Hello friends and book fiends! I know that this, my first post in June (Hello Summer!) has been delayed for way too long, but my husband has had a major health crisis and is currently in the hospital, and just as the hot weather moved in, our air conditioner broke down, and then we've had a landscape guy come and mow/weed/prune trees and fix our yard, which has taken several weeks, and of course our dishwasher also broke down, so it's been fairly stressful, moving from one crisis to another.Thankfully, my son Nick has been a trooper, helping my husband and I navigate our health crisis and doctors appointments and helping out at home as much as possible while also holding down a full time job in Tacoma. He's just the best son any parent could wish for, and I'm terribly proud of the compassionate, smart and handsome young man he's become. Meanwhile, though, reading has been sporadic and I've had to wait until I finished some books before moving forward with my blog reviews. Sorry about that! But here, finally, are some tidbits and four books reviews.
This looks like a movie I definitely want to see. BTW, the movie version of Wool, which was an SF novel I really enjoyed, is called Silo, and stars the actress mentioned below...I'm looking forward to that one as well.
Movies: Best Served Cold
Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible franchise, Silo) "is in final talks" to star in Best Served Cold https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscFWOn78I6ahmJkpwSQ~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6iSXJ73poMLg-gVdw,based on Joe Abercrombie's book, Deadline reported, adding that the book, which was originally published as part of Abercrombie's First Law World series in 2009, "tells the story of the legendary mercenary Monza Murcatto (Ferguson), the betrayal that ostracizes her, and her ensuing quest for revenge that will forever change a nation." Tim Miller (Deadpool) will direct for Skydance. Abercrombie adapted his novel for the screen.
I've loved watching Matt Bomer in various shows, especially White Collar, and now he's going to be in this new series, which sounds exciting!
TV: Fellow Travelers
Showtime has released a teaser trailer for Fellow Travelers https://www.shelfawareness.com/ct/x/pjJscFXclOwI6ahmdhB3Gg~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6iSDpWkpoMLg-gVdw, an eight-episode limited series based on Thomas Mallon's 2007 novel. Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey lead a cast that includes Jelani Alladin (The Walking Dead: World Beyond), Allison Williams (Get Out) and Noah J. Ricketts (American Gods). Co-produced by Fremantle and Showtime, the series will premiere on Paramount+ with Showtime this fall. Created by Oscar-nominated writer Ron Nyswaner (Philadelphia), Fellow Travelers is exec produced by Bomer and Nyswaner with Robbie Rogers. Dee Johnson. Daniel Minahan (Halston, American Crime Story: Versace) will executive produce and direct the first two episodes.
This is another TV show that I'm keeping an eye out for, as it looks fascinating.
TV: Mr. Loverman
Lennie James (Save Me) will star in and exec produce a BBC adaptation of Bernardine Evaristo's 2013 novel Mr. Loverman https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscFXdl-8I6ahmdRpwGg~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6iSD5anpoMLg-gVdw. Deadline reported that Nathaniel Price (Noughts + Crosses, The Outlaws) is writing the eight-part series, with Hong Khaou (Baptiste) directing for Fable Pictures. Sony Pictures Television is distributing globally.
Evaristo said she "loves the idea of stepping beyond the pages of Mr. Loverman into people's living rooms and lives." BBC drama director Lindsay Salt added: "Mr. Loverman is a must-read novel and in the skilled hands of Nathaniel, Lennie and the Fable team it will soon be must-see television. I can't think of a more perfect team to bring Bernardine's exquisite story to the screen."Sadly, there aren't a lot of these old powerhouse traditional publishers left. Most of the others have been swallowed by big media conglomerates and gutted of their talented editors and authors. So happy 100th birthday Norton!
Norton Celebrates Its 100th Anniversary
W.W. Norton celebrated 100 years of independent publishing of "books that live" in style at Cipriani in New York City Tuesday night. The 1,000 attendees included 166 authors, five of whom--Michael Lewis, Joy Harjo, Neil Gaiman, Rita Dove, and Richard Powers--spoke to the appreciative crowd of their happiness of being published by Norton.
