September 29, 2010
September 28, 2010
{ A MICHAEL NUHN REVIEW }
I know I've already lamented the inaccuracy of back-of-book blurbs, so I won't get into a lengthy examination of the plot summary issues on the back of Sean Ferrell’s Numb
(Harper Perennial), but I couldn't get away from the Publishers Weekly quote on the front of the paperback: "This book has a lot of heart."For the first few chapters of Ferrell's debut novel, I thought they were just gushing like a standard blurb factory, but after getting roughly halfway through the tale of a protagonist with no name, no face (maybe he does have a face, but read it yourself and then think back: what does this guy look like?), and no pain, I realized it was more than that. They'd completely and utterly missed the mark. Numb and its eponymous narrator don't have a lot of heart; they don't have any heart at all. It's not a damning lack; it's actually the entire point.
Numb begins with our amnesiac, anonymous, and somewhat anticlimactic protagonist recalling his entrance into his own story. He strolled out of the desert and into a circus wearing that uniform of namelessness, the black suit, complete with bloodied face and a trail of dusty footprints leading back to nowhere. His circus compatriots welcome him in light of his “talent,” which becomes his identity when they nickname him Numb, and he becomes an instant hit with the crowds but a divisive element in the crew. The phonies don't like him, the real talent encourages him, and he almost gets eaten by a lion. It's a boiled-down first act, but it's enough to catapult him to the Big Apple.
September 27, 2010
Don't you just love old timey morality guides? Who knew reading could define the path of one's life, right? :)
[via clair_voyant]
September 24, 2010
[This edition of FB is brought to you by the free Wi-Fi at Borders - thanks, Borders!]
*Librarians and bookshops, listen up - a shelf shuffle is in order. According to the author herself, Danielle Steel novels do not fall under the umbrella of romance. "They're not really about romance ... I really write more about the human condition," she said. Right. So, looks like we should file her under D, then. As in deluded...denial...
*In other writers-who-are-not-what-they-seem news, it turns out John Milton may have had a porny streak. During her research, an Oxford lecturer came across a frankly filthy little rhyme attributed to the Paradise Lost author in a forgotten, early 18th century poetic anthology. Here's an excerpt: "Have you not in a Chimney seen / A Faggot which is moist and green / How coyly it receives the Heat / And at both ends do's weep and sweat? / So fares it with a tender Maid / When first upon her Back she's laid / But like dry Wood th' experienced Dame / Cracks and rejoices in the Flame." Experts dispute that the smutty verse is actually by the famed writer.
*Less scandalously, director Alex Proyas has signed on to helm the film adaptation of Milton's masterpiece. His track record includes a mixed bag: Knowing, I Robot and The Crow. This should be interesting.
*I hate to admit it, but I kind of got into the last season of Dancing with the Stars and I'm keeping an eye on this season. But even if you're not a fan, you'll probably find this fact interesting: out of 11 seasons and 126 stars, not one has been an author. (We're not counting celebs with book deals).
*Shania Twain is hoping to impress you much...with her upcoming autobiography. It's coming this spring from Simon & Schuster's Atria imprint.
*6 days, 36 authors, 1 novel. It's happening.
September 23, 2010
{ A SARAH MILNER REVIEW }
With Erick Setiawan’s masterful storytelling in his novel Of Bees and Mist
(Simon & Schuster), you are submerged into the magical world of Meridia and her families, one in which mists and bees are both the cause and effect of families being torn apart and being misunderstood. Setiawan sets a melancholic stage, with a family being torn apart by misunderstanding, years full of miscommunication, and a lack of empathy for their partners. Meridia is caught between her parents’ silence, both confused at their anger and constantly cold to the bone due to the two magical mists that continually fight for dominance in their home. As she grows older, and closer to the truth of her partners falling out, she meets her own husband, Daniel. Through meeting him, and their eventual marriage, Meridia eagerly leaves her silent and cold home and happily enters the world of her husband and his family. From the outset, Daniel’s family seems considerably warmer and friendlier than her own imbalanced relatives. Meridia and Daniel live with his family, which is at first not a problem. But, as most stories go, conflict soon arises in the supposedly happy family. Meridia quickly realizes that her mother-in-law is not as welcoming as she first appeared, and through the powers of manipulation and subtly battery this causes tension within Meridia and Daniel’s new marriage. Meridia is soon forced to choose between moving back in with her own frigid and forgetful parents or remaining with her domineering and possessive mother-in-law. In this instance, she makes decisions that ultimately drive wedges into a number of different relationships, an action that has repercussions for the rest of the story.
