This semester, in my final literature course, we’re focusing on the Gothic elements! My favorite genre. Here’s what we’re reading starting next week!
Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Wilkie Collins’s The Woman in White
Great Horror Stories, a compilation with Stoker, Poe, and Lovecraft; Sheridan Le Fanu’s In a Glass Darkly; and Classic Ghost Stories, another compilation that includes Dickens!
HarperCollins has announced it has preempted rights to a three-book middle-grade series by director Chris Columbus, to be called House of Secrets. Columbus, the director of two Harry Potter movies and many other films, will co-author the books with YA writer Ned Vizzini (It’s Kind of a Funny Story). The first book is slated for spring 2013.
Read on for some more information about this series! Sounds very intriguing – I think I’d enjoy it, too.
If you’re a Nerdfighter like me, you probably already know all about John and Hank’s awesome TFiOS van and their tour across the country. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, continue on…
An abundance of fans (among them, some Katherines) will see Printz Award-winning author John Green on his 17-city tour for The Fault in Our Stars (Dutton, on sale Jan. 10).That day the Looking for Alaska writer and his younger musician brother, Hank, will launch their three-week road trip in a Sprinter van, decorated with the cover of the new novel (about two teens with cancer who fall in love) and quotes from Markus Zusak (“you laugh, you cry, and then you come back for more”) and Jodi Picoult (“an electric portrait of young people who learn to live life with one foot in the grave”). As the 34- and 31-year-old siblings travel, they will broadcast shows through their VlogBrothers YouTube channel.“I’m a pretty introverted person, but I decided to go on tour because I knew it would be good for the book,” says Green, who will leave his wife (a contemporary art dealer) and two-year-old son at home in Indianapolis. “It’s really important to launch the book as aggressively as possible. I also feel really strongly about trying to make the case for brick-and-mortar bookstores…. I think it’s crazy, crazy that book tours lose so much money. They shouldn’t. Book tours should be part of what keeps independent bookstores vibrant and profitable.”
Why Barnes & Noble Should (and shouldn’t) Spin Off the Nook – Digital Trends – Geoff Duncan
Part of the reason why e-reader ecosystems like Kobo aren’t seeing tremendous levels of success in the U.S. market is that they aren’t associated with a well-known book retailer. (Kobo did have a relationship with Borders, which didn’t work out so well.) These same factors might hurt Barnes & Noble’s efforts to bring the Nook to international markets.
Unfortunately for the Nook, there’s no clear-cut way forward here. If the Nook stays with Barnes & Noble, it’ll remain hobbled by the company’s brick-and-mortar performance. If it spins out, it loses the Barnes & Noble brand. And, meanwhile, Apple and Amazon continue firing on all cylinders.
First, Duncan explains sales revenues, fiscal year predictions, and other money matters to give a backdrop for why B&N is considering separating from the Nook.
Then it comes down to this: separating the Nook from B&N attracts revenues, while on the other hand if the Nook is separated then it may not find the same success with consumers who are attracted to the B&N brand.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood 
Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining fertility, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now…
I was stunned. Dystopian novels are typically not my favorite genre, but this one felt too real, too plausible, believable and futuristic. Everything from the names of the Handmaids (Offred meaning “Of Fred” or “Property of Fred”) to the descriptions of the setting (red brick walls, large football stadium, classrooms, dormitories, everything pointing to an abandoned Harvard), to the backwards and seemingly reasonable feminism left me reeling.
While reading, I noticed I was most intrigued by the writing style. The reader can become completely absorbed in the tales Offred is telling, and yet nothing about these tales is remarkable. She is merely describing ordinary life. And yet, to the reader, this is not ordinary life at all – there is something completely wrong under the surface.
Heated topics could be discussed with this book: feminism, women’s rights, sexual freedom or lack thereof. This novel is a warning. I was hesitant to begin the novel, and now I’m hesitant to write a proper review. Words cannot describe my racing thoughts at the close of the final page.
