Jun 1 2010

RIP, CMX.

I didn't hear much about DC Comics' CMX manga line while it was up and running, but now that DC has decided to shut it down it's all over the place. The Beat posted a helpful summary of the many,...

More »

Jun 1 2010

Best of luck, but...

The fine people at Dramabeans have been kind enough to keep us updated on the status of the upcoming K-drama adaptation of the Japanese manga Itazura na Kiss, so we were interested to learn that H...

More »

May 28 2010

End of an era

Heh. Apparently, Oxford's All Souls College has decided to scrap their infamous one-word exam, which frequently consisted of a question like this:'Water' (Expound)Admittedly, this will probably s...

More »

May 27 2010

So unfair. So very, very unfair.

WHAT IS THIS NONSENSE?As y'all know, I HATED the recent five-issue Marvel comic adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. So when I saw their next Austen-inspired project (an adaptation of...

More »

May 27 2010

Lord Sunday, by Garth Nix

5-27-2010-lord-sunday-by-garth-nix

Lord Sunday is the final book in Garth Nix's ambitious fantasy/adventure series The Keys to the Kingdom. Over the course of the six previous novels Nix's protagonist—an asthmatic 12-year-old na...

More »

May 26 2010

A little something extra

Okay, this isn't really a book post, but I have a head cold, and when I don't feel well reading about food soothes me (even when I totally can't taste anything). But even if I wasn't sick, this c...

More »

May 25 2010

Typecasting

Angelina Jolie to play the Wicked Witch of the West in a Wizard of Oz remake? ...I could see that, actually. I think she'd rock the green paint, but they might want to go for a more form-fitting ...

More »

May 24 2010

Swedish smackdown

If you're a fan of Steig Larsson's hugely successful Millenium Trilogy, be sure to check out the Times article "The Afterlife of Stieg Larsson". It's a little wordy (eight pages), but offers a gr...

More »

May 21 2010

Not the cake I would have chosen, but...

Huh. Apparently, May 10th through the 16th was Children's Book Week, and the always-entertaining site Cake Wrecks decided to celebrate with a selection of literature-inspired cakes. I don't know...

More »

May 20 2010

What DOES Disney have against eyeshadow, anyway?

Clearly, some people see the Disney 'verse in a sexier light than I do--check out J. Scott Campbell's illustrations of pneumatic Disney princesses (I can't believe the Little Mermaid's seashells c...

More »

May 20 2010

Poking fun at the Scottish Play

Everyone loves Kate Beaton's Jane Austen comics, but her other stuff is pretty great (and literary), too. Check out this Macbeth collection... while bearing in mind that some of the language isn'...

More »

May 19 2010

A far, far better thing

I was hanging out in the Vienna airport a few years ago, and was thrilled to discover that they sold packets of gummy bears in the ladies' restrooms. (I don't actually eat gummy worms, being vege...

More »

May 18 2010

Seriously, who does that?

In a particularly depressing bit of book-related news, someone stole 1,348 picture books valuing nearly $23,000 from a Washington State public library in Port Orchard. The missing titles represen...

More »

May 18 2010

Any movie with a Judy Blume reference...

When I heard they were updating The Scarlet Letter as a high school rom-com I was dubious, but now that I've seen the trailer for Easy A I'm upgrading my opinion to "cautiously optimistic". I'm n...

More »

May 17 2010

King Solomon's Mines goes a little T2.

This, on the other hand, I'm mildly interested in: The Hollywood Reporter is saying that the suddenly (and inexplicably) ubiquitous Sam Worthington is planning to star in Quatermain, a sci-fi take...

More »

May 17 2010

Not appealing. Not at all.

Wow. This was one of those "Is it April Fool's Day?" moments: according to FabSugar, perfumers Ah & Oh Studio have released a line of perfumes--oh, sorry, "scent stories"--inspired by the tales o...

More »

May 13 2010

The Splendid Magic of Penny Arcade: The 11½ Anniversary Edition, by Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins

5-13-2010-the-splendid-magic-of-penny-arcade-the-11-anniversary-edition-by-mike-krahulik-and-je

Penny Arcade is a great comic strip. I've laughed at the punchlines, I give series creators Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins major props for their charitable endeavors, and I'm told their PAX shin...

More »

May 13 2010

The Essential Wonder Woman Encyclopedia, by Phil Jimenez and John Wells

5-13-2010-the-essential-wonder-woman-encyclopedia-by-phil-jimenez-and-john-wells

Normally, I wince at a sight of a $30 paperback, no matter how well-written or attractively packaged, but such was not the case for The Essential Wonder Woman Encyclopedia. If you are part of the...

