via Bookmunch https://ift.tt/2uAbXFg
Saturday 31 March 2018
March: On The Pile
Yeah, we know, it's April now, but let's step outside time for just a moment, and revert back to those halcyon days of...last week...when we were all reading the likes of Thomas Mann and Ann Quin. Ah, memories.
from Bookmunch https://ift.tt/2uAbXFg
via IFTTT
from Bookmunch https://ift.tt/2uAbXFg
via IFTTT
#8: Dark Skies: A DCI Ryan Mystery (The DCI Ryan Mysteries Book 7)
LJ Ross (Author)
(663)Buy new: £0.99
(Visit the Bestsellers in Romance list for authoritative information on this product's current rank.)
from Amazon.co.uk: Bestsellers in Books > Fiction > Romance https://ift.tt/2GZDVwL
via IFTTT
#6: A Series of Unfortunate Events Complete Collection: Books 1-13: With Bonus Material
Lemony Snicket (Author), Brett Helquist (Illustrator)
(218)Buy new: £2.99
(Visit the Bestsellers in Humour list for authoritative information on this product's current rank.)
from Amazon.co.uk: Bestsellers in Books > Humour https://ift.tt/2J8j9LZ
via IFTTT
#6: Seven Bridges: A DCI Ryan Mystery (The DCI Ryan Mysteries Book 8)
LJ Ross (Author)
Buy new: £1.99
(Visit the Bestsellers in Romance list for authoritative information on this product's current rank.)
from Amazon.co.uk: Bestsellers in Books > Fiction > Romance https://ift.tt/2pTp0vW
via IFTTT
Friday 30 March 2018
Over at Kirkus: A List of Spring Reads
It’s Friday and we are over at Kirkus!
Today, Ana takes a look at what she is looking forward to reading in the next couple of months.
She also talks about the new Squirrel Girl novel which is SUPER FUN. Go over there to check it out.
The post Over at Kirkus: A List of Spring Reads appeared first on The Book Smugglers.
from The Book Smugglers https://ift.tt/2GKLXvT
via IFTTT
Blog Tour: The Heart Forger - Rin Chupeco (Excerpt & Giveaway)
via Feeling Fictional https://ift.tt/2GjHSix
Thursday 29 March 2018
#10: James Acaster's Classic Scrapes - The Hilarious Sunday Times Bestseller
James Acaster (Author), Josh Widdicombe (Foreword)
(101)Buy new: £0.99
(Visit the Bestsellers in Humour list for authoritative information on this product's current rank.)
from Amazon.co.uk: Bestsellers in Books > Humour https://amzn.to/2pPjpYk
via IFTTT
Old School Wednesdays Presents: A WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeline L’Engle
Old School Wednesdays is a regular Book Smuggler feature. We came up with the idea towards the end of 2012, when both Ana and Thea were feeling exhausted from the never-ending inundation of New and Shiny (and often over-hyped) books. What better way to snap out of a reading fugue than to take a mini-vacation into the past?
Logo designed by the wonderful KMont
On this edition of Old School Wednesdays, Thea re-reads A WRINKLE IN TIME and then watches the movie. Mild spoilers ensue.
When the children learn that Mr. Murry has been captured by the Dark Thing, they time travel to Camazotz, where they must face the leader IT in the ultimate battle between good and evil—a journey that threatens their lives and our universe.
This is my first entry in a series of Old School Wednesdays posts, brought to you by the amazing folks who supported us on Kickstarter. As one reward level, backers were given the opportunity to pick an Old School title for Ana and I to read and review online–A Wrinkle in Time was selected by the wonderful Iysha Evelyn. (You rock, Iysha Evelyn!!!)
A little background: I first read A Wrinkle in Time as many people did: in Middle School. I remember really liking the book as a kid–there were a few SFF novels that I had the joy of reading for class which seemed the most delightful thing in the world at the time. These wonderful, literary life-shaping novels included Lois Lowry’s The Giver, Susan B Cooper’s The Dark is Rising, J.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, and Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time. It has been many (many) moons since sixth grade, however, and re-reads are tricky beasts. Of the aforementioned novels, I had re-read them all over the past five years with mixed results (still love The Giver with a passion, surprised at how short The Dark is Rising is as a single standalone book without the whole sequence to back it up, kinda bored by The Hobbit). I hadn’t re-read A Wrinkle in Time, though, until prompted by 1. Iysha Evelyn’s kickstarter request, and 2. the recently released Disney movie. As a diligent Book Smuggler, I of course had to read the book again before watching the film–which of course colored my take on the film (I think in a good way, based on folks who I watched the movie with who hadn’t read the book before).
