Picky Bookstore ^_^

While updating NewPages’s bookstore lists, I came across this website for The Twig Bookstore in San Antonio, Texas. And I must say I love their excerpt from San Antonio Current Magazine:

The ever-helpful Twig staff prominently display books by local authors, and mercifully place the Twilight books on a shelf too high for most ’tweens to reach.

That Twilight reference is funny to me. The first two books aren’t too bad, but really it gets a lot more mature in the latter half the the series and I am all for pushing them towards better forms of literature. Although, can we complain when we have books like Twilight keeping or interesting kids in reading?

Ah, Cartoons!

This made my day. Serious chuckle alert. Mainly because the cartoons themselves are more fun than the commonly misspelled words.

But don’t take my word on it, check out the poster here (available for purchase)

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/misspelling

The perfect gift to give the annoying person whose spelling drives you crazy ;)

Everything I Want to Say about Twilight But Can’t

Perusing the web, there is an online review about New Moon, the second movie in the Twilight Saga, published by USA Today. While listening to this article, I believe that author nicely sums up all my problems that this series has, but that I cannot not elucidate nicely.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2009-11-19-twilight-new-moon_N.htm
I was in my math class today and my students were irate with my opinion of the Twilight series because I expressed my dislike for the overly maudlin tale. And though I found the movie okay, I can honestly admit that it was not my most favorite film and that it actually lacked quite a bit from making it better.
And for all those Twilight lovers, take it with a grain of salt. Everyone’s taste is different. I would like to point out that there are actually better werewolf and vampire media out there, you just need to know where to find it. ^_^
Anne Rice can be long-winded and overly descriptive and I admit that Louie’s story is boring and difficult to get into, but honestly, her vampire books are just plain good – especially those told in Lestat’s voice. I highly recommend The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned. Now, for tweens and teens, L.J. Smith’s Vampire Diaries series isn’t all that bad. I can read all four books all the way through without skipping pages due to saccharine and overly angsty crap.
Another good one for teens is Companions of the Night. Bittersweet ending, but not bad writing at all, again something I can read all the way through and enjoy.
Speaking of werewolves, Blood and Chocolate is a great read, although they distinguish themselves from werewolves as something like it, but not exactly a werewolf. I would skip the movie. It was crap and did not follow the plot line of the book at all. But again, not bad, not too angsty and a lot more enjoyable than Twilight.
So, yeah. To each their own.

Another Tangled Google Mess

So I can’t explain this really well and I know it confuses the hell out of people who are actually dealing with it right now, so I am just going to post the link here:

http://beattiesbookblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/guild-responds-to-second-wme-letter-on.html

Nothing like copyright issues and settlement cases, but this is what people were concerned about long before Google was firmly cemented in their archive.

**A side note that has nothing to do with the Authors Guild/Google settlement, but I thought I would bring it up because it is irritating to an extent is that Facebook is now featured in Google searches. So, let’s say you want to Google a specific person, well if there are several people with that name in Facebook, those people will come up first, which, let’s face it, can be really annoying.  However, I don’t think I’ll switch my search engine to Bing just yet, their interface annoys they hell out of me.

Warning Labels - Let Hilarity Ensue

At work I came across something I found to be fairly amusing: A book with a "warning" label . . . or perhaps "rating" label is more precise. It is reminiscent of how TV rates viewer programs, from child safe to all that fun stuff (I can't recall an exact one but I think there was one that have like 13 or 14 on it saying it was unsuitable for children below that age) and of how videogames are rated (E for everyone, M for mature).

Wolf Pirate Publishing is actually putting labels like these on the back of their books. Really. I just laughed when I saw it. Probably not as funny as I am making it out to be, but it seems ridiculous to me.

So, on the back of The Angel's Iscariot, there is a box with a big, bold M next to another box that descries "Contains: Adult situations, violence, and mature subject matter not appropriate for young readers." And on the back of The Repossession is a box with an R next to another box that reads "Contains: Adult situation, violence, sexual content and mature subject matter not appropriate for young readers."

Apparently sexual content is the only thing that is the difference between an R rating and an M rating. Shouldn't that be an X rating instead? And, truthfully, this stuff is found in basic sections, not children's sections, so is a label even necessary?

Bitten

So, here we are, the middle of summer and let’s take a look at some entertainment news. Funny enough, all revolving around vampires.

Twilight’s sequel New Moon is set to be released in theaters in November.  As much as I really started abhorring the books, it will be worth a gander. Although it is in this book that everything starts getting maudlin and melodramatic, but hey, nothing is perfect.

True Blood is back for it’s 2nd season on HBO.  I seriously have no idea why on earth this show has developed such a big following, but whatever. It’s hokey, full of cheese and the acting . . . well, its pretty obvious that the actor’s are acting.