More »

May 12 2010

Cirque du Freak: Trials of Death (Yen Press Extravaganza Part VIII), by Darren Shan

2010-05-12-cirque-du-freak-trials-of-death-yen-press-extravaganza-part-viii-by-darren-shan

Aaaand we're done! (At least for a while.) When a spider-obsessed boy named Darren Shan sneaks out with his best friend Steve to see the infamous Cirque Du Freak, things get even scarier than they'd bargained for. The inhabitants of the freak show aren't just strange, they're downright otherworldly, and...

More »

May 12 2010

Nightschool: The Weirn Books (Yen Press Extravaganza Part VII), by Svetlana Chmakova

2010-05-12-nightschool-the-weirn-books-yen-press-extravaganza-part-vii-by-svetlana-chmakova

The Nightschool is a magical place that allows vampires, werewolves, and weirns (a special type of witch) to learn everything from scrying...

More »

May 11 2010

Hero Tales (Yen Press Extravaganza Part VI), by Jin Zhou Huang

2010-05-11-hero-tales-yen-press-extravaganza-part-vi-by-jin-zhou-huang

Hero Tales is the story of Taitou, a powerful young warrior with a legendary sword and a hot temper. When his sword is stolen and he discovers he is one of the seven heroes prophesied to save the world, Taitou sets out with his little sister Laila and his friend Ryuukou on a quest to hone his powers—with the ultimate goal of defeating the evil general who controls the nation's child emperor...

More »

May 11 2010

Spice and Wolf (Yen Press Extravaganza Part V), by Isuna Hasekura

2010-05-11-spice-and-wolf-yen-press-extravaganza-part-v-by-isuna-hasekura

Yes, dear readers, it's time for another run-down of Yen Press's recent releases! Spice and Wolf is a manga adaptation of Isuna Hasekura's novel series of the same name. When young merchant Kraft Lawrence finds a naked girl with wolf ears and a tail napping in the back of his cart, he remains calm (more or less)...

More »

May 10 2010

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: the Graphic Novel, by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

5-10-2010-pride-and-prejudice-and-zombies-the-graphic-novel-by-jane-austen-and-seth-grahamesmith

To misquote Jane Austen, it is a truth universally acknowledged that an unexpectedly successful book will force its creators to keep milking it like a cash cow until it falls over dead. That's wh...

More »

May 10 2010

The Stuff of Legend, by Brian Smith and Mike Raicht

5-10-2010-the-stuff-of-legend-by-brian-smith-and-mike-raicht

The Stuff of Legend—Book I: The Dark was written by Mike Raicht and Brian Smith (both former editors at Marvel) and illustrated by Charles Paul Wilson III. Their story is set in World War II-era Broo...

More »

May 6 2010

Bat country

According to Cinematical, Hollywood is eyeing a movie adaptation of one of the real incidents in journalist Hunter S. Thompson's life. Shortly before his death in 2005, Thompson set out to help a...

More »

May 5 2010

Kiss in the Dark, by Lauren Henderson

2010-05-05-kiss-in-the-dark-by-lauren-henderson

Lauren Henderson's Kiss in the Dark is the third book in her series about Scarlett Wakefield, a wealthy, orphaned teen attending Wakefield Hall, her iron-willed grandmother's exclusive English boa...

More »

May 5 2010

Like we didn't already have enough of those

I staring out the window yesterday, wondering what Meg Cabot has been up to. (Apart from finishing up her body-swapping Airhead series, which we're way behind on reviewing, even though her publis...

More »

May 4 2010

Cinderella Cleaners: Change of a Dress and Prep Cool, by Maya Gold

5-4-2010-cinderella-cleaners-change-of-a-dress-and-prep-cool-by-maya-gold

Maya Gold's Cinderella Cleaners series has the bright, cheery appeal of a Disney Channel made-for-TV movie, cut with some Nora Roberts-style respect for service-type jobs. I was dubious, but found...

More »

May 4 2010

Teachers/parents/etc. take note...

I'm not sure if this contest will be of personal interest to our normal demographic, but it sounded too good to ignore: Random House Books and the Kids Crooked House Company have put together an ...

More »

May 3 2010

Janet Poppendieck

Janet Poppendieck is the author of Free For All: Fixing School Food in America, one of our Featured Books. She is also a Professor of Sociology at Hunter College and has written two previous book...

More »