🔥 Hotter than Helen of Troy

July 28, 2026View Online | Join All Access | Listen

 New achievements in weird synergy: library reading app Libby has a book club partnership with the L.A. Lakers, and the latest selection is the viral LitRPG, Dungeon Crawler Carl.

Readers in 12 Los Angeles-area library systems, including LAPL, LA County Library, Santa Monica Public Library, and Pasadena Public Library, can access book 1 in the series with no waits or holds through August 9. That’s a big deal, huge, because waitlists in many systems are in the thousands. Take that, reading crisis!

Spread the word. Share this email with friends.

THE HEADLINE

Homer scholar torches Nolan’s Odyssey

This might be a first. The London Review of Books was down for a few hours yesterday morning after traffic to Emily Wilson’s review of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey crashed the site.

ICYMI: Wilson, the first woman to publish an English translation of the epic poem, is atop bestseller lists as interest in the 3,000-year-old story is hotter than Helen of Troy.

Wilson’s review, too, is a scorcher. Right up top:

Unlike some of Nolan’s other films, The Odyssey is not boring, thanks to the source material, which is impossible to mess up entirely. It’s a family-friendly audiovisual spectacle, like an elaborate Fourth of July fireworks display, and with about the same level of narrative and emotional depth.

Wilson also credits the source material for the fact that the film has more female characters than Nolan’s past work, though she notes that, “none of them has much to say, in contrast to the characterisations in the poem.”

Weighing in on the culture wars, Wilson torches Nolan’s casting choices in an inversion of right-wing criticisms:

The race-neutral casting of Nolan’s Odyssey was inevitably deplored in some quarters. But there is nothing progressive about it. Most of the non-white actors, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Himesh Patel, Corey Antonio Hawkins, Travis Scott, play versions of the Black best friend, whose only role in the drama is to provide aid to the white protagonist.

What about the dialogue? Wilson has no problem with Nolan’s choice to use contemporary American English, but she finds the execution “relentlessly expository, humourless and flat,” which just about sums up her reading of the whole project. No character or set piece gets a pass.

And yet: Wilson demonstrates the rarest of skills in these unnuanced times, holding her critique alongside appreciation for the ways the film is driving a return to cinemas and generating new interest in an ancient book during “a time of declining literacy and the ‘death of the humanities.'”

 Wherever you land in the book vs. movie debate (hear our reactions here), the whole piece is worth your time.

NEW RELEASES

Family, fear, and fossils

We’re all over the map, literally and metaphorically, with these week’s standout new releases.

 A mother and daughter rebuild their life together following the dissolution of their family and find unexpected connections to the past in a touching and beautifully-wrought novel from an award-winning writer.

 A Pulitzer finalist games out the worst-case scenario and delivers a thoughtful dose of existential dread.

秊 Love…finds a way in a steamy new STEMinist enemies-to-lovers romance about dueling paleontologists who team up to stop a rival.

❗️ Also notable: Bloomsbury has reissued Anthony Bourdain’s crime novels in a 3-in-1 paperback.

See more of this week’s most notable new releases.

TOGETHER WITH DAW BOOKS

Galaxy-spanning, mind-expanding sci-fi

Heart-pounding action and cosmic strangeness collide in The Demon Star, a propulsive science fantasy epic from Jesse Aragon.

On a ruined planet oppressed by eldritch gods, a rebel leader forces his son to become the vessel of a god-killing demon. Caught in a conflict spanning galaxies and millennia, two unlikely allies must decide whether to save the child, their world, or themselves.

Fans of Adrian Tchaikovsky and Alastair Reynolds will love this high-stakes narrative about personal salvation, moral corruption, religious heresy, and the fate of the universe itself.

ZERO TO WELL-READ

It was a pleasure to burn.

Picture this: book banning is rampant, huge screens playing mindless slop dominate home living rooms, and people would rather zone out with drugs and entertainment than deal with the world around them.

Those aren’t (just) the week’s biggest headlines; they’re key elements of the 21st-century society Ray Bradbury predicted way back in 1951.

You probably know Fahrenheit 451 as the book in which firemen don’t put out fires but start them in homes where people are found to be hiding books.

Yes, and: in the future Bradbury imagined, book bans were a symptom, not the disease itself.

This classic novel is about intellectual freedom, the ties between authoritarianism and addictive technology, and the siren song of thinking for yourself.

 Get fired up to revisit one of our most important, and most frequently banned, books with the crew at Zero to Well-Read.

ADAPTATIONS

The queer legacy of Matilda (1996)

Today is the 30th anniversary of Matilda, the 1996 movie adaptation of the Roald Dahl novel, directed by Danny DeVito.

I loved the movie as a kid, but when I saw it recently as an adult, I realized something: this movie is campy as hell. Almost all the major adult characters are so over-the-top they seem like drag personas.

As soon as I noticed, it seemed to unlock the queerness at the heart of the story, which is perhaps the reason I’ve always liked the movie more than the book.

There’s a reason sapphics hold Matilda in such high regard. While Miss Trunchbull may resemble a villainous butch stereotype, what queer woman can resist a queer-coded villain?

And then there’s Miss Honey, the first crush of many a young sapphic. She quietly looks out for her students who need extra support, and at home, she’s living the cottagecore lesbian dream.

Matilda, of course, is played by bicon Mara Wilson. When asked why lesbians love Matilda so much, she mentions the queerness of a children’s movie that prioritizes found family over biological family, saying,

“It was one of the few children’s films to show a strong, resilient female character overcome adversity and a family that did not understand her to create her own family and her own happiness through hard work and friendship.