Chairman and president Julia Reidhead thanked many people for the company's achievements, including two predecessors heading the company, Donald Lamm and Drake McFeely, who were both in attendance. Read our in-depth profile of Norton on its 100th anniversary here https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscFXdxb8I6ahmdUokSA~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6iSD8T3poMLg-gVdw.
It's about damn time! Book censorship
is at an all time high! Especially in republican-heavy states like Florida and Texas. I don't think that these people realize that by banning a book that contains anything related to People of Color or the LGBTQ community, they are creating a demand among young people for those very books, because what is more tantalizing than forbidden fruit? Plus, young people are always seeking books that give them directions to finding themselves and establishing their own identities, and by banning these books the political idiots in those states are making it harder for kids in the LGBTQ community to get real information and to be seen and heard. Those are kids more likely to feel shame unnecessarily and try to commit suicide because they don't feel they fit in. Ignorance kills, and book bans create ignorance.
White House Announces New Position to Combat Book Bans
In celebration of Pride Month, the White House has announced a set of actions designed to protect LGBTQ+ communities, including the appointment of a new coordinator within the Department of Education to combat to the rising number of book bans . Details are still to come, but the White House says the new position will “work to provide new trainings for schools nationwide on how book bans that target specific communities and create a hostile school environment may violate federal civil rights laws.” In a statement, the White House said, “Across the country, our nation faces a spike in book bans—efforts that disproportionately strip books about LGBTQIA+ communities, communities of color, and other communities off of library and classroom shelves. Book banning erodes our democracy, removes vital resources for student learning, and can contribute to the stigma and isolation that LGBTQIA+ people and other communities face.”
Noting that more a dozen states have enacted anti-LGBTQI+ laws that "violate our most basic values and freedoms as Americans, and are cruel and callous to our kids, our neighbors, and those in our community," the administration said it "stands with the LGBTQI+ community and has their backs in the face of these attacks."
My theater professors at Clarke College (now University) back in the day were huge fans of Ibsen, so I've read a lot of his plays and seen a few mounted on the stage. This should be interesting, to see it adapted to the screen.
Movies: Hedda Gabler
Callum Turner (Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore) will join Tessa Thompson as stars of Nia DaCosta's film adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's classic play Hedda Gabler https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscFSIwuoI6ahlKx5yGw~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6iTWsOipoMLg-gVdw. The Hollywood Reporter noted that DaCosta and Thompson previously worked together on the director's feature debut, Little Woods. Eve Hewson will also star in the project.
The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina by Zoraida Cordova is a marvelous family fantasy novel with all the wonder and intrigue of Disney's Encanto animated movie, beloved by everyone who has seen it and heard its marvelous songs. The prose could only be described as florid, and yet it works so well with the twisty labyrinthine plot that will keep you breathless until the last chapter. Here's the blurb: Perfect for fans of Alice Hoffman, Isabel
Allende, and Sarah Addison Allen, a family searches for the truth hidden
in their past in this “expertly woven tale of family power, threaded
with as much mystery as magic” V.E. Schwab
The
Montoyas are used to a life without explanations. They know better than
to ask why the pantry never seems to run low, or why their matriarch
won’t ever leave their home in Four Rivers—not for graduations,
weddings, or baptisms. But when Orquídea Divina invites them to her
funeral and to collect their inheritance, they hope to learn the secrets
that she has held onto so tightly their whole lives. Instead, Orquídea
is transformed into a ceiba tree, leaving them with more questions than
answers.
Seven years later, her gifts have manifested in
different ways for Marimar, Rey, and Rhiannon, granting them unexpected
blessings and powers. But soon, a hidden figure begins to tear through
their family tree, picking them off one by one as it seeks to destroy
Orquídea’s line. Determined to save what’s left of their family and
uncover the truth behind their inheritance, her descendants travel to
Ecuador—to the place where Orquídea buried her secrets and broken
promises and never looked back.
