Hello Bibliophiles and friends of bookish folk! Here we are in the final days of March, ready to head into a rainy and warm April. I've been dealing with a lot of health issues, not the least of which is fatigue. I could sleep for 7 hours a night, then have a nap mid-evening and still be tired enough to go to bed around midnight. Yet I often find myself wide awake at 4 or 5 AM. So I read for an hour or so and then go back to sleep. I feel like a cat, drowsing all day and then getting the "zoomies" at inopportune times. This could be because of newer meds I'm on, but who knows? Anyway, here's the latest crop of tidbits and book reviews.
I'm really looking forward to these new book adaptations.
TV: '10 Upcoming Book-to-Television Adaptations'
Noting that a number of promising TV series that are in the works are based on great novels, Indiewire showcased "10 upcoming book-to-television adaptations https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz51536231 we can't wait to see," including Pachinko, The Man Who Fell to Earth, The Time Traveler's Wife, Conversations with Friends, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Interview with the Vampire, The Sandman, House of the Dragon, Daisy Jones & The Six, and The Power.
This sounds like a wonderful, funny book, and I will be keeping an eye out for it at the library and bookstores.
Book Review: Let Me Be Frank: A Book About Women Who Dressed Like Men to Do Shit They Weren't Supposed to Do
In 2013, television writer and actor Tracy Dawson was passed over for a job writing shows because they didn't have any "female needs." Naturally infuriated, she became interested in women over the centuries whose opportunities and options have been limited by their sex. From this curiosity is born Let Me Be Frank: A Book About Women Who Dressed Like Men to Do Shit They Weren't Supposed to Do, in which Dawson profiles several dozen women from the 1400s BCE through the present. In a pithy, one-liner-laden style, she brings these remarkable and little-known histories to light with comedic flair.
Some of the women are classics: Joan of Arc, Kathrine Switzer and a chapter's worth of once-anonymous literary figures who are now household names (Jane Austen, Mary Shelley, the Brontes, George Sand). But the majority are more obscure: Maria Toorpakai, professional squash player born in 1990 whose native Pakistan forbids women from the game; Hannah Snell, who served as a Royal Marine in the 1750s; Ellen Craft, who fled slavery in 1848 disguised as a white male slaveowner. A teenaged Dorothy Lawrence, rejected as war correspondent in World War I, took herself to the front by boat, bicycle and soldier's garb. The 1890s entertainer and male impersonator Florence Hines, 1941 comic book creator Tarpe; Mills and 1980s miner and entrepreneur Pili Hussein are among these diverse, colorful stories. Others are antiheroes, like witch-pricker Christian Caddell or all-around scoundrel Catalina de Erauso. Dawson is careful to point out that her focus is on "women who dressed as men to gain access and opportunity, not on gender identity," since the latter is notoriously difficult to parse from a historical perspective, particularly since many of the women she profiles have left scant records. Their motivations vary as widely as other aspects of their identities and stories, but each of these women pushed boundaries in ways that remain inspirational for Dawson and her readers today.
Let Me Be Frank is peppered with punchy jokes in an informal, conversational tone that suits Dawson's background in television. Joan of Arc is compared to Beyonce; U.K.-born Annie Hindle, the first male impersonator to appear on the American variety stage back in 1868, even married other women (dressed as one of her male characters). Dawson delivers these historical profiles, born of research, in a lighthearted voice. Tina Berning's portraits evoke the women's personalities and literally color the narratives. The result is an easy-to-read, eye-opening look at female bravery amid the sexism and misogyny throughout history; it is funny and rousing and proud. --Julia Kastner , librarian and blogger at pagesofjulia
Though the Oscars this year was overshadowed by Will Smith slapping Chris Rock on stage for making fun of his wife's allopecia, (he apologized later, but seriously, did no one teach Smith, when he was a boy, to use his words and not his fists to resolve conflicts?) there were some groundbreaking wins, including a deaf actor for CODA and a POC for an acting award. Diversity on display!
Bookish Oscar Winners: Dune, The Power of the Dog, Drive My Car
At last night's Academy Awards ceremony https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz51567860, three book-related films took home Oscars, with Dune picking up six of the golden statuettes. This year's bookish Oscar winners are:
Dune, based on the novel by Frank Herbert: Cinematography (Greig Fraser); editing (Joe Walker); music (original score); production design; sound; visual effects
The Power of the Dog, based on the novel by Thomas Savage: Director (Jane Campion)
Drive My Car, based on a short story by Haruki Murakami, from his collection Men Without Women: Best international feature film
A number of book-related movies earned Oscar nominations but didn't win. These included Nightmare Alley, based on the novel by William Lindsay Gresham; The Lost Daughter, adapted from the novel by Elena Ferrante; The Tragedy of Macbeth, based on William Shakespeare's play; House of Gucci, based on the book by Sara Gay Forden; Cyrano, adapted from the play by Edmond Rostand; and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, based on the Marvel character.
