Dec 17 2015

At least it will be better than Crimson Peak.

I'm not sure if I'll see this movie adaptation of J.G. Ballard’s novel High Rise (although I do like the "creepy sales pitch" vibe of the trailer), but it did leave me with a more pressing question...

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Dec 17 2015

Any excuse to use these covers

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Elsewhere in The Guardian, there is a fascinating article about some new research about possible source material for Shakespeare's Macbeth. According to Dr John-Mark Philo, a lecturer at East Anglia University, there are close similarities between Lady Macbeth and two Roman queens...

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Dec 16 2015

No thanks.

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The Guardian put together a list of the "Top Ten Uncanny Graphic Novels", for those of you with fearless natures, strong stomachs, and lots of disposable income. Their picks are all solid (and include Charles Burns's Black Hole, which I still haven't fully recovered from...

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Dec 15 2015

...okay, sure.

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NPR recently posted an interview with Neil Gaiman about his classic Sandman comic book series. Sandman ended in 1996, but last month DC Comics released a deluxe edition of Sandman: Overture, the six-issue miniseries Gaiman wrote...

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Dec 15 2015

Spinning off

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The "announcement trailer" is out for the hotly-anticipated (by Warner Bros, at least, who are clearly hoping that Harry Potter mania has not lost one ounce of its earlier fervor) movie adaptation of J.K. Rowling's Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. I have to give the studio props...

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Dec 14 2015

I WANT IT.

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And speaking of horror stories, check out this Soviet cuisine cookbook! The recipes in Moscow-based food writers/historians Olga and Pavel Syutkin's The CCCP Cookbook: True Stories of Soviet Cuisine might not...

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Dec 14 2015

The Man in the High Castle (TV adaptation), by Philip K. Dick

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Last week we reviewed Philip K. Dick's 1962 novel The Man in the High Castle, so this week we thought we'd take a gander at the first episode of Amazon Prime's recent TV adaptation of the material. The complete first season of this series is available here...

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Dec 10 2015

But why?

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And in other perplexing movie announcements, why does the upcoming Tarzan movie even exist? The teaser trailer looks pretty cheeseball, the promo pictures are ridiculous, and...

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Dec 10 2015

CGI hands creep me out

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The teaser trailer has been released for Disney's upcoming adaptation of Roald Dahl's The BFG. This has never been one of my favorite books, so...

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Dec 9 2015

My eyes, they roll

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Today in embarrassing book-banning news, a school board member in Marshfield, Wisconsin is trying to ban a Muppets book on the grounds that it contains images of suffering and poverty that are "too graphic" for a kindergarten audience...

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Dec 8 2015

Maybe a nice vacation?

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So, I finally got around to watching the trailer for Captain America: Civil War. (It was posted last month, but my interest in Marvel's increasingly bloated universe is waning.) It looks...

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Dec 8 2015

Does not compute.

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In an effort to arrive at a definitive list of the United Kingdom's greatest novels, BBC Culture contributor Jane Ciabattari polled 82 non-British book critics for their favorites. The resulting list is novels only (no short stories/poetry/plays), and it is perfectly respectable, although...

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Dec 7 2015

The Man in the High Castle, by Philip K. Dick

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According to Wikipedia, Philip K. Dick considered his Hugo Award-winning 1962 novel The Man in the High Castle to be his masterpiece, but was too disturbed by his own creation to ever finish a sequel. Seeing as Dick made a career out of churning out disturbing literature, this might seem surprising, but...

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Dec 7 2015

Weekly Book Giveaway: The Man in the High Castle, by Philip K. Dick

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This week's Book Giveaway is Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle, which has recently been transformed into a TV miniseries from Amazon. I usually find Dick's ideas more interesting than his actual novels, but what the hell: it's only 274 pages, so it can't be that bad either way...

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Dec 3 2015

Holiday Gift Guide Idea #8: Any of the literary posters at Pop Chart Lab

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Gift Idea #8: Pop Chart Lab's extremely detailed literature-themed posters ($29)...

