The Most Targeted Books of 2023, S&S Celebrates 100th Birthday, Lord of the Rings Musical, Historic TV Adaptations, The Lights of Sugarberry Cove by Heather Webber, Everyone is Beautiful by Katherine Center, The Memory Library by Kate Storey, and Scarlett Legacy by Shelli Roswarne

Welcome and well-met my fellow book dragons! It's already mid-April, and spring and summer are on the horizon. I'm getting low on TBR piles, but I've found some great ebook deals lately, so I'm not out of engrossing stories yet! Below are a plethora of tidbits and four reviews. Enjoy...and I hope you get some sunshine this weekend!

 This depresses me and makes me angry as well. Ignorant people who use religion to perpetuate their racism and homophobia, never even having read the books they're
challenging, make me ill. We must fight against this fascism, otherwise we will be imprisoned in a world that grows stagnant and cruel.

The Most Targeted Books of 2023

No real surprises here, and the consistency is part of the point. The ALA has released its report about the 10 most challenged books of 2023, and you’ve probably guessed already that they are books that explore issues related to race and LGBTQ+ identity and experience. Speaking The New York Times’s Alexandra Alter, Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the director of the ALA’s office for intellectual freedom, sums it up:

More and more, we’re seeing challenges that say, simply, This book has a gay character, or, This book deals with L.G.B.T.Q. themes, even if it has no sexuality in it…We’re seeing those naked attacks on simply the visibility of and knowledge about L.G.B.T.Q. lives and experiences.

Or as my colleague kelly jensen regularly reminds us: it’s not about the books. Book challenges are just the thin end of the wedge in the far-right’s effort to whitewash American history and erase queer folks and people of color from public life. Eyes on the prize, friends. Call your reps, go to school board meetings, show up for local elections, and subscribe to Literary Activism to stay plugged in.

Happy 100th Birthday S&S!

 May you have another 100 years of publishing books in 'dead tree' and e-editions.

Happy 100th, Simon & Schuster!

Under clear skies Tuesday evening at New York City's Chelsea Piers,

Simon & Schuster celebrated its centenary with authors, editors, agents,

art directors, booksellers, sales reps, publicists, marketing directors,

and many other book enthusiasts, along with wonderful food, drinks, and

music.

S&S chair Richard Sarnoff

The remarks were brief, following the "Author! Author!" event Monday

night at New York's Town Hall, which featured some 30 S&S authors,

including surprise guests such as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham

Clinton and comedian Jerry Seinfeld, as well as rock-star contributors

to the S&S list such as Judy Blume, Judith Viorst, and Jason Reynolds.

A crowd that spilled over onto the terrace at Pier 60 on the Hudson

gathered around the dance floor to hear the remarks of Richard Sarnoff,

chairman of media, entertainment, and education for the Americas at KKR,

who serves as chairman of the S&S board (KKR purchased S&S from

Paramount Global last fall.)

"This could be a board meeting," Sarnoff said, "since all of the Simon &

Schuster employees are now shareholders." Loud cheers erupted from the

audience. Sarnoff said he was honored to have known the previous leaders

of the publishing house, including Dick Snyder, Jack Romanos, and

Carolyn Reidy: "Tonight we remember and honor her," Sarnoff said of

Reidy, who died suddenly in 2020

Then Sarnoff introduced S&S president and CEO Jonathan Karp, who

welcomed everyone and joked, "We're going to have to sell a lot of books

to pay for this party." He spoke of Max Schuster and Richard Simon's

first book, The Crossword Puzzle Book, published (of course) in 1924,

and their promise to "publish good books and only good books. Books that

we have read and about which we are generally enthusiastic."--a credo to

which Karp adheres. He then proudly held up a proclamation from Mayor

Eric Adams that April 9 was "Simon & Schuster Day." The inaugural song

to start the dancing was Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" (she's the

daughter of Richard Simon, co-founder of the 100-year-old institution).

Many happy returns, S&S! --Jennifer M. Brown

I can't imagine LOTR as a musical...it must be wonderful. I wish I could get to Chicago this summer to see it. 

