It's almost summer, my fellow book dragons! You wouldn't know it by the on and off cool rainy days (with hot sunny days inbetween) here in the PNW, but June's summery days are almost upon us. I'm not a huge fan of spring and summer (too many allergies) but I find that, as I get older, I've developed a bit more respect for the change of seasons and some much-needed vitamin D-filled sunbeams floating through my windows. Anyway, I've got lots of reviews to share, so off we go!
I will be keeping an eye out for this book, which sounds like tremendous fun.
Book Review: Inventing the It Girl: How Elinor Glyn Created the Modern Romance and Conquered Early Hollywood
The writer Elinor Glyn (1864-1943) was extravagantly vain, unapologetically snobbish, flagrantly money-minded and of unremarkable literary talent. But Hilary A. Hallett's Inventing the It Girl: How Elinor Glyn Created the Modern Romance and Conquered Early Hollywood demonstrates that Glyn, having "done her part to let loose the genie of women's sexual liberation," is an undersung feminist trailblazer ripe for a biography.
Born on the island of Jersey, England, Glyn developed her passion for books in her stepfather's library and her taste for the finer things following a trip to Belle Epoque Paris as a teenager. A middle-class child of the Victorian era, Glyn married up--she landed a proper English gentleman--and soon learned that, as she would write, "brains did not count" when one was the mistress of an estate. But her husband had a gambling problem and the family needed money, so Glyn sought what was then considered an unsuitable job for an upper-class woman: professional writer.
Glyn had success with her books, especially Three Weeks, her scandalously steamy and occasionally banned 1907 romance novel; in Hallett's assessment, the plot's implicit "glorification of a woman's right to pursue her heart's desire outside the bounds of matrimony proved too much of a blow to the era's genteel literary code to go unpunished." Given Glyn's crowd-pleasing notoriety, it's no wonder that Jesse Lasky, vice-president of production at Famous Players-Lasky Studio, invited her to Hollywood to write for the movies. In the film world as in the literary one, Glyn's calling card was her ability to give even the raciest stories an aristocratic gloss, which assured a prudish public that what they were viewing couldn't possibly be smut. As Hallett puts it, "High-class settings and costumes, refined manners, and a smoldering intensity could transmute steamy erotic play into acceptable behavior that permitted the expression of women's sexual pleasure."
Exhaustively researched and decked out with 50-odd photos and reproductions, Inventing the It Girl is rich with history--inevitable, given all that Glyn observed and lived through, including the erosion of Victorian social mores, World War I and Hollywood in its infancy. Hallett (Go West, Young Women!: The Rise of Early Hollywood) is utterly persuasive regarding the beneficent influence of Glyn, who popularized the term "it," meaning,as she explained, the "strange magnetism that attracts both sexes." Glyn herself may not have had it, but she had something well worth reading about. --Nell Beram , author and freelance writer
Shelf Talker: This tip-top biography of the British novelist turned early-Hollywood screenwriter salutes her for writing of women's sexual desire at a time when they weren't supposed to admit to feeling any.
Goodnight Moon was the first book I read to my son when I brought him home from the hospital, and it was one of the first books my mother read to me when she brought me home. It's a classic children's story for a reason...it's so sweet and soothing. Now it's being read in space, which is so cool!
Image of the Day: 'Goodnight Moon'--in Space!
Earlier this week, astronaut Tom Marshburn on the International Space Station shared a zero-gravity reading of Goodnight Moon. The out-of-this-world event, which included an "Ask an Astronaut" q&a and an art project inspired by the book, was part of the 75th anniversary celebration of Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd's classic, and was sponsored by Crayola, NASA and HarperCollins Children's Books. The event can be viewed on Crayola's Facebook https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscAOKkrgI6apuJxwkHw~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6jEWJPwpoMLg-gVdw page.
I'm not sure that I like this, because the man himself isn't here to protest how they use his image after his death. He was such a fun guy, and enjoyed his cameos on the films of his works, that I assume he'd like living on this way, but we'll never know, since he's dead and, greedy guys like Andy Heyward can do whatever they want under the guise of being a big fan of Stan Lees.