It is a dark and stormy night when pre-teen Meg Murry, her precocious five-year-old brother Charles Wallace, and their exceptional scientist mother are all drawn to the kitchen because they cannot sleep. Not only does the storm bring thunder and lightning, but also sweeps in a stranger–clad in bedsheets–to the Murry household: Mrs. Whatsit. The strange woman already seems to know Charles Wallace, but has a message for Meg and for her mother–there is such thing as a tesseract. For four years, ever since her father disappeared into thin air, Meg has dealt with feeling lost and alone; at school she is picked on and ostracized, but what really gets her worked up is when people make fun of her younger brother. Mrs. Whatsit gives the Murrys a sliver of hope–Mr. Murry didn’t leave his family forever; he’s just lost and trapped after tessering and needs help to find his way home.
With the help of the Mrs. (Mrs. Who, Mrs. Which, and Mrs. Whatsit) as well as Meg’s classmate Calvin, Meg and Charles Wallace set out to do the impossible–save their father from the clutches of a great darkness known simply as the IT. Their journey will take them across the universe, to planets of hope and light like Ixchel, as well as the heart of darkness itself on Camazotz. It is love that defines both the novel and the film–love and acceptance that ensures that the Murrys are reunited, largely thanks to the stubbornness and belief of Meg in her family.
Upon re-reading, the novel is… bizarre. Using my 2018 reviewer hat, there are many dissatisfying aspects of the book I can’t quite ignore. Take, for instance, the rushed ending of the book, in which Meg thwarts the IT and saves her brother with the Power of Love in the span of two paragraphs. Or the entire scene on the planet with Aunt Beast and her furry, tentacled, sentient brethren. This is to say nothing of the overtly religious angle of the novel–in which Mrs. Who, Which, and Whatsit are legit angels of God (the Christian God), and Meg Murry is the latest in a long line of warriors for God (others include Jesus–“And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not”–Gandhi, da Vinci, and so on).
Thinking back, however, to twelve-year-old Thea, or beyond that, the overall significance of A Wrinkle in Time As a novel and seminal work of children’s literature and speculative fiction, I understand its importance and appeal. Meg Murry is a young woman who is angry at the world–she’s fiercely protective of the people she loves, especially her precocious younger brother, and is flawed, and fragile, and intense, and real. As a middle schooler, I hadn’t read many heroines like Meg Murry–and there’s something powerful about female characters who are vulnerable and not preoccupied with being likable. Meg is a heroine more concerned about the fate of the universe and the evils that lurk in both plain sight and at its edges than she is with being liked by her peers; even Mrs. Whatsit is unimpressed by Meg, and Meg doesn’t care. That’s kind of awesome. Similarly, I love the relationship between Meg and her younger brother, her tangled relationship of love and respect for her mother and father–and her frustration when her father isn’t infallible, and falters in the face of danger. There are plenty of things to love about the book… which made entering the film a mixed experience for me.
On the one hand, I was absolutely thrilled with the casting choices for both Murry parents, as well as the Murry children–Gugu Mbatha-Raw is perfection even if she doesn’t get much screen time, Chris Pine delivers another powerful performance as the lost Dr. Murry, and young, half-Filipino (represent!) Deric McCabe as Charles Wallace. But it is truly Storm Reid’s vulnerable performance as Meg that steals the show–she is emotive, angry, raw, and passionate in all the ways that I loved Meg from the books. I was less impressed with the trio of the Mrs and the weird choice of Zach Galifianakis as the Happy Medium–from the costume choices to the celebrity cameo effect of each performance. Similarly, I wasn’t a huge fan of the visuals of the film. To be fair, A Wrinkle in Time fits with the general Disney live-action super-glossy, hyper-CGI’d, over-the-top glittery costume affairs of late. Personally, I’m not a fan–the many elaborate dresses for the different Mrs, for example, and Oprah’s bejeweled eyebrows were a little much for my tastes.
