Hello spring! Now that it’s warmer out, I’ve been spending time reading outside again and it’s delightful! There’s also a new header image on the front page as well to ring in the new season. Yay!
It’s been a while since I’ve done a wrap-up post, and there’s so much news and new releases out, so it seemed like it was a good time to survey the scene, so here’s what’s new.
Bookish News
A.J. Finn New Yorker Exposé | Did you guys catch that A.J. Finn exposé that was published in the New Yorker last month? So nuts. I liked The Woman in the Window, so I was disappointed to see that A.J. Finn is so (understandably) reviled within his own industry for essentially being a fraud. The fake accent thing is just weird. I’m also wondering if this is going to have any impact on the Woman in the Window movie with Amy Adams (which is already done filming).
Also, I thought one of the claims in the article was a little suspect. Saying that The Woman in the Window plagiarized the movie Copycat struck me unfair (the premise is similar but the plot of the Woman in the Window is totally different).
Hulu’s Catch-22 Adaptation | Hulu finally released a trailer for the upcoming Catch-22 6-episode limited series. I’m not sure what to make of it. The production quality looks great, but it just seems like a really difficult book to properly capture on film. I actually just finally read Catch-22 not too long ago, so expect that discussion (I feel like it’s weird saying you’re “reviewing” a seminal literary classic) incoming. Will you be watching this show? (See Catch-22 on Amazon.)
The Bibliofile News
A quick announcement for the Five Feet Apart Giveaway, the prize went to Lori! Additionally, I actually went ahead and gave away a second copy of the book (the one they sent for my personal use) in a second raffle just for people who I know are frequent readers-slash-commenters. That copy went to Rosi! Thanks to everyone who participated, and thank you all for reading this blog! :)
New Releases
There are a bunch of notable new releases this month, but here’s the two that I’ve been eyeing:
New Release | Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid – So, this is apparently what everyone’s reading at the moment. Daisy Jones & the Six (released March 5, Riverhead / Penguin Random House) tells the story of the rise and fall of a fictional 70’s rock and roll band. It’s got a VH1’s Behind the Music feel to it since it’s told as an “oral history” from a pastiche of perspectives, and it’s apparently fantastic if all the reviews are accurate.
I just started reading this, so I haven’t really formed an opinion yet. I’m not much of a 70’s rock aficionado — that’s before my time — and I’ve never been enamored of the rock ‘n roll lifestyle, so I’m not sure if I’ll love it as much as other people but I guess we’ll see. It’s by the author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and was chosen as the March 2019 pick for Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club. Reese’s production company is also developing the story into a series for Amazon.
New Release | Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi – The reviews for Gingerbread (released March 5, Riverhead / Penguin Random House) have generally been positive, but not overwhelmingly so. The consensus seems to be that the plot is a little all over the place or hard to follow.
However, the premise interests me. It’s about a teenage girl who sets off to find her mother’s long-lost childhood friend, Gretel. It’s influenced by the story of Hansel and Gretel, but not really a retelling and has elements of magic realism in it. I’m on the fence about picking this one up, but I’ll be following the reviews. Oyeyemi also wrote Boy, Snow, Bird.
Odds and Ends
The Recruitment | I don’t generally review indie books on the blog, but I came across this entertaining short story (an excerpt from The Thing Is) by indie author Andrew Carter, which I thought was worth sharing. Anyone who’s ever had to apply for or do a shitty job can relate, so give it a read if that sounds interesting to you!
As a sidenote, I strongly prefer it when indie authors offer up a sample chapter or some type of substantial excerpt on their sites if they want people to consider reading or reviewing their books. What do you guys think? I know I will pretty much never read an entire random book of a random author, but will almost always browse a sample chapter if there’s an interesting premise and someone sends it to me.
Get It While It’s Hot
The Girl He Used to Know Preorder Giveaway | St. Martin’s Press is offering a free signed bookplate for anyone who pre-orders The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves before April 2nd.
Requests for inclusion on the The Bibliofile Wrap-up can be sent to notes@the-bibliofile.com. Third party links may include affiliate links. Happy Reading!
I’ve heard so much about Daisy Jones and the Six! Very excited to read it.
it’s fun so far, and seems like it’ll be a pretty quick read, so I’m feeling positive about it!