September 22, 2010
At £4,270, Bibliochaise is admittedly a bit spendy, but let's be honest - it's a novelty item, and the person who springs for it likely intends to make it their latest conversation piece. And conversation pieces from an international design studio whose style is described as "William Morris on acid" don't come cheap.
September 21, 2010
. At this point in the Mad Men timeline, it's 1965 and Sally is about 11, so the age-appropriateness is perfect. Originally published in 1951, the mystery is the 28th in the Nancy Drew series and involves Central American antiquities, a missing archaeology professor and a hidden island in the Florida Keys. For Sally, it's no doubt a welcome escape from her turbulent home life. This is the first Nancy Drew I can recall seeing Sally reading - do you guys know if we've seen her with any others before this? Oh, and my sincere apologies for the half-tush shot of Don above. I know it's pretty distracting. :)
September 20, 2010
The Rare Book & Manuscript Library of the University of Pennsylvania is in the process of digitizing and uploading more than 2,000 photos of writers that appeared in the American Poetry Review between 1971 and 1998. It's a pretty incredible project, and it's actually fun to click through the writers listed and browse their pictures. Some are the usual headshots, others are fun candids that you may not have seen before.
[W.H. Auden]
[Charles Bukowski]
[Robert Frost]
[Ted Hughes]
Click through to see my favorite.
September 17, 2010
*In news that just pushed the Freedom
hype machine into overdrive, Oprah announced that Franzen's new novel is her latest book club pick. Guess that means they've buried the nearly 10-year-old hatchet.*Talk about the epitome of "in the nick of time." An American couple facing foreclosure discovered a valuable comic in their attic while clearing out their things. It's a copy of Action Comics. No. 1, the first to feature Superman, and another copy of it recently sold for an eye-popping $1.5 million. Guess who's keeping their house?
*Add another book to the celeb tomes coming out this autumn. Obama is to be publish a children's book called Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to my Daughters
. Looks like it'll get a warm reception - it's already hit Amazon's top 25 list, although it won't hit shelves until Nov. 16.*Graphic novel fans will already know this, but to the rest of us it's somewhat surprising to learn that the genre has been around for decades. I only discovered this after reading that a graphic novel William Burroughs started 40 years ago will finally see make it to the mass-produced page. Except that back then, the term graphic novel didn't exist, so he called it a "Word/Image novel." It's set to be released next summer, with the publisher describing it as, "the kind of extrapolative, futuristic feat of imagination that a reader would expect from the author of Nova Express
and The Ticket That Exploded
— a mind-boggling tour de force, dramatising outré theories with a science fiction patina."
September 16, 2010
September 15, 2010
I confess - I was going to claim a sick day on here today. Michael picked up a lovely little bonus at work in the form of a heavy cold, and he was kind enough to share it with me. Blech. So, I was going to completely weenie out of this week's BW, but then I rediscovered this, and it added just enough brightness to my day to get me through.
-style Friday night, I imagine this is what their mutant child would look like. Its name is Time-shelf, and Dzmitry Samal is the man who brought it into the world. Right now it's just a concept design, but I think it'd quite popular if it ever went on sale. You can read more about it here. September 14, 2010
It is so tantalizingly close to autumn that I could swear my light jackets are inching their way off their hangers, my boots seem to be not-so-subtly poking their toes out of my closet and my windows are practically flying off their runners in their eagerness to be opened. I love this (soon-to-be) season. Autumn means finally being able to spend time outside without a) turning into a human-lobster hybrid; b) sweating to the point of being a biohazard; and c) becoming dinner for myriad bloodthirsty bugs - all good news for those of us who like to steal a few minutes to read outside. If you're one of the aforementioned, you might also appreciate a nifty little creation by Mathieu Gabiot. It's called Le Bouc.
