Series Adaptation of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Burn Bright Books Brings Romance to New York,Princess Bride Musical, Anti-Amazon Deal Days, Twelfth Night Broadcast on PBS, A Tangle of Obsidian by Lydia M Hawke, When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A Parker, The September Society by Charles Finch and Oak and Ink by Devon Monk

Welcome bookish friends and fans, to the second scorching week of July. Even in the Seattle area, where we don't usually have extremes of weather, it's hotter than the Devil's back porch out there, definitely weather that would burn my skin a lobster red. Hence, my recommendation that my fellow bibliophiles stay indoors in an air conditioned environment and read some cool books! Since it's already so hot in July, I am not looking forward to August. However, once August is through, its a straight shot into Autumn, my favorite time of year, with cooler temps and bright leaves. Winter is just around the corner, which is my favorite time to curl up under a warm blanket with a cup of hot tea and a stack of great reads. At any rate, here are some tidbits and four book reviews of the last books on my TBR pile.

 

I remember reading this magnificent cynical novel when I was 16, the year after it debuted, and being overwhelmed with the feeling of injustice and cruelty suffered by the mental patients in the book. Then I saw the movie and was stunned at how well it was enacted, though it seemed very different from the book. It looks like they're going to adapt it to a streaming series and return to the original plot and source material of the book. I can hardly wait to see what Zaentz comes up with.

 

 A Series Adaptation of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

It's common knowledge that Ken Kesey, the author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest , disavowed Miloš Forman’s film adaptation starring Jack Nicholson. The novel was told from the perspective of Chief Bromden, a Native American patient, but the film diverged away from his POV. If early talks of a series adaptation of the classic pan out, perspective will return to the Chief. Deadline reports that "Paul Zaentz, the nephew of the film’s original producer Saul Zaentz, disclosed: ‘Just now, I’ve signed an agreement with Ken Kesey’s widow to develop a TV series which we’ll make through the point of view of the Chief for the first season.'" The season would follow the Chief after his escape from the psychiatric hospital. This won’t be the first series adaptation spinning off the original text–there was the one-season Ratched, a prequel following Mildred Ratched. I’m sure if this proceeds, we’ll be hearing a lot more about it.

 

I love the idea of an all-romance bookstore, not just because I read a lot of romance hybrids, but because romance novels sell more than any other genre combined. There's an all romance bookstore opening in Iowa, too, so I look forward to see how these businesses fair.

 

Burn Bright Books Brings Romance to Rochester, N.Y.

Burn Bright Books opened in April at 269

Park Ave., in Rochester, N.Y. The Rochester Beacon

reported that the shop "provides a niche most other bookstores in the

city don't have--a romance-only book catalog and merchandise."

Owner Shauna Cox's original inspiration came a few years ago when,

"after a long day of wrangling her three kids, including a newborn," she

was scrolling through TikTok and found a video by Meet Cute Romance

Bookshop, La Mesa, Calif., the Beacon noted, adding that she was intrigued by the realization that, "on the other side of the country, a group of women were documenting the beginning of their romance bookstore."

"I really wanted a space for women," she said. "Romance gets such a bad

rap. I wanted to make a safe space for people to explore romance and

everything that comes with that." Suffering from postpartum depression

while working a corporate job, Cox immersed herself in the world of

romance fiction, which eventually prompted her decision to launch a

bookstore. "I did this for myself, and I want to show my kids that. I'm

in my mid-30s, and I managed to start a business."

Cox bought a guidebook on how to open a bookstore and spoke with other

romance bookstore owners. Burn Bright Books opened as an online-only

store before hosting occasional pop-ups, and now the bricks-and-mortar

location is a reality.

"I'm a one-woman show," she said. In addition to book orders and

shelf-stocking, she handles her own social media, outreach to local

businesses for collaborations, events planning, and the business side. 

The bookstore's website notes: "At Burn Bright Books, we believe that

every love story deserves to be shine bright. We will strive every day

to provide a community space where we can celebrate love in all its

forms; where every person can find themselves among the stories and

where everyone feels welcome no matter what."

One of the best movies of all time, adapted from a fantastic, funny and fascinating novel by the amazing William Goldman (whose ability to craft characters is unparalleled) is about to get a musical makeover, which I wish to heaven I could see...I imagine NYC will be all a-buzz when it premiers.

 

Princess Bride Musical

A new musical adaptation of The Princess Bride is in the works . The musical, based on the novel by William Goldman, comes from the minds of Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony-winning songwriting duo Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, two-time Tony-winning director Alex Timbers, and Hamilton producer Jeffrey Seller. Bob Martin and Rick Elice are servings as book writers and Tom Kitt will be the music supervisor.

