Wordcandy Bookshelf

Housekeeping

2012-01-30T08:26:00.001-08:00

As you may have noticed, the Wordcandy main site is currently down. (Well, it's mostly down. You can click over if you want a sneak peek at the new colors and logo, but there's no actual data there.) This would be because we are finally working on our transfer over to the new site, and transferring seven years' worth of literature-related ranting takes time. Here's hoping we'll have everything up and running by the end of the week!

Mister Rogers he isn't.

2012-01-26T13:39:00.000-08:00

The Colbert Report recently aired an enjoyably salty two-part interview with famous children's author Maurice Sendak. Mr. Sendak provides quite the soundbite; I bet Stephen Colbert is sorry he's unlikely to become a reoccurring commentator for the show.

Hipster Hamlet

2012-01-26T11:13:00.001-08:00

If you told me this entire line of books (from Penguin's Puffin Books imprint) was a tie-in for a new series of classic literature adaptations airing on ABC Family, I would totally believe you:

(It's not... at least, as far as I know.)

Growth market

2012-01-23T14:20:00.000-08:00

The Pew Internet and American Life Project just released a "mini-report" on the recent upswing in e-reader purchase and usage. According to the report, the number of Americans owning tablets and e-readers nearly doubled over the past month: from mid-December 2011 to early January 2012, the number of Americans owning a tablet computer and the number of people who identify themselves as e-book readers jumped from 10% to 19%.

Clearly, all those dead-cheap e-reader promotions over the holidays worked.

And we hope they were delicious

2012-01-23T08:15:00.000-08:00

According to the Horn Book Blog, the 2012 Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction has been given to Jack Gantos's book Dead End in Norvelt. When informed of this honor, the stunned Mr. Gantos apparently announced he was planning to celebrate by "eating a bunch of snacks". We approve.

Ooh, fancy...

2012-01-20T07:38:00.000-08:00

The people who created the literature-inspired nail-polish art featured in this slideshow on Flavorwire clearly enjoy both A) more free time, and B) better fine-motor skills than 99% of the rest of people on the planet.

Propitious

2012-01-19T14:44:00.000-08:00

At long last, there is news on the film adaptation of Jeff Smith's Bone. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the project has found a writer (Patrick Sean Smith, creator of the ABC Family show Greek), and director (P.J. Hogan, director of My Best Friend's Wedding and the 2003 version of Peter Pan). I still think there's a solid chance this project will never actually materialize—Warner Bros. has held the rights since 2008 without much movement—but these are definite signs of life.

EW!

2012-01-19T09:30:00.001-08:00

We posted the announcement for the upcoming Hunger Games nail polish line a few weeks ago, but Buzzfeed has just posted a look at the actual colors... and they include a tone called "Foie Gras". Was there a shout-out to goose liver pâté in the books that I've forgotten, or are they just upping the grossness factor for fun?

Could it really be true?

2012-01-18T09:33:00.000-08:00

Will 2012 really bring us a Diablo Cody-penned Sweet Valley High musical? And is the world ready for that much after-school-special-influenced cheese?

Maybe a TV show...

2012-01-17T14:37:00.000-08:00

According to the website GossipCop, Lionsgate Films would really like to find a way to continue the Twilight movie series after the final* installment is released this fall.

*Here's hoping, anyway.

Because she's not meant to be a sex kitten

2012-01-17T09:19:00.001-08:00

I'm never going to be a Stieg Larsson fan, but I was pleased to see that DC's Vertigo imprint will be handling the upcoming Girl With The Dragon Tattoo comic book adaptation, if for no other reason than I'm pretty sure most other big-name comics publishers would feel compelled to re-design Lisbeth Salander until she looked like a goth beer maiden.

Out with the old

2012-01-13T11:53:00.001-08:00

The Barnes and Noble store in Seattle's University Village recently closed, and the Seattle Times is reporting that the furniture chain Room & Board is going to fill at least part of the (enormous) vacancy. I'd never heard of Room & Board, so I looked it up. Most of their stuff is A) way out of my price range, and B) not my style, but I did quite like these pillows, inspired by classic European comic book characters:

Not enough to shell out $49 apiece, naturally. But if they ever went on sale for, say, $19.99 I'd probably be tempted.

Thank you, CGI.

2012-01-12T13:45:00.000-08:00

AbeBooks recently took it upon themselves to "improve" several iconic book covers by sticking cats on 'em. Behold my favorite:

I'm still unclear as to why anyone would bother to do this, but I have admit this take on the floating eyes made me laugh.

Zombie print runs

2012-01-12T08:21:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, Amazon announced that it has launched a new series with well-known librarian and book critic Nancy Pearl. "Amazon’s Book Lust Rediscoveries" will publish print editions of approximately six of Pearl's favorite but currently out-of-print books per year.

We were slightly critical of Ms. Pearl's Book Crush, but we know she shares our love for the long-lost novel Greensleeves, by Eloise Jarvis McGraw, so here's hoping that ends up high on her list of titles to resuscitate.

Onstad holds forth

2012-01-11T08:24:00.000-08:00

Comics Alliance recently posted a great interview with Chris Onstad, creator of our beloved Achewood, which recently revived after a nine-month-long hiatus. One cannot help but notice there are some pointed remarks in the comments section about Onstad failing to deliver the second Achewood cookbook to readers who pre-ordered it, but as we have no way of verifying these complaints we're just going to enjoy the interview itself, which is less fannish and more thoughtful than most.

