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Welcome to Today in Books, where we report on literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.
The Diva Wears Prada
London theater-goers (or should that be theatre-goers?) will have a new show to enjoy this fall. A musical adaptation of The Devil Wears Prada will open in October featuring a score written by Elton John (!) and a brilliant piece of casting: Vanessa Williams will play the epically icy Anna Wintour avatar Miranda Priestly. One can only hope Stanley Tucci, who lives in London, after all, is available to reprise his work as Nigel.
Paris Booksellers Go for Gold
As Paris prepares to host the summer Olympics, booksellers who make up Europe’s largest open-air book market—more than 930 stalls line a two-mile stripe of the Seine—have notched the first big win of the year. Last summer, city police told the booksellers they would have to relocate during the Games because of security concerns, sparking an outcry from vendors and citizens alike. Now, with just a few months to go, French President Emmanuel Macron has reversed the order.
“The Seine, our main river, flows in between rows of books,” said Alexandre Jardin, a French writer who was among those who signed the column. “To think the bouquinistes are just booksellers is to understand nothing. They speak to the very identity of Paris and its profound ties to literature. Paris is a city born from the dreams of writers.”
Ask the Question
I haven’t watched last night’s True Detective: Night Country finale yet, but I don’t need to know how it ends to know I’ll be thinking about this season for a while. It may not meet the groundbreaking near-perfection of the McConaughey-Harrelson debut, but Night Country is a vibe and a half. If six episodes isn’t enough time in a haunted, cold place for you, check out these 12 books to keep the creepies crawling.
What A Coinky-Dink
What’s your take on Big Coincidences in fiction? Jeff O’Neal and I dive into that question (inspired by my recent reading of Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar), talk about a bunch of upcoming adaptations, and round up our recent reading on today’s episode of The Book Riot Podcast.
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