Yes, support your local independent bookstore, and stop lining the pockets of the one percent.

 

The Anti-Amazon Deal Days

If Jeff Bezos dropping an amount of cash I can’t wrap my head around on his gaudy Venice wedding while Republicans say yes to the biggest transfer of wealth from the poor to the wealthy has you searching for something anything to cheer on, Bookshop.org, Libro.fm, and the American Booksellers Association are promoting ant-Prime Day sales and efforts. We can’t buy our way out of the cesspool, but there are some wonderful indie booksellers who work hard to nourish their communities, do right by their staff and neighbors, and would, I’m sure, appreciate some love and support this week.

 

 I can hardly wait until this debuts on PBS in November! It will be smashing, I'm sure.

 

A Star-Studded Twelfth Night Broadcast

Fans of the Bard, rejoice! A Twelfth Night production starring Peter Dinklage, Lupita Nyong’o, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Sandra Oh is coming to your living room. PBS will broadcast the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park production on November 14, so mark your calendars for 9 PM ET. The in-person show is free, in the SITP tradition, but it sounds like getting into the show is a challenge even if you live down the street from the Central Park theater. With a cast like this one, I wouldn’t be surprised to run into the line here in North Carolina. Saheem Ali will direct the 90-minute production, which will be streamable from PBS.org. Also, as Playbill points out , if you love what PBS does, give it some support by contacting your senators to prevent the current administration from defunding the organization.

A Tangle of Obsidian by Lydia M. Hawke is the second book in this urban fantasy/adventure series that will keep you turning pages all night long. Here's the blurb: 

Chasing shadows and saving the world at the age of sixty-nine? Not on her bingo card.

Former nun Sister Monica Barrett is the reluctant keeper of a stone that holds immense dark magick. She’d abandon it if she could, but it’s become attached to her—literally—and there are five more like it in the hands of powerful, corrupt Mages determined to control the very fabric of the world. Even if they destroy that world in the process.

Fortunately, Monica’s foes haven’t been able to find the one thing they need to help them tap into the stones’ powers—a mysterious being named Methuselah, who brought the fragments to Earth millennia before.
Unfortunately, neither has Monica.

On her side: a fractured secret sisterhood, an off-the-clock cop, and a tech-less tech whiz. On the enemy’s? Unlimited financial resources, their own dark magick, and a host of terrifying monsters.

The race to find Methuselah is on—and the entire planet hangs in the balance.

One of the things I love so much about this series is the female protagonist isn't objectified (for her looks/beauty) and is, instead, valued for her courage and smarts, kindness and ability to think on her feet and survive in the face of long odds, especially for someone, who, like me, is in her 60s, and doesn't have a supple young body that will cooperate when she needs it. But there she is, chapter after chapter, surviving the nasty patriarchal mages who want to control her power stone for their own ends. Sister Monica also prays to Mary Magdalen in a familiar way, and doesn't wear a habit or abide by the Catholic church's restrictive policies. Her faith in the greater good is something I admire, and want to read more about. The prose is succinct and the plot non-stop in this exciting tale. I'd give it an A, and recommend it to anyone who has read and become intrigued by the first book.

 

When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker is a mythical creatures romantasy that is 700 pages long and could really have used a good editor to cut around 300 pages of overstuffed prose out of it. Here's the blurb: 

When the Moon Hatched, is a fast-paced fantasy romance featuring an immersive, vibrant world with mysterious creatures, a unique magic system, and a love that blazes through the ages.

The Creators did not expect their beloved dragons to sail skyward upon their end. To curl into balls just beyond gravity’s grip, littering the sky with tombstones. With moons. They certainly did not expect them to FALL.

As an assassin for the rebellion group Fíur du Ath, Raeve’s job is to complete orders and never get caught. When a rival bounty hunter turns her world upside down, blood spills, hearts break, and Raeve finds herself imprisoned by the Guild of Nobles—a group of powerful fae who turn her into a political statement.

Crushed by the loss of his great love, Kaan Vaegor took the head of a king and donned his melted crown. Now on a tireless quest to quell the never-ebbing ache in his chest, he is lured by a clue into the capitol’s high-security prison where he stumbles upon the imprisoned Raeve.

Echoes of the past race between them.There’s more to their story than meets the eye, but some truths are too poisonous to swallow.