Another kid series bites the dust

2012-01-10T13:34:00.000-08:00

This seems more than a little late, but Hyperion has finally released the cover art, title, and plot description for Rick Riordan's third and final Kane Chronicles book. According to Barnes and Noble, The Serpent's Shadow will be released on May 1, 2012 and will look like this:

Here's the publisher's plot description:

He's b-a-a-ack! Despite their best efforts, Carter and Sadie Kane can't seem to keep Apophis, the chaos snake, down. Now Apophis is threatening to plunge the world into eternal darkness, and the Kanes are faced with the impossible task of having to destroy him once and for all. Unfortunately, the magicians of the House of Life are on the brink of civil war, the gods are divided, and the young initiates of Brooklyn House stand almost alone against the forces of chaos. The Kanes' only hope is an ancient spell that might turn the serpent's own shadow into a weapon, but the magic has been lost for a millennia. To find the answer they need, the Kanes must rely on the murderous ghost of a powerful magician who might be able to lead them to the serpent's shadow... or might lead them to their deaths in the depths of the underworld.

Nothing less than the mortal world is at stake when the Kane family fulfills its destiny in this thrilling conclusion to the Kane Chronicles.

You can read a (poorly formatted) snippet of the first chapter here. Enjoy!

Mr. Addams, Google says you have arrived.

2012-01-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

How did I miss this? I rarely go a day without Googling something, but I apparently had other things to do last Saturday, January 7th, when the fine people at Google (working with the Tee & Charles Addams Foundation) created this delightful tribute in honor of Charles Addams's 100th birthday:

I'll even pay for a full-price ticket.

2012-01-09T13:53:00.000-08:00

I'm really hoping the Rurouni Kenshin live-action movie gets a decently wide US release, because it looks straight-up awesome:

Not a fake panda suit in sight, thankfully.

Sugary-sweet

2012-01-09T08:22:00.000-08:00

When I first saw this, I totally thought it was a joke:

But no, it's apparently a real how-to guide... but if you need someplace sneaky to stash your "How to Take Over the World" schematics, may I put this forward as a solid bet?

Like they're not going to make money hand over fist...

2012-01-06T08:48:00.000-08:00

According to THR, the American Federation of Musicians intended to picket a shoot of the TV show Mad Men yesterday. I have little interest in Mad Men, but the reason the musicians are angry is actually Wordcandy-related: Lionsgate Films produces both the AMC TV show and the upcoming Hunger Games movie, and they've apparently chosen to score their mega-blockbuster-to-be entirely in Europe–despite filling it with what they describe as “native Americana music".

Designer assistance with your 2012 resolutions

2012-01-05T13:56:00.000-08:00

If you're looking for help with your New Year's resolutions, the To Resolve Project offers a collection of downloadable designer wallpapers—including Matt McCraken's utterly awesome "Read More" design—to help us all stay strong in 2012.

Non-news

2012-01-05T09:20:00.000-08:00

According to NPR, nine of the top ten money-making movies of 2011* were "kiddie" films—movies based on YA books, comics, toys, or pulp fiction. I'm unconvinced by that definition (pulp fiction is automatically for kids now? Has anyone informed Stephen King?), but I'm even less clear on why this qualifies as a surprise. There were virtually identical numbers for 2010 (the top ten included six movies based on children's stories, three non-book-based animated pictures, and Inception) and they're likely to hold true for 2012. Guess what, NPR? People like to watch fun stuff, and comic books and children's stories are actually pretty solid sources of fun material.

*As of mid-December, anyway.

A book club pick with purpose

2012-01-04T09:29:00.000-08:00

NPR's Backseat Book Club pick for January is Christopher Paul Curtis's The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963. According to NPR, the book was chosen because "[it] has the ability to entertain and inform young readers as the country remembers the civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. for the national holiday in his name. It also provides some powerful lessons about following your dreams." I've read it—and unlike most books that aim to entertain, inform, and contain powerful lessons, this one is pretty readable, too.

And I'm sure the Hollywood version will be even deeper and more thoughtful than the original.

2012-01-03T13:39:00.000-08:00

There's a fair amount of big-name casting news out for the upcoming movie adaptation of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game. I've always disliked the book (I was particularly irritated by Card's introductory essay for his "Author's Definitive Edition", which implied that if you didn't like Ender's Game, it was probably because you weren't smart enough to grasp its brilliance), but my brother absolutely loves it, so I'm excited about the movie—well, sort of—on his behalf.

The sincerest form of flattery

2012-01-03T09:10:00.000-08:00

The company that represents the Diary of a Wimpy Kid brand recently won a temporary restraining order against the publisher of two Wimpy Kid-parodying graphic novels: the "Wimpy Zombie" series by Fred Perry and David Hutchison. According to Publishers Weekly, the zombie books strongly resemble the originals, and their publishers didn't include a "parody" stamp.

I'm sorry for Mr. Kinney and all... but I'm so relieved they've run out of ways to "improve" upon Jane Austen. Way to move on to fresh blood, parody publishers! But you might want to hire a lawyer—unlike Jane Austen, living authors are lot more likely to sue.

