Happy Pub Day!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Open Book Nook discussion of The Girls Who Grew Big.

And a special thank you to Jordan (CompletelyBooked) for being a wonderful host!

If there is a book you would like to discuss or an author you would like us to invite to an upcoming conversation, let us know!

Just like old Clubhouse, you can also host your own Nooks with friends on Bookum!

Also, check out our Author Talks Podcast with Legendary Entrepreneur George E. Johnson and his Co-Author Hilary Beard on his new book “Afro Sheen”

At 98 years old Mr. Johnson shares his life story, including starting Johnson Products Company, funding the iconic show Soul Train, creating breakthrough products such as Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen, and becoming the first Black-owned company on the American stock exchange!

Enjoy!

This Week’s Stories:

• 📚 Upcoming Nook Conversations

•  📺 Book World Goes Hollywood Pt. 2

• 📖 New Book by Gayle Feldman

This Week On Bookum:

Well, speaking of Nooks, TV shows, and movies…

Next week we are hosting two exciting conversations.

On the sci-fi shelf:

Join us next Tuesday, January 20th at 7:30 PM EST to discuss the phenomenal book Stranger Things: Lucas on the Line by Suyi Davies Okungbowa.

The conversation will be hosted by the always insightful Tyreke Wesley.

If you are a Stranger Things fan, definitely join us for the discussion.

And on the romance shelf:

Join us next Wednesday, January 21st at 7 PM EST to discuss the current #1 movie on Netflix, Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation.

We will discuss the movie and the book in an Open Nook.

The conversation will be hosted with the exceptional Hannah Lisa Lohr.

Join one or all of the conversations next week live on Bookum [Nooks].

This Week in The Book World:

Let’s be real… We all love a sequel. The book world is going Hollywood not just on the screens but also on the pages.

Have you noticed an increase of collaboration within the book space? [Please nod yes for the sake of the bit☺️]

Enter the Celebrity Co-Author Era.

What’s that, you might ask… roll the trailer

It’s quite simple. Take an established bestselling author [for example, James Patterson] and attach a celebrity, influencer, or actor with a built-in distribution and mass appeal [Dolly Parton].

This crossover of the two worlds creates a slam dunk for IP (Intellectual Property) for future shows, TV, etc.

In October, we saw Reese Witherspoon team up with New York Times bestselling author Harlan Coben for their book Gone Before Goodbye. Not only did the book spend multiple weeks on the New York Times Best Sellers list, it has also already been in talks to be adapted.

It is also important to mention Harlan Coben is the most adapted author on Netflix, with hit shows such as Missing You, The Woods, and The Stranger. Strategic partnership!

James Patterson himself has books coming out with YouTube superstar Mr. Beast and an EGOT winner, Viola Davis (who also has a book imprint called JVL Media).

Even the infamous M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, the Split series) got in on the action with his book Remain with Nicholas Sparks, released in October 2025. The movie for said book is set to be released in theaters this October.

Book content creators and book clubs are not exempt, either. Sunnie (a company under Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine) launched a book club for the next generation, (teenagers and young adults), led by content creators such as Raegan Revord (Young Sheldon), Kimmybooks, Pressley, Aymansbooks, and more.

Safe to say the convergence between the book world and Hollywood is becoming symbiotic.

If you are a creator or author, there quite literally might not be a better time then now to be in the book space. Keep sharing and amplifying the books you love… You never know where they might go next!

(There’s also the trend of mini vertical dramas sparked on Tiktok that Hollywood is investing MILLIONS in, but maybe we will save that for a pt 3.)

Credited Source: https://substack.com/home/post/p-183941300

This Week in Publishing:

Every now and then there comes a time when you gotta read a book about books, and this might just be the book.

Gayle Feldman has spent over 24 years working on an authoritative biography of Bennett Cerf, co-founder of the American publishing firm Random House, and the book Nothing Random is finally out!

Summary:

“The story of the legendary Random House founder, whose seemingly charmed life at the apogee of the American Century featured an epic cast and left an enduring legacy.

At midcentury, everyone knew Bennett Cerf: witty, beloved, middle-aged panelist on What’s My Line?, whom TV brought into America’s homes each week. They didn’t know the handsome, driven young man of the 1920s who’d vowed to become a great publisher, and a decade later, was. By then, he’d signed Eugene O’Neill, Gertrude Stein, William Faulkner, and had fought the landmark censorship case that gave Americans the freedom to read James Joyce’s Ulysses.”

As always, if you enjoyed this week’s newsletter, please share it with others. Every share helps and keeps us growing!

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Happy Reading!

Download Bookum on Apple or Android Here!

See you next week!

Footnotes (Aka other articles we are reading and Bookum content):

Tune into the Bookum Creators Talk Podcast with Coach Drew Thursday at 11AM EST live on Bookum - www.bookumapp.com

Jason and Travis Kelce announce new book -https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/jason-travis-kelce-announce-new-book/story?id=129206572

Dior Just Paid a Book Influencer to Model their Book Cover Pieces - https://www.instagram.com/p/DTfkyZWCAQy/?igsh=ZnNleGdxbTM1YWh2