Oh that’s good to know! Looking forward to reading your review :)
The trailer looks good, it might be time for me to read the book again, thanks for all the information.
you’re welcome, and thanks for dropping by!
great wrap-up!
Great wrap up! I also strongly prefer it when indie authors include a sample to potential readers/reviewers. With indies, you don’t know if you’ll be picking up something well written that just couldn’t find a home or a mess, and even short samples can be really revealing.
Thanks Michael! Glad I’m not the only one that feels this way! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Great summary of everything! I’ve been meaning to read “Catch-22” for years, so maybe the series will finally make me get on top of that lol. Also, I’m currently reading “Gingerbread” and I’m finding it very enjoyable. Just a quick correction- the main character’s friend’s name is Gretel, not Hansel, though that’s a super easy mix up! Can’t wait to see what you review next!
Thank you! Oooo thank you for the correction, much appreciated! And good to hear you’re enjoying the book. I think there’s a decent chance I’ll end up reading it, but maybe I get through some other stuff first. Thanks for following along!
Lovely header image😊
Thank you so much! :)
Excellent wrap-up piece and thanks so much for the mention, Jenn! I really appreciated your advice re. sending sample chapters to reviewers too. All the best!
Thanks Andrew, you’re welcome and best of luck! :)
I missed the brouhaha about A. J. Finn. That sounds pretty interesting. One cannot copyright a premise. Thanks for the post.
omg Rosi, it’s so dramatic (apparently he lied constantly to all his coworkers) and Sophie Hannah seems to have written a book based on him (as he was her editor). I definitely recommend giving the article a read (it’s linked in the post).
I wanted to read “The Woman in the Window” until I read a recent New York Times article on the author, and it was mentioned that he may have plagiarized the book “Saving April” written by Sarah Denzil. Pretty disappointing, and it’s no longer on my TBR.
Hey, thanks for bringing that to my attention. I didn’t see that until now. That sounds more likely to be a case of plagiarism than what the New Yorker article said. Hmm, I’ll have to look into it more, but if that’s true, that’s pretty damning. Thanks again for dropping a note, much appreciated. :)
Oh, and thanks for picking me for the book! Can’t wait!
I’m shipping it out on Saturday — sorry for the delay, just been looking for a chance to get to the post office!
This is an awesome wrap-up Jennifer! We read The Woman in the Window for book club this month and I happened to catch the expose before I picked it up. I had such a hard time being okay with the fact that I actually enjoyed the book with him being so shady. I didn’t hear about the Copycat copyright issue but one of my coworkers said it is a rip off of the movie Rear Window, but I didn’t see that at all. I didn’t hear about the Catch-22 adaptation, that makes me super excited because I’m reading that for book club later this year~
Hi Anna, thanks so much! Yeah, I have so many mixed feeling because even if he was an extreme jerk as a coworker, ultimately he wasn’t like committing crimes and the book (at least in my opinion ) is legit. I don’t think that copyright issue is legitimate at all. That said, it’s disappointing to hear since I don’t doubt that some of the allegations in the article are true. Have fun book clubbing! I sort of wish I’d read it in a group setting too, since Catch-22 definitely has a ton to chew on. Thanks for your thoughts!
I had not heard about the New Yorker article. Thanks for letting us know. I started it but now I’m saving it for lunchtime reading today! Have a great weekend!
Hi Jane, it’s a doozy, so get ready for lots of literary gossip, haha. Hope you have a fantastic weekend too and thanks for dropping by!
It was unbelievable!! It read almost like fiction. Have a great weekend!
Haha, glad you enjoyed it! Cheers!
I was bummed when I didn’t snag “Daisy Jones & the Six.”
ooo sorry to hear it!
I’ve got Daisy Jones and Gingerbread but haven’t started either yet. Trying to keep my expectations low (esp. for Daisy Jones, which has had so much hype). I can’t wait to hear what you think!
I’m waiting to see what a few more people say about Gingerbread before I pick it up! It has had very mixed reviews
Yeah I saw that stuff about Finn- crazy! I’m definitely curious about the catch 22 adaptation. Great wrap up!