Christmas money burning a hole in your pocket?

2011-12-29T10:57:00.000-08:00

If you prefer your comics with a side of creepy off-putting-ness, Fantagraphics' 4 Day Sale is currently offering 40% off on overstocked books. There are some solid options on the list, including several collections by our beloved Jules Feiffer.

Ten best?

2011-12-27T11:10:00.000-08:00

This is the kind of year-end list we can get behind: Flavorwire has asked illustrator and graphic designer Andrew Henderson (curator of Lovely Book Covers) to choose the 10 Best Book Covers of 2011.

Half of The Hobbit

2011-12-26T10:42:00.000-08:00

The Hobbit trailer is out (at long last):

Uh... is that a touching moment between Galadriel and Gandalf? Because I don't know if I want to see that.

She must be joking.

2011-12-23T10:54:00.001-08:00

You guys reckon this will go way, way on sale after Christmas? Because I would only pay $325 for a clutch (even a super-cool one, like this) if it came stuffed with at least $250 in cash.

Note: According to this helpful site, there's a Romeo and Juliet clutch, too.

[Source]

Yet more Bond

2011-12-22T14:26:00.000-08:00

And speaking of upping the grimness factor in popular movie franchises, Daniel Craig is reportedly in talks to star in five more James Bond films.

Doom, gloom, and brunettes

2011-12-22T09:59:00.000-08:00

The Batman: The Dark Knight Returns trailer is out:

I'm certain there's some thoughtful comment I should be making about what this movie has to say about the current state of politics and the economy, but all I was really thinking about was why Christopher Nolan hasn't cast any blonde women in these movies. Does he think blonde hair is too cheery for his unrelentingly grim world, or is he trying to avoid any comparisons between his leading actresses and Tim Burton's versions with Kim Basinger and Michelle Pfeiffer? Because, trust me, Mr. Nolan: no one is going to confuse your work with Burton's. One of you has a sense of humor.

Because of Winn-Dixie goes musical

2011-12-20T15:51:00.000-08:00

According to Playbill, songwriter Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening) and Legally Blonde lyricist Nell Benjamin are adapting Kate DiCamillo's children's novel Because of Winn-Dixie into a Broadway-aimed musical. I have no idea what kind of competition there is on the kid-friendly-musical front (...is Lion King still running?), but this sounds like the kind of thing that grandparents will be taking their grandchildren to for years to come.

Katniss's manicure

2011-12-20T09:48:00.000-08:00

Uh... when I think about potential Hunger Games merchandising tie-ins, nail polish is not the first thing that leaps to mind. However, China Glaze has announced that there will be a line of HG-themed polishes, with 12 colors inspired by the various districts, and with Effie Trinket serving as the line's "face". (I'm hoping for a "Dystopian Taupe" shade for Katniss's home district.)

Is that a Gremlins shout-out I'm hearing?

2011-12-19T13:02:00.000-08:00

This one I will be seeing:

Rating downgrade

2011-12-19T10:01:00.000-08:00

According the Horn Book Blog, Akashic Books is releasing a G-rated version of their best-selling humor book Go the [Expletive] to Sleep entitled Seriously, Just Go to Sleep. This confuses me. My mom once told me about a gag book called The Wit and Wisdom of Spiro T. Agnew, which was, of course, filled with blank pages. This sounds like the equivalent of re-writing that book to contain the actual musings of Spiro T. Agnew.

Skip Beat! goes live-action (but remains pretty cartoony)

2011-12-15T11:23:00.000-08:00

The website Koala's Playground has posted a 20-minute-long "preview" (although it's more like promotional music video... on crack) of the upcoming Taiwanese drama adaptation of my beloved Skip Beat!. It's not subtitled, and the video quality is terrible, and the whole thing looks totally ridiculous, but I am so excited about this show.

The anti-James Bond

2011-12-14T14:47:00.000-08:00

And speaking of dour movies, the new adaptation of John le Carré's 1974 espionage novel Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy has hit theaters:

It's getting great reviews, so if you'd like to see something that takes your mind off listening to Wham! singing Last Christmas for the ten millionth time this year*, this might not be a bad bet.

*Seriously, do all grocery stores play this song on repeat, or am I just paranoid?

Schmaltzy

2011-12-13T12:23:00.001-08:00

The new trailer is out for the upcoming adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer's novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Behold:

Dead dads, 9-11 victims, and WWII survivors? Yep. Won't be seeing this one either.

The gift of library signage

2011-12-12T14:54:00.000-08:00

One last gift idea:

I totally covet this vintage-style wooden "Library" sign from Three Potato Four. The sign was inspired by public library signage from the 1950s, and costs a (relatively) reasonable $38. If I hadn't already given my nearest and dearest an insanely detailed Christmas wish list, I'd ask for this... although my birthday is in January, and we may be revisiting the issue.

A worthy sacrifice

2011-12-12T08:40:00.000-08:00

The always-entertaining design blog Swiss-Miss recently introduced me to Isaac G. Salazar's "Book of Art" pieces. Behold:

Pretty amazing, huh? Being me, I immediately wondered how you could dust something like that without damaging it (I'm sorry; I have the world's least artistic soul), but Salazar's work is cool enough that I would admire it even if it was dusty.