 

On Stage: The Lord of the Rings--A Musical Tale

The Lord of the Rings--A Musical Tale,

which opened last year in the U.K. will stage its U.S. debut

in Chicago this July. Deadline reported that the production, based on

the books by J.R.R. Tolkien and directed by Paul Hart, begins

performances July 19 at The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare Theater

https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscQbZlr4I6a81J00lTg~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6nBC5f2poMLg-gVdw, running through September

1. An international tour will follow, with venues and dates to be

announced in June.

"I can't wait for this next step in the epic journey of The Lord of the

Rings as we craft this new staging for the U.S. premiere production with

Chicago Shakespeare Theater for Chicago audiences," Hart said. "We loved

creating this version which was retold from the perspective of the

Hobbits at The Watermill and will now be expanded far beyond those

horizons. It will be thrilling to share with new audiences

internationally as part of this next stage."

 

I love Shelf Awareness Editor Robert Gray's take on books and book adaptations and all things related to reading. Here's his take on the latest spate of historical book to TV adaptations. Though our Apple + streaming subscription has lapsed, I'm hoping to get it back soon so that I can watch Franklin.

 

Robert Gray Binges History TV Adaptations

Though I'm no historian by any definition, I do read history

books occasionally, and am addicted to film and TV adaptations. In fact,

I've been on something of a historical viewing binge lately

The most recent example is Franklin, premiering today on Apple

TV+ with the first three episodes, to be followed by one new episode

every Friday through May 17. Starring and executive produced by Michael

Douglas, the eight-part limited series is based on Stacy Schiff's book A

Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America. The

creative team includes writer and executive producer Kirk Ellis (John

Adams) as well as writer and executive producer Howard Korder (Boardwalk

Empire).

Although I tend to be an anti-binge-watching TV traditionalist (patience

is an underrated viewing pleasure), I've already seen the complete

series thanks to the small miracle of advance screeners. Franklin is a

great ride, and Douglas brings just the right blend of wit,

intelligence, charm, mischief, and susceptibility to temptation to the

role. A tip of the chapeau as well to one of my favorite actors,

Thibault de Montalembert as the shrewd comte de Vergennes.

As far as the ages-old book vs. screen adaptation debate goes, I've

never been a fan. Franklin is in fact a case of a series actually

prompting my interest in reading Schiff's book, not to decide which is

better but for further details. That's a good thing.

The series begins in December 1776, when the already legendary Franklin

embarks on a secret mission to France at the age 70. Without any formal

diplomatic training, he is tasked with convincing King Louis XVI to

underwrite America's troubled revolution against England. The eight-year

mission eventually leads to the Franco-American Alliance of 1778 and the

peace treaty with Great Britain in 1783, but in the TV series, the long

journey to those monumental results plays out on a deceptively smaller

canvas of back room negotiations (albeit fancy back rooms), personal betrayals, frustrating stalemates, and ongoing seductions (political as well as romantic).

The Lights of Sugarberry Cove by Heather Webber is a dense but short romance/cozy mystery that has southern charm and a lot of weepy 'family finally uncovers secrets and tries to heal' moments. Though the story was engrossing from the get-go, I found myself mired in the bog of "character oversharing" and "family flashbacks" more than a few times. Here's the blurb: The Lights of Sugarberry Cove is a charming, delightful story of family, healing, love, and small town Southern charm.
Sadie Way Scott has been avoiding her family and hometown of Sugarberry Cove, Alabama, since she nearly drowned in the lake just outside her mother’s B&B. Eight years later, Sadie is the host of a much-loved show about southern cooking and family, but despite her success, she wonders why she was saved. What is she supposed to do?

Sadie’s sister, Leala Clare, is still haunted by the guilt she feels over the night her sister almost died. Now, at a crossroads in her marriage, Leala has everything she ever thought she wanted—so why is she so unhappy?