Alternating between Orquídea’s past and her descendants’ present, The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina is
a “spellbinding tale, both timeless and fresh, that will stay with you
long after you’ve turned the last page. Prepare to fall in love” (Kim
Liggett, New York Times bestselling author).
I'm a huge fan of the magical stories of Alice Hoffman and Sarah Addison Allen, so I figured this book would be a winner for me, and I was right. Marimar and her cynical, sarcastic gay brother Rey, along with the magically gifted child Rhiannon Rose (which is, oddly enough, what I would have named my son Nick if he'd been a girl), manage to uncover the long-buried truths about the life of their grandmother Orquidea and how she gained magical abilities at a bizarre circus run by a very mestophilian ringmaster. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, that's when the whole plot would pivot with some new and fascinating revelation. I'd give this unexpectedly delightful book an A, and recommend it to those who believe in everyday magic.
The Radcliffe Ladies Reading Club by Julia Bryan Thomas is what is often called "historical women's fiction" but it's really just historical fiction with female main characters who delineate the times they are in and the struggles of these characters for equality and decent treatment. Though I did enjoy reading about most of the characters, I was flummoxed by the behavior of some of them, and how easily the horrific criminal behavior of the men in their lives was explained away, treated as normal or swept under the rug when they'd done something abusive, like beating and raping a young woman. the one character I couldn't abide from the start was Tess, who is just an awful person, judgemental, vindictive, cruel and stupid, but she's forgiven for all of this because she's poor. Ugh, how ridiculous. Here's the blurb:
Literature impacts us all uniquely — but also unites us.
Massachusetts, 1954. Alice Campbell escapes halfway across the country and finds herself in front of a derelict building tucked among the cobblestone streets of Cambridge, and she turns that sad little shop into the charming bookstore of her dreams.
Tess, Caroline, Evie, and Merritt become fast friends in the sanctuary of Alice's monthly reading club at The Cambridge Bookshop, where they escape the pressures of being newly independent college women in a world that seems to want to keep them in the kitchen. But they each embody very different personalities, and when a member of the group finds herself shattered, everything they know about each other—and themselves—will be called into question.
A heart-wrenching, inspiring, extraordinary love letter to books set against the backdrop of one of the most pivotal periods in American history, The Radcliffe Ladies' Reading Club explores how women forge their own paths, regardless of what society expects of them, and illuminates the importance of literature and the vital conversations it sparks.
There was a lot less about actual books and the readings at book group in the charming little shop than I'd hoped for, and most of the novel is caught up in the love lives and social status of the four freshman girls who joined the book club, and their utter naivete when it comes to dealing with young men of the era (all of whom, it seems, were cruel rapists and abusers, just one drink away from sexual assault). None of the girls/women seemed to have decent supportive or loving parents, and everyone was so caught up in "how this will look" to society that they were willing to pretend that nothing happened and let the perpetrators of crimes against women get away with it. And the bookstore owner, Alice, who should have been much stronger and willing to go to the police or do whatever was necessary to help one of the characters with an unwanted pregnancy, was wimpy and had a spine of jello, so she just helped a little bit and worried quietly to herself the rest of the time. Blech. I have known librarians/bookstore owners with much more grit and steel in their spines during my life (even when I was a kid in the 60s) than the insecure and indecisive Alice. At any rate, I'd give this book a B-, and recommend it to people interested in life at Radcliffe college in the 50s.
An Artless Demise by Anna Lee Huber is book 7 in the Lady Darby historical mystery series. Like a lot of long series that I get into, Lady Darby mysteries are easy reads with familiar characters and a nice romantic arc for the protagonists to keep things interesting. Here's the blurb:
No comments:
Post a Comment