End of an era
Heh. Apparently, Oxford's All Souls College has decided to scrap their infamous one-word exam, which frequently consisted of a question like this:'Water' (Expound)Admittedly, this will probably s...
So unfair. So very, very unfair.
WHAT IS THIS NONSENSE?As y'all know, I HATED the recent five-issue Marvel comic adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. So when I saw their next Austen-inspired project (an adaptation of...
Lord Sunday, by Garth Nix
Lord Sunday is the final book in Garth Nix's ambitious fantasy/adventure series The Keys to the Kingdom. Over the course of the six previous novels Nix's protagonist—an asthmatic 12-year-old na...
A little something extra
Okay, this isn't really a book post, but I have a head cold, and when I don't feel well reading about food soothes me (even when I totally can't taste anything). But even if I wasn't sick, this c...
Typecasting
Angelina Jolie to play the Wicked Witch of the West in a Wizard of Oz remake? ...I could see that, actually. I think she'd rock the green paint, but they might want to go for a more form-fitting ...
Swedish smackdown
If you're a fan of Steig Larsson's hugely successful Millenium Trilogy, be sure to check out the Times article "The Afterlife of Stieg Larsson". It's a little wordy (eight pages), but offers a gr...
Not the cake I would have chosen, but...
Huh. Apparently, May 10th through the 16th was Children's Book Week, and the always-entertaining site Cake Wrecks decided to celebrate with a selection of literature-inspired cakes. I don't know...
What DOES Disney have against eyeshadow, anyway?
Clearly, some people see the Disney 'verse in a sexier light than I do--check out J. Scott Campbell's illustrations of pneumatic Disney princesses (I can't believe the Little Mermaid's seashells c...
Poking fun at the Scottish Play
Everyone loves Kate Beaton's Jane Austen comics, but her other stuff is pretty great (and literary), too. Check out this Macbeth collection... while bearing in mind that some of the language isn'...
A far, far better thing
I was hanging out in the Vienna airport a few years ago, and was thrilled to discover that they sold packets of gummy bears in the ladies' restrooms. (I don't actually eat gummy worms, being vege...
Seriously, who does that?
In a particularly depressing bit of book-related news, someone stole 1,348 picture books valuing nearly $23,000 from a Washington State public library in Port Orchard. The missing titles represen...
Any movie with a Judy Blume reference...
When I heard they were updating The Scarlet Letter as a high school rom-com I was dubious, but now that I've seen the trailer for Easy A I'm upgrading my opinion to "cautiously optimistic". I'm n...
King Solomon's Mines goes a little T2.
This, on the other hand, I'm mildly interested in: The Hollywood Reporter is saying that the suddenly (and inexplicably) ubiquitous Sam Worthington is planning to star in Quatermain, a sci-fi take...
Not appealing. Not at all.
Wow. This was one of those "Is it April Fool's Day?" moments: according to FabSugar, perfumers Ah & Oh Studio have released a line of perfumes--oh, sorry, "scent stories"--inspired by the tales o...
The Splendid Magic of Penny Arcade: The 11½ Anniversary Edition, by Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins
Penny Arcade is a great comic strip. I've laughed at the punchlines, I give series creators Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins major props for their charitable endeavors, and I'm told their PAX shin...
The Essential Wonder Woman Encyclopedia, by Phil Jimenez and John Wells
Normally, I wince at a sight of a $30 paperback, no matter how well-written or attractively packaged, but such was not the case for The Essential Wonder Woman Encyclopedia. If you are part of the...
Cirque du Freak: Trials of Death (Yen Press Extravaganza Part VIII), by Darren Shan
Aaaand we're done! (At least for a while.) When a spider-obsessed boy named Darren Shan sneaks out with his best friend Steve to see the infamous Cirque Du Freak, things get even scarier than they'd bargained for. The inhabitants of the freak show aren't just strange, they're downright otherworldly, and...
Nightschool: The Weirn Books (Yen Press Extravaganza Part VII), by Svetlana Chmakova
The Nightschool is a magical place that allows vampires, werewolves, and weirns (a special type of witch) to learn everything from scrying...
Hero Tales (Yen Press Extravaganza Part VI), by Jin Zhou Huang
Hero Tales is the story of Taitou, a powerful young warrior with a legendary sword and a hot temper. When his sword is stolen and he discovers he is one of the seven heroes prophesied to save the world, Taitou sets out with his little sister Laila and his friend Ryuukou on a quest to hone his powers—with the ultimate goal of defeating the evil general who controls the nation's child emperor...
Spice and Wolf (Yen Press Extravaganza Part V), by Isuna Hasekura
Yes, dear readers, it's time for another run-down of Yen Press's recent releases! Spice and Wolf is a manga adaptation of Isuna Hasekura's novel series of the same name. When young merchant Kraft Lawrence finds a naked girl with wolf ears and a tail napping in the back of his cart, he remains calm (more or less)...
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: the Graphic Novel, by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
To misquote Jane Austen, it is a truth universally acknowledged that an unexpectedly successful book will force its creators to keep milking it like a cash cow until it falls over dead. That's wh...
The Stuff of Legend, by Brian Smith and Mike Raicht
The Stuff of Legend—Book I: The Dark was written by Mike Raicht and Brian Smith (both former editors at Marvel) and illustrated by Charles Paul Wilson III. Their story is set in World War II-era Broo...
Bat country
According to Cinematical, Hollywood is eyeing a movie adaptation of one of the real incidents in journalist Hunter S. Thompson's life. Shortly before his death in 2005, Thompson set out to help a...
Kiss in the Dark, by Lauren Henderson
Lauren Henderson's Kiss in the Dark is the third book in her series about Scarlett Wakefield, a wealthy, orphaned teen attending Wakefield Hall, her iron-willed grandmother's exclusive English boa...
Like we didn't already have enough of those
I staring out the window yesterday, wondering what Meg Cabot has been up to. (Apart from finishing up her body-swapping Airhead series, which we're way behind on reviewing, even though her publis...
Cinderella Cleaners: Change of a Dress and Prep Cool, by Maya Gold
Maya Gold's Cinderella Cleaners series has the bright, cheery appeal of a Disney Channel made-for-TV movie, cut with some Nora Roberts-style respect for service-type jobs. I was dubious, but found...
Teachers/parents/etc. take note...
I'm not sure if this contest will be of personal interest to our normal demographic, but it sounded too good to ignore: Random House Books and the Kids Crooked House Company have put together an ...
Free For All: Fixing School Food in America, by Janet Poppendieck
Janet Poppendieck writes like a lawyer, and we mean that in the best possible way. She's careful and she covers her bases—both highly desirable traits in a nonfiction writer, particularly wh...
Austen goes Bollywood... again
AustenBlog informs me that Aisha, a Bollywood film adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma starring Sonam Kapoor (left), will be coming out this August. I'm a big fan of Kandukondain Kandukondain, the 2...