I hope those were all recycled.

2011-12-09T15:11:00.000-08:00

According to Refinery29, Australian skincare line Aesop's New York store was constructed out of 400,000 strips of the New York Times. Newspaper strips, it turns out, make for remarkably beautiful building materials.

What's with the New Age cover art?

2011-12-08T16:32:00.001-08:00

If you're looking forward to the upcoming Lisa Kleypas novel Rainshadow Road, the website HeroesandHeartbreakers.com has an exclusive excerpt of the first two chapters. They're also running a sweepstakes to win an Advance Reader Copy of the book, which won't be out until February.

Congratulations...?

2011-12-08T08:29:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again, dear readers: time for the 19th annual Literary Review "Bad Sex in Fiction" Award. This year's prize was given to David Guterson's novel Ed King, which they describe as a "re-imagining of the Oedipus myth in the second half of the twentieth century". The winning paragraphs are simply too grody for me to re-post, but if you're interested you can read them here.

Just don't eat lunch first.

Them's fighting words

2011-12-07T10:54:00.000-08:00

There appears to be a lively feud brewing between comics-world superstars Frank Miller and Alan Moore, sparked by their very different views on the Occupy Wall Street movement. Both authors are throwing around some pretty inflammatory statements, but I think Miller sounds notably crazier... so go Team Moore!

Why so far away, May 8th?

2011-12-06T15:34:00.001-08:00

At long, long, long last, the book cover and plot description for the final (*sobs*) Sisters Grimm book are out:

"In the final volume in the Sisters Grimm series, Sabrina, Daphne, and the rest of the Grimms and their friends must face off against the Master to decide the fate of Ferryport Landing—and the world. When Mirror fails to escape the barrier using Granny Relda’s body, he turns to his plan B: killing all the Grimms so that the magical barrier collapses. In the meantime, Sabrina has gathered the other magic mirrors as advisors on how to deal with their mortal enemy. They tell her to join forces with the Scarlet Hand against Mirror, in exchange for offering all the citizens of Ferryport Landing their freedom. This final chapter is the end of the road for several beloved characters, but the conclusion is sure to satisfy devoted fans of the series."

Gasp!

2011-12-06T08:08:00.000-08:00

We're with AustenBlog on this one: regardless of British crime novelist Lindsay Ashford's claim that "Jane Austen was poisoned by arsenic", Austen is still dead, Sanditon and The Watsons are still unfinished, and they're all likely to remain that way... so it's tough to care much one way or the other.

Cusack has made worse-looking movies

2011-12-05T13:25:00.000-08:00

Okay, so this movie isn't based on a book, but it does feature a fictionalized version of Edgar Allan Poe:

Sex sells (even olive oil!)

2011-12-05T10:12:00.000-08:00

Presented without comment:

Wordcandy's Holiday Gift List: 2011 Edition

2011-12-02T09:18:00.000-08:00

It's December, and that means it's time for Wordcandy to release our annual Holiday Gift Guide! We've chosen a variety of deeply awesome potential gifts for the bibliophiles on your shopping list, any (or all) of which we would be delighted to receive ourselves.

1. Chatty Nora posters (approximately $20)

These pen-drawn posters feature quotes from authors ranging from Mark Twain (above) to Dr. Seuss.

2. Coralie Bickford-Smith's F. Scott Fitzgerald "Hardcover Classics" editions ($25, but seemingly difficult to find)

Bickford-Smith is the designer responsible for Penguin's gorgeous line of Hardcover Classics, but these Art Deco-inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald editions might be her best work yet.

3. Caroline Hadilaksono's Harry Potter prints ($50)

We've geeked out over these prints before, so we were straight-up thrilled when Ms. Hadilaksono released a third image (above).

4. Book Rest Lamp (between $80 and $50, if you can catch it on sale)

Pretty snazzy, huh? It's unclear if this book lamp provides enough light to actually, y'know, read by, but it looks great.

5. Scout Books' "Good Inks" editions ($4)

The fine people at Scout Books have released a limited collection of short stories, each written by a classic American author and illustrated by a contemporary artist. They're eye-catching, and you can't beat that price.

6. White's Books "Fine Editions" (approximately $17)

How have I missed these? This UK publisher hasn't released many books in this line, but I need to own this edition of of Pride and Prejudice. Like, yesterday.

7. Library Candles ($25)

Of course, we're hoping these scents are inspired by the authors' work, rather than the authors themselves... because we suspect Edgar Allan Poe didn't actually smell that great.

8. Penguin's "Classics Deluxe" editions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach ($15)

Yes, I need to own these, too. And it's a good thing I'm stopping here, because the "buy one gift for someone else; buy one gift for myself" formula is sounding more and more attractive right now...

Oooh, cheesy!

2011-12-01T14:28:00.000-08:00

The first full-length trailer is out for Disney's John Carter (based on the "Barsoom" series by Edgar Rice Burroughs), and it looks like it's staying pretty close to its space-western roots:

Barring truly jaw-droppingly bad reviews, I fully intend to see this.

