BOOKISH NEWS: Judy Blume’s Tiger Eyes Made into Movie, Charlaine Harris Novel Leaked, Bookish Deals & More!
BOOKISH NEWS
Hi, and welcome to our new feature, in which we highlight and discuss some of the news that has been big in the bookish world this week.
Before I get into the bookish news proper, I would like to mention something that was brought to my attention by Laura. On Wednesday, the writer Jay Lake, author of the Green Universe series, revealed on his blog that he is suffering from terminal cancer. I didn’t know how tactful it was to make it a story on bookish news, but it’s definitely something that I think people should know about, in case they want to join us in wishing him the best - either here, or on his blog.
Tiger Eyes Film Will Show Them How it’s Done
Although Judy Blume has a large following, and has done for many years, adaptations of her novels have been noticeably absent, despite being the go-to novels for generations of young girls. This won’t last long however, as a film version of Tiger Eyes is set to release in the US. Plot-lines are arguably optional in modern day movies, but Judy Blume’s books are full of serious themes, and topics that other authors are afraid to broach even now – never mind the 1980s, when Blume was writing prolifically. Tiger Eyes tells the story of a young woman dealing with and carrying on from the death of her father, at the same time as going through all the tribulations that come with adolescence and puberty. Other books by the author deal with matters such as bullying (before it was the widely acknowledged phenomenon that it is now), sexual awakening and the after-effects of the holocaust.
Although I was born in the 90s, I naturally came across Judy Blume in my adolescence, and really enjoyed reading about such serious topics in a way that didn’t sound condescending. I’m glad that something so full of issues is being made into a movie. I’m not saying that other movies aren’t worthwhile because they don’t cover the breadth of issues that Blume’s novels do, but it will make a refreshing change to have a movie aimed at the teenage market that aims to portray the experience realistically, rather than glossing over it.
Source: The Guardian
Candace Bushnell – Part of the Illuminati?
Although fans of Sex and the City might argue the importance of the author’s work, Candace Bushnell seems like an odd choice of people for the hacker ‘Guccifer’ to target. The hacker has previously targeted political figures such as George Bush, and has expressed an interest in targeting members of the Illuminati. As page-turning as Killing Monica, Bushnell’s latest novel, might be Guccifer seems to have broken pattern a little by posting a link to the first fifty pages online. The author privately expressed her dismay to her publisher and agent – and then the hacker also posted that. The identity of Guccifer is obviously unknown at this time, but I doubt if it will remain that way long if he continues to engage in hacking accounts of political figures – maybe he figured that authors are safer prey.
In all honesty, I think that the saying ‘all publicity is good publicity’ definitely applies here. Revealing portions of their books is something that authors often do anyway to pique readers’ interest, and the added interest will probably bring the book to the attention of people who otherwise wouldn’t have known about it. However, that is definitely my cynical side talking, and I can completely understand how it would be upsetting to have a piece of writing revealed to the world when you weren’t ready for it.
Source: The Guardian
Leaked Charlaine Harris Book Causes Trouble
The last Sookie Stackhouse book was always going to create a lot of mixed feelings amongst the series’ fans: after running for thirteen years it will undoubtedly be odd to know that there will be no more released. However, far from lamenting the end of a series, many fans are left vowing that they will not read the book since the ending was leaked online by a German reader. The spoiler inevitably reached Amazon, where it caused the uproar that is currently surrounding the book. Many threatened to cancel their pre-orders of the novel, and more were unafraid to voice their opinions as vociferously as possible. The reason they are citing for not wanting to read the book is that Harris has not chosen the suitor that they would most like the blonde waitress to end up with. However, with as many suitors as Sookie has had, it would be difficult to please everybody unless … well anyway. The author has told publications that she has even received death threats from readers who disagree – apparently ardently – with her choice.
I can’t understand this level of fanaticism for a book – but most of all I don’t understand writing a book off before you have even read it. This especially applies to people who are fans enough of the series that they have pre-ordered the book.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Bookish Deals:
- £0.00 - The Becoming (Brothers in Arms) by Jessica Meigs
- £0.65 - The Bet by Rachel Van Dyken
- £0.77 - Priceless (Rylee Adamson #1) by Shannon Mayer
- £1.89 – Who’s Afraid of Mr Wolfe by Hazel Osment
- £1.95 – Bloodfire (Blood Destiny 1) by Helen Harper
- £1.99 – Stroke of Genius by Mia Marlowe
- £2.49 – Shadow Sight (Ivy Granger, Psychic Detective) by E.J. Stevens
- £2.66 – Rock With Me (With Me in Seattle) by Kristen Proby
- £2.67 – Instant Attraction (The Wilders) by Jill Shalvis
- £2.71 – Witchy Business (Witch Detectives #1) by J. R. Rain, Eve Paludan and Stuart Sharp
Thank you for stopping by! We hope you enjoyed this weeks bookish news. Feel free to comment on any of the stories, and let us know of anything interesting we may have missed.
4 Comments
The fact that Harris is received death threats from fans who disagree with her endings is disgusting! I feel so sorry for her. She has out so much work and effort in to the series and for someone to leek it on-line is a disgrace.
With regards to Judy Blume, I have never read any of her books. :/ I will like to one day at some point!
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You’re right, the fan “outrage” is so obnoxious. People can behave badly online because it’s anonymous, but they should be ashamed for treating another person so badly.
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What’s even more disturbing is that the people abusing her are her fans – the people who you would think would give her the benefit of the doubt.
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Alex, you should definitely read some Judy Blume. I read her when I was quite young, probably the target audience, but I still remember a lot from the books today and would really like to reread again at some point.
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