I have just not been in a place where I can blog recently. There have been multiple storms that have caused power outages, then Comcast had an outage for a couple of days, so there was no internet, and between that we had houseguests, parties and Crohn's flares to deal with, so I am late in getting this post up. Sorry!
I find it interesting that as time goes on, there are more and more books being adapted to the small screen and the large screen. There's not a lot wrong with that, however, I've also noticed, as a bibliophile, that there are more authors than ever who pander to the entertainment industry by writing books that read like nascent screenplays, and that is just wrong, in my opinion. A good story is a good story, regardless of the medium, but don't create a book with the sole purpose of selling the movie and TV rights. Readers want to have the option of seeing the work in the "theater of the mind" first.
Bookish Winners at the Golden Globes
Book-to-screen adaptations collected their share of hardware at last
night's Golden Globe Awards with eight of the 20 nominated productions garnering trophies. Golden Globe winners that started as books or have book connections included:
Movies
The Wife, based on the novel by Meg Wolitzer: Glenn Close (actress in a
motion picture, drama)
If Beale Street Could Talk, based on James Baldwin's novel: Regina King
(supporting actress in a motion picture)
First Man, based on the book First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by
James R. Hansen: Original score, motion picture (Justin Hurwitz)
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, based on the Marvel comics superhero:
Best motion picture, animated
TV
Sharp Objects, based on the novel by Gillian Flynn: Patricia Clarkson
(supporting actress in a series, limited series or TV movie)
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, based on
Maureen Orth's book Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace and
the Largest Failed Manhunt in U.S. History: Best limited series or TV
movie; Darren Criss (actor in a limited series or TV movie)
A Very English Scandal, based on John Preston's book: Ben Whishaw
(supporting actor in a series, limited series or TV movie)
Killing Eve, based on Luke Jennings's Codename Villanelle novella
series: Sandra Oh (actress in a TV series, drama)
I love Lin-Manuel Miranda, and not just for changing the face of musical theater with his smash Broadway hit Hamilton, but also because he's a reader and a bright spot in the theater world, doing shows for charity and helping others realize their theater dreams. He's also currently playing Jack the lamplighter in Mary Poppins Returns, and he does an excellent job in the movie, singing and dancing and filling the screen with light and hope.So now he's bought the famed Drama Book Shop to keep it open so that other theater nerds will have a place where they can dream and foster their love of plays.
I find it interesting that as time goes on, there are more and more books being adapted to the small screen and the large screen. There's not a lot wrong with that, however, I've also noticed, as a bibliophile, that there are more authors than ever who pander to the entertainment industry by writing books that read like nascent screenplays, and that is just wrong, in my opinion. A good story is a good story, regardless of the medium, but don't create a book with the sole purpose of selling the movie and TV rights. Readers want to have the option of seeing the work in the "theater of the mind" first.
Bookish Winners at the Golden Globes
Book-to-screen adaptations collected their share of hardware at last
night's Golden Globe Awards with eight of the 20 nominated productions garnering trophies. Golden Globe winners that started as books or have book connections included:
Movies
The Wife, based on the novel by Meg Wolitzer: Glenn Close (actress in a
motion picture, drama)
If Beale Street Could Talk, based on James Baldwin's novel: Regina King
(supporting actress in a motion picture)
First Man, based on the book First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by
James R. Hansen: Original score, motion picture (Justin Hurwitz)
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, based on the Marvel comics superhero:
Best motion picture, animated
TV
Sharp Objects, based on the novel by Gillian Flynn: Patricia Clarkson
(supporting actress in a series, limited series or TV movie)
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, based on
Maureen Orth's book Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace and
the Largest Failed Manhunt in U.S. History: Best limited series or TV
movie; Darren Criss (actor in a limited series or TV movie)
A Very English Scandal, based on John Preston's book: Ben Whishaw
(supporting actor in a series, limited series or TV movie)
Killing Eve, based on Luke Jennings's Codename Villanelle novella
series: Sandra Oh (actress in a TV series, drama)
I love Lin-Manuel Miranda, and not just for changing the face of musical theater with his smash Broadway hit Hamilton, but also because he's a reader and a bright spot in the theater world, doing shows for charity and helping others realize their theater dreams. He's also currently playing Jack the lamplighter in Mary Poppins Returns, and he does an excellent job in the movie, singing and dancing and filling the screen with light and hope.So now he's bought the famed Drama Book Shop to keep it open so that other theater nerds will have a place where they can dream and foster their love of plays.