Stan Lee 'Returns' to Marvel Studios
In what was described as "a unique deal," the late and legendary Stan Lee, co-creator of Spider-Man, Avengers and Hulk, is returning to Marvel Studios. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Marvel has signed a 20-year deal with Stan Lee Universe https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscAOKkrgI6apuJxwlHw~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6jEWJPwpoMLg-gVdw, a venture between Genius Brands International and POW! Entertainment, to license the name and likeness of Lee, who died in 2018, for use in future feature films and television productions, as well as Disney theme parks, various "experiences" and merchandising.
"It really ensures that Stan, through digital technology and archival footage and other forms, will live in the most important venue, the Marvel movies, and Disney theme parks," said Andy Heyward, chairman and CEO of Genius Brands. "It's a broad deal."Describing Lee as a mentor, Heyward said he spearheaded the venture because, in the aftermath of Lee's death and the revelations of conflicts in Lee's final years, "there needed to be a steward of his legacy." The company is now sifting through Lee's files and dealing with offers, all through a protective lens. "The audience revered Stan, and if it's done with taste and class, and respectful of who he was, [uses of his likeness] will be welcomed. He is a beloved personality, and long after you and I are gone, he will remain the essence of Marvel."
This is going to be a fantastic film, I just know it...so I can hardly wait for the fall when it debuts.
Movies: Catherine, Called Birdy
The first footage has been released for Catherine, Called Birdy https://www.shelfawareness.com/ct/x/pjJscAOKkrgI6apuJxwlEw~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6jEWJPwpoMLg-gVdw, Lena Dunham's adaptation of Karen Cushman's 1996 medieval coming-of-age book. IndieWire reported that the project "has been in the works for 13 years--almost the exact age as the historical YA novel's heroine."
Dunham writes, directs and executive produces film, which she has described as the "most ambitious project" of her career. Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones) stars "as the titular precocious Birdy, who is set to be married off for money so that her father (Andrew Scott) can save their English manor in the year 1290," IndieWire noted. The cast also includes Joe Alwyn, Ralph Ineson, Billie Piper and Isis Hainsworth. Catherine, Called Birdy premieres in theaters September 23 and on Prime Video October 7.
This is another book to movie adaptation that I'm anxiously awaiting...anything about Celtic witches and the fae is right up my alley.
Movies: The Good People
Australian production company Aquarius Films has partnered with Irish production company Port Pictures to produce The Good People https://www.shelfawareness.com/ct/x/pjJscAOLxOQI6apuchkgTA~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6jEWcWspoMLg-gVdw, based on the novel by Hannah Kent, who also wrote the adapted screenplay, Variety reported. The film has received development funding from Screen Australia. Kent's first novel, Burial Rites, is currently being prepared for the screen by Sony TriStar.
"What's not to love about Hannah Kent's brilliant novel?" said producers Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford of Aquarius Films. "A dark tale about three complex women, fairies, witches and changelings. All set against the eerie backdrop of 1800s Ireland."
The First Sister by Linden A Lewis is a diverse (ie LGBTQ characters are front and center) science fiction novel that was interesting, but could really have used some fine-tuning with a smart editor. The prose was mostly sterling, but there were rough spots where it became overblown with too much emotional baggage. The plot went from being straightforward to labyrinthine and back so quickly I got reader's whiplash. The characters appeared to be whole and inviolate, but would suddenly seem tissue-thin. So this is an odd novel that I enjoyed, but felt stymied by, more than once. Here's the blurb:
I understand, intellectually, that we're supposed to be appalled by the misogyny inherent in the space nun's "sisterhood," which uses religion to codify women being emotional and sexual support to a ship full of men (and a few women), therefore turning them into prostitutes in all but name. But the political structure that supports this corrupt religion made little sense to me. It also came off as almost fan-boy space porn, with the first sister desperate to escape being demoted to the pool of women who are made sexually available to anyone on board the ship. If this book is trying to point out the unfairness of the sister system, why aren't there male "sisters" or gender neutral/queer/non binary space nuns? Why do the sisters stab each other in the back and why do their superiors manipulate them with the fear of prostitution? This pornographic bent colored the book for me in a way that made it hard to read. I liked Lito and Hiro's story, but since that was about guys, it got to be much more fleshed out than the sister's tale. At any rate, I felt that though it could have used a surgical editor, this novel deserved a B, and I'd recommend it to those who like LGBTQ relationships in their space opera/science fiction.
