Posts tagged with classic-books
Dune: 50th Anniversary Edition, by Frank Herbert
I was so excited when I was offered a 50th anniversary edition of Frank Herbert's Dune. There are so many exciting editions of this story: lurid Dune! Tasteful Dune...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Dune, by Frank Herbert
I feel like it's time to re-read a classic that wasn't written by Jane Austen or P.G. Wodehouse. Someone was kind enough to send us a 50th Anniversary edition of Frank Herbert's Dune, so that's this week's Book Giveaway. A full review will follow shortly...
Moomin: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip: Vol. 1, by Tove Jansson
In 2006, the Canadian publishing company Drawn & Quarterly released the first volume of Moomin: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip. Whoever did the graphic design for these editions deserves a raise: they're vivid and eye-catching, doing full justice to Jansson's art and characters...
Beige pleather and inadequate fun
The MyModernMet online store recently launched a line of clutches designed by Elena Myloslavskaya of BAGatelle Studio. The three designs feature classic cover art from Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, and Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven, and cost $78 apiece. You'd think this would be right up my alley, but...
MST3K, take note
And speaking of awful movie adaptations, check out this trailer for an upcoming retelling of The Little Mermaid. It looks spectacularly terrible: the acting, the sets, the plot, everything. I thought it was difficult to sit through the trailer, so my heart goes out to all the parents who will be forced to sit through...
A bit of a stretch
The title of this Dangerous Minds article ("MEET THE PRIEST WHO WAS OSCAR WILDE’S LOVER AND PARTLY THE BASIS FOR ‘DORIAN GRAY’") is a little misleading. The guy in question became a priest well after his alleged affair with Wilde, and he doesn't seem to have had much to do with the character of Dorian Gray...
Helpful!
GQ recently put together a list of 20 classic novels you can totally skip reading, with suggestions for books you should read instead. I don't agree with all of their alternate picks, but I love how nasty some of their initial descriptions are...
Persuasion (Modern Library Edition), by Jane Austen
As longtime readers of the site know, every few months I indulge myself by reviewing specific editions of Jane Austen's novels. These are not meant to be reviews of the stories (hot take: Austen's books are great! You should totally read 'em!), they are reviews of the supplementary materials included by various publishers. I am a raging nerd, so...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Persuasion (Modern Library Edition), by Jane Austen
This week's Book Giveaway is the 2001 Modern Library edition of Jane Austen's Persuasion. I'm only a few pages in, but I'm already irritated by the foreword, so brace yourselves for a lot of very nerd-specific ranting. Our review will be posted shortly...
It's lurking
The trailer is out for Disney's live-action film Christopher Robin. I'm sure it will be very affecting and make a bazillion dollars, but I'd feel more enthusiastic about it if my first reaction wasn't: 'DEMON BEAR!' Seriously...
Lin-Manuel... and friends
The teaser trailer is out for Disney's upcoming Mary Poppins reboot, and no matter how you felt about the original (personally, I avoid it), you gotta give credit to the mouse for common sense: the first character you see is Lin-Manuel Miranda...
Ugh, no way.
I just ran across a review for the movie Colette, starring Keira Knightley and inspired by the life of the famous French author. I had no idea this movie was a thing, and while I see the reviewer describes the film as "politely sexy", I have my doubts that a biography of Colette could be anything other than profoundly depressing...
Could be worse
Last week it was announced that George Clooney's upcoming miniseries adaptation of Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22 has been picked up by Hulu. I'm having trouble imagining how well Heller's story will translate to TV, but if I had to pick someone to direct it, I probably would have chosen...
No singing!
According to Deadline, Masterpiece and BBC One are working together on an six-part "event adaptation" of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables...
Where's Little My?
There's a Moomin-themed children's hospital opening in Finland later this year, and the official Moomin website has some early pictures of the decor. Sadly, I don't see any images of my favorite character, Little My, but...
Stretching the limits of "inspired by"
Oooohhhkay. I just watched this trailer for the upcoming Disney adaptation of The Nutcracker, and it doesn't seem to have much to do with the ballet or the book. Plus, no one seems to speak much, so I'm wondering if...
It just looks so juvenile.
LitHub recently posted J. Courtney Sullivan's lovely tribute to Anne of Green Gables: "Anne of Green Gables: Patron Saint of Girls Who Ask Too Many Questions". I'm not too sure about the "saint" part (one of the character's charms is how far she is from saintly), but...
Bubbly on Your Budget, by Marjorie Hillis
For a book written in 1937, Marjorie Hillis's Bubbly on Your Budget has some surprisingly timely advice. Sure, the details might need to be adjusted for a 21st century lifestyle, but her basic message—that you should spend your money on what you actually value—is just as valid today as it was 80 years ago...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Bubbly On Your Budget, by Marjorie Hillis
In honor of this season of furious consumerism, this week's Book Giveaway is Marjorie Hillis's Bubbly on Your Budget, a reprint of a financial advice guide first published in 1937 under the title Orchids On Your Budget. This volume is used (and looks it), but still an unexpectedly modern and entertaining read. A full review will follow shortly...
Wait, what?
How did I miss this? Apparently, Starz is making a miniseries adaptation of E.M. Forster's Howards End. This new version will star Hayley Atwell as Margaret Schlegel and Matthew Macfadyen as Henry Wilcox, which is a nice change from the 90s adaptation, which tried (and failed) to...
Tell me more
Yesterday, someone on Jezebel posted a loving tribute to the 1946 film Dragonwyck, which I had never heard of but now need to watch immediately. The movie is based on a book by Anya Seton, and the plot sounds like it will be familiar to anyone who has ever read a gothic novel, but...
On Wednesdays we wear BLOOD SPLATTERS
According to Deadline, two (male) screenwriters have made a deal to create a new film adaptation of William Golding's Lord of the Flies, only this time? All the characters will be girls. This...
I like it, though!
I was delighted to see a review of Jean Webster's 1912 novel Daddy-Long-Legs on the website Dear Author, and even more pleased by what a great job the author did of summarizing the book's strengths and weaknesses...
All spiders would need to be carefully transferred outside
If you have $3.7 million stuffed under your mattress and you're a big fan of famous children's tearjerkers, today's your lucky day: the house that inspired E.B. White's Charlotte's Web is currently up for sale. In addition to (presumably) boasting an infestation of spiders, the property...
A tiny glimpse
Entertainment Weekly has some first-look images of Ava DuVernay's upcoming film adaptation of my beloved A Wrinkle in Time, and they are gorgeous. I'm REALLY not clear on why the article author decided to describe Oprah's depiction of Mrs. Which as "wizened"...
Solid recs
The Cut recently compiled a list of quotes by twenty-five famous women about their favorite books. I am always excited when I find out I have something in common with J.K. Rowling...
Money has been spent
The cast has been announced for PBS's upcoming miniseries adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, and it has some big names in it: the adult actors include Emily Watson, Michael Gambon, and Angela Lansbury, and the protagonist Jo will be...
Meh. All the meh.
According to Variety, the people behind the BBC's Sherlock are now working on a(nother) adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula. There's pretty much no information about this project yet, but...
Maybe not opening day, but...
Oooh... the new Murder on the Orient Express trailer is out, and I am at least 80% impressed. The train looks amazing, the cast is solid (I could do without Depp, though), and Kenneth Branagh does a fine impression of David Suchet's accent. On the down side, he is not David Suchet (no matter how much he sounds like him)...
Kettles of DOOM
I finally saw the trailer for the soon-to-be-released film adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's My Cousin Rachel, and it looks very dramatic. I have never seen so many ominous-looking tea kettles in my life...