Orange is the New Black Season 6, Books to Film in the UK, The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker, Want by Cindy Pon, Passing Strange by Ellen Klages, and Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie

I've been a big fan of Orange is the New Black since its debut, largely because it stars one of my favorite actresses, my fellow Iowan Kate Mulgrew, who also played Captain Katherine Janeway on Star Trek Voyager. Mulgrew plays Red Reznikov, a tough mother figure to some of the other inmates, with a fabulous Russian accent. It's something to see,and the episodes are packed with drama, comedy and pathos. I am looking forward to Season 6!

TV: Orange Is the New Black Season 6

"The women of Litchfield have entered a completely new world" in the

Orange Is the New Black

http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz37565827

season 6 trailer, Entertainment Weekly reported. "When we last checked

in with Piper (Taylor Schilling), Taystee (Danielle Brooks), and the

rest of the gang, they were waiting for the S.W.A.T. team to storm their

underground pool hideout. Based on the trailer above, the new season

picks up some time after that and we'll find most of the women in

maximum security, a change that causes Suzanne (Uzo Aduba) quite a bit

of anxiety in the promo. But, she isn't the only one feeling the

pressure." In addition to the trailer, EW featured first-look photos

from the next season of Orange Is the New Black, which is based on Piper

Kerman's memoir.

This is a report for the United Kingdom, (England and Ireland, mainly) but I would bet that the USA's report on how many books are turned into movies and TV shows would show equally large statistics. Good storytelling is good in any medium.

Report: Book-to-Film Adaptations Are a Box Office Hit

Films based on books

http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz37591670

take in 44% more at the box office in the U.K. and 53% more worldwide

than original screenplays, according to a recent study released by the

Publishers Association. The Bookseller said that the report,

"Publishing's Contribution to the Wider Creative Industries

http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz37591671,"

explores what impact a book has when adapted for film, TV and theater,

in terms of critical and commercial success.

Data was collected through a combination of qualitative interviews, case

studies, publicly available information, data drawn from creative

industry bodies such as the British Film Institute (BFI), the BBC, UK

Theatre and Nielsen BookScan.

The research found that 43% of the top 20 box office-grossing films in

the U.K. between 2007 and 2016 were based on books, with a further 9%

based on comic books.

"In short, published material is the basis of 52% of top U.K. films in

the last 10 years, and accounts for an even higher share of revenue from

these leading performers, at 61% of U.K. box office gross and 65% of

worldwide gross," according to the study. "This share changes somewhat

over time: in some years such as 2011 and 2015, two-thirds of the

highest-grossing U.K.-produced films were adapted from published

material."

The effect on book sales was also explored. The Bookseller noted that

"the Hollywood adaptation of My Cousin Rachel was shown to have a

significant impact on the sales of the Daphne du Maurier thriller. The

sales of the book in 2017 alone accounted for nearly a quarter (23%) of

all sales since 1992, both in terms of value and volume, according to

the report."

Regarding TV adaptations, the study found that "almost a quarter of

dramas were based on literary sources and attracted a 56% larger share

of the audience than those based on original scripts, according to data

from the four major free-to-air U.K. TV networks between 2013 and 2017,"

the Bookseller wrote.

"Storytelling is at the heart of the creative industries and often the

best stories begin with a book," said P.A. CEO Stephen Lotinga. "This

research shows the hugely positive commercial impact British publishing

is having on film, television and theatre as our incredible authors'

ideas are the source of so many successful productions."

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker was a massive (800 plus pages) tale of historical fantasy that sounded much more light hearted than it actually was. With all the ancient Jewish magic and the desert magic of the Bedouins and old mystics, I thought that there would be a number of magical battles or transformations,but the magic was presented as primarily used for evil purposes by a greedy old wizard who wanted life eternal, and was willing to make a golem woman for an equally evil man who wanted a sexual slave. The women in the time periods within this book, ancient times in the Middle East and turn of the century (19th to 20th) New York, didn't have many good choices, and were treated like possessions by men and parents. Escaping marriage and servitude as a wife and mother was dangerous and difficult. Still, the women in the book managed to find moments of freedom and they played an integral part of the story. Here's the blurb: 

