July 2022

"Even though there's a crime or murder… it's in a nice cottage…. It's a place where you want to be. Especially in these difficult times, times of Coronavirus, pandemic, lockdown…what is going to happen, especially in Europe, with the war in Ukraine…. Books need to be a safe place. It means that the reader will feel safe all the time." 
—Joël Dicker on The Library Love Fest Podcast

Listen in on a conversation between New York Times bestselling author Joël Dicker and his editor Juan Mila. They speak about Joël's upcoming book The Enigma of Room 622. In this book, a burnt-out writer’s retreat at a fancy Swiss hotel is interrupted by a murder mystery, resulting in a metafictional, meticulously crafted whodunit.

“Dicker salutes Agatha Christie even as he drops the reader through one trapdoor into another, so that by the end, we doubt we’ve ever read another novel quite like it. (We haven’t.) Fans of Ruth Ware and Lucy Foley will hug this book in between chapters; the many readers who love Anthony Horowitz’s mysteries will celebrate. And me? I’ll be reading it again.”
—A. J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window 

Listen to the episode here:

The Enigma of Room 622 goes on sale September 13, 2022.

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-Lainey

Hello, librarians!

You voted, they counted, and the winners have finally been announced!

This month, we are thrilled to share that R.F. Kuang's Babel and Claire Douglas' The Couple at Number 9 have been selected for the August LibraryReads list! Additionally, Ilona Andrews continues their Hall of Fame streak with the selection of Ruby Fever. Find out more about these titles here.

Want to hear how our authors reacted to the big news? Listen to our latest episode of The Library Love Fest Podcast to hear their responses:

We have a special treat for you this week! We featured a really insightful conversation between Editorial Director of Harper Voyager David Pomerico and his award-winning author Rebecca Kuang on the podcast. Rebecca (R.F.) writes historical fantasy, starting with the Poppy War trilogy. Her latest stand-alone book, Babel, is a thematic response to The Secret History and a tonal retort to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British empire. The powerful subtitle is: "Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution." In this interview, David and Rebecca speak about their editing relationship, reading looming Goodreads reviews, and what it's like to commit to writing a trilogy. Stay tuned to the end where Rebecca asks David's view on her evolution as a writer. 

There are spectacular quotes coming in:

Listen to the interview here:

Also mentioned when talking about research:

Racial Melancholia, Racial Dissociation by David L. Eng and Shinhee Han

Thank you to David and Rebecca for taking the time to record such a fantastic interview.

Babel is on sale August 23, 2022.

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-Lainey

Hello, librarians!

We are back with another round of titles for your LibraryReads consideration. Find a list of our staff suggestions eligible for the September LibraryReads List here. Reminder: votes for the September LibraryReads List are due August 1st.

-The LLF Team (Virginia and Lainey)

On this episode, Emma Kupor, Assistant Editor at Harper Wave, interviews Yana Tallon-Hicks, author of Hot and Unbothered, available on August 16, 2022.

Listen to the episode below:

Find Yana's Instagram feed, referenced in the episode, here.

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-Lainey