Aesthetics aside, the bigger problem with A Wrinkle in Time is in the film’s reinterpretation of the evil of IT. In the novel, IT is a force of supreme power, focused on control and conformity–symbolically, Meg is able to defeat IT and save her brother from IT’s clutches because she rails against the evils of conformity in addition to the power of her love for her younger sibling. In the book, Calvin’s character has purpose, especially when it comes to Camazotz–Calvin is diplomatic and likeable, the softer counterpart to Meg’s sharp edges and rage against the machine of conformity. But in the film… IT is reduced to every act of human pettiness or jealousy, from a pre-pubescent mean girl with body image issues, to demanding and verbally abusive fathers, to envious coworkers after being passed up for promotions. There is no overall examination of the true urgent darkness spreading and threatening to take over the Earth (and other planets across the universe), just as there is no further face of IT–instead of showing Camazotz as an infinite hell where those who act out against conformity are “reconditioned”, the film version plays like a planet full of simulations who aren’t really people, and the IT is a kind of malevolent force that sits there in wait for unsuspecting visitors. The overall climax of the film, the loss of Charles Wallace to the IT loses its significance because the stakes are so watered down.
Overall? A Wrinkle in Time is a mixed experience–there are moments of joy and brilliance in both the novel and film adaptation. But there are many moments of bizarre choices, flat characterization, and general frustration.
I’m glad I re-read the novel, and I’m glad I saw the movie–I just don’t think I’ll be back for either at any point in the future.
Rating: 6 – OK, Recommended with Reservations
The post Old School Wednesdays Presents: A WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeline L’Engle appeared first on The Book Smugglers.
from The Book Smugglers https://ift.tt/2uuNH7f
via IFTTT
“It’s a supremely pleasant read” – Ghachar Ghochar by Vivek Shanbhag
via Bookmunch https://ift.tt/2E4KZFc
“It’s a supremely pleasant read” – Ghachar Ghochar by Vivek Shanbhag
"It's a supremely pleasant read, very light but never disposable. It has something of Murakami's gentle ease about it, and Etgar Keret's sweet comedy too. Obviously at 128 pages, it's over before it begins really and one could say - if one wanted to scratch around in the dirt and find something to be critical of - that just as the drama is starting to percolate, the novel leaves you hanging..."
from Bookmunch https://ift.tt/2E4KZFc
via IFTTT
from Bookmunch https://ift.tt/2E4KZFc
via IFTTT
Old School Wednesdays Presents: A WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeline L’Engle
via The Book Smugglers https://ift.tt/2uuNH7f
Wednesday 28 March 2018
Sarah Govett - The Territory: Truth (The Territory Trilogy) - Book Review (Firefly Press)
Limited Space requires Limited Numbers. Noa and Raf have found Jack, but at great personal cost. They must get back into the Territory and let people know what is happening. But how can they even scale the electric, gun-turreted fence, let alone fight the fake news of the Territory authorities?
The final installment of The Territory Trilogy is here; alive and kicking into the world of the fantasy readers. The Truth was published on the 1st April 2018 by Firefly Press and ends another series which started back in 2015. The first book started the experience in a dystopian whirlwind of imagination that captivated the readers instantly. It was a fantastically gripping start which we all wanted and got.
The second book was The Territory: Escape in 2016. It was very enjoyable and built on the initial foundations of brilliance. This book delivered a real and intimate connection to the characters focusing on emotions and friendships. However, this meant the action side of the story became less of a focal point, in my opinion. The Truth started off in this same vein - very slow and shy. The characters, emotions and dialogue took centre stage for me and, at times, clogged up the potential. In Truth, what I really wanted was more action and more of the brilliantly imaginative and creative fantasy elements that we were treated to in book one. I wanted to explore and be transported to First City; the vivid, vibrant and active place that captivated me as a reader.
Fortunately, this arrives in bucket loads with an explosive bang after the first one hundred pages or so. It leads to an amazing and well-thought out plot that will have you hooked and gasping for more. The more you read, the more you feel that Disneyland has never been invented. The author takes a brutal path and weaves strands of harsh reality ofor the reader to follow, which I absolutely loved and engaged with on so many levels. Death, destruction and fraying friendships come crashing down on the reader leaving mixed emotions that turbo-charge you into the reality facing the characters. This was all brilliantly written and very well-thought out.