Red, mobile and handy, Bouc is your ideal companion for reading. Bouc, a small, varnished piece of furniture dedicated to books, can either be an extension to your library, an occasional table for reading or placing books, or a desk for your book of the moment. Bouc loves books.
It supports them, open or closed, keeps them available at all times, whether you are in your office, drawing room or garden.
It measures just over 15 inches in length by 19.5 inches in height. The frame is made from varnished MDF, the underframe from varnished beech. You can choose from a red, white or black Bouc - red will cost you €195, while selecting black or white will run your bill to €245. Read more about it here.
It supports them, open or closed, keeps them available at all times, whether you are in your office, drawing room or garden.
It measures just over 15 inches in length by 19.5 inches in height. The frame is made from varnished MDF, the underframe from varnished beech. You can choose from a red, white or black Bouc - red will cost you €195, while selecting black or white will run your bill to €245. Read more about it here.
September 13, 2010
[via shayna-aplin]
September 10, 2010
*A rash of biographies about musical stars are scheduled to hit shelves this autumn, featuring notables like Keith Richards, Jay-Z, Susan Boyle and Bret Michaels. So how is a celeb supposed to stand out from the crowd? Maybe they should start by binding their book in leather, wrapping it in silk and charging $685 for it - à la Jimmy Page.
*A group of very wonderful people is slowly but surely digitizing George Bernard Shaw's extensive photography collection - all 24,000 images of it. Considering the collection includes a few of Shaw in his birthday suit, I have a feeling more than a few scholars are currently placing bets as to whether Shaw will turn out to be man or superman.
*A poet in Atlanta, Ga., is papering the city with haikus.
*If you've got a few dollars to spare and want to give to a good cause, you need look no further than this literary auction on eBay. All proceeds go to pay the medical bills of Jennifer Derilo, an editor at the Kartika Review who is undergoing treatment for Hodgkin's Lymphoma and currently has no health insurance. You can bid on autographed books, manuscript critiques by established authors and book artwork.
*Betty White's been everywhere lately, it seems, and now she's making her mark in yet another arena - comic books. That's right, the octogenarian will be the star of a comic called Female Force: Betty White. It's scheduled for a November release. I predict it will be stuffing a large number of stockings come Christmas.
*The Man Booker prize shortlist is now out - ladies and gentlemen, place your bets.
September 09, 2010
Yvette creates incredible sculptures and installations out of humble paper and pages, ranging from miniature pieces to works that fill entire rooms. Her work is available for purchase from her Etsy store, and you can learn more about her at her website and on her blog.
booklicious: Did you always want to be an artist, or was it something that just kind of happened as you grew up?
yvette: I have always always wanted to be an artist. It was the thing I decided to do when I was about 5 and started to draw. I was completely obssessed with my brother's Crayola tower, filled with felt tip pens, crayons and paints. I was never allowed to touch it, then I managed to get hold of my dad's biros and pretty much drew on everything I could lay my hands on.
b: Why paper and books?
y: The thing I love about paper is the idea that something so fragile and one dimensional can become structured and sturdy just by folding it. I actually started folding books because I wanted to manipulate the way printed words can be seen, so although i have always loved to work with paper, it was mark making and print that drew me to books.
September 08, 2010
When you think of what a bookcase should be, what comes to mind? Wood? Straight, horizontal shelves? A rectangular frame? Maybe it's time you stretched your expectations.
This is the stretch shelf by designer Pete Oyler. And yes, it's basically a giant rubber band wrapped around metal pegs. Pete explains:
Inspired by the potential of three dimensional design to incite playful curiosity and imaginative pause, the s t r e t c h shelf expands the function of the ordinary rubber band. The s t r e t c h shelf is surprising, fun, and adds a fresh twist to the everyday wall shelf.
The s t r e t c h shelf has a 10 inch diameter and can be stretched to a variety of shapes depending upon the user's preference.
So fun! More photos are available at Pete's website here.
