Boooring
I recently ran across another "old book" scented candle. Like most of them, this one sounds like it smells nice (like vanilla, according to the description), but just once I'd like to see a candle...
Stretching the limits of "inspired by"
Oooohhhkay. I just watched this trailer for the upcoming Disney adaptation of The Nutcracker, and it doesn't seem to have much to do with the ballet or the book. Plus, no one seems to speak much, so I'm wondering if...
Gorgeous, still pricey
I recently ran across this Etsy shop that specializes in making embroidered or beaded clutches inspired by book covers. They're definitely not cheap (anywhere from $350 on up), but...
At least it's not Tolkien
The trailer is out for the upcoming movie adaptation of Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines, which will be directed by Christian Rivers, but...
High-concept
There's an article over on io9 about Every Day, the upcoming movie adaptation of the bestselling novel by David Levithan. The article's author is (justifiably) wigged out by the idea of the book—it's a romance between a teen girl and a body-swapping entity—but I'm...
I want these. All of them.
There's a great collection of reasonably-priced Harry Potter-themed bags being featured on Revelist, and I want pretty much all of them. I'm always attracted to Slytherin-themed items, but...
The Duke of Her Desire, by Sophie Barnes
As longtime readers of this site know, I periodically attempt to find a new-to-me great historical romance novelist by grabbing random books off Target shelves. I still haven't discovered the next Lisa Kleypas, but hope springs eternal and the romance section at Target is frequently re-stocked...
Weekly Book Giveaway: The Duke of Her Desire, by Sophie Barnes
This week's Book Giveaway is Sophie Barnes's historical romance The Duke of Her Desire. I am weirdly irritated by the fact that the model on the cover doesn't appear to be wearing a corset or anything under her dress, but experience has taught me that this is probably not the biggest historical inaccuracy I will encounter. Our review will be posted shortly...
I don't know about the artwork, though...
Variety recently announced that actresses Kerry Washington and Rashida Jones are joining forces to make a film version of the graphic novel series Goldie Vance. Washington is producing, and Jones will write and direct the adaptation...
Might work, might not
According to Deadline, Netflix has acquired the movie rights to John Scalzi’s space opera Old Man’s War, the first novel in the six-book series of the same name. The production has been in stuck in development limbo...
Tug-o-war
There's an interesting article on Vulture about the court battle(s) brewing over Emma Cline's mega-successful 2016 novel The Girls. Cline and her ex, Chaz Reetz-Laiolo, recently filed dueling federal lawsuits over the book...
Cute! Except for one!
These little book-themed pins by artist Jane Mount are available via 20X200. They're adorable, and, at $11 a pop, they're affordable enough that you could afford both one for yourself and one as a gift...
Labyrinth, expanded
The Mary Sue recently posted a very positive review of Jim Henson’s Labyrinth 2017 Special #1, a collection of short comics about minor characters from the classic 80s fantasy. I'm not usually a fan of movie novelizations, but Labyrinth is different...
Red Sparrow, by Jason Matthews
If you are a big John le Carre fan, but have always wished that his books featured more female characters, Jason Matthews's Red Sparrow is the book for you. I, however, am not a le Carre fan, and as far as I'm concerned adding female characters just expands the scope of a fundamentally unpleasant story to include a bunch of new targets...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Red Sparrow, by Jason Matthews
This week's Book Giveaway is Red Sparrow, the first book in Jason Matthews's espionage trilogy. If you're looking for a heartwarming holiday read... you should probably keep looking. (Sorry.) But if you need a lot of literary violence to get through the season, you're in luck! A full review will follow shortly...
It just looks so juvenile.
LitHub recently posted J. Courtney Sullivan's lovely tribute to Anne of Green Gables: "Anne of Green Gables: Patron Saint of Girls Who Ask Too Many Questions". I'm not too sure about the "saint" part (one of the character's charms is how far she is from saintly), but...
Maybe the CGI is a work in progress...
If your brain, like mine, stalled out from trying to process all the information shoved into the bloated Avengers: Infinity War trailer, here's a helpful scene-by-scene guide. It's obviously jam-packed with spoilers, but...
And no dragons
According to io9, George R.R. Martin has confirmed that his horror novella Nightflyers is going to be adapted into a SyFy television series, with an 10-episode first season order. I'll be curious to see how well Martin's work is received when the contents are edited down for a non-premium cable channel...
Sure, okay.
According to Variety, Christina Ricci and Judith Light will co-star in a Lifetime biopic about famous journalist Nellie Bly. Ricci will play Bly...
Ugh. But also: ha
It's time for the 2017 Literary Bad Sex Awards, and you can see the shortlisted entries here. They're all pretty painful, but my favorites are the ones that obviously aspire to achieve something impressive on the sexual and artistic fronts, and fail equally at both...
We Are Never Meeting In Real Life, by Samantha Irby
I have never understood why people buy crappy stuff to read on airplanes. I need something great to read on a plane—a book instantly absorbing enough to distract me from the many, many things that suck about flying. A People article about Chris Pratt is not going to cut it, so I was delighted to run across an A+ plane book recommendation for this upcoming holiday season: Samantha Irby's essay collection We Are Never Meeting in Real Life...
Weekly Book Giveaway: We Are Never Meeting in Real Life, by Samantha Irby
This week's Book Giveaway is We Are Never Meeting in Real Life, a collection of essays by Samantha Irby (best known as the author of the "bitches gotta eat" blog.) The book is a little less stream-of-consciousness than her online writing—and all the font is the same color—but just as awesome. A full review will follow shortly...
Wow.
I'm both amused and horrified by this Buzzfeed headline: "An Ivy League Food Scientist Is Retracting Yet Another Paper". According to the article, Cornell University food behavior scientist Brian Wansink has been forced...
Hug a librarian
The Guardian recently posted an article about an open letter to the UK's Education Secretary, written by a bunch of literary bigwigs (Neil Gaiman, Antonia Fraser, and Philip Pullman, among others). The letter was written to protest the decline in support for school libraries...
Science!
GeekWire recently put together their Holiday Science Book Guide for 2017, and their choices look amazing. I'm particularly attracted to Kimberly Arcand and Megan Watzke's Magnitude: The Scale of the Universe. As a person with literally no sense of physical perspective...
I've finished my shopping for other people, so...
I was stoked to recently run across this review of Mary Stewart's The Wind Off the Small Isles, a "long-lost novella" that has recently been republished for the first time in 40 years...
Bubbly on Your Budget, by Marjorie Hillis
For a book written in 1937, Marjorie Hillis's Bubbly on Your Budget has some surprisingly timely advice. Sure, the details might need to be adjusted for a 21st century lifestyle, but her basic message—that you should spend your money on what you actually value—is just as valid today as it was 80 years ago...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Bubbly On Your Budget, by Marjorie Hillis
In honor of this season of furious consumerism, this week's Book Giveaway is Marjorie Hillis's Bubbly on Your Budget, a reprint of a financial advice guide first published in 1937 under the title Orchids On Your Budget. This volume is used (and looks it), but still an unexpectedly modern and entertaining read. A full review will follow shortly...
Just in time to spark some holiday discussion
Well, this is topical: there's a recently-discovered and -published Raymond Chandler short story called "It’s All Right—He Only Died" about the evils of a profit-minded health care system. The story is only 655 words long, but...