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Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.
The L.A. Times Book Prize Finalists
I was so confused when I saw Andrew Garfield’s name among the top mentions of L.A. Times Book Prize Finalists until I realized it was for the Audiobook Production category (for the full cast production of 1984 in case you’re curious). Anyway, also nominated–truly, as always–is Percival Everett in the Fiction category for James, Attica Lockein Mystery/Thriller for Guide Me Home: A Highway 59 Novel Nghi Vo in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Speculative Fiction for The City in Glass (I still have to read that one because I love Vo’s writing, but I did read Kelly Link’s The Book of Love, also nominated in that category), Ta-Nehisi Coates in Current Interest for the much-discussed The Message alongside one of my faves Robin Wall Kimmerer for The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World, and so, so many more great writers and books. At a glance, I am really jazzed by this list–there’s a good mix of the usual suspects and writers and works I haven’t seen pop up on every other list. I’m going to have to comb through the finalists again to remind myself of what I wanted to read but didn’t get a chance to last year–let’s hope my TBR survives. The winners will be announced at the 45th Annual Los Angeles Times Book Prizes on April 25th.
Executive Order Abruptly Shuts Down JFK Library
“Folks when we start shutting down libraries in the name of government efficiency, we have got a problem.”
This clapback from Former Congressman Joe Kennedy III was in response to the abrupt closure of JFK Library in Boston prompted by an executive order dismissing federal employees. Visitors had to be escorted out when the library shut down Tuesday afternoon. Similar to many stories of federal agencies who’ve had the misfortune of being visited upon by the chaotic “cost-cutting” measures enacted by the current administration, notice of the dismissal arrived out of the blue and shut down an institution for reasons that are so hard to fathom it makes the brain hurt. While the library reopened to visitors by Wednesday morning, six employees who handled ticketing and public events were fired, leaving senior staff and archivists to volunteer to handle their work in order to reopen. One has to wonder what in the world this accomplished and how much did this disruption cost tax payers?
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Wicked is Coming to Streaming!
Because going to the movies is a rare treat when you’re parenting two toddlers, I ended up paying to rent Wicked (based on the Broadway play based on the book by Gregory Maguire) and I will tell you, that production is big enough to make even a smaller screen viewing special. So, get excited and get ready to belt out the lyrics without worrying about what your neighbor in the next seat thinks (though, from what I’ve heard, this was not a concern to many fans who sang like nobody was listening) because Wicked is coming to Peacock. On March 21st, subscribers will get the movie and a singalong version in addition to other bonus content. Now we’ll all have a way to revisit this version of Oz until November 21st, when Wicked: For Good opens.
WE WERE LIARS is Coming to Prime in 2025
It’s been a decade since E. Lockhart’s beachy YA psychological thriller We Were Liars hit shelves and now an adaptation is coming to a TV near you via Prime Video. Learn everything you need to know about this BookTok sensation before it’s out.
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