Lies in advertising
The reviews for this movie adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull have been glowing, but the trailer is not enticing, despite the big-name cast. What's up with that music? And that font?!? Anyone...
Not If I Save You First, by Ally Carter
Ally Carter's Not If I Save You First sounded like a PG-13 version of Meg Cabot's 2002 romance novel She Went All the Way, and since that's one of my favorite contemporary romances, I was pretty stoked to read it. Carter's take isn't quite as funny as Cabot's, but there's more than enough charm and action to satisfy her many fans...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Not If I Save You First, by Ally Carter
This week's Book Giveaway is Ally Carter's latest YA thriller, Not If I Save You First. I usually like Carter's books, but I'm a little confused about this cover art. Are those letters... popsicles? Candy? Jello shots? It's a mystery. A full review will be posted shortly...
A bit of a stretch
The title of this Dangerous Minds article ("MEET THE PRIEST WHO WAS OSCAR WILDE’S LOVER AND PARTLY THE BASIS FOR ‘DORIAN GRAY’") is a little misleading. The guy in question became a priest well after his alleged affair with Wilde, and he doesn't seem to have had much to do with the character of Dorian Gray...
Helpful!
GQ recently put together a list of 20 classic novels you can totally skip reading, with suggestions for books you should read instead. I don't agree with all of their alternate picks, but I love how nasty some of their initial descriptions are...
"Upending" is still more of a goal, I think.
Yesterday, Buzzfeed published an article called "Meet The Black Women Upending The Romance Novel Industry". I read the whole thing with tremendous interest: it's an interview with author Alyssa Cole, editor Esi Sogah, and art director Kris Noble...
Wow
According to The New York Times, Zora Neale Hurston's first book, a nonfiction title called Barracoon, was rejected by publishers in 1931. Barracoon was the story of Cudjo Lewis, believed to be the last living person captured in Africa and brought to America on a slave ship...
The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip, by George Saunders
The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip is a fable written by George Saunders and illustrated by Lane Smith. It's a story about the tiny village of Frip—consisting of three families and a bunch of goats—which is infested with gappers: tiny, orange, goat-loving puffballs. Every night the gappers crawl out of the sea and terrorize Frip's goats with their screams of affection, and every morning the children of Frip spend hours picking them off and tossing them back into the ocean...
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...