Life is unfair.
Check out this announcement from Harvard:J.K. Rowling, author of the world-renowned "Harry Potter" novels, will be the principal speaker during the Afternoon Exercises of Harvard University's 357t...
Runemarks, by Joanne Harris
Joanne Harris’s novel Runemarks—her first book for children—features an intriguing female protagonist, a collection of secondary characters from Norse mythology, and an imaginative, fully-developed setting. There have been more impressive fantasy novels released in the past few years, but Runemarks is a solid entry into the growing field of entertaining novels for young readers written by “serious” authors...
It's alive!!!
Well, we're finally seeing signs of life on the Yen Press/ICE Kunion front. Yen Press's webpage is UP, and it's full of Korean-manhwa goodness. Yes, dear readers: new volumes of Goong, Angel Dia...
Austen Week, part V
Several months ago we were offered a pile of Austen-inspired novels from the fine people at Sourcebooks, Inc.. While all of the titles were entertaining, we were particularly impressed by Sybil G....
Austen Week, part IV
And if you're really, truly, fantastically geeky, there's always the Pride and Prejudice board game.I kid you not:Tomorrow, we review!
Austen Week, part III
Today we express our love for Jane through shopping!There are bags:There are extremely classy tank tops:And there's this, which I totally, totally want:All of these and much, much more are availab...
Austen Week, part II
(You know, it's very soothing, not having to get creative with my post titles.)We're planning to review a number of Austen continuations this week, and Lord knows there's been a recent outpouring ...
Austen Week, part I
It's my birthday this week (yes, all week), and Jane Austen is my favorite author, and American PBS stations are currently showing all those (mostly bad) Austen adaptations, and I have a pile of A...
Dogs and Goddesses, by Jennifer Crusie, Anne Stuart, and Lani Diane Rich
Dogs and Goddesses, the latest collaborative novel from Jennifer Crusie, Anne Stuart, and Lani Diane Rich, has a lot of plot packed into its 388 pages. In addition to the three heroines’ romantic travails (one storyline per author), there’s also magical cookies, talking dogs, and an ancient, ruthless Mesopotamian goddess with plans of world domination...
Curiosity vs. my delicate sensibilities
I've been tempted by a number of grim-looking books recently. They all seem to be creative and well-written, but there's no denying that they have a strong smell of "reading this book can only le...
A love triangle involving only two bodies?
In a word: Bleh. I don't even like normal love triangles, and a two-bodies/three-souls one sounds more irritating than most.It's no secret that I'm not a fan of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight books, a...
Go Fug Yourself goes literary.
Y'know, I'm just not sure about this:I appreciate that the Fug Girls need and totally deserve to be paid for their work, but... a book? Nobody loves the Go Fug Yourself blog more than I do. I read...
Philip Pullman continues to milk the His Dark Materials cash cow.
Here's the cover art for Philip Pullman's upcoming Once Upon a Time in the North:Very... dignified-looking. Once Upon a Time in the North is a prequel to the His Dark Materials trilogy, and focuse...
Black Magic Woman, by Justin Gustainis
I love monster movies, which is why I’ve always been surprised that the 2004 film Van Helsing was so bad. It had vampires, werewolves, witches, and Hugh Jackman—how could such abundant awesomenes...
The Fattening of America, by Eric A. Finkelstein and Laurie Zuckerman
Health economist Eric A. Finkelstein and business writer Laurie Zuckerman are the co-authors of The Fattening of America: How the Economy Makes Us Fat, If It Matters, and What to Do About It, a...
Holy CATS.
Is there GROPING* I see in this trailer for the upcoming BBC adaptation of Austen's Sense and Sensibility, or am I just filthy-minded? *Okay, maybe it's not full-blown groping... but there are tra...
A Slave No More, by David W. Blight
We here at Wordcandy usually choose our books based on purely hedonistic impulses, but we have been known—very occasionally—to pick up the odd “improving” book. We frequently regret this impulse, ...
I don't have room for this...
...seeing as my house is well under 1,000 square feet, but I still totally want it:[Source]It's a Yotsuba&! "Cardbo" action figure!!! Isn't it adorable? It's twenty bucks (ouch), and it's not out ...
A new "Dune" movie?
I'm not sure whether I'm more excited or horrified by this news:'Ladies and gentlemen, the next huge sci-fi franchise has a director. During an interview with "The Kingdom" director Peter Berg, he...
Dragonhaven, by Robin McKinley
Robin McKinley’s Dragonhaven, her first novel in four years, is a celebration of atmosphere and characterization. It’s an intensely absorbing story, but longtime fans take heed: this book has much more in common with her character-driven vampire novel Sunshine than her earlier, more conventional fantasy novels...
Prettification
And speaking of new and improved cover art, somebody has FINALLY done a makeover on L.M. Montgomery's novels. Behold the New Canadian Library's versions of Anne of Green Gables and Emily of New Mo...
Moving up in the world
I'm normally a little irritated when a paperback author re-releases previously-inexpensive older material in new, pricier editions. (See: Meg Cabot, whose The Boy Next Door was previously availabl...
Best of luck, Mr. Pratchett.
A New Year's Day chat reminded me that I hadn't already posted this:"Terry Pratchett has been diagnosed with a rare form of early onset Alzheimer's, as he announced yesterday with a post to the we...
2008: A Year in (Pre)view
And here’s the flip side to yesterday’s list: the top ten literary events we’re anticipating in 2008. Happy New Year, dear readers!1. 2008 is the year that disappointed ICE Kunion readers will fin...
Wordcandy's Year in Books: 2007 Edition
Hey, everybody! We are delighted to present our annual list of the top ten Wordcandy-approved book releases, rumors, and events of the past year. We really enjoyed this stuff, and we hope you did,...
eBooks GALORE!
Girlebooks.com is a website with a mission: it offers free e-books by female writers, all in an effort to “make classic and lesser-known works by female writers available to a large audience throu...
Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment, by James Patterson
James Patterson has described Maximum Ride as his favorite series, and possibly his best. We totally understand why these books are his favorites, as the first installment in the series...