I've heard worse suggestions.
Super-mega-bestselling author James Patterson has another plan to boost reading. According to The New York Times, Patterson wants to launch a line called BookShots: a "new line of short and propulsive novels that cost less than $5 and can be read in a single sitting." I have my doubts...
No, maybe, OPENING DAY
Three movie trailers were brought to my attention today, all based on (or at least loosely inspired by) literary sources. Here they are, in order of least-to-most-likely to be seen by Julia...
So stoked
Penguin has just released their first "Penguin Classics" edition of a Korean novel: The Story of Hong GilDong, which they describe as "the quintessential Korean classic: the Robin Hood story of a magical boy who joins a group of robber bandits and becomes a king." This particular edition features...
Action! Hemingway
This is... really embarrassing, frankly. There's a movie coming out soon called Papa: Hemingway in Cuba, which appears to turn Ernest Hemingway into a regime-toppling superhero. The film was shot in Cuba, and features a sidekick character (Robin to ol' Hemingway's Batman) based loosely on...
The Dark Days Club, by Alison Goodman
Reading Alison Goodman's new YA novel The Dark Days Club is a bit like eating a ten course meal: the individual elements were delicious, but eventually I found myself too full to properly appreciate them...
Weekly Book Giveaway: The Dark Days Club, by Alison Goodman
This week's Book Giveaway is Alison Goodman's new YA novel The Dark Days Club. Goodman is the author of the brilliant Eon and Eona, so my hopes for this book are sky-high. Admittedly, the story loses a few points for the blurb on the back that proclaims it "Not your mother's Regency romance!" (a phrase that always strikes me as ageist and sexist; my mother is a badass and so is her taste in Regency romances), but...
Win some, lose some
So, bad news: according to THR, Mark Osborne's widely-praised and absolutely gorgeous-looking film adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupery's The Little Prince was quietly removed from Paramount's film-release schedule, which had originally slated the movie to open in the U.S. tomorrow...
Bigger, better, bloodier
And speaking of movie adaptations, the latest trailer is out for the upcoming remake of Ben-Hur, which looks, frankly, cheesy as hell. I'm not sure how interested the filmmakers are in the Christ parallels featured in the original novel...
To be expected, really.
The trailer is out for Tim Burton's upcoming film adaptation of Ransom Riggs's 2011 children's book Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. The movie is due out in September, and stars Eva Green (as the titular Miss Peregrine) and Hugo's Asa Butterfield...
And the shadiness continues...
There's a deeply depressing article in New Republic about the death of the mass-market paperback edition of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. The article is well worth reading in full, but here's the gist: Lee's estate (under the direction of her highly controversial lawyer, Tonja Carter) has required that all bookstores sell off...
The Watsons, by Jane Austen and John Coates
Sometime between 1803 and 1805, Jane Austen wrote the first five chapters of a novel called The Watsons. The story opens on a grim note: a young woman named Emma Watson returns to her family after spending many years in the care of a widowed and wealthy aunt. When her aunt makes a foolish second marriage, Emma is shipped off to her father's house, where she joins her three older sisters...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Lady Susan, The Watsons, Sanditon, by Jane Austen
This week's Book Giveaway is this Penguin Classics collection of Jane Austen's juvenilia and unfinished works: Lady Susan, The Watsons, Sanditon. We've already shared our thoughts on Sanditon (and its continuations), we're impatiently waiting for the film version of Lady Susan, and...
Creepy! But fascinating!
Slate recently reviewed Victor LaValle’s novella The Ballad of Black Tom, which I'm eager to read. In addition to having an impressively eye-catching cover, I'm always interested in stories inspired by H.P. Lovecraft—and this novella, which apparently explores the role Lovecraft's bone-deep racism...
This will work.
The Folger Shakespeare Library is bringing the people what they want: forget the First Folio, Mr. Darcy's wet shirt is coming to America! According to the Smithsonian, the shirt (from the pond-swimming scene in deservedly popular 1995 Pride and Prejudice TV miniseries) will be...
It looks just like his art.
Monotype, a company specializing in font development, has created a "bespoke handwriting typeface" inspired by the handwriting of Quentin Blake, best known for his iconic Roald Dahl illustrations. The font is spiky and idiosyncratic, yet remarkably easy to read...