Lin-Manuel Miranda & Partners Buy NYC's Drama Book Shop
and three of his Hamilton collaborators have purchased New York City's
beloved Drama Book Shop which had
celebrated its 100th birthday last year but announced in the fall it
would close this month because of a large rent increase. The New York Times reported that
the new owners are Miranda, a longtime supporter of the bookshop; Thomas
Kail, director of Hamilton; Jeffrey Seller, lead producer; and James L.
Nederlander, president of the Nederlander Organization, which operates
the theater in which the show's Broadway production is running.
They bought the store from Rozanne Seelen, whose husband, the late
Arthur Seelen, had acquired it in 1958. She "sold it for the cost of the
remaining inventory, some rent support in the store's final weeks, and a
pledge to retain her as a consultant," the Times wrote.
Future bookseller Lin-Manuel Miranda
"It's the chronic problem--the rents were just too high, and I'm 84
years old--I just didn't have the drive to find a new space and make
another move," she said. "Lin-Manuel and Tommy are my white knights."
The rescue plan is a joint venture between the Hamilton team and the
city, which has pledged to find the store an affordable space in
Midtown. Julie Menin, the mayor's media and entertainment commissioner,
said, "The store is a gem and a cultural institution in New York, and we
want to make sure it's saved."
The Drama Book Shop will close its West 40th St. location on January 20,
and reopen at a new, as yet unnamed, location in the fall.
"When I was in high school I would go to the old location and sit on the
floor and read plays--I didn't have the money to buy them," Miranda
said. "After college Tommy Kail and I met in the Drama Book Shop
basement, and I wrote a good deal of In the Heights there.... They're
like family to us, and when we heard that the rent increase was finally
too precipitous to withstand, we began hatching a plan."
Kail, whose post-college theater venture, Back House Productions, was a
resident company at the store, commented: "I was in many senses
professionally born in that bookshop's basement--I spent the first five
years of my career there."
Seller's office, which is already running a Hamilton merchandise store
in Manhattan, "will oversee the day-to-day management," the Times noted,
adding that he said the bookshop will have a revamped website and
expanded programming, with a goal of breaking even, which in recent
years the store has done occasionally but not consistently.
Miranda already had a track record for being there when the shop needed
him <http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz39434002>. In
2016, a pipe burst on the third floor of the building that houses the
Drama Book Shop, causing severe damage. Customers rallied to support the
store and Miranda, using the hashtag #BuyABook, tweeted about the
situation and encouraged his followers to purchase books, which they
did. He later appeared for a book signing at the store when Hamilton:
The Revolution was published.
After the news broke yesterday, Miranda tweeted: "The best part of this
morning has been all your @dramabookshop stories. We love this place so
much Keep 'em coming."
I loved all of Bardugo's Grishaverse books, and I am really looking forward to a hopefully accurate rendering of the books on screen. Fingers crossed!
TV: Shadow and Bone
TV: Shadow and Bone
Netflix has greenlighted Shadow and Bone
an eight-episode series based on Leigh Bardugo's bestselling Grishaverse
novels Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows, Deadline reported. The project
is from Eric Heisserer, writer of Netflix's recent hit Bird Box, and
Shawn Levy, executive producer of Stranger Things.
Created, written and executive produced by Heisserer, who will also
serve as showrunner, Shadow and Bone brings together the stories and
characters of both novels. Deadline noted that more than 2.5 million
copies have been sold in English and that Bardugo's Grishaverse books
have been translated into 38 languages. A new installment, King of
Scars, will be released later this month.
A Forgotten Place by Charles Todd is the 10th Bess Crawford mystery by the mother/son duo that I've read. Bess is similar to Maisie Dobbs, in that she's a WW1 nurse who has a good head on her shoulders, and is brave enough to follow her instincts when it comes to solving a murder mystery. Here's the blurb:
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor is a YA fantasy novel that reads like Harry Potter swathed in African/Nigerian culture. Yes, it's that good. I was surprised at how elegantly the author wove African myths/legends into the fabric of the "magical school for witch kids" plot. Since I've not read that many African legends, this book provided me with a many new vistas on the subject, and kept me entertained in the hijinks and trouble that the kids get into while learning to channel and control their powers. Here's the blurb:
Affectionately dubbed "the Nigerian Harry Potter," Akata Witch weaves together a heart-pounding tale of magic, mystery, and finding one's place in the world.
