She's already famous
And speaking of Jane Austen, we're finally getting a good look at the £10 notes featuring her likeness. I'm not sure about that color scheme (why so orange?), but...
Get famous
According the Folio Society's blog, they recently announced the subject of their 2017 Book Illustration Competition: they are looking for someone to illustrate Jane Austen's Mansfield Park...
The Goal, by Elle Kennedy
Earlier this year, we reviewed the first three books in Elle Kennedy's Off-Campus series, a collection of New Adult romances set in the college hockey world. The final book in the quartet, The Goal, has recently been released, and it has just as much easy charm as its predecessors...
Weekly Book Giveaway: The Goal, by Elle Kennedy
This week's Book Giveaway is Elle Kennedy's The Goal, the fourth book in her Off-Campus series. (My mother hates these covers. I admit, I'm a little creeped out to discover that it's possible to develop muscles in one's armpit.) Our review will follow shortly...
Pretty!
I'm fascinated by this Instagram account: Folded Pages Distillery makes... vignettes? Visual tributes? to various books. I don't really understand the point of these images, but they appeal to the same part of me that sincerely enjoys looking at competitive table-decorating displays...
Phonies abound
According to Veranda magazine, the Cornish Center for Cartoon Studies is "giving admirers of J.D. Salinger the chance to live and work in the author's former home in rural New Hampshire." The winner of the Cornish CCS Residency Fellowship will be given...
An unholy hybrid
Publishers Weekly informs me that Harlequin has added yet another imprint to its trade program: Graydon House Books will focus on "commercial women's fiction", and plans to start releasing titles by next September. I'd be more excited about this news if...
Efficient!
There's an article on Mental Floss about the new "tiny train" book-delivery service that has been installed in the New York Public Library located in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. Sadly, the library refrained...
Otherworld Chills, by Kelley Armstrong
Kelley Armstrong is right up there with J.K. Rowling when it comes to creating supplementary material for her books. She has written more than fifty(!) short stories and novellas set in her Women of the Otherworld universe. Seven of these are now available in the anthology Otherworld Chills, which consists of six previously-published works and one new story...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Otherworld Chills, by Kelley Armstrong
It's October, and we've been in a very horror-lite mood lately, so this week's Book Giveaway is Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld Chills, a collection of "rare and never-before-published novellas and short stories" set in her "Women of the Otherworld" 'verse. A full review will follow shortly...
Whimsical
If you're a classic shojo manga fan with 13,000 yen (US $129) burning a hole in your pocket, you can now own an extra-fancy replica of Super Sailor Moon's "Kaleidomoon Scope" from Sailor Moon Super S. According to Anime News Network, the...
Shocker!
THR just posted their annual list of "Hollywood's 25 Most Powerful Authors". The list is determined by book sales, number of adaptations, projects in development, additional credits, and "cultural influence", and features a combination of first-time honorees and...
Beach reads
In honor of Banned Books Week, Forbes put together a list of the "Top 5 Ancient And Medieval Censored Books To Read During Banned Book Week". I have no idea how they determine what makes these books the "Top 5"...
Yeah...
The Independent informs me that James Patterson has decided against publishing a book called The Murder of Stephen King. The book was apparently going to be about...
Calendar MARKED
According to io9, the BBC is planning a radio adaptation of Neil Gaiman's romantic fantasy Stardust, due to air in the UK (and worldwide on the internet) this December. It will be directed by Dirk Maggs, the man responsible for...
Emma: 200th Anniversary Annotated Edition, by Jane Austen
Before we get started, I want to emphasize that this is a review of a particular edition—the Penguin Deluxe Classics 200th Anniversary Annotated version—of Jane Austen's novel Emma, rather than the novel itself. If you haven't already read Emma... well, you should! It's good...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Emma: 200th Anniversary Annotated Edition, by Jane Austen
This week's Book Giveaway is Penguin's "Classics Deluxe" edition of Jane Austen's Emma. This is the 200th Anniversary annotated edition, and features explanatory notes by Juliette Wells. Our review will follow shortly...
Not sold
The first teaser trailers are out for the upcoming live-action film adaptation of Masamune Shirow's classic manga Ghost in the Shell. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the film producers' decision to cast Scarlett Johansson in the main role...
I'd use it
A Singapore-based design studio has created a project called "The Missing Dining Table", which explores a variety of futuristic dining tools, all aimed at the solo eater. This book/dish holder made me laugh, but...
Choice vacation reading
Ooh, I see there's a new book coming out next week in Elle Kennedy's Off-Campus series (we reviewed the first three books in the series earlier this year). I still feel like the musclebound cover art fails...
Brighter future
According to The Verge, orders for comic books have hit a 20-year high. The surge seems to be currently benefiting DC Comics, which sold nine out of the 10 best-selling issues released last month (Harley Quinn #1 was the top seller), but...
Worth it?
No matter what I do, any Harry Potter quiz or online generator always sorts me into Slytherin. I've accepted my snaky nature, and am therefore tempted by this Elhoffer Design sweater. (All four houses are available.) They're a little pricey ($50), and they're still...
Betrayals, by Kelley Armstrong
Betrayals is the fourth book in Kelley Armstrong's Cainsville series. It is also her publishers' third attempt at finding the right cover art style for these books. (The first two installments were American Gothic; the third was modern and geometric.) I really like both the look and the contents of Betrayals, so I'm hoping the ever-changing cover design...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Betrayals, by Kelley Armstrong
This week's Book Giveaway is Betrayals, the fourth book in Kelley Armstrong's Cainsville series. I see we're on cover art style attempt #3. Won't anyone think of people like me and Megan, who need our books to match? A full review will follow shortly...
Okay, sure.
Slate recently posted an article called "The New Powers That Be: Harry Potter, the triumph of fandom, and the future of creativity". The essay dives into the impact of Harry Potter as the focus of the first major internet-born fandom...
"Wake Up Pretty!" v. "Explore Your Future"
There was a lot of buzz earlier this month about the unfortunate contrast between the covers for two magazines: Boys' Life and Girls' Life. A business owner and mother of five named Shoshanna Keats-Jaskoll took to Facebook to...
Um...
NPR recently featured an article about Missy Piggle-Wiggle and the Whatever Cure, the recent attempt to update Betty MacDonald’s beloved (albeit decidedly dated) Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books for the modern era. I'm just not feeling this idea: I still get creeped out when I think about the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle story about the little girl who refused to take a bath...
Cute
Okay, I kind of want this "Too Due" notepad (recently featured on the design blog Swiss-Miss). I'm normally the kind of person who tries to discreetly correct misspelled signs...
Olivia Twist?
How nice: according to THR, NBC is planning to transform Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist into a "Contemporary Female-Driven Procedural". I'm having some trouble picturing this (apparently, it's going to be "sexy"), but...