Creepifying
There was a fascinating (and slightly disturbing) article recently published in The Guardian by Maryanne Wolf, the director of the Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA. Wolf outlines the research that suggests that skimming information online is actually changing our brains...
I want one!
I don't know anything about this book, but I LOVE the cover and I'm in awe of how they managed to make the food look plausibly vintage, yet avoided falling into the trap of making it look like...
I WILL hunt a copy down somewhere
I've been meaning to check out Uzma Jalaluddin's novel Ayesha At Last ever since it was featured on Lainey Gossip earlier this summer. Apparently, it's a modern take on Pride and Prejudice featuring an all-Muslim cast...
Maybe from the library
NPR recently posted an essay about Anne Boyd Rioux's Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The Story of Little Women and Why it Still Matters, a scholarly examination of the themes of Alcott's classic novel. Boyd Rioux, a professor at the University of New Orleans, argues that Little Women "exerted more influence on women writers as a group than any other single book"...
Yay...?
This Game of Thrones-inspired egg cup is... a thing that exists.
Okay, and it costs $16, and I don't think the crown is included...
To All the Boys I've Loved Before, by Jenny Han
To All the Boys I've Loved Before is the perfect back-to-school treat: a YA romance with an adorable heroine, endearing love interest, and enjoyably ridiculous plot. Plus, the entire trilogy has already been released, and Netflix has just released a super cute movie adaptation, so impatient fans (read: ME) won't have to wait to see how it all turns out...
Weekly Book Giveaway: To All the Boys I've Loved Before, by Jenny Han
This week's Book Giveaway is Jenny Han's To All the Boys I've Loved Before, which I read after watching the cute-as-a-freaking-button Netflix adaptation. Due to a bunch of overdue postings, this giveaway will run through October 12th, so best of luck...
Crafty!
Mental Floss recently posted a list of 11 Facts about Little Free Libraries that I perused with interest. (I love Little Free Libraries—particularly the ones with lurid paint schemes and/or architecture, because I'm pretty unobservant and those are the easiest ones to spot.) Did you know...
The Alice one is going on my Christmas list
Out of Print just launched a collaboration with S'well water bottles! There are only three designs (The Great Gatsby, Alice in Wonderland, and a black-and-white Composition book style), and...
Libraries to the rescue, too!
Okay, I love this: The New York Public Library has launched a program at the Riverside Library on Manhattan’s Upper West Side that allows library card holders to borrow ties, briefcases, and handbags for three-week periods...
Cookbooks to the rescue
If you, like me, find Create TV extremely soothing, you may have noticed that the recent show based on Nigella Lawson's latest cookbook At My Table seems to be always on, even though there's only a handful of episodes...
Girl Waits With Gun, by Amy Stewart
I usually avoid novels about historical figures, because I'm constantly wondering how much of the story is real and how much is invented. But as far as I can discover, there is very little known about Constance Kopp, the heroine of Amy Stewart's novel Girl Waits With Gun, so the author was able to let her imagination run wild—something she does with wit, style, and charm...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Girl Waits With Gun, by Amy Stewart
This week's Book Giveaway is Amy Stewart's 2015 novel Girl Waits With Gun, which I freely admit I picked up solely because I liked the cover. Thankfully, thus far I like the story, too, but a full review will follow shortly...
Money is no object
If you're a hardcore Harry Potter geek, apparently there is now a new-and-improved ultimate Harry Potter Trivial Pursuit game on the market, with three times the questions, a custom board, and whatever "House mascot movers" are. It's also not cheap (nearly $50), but...
At least they've finally run away...?
io9 recently posted an update on season two of Hulu's Runaways. I'll probably check out an episode or two (or at least read the recaps), but the first season was my biggest TV disappointment of the past year...
In the works
Huh. I had no idea that Ursula K. Le Guin’s work was becoming such a hot commodity: according to io9, there are five Le Guin TV or movie adaptations in some stage of development. Sure, that's not quite Philip K. Dick/Stephen King levels of enthusiasm...
Vital role
And speaking of both interviews and the upcoming Crazy Rich Asians movie, Forbes recently posted an interview with CRA costume designer Mary Vogt about the importance of "Sartorial Storytelling". If you've read the book, you...
Her own best salesperson
While a lot of online enthusiasm has been focused this week on the film adaptation of Crazy Rich Asians, the Netflix adaptation of Jenny Han's YA romance To All the Boys I've Loved Before has been making waves, too. The Mary Sue recently interviewed Han about the adaptation of her book, and her answers...
Stars Uncharted, by S.K. Dunstall
I'm not surprised that there's a promotional quote on the front of S. K. Dunstall's new novel Stars Uncharted comparing it to the popular book/TV series The Expanse. The two stories have a number of similarities (multiple narrators, ragtag space explorers, nods to film noir), but Dunstall's book has its own strengths and weaknesses...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Stars Uncharted, by S. K. Dunstall
This week's Book Giveaway is S. K. Dunstall's new space opera Stars Uncharted, which I'm hoping will fill the gap that The Expanse's summer/network-swapping vacation has left in my heart. A full review will be posted shortly...
Summer reading
The Guardian recently posted a great article on tips and tricks to encourage children to read during the summer. I've always been a fan of the "give them no other option" approach myself, but...
R-rated fairytales (again)
I don't know if this is the most, uh, intellectually strenuous take on adult fairytales: according to io9, CBS All Access has released a trailer for its new series Tell Me a Story, a "serialized drama from Paul Wesley and Kevin Williamson (Vampire Diaries) that interweaves the stories of The Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, and Hansel and Gretel into a gritty drama"...
Butter!
Last month, cookbook author and food blogger Molly Yeh posted a recipe for Smoked Butter Shortbread with Violet Buttercream, apparently inspired by Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. The cookies sound amazing, and I'm definitely tempted to make them, but I want all of my nearest and dearest to know that if I ever manage to pipe a single frosting decoration...
Other people's books
Earlier today, the website Cup of Jo posted an article titled "15 Great Reader Comments on Books". The readers on Cup of Jo are a great resource for book recommendations, and I highly recommend skimming the entire comments...
The money continues to roll in
This morning Deadline reported an update about yet another Stephen King movie adaptation: filming is underway In the Tall Grass, based on a short story King co-wrote with his son Joe Hill. The movie will star Patrick Wilson and be released by Netflix in 2019...
Dune: 50th Anniversary Edition, by Frank Herbert
I was so excited when I was offered a 50th anniversary edition of Frank Herbert's Dune. There are so many exciting editions of this story: lurid Dune! Tasteful Dune...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Dune, by Frank Herbert
I feel like it's time to re-read a classic that wasn't written by Jane Austen or P.G. Wodehouse. Someone was kind enough to send us a 50th Anniversary edition of Frank Herbert's Dune, so that's this week's Book Giveaway. A full review will follow shortly...
Older and wiser, sure, but not old and wise
So much Jane Austen news recently! I just learned that there are TWO modern-day film adaptations inspired by Jane Austen's Persuasion in the works. I have always loved the 1995 movie version of Persuasion, and I thought the 2007 version was... reasonably watchable, but I'd like to see an adaptation that plays up what I consider to be a central aspect of the novel...
And those 80s tops were very forgiving
This is not as exciting as yesterday's news, but it's still pretty amazing: someone is making a Golden Girls cookbook, and Babble has already posted its cheesecake recipe. The cheesecake recipe actually sounds great, but I'm hoping the rest of the book is...