Book Lovers by Emily Henry is a delicious and well written romantic comedy/contemporary romance novel that I could not put down. Thanks to Ms Henry I'm writing this on only 4 hours of sleep, because I needed to know what happened to Nora and Charlie (and to Nora's sister and her family, of course). The prose was tart and crisp and the plot flew by on hummingbird wings. Brava, Ms Henry...you are obviously a master wordsmith. Here's the blurb:
One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn't see coming...
Nora Stephens' life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not
that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl,
and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is
a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a
cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.
Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the
month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with
visions of a small town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced
needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in
meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed
bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding
editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the
fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.
If
Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero,
but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of
coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover
might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about
themselves.
I love, love, love that there was a sense of meta-fiction going on here because the main characters were aware of the usual tropes of romantic comedy/contemporary romances, like the ones constantly being made into Hallmark Channel movies of the week. Those tropes, of the career gal who goes to the small town, falls in love with the local farmer, cowboy, handyman, small business owner, etc, and then gives up her hard-won career and life in the big city to settle down in Podunk, Nowheresville (which is nearly always in the South or sometimes the Midwest) and make babies with said farmer/cowboy, etc, are so predictable and sexist that you can set your watch by them. They always grate on me, though, because while I love romance and witty banter, I dislike that the women are always adorable quirky short/petite blondes or brunettes, and they're always willing to give up the lives they've built for themselves so quickly, just for a guy whom they barely know. There's never any hint that they'll grow dissatisfied or bored with small town life, or with having babies and not being able to use their academic degrees or intellect or artistic gifts ever again because now they're just a brood mare for some guy and housewife/motherhood is all they can aspire to for the next 20 years. Women are worth more than their gestational abilities, and thank heaven that Emily Henry recognizes that with Nora, who doesn't want kids and could never leave her career in New York, a city she feels born to inhabit. Fortunately, her male counterpart, Charlie, is of the same mindset as Nora, and, as she's a literary agent and he's an editor, the two working on the same novel together allows for sparks to fly and witty banter to abound in this deliciously snappy, sarcastic page-turner. Nora, who is tall and not at all sweet and kind and petite, uses her rapier wit throughout the book by dueling with the equally sarcastic Charlie, whose deadpan humor slices the air between them every time they meet or text. I devoured this book, and I'd give it an A and a recommendation to any woman with brains who is tired of the same stupid romantic tropes and really wants to see something different, or more realistic, in their romance novels.
Dead To Me and Dead And Gone by Annie Anderson are the first two ebooks in the Grave Talker series, which I am becoming addicted to, more each day. These books are urban fantasy with romantic underpinnings, and a lot of action and comedy elements. The prose is white hot, and the plot glides along on greased wheels, so you're halfway through book 2 before you're even aware you've missed a meal (or an entire day). Here's the blurbs:
Book One:
Meet Darby. Coffee addict. Homicide detective. Oh, and she can see ghosts, too.
There are only three rules in Darby Adler's life.
One: Don't talk to the dead in front of the living.
Two: Stay off the Arcane Bureau of Investigation's radar.
Three: Don't forget rules one and two.
With
a murderer desperate for Darby's attention and an ABI agent in town,
things are about to get mighty interesting in Haunted Peak, TN.
If you enjoy foul-mouthed heroines, dark humor, and enemies-to-lovers, then check out Dead to Me, the first book in the action-packed Grave Talker series.
Book Two:
There are few things worse than being on the Arcane Bureau of Investigation's naughty list.
To
keep herself out of hot water, Darby Adler has made a deal with the
devil—using her skills as a grave talker to help the ABI solve some very
cold cases.
But there is something mighty amiss in this
task—especially when quite a few of these cases lead Darby right back to
her home town of Haunted Peak and the secrets buried there.
Dead & Gone is the second book in the Grave Talker Series. If you enjoy foul-mouthed heroines, dark humor, and enemies-to-lovers, then then this is the series for you.
I adore the protagonist Darby, who is tough and funny, and I also really like her co-workers/friends, who all stick by her and help in times of trouble. There's that old saying about real friends being the ones who help you bury the bodies that totally applies here, but even if it didn't the nearly screenplay-like quality of the prose would suck me into the series and keep me buying book after book, and reading them until the wee hours. Though her parents are not the kind of people you'd ever want to meet in a dark alley, I appreciated the fact that Anderson made them seem less moustache twirling villain and more multi-faceted beings whose worlds kept them from nurturing or caring for their offspring. I'd give book one an A and book two a B, and I'd highly recommend this series to fans of Devon Monk or Lilith Saintcrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment