Juicy!
The New York Times posted a fascinating article last week about the legal battle raging over the Archie comic book empire. I had no idea the behind-the-scenes drama at that comic was so heated, but...
Uncommon TV
Huh: Crunchyroll informs me that a selection of Rumiko Takahashi's Rumic Theater short stories are going to be adapted into a pair of Japanese live-action drama anthologies. The Rumic Theater stories have been described as "domestic stories with a unique twist"...
The Calling, by Kelley Armstrong
The Calling is the second book in Kelley Armstrong's Darkness Rising trilogy, which is in turn loosely connected to her bestselling (and ridiculously enjoyable) Darkest Powers trilogy. The Calling opens moments after the events of the earlier book: shape-shifting teenager Maya Delaney and a handful of her classmates have been bundled into a rescue helicopter after their remote Vancouver Island town is threatened by a forest fire...
Whoa.
Two thoughts went through my brain upon seeing this:
- Holy cats, there's going to be a A Wrinkle in Time graphic novel? About time!
and...
Bellfield Hall, by Anna Dean
After reading a glowing review on AustenBlog, my hopes for Anna Dean's 2008 novel Bellfield Hall were high. Sadly, I was underwhelmed. There was nothing hideously wrong with the book, but Dean's various elements never gelled into a compelling whole...
I am envious
Here's some mild amusement for you, dear readers, to slide us all into the weekend: Flavorwire's Fictional Character Birthday Calendar. Go ahead, look up your birthday! My birthday coincides with that of with some character I've never heard of before, but Nathan lucked out: he shares a birthday with The Count from Sesame Street.
A tough sell
NPR has posted a helpful article explaining the Justice Department's newly-filed price-fixing suit against Apple Inc. and a large group of publishers, including...
Brace yourselves, booksellers
Some details have been announced about J. K. Rowling's upcoming adult novel: according to publisher Little, Brown & Co., Rowling's The Casual Vacancy is a dark comedy "centering on the fictional English town of Pagford, where darkness lies beneath a peaceful facade". The book is set to hit shelves on September 27, and will undoubtedly sell a bazillion copies.
Will lightning strike twice?
AMC is so happy with the success of their adaptation of Robert Kirkman's comic book series The Walking Dead that they've picked up his latest project for development, too...
Less is more
I love these: artist Rowan Stocks-Moore has created new, elegantly stripped-down posters for several of Disney's fairytale adaptations, including this absolutely awesome-looking image for Peter Pan. You can see a slideshow of his efforts over on Flavorwire, or check out his Etsy shop, where his prints are available for a mere $20 apiece.
That was fast
Okay... so I was just writing about the announcement of a Katniss Everdeen Barbie doll, and apparently it has already A) been released, and B) sold out for the foreseeable future...
Mixed company
If you're in the market for a thematically-appropriate pair of bookends to contain your collection of nonfiction books on the American electoral process (and who isn't?), look no further than these "Left and Right" bookends from CB2. Apart from that $40 price tag, they're pretty cute, huh?
Literary real estate
Time recently posted an article about the North Carolina property that was used as the location for District 12 in the recent Hunger Games movie. The 72-acre plot is for up for sale, with an asking price of $1.4 million. I can't say I would be leaping to buy it...
So many fake names
They've released the cover art for Lemony Snicket's (a.k.a. Daniel Handler) upcoming book Who Could That Be at This Hour?. This will be the first full-length novel Handler has written using his better-known pseudonym since A Series of Unfortunate Events ended five years ago, and...
Planting season
In a nod to the Spring season, this month's NPR Backseat Book Club pick is Paul Fleischman's 1999 novel Seedfolks. I haven't read the book, but NPR's description makes it sound absolutely lovely, so I'm thinking I might buy it for my own Easter basket...
Lookin' sharp
The full-length Rurouni Kenshin trailer has turned up, complete with English subs. It looks awesome, and I'm increasingly hopeful the high quality will earn it a widespread international release.
A great loss to art
The illustrator John Griffiths has died at age 85. Griffiths was an incredibly talented and versatile artist, and produced a long line of memorable book covers for Penguin, a handful of which have been collected into this slideshow.
SPOILER: Now they're going to be aliens
NPR just posted an article about the angry response to the prospect of a Michael Bay-produced "reboot" of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. Now, I understand people being irritated over the the prospect of a Michael Bay-produced anything...
Tacky in the best possible way
In celebration of the new e-book editions of the Classics Illustrated line, Flavorwire has set up a slideshow of some of the iconic comic books' best cover art. I'm partial to the Shakespeare covers...
A "kid" movie, appropriate for actual kids?
I thought the trailers looked God-awful, but the response to Mirror Mirror is actually mixed, and includes several downright glowing reviews from some very respectable sources...
Impressively gross
I probably shouldn't snicker over this, but I can't help it. The book world has been abuzz with news about E.L. James's unexpectedly successful Twilight-fanfiction-turned-published-erotic-novel Fifty Shades of Grey, which I've been doing my best to ignore....
An Austen FarmVille
Are all Legacy Interactive games this irritating? I've been trying to find out more information about the upcoming Facebook game Rogues & Romance (appalling name, I know, but it's based on Jane Austen's novels), but their website sucks....
Questionable casting
Actress Chloe Moretz has apparently confirmed that she will be playing the title role in the upcoming re-make of Stephen King's Carrie...
Maybe less terrible?
Speaking of upcoming movies, they've also unleashed an "Extended Sneak Peek" trailer for Snow White and the Huntsman. I'm on board with the fight scenes and magic and all, but less sold on the whole "inner beauty" nonsense...
Terrible, squared
The teaser trailer is out for the upcoming movie adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's sci-fi love-triangle The Host, and it looks about like you'd expect: simultaneously awful and like it takes itself really, really seriously.
So twisted
They're seriously planning a Katniss Everdeen Barbie? I thought that was an early April Fool's joke, but apparently it's a real thing. I... can't quite wrap my head around the idea. Are they still going to make her a traditional Barbie, with the high-heel shaped feet and impossible body image and everything? Because if that's the case, no joke, I would rather buy a Katniss Cabbage Patch doll. Or a Katniss My Little Pony.
Snow White, by the Brothers Grimm and Camille Rose Garcia
Somebody took a lot of time and trouble to get the Camille Rose Garcia edition of the Brothers Grimm version of Snow White exactly right. The fonts are gorgeous, the page layout is exquisite, and Garcia's elaborate, swirling illustrations are displayed to their best advantage. Unfortunately, Snow White isn't one of those stories that holds up to close examination...
The Gathering Storm, by Robin Bridges
It always feels weird to complain about a story having too much plot, but sometimes I can't help it: Robin Bridges's novel The Gathering Storm—the first book in a projected trilogy—races along at a breakneck pace, but it would have been improved by more world-building and less straight-up storytelling.
India Black, by Carol K. Carr
Carol K. Carr's debut novel India Black doesn't actually make that much sense, but when a book is as breezily stylish as this one, being a little short on substance is totally forgivable.
Sanditon (Continued), by Jane Austen and others
Most of our posts this week are going to be devoted to reviews, as our To Be Read shelf is once again looking like a potential earthquake hazard. And while the rest of the reviews are going to be of novels we've received specifically for Wordcandy, today I'm focusing on two books I picked up at my local library: Charlotte, by Jane Austen and Julia Barrett, and Sanditon, by Jane Austen and “Another Lady”.