagine my delight at seeing that they've turned Nancy Drew's stories into a musical! Combining two things I love dearly, books and theater. I wish that I lived in NYC so that I could see this when it debuts.
On Stage: Nancy Drew and the Mystery at Spotlight Manor, the Musical
Nancy Drew and the Mystery at Spotlight Manor, a musical adaptation of the book series https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscFLexb0I6ahnJRt2Tw~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6iVDMT1poMLg-gVdw that has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide since it first appeared in 1930, is now in development, featuring music by Tony, Emmy, Grammy, and Oscar winner Alan Menken, lyrics by Tony nominee Nell Benjamin (Legally Blonde, Mean Girls), and a book by two-time Oscar winner Sarah Kernochan," Playbill reported. Three-time Tony winner and Pulitzer Prize recipient James Lapine will direct.
"After 175 Nancy Drew mysteries that span from her small town of River Heights to exotic locales around the world, the teen detective is about to tackle perhaps the most exotic locale of all to her: a musical theatre camp, Spotlight Manor," said Lapine. "Alan, Nell, Sarah and I have been having a ball letting Nancy and her pals take to the stage and sing for the first time."
Where You See Yourself by Claire Forrest is a wonderful, diverse YA romance and coming of age story about Effie, who is going into her senior year of high school and trying to deal with college prep and admissions as well as her high school's lack of disability access. Here's the blurb:
Where You See Yourself combines an unforgettable coming-of-age tale, a swoon-worthy romance, and much-needed disability representation in this story about a girl who's determined to follow her dreams.
By the time Effie Galanos starts her senior year, it feels like she’s already been thinking about college applications for an eternity—after all, finding a college that will be the perfect fit and be accessible enough for Effie to navigate in her wheelchair presents a ton of considerations that her friends don’t have to worry about.
What Effie hasn’t told anyone is that she already knows exactly what school she has her heart set on: a college in NYC with a major in Mass Media & Society that will set her up perfectly for her dream job in digital media. She’s never been to New York, but paging through the brochure, she can picture the person she’ll be there, far from the Minneapolis neighborhood where she's lived her entire life. When she finds out that Wilder (her longtime crush) is applying there too, it seems like one more sign from the universe that it’s the right place for her.
But it turns out that the universe is full of surprises. As Effie navigates her way through a year of admissions visits, senior class traditions, internal and external ableism, and a lot of firsts--and lasts--she starts to learn that sometimes growing up means being open to a world of possibilities you never even dreamed of. And maybe being more than just friends with Wilder is one of those dreams.
I have to say that I felt for Effie in so many different ways, but especially wanting to get away from your parents and your Midwestern home town and get busy making your dreams come true. Effie is a much better person than I was at 18, though, because she wants to use her media and society degree to make the country more aware of disability issues, especially for young people whose needs and voices are often overlooked. I also understood her fears about leaving home, where she has a support system, and going far away where she will have to get things done for herself. It's exhilarating as it is terrifying. The author's prose is gentle and realistic, and her plot swift and sure. I loved this warm-hearted book, and will give it an A, and recommend it to anyone interested in disability rights for young people.
Sharpest Sting, Last Strand and Heart Stings by Jennifer Estep are the 18th, 19th and 20th books in her Elemental Assassins series, though the last book is actually told from the POV of another character in Gin's universe, so I suppose it's not legally book 20, but I still enjoyed it. Here's the blurbs: Sharpest Sting:
I didn't enjoy Sharpest Sting as much as I did Last Strand and Heart Stings. The Last two books wrapped things up in Gin's world and were much more satisfying than book 18, which was just more of the same, as in Gin finds the bad guy, and ends up having to fight him herself because all her friends, who are supposedly bad-asses with their own powers or talents for shooting, always seem to be incapacitated early on and leave Gin the Spider to kill the villain and save herself. It's only in book 19 that they finally get into the thick of battle and actually help Gin in a substantial way. Plus I liked the book from Lorelei Parkers POV, because it was refreshing to not have to go over the same ground for the umteenth time, as we have to do with Gin in every single novel. I'd give the three books at the end of this series a collective B, and recommend them to those who have already read all the preceding Elemental Assassin novels.
The Books & Braun Dossier by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris is a series of Steampunk short stories that are connected in time/place and some characters. the e-book was on sale for a very low price, and as I'm a fan of Steampunk SF/F and mysteries I thought it would be fun and right up my alley. Unfortunately, though these stories are supposed to be by Pip B and Tee M, most of the stories were by Tee Morris, and they were poorly written, with slow plots and oblivious characters in obvious scenarios that bordered on tedious. Here's the blurb: From the award-winning steampunk authors, Pip Ballantine and Tee
Morris, come these fantastic adventures of spy craft, science, and the
supernatural.
When Agents Eliza D. Braun and Wellington Thornhill
Books, Esquire, were first partnered up in the Archives of The Ministry
of Peculiar Occurrences, it was hard to believe they would ever delight
in one another's company, let alone engage in acts of derring-do within
and outside the boundaries of Her Majesty's Empire.
The Books
& Braun Dossier features stories now collected for the first time in
one volume, and one untold story of Books and Brauns adventures in a
shady hotel in Torquay.
In this collection spanning the global theatre of espionage, you the answers to questions such as...
Why was Eliza D. Braun was cast out of her homeland of New Zealand?
Who is Arthur Books?
How is it that Wellington and Eliza cannot avoid trouble, even on Christmas Eve?
When Wellington is away, how does Archimedes find ways to entertain himself?
Morris throws in a lot of information on native New Zealand culture and the Maori people, but she doesn't take the time to actually explain what the words mean in the other language, and her description of the native New Zealand agent doesn't do her any favors, as it makes her sound dirty and crude. I enjoyed only one story out of all of them, so I am going to give the whole disjointed book a C+ and recommend it to anyone who is a Steampunk fanatic and a New Zealand fan.
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