Romance novel readers don’t have it easy. Already teased for reading the steamy tomes in the first place, they further have to deal with the humiliation of truly ghastly covers – tasteless and tawdry, garish and gaudy, these are lurid and cheesy enough to make someone wish for plain brown wrappers. But we say no more! We say embrace your love of reading, and your love of love! And in solidarity, we tried our hand at making some romance covers of our own – very family-friendly, of course. Enjoy the fruits of our labors.
Archive for the ‘movies’ Category
Graham Greene and Shirley Temple
Thursday, February 9th, 2012
The blog 101 Books writes about Graham Greene and eight-year-old Shirley Temple. The English author reviewed one of Temple’s movies and wrote this:
Watch the way she measures a man with agile studio eyes, with dimpled depravity. Adult emotions of love and grief glissade across the mask of childhood, a childhood that is only skin-deep. It is clever, but it cannot last. Her admirers—middle-aged men and clergymen—respond to her dubious coquetry, to the sight of her well-shaped and desirable little body, packed with enormous vitality, only because the safety curtain of story and dialogue drops between their intelligence and their desire.
Blimey! I thought she just sang songs about the good ship Lollipop. 101 Books goes on to reveal how Greene wrote The Power And The Glory.
Understanding book sizes: octavo to elephant folio
Wednesday, February 8th, 2012Books come in different shapes and sizes. They can be small or very big indeed. Quarto, duodecimo, octavo and elephant folio are just some of the terms you will hear used, and this video from my colleague Christi helps to demystify the jargon.
You can learn more about book sizes at the AbeBooks’ Book Collecting Guide.
Muhammad Ali’s Legendary Trainer Angelo Dundee Dies at 90
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012Boxing Legend Angelo Dundee, who trained Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, George Foreman and countless other champions, died yesterday.
If the rumors are true, the first words Ali ever spoke to Dundee, upon meeting him for the first time, were:
“My Name is Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. I’m the Golden Gloves champion of Louisville, Kentucky. I won the Pan American Games a month ago and I’m going to win the Olympics, and I want to talk to you.”
Dundee was with Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, for almost all of his early fights. He toured around the world with Ali, and became known as the best man to have in your corner during a fight.
He died of complications from a blood clot on Wednesday, February 1st, at age 90. But not before he attended Ali’s 70th birthday party, the month before, and caught up.
If you’d like to learn more about the career of Muhammad Ali, including his work and friendship with Angelo Dundee, the Taschen book Greatest of All Time (GOAT) is an unforgettable tribute, full of countless facts, anecdotes, articles, essays and some truly jaw-dropping photographs.
Blade Runner Sketchbook resurfaces online
Monday, January 30th, 2012
The Blade Runner Sketchbook is one of the ultimate pieces of memorabilia for fans of the 1982 science fiction movie. The book details the look and feel of the film’s production artwork from simple props like Deckard’s gun to police cars and clothes. Some of the designs come from director Ridley Scott himself but also Syd Mead.
Blade Runner starred Harrison Ford although the real star is Rutger Hauer, and it’s a movie that stands the test of time and that probably owes much to its look. I remember thinking the first time that I watched it that the streets were shockingly packed and the rain never stops. The movie is based on Philip K Dick’s novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Edited by David Scrogg, the Sketchbook has been out-of-print for many years but there are five copies on AbeBooks for prices between $300 and $500.
But somebody has put the book online.
Open publication – Free publishing
Howard Pyle’s Art: Pirates to Robin Hood
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012American author and illustrator Howard Pyle had a huge influence on modern popular culture. He died in 1911 and you can see his influence in movies, television and books today. He transformed Robin Hood from a villain to a hero. He defined the look of pirates and positioned them as fearless adventurers.
His first full length work was a highly successful interpretation of the Robin Hood stories called The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood.
He wove various tales of Robin Hood into a single cohesive narrative, but he was happy to alter the original stories, so any child could pick one of his books and be gripped. Pyle used pirates in many adventure stories. He invented the flamboyant romantic garb that has become standard issue for any tale about piracy these days.
By 1900 Pyle founded his own art school – the Howard Pyle School of Illustration Art. He instructed many great artists including the great N.C. Wyeth, and it became known as the Brandywine School style of illustration. Read more.
I Like Big Books – A Literacy Rap
Thursday, January 19th, 2012I had to laugh watching this take-off of Sir Mix-a-Lot’s early nineties rap hit “Baby Got Back”. It’s called “I Like Big Books”, and it was done by the staff and students at Dowell Middle School of the McKinney school district in Texas. It’s over a year old now, but this is the first I’ve seen it, and it definitely made me smile. I especially liked the school librarians blowing imaginary smoke off their barcode scanners. Kudos to all involved – what a fun video.
