Book Lovers: Meta-textual Romances edition

Step aside, enemies-to-lovers; editor-to-lover may be the newest romantic trope. Romances set in the world of publishing certainly seem to be having a moment, no doubt spurred on by the wild success of Emily Henry’s Beach Read in 2020 and her follow-up, Book Lovers (currently a Peak Pick!), this year. Get out your red pen and get ready for a sweltering summer read with these steamy romances. Who knew publishing could be so hot?

Overworked and underpaid editorial assistant Izzy needs to get her publishing house’s most difficult author, Beau, to turn in his manuscript so she can secure a long overdue promotion, in Jasmine Guillory’s By the Book. Izzy may be in over her head with said writer who’s in just as much of a rut as she is, but as she works with Beau, they discover they may have more than just a deadline to bring them together.

In Kris Ripper’s charming friends-to-lovers romance, Book Boyfriend, PK dreams of being a writer while working as an editorial assistant. PK’s best friend, Art, who he’s secretly been in love with since a drunken college kiss, needs a place to crash after a bad break-up. Unable to have a real-life romantic relationship with Art, PK writes out his HEA dreams. But when the book takes off and everyone seems to be in love with the fictional version of himself, including Art (who doesn’t know PK is the author), PK’s plan to win Art over backfires and he finds himself at risk of losing not only his fantasy HEA, but also his best friend.

Recent and upcoming Book-to-Screen Adaptations

It’s easy to wonder sometimes if there are any new ideas in Hollywood, as so many movies and TV series are adapted from books, plays, comics, etc. But the best adaptations make the original content feel fresh and new, drawing audiences back to the source material. Continuing our tradition of books-to-screen posts, here are some of the latest options for this year’s Book Bingo book-to-screen category.

Several classics have been adapted (again) recently from Jane Austen’s Emma, to Joan Lindsay’s Picnic at Hanging Rock, to Shakespeare’s Macbeth (in a film directed by none other than Joel Cohen). In July, Austen’s Persuasion receives a similar treatment as Autumn de Wilde’s 2020 film Emma, a fresh, cheeky, pastel-infused take on one of Austen’s most problematic heroines starring Anya Taylor-Joy. The latest of many adaptations, Carrie Cracknell’s Persuasion premieres on Netflix on July 15^th, and features Dakota Johnson, Cosmo Jarvis, and Henry Golding in yet another rich, dashing romantic lead. Also worth watching/reading in the classics/historical category is Gentleman Jack, an HBO series adapted from the memoir The Secret Diaries of Anne Lister, or ParkChan-Wook’s 2016 film The Handmaiden, adapted from Sarah Waters’ 2002 novel Fingersmith. 

Paul Gallico’s charming 1957 novel Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, about a London charwoman who falls in love with a client’s Dior dress and decides she simply must have one of her own, is getting a big-screen movie release

#BookBingoNW2022: The Romance of the Bookshop

Anyone who spends time in bookstores knows that they are special places where all kinds of magic can happen, including romance. If you want to get your romance reading in while also checking off that ‘books about books’ category in this year’s Book Bingo, here are some charming (and a few steamy) options.

In How to Find Love In a Bookshop by Veronica Henry, a young woman still grieving the recent death of her father tries to keep his legacy alive even as the bookshop she inherits flounders. Will the help of the residents of their quaint English village (and a certain handsome man) be enough to save the store and her father’s legacy, or will she be forced to sell and say goodbye to her home?

In the steamy romance Met Cute Club by Jack Harbon, bookstore owner and paranormal romance enthusiast Jordan Collins needs to do something to save his romance book club. Enter new and annoying(ly handsome) employee Rex Bailey, who asks to join the book club. Desperate to save it, Jordan and Rex team-up and discover their own Happily Ever After (HEA) along the way.

When introverted and anxious Nina Hill discovers she has a large and annoyingly nearby extended family after the death of her absentee father, in The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman, her life is thrown into chaos. As her anxiety takes over, she becomes so overwhelmed that she can’t believe in the possibility of her own HEA with her hot new trivia team member who is definitely into her. A cute novel about discovering new family and new possibilities in life full of fun trivia and witty banter.

Library as Community

Working in a library during the pandemic has been hard, but not for reasons you might think. It was hard because we had to close to keep people safe and working with people is one of the most primary functions of a public library. What is a library with no patrons? The pandemic and our subsequent closure brought home to me in a new way how important the library’s relationship to its communities are. The library is not just the books, not just the fun programming; the library is the people and the communities we serve. During Library Appreciation week, I wanted to highlight a few books that explore this relationship and demonstrate how necessary libraries are for healthy communities.

The Last Chance Library by Freya Sampson is a heartfelt love letter to the old libraries that may appear sad on the outside (and therefore deserving of funding cuts) but harbor a wealth of community inside. Each character in the novel uses the library in different ways for different reasons, but they all come together to save their little haven.

Cozy Mysteries of the Magical Variety

In the wake of Halloween, All Saint’s Eve, Samhain, and Dia De Los Muertos, there’s quite a bit of magic lingering in the air. The leaves have turned, the weather is harsher, and the nights are chilling. Many peoples view this time of year as the time to honor their ancestors as the veil between this world and the world of the dead is thinner. We are in the liminal time between seasons as the days grow shorter and winter readies its cold, cold breath here in the PNW. The harvest is complete and we are ready to tuck in for the long, dark nights ahead. Cozy mysteries are a prefect genre to tuck in with: light and fluffy with little violence, no gore, and big hearts centered on community. If this sounds like your cup of tea, here are some very magical cozies to cozy up with this liminal season.

Samhain Secrets by Jennifer David Hesse is the perfect book to read this time of year. It touches on the sabbat of Samhain, a Wiccan celebration that coincides with Halloween, which often includes the honoring of ancestors. New junior partner Keli Milanni is disturbed to hear of her free-spirited aunt’s seeming disappearance, she is intrigued. Then a body is found in the woods and her missing aunt’s secrets come to haunt her in more ways than one. This is the 4^th book in the series, but it’s ok to read them out of order.

Murder in G Major by Alexia Gordon is a light mystery featuring African-American classical musician Dr. Gethsemane Brown who takes a teaching gig at a school in Dunmullach, Ireland after a major career letdown. With a delightfully creepy old house and a snarky ghost who wants his murder solved, this is a pitch-perfect first-in-the-series that continues with Death in D Minor.