Twelve-year-old Sunny lives in Nigeria, but she was born American. Her features are African, but she's albino. She's a terrific athlete, but can't go out into the sun to play soccer. There seems to be no place where she fits in. And then she discovers something amazing—she is a "free agent" with latent magical power. Soon she's part of a quartet of magic students, studying the visible and invisible, learning to change reality. But will it be enough to help them when they are asked to catch a career criminal who knows magic too? Publisher's Weekly: Okorafor (The Shadow Speaker) returns with another successful tale of African magic. Although 12-year-old Sunny is Nigerian, she was born in America, and her Nigerian classmates see her as an outsider. Worse, she's an albino, an obvious target for bullies and suspected of being a ghost or a witch. Things change, however, when she has a vision of impending nuclear war. Then her classmate Orlu and his friend Chichi turn out to be Leopard People—witches—and insist that she is, too. Soon Sunny discovers her spirit face ("It was her, but it felt as if it had its own separate identity, too. Her spirit face was the sun, all shiny gold and glowing with pointy rays"). Eventually, the three and an American boy named Sasha visit the dangerous, magical city of Leopard Knocks and learn from their mentors in witchcraft that they must destroy Black Hat Otokoto, a monstrous serial killer and powerful witch. Although a bit slow getting started, this tale is filled with marvels and is sure to appeal to teens whose interest in fantasy goes beyond dwarves and fairies.
I disagree with PW in that I didn't find the book slow to start at all, in fact, once I'd started reading it, I couldn't put it down, and read it all in one afternoon/evening. The prose was sparkling it was so high energy, and the plot fizzed along without a hitch. A well deserved A, and a recommendation to those who love stories of magical teenagers on a journey to find themselves and help one another and their community.
Newt's Emerald by Garth Nix was another YA fantasy, though this one was Victorian/steampunkish and full of a sort of Regency romance vibe that, along with the inevitable British dry wit had me laughing more often than not. That said, I wasn't a huge fan of the protagonist, who was a bit dumber than I like, and had the whole "feisty but beautiful and petite" romance heroine cliche all sewn up.
Here's the blurb:
A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor is the second book in the Chronicles of St Mary's, a comedic British science fiction/steampunk series that is begging to become a BBC TV show ala Doctor Who. I swore that after all the misogyny of the first book in the series that I wasn't going to read any more of them, but I found myself drawn to this irresistible novel like a moth to flame. The writing zings with funny bon mots and references to history and SF/F cultural landmarks, and the plots move so fast you might as well be in the TARDIS, or one of St Mary's "pods" flinging yourself around in time and space instantaneously. They're un-put-downable, and I read the second book in a day. Here's the blurb: The second book in the bestselling British madcap time-travelling series, served with a dash of wit that seems to be everyone’s cup of tea.
Behind the seemingly innocuous facade of St. Mary’s Institute of Historical Research, a different kind of academic work is taking place. Just don’t call it “time travel”—these historians “investigate major historical events in contemporary time.” And they aren’t your harmless eccentrics either; a more accurate description, as they ricochet around history, might be unintentional disaster-magnets.
The Chronicles of St. Mary’s tells the chaotic adventures of Madeleine Maxwell and her compatriots—Director Bairstow, Leon “Chief” Farrell, Mr. Markham, and many more—as they travel through time, saving St. Mary’s (too often by the very seat of their pants) and thwarting time-travelling terrorists, all the while leaving plenty of time for tea.
In the sequel to Just One Damned Thing After Another , Max and company visit Victorian London in search of Jack the Ripper, witness the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral, and discover that dodos make a grockling noise when eating cucumber sandwiches. But they must also confront an enemy intent on destroying St. Mary’s—an enemy willing, if necessary, to destroy history itself to do it.
Once again our heroine Max manages to mess up every situation she's in, but she has help from her hapless contemporaries and the stalwart staff of St Mary's, which includes the goddess of history in disguise. I often questioned why Max and her friends were so intent on putting themselves in harms way, when, as educated adults they obviously should have known better, but apparently historians have a stupid need to actually see serial killers up close (such as Jack the Ripper) and the risk of dying is well worth it to view this abomination. Turns out, SPOILER, that the Ripper is actually some kind of alien bacterial entity who infects/invades its host and then goes on a killing spree.Taylor has no problem describing every gruesome moment of horror, either, which makes me wonder about her mental health. I would give this book a B, and recommend it to anyone who read the first book, with the warning that these books are addictive in the same way that chocolate or potato chips are addictive...you can't stop at reading just one.
Though the Great War has ended, Bess Crawford finds herself caught
in deadly circumstances on a remote Welsh headland in this tenth entry
from the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author.
The fighting has ended, the Armistice signed, but the war has left wounds that are still agonizingly raw. Battlefield Nurse Bess Crawford has been assigned to a clinic for amputees, and the Welsh patients worry her. She does her best to help them, but it’s clear that they have nothing to go home to, in a valley where only the fit can work in the coal pits. When they are released, she fears that peace will do what war couldn’t—take their lives.