I enjoyed the first season of Gentleman Jack, so now I'm excited to see that the second season premiers next month in April.
TV: Gentleman Jack
A trailer has been released for the second season of the HBO/BBC series Gentleman Jack https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz51569432, based on the diaries of 19th century landowner and social rebel Anne Lister.
Deadline reported that Sally Wainwright's period drama "turns all eyes to Suranne Jones' Anne Lister and Sophie Rundle's Ann Walker as they set up home together at Shibden Hall as wife and wife, while BAFTA-winning After Love star Joanna Scanlan will join the cast as Isabella 'Tib' Norcliffe, Anne Lister's outrageous former lover."
Series two premieres its eight episodes weekly on BBC One beginning April 10 and drop on HBO at a later date. Executive producers are Wainwright and Jones; Faith Penhale and Will Johnston for Lookout Point, and Ben Irving for the BBC. The project will be directed by Edward Hall, Amanda Brotchie and Fergus O'Brien, produced by Lookout Point for the BBC, and co-produced with HBO.
Congratulations to Oprah, whose book club inspired a lot of readers to read more broadly and deeply, and created readers out of non readers.
Oprah Winfrey Named Pen/Faulkner Literary Champion
Oprah Winfrey has been selected as the 2022 PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz51595654, an annual commendation that recognizes a lifetime of devoted literary advocacy and a commitment to inspiring new generations of readers and writers. Winfrey will accept her award, along with this year's PEN/Faulkner Award winner and finalists, in a virtual celebration to be held on May 2.
"Oprah Winfrey is a literary force field," said PEN/Faulkner board v-p Mary Haft. "She has been like a lighthouse, standing sentry and shining a beacon of light onto literature and into the lives of writers and readers."
The PEN/Faulkner Foundation created the
PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion in 2020, on the occasion of the organization's
40th anniversary. The inaugural recipient, recognized in 2021, was
award-winning actor and longtime Reading Rainbow host LeVar Burton (Editor's note, I LOVE LeVar Burton! Not just for his promotion of reading, but also because he was Geordie LaForge in Star Trek The Next Generation.)
I loved the Dark Matter series that was on the SciFi channel, so now I'm really looking forward to this new interpretation.
TV: Dark Matter
Apple TV+ has given a nine-episode series order to Dark Matter https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz51595700, based on Blake Crouch's sci-fi novel, with Joel Edgerton attached to star, Deadline reported. Crouch will write the pilot script and serve as showrunner. The project has been in development at Apple since 2020.
Matt Tolmach (Jumanji franchise) is exec producing, and Sony Pictures Television will produce for Apple TV+. Edgerton and Crouch are also executive producers, and Louis Leterrier (Now You See Me) is set to direct the first four episodes.
City of Time and Magic by Paula Brackston is the 4th (and final?) book in her "Found Things" series of paranormal/magical romance novels. I actually bought the hardback copy of this book because I was interested in reading about the main character Xanthe's time-traveling rescue of her boyfriend Liam. Though I enjoy her time-traveling books, one of the two problems I have with Brackston is that she over-writes her books, creating paragraph after paragraph of scenery descriptions that slow the plot to a crawl and do nothing to advance the work of the characters in the story. In other words, they're boring descriptions that become ridiculous after you've read 5 or 6 of them. I can't go into raptures about a leaf or some flowers in a meadow or a forest at twilight...all that does nothing for me as a reader. I also don't like Brackston's infantilizing of her female characters who "need" men to help them and love them, otherwise they're weak and useless and have zero self esteem. Blech. Come into the 21st century, Brackston, where women have agency! Here's the blurb: Xanthe meets Brackston's most famous heroine, Elizabeth Hawksmith from The Witch's Daughter, in this crossover story with all the "historical detail, village charm, and twisty plotting" of the Found Things series (Publishers Weekly).
City of Time and Magic
sees Xanthe face her greatest challenges yet. She must choose from
three treasures that sing to her; a beautiful writing slope, a mourning
brooch of heartbreaking detail, and a gorgeous gem-set hat pin. All call
her, but the wrong one could take her on a mission other than that
which she must address first, and the stakes could not be higher. While
her earlier mission to Regency England had been a success, the journey
home resulted in Liam being taken from her, spirited away to another
time and place. Xanthe must follow the treasure that will take her to
him if he is not to be lost forever.