A nod to the pulp factor

2011-12-01T08:14:00.000-08:00

Publishers Weekly did a great post recently about the many and varied cover art choices for John Steinbeck's East of Eden. I can't say I agree with their statement "If you haven’t yet read East of Eden, you’re in for a treat", but I do have to say that this cover is almost (but not quite) awesome enough to convince me to give Steinbeck another chance:

Neil Gaiman gets animated

2011-11-29T13:19:00.000-08:00

Last year, it was an episode of Arthur. This year, it's an episode of The Simpsons. Do they give Emmys to people who guest-star on cartoons, and if so, is Neil Gaiman gunning for one?

Revisiting Firefly

2011-11-29T11:11:00.000-08:00

If you're a big Joss Whedon fan, you should save some wall space for these awesome (and totally affordable) vintage-travel-style posters designed by Adam Levermore-Rich and inspired by Whedon's short-lived sci-fi series Firefly:

Aren't those great? You can find them (as well as several other designs in the same series) at ThinkGeek.

Sickening

2011-11-28T14:30:00.000-08:00

According to ABC News, Twilight: Breaking Dawn-induced seizures are a Real Thing, so if your significant other is dragging you to see it for the third time this week, you can now fake a plausible medical emergency to get out of watching at least part of it. (I don't know when they get to the birth scene, which is apparently what triggers the seizures, but I'm assuming it's fairly late in the movie. Still, every little bit helps, and this should at least get you out of watching it a fourth time.)

Politically pointed

2011-11-28T08:42:00.001-08:00

Well-known fantasy author Ursula K. Le Guin has written a depressing-but-effective short story called "Ninety-Nine Weeks: A Fairy Tale". You can read it (for free!) at the Book View Cafe.

At long last, more Cold Comfort

2011-11-22T13:27:00.000-08:00

For the first time since its original publication fifty years ago, a reprint of Stella Gibbons's short story collection Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm is going hit bookshelves next week. Cold Comfort Farm is one of my all-time favorite books, but I've only seen this prequel on AbeBooks, where an original edition can run you between $200 and $4000(!!!) dollars. I had no idea a reprint was in the works, so I'm regarding this news as a glorious, totally unanticipated holiday gift from the literary gods, for which I am sincerely grateful.

The holiday meal of your nightmares

2011-11-22T10:18:00.000-08:00

Publishers Weekly has posted a great list of The 10 Weirdest Cookbooks, just in time to remind you that whatever you're stuck eating this Thanksgiving, it could always be worse.

Seriously. Much worse.

Beating a dead, zombi-fied horse?

2011-11-21T09:50:00.000-08:00

I haven't looked up the sales numbers for The Death Cure, the third novel in James Dashner’s bestselling Maze Runner trilogy, but I'm assuming they're amazing... seeing as I just opened a press release announcing the fourth book in the, er, trilogy. According to the fine people at Delacorte Press, a prequel to the series called The Kill Order will come out on August 14, 2012.

Drink like a vampire

2011-11-18T09:09:00.000-08:00

If you're both A) a big Twilight fan, and B) of legal drinking age, you might want to celebrate today's big movie release with People magazine's suggestions for Twilight-themed cocktails, including "The Edward" and "New Moon".

Need to open a secret passageway, Scooby-Doo-style?

2011-11-17T13:57:00.000-08:00

Okay, I want one:

B.Light Design has created a "Secret Passageway Switch" that uses a hard-bound book (without damaging it) to conceal its true function as an electrical switch. Sadly, it's already sold out and it costs $50, but I can dream, right?

Ranma 1/2 gets promoted

2011-11-17T08:27:00.000-08:00

Rumiko Takahashi has drawn a poster for the upcoming live-action adaptation of her classic manga Ranma 1/2, and while I'm feeling most of it, what is up with Genma's panda suit?!? I understand not wanting to go nuts with the CGI... but did they really need to go with the rattiest-costume-left-on-the-Halloween-clearance-aisle look instead?

[Source]

Kitschy!

2011-11-16T08:21:00.000-08:00

The trailer's out for the other Snow White adaptation, too. I don't think anyone is going to confuse these two movies:

Would-be authors take note

2011-11-15T13:28:00.000-08:00

There's another writing competition in the works: the Serendipity Literary Agency and the Gotham Writers’ Workshop are hosting their second "Young Adult Novel Discovery Competition". Aspiring YA authors should check out the details here.

A story in stuff

2011-11-15T12:16:00.000-08:00

Speaking of NPR, they recently posted an enthusiastic review of Caroline Preston's The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt, a novel told via a scrapbook-style collection of vintage memorabilia. (The reviewer describes it as "[possibly] the first novel to thank 300 eBay sellers in the acknowledgments". See an excerpt here.) I'm way too lazy to put together a scrapbook or collect anything myself, but I always enjoy seeing evidence of other people's obsessions, so I'll be keeping an eye out for Ms. Preston's book.

A modern classic

2011-11-14T14:44:00.000-08:00

Much to my delight, the second book for NPR's Back-Seat Book Club is Norton Juster's The Phantom Tollbooth, one of my all-time favorite books. The Back-Seat Book Club is technically aimed at readers aged 9 to 14, but trust me: The Phantom Tollbooth is simply too awesome to be limited by its "middle reader" label.

