Sci-fi conspiracy theory
I keep seeing the teaser trailer for the upcoming movie Valerian and the Thousand Planets, which I'm told is based on a long-running French comic. I have waded through the title's Wikipedia entry, and I am now both excited about the...
We approve
Last week on Twitter I mentioned Australian graphic designer Jennifer Wu's amazing Tess of the D'Urbervilles cover, which cheers me up whenever I look at it. (Currently v. necessary.) Ms. Wu informs me that this cover is part of a larger project called #LoveRomance . The #LoveRomance campaign is devoted to championing romance writing and highlighting its exclusion from...
Net win, but...
So, the good news is that Ally Carter is releasing another Heist Society story! The bad news is that said story is a mere 120 pages, only available in a digital format, and seemingly connected to "The Gift of the Magi", my least-favorite...
Behold
Check out the spectacular Instagram of Sabeena Karnik, an artist who uses paper art to make beautiful typography. (Her work is featured on the book cover at left, too.) All of her letters are gorgeous, but I...
Counting down
If you, like me, are spending the day trying out anti-anxiety tips you found on the internet and obsessively reading the latest election speculation, here are a handful of free and delightful things you could be reading instead, arranged in order of most to least political...
Bad Blood, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Bad Blood is the fourth and final book in Jennifer Lynn Barnes's Naturals series. Once again, Barnes has delivered a briskly-paced thriller seemingly tailor-made for a CW adaptation. (Seriously, the fact that this series isn't already on my TV is bewildering to me.)
Weekly Book Giveaway: Bad Blood, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
I am in no mood for anything other than 100% undiluted entertainment, so this week's Book Giveaway is the latest book in Jennifer Lynn Barnes's Naturals series, Bad Blood. I'm not sure that even Ms. Barnes's book will be entertaining enough to distract me from my overwhelming election anxiety, but I figure it's got a better shot than most...
I have mid-level hopes
The official full-length trailer for the upcoming Wonder Woman movie is out, and it looks amazing. Sadly, that's probably a lie (while Patty Jenkins is directing the film, the dread Zach Snyder wrote it...
Seriously, a vast improvement
I can't find out much about this book cover mock-up (I found the original image here, but the link for artist Jennifer Wu's homepage doesn't seem to be working), but everything about it makes me...
Cross-marketing
The website Cosmic Booknews informs me that Goosebumps and Fear Street author R.L. Stine is currently working on a comic book series for Marvel. Details are non-existent (Stine is quoted as saying...
Heeey
At long last, Judith McNaught's classic (read: effective yet heavy-on-the-angst) romance novels are getting e-book editions. According to Dear Author, Simon & Schuster is beginning a digital roll-out of McNaught’s titles, each containing a new introduction written by the author. The first...
The Secret-Keepers, by Trenton Lee Stewart
Trenton Lee Stewart's The Secret-Keepers features loads of classic children's literature tropes: secret places, magical devices, traps, puzzles. I appreciate what Stewart was going for, but I'm way past the age of his target audience, and this is even more of a kid-specific effort than his previous series...
Weekly Book Giveaway: The Secret Keepers, by Trenton Lee Stewart
This week's Book Giveaway is The Secret Keepers, the latest book by The Mysterious Benedict Society author Trenton Lee Stewart. A full review will follow shortly, but first I must inform you that this cover art is even cooler in person...
I like the cover, at least.
According to io9, Lord of the Rings writers Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens are co-writing and producing a movie adaptation of Philip Reeve’s YA steampunk saga Mortal Engines. (Unlike LoTR, Jackson will not direct this film.) I thought...
Testing
So, my local Barnes and Noble is a test store, and they are currently trying out a new set-up where there are no "new release" sections. Instead, new books are faced outward on the shelves, but arranged alphabetically by author. This does make more room for books, but I suspect the bigger reason is that shoppers are now forced to browse the entire section to look for the latest releases...
Not feeling it
There's been a lot of controversy over the United Nations' recent decision to appoint Wonder Woman as their honorary ambassador for the empowerment of women and girls. I can actually appreciate...
Still expensive, though
Swiss-Miss recently introduced me to Depero Futurista, or "The Bolted Book", a 1927 work by the Italian Futurist Fortunato Depero. The book, which has long been unavailable, is described as "[a collection of] bold typographic experimentation, daring layouts, and featuring work in nearly every artistic and design medium". With the help of...
The Invisible Library and The Masked City, by Genevieve Cogman
The Invisible Library and The Masked City, the first two books in an ongoing series by Genevieve Cogman, read like a blend of Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series and Daniel O'Malley's Rook Files. Happily, Cogman takes these familiar ingredients—literary references, bureaucratic rivalries, pragmatic heroines—and...
Weekly Book Giveaway: The Invisible Library, by Genevieve Cogman
This week we're giving away The Invisible Library, the first book in Genevieve Cogman's fantasy/historical fiction series of the same name. Our review of The Invisible Library and its sequel, The Masked City, will be posted shortly...
Fingers crossed
And in other movie news, Variety is reporting that Warner Bros. has acquired Kevin Kwan's 2013 novel Crazy Rich Asians and has fast-tracked the romantic-comedy for production. Here's hoping it makes loads of money: it will be one...
Sure, whatever.
The teaser trailer is out for the upcoming miniseries adaptation of Liane Moriarty's 2014 bestselling novel Big Little Lies, which will air on HBO in 2017. The trailer doesn't tell us much, apart from...
Two thumbs up
Entertainment Weekly recently put together a useful list of 31 Spooky Books to Read This Halloween. In addition to the fact that I always love dorky holiday-themed reading lists, their picks are actually really good: there are plenty of expected names...
Allegedly not haunted
Atlas Obscura recently posted a fascinating article about the 13 abandoned apartments that remain in New York City's branch libraries. The apartments were originally designed to house the library caretakers and their families, but after the buildings were modernized most of the apartments were re-absorbed into the larger library spaces...
Keeping an open mind
According to E! Online, J.K. Rowling has confirmed that there will be five(!!!) Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them movies. This seems unnecessarily stretched out, but, hey...
Arabella, by Georgette Heyer
As a longtime Georgette Heyer fan, I was tantalized by the recent rumor that one of her books (The Grand Sophy) is being developed into a feature film. News on the project is scarce, but my hopes are high. The Grand Sophy would make a wonderful movie, but so would any number of Heyer's other books—not least her 1949 novel Arabella, one of her lightest and most beloved regency-era romances...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Arabella, by Georgette Heyer
This week's Book Giveaway is Georgette Heyer's 1949 regency romance novel Arabella. I have no idea why the woman in the cover image looks so pensive; this is a totally cheerful book, I promise! A full review will follow shortly...
Keeping up the good work
According to THR, Teen Wolf creators Jeff Davis and Andrew Cochran are looking to continue their work with MTV by developing a TV adaptation of H.G. Wells's 1897 novel The War of the Worlds. I'm not sure how they'll manage to transform this book into a sexy and frequently-shirtless teen drama, but...
I can live without it, myself.
The Huffington Post informs me that there is apparently an Outlander clothing line. Who knew? The clothes are available at both Hot Topic and Torrid, cost between $38.90 and $118.90, and pay tribute to the two time periods the heroine experiences: mid-20th century Europe and 18th century Scotland...