The Vampire Diaries has been picked up by the CW and will begin airing episodes this fall. Congrats to L.J. Smith, however, I won’t hold my breath.  This is a pretty decent YA series that my sister and I read and reread growing up and has recently been re-released in 2 2-book special editions. Things never translate well between the written word and movies.  Funny enough, series based on books don’t translate the best either.  Who knows how much the plotline will diverge from the actual books.  I hope not much, but, like I said, things never translate well from book form to other media forms.

Also, Koishite Akuma, just began airing in Japan. What does this have to do with with American entertainment? Well, nothing really, unless you are like me and actually like Asian drama.  But, it is amusing to me because it is yet ANOTHER vampire related thing that is out in the entertainment world.

Vampires and the entertainment industry are no strangers to one another, but I find it rather amusing that now we are being swamped with all things vampire right now. What has happened that we have a sudden resurgence in vampire entertainment? People like to say it is all thanks to the success of Twilight, but can one book (or 4-book series) really bring such a rejuvenation into this long decaying and usually hokey market (seriously, there really aren’t a lot of great vampire movies/series out there)?

Where have I heard that before?

My little sister told me that she wants to be a famous writer.  Nothing wrong with dreaming, although we all know the likelihood of them hitting it big is relatively low, especially in this economy, digital age, and the instant gratification factor.

My favorite part about this is the fact that she hates reading.  Now, this could be because of her ESL nightmares, however, I think not. She is enraptured with her movies and television, but can’t be bothered to pick up a book.

Now, I am from the school that to be a good writer, you have to be a good reader.  Am I wrong?  I guess one doesn’t have to read a book to write a book, but it helps.  Especially if you can get your hands on those really special, well-written tomes.

I have always been an avid reader.  I have had stories and poems circulating and percolating in my brain for ages.  But I believe all the literature I have read, and the classes I have took, have made me the better writer.

It really breaks my heart to hear that the majority of children would rather watch tv than curl up with a good book.

Wolverine: Origins

Ah, Wolverine: Origins. As a huge fan of Wolverine and the X-Men universe, I was excited yet nervous to see how the Origins storyline would be handled. Since the other movies ventured away from the many alternate universes of the X-Men comics, I was worried that they would stray way too far away when they gave Hugh Jackman's character his own movie. They did stray, but not in a horrible 'I can't believe they did that way.'

Funny enough, they made Victor Creed and Logan brothers. Yes, Logan had a half-brother. Although the comic never came out and actually stated this, it was so obviously implied. No, his brother wasn't a mutant. Especially not Victor Creed. Aka: Sabertooth. Remember Sabertooth? The blond idiot from the first movie. To this movie's credit, they never mentioned that Victor was Sabertooth, but come on, anyone who knows X-Men history knows these two people are synonymous. I kow that Sabertooth's powers are much like Wolverine's but I didn't think that Creed was really older than even Logan. I could be wrong though.

Since they didn't connect Victor with Sabertooth, is that their way of trying not to conflict with the first movie? I mean, it was pretty hard to tell if there was a connection between Sabertooth and Wolverine. The only part really hinting at anything would be Sabertooth keeping the dogtags. That's about it. So did he or didn't he?

Yay! Silverfox was in the movie. Um. But in the X-Men realm I am familiar with, I don't remember the storyline all that well. I know that Wolverine thought that she was dead and I think that Sabertooth was supposed to have killed her, but the whole Weapon X stuff I am fuzzy on. It was kind of obvious that she was going to betray him or that something was going to happen because of the Wolverine story she told.

But the best part was Gambit! Heck yeah, we saw the swamp rat Remy Lebeau finally! Even with his imfamous stick that he uses to fight. They even put in some of the teasing/fighting relationship that he and Logan had. Tres cool.

So, overall, good movie. It's a whole bunch of events patched together, but when you're trying to explain the complicated 200 years or so of a character's life, it is bound to be difficult. And at least they have an explanation for the memory loss. Adimentium bullets to the brain - ouch. They explained it in Origins the comic, maybe, but I can't remember. I just remember the girl he loves dies (killed by him?) and after she dies, her diary where she chronicled Wolverine's history was burned, ergo, he will never know who he was before. Sad day. Oh well.

I didn’t see that coming

But still, it is rather amusing. The people at Unshelved posited a question to librarians, booksellers, and readers: “What do you wish publishers knew?” They went through over a hundred emails and compiled and distilled the responses into a book (with original comics based on some of the quotes). The title of this volume? Publisher Confidential: Frank Feedback for Publishers from Librarians, Booksellers, and Readers. Try saying that in one breath.

