Jul 9 2015

A tribute both loving and long-winded

Last week, the Guardian posted novelist Hari Kunzru's very long, very positive tribute to Frank Herbert's Dune. The article is full of trivia and background information about the novel (which you can easily skim), but...

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Jul 8 2015

So, not Dead House, then?

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The theme for this week is apparently "confusion". Yesterday, I didn't understand the Shel Silverstein/World Cup connection, or why anyone might want another Pinocchio film, and today I'm bewildered by the new trailer for the upcoming Goosebumps movie...

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Jul 7 2015

But why?

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And speaking of inexplicable projects, FOX Soccer asked actress Helen Mirren to read Shel Silverstein's "Where the Sidewalk Ends" as a voice-over for their visual recap of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. Don't get me wrong: I love Helen Mirren, Shel Silverstein, and the Women's World Cup, but...

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Jul 7 2015

Misfit toys

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I'm a little dubious about this, because... why? Why would anyone want this? But if THR is to be believed, Robert Downey Jr. and director Paul Thomas Anderson are working on a live-action version of Pinocchio. Pinocchio is perhaps history's creepiest children's book...

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Jul 6 2015

Ink and Bone: The Great Library, by Rachel Caine

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Rachel Caine's new book Ink and Bone: The Great Library is set in an alternate universe where the world is (unofficially) ruled by the Great Library of Alexandria, a ruthless organization that controls all access to knowledge. Caine's protagonist is sixteen-year-old Jess Brightwell, the son of a successful book smuggler...

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Jul 6 2015

Weekly Book Giveaway: Ink and Bone, by Rachel Caine

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This week's Book Giveaway is Rachel Caine's Ink and Bone: The Great Library, which blends a fantastic idea—an alternate universe in which the Great Library of Alexandria has survived for centuries—with some tried-and-true dystopian teen-lit trappings. A full review will follow shortly (I'm on chapter three), but so far, so good...

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Jul 2 2015

Why won't you diiiiieeee?

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And, speaking of stories about obsessive, stalkerish "romances", Koala's Playground informs me that there is going to be yet another adaptation of the inexplicably popular manga Itazura Na Kiss...

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Jul 2 2015

The Donald Trump of the literary world

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Okay, I cracked up over this. Doesn't E.J. James have anyone on her team willing to say: "E.L., this is an incredibly stupid idea, and people are going to go to town on you"...

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Jul 1 2015

Health and wealth

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According to Publishers Weekly, Barnes and Noble is once again a profitable business, thanks largely to a more stable market for printed books. The article covers a bunch of other B&N-related news items (Nook sales, the recent website redesign, the up-and-coming "Barnes and Noble Education" division, etc.), but...

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Jun 30 2015

Hotly anticipated

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Aaaaand today marks the release of The Princess and the Pony, Kate Beaton's first book for children. I'm super excited about this one, even if A) I am several decades past the target audience age, and B) the book trailer is...

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Jun 30 2015

Scraping the bottom of the barrel, guys?

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Ah, just what the world needs: Badass Santa: The Comic. (Not its real name, sadly.) I originally assumed this sucker was a joke, but...

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Jun 29 2015

Nimona, by Noelle Stevenson

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I had good feelings about Noelle Stevenson's Nimona from the first page. I liked the warm colors and distinctive character design, I always enjoy stories about unconventional families, and I instantly fell in love with the title character, who reminded me strongly of an evil-doing Yotsuba. As the book progressed, however, the initial offbeat silliness began to feel like a bait-and-switch...

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Jun 29 2015

Weekly Book Giveaway: Nimona, by Noelle Stevenson

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This week's Book Giveaway is Noelle Stevenson's graphic novel Nimona. Admittedly, I picked it because the main character's name and image reminded me of a fantasy version of Ramona Quimby, but you know what? I've chosen plenty of books for stupider reasons. A full review will follow shortly...

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Jun 25 2015

Nope.

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Okay, um, GROSS. The latest full trailer for the upcoming live-action adaptation of Attack on Titan is out, and it's final: there are some things I don't need to see on a big screen (and some things I really don't need to see in 3D), and huge, nude, people-eating zombie-things rank high on that list...

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Jun 25 2015

No, thank you.

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My mother still hasn't recovered from seeing Gone Girl, so I'm sure she'll be thrilled to hear that there's another Gillian Flynn adaptation coming down the pike, and this one might be even grosser. The trailer is out for Dark Places...

