Writtten by Sophie.
I am currently in Olympics heaven! They are always the highlight of every 4th summer for me. Hope you are enjoying all the amazing feats of sportmanship as well! And a note: no Bookbits next month, as I’ll be on vacation.
Longlists! The Booker Dozen has been announced, always an important moment in the literary year. The shortlist will be announced on September 16th. And I promised you the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize longlist – and here it is! I’d better get cracking at reading this longlist if I want to make a prediction and blog post by October 1st, when the prize will be awarded.
- Because you can never have enough book recommendations: here are the most anticipated summer (fiction) releases according to The Millions.
A wonderful in-depth interview with Benjamin Labatut, author of The Maniac and When We Cease to Understand the World, both books that come highly recommended by our Bob.
- R.I.P. Dutch grand dame of children’s books Tonke Dragt died on 12 July, aged 93. She was a The Hague native, and her 1962 book The Letter for the King won, amongst many other prizes, the “Griffel der Griffels”, the best Dutch children’s book among the first 50 winners of the main children’s book prize in the Netherlands on its 50th anniversary in 2004. Irish literary light Edna O’Brien also died in July, also aged 93. The Irish Times has a lengthy obituary.
Another interview asks writerly duo Keanu Reeves and China Miéville, who co-wrote BZRKR novel The Book of Elsewhere, about their literary inspirations (Jane Gaskell and Cormac McCarthy, for those keeping score, and their reasons made me want to read them!).
- Lists! Five of the best body horror novels (somehow I think our Sywert would appreciate this list, if he hasn’t read them all already). Or perhaps you’d prefer 5 books about conspiracy theories? Or perhaps novels about art?
I absolutely loved this article about romance and erotica (and the differences between them): “My weeks of reading hornily”. Yay to all the folks who read what they want to, just because they want to.
- Here’s something to sober you up quick, however: it’s 2024, and libraries are being torched by far-right rioters. I simply can’t. But then, look for the helpers (and their book tips), I’ve always been told.
LitHub has a tremendous repository of James Baldwin information. Baldwin would have celebrated his 100th birthday on 2 August, and there are tributes all across the bookish sites. But LitHub’s corner is a fantastic place to start if you want to dive into this amazing, influential writer.
- There are just too many great interviews this month! This one talks to book designer Elisha Zepeda, who has become a TikTok (and Instagram)(@ez.bookdesign on both) star by sharing his design process, and showcasing which covers were chosen versus not. Check out his accounts, his videos are lovely
- And finally, our IrisW made a highlights list of some of the most stunning covers we can think of. If you know of some that ought to be added, let us know via our social media!