Who would have thought that there would be a book telling publishers what the public wants. Will the publishers listen? Who knows. My favorite part of this book is the cover illustration. A comic of a quandary. Librarians, booksellers, and readers are buying fewer books because of the sometimes astronomical pricing, according to publishers they are raising prices because no one is buying. Sound business sense. Since no one is buying, jack the prices to make sure it stays that way ;)

Still, this is a book worth checking out. Some of the quotes seem silly, but hey, it’s good for a laugh and a “hell yeah.”

Enjoy!

The Monkey’s Paw

A bookshop in Toronto, The Monkey’s Paw, is definitely a curiosity shop.  It specializes in “uncommon scholarly and out-of-print books; ephemera & images; manual typewriters; [and] biological specimens.”

Seriously. One would expect some odd things in a book and curiosity shop, but biological specimens?  Definitely a must-see if one is ever in the Toronto area.

The books offered are amusing to note, such as A Treatise on the Use of Flogging in Medicine and Venery by John Henry Meibomius along with poetry by Alfred Lord Tennyson.  Something for everyone. From history nerds, literature lovers, and people who are just amused by rare and weird items.

To check out some of what The Monkey’s Paw stocks, check out their blog. [http://mo-paw.blogspot.com/]

NewPages Reviews New Issues of Literary Magazines

NewPages updated their Literary Magazine Review column yesterday. It contains 11 new reviews of the current (or one of the most recent issues) of online and print magazines.

Magazines reviewed in this batch of reviews are:

The Antioch Review :: The Chaffin Journal :: ChiZine :: Eclectica :: The Farallon Review :: Journal of Ordinary Thought :: Manoa :: The Missouri Review :: storySouth :: The Sun :: Tuesday

This edition even contains a double review of the two most recent issues of Tuesday; an art project. So go and dip your toes into the world of literary magazines and maybe you’ll even be inspired to purchase the issues reviewed or even to subscribe to the magazines in question.

Anita Blake Telefilm Announced

Oh dear God no!  That was my first reaction to an article I read today on the Publishers Weekly website. http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6648610.html

And why this reaction?  Once upon a time, I was a fan of the Anita Blake book.  Not so much now.  Why?  Well, truthfully when there is more sex in a book than plot, why bother reading?  The scariest part is that the author actually mentioned that she knew there was more sex and less plot.  Some fans craved the overly graphic and excessive sex scenes, while others wanted more plot.  What to do? Seriously, does that question even need to be asked? I think not.

Another reason for the reaction: HBO’s take on the Sookie Stackhouse series. Trueblood is campy, stupid, and filled with so much cheese that it is ridiculous.  Not to mention, its total disregard of the actual plot of the series.  Granted it is entertaining pop fiction, but still.  Charlaine Harris had some good books before the plot went totally south.  Open-ended series – never a really good idea.

So another book series bites the dust. Another movie shall be made. The first few books were ok, so maybe the movie will be ok.  But with the track record of movies and series based on books, that is hard to believe.

NewPages Book Reviews

It is the first of the month again - that means that NewPages has new book reviews up. From memoirs to short story collections to poetry to YA novels to essays on Emerson and writing, there is a little something here for everyone to dip their toes into and explore new books from several independent publishers.

Enjoy the reviews!
[http://www.newpages.com/bookreviews/2009_4/april2009_book_reviews.htm]

Read, Read, and Read Again

After reading a post on the RiverRun Bookstore blog entitled “A Big Muggle Hug For HP7,” I was struck by something. Here is a man who has a huge list of books to read so he believes rereading can actually be a waste of time. Amazing! Yes, there are many books out there that invite reading, but is it any reason to ignore the old friends on your shelves?

I have a rather large collection of books. It’s gotten to the point where my family has told me that I should not buy books if I don’t have room for them. Well, I don’t have room, but I still buy books. However, I have curbed my book buying to only the essentials, meaning the books I know I will read more than once. So, it makes me a little disenheartend to read that rereading is a waste of time.

The author says he has forgotten how good it’s been to reread a favorite. Well, isn’t that why it’s a favorite? A book that’s seen you through hard times, good times, that is battered and dog-eared, that still surprises you at times. Truthfully, the books on my list to read have ended up disappointing me more often than not, so I have been spending my time rereading. Mainly, I have been rereading Austen. Who doesn’t like her work? I finally managed to acquire all of her finished novels, so I decided to read (and reread) the books. They only get better upon further acquaintance.

So what to do? I say don’t neglect your favorites on the shelf, floor, box (any available surface really) in favor of new books. That is not to say to ignore new books, but try to spend some quality time with the oldies as well as the newbies, otherwise, why buy the books if you have no intention of reading them again?