In The Golem and the Jinni, a chance meeting between mythical beings takes readers on a dazzling journey through cultures in turn-of-the-century New York.
Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life to by a disgraced rabbi who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic and dies at sea on the voyage from Poland. Chava is unmoored and adrift as the ship arrives in New York harbor in 1899.
Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire born in the ancient Syrian desert, trapped in an old copper flask, and released in New York City, though still not entirely free
Ahmad and Chava become unlikely friends and soul mates with a mystical connection. Marvelous and compulsively readable, Helene Wecker's debut novel The Golem and the Jinni weaves strands of Yiddish and Middle Eastern literature, historical fiction and magical fable, into a wondrously inventive and unforgettable tale.

An inventive and swirling plot combines with well-constructed characters and elegant yet muscular prose to create a story that is complex and unforgettable.I was fascinated by the portraits painted of New York at the turn of the century, since the author takes us into the bowels of the city, where immigrants from many lands around the world mixed and mingled and raised their children to be something new; Americans. I'd give this beefy tome an A, and recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical magical romance.

Want by Cindy Pon is a YA science fiction novel set in a dystopian Taiwan of the future.Because I've read other adventure-oriented YA SF in the past, this book was recommended to me by Barnes and Noble.com, though I borrowed a copy from the library. The prose was full of sharp slang and quick wit, and the plot was brutally swift, but after you fasten your metaphorical seat belts, it's a fairly smooth ride to the end. Here's the blurb: Set in a near-future Taipei plagued by pollution, a group of teens risk everything to save their city in this thrilling novel from critically acclaimed author Cindy Pon.

Jason Zhou survives in a divided society where the elite use their wealth to buy longer lives. The rich wear special suits, protecting them from the pollution and viruses that plague the city, while those without suffer illness and early deaths. Frustrated by his city’s corruption and still grieving the loss of his mother who died as a result of it, Zhou is determined to change things, no matter the cost.
With the help of his friends, Zhou infiltrates the lives of the wealthy in hopes of destroying the international Jin Corporation from within. Jin Corp not only manufactures the special suits the rich rely on, but they may also be manufacturing the pollution that makes them necessary.

Yet the deeper Zhou delves into this new world of excess and wealth, the more muddled his plans become. And against his better judgment, Zhou finds himself falling for Daiyu, the daughter of Jin Corp’s CEO. Can Zhou save his city without compromising who he is, or destroying his own heart?

Though I liked Zhou as the protagonist, it seemed to me that some of his friends/team mates, especially Lingyi, (who looked after all of the teens, including Zhou, making sure they weren't starving and setting up plans for their take down of Jin Corp) should have played a more prominent role, because Zhou was, emotionally, a hot mess, while the gals stayed calm and cool in the face of any road blocks that arose. My other problem was that the CEO of Jin Corp, Daiyu's evil father (Daiyu is Zhou's girlfriend) managed to escape the scandal of all his murder and misdeeds, and set up shop in China to do the same terrible things all over again. Why was there no one willing to make him pay for all that he'd done? Wasn't that the whole point of the take-down that Zhou and his friends fought so hard to complete? Still, spicy and well written, I'd give this fast-paced novel a B+ and recommend it to anyone who likes dystopian YA science fiction.

Passing Strange by Ellen Klages was also recommended by an author who writes LBGTQ fiction and wanted to pass along some recommendations in fantasy fiction that has a lesbian protagonist or two. Though it's a slender volume at barely over 200 pages, I found the story rich and satisfying. Here's the blurb:

Inspired by the pulps, film noir, and screwball comedy, Passing Strange is a story as unusual and complex as San Francisco itself from World Fantasy Award winning author Ellen Klages, and a finalist for the 2017 Nebula Award for Best Novella

