Famous authors on fairytales

Wicked parents, sleeping beauties (or princes?), quests, disguises, magic, love, danger… the Guardian has great a fairytale series going on with retellings and analysis by writers such as Philip Pullman, Marina Warner, and AS Byatt. Thanks to Monica Edinger (another interesting blogger, and Alice fan, discovered!) @ educating alice for pointing it out.

And I thought Twilight couldn’t get any creepier

One night in Twilight-world, Edward reveals to Bella that he has snuck into her room to watch her sleep, and that’s he’s been doing so for, oh, about a month. But Bella doesn’t mind, or think this is creepy, or any kind of violation, because it’s sooooo romaaaaantic.
Now Edward can watch you while you [...]

I’m not dead, just busy…

I haven’t posted in awhile, but I have been reading. The latest and greatest:
 

 

(about time, I know.)
Also took a long-awaited trip to Portland (and thus, the Greatest Bookstore Ever)… hope to have reviews and recaps soon!

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane: A new twist to the story of the Salem witch trials

We all know about the Salem witch trials of 1692, but Katherine Howe — whose ancestry traces back to two of the women accused as witches — brings a new twist to the story. As The Dante Club author Matthew Pearl says of The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, 
Our society has always asked what drove [...]

What’s on your nightstand (Jan09)?

Currently on my nightstand: 
1. Possession, by A. S. Byatt. Half-way through and really enjoying it. Review to come.
2. Friend’s Yet-Unnamed-Manuscript. Have read and am now finishing up editing. 
In the immediate queue: Neil Gaiman’s Coraline
I haven’t yet reviewed the books that were on my nightstand last time, so looks like I’ve got some catching up to [...]

And the winner is…

I haven’t posted for some time – life caught up with me – but this is important. Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book won the Newbery! 

I don’t think I’ve read any of the contenders, but I’m still excited, as I thought The Graveyard Book was wonderful. 
2 things I just learned, while reading the news:
1. Gaiman also [...]

28 reasons that ‘Twilight’ the movie is better than ‘Twilight’ the book

Check out New York Entertainment magazine’s awesomely funny slideshow. 
This is my favorite slide:
At no point in the movie does this scene occur.

I couldn’t agree more.

Thoughts on Twilight

I just finished Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer’s last book in the Twilight saga. Whew, they were long. And entertaining. And addicting. And yet…
I’m not going review of any of the books, because there are more than enough of those out there. Instead, I’d like to share some insightful commentary and criticism on the saga that I’ve [...]

Upcoming movies I can’t wait to see

Though I will argue in almost every case that the book is better than the movie, I love seeing how a book I’ve enjoyed is translated to the screen. I’m super excited about these movies coming out this year:  
Twilight, based on Stephenie Meyer’s enormously popular YA vampire novel. Just read it this weekend and [...]

Did anyone else *not* like ‘The Shack’?

I read William P. Young’s The Shack yesterday at the request of my mom, who is reading it for her book club. I only continued reading because she wanted to discuss it. 
The novel is about Mack, a father struggling under ‘The Great Sadness’ after his young daughter Missy is abducted and murdered on a camping trip. [...]