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Welcome to Today in Books, where we report on literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.
Let’s Get Critical
In advance of the National Book Critics Circle Awards coming up this Thursday, members of the NBCC board have been sharing short reviews of the 30 finalists, and the good folks at LitHub have gathered them all in one place. By virtue of being by and for book critics, the NBCCs tend to be the most arty and inside-baseball of the “big” book awards, so it’s always interesting to see where they overlap with and diverge from other awards, bestseller lists, and Book Riot’s more general-reader focus. I’m personally pulling for Daniel Mason’s North Woods, easily the most surprising, inventive novel I read last year, and Safiya Sinclair’s memorable memoir How to Say Babylon.
How You Dune?
Speaking of book critics, you know something meaningful has shifted in literary culture when the New York Times’s books editor is going deep on Dune. Epic sci-fi and fantasy have been popular for a lot longer than traditional book media has taken them seriously, and I will never get tired of seeing formerly-staid publications acknowledge that a book can be fun, readable, and good, actually. We’ve come a long way, baby!
DC to Honor Creator of First Trans Superhero
In 1993, Rachel Pollack made history by introducing the world to Coagula, the first trans superhero. This year, DC will honor Pollack, who died last year, with a 96-page special edition to be published as part of the DC Pride line-up celebrating LGBTQ+ creators and stories. Pollack, a writer of many interests and talents, also wrote a beloved guide to Tarot and created the Shining Tribe Tarot deck, which is being re-released next month.
Get Yer Cheap Ebooks Here
ICYMI, we at Book Riot scour the internet for the best ebook deals every day and share them with you at Book Riot Deals. Today’s features include Normal People for $1.99, which might be just the price to get me to finally get on the Sally Rooney train.
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