Empathy and love for the characters really grows throughout the book. The full and all-action ending was captivating and very memorable; it was exactly what I was hoping for. It left you guessing, satisfied, but also a feeling of awe from the outcome of the story. However, there was also a pinch of sadness as you finally left such a brilliant world. I think there is more to be explored and developed; it could certainly become a futuristic masterpiece. This is a great ending to a brilliant series full of highs and lows. I am hoping to read more stories like this by Sarah Govett and Firefly Press.
from Mr Ripleys Enchanted Books https://ift.tt/2GlLHzT
via IFTTT
Loved 'Ready Player One'? Check out these 8 Books
Before Steven Spielberg's shiny new adaptation of Ready Player One hits theaters this weekend, we thought it would be a fun game to round up eight more highly rated books for people who loved Ernest Cline's dystopian science fiction debut.
Set in a rather bleak 2045, Ready Player One centers on a young Wade Watts who's searching for the ultimate Easter egg in a global 1980s-themed virtual reality game—and the chance to win an outrageous inheritance from the game's creator. The book has become beloved since its 2011 publication, with more than a half million reviews on Goodreads and a very robust 4.30-star rating from the community.
With such talented competition, we made sure that every sci-fi book in this roundup also has at least a four-star rating. And we looked at what books people who highly rated Ready Player One also read…and loved.
Let us know which books you'll be adding to your Want-to-Read shelf.
What books would you recommend for Ready Player One fans? Let us know in the comments.
Check out more recent blogs:
7 Buzzy Books Hitting Shelves This Week
Actor (and Debut Author) Sean Penn Recommends Some of His Favorite Books
The Contenders for the Best Audiobooks of the Year
posted by Cybil on March, 28
from Goodreads Blog https://ift.tt/2GxQ6my
via IFTTT
New video by Penguin Books UK on YouTube
Book shopping with Dorothy Koomson
We follow our authors as they go book shopping and pick out some of the authors that have inspired them and the titles that have changed their lives. Dorothy Koomson took us book shopping round the Penguin #likeawoman pop-up bookshop in London. Dorothy's reading list: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee http://amzn.to/2FYbZI1 Gertrude Gooseberry by Jayne Fisher http://amzn.to/2pvbXAC The Family by Buchi Emecheta http://amzn.to/2FQNq47 The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins http://amzn.to/2u3D8Io Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman http://amzn.to/2GMxpZX We also recommend reading Dorothy Koomson's books http://amzn.to/2DK0t1g Catch up on all the amazing events from the Like A Woman bookshop here: http://bit.ly/2DHoMg5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to the Penguin channel: https://ift.tt/2ygTzig Follow us here: Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/penguinukbooks Website | https://ift.tt/xNmtGX Instagram | https://ift.tt/2ygyyo2 Facebook | https://ift.tt/2wmBKky
View on YouTube
We follow our authors as they go book shopping and pick out some of the authors that have inspired them and the titles that have changed their lives. Dorothy Koomson took us book shopping round the Penguin #likeawoman pop-up bookshop in London. Dorothy's reading list: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee http://amzn.to/2FYbZI1 Gertrude Gooseberry by Jayne Fisher http://amzn.to/2pvbXAC The Family by Buchi Emecheta http://amzn.to/2FQNq47 The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins http://amzn.to/2u3D8Io Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman http://amzn.to/2GMxpZX We also recommend reading Dorothy Koomson's books http://amzn.to/2DK0t1g Catch up on all the amazing events from the Like A Woman bookshop here: http://bit.ly/2DHoMg5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to the Penguin channel: https://ift.tt/2ygTzig Follow us here: Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/penguinukbooks Website | https://ift.tt/xNmtGX Instagram | https://ift.tt/2ygyyo2 Facebook | https://ift.tt/2wmBKky
View on YouTube
“Piercing in its honesty” – The Trick to Time by Kit de Waal
"The pace, structure and flow of the prose are skilfully balanced making this an easy book to read. The substance is more challenging, dealing as it does with grief. This is a tale of survival, piercing in its honesty, intense yet humane. It leaves echoes beyond the final page..." - Jackie Law reviews The Trick to Time by Kit de Waal
from Bookmunch https://ift.tt/2GdUeZv
via IFTTT
from Bookmunch https://ift.tt/2GdUeZv
via IFTTT
Tuesday 27 March 2018
Trash & Treasure: Old Made New (March 2018)
Trash & Treasure is a miscellany of monthly opinions on SFF, fandom and general geekness from Foz Meadows.