Suppressed emotions and leg waxing

2011-11-14T08:38:00.001-08:00

The first full-length trailer is out for The Hunger Games, and it focuses far more on the interpersonal drama than the kid-on-kid violence. Probably a smart move, considering I still have no idea how they can make this movie without giving it anything less than an R-rating.

Snow White goes goth

2011-11-11T09:02:00.000-08:00

It pains me to admit that I will probably see this:

Drive a superhero

2011-11-10T14:27:00.000-08:00

Starting at the end of the month, Australian comic book fans will be able to adorn their cars with a range of classic DC superhero images. The plates are not cheap (starting at $195 AUD), and decorating your vehicle with a famous symbol of excessive speed like The Flash seems like a bad idea... but I notice they're promoting a plate with an image of the Looney Tunes Road Runner, too, so maybe I just don't understand the Australian bureaucratic mind.

[Via BuzzFeed]

So gross

2011-11-10T08:15:00.000-08:00

Um...

Apparently, this is a real thing.

Ridiculously adorable... but also just ridiculous

2011-11-09T10:48:00.000-08:00

I spend a lot of time thinking about punctuation, so I covet these Kate Spade Air Quote Mittens with a fiery passion.

Sadly, I would need these gloves to be at least 75% off before I would even consider buying them. $65 for a pair of mittens is straight-up crazy.

Abridged beyond belief

2011-11-08T13:56:00.000-08:00

These "Baby Lit" books are cute, right? And the Jane Austen one at least got a good review on AustenBlog.

But how could anyone make Romeo and Juliet into a baby board book (even if it's just a "counting primer")?

Romance Writing 101

2011-11-08T11:35:00.000-08:00

Aspiring romance novelists take note: Harlequin is kicking off their second "So You Think You Can Write" contest this week. (Actually, I suspect this event would benefit more than just budding romance novelists. Harlequin is also offering a ton of "interactive assignments" that sound like they would help any would-be writer, regardless of genre.)

Miss Havisham: surprisingly young and hot

2011-11-07T14:59:00.000-08:00

I just discovered that Helena Bonham-Carter and Gillian Anderson will be playing the role of Miss Havisham in two separate adaptations of Great Expectations due out next year. I'm sure they'll both be great, but what is up with this casting? These actresses seem awfully young for the role*, and they're both gorgeous (although Bohnam-Carter isn't afraid to hide her light under a very quirky bushel). Does this mean that both adaptations will be trying to up the sex appeal?

*While I don't think Dickens actually defined the character's age, Miss Havisham is usually depicted as being elderly. However, considering Dickens's views on women, he might consider mid-40s as practically doddering....

That's some very, very tiny font.

2011-11-07T09:22:00.000-08:00

I'm totally delighted by the images from PosterText, a company that designs posters featuring the contents of various classic novels*, artistically arranged to depict an important scene or element from the book. Check out their take on War of the Worlds (above). Wouldn't that look great on, say, a dorm room wall? Way better than an Ikea copy of Klimt's The Kiss.

*Or at least large portions of them, like the first 20 chapters of Wuthering Heights.

Taking liberties

2011-11-04T10:22:00.000-07:00

Very few of the recent film adaptations of Dr. Seuss's books have been successful, but I'm wondering if the people behind the upcoming movie The Lorax even read their source material. This is an environmental parable, right? So what's with the romance storyline and the "That's a woman?" jokes and the 3-D?

One or the other

2011-11-03T16:11:00.000-07:00

According to a Belgian judge, Tintin in the Congo isn't a racist book, just a "reflection of [author Hergé's] time", and therefore cannot be banned on racial grounds.

Of course, it was a racist time, but apparently the book can't be both.

A classic British mystery

2011-11-03T13:35:00.000-07:00

Man, I don't understand the English. Apparently, two of England's biggest newspapers (the left-wing Guardian and the right-wing Daily Mail) are all up in arms over Pippa Middleton's plans to publish a book on event planning. Now, I don't really follow the coverage of Britain's royal family, but... isn't this woman an event planner? So why is the idea of her writing a book about event planning—not a tell-all about, say, the Queen's secret predilection for Ugg boots and Starbucks Frappuccinos—so horrifying? I get the claims of nepotism and all, but I totally fail to see what sacred law of Good Taste this woman's book is breaking.

Blood feud? I'd like to think so.

2011-11-02T15:54:00.000-07:00

Heh. According to THR, Anne Rice is not a fan of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. Ms. Rice recently wrote:

"[My characters] feel sorry for vampires that sparkle in the sun... They would never hurt immortals who choose to spend eternity going to high school over and over again in a small town--anymore than they would hurt the physically disabled or the mentally challenged. My vampires possess gravitas. They can afford to be merciful."

Pot? Meet kettle. Anyone who willingly sold the rights to the 1994 film adaptation of Interview With the Vampire has no room to be talking about gravitas.

Also, I'm pretty sure Ms. Meyer can dry any tears she might be shedding over Ms. Rice's comments with her massive pile of money. Y'know... in case you were worried about her delicate feelings.

Practicing what she preaches

2011-11-01T14:03:00.000-07:00

Nora Roberts has a new book out, and while I am (once again) suppressing my irritation over the $16 price tag, I was interested to learn that the story was directly inspired by the historic inn Roberts and her husband recently bought and renovated. I still have my doubts about the book*, but the inn sounds adorable—the decor was inspired by famous literary couples, so you can choose your room based on your novel of choice: Pride and Prejudice, The Thin Man, Jane Eyre, The Princess Bride...