Their officer, Captain Williams, writes to describe their despair, and his own at trying to save his men. Bess feels compelled to look into their situation, but the Army and the clinic can do nothing. Requesting leave, she quietly travels to Wales, and that bleak coal mining village, but she is too late.
Captain Williams’ sister tells Bess he has left the valley. Bess is afraid he intends to kill himself. She follows him to an isolated, storm-battered peninsula—a harsh and forgotten place where secrets and death go hand in hand. Deserted by her frightened driver, Bess is stranded among strangers suspicious of outsiders. She quickly discovers these villagers are hiding something, and she’s learned too much to be allowed to leave. What’s more, no one in England knows where she is.
Why is there no Constable out here? And who is the mysterious Ellen? Captain Williams and his brother’s widow are her only allies, and Bess must take care not to put them at risk as she tries to find answers. But there is a murderer here who is driven to kill again and again. And the next person in his sights is Simon Brandon, searching for Bess and unaware of his danger.
I knew who the murderer was about halfway through the book, but by that time I was fairly bored with the story, which was rife with redundancies. I also didn't like the Welsh people, most of whom seemed mean, cruel and greedy, if not outright thugs. Their clannish ignorance made Wales seem like the worst kind of backwater, the kind of place where you'd never want to visit because you couldn't be sure you'd make it out of your vacation alive. I doubt that this was the impression that the authors wanted readers to leave the book with, but that kind of sour note tainted my view of the book in the end. Though the prose was fairly mundane, the plot was sluggish. I'd give this volume a C, and only recommend it to the biggest Bess Crawford fans.The fighting has ended, the Armistice signed, but the war has left wounds that are still agonizingly raw. Battlefield Nurse Bess Crawford has been assigned to a clinic for amputees, and the Welsh patients worry her. She does her best to help them, but it’s clear that they have nothing to go home to, in a valley where only the fit can work in the coal pits. When they are released, she fears that peace will do what war couldn’t—take their lives.
Their officer, Captain Williams, writes to describe their despair, and his own at trying to save his men. Bess feels compelled to look into their situation, but the Army and the clinic can do nothing. Requesting leave, she quietly travels to Wales, and that bleak coal mining village, but she is too late.
Captain Williams’ sister tells Bess he has left the valley. Bess is afraid he intends to kill himself. She follows him to an isolated, storm-battered peninsula—a harsh and forgotten place where secrets and death go hand in hand. Deserted by her frightened driver, Bess is stranded among strangers suspicious of outsiders. She quickly discovers these villagers are hiding something, and she’s learned too much to be allowed to leave. What’s more, no one in England knows where she is.
Why is there no Constable out here? And who is the mysterious Ellen? Captain Williams and his brother’s widow are her only allies, and Bess must take care not to put them at risk as she tries to find answers. But there is a murderer here who is driven to kill again and again. And the next person in his sights is Simon Brandon, searching for Bess and unaware of his danger.
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor is a YA fantasy novel that reads like Harry Potter swathed in African/Nigerian culture. Yes, it's that good. I was surprised at how elegantly the author wove African myths/legends into the fabric of the "magical school for witch kids" plot. Since I've not read that many African legends, this book provided me with a many new vistas on the subject, and kept me entertained in the hijinks and trouble that the kids get into while learning to channel and control their powers. Here's the blurb:
Affectionately dubbed "the Nigerian Harry Potter," Akata Witch weaves together a heart-pounding tale of magic, mystery, and finding one's place in the world.
Twelve-year-old Sunny lives in Nigeria, but she was born American. Her features are African, but she's albino. She's a terrific athlete, but can't go out into the sun to play soccer. There seems to be no place where she fits in. And then she discovers something amazing—she is a "free agent" with latent magical power. Soon she's part of a quartet of magic students, studying the visible and invisible, learning to change reality. But will it be enough to help them when they are asked to catch a career criminal who knows magic too? Publisher's Weekly: Okorafor (The Shadow Speaker) returns with another successful tale of African magic. Although 12-year-old Sunny is Nigerian, she was born in America, and her Nigerian classmates see her as an outsider. Worse, she's an albino, an obvious target for bullies and suspected of being a ghost or a witch. Things change, however, when she has a vision of impending nuclear war. Then her classmate Orlu and his friend Chichi turn out to be Leopard People—witches—and insist that she is, too. Soon Sunny discovers her spirit face ("It was her, but it felt as if it had its own separate identity, too. Her spirit face was the sun, all shiny gold and glowing with pointy rays"). Eventually, the three and an American boy named Sasha visit the dangerous, magical city of Leopard Knocks and learn from their mentors in witchcraft that they must destroy Black Hat Otokoto, a monstrous serial killer and powerful witch. Although a bit slow getting started, this tale is filled with marvels and is sure to appeal to teens whose interest in fantasy goes beyond dwarves and fairies.