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Jun 24 2015

Fingers crossed

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According to LaineyGossip, Selma director Ava DuVernay has been tapped to direct Marvel's upcoming film adaptation of the comic Black Panther, due out in 2018. This will be the first Marvel superhero movie to feature an African-American main character...

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Jun 23 2015

I'd still prefer a movie.

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I'm still waiting (...and waiting) for a film adaptation of one of Georgette Heyer's novels, but at least there are signs that her literary legacy is still being celebrated: according to the Guardian, Heyer was recently honored...

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Jun 23 2015

So many extra "e"s...

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Much to my delight, NPR recently posted another glorious advice column featuring the wisdom of Twitter personality Chaucer Doth Tweet. In this installment, Chaucer answers many questions related to summer travel...

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Jun 22 2015

And Then Everything Unraveled, by Jennifer Sturman

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I feel like I've been complaining about this a lot recently, but seriously, authors: if your book is a series installment, you need to make that clear from the start. I really liked Jennifer Sturman's debut YA novel And Then Everything Unraveled, but I was not best pleased to discover that it was only half of a story...

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Jun 22 2015

Weekly Book Giveaway: And Then Everything Unraveled, by Jennifer Sturman

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This week's Book Giveaway is Jennifer Sturman's 2009 novel And Then Everything Unraveled, which comes highly recommended by Meg Cabot, who claims "Jennifer Sturman's YA debut is a delight. You'll love [the heroine], and watching her come unraveled is pure fun." I'm putting my trust in you, Meg. Our review will follow shortly...

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Jun 17 2015

She causes me second-hand anxiety

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So, Jennifer Crusie continues to be frustratingly non-productive on the new-book front, but she is apparently working on a re-write/expansion of her holiday-themed novella Hot Toy...

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Jun 16 2015

Signs of life

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And in other adaptation news, the long-rumored TV version of Neil Gaiman's American Gods has finally been greenlit. I still have queasy flashbacks to certain details featured in this novel, despite reading it nearly 15 years ago, but...

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Jun 16 2015

Anyone else

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UGH. The dread Kenneth Branagh is apparently in talks to direct a film adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. I can't stand Branagh, a pedestrian director whose work has always been inexplicably over-praised...

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Jun 15 2015

Flirting in Italian, by Lauren Henderson

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Lauren Henderson's 2012 novel Flirting in Italian is jam-packed with things I enjoy: girl bonding, travel, mystery, romance, and telenovela-worthy birth secrets. It's close to the perfect summer beach read—apart from one jarring flaw...

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Jun 15 2015

Weekly Book Giveaway: Flirting in Italian, by Lauren Henderson

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After staring long and hard at the book I meant to review today (Laurell K. Hamilton's Dead Ice), I decided to skip it favor of something else. Anything else. I just can't face Laurell this early in the week, particularly not when the book in question seems to kick off on an exceptionally disgusting note, even for her...

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Jun 11 2015

Busy guy

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The Library of Congress announced yesterday that the next U.S. poet laureate will be Juan Felipe Herrera. Herrera, a California-based activist, teacher, and author of poetry, "novels in verse", and children's books, is the first Latino poet to be appointed to the position...

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Jun 10 2015

No, thanks.

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In a leave-no-stone-unturned effort to extract every possible penny from the George R. R. Martin media empire, Bantam Books recently announced that they're planning a Game of Thrones-themed coloring book. While I've written before about my love for coloring books for adults, I'll be skipping this sucker...

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Jun 9 2015

News re: Newt

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According to NPR, J.K. Rowling recently indicated on Twitter that there is an American equivalent of Hogwarts. She's keeping the name and location of the school under wraps for the time being (apparently, it might play a role in the upcoming film adaptation of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), but...

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Jun 9 2015

Eh.

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The first trailer is out for Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 (and don't think I don't have a little rage flare-up every time I have to write out that stupidly long title). The film looks fine, I guess. I'm sure it...

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Jun 8 2015

Snow White Must Die, by Nele Neuhaus

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I'm not a big mystery reader, but I like to periodically give the genre a shot, just to make sure I'm not missing out on something awesome. My latest attempt was Nele Neuhaus's internationally best-selling novel Snow White Must Die. While I found it readable enough, it's definitely not the book that's going to convert me into a hardcore mystery fan...

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