*$16 for a paperback is NEVER OKAY.

Additional Crazy

2011-11-01T08:40:00.000-07:00

Several years ago, Jennifer Crusie wrote a collection of interconnected short stories for her MFA. The characters in the collection eventually formed the basis for Crusie's full-length novel Crazy For You, and while one of the short stories used to be available on her website (and was awesome), it was eventually taken down. Happily, the entire collection is now going to be released as an ebook, due out before the end of the year.

The Magic Tree House gets animated

2011-10-31T14:58:00.000-07:00

The full-length trailer is out for the upcoming Japanese anime adaptation of Mary Pope Osborne's mega-popular Magic Tree House books. The film will open in Japan on January 7, 2012, and I suspect it will turn up in American theaters eventually. This series has sold more than 92 million books worldwide, so it seems like it would be well-worth the cost of dubbing... unless, of course, there's already a competing English-language edition in the works*.

*There isn't, as far as I know. But give it time.

In honor of Halloween...

2011-10-31T08:39:00.000-07:00

According to NPR, William Blatty has written a "revised and polished" edition of his novel The Exorcist. In addition to the stylistic updates, the recently-released 40th Anniversary Edition also includes a full chapter of new material.

Note: NPR is also offering a short but intriguing list of horror recs from classic literature, none of which I've read. I think I'll skip the Herman Melville collection (stories about "the hopeless patience of the tortoise who is hunted for its meat" sound a little too horrific for my taste), but I might give the Louisa May Alcott book a shot.

Science fair season is coming up

2011-10-28T11:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the fine people at io9, I now know that Britain's Royal Society has recently opened up their historical archive of journals to the public, free of charge. The Royal Society has been publishing peer-reviewed scientific literature since 1665, so that's quite a bit of information (around 60,000 scientific papers), including articles written by Ben Franklin, Charles Darwin, and Isaac Newton.

A step in the right direction

2011-10-27T13:15:00.000-07:00

According to Scientific American, a Dutch researcher has developed a font designed to decrease the number of errors made by dyslexics while reading. The font emphasizes the differences between certain letters commonly confused by dyslexics ("d" and "b", for example), making it easier for dyslexics to distinguish between them.

Dressing up

2011-10-27T09:07:00.000-07:00

If you've ever dreamed of looking like a disturbed computer hacker with multiple facial piercings (and who hasn't?), start saving now: on December 14th, budget retailer H&M will be releasing a clothing line inspired by the "Lisbeth Salander" character from The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

Ooh, just in time for Christmas!

It's almost Halloween, right?

2011-10-26T13:24:00.000-07:00

Slate recently posted an article about the original Pinocchio story, which they claim is considerably creepier than the 1940s Disney version. Now, normally this wouldn't come as much of a surprise, but I've always found even Disney's take on that story to be totally disturbing, so I guess I was a little surprised to learn how much stuff they'd actually left out...

Big book, big price

2011-10-25T14:41:00.000-07:00

Baking Bites has posted a largely-positive review of the Cook's Illustrated Cookbook, which apparently boasts over 2,000 recipes from the magazine's twenty-year history.

The book costs forty dollars, so I'll be waiting for it to go way, way on sale. (Like, 50% off.) I have a lot of respect for Cook's Magazine, but for forty bucks I'd want the book to come with actual food.

He probably has his reasons.

2011-10-25T08:18:00.000-07:00

This weekend's big geek news item was the announcement that Joss Whedon has made a mysterious adaptation of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. I'm not sure why Whedon was compelled to film it in secret, and I'm even less sure why he chose the dorky promotional image featured above.

However, I am not the best person to judge. As far as I'm concerned, no one should bother filming Much Ado About Nothing at all. Seriously, I cannot stand that play. Stories about wronged women suffering in silence are one of my least favorite things, so all the Hero-and-Claudio scenes leave me nauseated, and I've always found Benedick and Beatrice's "merry war" take on flirtation insanely irritating. (On the up side, at least they deserve each other...)

The Game of Triumphs, by Laura Powell

2011-10-24T13:19:00.000-07:00

15-year-old Cat Harper, the orphaned protagonist of Laura Powell's debut novel The Game of Triumphs, is not your typical wide-eyed fantasy heroine. After witnessing a murder, streetwise, pragmatic Cat becomes an unwilling participant in the Game of Triumphs, an ancient magical contest based on the rules of the Tarot. Success in the Game can win a player fame and fortune, while failure means suffering and loss, but Cat is only a "chancer"—the Game's equivalent of an accidental bystander. With no prizes on offer, Cat has every intention of simply ignoring the weirdness the Game has dragged into her life... until she discovers a horrifying link between the Game and her parents' deaths, twelve years earlier.

The Game of Triumphs kicks off with a bang (Cat is neck-deep in danger well before the end of the first chapter), and the hell-for-leather storytelling pace is maintained throughout. There is an impressive amount of Tarot-related information stuffed into the novel, but the author deftly balances exposition with action. We wish Powell had spent a little more time exploring her characters' pasts, but The Game of Triumphs is only the first installment in a series, so we're hoping the next book will manage to be equally entertaining and a little richer on the character-development front.