{ A MICHAEL NUHN REVIEW }
Happily, four more books have been added to the book series that kicked off my reviews here on Booklicious. Unhappily, that means my Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes collection is now incomplete, but as a consolation prize I get to review one of those, Séance for a Vampire by Fred Saberhagen. Given the resurgence of pulp, publisher Titan's timing couldn't be better. In Séance, the action is inaugurated by the theft of a Russian kingdom's crown jewels, an attempted homicide, a successful homicide and some vampiric canoodling (displaying a decided lack of sparkle and alabaster skin, however).September 07, 2010
I've been meaning to write about this for a while, but for some reason I kept forgetting to bookmark it to remind myself later. Since my brain had nothing to do this weekend but decompress, however, I finally managed to hang onto the thought long enough to write about it. inspired by Salinger's toilet being put up for auction, Jacket Copy decided to trawl through eBay and see what other literary gems were up for grabs. And did they find some doozies or what! Here are my three favorites from their list - you can browse the rest here (and you'll definitely want to.)
September 03, 2010
*Are grocery stores the new libraries? In some towns, yes.
*Just when it seemed the media circus surrounding Amanda Cox couldn't get any more ridiculous, then came the news that a book featuring her views on spirituality, 9/11 and her poetry will be hitting stores later this year. Written by Rocco Girlanda, an Italian lawmaker who befriended the woman after her imprisonment for the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher, it is the first step to what Knox hopes is a post-prison career of writing.
*Here's some vintage TV goodness. University of Kansas professor James Gunn interviewed Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling for his series "Science Fiction in Literature," but due to legal issues, the interview never aired. Now the never-seen footage is on YouTube.
*Seems like there's a graphic novel for everything nowadays - here's an interview with Catherine Anyago, the woman who just turned Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness into one. "I wanted to draw the reader in with seductive imagery," she explains, "and then show them that even in the most beautiful of settings, terrible things can happen."
*What do Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner and Kurt Vonnegut all have in common? (Apart from being some of the greatest male writers of modern day, of course.) They all have memorial libraries - at least, Vonnegut almost does. His is set to open this autumn in downtown Indianapolis. The part library, part museum will include displays of first editions of his work, his Purple Heart, a replica of his writing studio and, perhaps most heartening (or disheartening, depending on which way you look at it) to aspiring writers, some of his rejection letters. "We have boxes of rejection letters, letters saying 'You have no talent and we suggest you give up writing,'" Vonnegut's eldest daughter Edie said.
*It's official - John Cusack announced he will played Edgar Allan Poe in upcoming film The Raven. Director John McTeigue describes the story thusly: "There's basically a serial killer loose in 1850s Baltimore, and he's using Poe's stories as his methodology, so then he leaves clues at each murder and says it's up to Poe to find him before he kills (again)." How very Se7en it sounds.
*Has the digital print industry made the ultimate coup? Remarks by Nigel Portwood, chief executive of the Oxford University Press, sent shockwaves through the literary world after he was asked if the third edition of the Oxford English Dictionary would be appearing in print. "I don't think so." The Press hurriedly responded to the resulting outcry with a statement that no plans have been formalized concerning the next edition's release, which likely will not take place for at least another decade.
Gilt's featuring titles from the Monacelli Press, the arts-oriented imprint of Random House, on its site today. There's a great selection of architecture, gardening and travel books up for grabs at up to 50 percent off retail - the sale ends Monday at 11 p.m. CST. (Other sales that started today include Dolce & Gabbana shoes and Cynthia Rowley clothing, BTW.)
If you're a Gilt member, you know what to do; if not, you can sign up here.
September 02, 2010
So anyway, these posters just scream modern library art. Postertext is pretty much the perfect marriage of words and pictures, and not just because the posters depict an image from literature. Incredibly, that grey background is that literature. The poster above contains the entire text of Peter Pan; Ulysses below is made from the first quarter of the book. Although only a small number of posters are currently available, Postertext has plans to add more every week. If you have a particular favorite you'd like to see up there, you can shoot them an email and have it added to the queue.
So which is my favorite? Find out after the jump.
September 01, 2010
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