The Casual Vacancy debuted at the #1 spot on the New York Times bestseller list (50 Shades had already been displaced two weeks earlier by Lee Child's A Wanted Man and again the next week by Ken Follett's Winter of the World), but the reviews have been less than stellar and many booksellers are reporting … Continue reading Write What You Know (Will Sell): J.K. Rowling Returning to Kid’s Books
J.K. Rowling
The Magicians: Food for the Fanboy Soul
The Magicians is, in the simplest and most dismissive terms possible, a kind of fanfiction love letter to Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia with heavy-handed touches of A Wrinkle in Time, The Wizard of Oz, Earthsea and The Once and Future King. Certainly writer Lev Grossman embraces these references and influences -- not only … Continue reading The Magicians: Food for the Fanboy Soul
Why the Lack of Hype for J.K. Rowling’s New Book?
J.K. Rowling's new novel, The Casual Vacancy, comes out a mere two and a half months from now (September 27th, to be precise) and many news sources are wondering why there doesn't appear to be any buzz for a book from one of the most successful and famous authors of the last couple of decades. … Continue reading Why the Lack of Hype for J.K. Rowling’s New Book?
Neil Gaiman and the Problem of Fan Interaction
The difficult thing about a book blog is that, unlike movies, nothing really compels me to exclusively read and review new releases. Mainly because trustworthy, unbiased and professional reviews are hard enough to find for new books -- let alone to find on a website that collects and processes them as efficiently as Rottentomatoes. So … Continue reading Neil Gaiman and the Problem of Fan Interaction
I Call Bullshit on Pamela Paul’s Book of Books
In a single month (September 1988 specifically), Pamela Paul, New York Times book reviewer and author of three books on marriage and parenting, claims to have read at least 15 books, a combination of some of the world's greatest 19th Century and Modernist Lit, and a couple of not-so-classic books. If you're having a hard … Continue reading I Call Bullshit on Pamela Paul’s Book of Books
So About J.K. Rowling’s First Non-Potter Book
After seeing The Hunger Games for a second time, a friend and I got into a bit of debate over the "legitimacy" of young adult lit authors. I'd read FilmDrunk's Hunger Games review a few weeks back that stated, among other gripes, that Suzanne Collins -- a successful TV writer -- only got into young … Continue reading So About J.K. Rowling’s First Non-Potter Book
Books on Film: Racist Hunger Games Fans Don’t Know How to Read
"HOW IN THE WORLD ARE THEY GOING TO MAKE RUE A FREAKIN BLACK BITCH IN THE MOVIE ?!?!?!??!" "Eww. Rue is black. I'm not watching." “Awkward moment when Rue is some black girl and not the little blonde innocent girl you pictured” The quotes above are an extreme, yet sadly accurate, representation of some of … Continue reading Books on Film: Racist Hunger Games Fans Don’t Know How to Read