On one final note, may we say how pleasant it was to read a fantasy novel about a dangerous game that doesn't feature the majority of participants dying horrible deaths? We understand that The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner were best-sellers, but we have been sent piles of gore-filled YA novels this year. Even stories of pearl-clutching horror are boring when done to excess, so we want to commend Ms. Powell for having the imagination to propose different—but still meaningful—stakes.

Review based on publisher-provided copy.

The Prince Tudor Theory

2011-10-24T08:29:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but I have my doubts about a movie that employs (SPOILERS*) murder, deception, bribery, and an incestuous affair between Queen Elizabeth I and her illegitimate son, all to explain why there is really no chance Shakespeare might have written Shakespeare's plays. Now, I understand why people question how the son of an illiterate glove-maker could have penned some of the world's best-known works of literature, but I'm a lot more comfortable buying "Shakespeare as Shakespeare" than I am with some of the more hair-raising conspiracy theories surrounding his authorship... including this one.

*At least, potential spoilers, because I haven't actually seen this movie, nor am I likely to.

Impressive... but morally wrong

2011-10-20T08:29:00.000-07:00

I'm never thrilled when people take real books and transform them into fake books, and it's even worse when the books in question are actually nice. That said, these Book Charging Docks are kind of snazzy:

You win some

2011-10-18T13:24:00.000-07:00

Publishers Weekly is reporting that Viz Media is moving closer to near-simultaneous English and Japanese manga publication, although English-language readers will be limited to the digital format. Viz is planning to launch Weekly Shonen Jump Alpha, a "weekly digital serialized manga anthology", in January of 2012. The digital anthology will eventually replace Shonen Jump (its print-media equivalent), which will be phased out by March.

This news will come as a blow for readers who prefer their manga printed on actual paper, but it should also come as a boon for people who hate waiting, as the turnaround for Japanese-to-English publication will now be a mere two weeks.

Dude must have a lot of time on his hands

2011-10-18T09:10:00.000-07:00

Speaking of classic manga adaptations, AnimeNewsNetwork has announced that the 1982 animated film The Last Unicorn is getting a theatrical re-release in 2012 and 2013, and author Peter S. Beagle is planning to attend every event honoring the film based on his 1968 fantasy novel.

Wow, The Last Unicorn must be a bigger money-maker than I realized. If your local indie movie theater could use a piece of 80s-nostalgia pie, you might want to suggest they book this movie (and Mr. Beagle's presence) early.

On the brink

2011-10-17T13:57:00.000-07:00

According to ComicBookMovie.com, there's movement on the live-action Akira movie adaptation front. The movie has been in development for what seems like forever (the original Japanese film, based on the manga of the same name, came out in 1988), but apparently Warner Bros. has promised to announce a final decision this week: either deep-six the project for good or move forward.

I'll believe it when I see it.

Why, movie gods, why?!?

2011-10-17T08:38:00.000-07:00

Ugh: Megan told me that a second Percy Jackson and the Olympians movie was in the works, thanks to healthier-than-expected (or justified) international numbers for the first film, but I was hoping she was wrong. Sadly, she wasn't.

It's not due out until March of 2013... but that's nowhere near enough time for me to get over how indescribably dreadful the first movie was. Give it another decade, guys. Or better yet, just try again, with age-appropriate actors, a sharper director, and a way, way, way better script.

Charlaine Harris gets graphic

2011-10-13T13:34:00.000-07:00

GalleyCat informs me that Charlaine Harris has inked a deal with Ace Books to produce a three-volume graphic novel series called Cemetery Girl. The books will be co-written with Christopher Golden and illustrated by Don Kramer, and they're expected to hit shelves in 2013, the same year that will see the final volume of her Southern Vampire series.

The Thin Man redux

2011-10-13T11:28:00.000-07:00

According to THR, writer-director Billy Ray has been hired to write a new adaptation of the classic Dashiell Hammett novel The Thin Man. Johnny Depp (seriously, does that man ever take time off?) is attached to star, and Rob Marshall will direct. This is one project I am unequivocally excited about; I'm pretty sure Depp will do right by Nick Charles.

Glutton for punishment

2011-10-12T09:22:00.000-07:00

I thought Thor was, bar none, the worst movie I have seen all year, so I'm wondering if my affection for the first Ironman movie will be enough to make The Avengers bearable.

We'll see when the reviews come out, but I have serious doubts.

Hopefully this isn't a major financial blow to the actual comic book creators

2011-10-11T13:50:00.000-07:00

According to the LA Times, Barnes and Noble announced last week that it will no longer offer copies of 100 backlist graphic novels from DC Comics in its bookstores, including well-known titles like Alan Moore’s Watchmen and Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. B&N is upset that DC signed a digital distribution deal with Amazon for the books, making them exclusively available on either Amazon Kindles or other devices (like iPads) with an Amazon Kindle app.

With bells on

2011-10-11T12:38:00.000-07:00

YES! YEEESSSS! At long, long, long last, there is an official release date and title for the ninth book in Michael Buckley's Sisters Grimm series: on May 8th, 2012, you will find me at my local bookstore the minute it opens, clutching a copy of Sisters Grimm 9: The Council of Mirrors.