Book Twitter was rocked by an epic scandal this week. When the New York Times published on Wednesday its best-seller lists for the week of Sep. 3, members of the YA literary community were alarmed to see Lani Sarem’s Handbook for Mortals, the debut novel from a first-time author and publisher, displace Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give at the top of the list. When YA author Phil Stamper and designer Jeremy West started questioning the list’s legitimacy on Thursday, it unleashed a Book Twitter saga that ultimately inspired the Times to revise its list. Read More...
Proposition: What makes a king great? Is it someone who is willing to fight to the death to protect their people, like Aragorn in Lord of the Rings? Perhaps someone who's "free to roam around all day" and "do it all my way," like young Simba dreams of in The Lion King? Or, as Aaron Sorkin posits in his shining Broadway revival of Lerner & Loewe's Camelot, is it nothing to do with divine providence and everything to do with having the courage to sow the seeds of a brighter tomorrow, even if you may not live to see them bloom? Read More...
Chris Perfetti wasn't surprised at all to learn his Abbott Elementary character, Jacob Hill, used to be part of a traveling improv storytelling group, Story Samurai. "It makes total sense," he tells EW of the performance troupe, which visits the school in season 2's third episode. "Absolutely, of course, yeah, that is definitely how Jacob spent his summers between college or high school." The episode centers squarely on Mr. Hill, who is invited by the group to perform with them during the visit to Abbott; Ava (Janelle James) can't wait to capture potentially embarrassing video for her socials, while Janine (Quinta Brunson) tries to persuade him otherwise to spare his feelings. Read More...