This March, my media consumption has been full of the old made new, or revisited, or otherwise reimagined. At the forefront of my reading has been Tempests and Slaughter, the new Tamora Pierce novel. Set in her world of Tortall, it’s the start of a prequel series about established mage Numair Salmalin, originally called Arram Draper, and covers his early years of magical study in Carthak. It’s been quite a while since I read the Wild Magic quartet, which most prominently features the adult Numair/Arram, but I remember enough to be powerfully hit by a bittersweet nostalgia at the knowledge of how his early friendship with Orzone, later emperor and enemy, turns out.
Pierce’s writing is as compassionate, skilful and engaging as ever, and having heard her speak in 2016 at Worldcon about her struggle to have the book focus primarily on academics – her editors wanted more gladiator fights – I’m immensely glad that she seems to have finally got her way. While Pierce never shies away from dark topics, even (or perhaps especially) when writing about younger characters, the importance of education in general and mentorship in particular has always been central to her writing. Pierce understands exactly how to make school stories riveting, because she understands that, while information about the world might inform and please us, the true appeal is in the intimacy such a setting affords to characterisation. What does the teacher want in a student? How do they instruct? Are they flexible or biased, and how does this change their perception of their acolytes? What interests the student, and under what conditions do they learn best? What else is going on in their lives that informs their ability to focus or tests their limits, and how do their teachers react to it? What happens when students are teachers in other contexts? What happens when teachers refuse to learn? Such questions have always been at the heart of Pierce’s stories, and seeing her investigate them anew through Arram’s eyes is indescribably wonderful.
Whenever Pierce writes about young people learning, she does so with an enviable mix of depth and deftness. In my estimation, she’s one of only a handful of authors who can truly pull off lengthy timeskips in the space of a single work, which is another reason why she’s so good at writing about schooling – a decidedly lengthy process. Having given her audience a detailed sense of scope, routine and impetus for her characters as they learn to be knights, mages, police officers, healers, spies, noble administrators, or criminals (or sometimes a few of these in combination), she manages to dip in and out of both their most educationally representative and personally significant moments in a way that shows the smooth passage of time. Her characters learn and grow, and because her schoolroom scenes are neither didactic, irrelevant episodes nor Chekovian harbingers, they become essential to the narrative, allowing for fantastic, naturalistic character development.
In Pierce’s hands, a part of me is forever and always ten years old, crouched in the breathless, dusty quiet of the library where I first encountered her books, a circle of children beckoning me into their collective future. That circle has since opened, and opened again as her young characters grow into mentors themselves – and now, with Tempests and Slaughter, she has reversed the process, showing us how an established character grew into himself. It’s wonderful, and the only reason I haven’t yet finished the book is because I don’t want it to end.
Coming at nostalgia from a different angle, I recently discovered that Pokemon Gold, Silver and Crystal, which originally came out on the old Gameboy Color, are now available to download on the Nintendo DS. Though I’m already playing Pokemon Go on my iPhone, there’s something to be said for revisiting the older games, too. I haven’t played Gold in years, but I’m now midway through my first ever playthrough of Crystal – a largely identical product, except for slightly improved graphics and some extra content – and while it doesn’t evoke nearly the same heightened emotional state as a new Pierce book, there’s something oddly soothing about the process.
And also, at the same time, something utterly hilarious. Look: back when I was eleven years old and Pokemon first came out, the idea that kids my age were allowed – expected, even! – to go travelling through islands collecting magical battle-monsters was integral to my enjoyment of the setting. Now, though, I’ve found myself livetweeting some of the practical absurdities this scenario involves when considered from an adult perspective, especially given certain game mechanics. Specifically: your pre-teen avatar has a mobile phone, so that you can swap numbers with total strangers, who then call you repeatedly to tell you about their lives and ask you to come hang out with them in the middle of nowhere, oh my god WHY. Like, I mean: I know Gold and Silver originally came out in 1999 when it was still a Huge Big Novelty for anyone to have any sort of non-landline, such that we’d yet to experience true social panic about the now commonplace scenario of tweens and teens all having phones, but surely, surely some adult involved in the game’s development could’ve thought, “Hey, it’s pretty weird that a fortysomething fisherman keeps calling this kid to tell them how he spends more time with fish pokemon than his own family. Maybe we should make it so that the only NPCs to swap phone numbers with the protagonist are kids themselves?”