This is yet another romantasy that adds too many elements of horror fiction and calls it "dark" to distinguish it from the grotesque and bloody, often misogynistic scenes commonplace in horror films and novels, which are marketed towards young men. Even female assassins like Raeve, who are supposed to be tough enough to survive on their own without male intervention, get caught and repeatedly physically and mentally brutalized until they develop multiple personalities or amnesia that lends them a totally new persona, which erases their past and keeps their mind from crumbling. Of course, the male protagonist also has some battle scars, but we rarely read about them happening, or how long it took him to heal afterwards, and of course the male never loses his mind or memory, because men are so much stronger than women, right?! (WRONG). And of course Raeve is described as sexy and beautiful, even though she's anorexic and loathes herself and nearly everyone around her. But thin, traumatized young women are always irresistible to the older men in romantasy novels. Shades of pedophilia. Gross. Still, though the plot slowed to a crawl several times, and the prose was overblown, I managed to finish this book in record time. I'd give it a B- and only recommend it to those who enjoy horror fantasy that is colored darker by misogyny.

 

The September Society by Charles Finch is a historic mystery that was spellbinding and had shades of Sherlock Holmes throughout. Warning to completeists, this book is part of a 15 book series, so if you like it you're bound to be busy reading for awhile. Here's the blurb: Charles Lenox revisits his alma mater of Oxford to investigate one student's disappearance and another's murder--tied to a secret group known as The September Society.

In the small hours of the morning one fall day in 1866, a frantic widow visits detective Charles Lenox. Lady Annabelle's problem is simple: her beloved son, George, has vanished from his room at Oxford. When Lenox visits his alma mater to investigate he discovers a series of bizarre clues, including a murdered cat and a card cryptically referring to "The September Society." Then, just as Lenox realizes that the case may be deeper than it appears, a student dies, the victim of foul play.

What could the September Society have to do with it? What specter, returned from the past, is haunting gentle Oxford? Lenox, with the support of his devoted friends in London's upper crust, must race to discover the truth before it comes searching for him, and dangerously close to home. 

One of the things that distinguishes Charles Lenox from his contemporary Sherlock Holmes is that Charles is a kind and gregarious man who embroils all manner of family, friends and contacts in solving the mystery laid before him. He doesn't lay claim to a mind that must constantly be busy or engaged, and he doesn't use drugs or play the violin when he's bored or out of sorts. Though it became tedious trying to keep track of Charles friends and former students, I was fascinated by the fact that there were so many secret clubs/societies during the mid-19th century, some more corrupt than others, and all only allowing men admission. Sadly, there are few women in this book, probably due to the patriarchal misogyny ingrained into the Victorian life at that time. Finch's prose is rigorous, if a bit old fashioned, and his plot is swift and full of twists and turns. I'd give this engaging short novel a B, and recommend it to anyone interested in murder mysteries set in Victorian Oxford during the 1860s.

 

Oak and Ink by Devon Monk is a sizzling, saucy novella that is romantic, magical and adventurous. For those devoted Monk fans, like myself, it was a real treat. Here's the blurb: Ricky Vargas stands six feet two, with magic tattooed across every inch of her skin, and a broken heart she doesn’t want to talk about. She’s a Crossroads who provides sanctuary for supernaturals on the run, helps negotiate peace between monsters, and takes exactly no shit.

Cardamom Oak is a half-dryad wizard on the run from an angry goddess. Stealing from the gods is a terrible idea, but his sister’s life is on the line and he’ll do anything for her.

None of this is Ricky’s problem, except Cardamom once saved her life by giving her that first magic tattoo. He also broke her heart.

When he shows up on her doorstep asking for help, Ricky is prepared to send him packing. Unfortunately, her annoying heart has other ideas, even if that means dealing with a swamp siren, her jerk of a father, and an enemy strong enough to tear her world apart. 

 

This novella is part of Monk's Crossroads/Route 66 series, which features a cameo by Wayward Souls Lulu and Brogan, the latter of whom is jealous of Ricky's relationship to Lulu, which makes Brogan seem sad, if more realistic with his fragile male ego and possessiveness. I was rather surprised then, when Ricky decides to ask Card to stay with her (and be her boyfriend) at the Crossroads, when all he does is bring trouble and chaos to her door. The fact that she wants to continue to care for his immature and stupid selfishness without thought to how much it takes from her life is staggering. Too many women do this so that they won't be alone, and for the sake of good sex. I am living testament that such relationships will suck you dry and eventually leave you unsatisfied and stuck in a rut of slavery to caregiving with no way out. Still, Monks prose is, as always, sterling, and her characters seem so real that you feel you could call them on the phone for a lunch date. Her plots never lag, and her details never fall into info-dump territory. All in all, a good read. I'd give it a B+ and recommend it to anyone who has read the Wayward Souls books.