I disagree with PW in that I didn't find the book slow to start at all, in fact, once I'd started reading it, I couldn't put it down, and read it all in one afternoon/evening. The prose was sparkling it was so high energy, and the plot fizzed along without a hitch. A well deserved A, and a recommendation to those who love stories of magical teenagers on a journey to find themselves and help one another and their community.
Newt's Emerald by Garth Nix was another YA fantasy, though this one was Victorian/steampunkish and full of a sort of Regency romance vibe that, along with the inevitable British dry wit had me laughing more often than not. That said, I wasn't a huge fan of the protagonist, who was a bit dumber than I like, and had the whole "feisty but beautiful and petite" romance heroine cliche all sewn up.
Here's the blurb:
Inspired by the works of Georgette Heyer and Jane Austen, Garth Nix's Newt's Emerald is a Regency romance with a fantasy twist. New York Times bestselling author Gail Carriger calls it "charming; quite, quite charming."
After Lady Truthful's magical Newington Emerald is stolen from her she devises a simple plan: go to London to recover the missing jewel. She quickly learns, however, that a woman cannot wander the city streets alone without damaging her reputation, and she disguises herself as a mustache-wearing man. During Truthful's dangerous journey she discovers a crook, an unsuspecting ally, and an evil sorceress—but will she find the Emerald?
SPOILER, of course she finds the emerald, but there are many evil people that stand in her way to actually having the thing in hand. Though in the end I didn't hate this novel, I felt there was just too much cutesy Jane Austen tropes to really make it shine on its own. I'd give it a B-, and recommend it to those who enjoy Austen spoofs and magical romance/mysteries.After Lady Truthful's magical Newington Emerald is stolen from her she devises a simple plan: go to London to recover the missing jewel. She quickly learns, however, that a woman cannot wander the city streets alone without damaging her reputation, and she disguises herself as a mustache-wearing man. During Truthful's dangerous journey she discovers a crook, an unsuspecting ally, and an evil sorceress—but will she find the Emerald?
A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor is the second book in the Chronicles of St Mary's, a comedic British science fiction/steampunk series that is begging to become a BBC TV show ala Doctor Who. I swore that after all the misogyny of the first book in the series that I wasn't going to read any more of them, but I found myself drawn to this irresistible novel like a moth to flame. The writing zings with funny bon mots and references to history and SF/F cultural landmarks, and the plots move so fast you might as well be in the TARDIS, or one of St Mary's "pods" flinging yourself around in time and space instantaneously. They're un-put-downable, and I read the second book in a day. Here's the blurb: The second book in the bestselling British madcap time-travelling series, served with a dash of wit that seems to be everyone’s cup of tea.
Behind the seemingly innocuous facade of St. Mary’s Institute of Historical Research, a different kind of academic work is taking place. Just don’t call it “time travel”—these historians “investigate major historical events in contemporary time.” And they aren’t your harmless eccentrics either; a more accurate description, as they ricochet around history, might be unintentional disaster-magnets.
The Chronicles of St. Mary’s tells the chaotic adventures of Madeleine Maxwell and her compatriots—Director Bairstow, Leon “Chief” Farrell, Mr. Markham, and many more—as they travel through time, saving St. Mary’s (too often by the very seat of their pants) and thwarting time-travelling terrorists, all the while leaving plenty of time for tea.
In the sequel to Just One Damned Thing After Another , Max and company visit Victorian London in search of Jack the Ripper, witness the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral, and discover that dodos make a grockling noise when eating cucumber sandwiches. But they must also confront an enemy intent on destroying St. Mary’s—an enemy willing, if necessary, to destroy history itself to do it.
Once again our heroine Max manages to mess up every situation she's in, but she has help from her hapless contemporaries and the stalwart staff of St Mary's, which includes the goddess of history in disguise. I often questioned why Max and her friends were so intent on putting themselves in harms way, when, as educated adults they obviously should have known better, but apparently historians have a stupid need to actually see serial killers up close (such as Jack the Ripper) and the risk of dying is well worth it to view this abomination. Turns out, SPOILER, that the Ripper is actually some kind of alien bacterial entity who infects/invades its host and then goes on a killing spree.Taylor has no problem describing every gruesome moment of horror, either, which makes me wonder about her mental health. I would give this book a B, and recommend it to anyone who read the first book, with the warning that these books are addictive in the same way that chocolate or potato chips are addictive...you can't stop at reading just one.
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