Apparently not.
(Also, the thing about certain pokemon only evolving through trades still stands, which is annoying because I’ve got no one to trade with and I want an Alakazam, goddamit. Also also, my Togepi and Igglybuff both apparently need happiness to evolve, though the game doesn’t really tell you how to achieve this, and I’m bitter about their continual smallness. CHEER UP AND GROW, YOU TINY MAGICAL BASTARDS.)
Anyway.
The most unexpected and surprising part of this month’s nostalgia journey, however, was my trip to see the new Tomb Raider movie. I’d heard almost nothing about it until a hot minute before it opened, and my expectations were understandably low: I mean, I’ll confess to enjoying the utterly trashtastic Angelina Jolie version from 2001, because it’s so self-consciously absurd that it kind of loops back around again to being enjoyable, but it’s not what you’d call quality cinema. But the new Tomb Raider, based on the 2013 game reboot (which I didn’t play, but which was very positively received), starring Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft? Is kind of amazingly good.
I don’t want to offer too many spoilers, because I think people should go and see it, but character-wise, it’s an accomplished point-by-point subversion of everything the earlier film embodied. Jolie’s Croft was polished, suave, knowingly seductive, calm, rich, composed and at home in every environment; and is also, except for her employees and love interest, a loner. Vikander’s Croft, by contrast, is rough-cut, awkward, unselfconscious, dorky, reckless, poor, impulsive, and – while brave in new environments – realistically vulnerable. At the start of the film, she’s also shown to have a solid network of friends, including other women. While Croft is still an heiress in this setting, her refusal to admit her father’s death and sign the papers that legally entitle her to her inheritance mean she starts the film working hard graft as a bike courier, taking on the job of ‘fox’ in a cyclist’s fox-hunt – an incredibly dangerous and illegal test of her strength, cunning and agility – to earn £600.
When she finally learns about her father’s hidden double life, her desire to find out what really happened to him leads her to Hong Kong and the ship captain Lu Ren, played deftly by Daniel Wu. His father, too, disappeared along with Lara’s, and while the two ultimately share no on-screen romance – and while they spend a good deal of the film apart – the chemistry they have in their shared scenes managed to be both tender and electric, hinting at a narrative option I fervently hope will be explored in any future instalments. Yes, the film is a little ridiculous at times, as is always the case with big action blockbusters, and when the fabled tomb is finally entered, the traps encountered are a clear homage to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (i.e., the best Indiana Jones movie, I will fight and die on this hill) – which, depending on the degree of joy in your heart, will either delight or annoy. But it’s the characterisation – and even, dare I say it, the writing, so often neglected by Hollywood in recent years – that really carries the film. Every character we meet, no matter how minor their role, feels real and vivid, the whole full of small yet elegant gracenotes. The big reveal did something I genuinely wasn’t expecting, and while I’ve had a few fridge moment queries subsequently, those feel like small beans compared to an archaeological-action plot which, despite clearly evoking its narrative predecessors, nonetheless managed to feel fresh and engaging.
I have a love/hate relationship with describing anything as gritty, but in this case, it’s a positive: Vikander’s Croft is gritty, in the sense of hardscrabble. She takes enough hard knocks – and feels them – to convince us that she’s a realistic scrapper, but is helped along by just enough cinematic handwavium that her suffering never becomes truly dark, the film never anything less than a fast-paced spectacle.
The conceit of white people exploring Lost Secrets on Hidden Asian Islands is, of course, a trope and an issue all by itself, and as such, I’ll understand why if, given other recent forays into this territory such as Iron Fist and Arrow, some viewers would rather give it a miss. I will say, though, that Lu Ren’s character, while deserving of a much larger role – god, I really liked him, he had damn well better appear in any sequels – nonetheless made a positive impact on how that aspect of the plot unfolded. Lu Ren and Lara are both loyal, snarky, empathic pragmatists: they always try to stay alive first, but still offer help whenever they can and, ultimately, always come back for each other.
And that’s my month in media. How’s yours going?