Soaptastic!
Variety informs me that Andie MacDowell will star in an ABC drama called Model Woman, inspired by Robert Lacey’s 2015 biography of Ford Modeling Agency co-founder Eileen Ford. The show will focus on the "notorious modeling wars of the 1970s"...
Unnecessary, but to be expected
According to Deadline, Disney is planning a live-action movie adaptation of E.T.A. Hoffman's The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. The film will be directed by Lasse Hallstrom, and called The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. This feels like a missed opportunity to me: see, I grew up with...
Island in the Sea of Time, by S. M. Stirling
This is super, super nerdy, but I mean it in the most complimentary of ways: S.M. Stirling's novel Island in the Sea of Time is like a mash-up of Sid Meier's Civilization and Harriet M. Welsh's “Town” game...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Island in the Sea of Time, by S. M. Stirling
Today's Book Giveaway is S.M. Stirling's 1998 novel Island in the Sea of Time, the first book in his "Nantucket" trilogy. Clearly, the late 90s were not a great time for cover art, but thus far the story is Dan Simmons-level ambitious. A full review will follow later today...
The ABC's of Kissing Boys, by Tina Ferraro
If Beth Reekles's The Kissing Booth had been written by an actual adult, it probably would have resembled Tina Ferraro's The ABC's of Kissing Boys. The two books have a lot in common, but Ferraro's novel is smarter, more substantial, and infinitely less cheesy...
The Terror on TV
According to Deadline, AMC has ordered an "anthology drama series" based on Dan Simmons's bestselling 2007 novel The Terror. They're aiming for a 10-episode run and a 2017 premiere. Here's hoping AMC has a LOT of money saved up: The Terror is historical fiction, a man-versus-nature story, and a horror novel...
Am excited about this, but...
So, I've been keeping an eye out for the trailer for Whit Stillman's movie Love & Friendship, an adaptation of Jane Austen's novella Lady Susan. Sadly, all I can find is this cast interview, despite the fact that the (presumably complete) film was screened at Sundance back in January. Why so...
Iffy math
Booklist recently posted an article about the massive increase in the length of middle-grade literature over the past 40 years, attributing the 173% increase to the popularity of the Harry Potter series. Unfortunately, the author doesn't seem to consider changes in font or style, which I would assume accounts for...
In a nod to Blackadder, this is King's magnificent octopus.
Entertainment Weekly informs me that production has finally gotten rolling on a movie adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Tower. According to the article, Idris Elba has been confirmed as the gunslinger and Matthew McConaughey will play the man in black. The film will be directed by Nikolaj Arcel...
Let Sleeping Rogues Lie, by Sabrina Jeffries
I have read and reviewed three romance novels this month. The first one was straight-up ridiculous. The second was irritatingly flimsy. I don't want to sound like Goldilocks, so I'll just say the third—Sabrina Jeffries's Let Sleeping Rogues Lie—is unquestionably the best of the bunch...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Let Sleeping Rogues Lie, by Sabrina Jeffries
This week's Book Giveaway is Sabrina Jeffries's 2008 novel Let Sleeping Rogues Lie, the fourth book in her long-running 'School for Heiresses' series. A full review will follow later today, but here's a spoiler: of the three romance novels we've read recently, this is DEFINITELY the pick of the bunch...
No, thanks.
Koala's Playground recently posted a collection of promo images and the trailer for the upcoming movie adaptation of the manga Terra Formars, which looks totally cheeseball. Judging solely by the mega-serious cover art, I'm assuming this story isn't meant to be goofy...
Crossing my fingers
There's a promising article on Dramabeans about an upcoming drama adaptation of a webtoon called Lucky Romance, which I'm eagerly looking forward to checking out when it comes out in May. The webtoon's artwork...
Probable hot mess
Okay, I'm 20% intrigued about/80% dreading this upcoming film adaptation of Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. I really like the director (Selma's Ava DuVernay), but A Wrinkle in Time just isn't that movie friendly. Unlike, say, J.K. Rowling or C.S. Lewis, L'Engle's sense of fantasy was never particularly visual...