Books

Earlier this year, I published my second book, Mỹ Documents. It’s a work of fiction but Verge readers will recognize a lot of things we’ve covered here: the Department of Homeland Security, the legacy of the Vietnam War, and how Google has warped the incentives of the internet. If you want to know more about a novel full of Verge themes (should my next book be about a morally bankrupt FCC chairman?), you can see me talking about it with Ronny Chieng on The Daily Show. Clip below!

Though all of Oz is atwitter in Wicked: For Good’s final trailer, there’s a (literal and metaphorical) storm on the horizon that’s going to pop off when Glinda (Ariana Grande) and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) are reunited.

The latest trailer for HBO’s Welcome to Derry series is chock full of alarming new scenes from the It prequel, but the most intriguing thing about it are its shots of what seems to be Pennywise’s arrival on Earth from space(?) in a massive ball of fire.

There’s no truer sign of the times than romance novel readers breaking the Goodreads recommendations algorithm to suggest On Tyranny to people checking out A Wedding to Protect Her Fortune.

Though the third season of Apple TV Plus’ Foundation adaptation is set to wrap this Friday, the series won’t be coming to an end. Apple announced today that it has renewed Foundation for a fourth season whose production will kick off some time in early 2026.

After months of teasing us all with snippets from It: Welcome to Derry, HBO has finally given the prequel series an October 26th premiere date.

Production on the second season of Netflix’s 3 Body Problem adaptation is now underway, and the show has added Alfie Allen, Claudia Doumit, and Ellie De Lange to its cast.

The Folio Society has chosen Stephen King’s horror opus as the latest book to get one of its stunning collector’s editions. This one features artwork by Jim Burns and a foreword from Guillermo del Toro. It’ll also be both rare and expensive: it’s limited to 500 copies, which cost $825 each. You can grab one here.

The distribution rights to Warner Bros. Japan’s animated adaptation of All You Need Is Kill — Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s 2004 sci-fi novel that inspired Edge of Tomorrow — have been acquired acquired by Gkids. The company plans to put the film in theaters “soon.”

The first lady has announced that the new audiobook version of her self-titled (and suspiciously robotic) memoir was entirely narrated using an AI clone of her own voice created by ElevenLabs.

Co-writer / director Matt Palmer’s Fear Street: Prom Queen is the first of Netflix’s new trilogy of horror features inspired by R.L. Stine’s books, and the movie’s first trailer makes it look like it’ll be a teen-friendly (albeit R-rated) riff on classic slashers when it debuts on May 23rd.

According to Deadline, Netflix has greenlit and is now looking to cast competitors for The Golden Ticket, Eureka Production’s new Willy Wonka-inspired reality series that “will challenge players not just physically, but mentally as they navigate games, tests, and temptations designed to probe their instincts, resilience, and ability to thrive in chaos.”

It’s also the third best-selling book on Amazon. Meta, meet the Streisand effect!

Netflix’s upcoming remake of Stephen King’s Cujo feels poised to tap into people’s newfound fondness of taking their dogs everywhere, and the film might wind up being directed by Darren Aronofsky according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Meta is in the midst of attempting to block a memoir from an ex-employee detailing accusations of misconduct at the company. Behind the scenes, Meta has apparently also been badgering Washington Post book critic Ron Charles, sending repeated emails asking him about his plans to review Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams (you can read a preview of his newsletter below). He writes:

After making his Disney Plus debut in Daredevil: Born Again, Jon Bernthal’s take on Frank Castle / The Punisher is coming back for his own MCU special à la Werewolf by Night and Guardians of the Galaxy. Per Entertainment Weekly, Bernthal will co-write the special’s script with Reinaldo Marcus Green (We Own This City), who will also direct. Details about the special are thin, but Marvel TV head Brad Winderbaum teased it as “a shotgun blast of a story.”

While The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim wasn’t exactly worth a trek to the theater, you might want to check it out when it starts streaming on Max on February 28th.

If you’re trying to stay huddled and warm under the covers while enjoying a good ebook, there are tiny robotic fingers — triggered by a wireless remote you can keep under the blankets — that clamp onto e-readers and tap the edge of the screen to turn the page for you.

Nothing is official until HBO confirms it, but Deadline is reporting that John Lithgow is in talks to play Dumbledore in the network’s upcoming Harry Potter reboot series scheduled to debut some time next year.