Cormac McCarthy pens original screenplay
Wednesday, January 18th, 2012Mr. McCarthy has thrown everyone for a loop and has produced a screenplay for a full length film. Even his agents were surprised, they were expecting the 78-year-old author to turn in a draft for a new novel. The Guardian is reporting that the script is for a film called The Counselor, and it is about “a respected lawyer who bites off more than he can chew after foolishly getting involved in the drug business.”
The fact that McCarthy would consider penning a script should come as no real shock since the dramatizations of his more recent novels, including The Road and No Country for Old Men, have been so amazingly successful. It should also come as no surprise that this spec is reported to have already been picked up by Nick Wechsler, Steve Schwartz and Paula Mae Schwartz, the producers of The Road, and that they are excited to have it.
“The spec falls smack in the middle of what everyone responds to with Cormac’s novels,” Wechsler told Deadline. Steve Schwartz added: “Since McCarthy himself wrote the script, we get his own muscular prose directly, with its sexual obsessions. It’s a masculine world into which, unusually, two women intrude to play leading roles. McCarthy’s wit and humour in the dialogue make the nightmare even scarier. This may be one of McCarthy’s most disturbing and powerful works.”
Books in motion: a bookshelf video
Thursday, January 12th, 2012The Bookstore Comes Alive at Night
Monday, January 9th, 2012When it’s dark, and the last customer has left… the proprietor’s gone home, the lights are out and the door is locked…the books can shed the silly pretense of being inanimate objects, shake off the constraints of the day-to-day shelf, and get on with the joyous, celebratory business of being a book.
Love it. Beautiful.
via Bolen Books
Sarah Polley to Tackle Adaptation of Atwood’s “Alias Grace”
Wednesday, January 4th, 2012
This is a Canadian dream come true – (Canadian) director and actress Sarah Polley has signed on to direct a film adaptation of legendary (Canadian) author Margaret Atwood’s historical novel about a true double murder (in Canada).
Alias Grace is historical fiction. Based on the real-life double murder of farmer Thomas Kinnear and his housekeeper Nancy Montgomery in 1943, in Richmond Hill, Ontario. At the heart of the story is Simon Jordan, a fictional doctor charged with researching the murders and investigating the two servants convicted of the crime.
Sarah Polley, best known for her acting work in Canadian television show Road to Avonlea and in feature films such as Go, eXistenZ, Splice and Dawn of the Dead, is also no stranger to directing – the ever-talented and surprising Polley also directed the beautiful film Away From Her, adapted from a short story by Alice Munro. The adaptation resulted in an Oscar nomination for Polley for best adapted screenplay.
I look forward to this one.
Upcoming Movies from Books
Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012
Galleycat posted about 5 literary adaptations to look forward to in 2012. Posting here so you have plenty of time to read the books first, if you haven’t. Remember, it’s always a good idea to read the book first! Here they are:
Walt Disney Animation Studios will rerelease Beauty and the Beast in 3D. The film’s story comes from Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont‘s version of the fairy tale called La Belle et la Bête. It arrives in theaters on January 13th.
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, the sequel to the 2007 film, once again stars Oscar winner Nicholas Cage as the Marvel Comics antihero. The movie comes out on February 17th.
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters picks up where the Grimm Brothers left off. It explores the aftermath of how this sibling duo fared following their escapade with a cannibalistic hag. The movie hits theaters on March 2nd.
The Raven, a fictional action-adventure film, stars John Cusack as legendary mystery author Edgar Allan Poe. It’s headed for the big screen on March 9th.
The Hunger Games, arguably the most anticipated adaptation of 2012, adapts the first book in Suzanne Collins‘ popular young-adult trilogy. The movie will be released on March 23rd.
But of course there will be more than those five – and I for one am looking forward to the film adaptations of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, Yann Martel’s Life of Pi (which will apparently be in 3D….anyone else finding that puzzling?) and of course Tolkien’s The Hobbit.
Looking forward to a 2012 release from a book that isn’t mentioned here? Leave a comment.
Viggo Mortenson’s Publishing Company: Perceval Press
Friday, December 16th, 2011
Oh, Aragorn. Can you do no wrong? Your arrow flies ever swift, straight into my heart.
It’s true. Aside from being an excellent actor (and musician, artist, poet…), Viggo Mortenson appears to be a booklover. In 2002, the Danish-American dreamboat (sorry, sorry) founded Perceval Press, a publishing company devoted to showcasing the talents of little-known authors and artists who might otherwise go undiscovered. The press is based in Santa Monica, California, and boasts a varied catalogue of poetry, art, fine literature, fiction, non-fiction and more, some of which Mortenson has produced or collaborated on himself. And it’s not just books – Perceval Press puts out CDs, as well.
The Perceval Press web site has a full listing of the over 50 titles they’ve released so far, as well as personal recommendations of everything from films, books, political reads and more.
Explore some titles from Perceval Press.
….Do it for Viggo.
