This originally appeared in our Today in Books daily newsletter, where each day we round up the most interesting stories, news, essays, and other goings on in the world of books and reading. Sign up here if you want to get it.
Spotify’s Next Audiobook Offering is a Weird One
I have heard that audiobooks are doing well at Spotify (perhaps to the chagrin of the folks who don’t like either/both of Spotify’s payment schemes or the idea of audiobook streaming at all). And the announcement of an Audiobooks Access Tier sounds like the kind of thing that, if you like audiobooks, you would also like. As I do. But I do not like this plan. It is priced at $9.99, which is $1 cheaper than the premium plan. The only difference is that in this new plan, your music and podcasts will have ads in them. The number of audiobook hours (15) stays the same. So you save a buck to listen to ads if you ever listen to music or podcasts. Now I guess if audiobooks are the ONLY thing you are using Spotify for, a buck is a buck. Seems like modest temptation. Perhaps it is targeted at the 1-book-a-month plan from Audible, which is $14.95. But then you have to count hours, which stinks, even if most audiobooks that most people listen to are under 15 hours. All in all a weirdly rinky-dink move.
Neuromancer Coming to Apple TV
If you made a list of hugely influential but as of yet unadapted novels, Neuromancer would be way up there. If you know the term cyberpunk, it is because of this novel (which was also the first novel to achieve the SF triple crown, winning the Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick Awards). Is it a bit of a twist of the knife that it will finally be adapted by a giant, multi-trillion-dollar corporation? Yes. Will Apple spend the dough to make it look fantastic? Absolutely. Will it be good? One never knows.
How Larry McMurtry’s Book Collection Ended Up in the Lobby of Hotel Owned by Chip and Joanna Gaines
Nice little Paris Review piece about going to see the next resting place for Larry McMurtry’s legendary book collection (or at least a part of it). It started out as a book-by-the-foot request from Joanna that Chip realized he could fulfill by buying one of the most famous book collections in the U.S. Sounds like it makes a great for-the-gram moment in the lobby of this hotel, which I guess is what they were going for.
The “It” Books of March
It’s the time again: Rebecca Schinsky and I are back to try to pick the “It” book of March.