When their mother suffers a minor heart attack just before Sugarberry Cove’s famous water lantern festival, the two sisters come home to run the inn while she recovers. It’s the last place either of them wants to be, but with a little help from the inn’s quirky guests, the sisters may come to terms with their strained relationships, accept the past, and rediscover a little lake magic.
 

Though the author and those who blurbed the book lean heavily on the idea that there's "magic" throughout the book, the only real evidence that there is of magic is a poorly remembered drowning by the main female protagonist, Sadie, who is saved from the local lake after being under for 10 minutes, and when she's revived, she has "sparkling" white hair, though she's only a child. Her sister, LC, has a long-running feud with their exacting mother, and way too much time is spent with the two of them sniping at each other. Though both Sadie and her sister are grown-ass women, they both act like immature teenagers who have no idea why their lives are so unfulfilling. Sigh. Cliches about the importance of family ensue, ad nauseam. The men are all weird but buff guys with names like "Buzzy" and "Camp," though the one obnoxious toddler in the book is named Tucker and his dog is Nigel. At only 261 pages, this book is an easy afternoon's read. For that reason alone (being concise isn't popular in fiction nowadays) I'd give this book a B, and recommend it to anyone who likes Hallmark Channel romance movies and Southern stories as good as sweet tea on a hot summer's day.

 

Everyone is Beautiful by Katherine Center is another short Southern fish out of water story with romance and some realistic juggling of three small children while trying to find yourself and integrate into a new East Coast community. Here's the blurb: Lanie Coates’s life is spinning out of control. She’s piled everything she owns into a U-Haul and driven with her husband, Peter, and their three little boys from their cozy Texas home to a multiflight walkup in the Northeast. She’s left behind family, friends, and a comfortable life–all so her husband can realize his dream of becoming a professional musician. But somewhere in the eye of her personal hurricane, it hits Lanie that she once had dreams too. If only she could remember what they were.

These days, Lanie always seems to rank herself dead last–and when another mom accidentally criticizes her appearance, it’s the final straw. Fifteen years, three babies, and more pounds than she’s willing to count since the day she said “I do,” Lanie longs desperately to feel like her old self again. It’s time to rise up, fish her moxie out of the diaper pail, and find the woman she was before motherhood capsized her entire existence.

Lanie sets change in motion–joining a gym, signing up for photography classes, and finding a new best friend. But she also creates waves that come to threaten her whole life. In the end, Lanie must figure out once and for all how to find herself without losing everything else in the process.

Katherine Center’s Everyone Is Beautiful is a hugely entertaining, poignant, and charming new novel about what happens after happily ever after: how a woman learns to fall in love with her husband–and her entire life–all over again.
 

Though I rejoiced in the more realistic portrayal of a mother's life (having babies takes a huge toll on the mind, body and spirit), I disliked Lanie's very laid-back attitude toward disciplining her three sons when they went about destroying their home every day. I never would have put up with that kind of behavior from my son, even as a toddler, because it's incumbent on parents, usually mothers, to teach children right from wrong, appropriate vs inappropriate behavior and the consequences of destroying their parents belongings and their home. I also, like Lanie, had a son who, as a toddler, was a biter. This was short-lived because a behavior specialist we'd been going to for a completely different reason explained that children who were frustrated with their ability to put things into words often bit their parents or other children (USE YOUR WORDS, was our mantra with Nick), and that they didn't realize that they were hurting the person they were biting, so we took to yeowling "OUCH" whenever Nick would try and bite us. This would lead him to cry, and because he didn't want mom or dad to be in pain, he stopped biting altogether. We also had consequences for bad behavior, and if there was a tantrum of screaming and thrashing around in the store, my husband or I would immediately take our son out to the car and explain that he wasn't allowed to go back to shopping or be in a store with us until he stopped pitching a fit and bothering other shoppers. Nick, being an extrovert who loved to shop, soon became a model child who charmed food samples from every clerk he met. But Lanie seems completely incompetent, as does her husband, in telling her children NO. Still, I loved this book's lovely ending, and Center's prose is evocative and moves swiftly along her sleek plot. I'd give this book an A-, and recommend it to any mother who feels she's lost her sense of being and her sexuality after having children.