The post Trash & Treasure: Old Made New (March 2018) appeared first on The Book Smugglers.
from The Book Smugglers https://ift.tt/2GbugGi
via IFTTT
New video by Penguin Books UK on YouTube
Ian McKellen on the new BBC dramatisation of Paradise Lost
Ian McKellen, Frances Barber and Michael Symmons Roberts discuss the brand new BBC dramatisation of Paradise Lost, in which Milton himself (Sir Ian McKellen) is the blind narrator grieving the loss of his wife, played by Frances Barber. Also starring Simon Russell Beale as Satan, and adapted by award-winning poet and broadcaster Michael Symmons Roberts, this enthralling drama is a vital piece of storytelling with striking parallels to contemporary events. Find out more: https://ift.tt/2IWodmp ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to the Penguin channel: https://ift.tt/2ygTzig Follow us here: Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/penguinukbooks Website | https://ift.tt/xNmtGX Instagram | https://ift.tt/2ygyyo2 Facebook | https://ift.tt/2wmBKky
View on YouTube
Ian McKellen, Frances Barber and Michael Symmons Roberts discuss the brand new BBC dramatisation of Paradise Lost, in which Milton himself (Sir Ian McKellen) is the blind narrator grieving the loss of his wife, played by Frances Barber. Also starring Simon Russell Beale as Satan, and adapted by award-winning poet and broadcaster Michael Symmons Roberts, this enthralling drama is a vital piece of storytelling with striking parallels to contemporary events. Find out more: https://ift.tt/2IWodmp ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to the Penguin channel: https://ift.tt/2ygTzig Follow us here: Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/penguinukbooks Website | https://ift.tt/xNmtGX Instagram | https://ift.tt/2ygyyo2 Facebook | https://ift.tt/2wmBKky
View on YouTube
“Good times guaranteed” – The Disappeared by CJ Box
"The Disappeared also struck this reader as being evidence of Box continuing to raise his game. In some ways, and probably as a result of the fact that Pickett is taken out of his usual stomping grounds, The Disappeared is a little more concentrated than normal. At the same time, however, the narrative is amped up..."
from Bookmunch https://ift.tt/2GvGDw0
via IFTTT
from Bookmunch https://ift.tt/2GvGDw0
via IFTTT
7 Buzzy Books Hitting Shelves Today
Need another excuse to go to the bookstore this week? We've got you covered with the buzziest new releases of the day.
To create our list, we focused on the top books Goodreads members can't wait to read, which we measure by how many times a book has been added to Want to Read shelves. All these highly anticipated titles are now available! Which ones catch your eye?
You should read this book if you like: Historical fiction, the Romanov family, conspiracies and imposters, mysteries that span decades, the nature of identity
Check out our interview with Lawhon here.
The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row
by Anthony Ray Hinton with Lara Love Hardin
You should read this book if you like: Nonfiction, exonerating the wrongfully accused, an inside look at life on Death Row, the power of hope through the darkest times
You should read this book if you like: Fantasy, Shakespeare retellings, prophecy-obsessed kings, old magic, ambitious daughters, a kingdom at war
Check out Gratton's book recommendations here.
You should read this book if you like: YA contemporary, the Alaskan wilderness, love-hate relationships, Heist Society, running from bad guys
You should read this book if you like: Memoirs, My Story, overcoming trauma and finding hope, a how-to guide for embracing the future
You should read this book if you like: Mysteries, moms in danger, suspicious neighbors, puzzling disappearances, small towns with big secrets
Check out Strawser's book recommendations here.
You should read this book if you like: Middle-grade fantasy, misfits with wild imaginations, epic dares and quests, stopping demons from taking over the world
What are you looking forward to reading? Let's talk books in the comments!
Check out more recent blogs:
28 Books That Got You Hooked on a New Genre
Actor (and Debut Author) Sean Penn Recommends Some of his Favorite Books
Trend Alert: Exploring the 'Moms in Danger' Thrillers
posted by Hayley on March, 26
from Goodreads Blog https://ift.tt/2I612VI
via IFTTT
Monday 26 March 2018
#8: The Cows
Dawn O'Porter (Author)
(263)Buy new:
28 used & new from £4.00
(Visit the Bestsellers in Humour list for authoritative information on this product's current rank.)
from Amazon.co.uk: Bestsellers in Books > Humour https://ift.tt/2pHfm05
via IFTTT
New video by Penguin Books UK on YouTube
Who will be the next Formula One World Champion?