Xanthe is certain that
Mistress Flyte has Liam and determined to find them both. But when she
discovers Lydia Flyte has been tracking the actions of the Visionary
Society, a group of ruthless and unscrupulous Spinners who have been
selling their talents to a club of wealthy clients, Xanthe realizes her
work as a Spinner must come before her personal wishes. The Visionary
Society is highly dangerous and directly opposed to the creed of the
Spinners. Their actions could have disastrous consequences as they alter
the authentic order of things and change the future. Xanthe knows she
must take on the Society. It will require the skills of all her friends,
old and new, to attempt such a thing, and not all of them will survive
the confrontation that follows.
As I said, her prose isn't perfect (it's still above average, however), but the story does manage to survive the ups and downs of her plot, which, when it's not fallen still with descriptions, is fairly zippy and fresh. I did like the parts of the story not focused on the men posturing like roosters and the "is she or isn't she in love" sections. Still, I'd give the book a solid B, and recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed previous books in the series.
Spirelli Paranormal Investigations, Season One, episodes 1-6, by Kate Baray was a very affordable set of ebooks that were plotted out in "episodes," each a different mystery that Spirelli and his dragon assistant must investigate and bring to a close. The episodes were short and written with dynamic prose, so that readers can finish each episode in a matter of an hour or two. These paranormal mysteries are by turns hilarious and fascinating, and will keep you turning pages well past your bedtime. Here's the blurb: Jack Spirelli, paranormal investigator, public debunker of
paranormal frauds, and private fixer for the magic-using community has
opened his doors.
Jack’s in a crunch. Since he went pseudo-public
with Spirelli Paranormal Investigations, his business has sky-rocketed.
Debunking the scum who prey on vulnerable targets makes up half his
business now. And the rest of his time? Jack’s on speed dial with the
Texas Lycan Pack, the Inter-Pack Policing Cooperative gives him an
occasional ring, and anything that goes bump in the night might just
call him with a job.
He needs an assistant, another investigator,
and some additional muscle, but maybe the dragon who just walked in and
applied will do for now.
Each of the six stories in Season One covers a new Spirelli case.
Jack Spirelli reminded me of a cross between Harry Dresden of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher and one of Cassandra Clare's Lycans from her Shadow Hunters series. The only problem is that Jack isn't magical, and while he has props to help him, like magical potions and such, he is still at a disadvantage in the witch/dragon/magical creatures community. He and his dragon assistant manage to survive several magic attacks, however, and I enjoyed the witty dialog between the two characters throughout the novellas. Fun and distracting, I'd give this series an A, and recommend it to anyone who loves Harry Dresden or the Rockford Files on magical steroids.
A Sunlit Weapon by Jacqueline Winspear is the 17th book in her Maisie Dobbs mystery series. I've read and enjoyed these books right from the start, and now that we're well into WWII with Maisie and her family and friends, I was so glad to see that she's progressed well and is thinking about marriage and spending more time with her adoptive daughter. Here's the blurb:
October 1942. Jo Hardy, a 22-year-old ferry pilot, is delivering a Supermarine Spitfire—the fastest fighter aircraft in the world—to Biggin Hill Aerodrome, when she realizes someone is shooting at her aircraft from the ground. Returning to the location on foot, she finds an American serviceman in a barn, bound and gagged. She rescues the man, who is handed over to the American military police; it quickly emerges that he is considered a suspect in the disappearance of a fellow soldier who is missing.
Tragedy strikes two days later, when another ferry pilot crashes in the same area where Jo’s plane was attacked. At the suggestion of one of her colleagues, Jo seeks the help of psychologist and investigator Maisie Dobbs. Meanwhile, Maisie’s husband, a high-ranking political attaché based at the American embassy, is in the thick of ensuring security is tight for the first lady of the United States, Eleanor Roosevelt, during her visit to the Britain. There’s already evidence that German agents have been circling: the wife of a president represents a high value target. Mrs. Roosevelt is clearly in danger, and there may well be a direct connection to the death of the woman ferry pilot and the recent activities of two American servicemen.
To guarantee the safety of the First Lady—and of the
soldier being held in police custody—Maisie must uncover that
connection. At the same time, she faces difficulties of an entirely
different nature with her young daughter, Anna, who is experiencing
wartime struggles of her own.
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