 

The Memory Library by Kate Storey is what is now called "Women's Fiction" because it's a novel with strong female protagonists looking for themselves and often looking to the past to figure out where it all went wrong, and how to repair it. Here's the blurb:

For forty-two years, Sally Harrison has been building a library.

Each year, on her daughter’s birthday, she adds a new book to her shelves – with a note in the front dedicated to her own greatest work.

But Ella – Sally’s only child – fled to Australia twenty-one years ago after a heated exchange, and never looked back. And though Sally still dutifully adds a new paperback to the shelves every time the clock strikes midnight on July 11th, her hopes of her daughter ever thumbing through the pages are starting to dwindle.

Then disaster strikes and Ella is forced to return to the home she once knew.

She is soon to discover that when one chapter ends, another will soon follow.

All you have to do is turn the page…

Journey through the pages of this heartwarming novel, where hope, friendship and second chances are written in the margins. Perfect for book lovers everywhere and fans of Sally Page’s The Keeper of Stories.

 

I felt so bad for Ella and Sally in this book, because their estrangement was based on a complete misunderstanding that could have been averted if they'd just talked and listened to one another. Ella, who lionized her father (whom it turns out was a major philandering asshat) found a letter that her mother wrote to a friend while at her father's funeral, and Ella assumes that the man in the letter is someone her mother was having an affair with (not true...they'd been corresponding for years), so she packs up and moves to Australia and wants nothing more to do with her last surviving parent. But the two finally get the chance to bury the hatchet when Ella comes home and finds the room that her mother turned into a library in complete disarray due to water damage caused by her mother's burgeoning dementia (she left the bathtub faucet on). There's plenty of heartwarming moments in the book, and some romantic ones too, but I liked the way that the community that Sally had supported rallied around her in her time of need and got everything worked out. The ending was certainly a tear-jerker. I'd give this book a B, and recommend it to those who have repaired estrangements with their parents toward the end of the parents life.

 

Scarlett Legacy by Shelli Roswarne is a paranormal "werewolf" romance that has some unintentionally funny moments and times when readers will almost believe that the fairy tale "Little Red Ridinghood" is real. Here's the blurb: 

Natalia doesn't believe in fairytales. Until she's thrown headfirst into one. Now she has to trust a big bad wolf with both her life and her heart.

Natalia is done with men. Her cheating scumbag of an ex-boyfriend just the latest in a line of disappointments. She's definitely not going to be taken in by a sexy Scotsman with an honest-to-God castle, a disturbing affect on her libido, and a shit-ton of secrets.

Damian knows she's his fated mate. He's waited his whole life for her after all. But Natalia doesn't believe in destiny, or wolf shifters, and she sure as hell won't trust him to keep her safe. But if she doesn't then her life and his whole pack are in danger.

Scarlett Legacy is the first in the Highland Wolves series, a set of stand-alone but interconnected paranormal romance stories. If you like fairytale retellings and sexy Scotsmen in kilts, then you'll love this fast-paced shifter romance.

 

Due to my long-term fascination and love for all things Irish/Scottish and Welsh,I figured this novel would be right up my alley. My problem with it, though, was that the hottie Scottish Werewolf protagonist Damian was an arrogant arse who had no respect for Natalia's privacy, both internal and external. From the moment he met her, he invaded her mind and made her feel like she was crazy, which in the real world is known as "Gaslighting" and is considered abusive, and certainly no way to treat a woman you're trying to woo. His possessive actions were also more creepy than sexy, and his failure to explain to her that she could shapeshift while wearing the red cloak put her life and that of other wolves in danger when they were hunted by a radical anti-wolf sect. Of course the sex scenes were detailed and somewhat "paint by numbers" from what I've read in other romances, but the whole "I will die without you, you're my destined mate" mularky strains my credulity to the breaking point. Still, I'd give this revamped fairy tale a B-, and recommend it to anyone who likes wolf shifter stories, and egotistical, domineering alpha males.