McLaren's former Number One mechanic Marc 'Elvis’ Priestley shares who he believes are F1’s most promising young drivers. THE MECHANIC: THE SECRET WORLD OF THE F1 PITLANE by Marc 'Elvis’ Priestley is out now. READ AN EXTRACT - http://po.st/gP4KOg BUY THE BOOK - http://po.st/AM41th ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to the Penguin channel: https://ift.tt/2ygTzig Follow us here: Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/penguinukbooks Website | https://ift.tt/xNmtGX Instagram | https://ift.tt/2ygyyo2 Facebook | https://ift.tt/2wmBKky
View on YouTube
McLaren's former Number One mechanic Marc 'Elvis’ Priestley shares who he believes are F1’s most promising young drivers. THE MECHANIC: THE SECRET WORLD OF THE F1 PITLANE by Marc 'Elvis’ Priestley is out now. READ AN EXTRACT - http://po.st/gP4KOg BUY THE BOOK - http://po.st/AM41th ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to the Penguin channel: https://ift.tt/2ygTzig Follow us here: Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/penguinukbooks Website | https://ift.tt/xNmtGX Instagram | https://ift.tt/2ygyyo2 Facebook | https://ift.tt/2wmBKky
View on YouTube
Actor (and Debut Author) Sean Penn Recommends Some of his Favorite Books
Double Academy Award-winning actor and filmmaker Sean Penn is the author of the debut novel Bob Honey Who Just Do Stuff. Goodreads asked Penn to tell us about his reading habits, his favorite book and authors, and the novel he's both re-reading and recommending to his friends.
Goodreads: Why did you decide to write a book?
Sean Penn: For me it was time to work alone. Film provides great opportunities for collaboration, but it also DEMANDS collaboration and a like-mindedness I’ve come to find elusive. I wanted to do something privately—complete it, then later share it.
Goodreads: You've been described as an avid reader. Why is reading important to you?
Sean Penn: I have an odd relationship with reading. I've always struggled with retention. That has usually forced me to read in as close to a single sitting as a book's length, or density will allow. This means that when I keep company with a book, all outside that book is excluded.
At some point, my reading life became dominated by nonfiction, with the odd novel or volume of poetry slipping in only rarely. With nonfiction, I often binge on books that are specific to one region, or area of interest. When reading about a place that is connected to traveling the areas written about, those scents and smells and personalities supplement my retention deficit.
Goodreads: Tell us about some of your all-time favorite books.
SP: I loved reading You Can't Win by Jack Black. I could see his images and feel the rumble of the trains. I heard the language and felt urged to jump inside it. James Thurber also gave me giggles. Harry Crews’ The Knockout Artist, [Salman] Rushdie, [Christopher] Hitchens, [Douglas] Brinkley, Richard Ford, Philip Roth, Cormac McCarthy all gripped my attention, but, in the end, it was [Charles] Bukowski for me.
I'm also a gigantic fan of [Jon] Krakauer's books. All of them. He's an immersive nonfiction writer. Into The Wild is one book that defied my otherwise lackluster retention. I wrote the first draft of its screenplay ten years after having read it, and didn't re-read it until I'd completed the draft. Really stuck with me.
Goodreads: If you could require everyone to read one book, what would it be and why?
SP: D.T. Max's biography of David Foster Wallace. It's the most immersive read inside a contemporary man and author I've read. The periods of isolation and depression that separated him from the rest of life for so many years should be a cautionary tale for those who voluntarily distance themselves through a social media that is anything but social. I also love David Rabe's Recital of The Dog. If it comes down to just one book, I'd say Steve Coll's Ghost Wars. It adds context to where we are today.
Goodreads: What are you currently reading and what books are you recommending to friends?
SP: I've been re-reading Alejo Carpentier's The Lost Steps. Brilliant beautiful book…and, I recommend it.
posted by Cybil on March, 26
from Goodreads Blog https://ift.tt/2pI9eUv
via IFTTT
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
New video by Penguin Books UK on YouTube
GIVEAWAY 🎉 How To Dance The Charleston With Jacqueline Wilson 'Dancing the Charleston' is a brand new Jacqueline Wilson novel, ful...