San Francisco in 1940 is a haven for the unconventional. Tourists flock to the cities within the city: the Magic City of the World’s Fair on an island created of artifice and illusion; the forbidden city of Chinatown, a separate, alien world of exotic food and nightclubs that offer “authentic” experiences, straight from the pages of the pulps; and the twilight world of forbidden love, where outcasts from conventional society can meet.
Six women find their lives as tangled with each other’s as they are with the city they call home. They discover love and danger on the borders where magic, science, and art intersect. Publisher's Weekly:Klages (Portable Childhoods) draws a loving portrait of 1930s queer San Francisco in this deftly crafted tale of love, solidarity, and magic brought full circle. In the present day, Helen Young sells the last, lost work of famous pulp cover artist Haskel to an unethical art dealer who’s due for a comeuppance. Haskel was famous for art showing evocatively gruesome villains threatening lovely young ladies, but his last painting instead depicts the heroine of a romantic story. The narrative then goes back in time to cover the events leading up to Haskel’s final painting and abrupt career end, introducing a charming cast of queer women working as lawyers, singers, mathematicians, and witches. Emily, a newcomer to the group, crosses Haskel’s path by coincidence; the two fall into a whirlwind romance that ultimately requires the support and skills of all their friends to see through. Klages folds history and the modern world into a thoroughly satisfying novella that’s rich in detail, warm in regard, and clever in execution.

I completely agree with Publisher's Weekly's reviewer, in that I found Passing Strange to be a warm and luscious novel with many characters that I'd like to see more of. Unfortunately, at the beginning of the novel, we see one of the more fascinating characters, Helen Young, commit suicide at an advanced age, after duping a collector out of his ill gotten gains. But Haskel and Emily's story is put on hold as the duo are painted into stasis within Haskel's own artwork. Therein lies the potential for a new tale, if only Klages can be persuaded to create one. Still, it was well worth the afternoon it took to read through this engaging tale. I'd give it an A, and recommend it to anyone who wonders about the power of love and art. 

Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie is the 5th or 6th book of hers that I've read,and while some of them seemed to be the same general idea rehashed and rebooted, Maybe This Time was a refreshing change of pace, as Crusie delves into the supernatural in this ghost story/romance. Here's the blurb: Andie Miller is ready to move on in life. She wants to marry her fiancé and leave behind everything in her past, especially her ex-husband, North Archer. But when Andie tries to gain closure with him, he asks one final favor of her before they go their separate ways forever. A very distant cousin of his has died and left North as the guardian of two orphans who have driven out three nannies already, and things are getting worse. He needs a very special person to take care of the situation and he knows Andie can handle anything.

When Andie meets the two children she quickly realizes things are much worse than she feared. The place is a mess, the children, Carter and Alice, aren't your average delinquents, and the creepy old house where they live is being run by the worst housekeeper since Mrs. Danvers. What's worse, Andie's fiancé thinks this is all a plan by North to get Andie back, and he may be right. Andie's dreams have been haunted by North since she arrived at the old house. And that's not the only haunting.
What follows is a hilarious adventure in exorcism, including a self-doubting parapsychologist, an annoyed medium, her Tarot-card reading mother, an avenging ex-mother-inlaw, and, of course, her jealous fiancé. And just when she thinks things couldn't get more complicated, North shows up on the doorstep making her wonder if maybe this time things could be different between them.
If Andie can just get rid of all the guests and ghosts, she's pretty sure she can save the kids, and herself, from the past. But fate might just have another thing in mind.

Though there's plenty of romantic comedy to be had, the chilling ghost/possession aspect of the story puts a large, shivering damper on any laughter that readers might express. The fate of two starving, traumatized children also makes laughter seem cruel, as their pathetic and dire need for a decent parent figure becomes obvious before you're a third of the way through the book. Andie (or Andromeda, as she was awesomely named by her wacko hippy mother) is a bit too naive and falls back in love with her neglectful and somewhat cruel ex-husband North a bit too quickly, while shoving off her fiance with unseemly dispatch. though the book seemed headed for a swift HEA, Crusie adds a final few paragraphs with the old,creepy housekeeper that will freak out even the heartiest of readers (unless you're a fan of Stephen King, in which case, you'll see this coming a mile away, and be glad of it.) Crusie's prose is clean and strong, and her plots always move like a dance. Still, I find myself always hoping that her female protagonists could be strong without being paired up with a man at the end. But I'd give this novel a B, and recommend it to anyone who likes paranormal romances set in modern times, with a frisson of fear woven throughout.