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Dec 3 2015

Holiday Gift Guide Idea #7: 2016 Jane Austen calendar

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Gift Idea #7: "Amiable Rancor", the Republic of Pemberley's 2016 Jane Austen calendar ($19.99)...

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Dec 3 2015

Holiday Gift Guide Idea #6: Literary subscription boxes

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Gift Idea #6: Literary subscription boxes (approx. $30 to $50 per box)...

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Dec 2 2015

Holiday Gift Guide Idea #5: Any of the great Alice's Adventures in Wonderland anniversary editions

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Gift Idea #5: Any of the 3 billion (or so) 150th anniversary editions of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (approx. $10 to $50)...

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Dec 2 2015

Holiday Gift Guide Idea #4: Edward Gorey anything

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Gift Idea #4: Any of the many fine goods at the Edward Gorey House Store (prices vary)...

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Dec 1 2015

Holiday Gift Guide Idea #3: MOMA bookends

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Gift Idea #3: Hiroaki Watanabe's Indice Bookends ($25)...

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Dec 1 2015

Holiday Gift Guide Idea #2: "2 Spaces 4 America" Hoodie

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Gift Idea #2: Any of the new Bloom County products, really, but particularly the "2 Spaces for America" hoodie ($49)...

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Dec 1 2015

Holiday Gift Guide Idea #1: Harry Potter artwork

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Dear readers, it is once again time for the Wordcandy Holiday Gift Guide. As usual, we're running late, but (also as usual) we've found some awesome stuff.


Gift Idea #1: Harry Potter artwork from MinaLima (Prices vary, but are all high)...

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Nov 30 2015

Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen

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I have long owned the Mr. Boddington's Penguin Classics editions of Pride and Prejudice and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and both suffer from a major quality control issue: the ink periodically fades to near-invisibility. Still, I loved the line's cover art, so when their edition of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility...

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Nov 30 2015

Weekly Book Giveaway: Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen

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This week's Book Giveaway is the Mr. Boddington's Penguin Classics edition of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. This has never been my favorite Austen novel, but I figure the week after Thanksgiving is the best possible time to read a book about the heroism of family members who keep their personal issues to themselves...

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Nov 25 2015

Pride and Prejudice and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Quarto Classics Reimagined), by Jane Austen and Lewis Carroll

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As longtime Wordcandy readers know, I collect editions of Pride and Prejudice and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I only have so much shelf space, so I try to be discerning, but every once in a while I see more copies that I absolutely need to own...

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Nov 24 2015

It's not meant to be a horror story, but...

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The Guardian recently posted one of their pictorial essays on the real bear who inspired Winnie-the-Pooh. Apparently, in 1914 a vet named Harry Colebourn was on his way to fight in World War I when...

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Nov 24 2015

About time

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And speaking of H.P. Lovecraft, there's an article about his long and disturbing history of racism over on Salon. (See why I can't make a logical Christmas/Lovecraft connection?) Lovecraft has been in the news recently because...

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Nov 23 2015

I should Photoshop a Santa hat onto this guy.

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The Guardian posted an article about British booksellers' attempt to create yet another shopping holiday: "Civilized Saturday", a day designed as the “perfect antidote” to the crazed bargain-hunting of Black Friday...

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Nov 23 2015

So pretty! Also discounted!

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First: Hi, guys! We're not doing a Book Giveaway this week, because it's so short. The Giveaway feature will return next Monday.

Second: if you too admired the very beautiful "Mr. Boddington's Penguin Classics" editions that were previously only available at Anthropologie, you...

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Nov 19 2015

Pre-holiday shopping (for me)

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I'm thinking of buying myself this adorable unicorn-shaped bookend from CB2 ($24.95), but I feel like I'd have to re-arrange my books so it was just holding back a shelf of fantasy novels, and I might be too lazy for that...

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