Readers' Advisory News of Note

Scribner has made an app to suggest Stephen King novels. King told The Wall Street Journal, "The technology has outraced my ability to comprehend." It sounds like the Jetsons meets RA. One way to use it is via smart speakers. The app asks questions about a wide range of interests and then offers suggestions. NPR is launching its newest summer reading poll, asking for suggestions of favorite horror novels (and short stories too). Which means, of course, that later this summer, readers' advisory librarians will have a list of sure bets to consider and a ready-made display. Right now it gives advisors something to share and talk about with patrons. Past years have focused on graphic novels and on the Romance genre. Be sure to also check out the July issue of LJ; it contains a preview of horror titles coming in late 2018/early 2019, written by RA expert Becky Spratford. Entertainment Weekly interviews Nalini Singh and offers a visual guide to her Paranormal Romance series, including two works to suggest as starting titles.

Reviews

The NYT reviews Unbound: Transgender Men and the Remaking of Identity by Arlene Stein (Pantheon), Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America by James Fallows and Deborah Fallows (Pantheon: Random), Reporter by Seymour Hersh (Knopf), and Eisenhower vs. Warren: The Battle for Civil Rights and Liberties by James F. Simon (Liveright: Norton). USA Today gives three stars to The Traveling Feast: On the Road and at the Table with my Heroes by Rick Bass (Little, Brown: Hachette). The Washington Post circles back to Pops: Fatherhood in Pieces by Michael Chabon (HarperCollins; LJ starred review). NPR reviews Who Is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht (Tin House), calling it "crisp, lively and subversive."

Briefly Noted

Entertainment Weekly offers "10 more great books from 2018," in a follow-up to their best of the year so far. The 2018 Dublin Literary Award is announced today. The winner is embargoed until 11:50 a.m. but is online already if you want to search for it. Here is the shortlist. The Atlantic has a story on what Amazon is doing to book publishing - and to other industries. The NYT reports on the Twitter accounts of dictionaries. The NYT profiles poet Tim Winton. The paper also features the music group Can, on the advent of the new book All Gates Open: The Story of CAN by Rob Young, Irmin Schmidt (Faber & Faber Social). The Hollywood Reporter interviews the creators of the new MCMLXXV comic. The Washington Post features Laurie Halse Anderson, Speak (FSG). She has a new book forthcoming in 2019, Shout. The PBS NewsHour interviews Andrew Sean Greer, Less (Lee Boudreaux: Hachette; LJ starred review), on writing. Jerry Hopkins, famous biographer of the Doors, has died.

Authors on Air

NPR interviews Lydia Millet, Fight No More (Norton; LJ starred review) and Matthew Polly, Bruce Lee: A Life (S. & S.; LJ starred review). Marilynne Robinson features on The Guardian's Books podcast. Deadline Hollywood reports that The Dark Tower is still in the works at Amazon, as well as The Lord of the Rings adaptation. Ian Bremmer, The End of the Free Market: Who Wins the War Between States and Corporations? (Portfolio: Penguin), will be on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah tonight.

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