Weekly Book Giveaway: The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip, by George Saunders
This week's Book Giveaway is The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip, a children's fable (...sort of) written in 2000 by George Saunders, and featuring the artwork of the inimitable Lane Smith. Don't let that eyeball-y thing on the middle of the book cover scare you: it's actually a very wholesome story. A full review will follow shortly...
I'm a pop culture sloth
I've never heard of The Expanse, despite the fact that it's based on a series of novels by James S. A. Corey (the pen name of authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck), it's already three seasons in, and this Pajiba article has devoted approximately one million words to its alleged awesomeness...
Eating my words
Okay, the full trailer for Marvel's Venom has hit, and it looks considerably less dorky than I exected. (Plus, Riz Ahmed is pretty.) I'm not sure why I'm so surprised by this—if Marvel can translate Ant-Man into...
Tacky, sure, but...
Last week, an author on LitHub posted a very lyrical essay about Lucy Maud Montgomery's landscapes, and the way her writing has mythologized Prince Edward Island. It's a nice bit of writing, but the whole time I read it I found myself wondering: do they have Anne Shirley impersonators? Are there...
Don't hold your breath
LaineyGossip recently published a get-a-grip post regarding the news that Steven Spielberg is going to make a superhero movie for DC. The whole post is worth reading, but here are the highlights...
Giles, Issues 1 & 2, by Erika Alexander and Joss Whedon
During the past few years, Joss Whedon's reputation has taken a lot of well-deserved hits, both personal and professional. With that in mind, I assumed his much-heralded return to the Buffy comic 'verse would be something special. Sadly, I was wrong: there's nothing in the first two issues of the four-issue Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Giles miniseries that makes me miss Whedon at all...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Giles, Issues 1 & 2, by Erika Alexander and Joss Whedon
Continuing our (unplanned) month-long streak of graphic novel and comics reviews, this week's Book Giveaway is the first two issues of Giles: Girl Blue, a spin-off from the popular Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic. The title is written by Erika Alexander and Joss Whedon, and illustrated by Jon Lam. A full review will be posted shortly...
And that's a low-budget cover, too.
The fine women at GoFugYourself just posted a lengthy review of Andrew Morton's most recent royal tell-all, Meghan: A Hollywood Princess. Unsurprisingly, they sound underwhelmed. I'm still amazed this dude's books sell in hardcover...
Almost!
Okay, this still isn't a trailer (and I've been waiting so patiently!), but Constance Wu just posted a teaser on her Instagram for the upcoming Crazy Rich Asians movie adaptation. I'm really hoping this movie is as fun as the book, so I'm pleased to see they've clearly spent serious money...
Thematically similar
In other miniseries adaptation news, the AV Club is reporting that Westworld showrunners Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan are working on a script for an adaptation of William Gibson’s 2014 novel The Peripheral. I've never read it, but the premise sounds right up their alley..
In case you were wondering what happened...
Pajiba posted an update yesterday on the upcoming HBO adaptation of Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects. The series was originally slated to become a feature film in 2014, but then executive producer Marti Noxon pitched it as an 8-part series instead...
Ugh, lady.
Slate recently posted an interview with author Barbara Ehrenreich, and (like nearly everything I've ever read featuring Barbara Ehrenreich) it has some Big Problems...
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Vol.1, by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Robert Hack
Following the success of the recent H.P. Lovecraft-inspired Afterlife with Archie series, Archie Comics decided to follow it up with a Sabrina the Teenage Witch-inspired title, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. The two series don't seem to exist in the same world, but they have one major thing in common: both are remarkably effective horror stories...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Vol. 1, by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Robert Hack
This week's Book Giveaway is the first volume of the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, which combines the first six issues of the much more horror-focused reboot of the Archie comic Sabrina the Teenage Witch. I'm only halfway through it, but I can already attest to the excellence of the art and the unpleasantness of the story. A full review will follow shortly...
Not totally inappropriate, though
According the Guardian, the remains of English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge were recently rediscovered in a wine cellar. Fans of Coleridge's work had been paying their respects to the more respectable (and safely accessible) memorial plaque in the church above, but...
So useful!
If you have a spare moment, I encourage you to check out this handy chart that allows you to "describe yourself like a male author would". You no longer need to think up synonyms for "voluptuous"; this chart does it for you...
King extravaganza
io9 recently posted a Stephen King-inspired poster by artist Jordan Monsell. The image, titled “King Country”, apparently contains "over 170 different King characters, references, and more". (I only recognize about seven, but...
Anime in the springtime
If you have the patience for their page to load, Kotaku recently posted their Spring Anime Guide. I'm mostly interested in Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku and Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi...
Research, people!
Wow: actor and YouTube "star" Kian Lawley has been dropped from the upcoming movie adaptation of award-winning novel The Hate U Give after a video surfaced of him making racist comments. Riverdale star KJ Apa will take over his role...
Nisekoi Vol. 1, by Naoshi Komi
Naoshi Komi's Nisekoi is the manga equivalent of vanilla frozen yogurt: a sub-par take on an already boring flavor. It's not wholly unreadable, but it would be so easy to find something better...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Nisekoi Vol. 1, by Naoshi Komi
This week's Book Giveaway is the first volume of Naoshi Komi's series Nisekoi, originally serialized in Shonen Jump magazine. The back cover promises a "laugh-out-loud feel-good" time. (Here's hoping this series can deliver on all those hyphens.) A full review will follow shortly...
At the press of a button
According to LitHub, the number of Short Story Dispensers in the United States is about to grow. The machines were introduced in France a few years ago, and print a one-, three-, or five-minute story, for free, with the press of a button. The first American dispenser is located in Francis Ford Coppola’s Café Zoetrope in San Francisco...
I don't know about strangEST, but strange, sure.
Crimereads recently posted a list of "Fiction's 10 Strangest Crimes". I'm not sure I agree with their choices (most of which sound like they fall obnoxiously close to "...and it was all in his head!" territory), but it serves as a reminder that I do want to read Tana French's The Likeness...
School = books (usually)
There's an interesting article on Hyperalleric about the scaled-back role of actual books in some universities' fine arts libraries, two of which have recently moved to reduce or relocate large portions of their collections...
If only Edward Gorey was still around to illustrate the credits...
And speaking of Neil Gaiman, Deadline has just announced that FremantleMedia North America has purchased the rights to the adapt Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast trilogy, and Gaiman will serve as a "non-writing executive producer" on the project...
Unexpected
Hmm. There's going to be a film based on Neil Gaiman's short story "How to Talk to Girls at Parties", and it appears to have a much bigger-name cast (Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman) than its premise or somewhat low-budget-looking production values...
Rivers of London: Body Work, by Ben Aaronovitch
Ben Aaronovitch has many of the same strengths and weaknesses as Janet Evanovich: his Rivers of London mysteries rarely make much sense, but they don't need to. His fans read them for the characters, his distinctive sense of humor, and setting, not the cleverly-laid clues...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Rivers of London: Body Work, by Ben Aaronovitch
This week's Book Giveaway is Body Work, the first graphic novel spin-off from Ben Aaronovitch's highly entertaining (if occasionally problematic) Rivers of London series. Body Work is co-written by Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel, and illustrated by Lee Sullivan. A full review will be posted soon...
A little cheesy, but whatever.
The trailer is out for The Darkest Minds, based on the YA novel of the same name by Alexandra Bracken and starring The Hunger Games actress Amandla Stenberg. I hear they're delaying some of the X-Men reboots...