Also, they all have crushes on Miss Honey.”

-DE

TOGETHER WITH VIZ MEDIA

An incredible adventure begins when Pazu, an engineer’s apprentice, spies a young girl, Sheeta, floating in the sky, held aloft by a glowing pendant. Together they explore the secrets of Laputa, a flying city constructed by a long-lost race of people. But their quest won’t be easy, as soon they’re pursued by greedy air pirates, the military, and secret government agents, who all seek the power Sheeta alone can control.

Castle in the Sky was the first feature film produced by the legendary Studio Ghibli, and this complete retelling captures its beautiful animation and joyous storytelling.

LIBRARIES

A monumental ode to knowledge, discovery, and imagination

The Los Angeles Central Library is celebrating its centennial this year with a record-breaking exhibit: the world’s largest pop-up book.

Named “Luceros y Penumbras” (bright lights and partial shadows), the exhibit was crafted as a “monumental ode to knowledge, discovery, and imagination.”

The book was constructed from paper, adhesive, fabric, and other materials traditionally used to make books.

It weighs over 1,800 pounds and measures a whopping 31 feet by 20 feet when open, surpassing the previous Guinness World Record (which was 29’ x 18’).

The project was commissioned as part of Central 100, a year-long celebration of the centennial taking place all around LA.

Chicano graphic artist and printmaker Daniel González designed the installation with help from paper engineer Matthew Reinhart, with original art inspired by iconic LA imagery, the library’s history, and his own personal experience.

The exhibit is housed in the rotunda of the Richard J. Riordan Central Library, where it will remain on view through November of this year.

Also on display are other items from the library’s Toy Moveable collection, an archive of over 2,000 pop-up books and objects.

The Central Library houses more than 10 million items in its extensive collection, making it the third-largest library in the country. Side note: it has a fascinating history, including an infamous case of arson that would have been front-page news had Chernobyl not happened just days before.

Read more about the exhibit and centennial celebrations., VD

LITERARY FICTION

Tales of writerly obsession

photo credit: Lizzie Buehler

Lizzie Buehler is a translator (The Disaster Tourist, Art On Fire, Table for One) and the author of The Obsessed, out today from Putnam. Below, she recommends four autobiographical tales of writerly obsession.

I Love Dick by Chris Kraus: This novelist’s protagonist (also named Chris) becomes infatuated with her husband’s friend, Dick, but instead of trying to suppress her feelings, she succumbs to them completely, talking at length about the fixation with her husband, beginning an epistolary correspondence with Dick, and ultimately turning her entire life into a sort of performance art centered on her obsession. I love how Kraus depicts obsession as a vehicle by which someone can discover and empower herself.

How Should a Person Be? by Sheila Heti: The object of obsession here isn’t a specific person, but rather the titular question. Heti’s protagonist is desperately searching for an answer. How does a young artist live their life without losing their creativity, curiosity, or sanity? The nebulous and meandering nature of her searching is what makes this book so satisfying. I think every lost twentysomething artist should read it.

An I-Novel by Minae Mizumura, translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter: What does it mean to be a writer in a language other than English, especially as English’s influence creeps increasingly into global literary traditions? Mizumura’s novel follows a literature graduate student in the US who has decided to move home to Japan and become a writer in Japanese. Its thoughtful and brooding narrator can’t get the following questions out of her head: What makes a language distinct? And where do we draw the line between influence and contamination?

The End of Eddy by Édouard Louis, translated by Michael Lucey: Eddy’s obsession is getting out of his current circumstances. Poor, gay, and relentlessly bullied in the rural French town where he grows up, he seems incapable of embodying the masculine ideal portrayed by his family and neighbors. When he realizes that academic pursuits are a way out, he dives in wholeheartedly, but this creates another divide between Eddy and his origins. As Eddy becomes increasingly educated, the classist structure of French society separates him from his family in ways he hadn’t expected. This novel is sometimes uncomfortably dark, but simultaneously depicts both one person’s mind and a society’s ills with such beauty.

TOGETHER WITH THRIFTBOOKS

Looking for the best books of 2026? You’ve come to the right place. ThriftBooks has selected 140 of the best books of the year so far across today’s most popular genres, from literary fiction and contemporary novels to romance, mystery, fantasy, young adult, children’s books, and non-fiction.

Whether you’re searching for an award-worthy novel, the latest BookTok favorite, an unforgettable thriller, or an inspiring non-fiction read, this curated list highlights the standout books readers are talking about in 2026. Every title is available at ThriftBooks, where you’ll find millions of new and used books at prices you’ll love.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Beatrix Potter, born July 28, 1866

Did you know? A 1903 Peter the Rabbit stuffed animal was the first licensed product based on a fictional character.

CRITICAL LINKING

You are now free to roam about the internet

 The best sci-fi books of the century are very queer.

️ Snag your own copy of the screenplay of The Odyssey.

 Get the dish on how Stevie Nicks really feels about Daisy Jones and the Six.

 Listen to 10 excellent celebrity memoirs narrated by the authors.

 Browse all of Book Riot’s newsletters to keep up with all the latest book news and recommendations.

END NOTES

Written by Rebecca Schinsky, Vanessa Diaz, Danika Ellis, and Jeff O’Neal. Thanks to Vanessa Diaz for copy editing.

Did someone forward you this email? Sign up here.

Got a tip, question, comment, or story idea? Drop us a line: thenewsletter@bookriot.com.