Rating: ★★★★ of 5
GoodReads: 3.95 of 5
Barnes & Noble Plunges on Possible Nook Spinoff – The Street – Jeanine Poggi
Barnes & Noble said it is in discussion with strategic partners, including publishers, retailers and technology companies in international markets that may lead to expansion of the Nook business overseas.
When the Nook saved Barnes & Noble from the same fate as Borders…
Also noteworthy: this is competition with Amazon’s Kindle, which is also used in the UK. Rumor has it B&N is partnering with (maybe buying) UK’s Waterstones bookstore. Food for thought.
As celebrities choose Amazon, is this the end for publishers? – The Independent – Guy Adams
The deal [between Amazon and James Franco], which was reported yesterday but has yet to be formally confirmed by either side, represents an ominous development for the industry, which in recent months has seen similar deals signed by the likes of New Age “guru” Deepak Chopra, self-help writer Timothy Ferriss, and the actor and director Penny Marshall.
For years, the rise of Amazon, which heavily discounts books, has been eating into the once luxurious profit margins enjoyed by mainstream publishers. There are therefore growing fears that the online giant could soon send their industry the way of the high street bookstore.
Personally, I scoff at big names like Amazon taking over, creating monopolies. One day they’ll collapse. But maybe I just haven’t had my tea this morning and am not thinking straight enough to feel worried.
Apple to Hold Event in NYC. Publishing, Advertising in the Mix? – PaidContent – Ingrid Lunden
Just like every other season, Apple is catching the public eye with some announcements. This time, however, it’s not about a brand new glitzy product.
The report notes that Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of internet software and services, will be leading the event. Cue oversees the iTunes Store, the App Store, Apple’s iBookstore, iAd and Apple’s iCloud service—and that has led to speculation that this event could be related to something within his remit, specifically around iAd or Apple’s publishing activities.
[…]
And even more specifically, the Good E-Reader blog claims that, in fact, the event will signal Apple’s move into self-publishing on the iBookstore. The move, to compete with self-publishing offerings from Amazon and Barnes & Noble, will give writers the option to publish work directly on Apple’s platform without having to go through a publisher or other third-party provider like Smashwords to do it.
Thoughts?
Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare 
The situation at the London Institute has never been more precarious. With Mortmain and his clockwork army still threatening, the Council wants to strip Charlotte of her power and hand the running of the Enclave over to the unscrupulous and power-hungry Benedict Lightwood.
In the hope of saving Charlotte and the Institute, Will, Jem, and Tessa set out to unravel the secrets of Mortmain’s past—and discover unsettling Shadowhunter connections that hold the key not only to the enemy’s motivations, but also to the secret of Tessa’s identity. Tessa, already caught between the affections of Will and Jem, finds herself with another choice to make when she learns how the Shadowhunters helped make her a “monster.” Will she turn from them to her brother, Nate, who has been begging her to join him at Mortmain’s side? Where will her loyalties—and love—lie? Tessa alone can choose to save the Shadowhunters of London…or end them forever.
The second book in the Infernal Devices series (and part of the prequel to the Mortal Instruments series) was an excellent mixture of action, adventure, Victorian England propriety, and fantasy. Everything rolled into one in this book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. In comparison to Clare’s first book of the Infernal Devices series (Clockwork Angel), which contained several explanations for the Shadowhunter world and Victorian mannerisms, Clockwork Prince picked up where readers left off with the cast of characters and continued the mesmerizing story.
Also worthy of noting is the lack of slow pacing. I’ve noticed that the middle books of series tend to read more like fillers and plot development, something to keep readers entertained before the final showdown. While Clockwork Prince does contain elements of this (linking Mortmain from the first book, discovering his past in this book, and possibly his ruin in the next — spoiler?), I felt like I could pick up this book without having read any of Clare’s work and understood it perfectly. That’s what is so great about Tessa’s character: she herself is new to the Shadowhunter world. The reader discovers everything with her, and the explanations are clear and to the point in this second installment. That leaves enough room for the plot to develop, Victorian aspects of life to take over, and of course (what is young adult literature without this?) a touch of romance to flourish.
EDIT: Also, if you love 19th-century British literature, especially Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Tale of Two Cities, Byron, Tennyson, or Rossetti, you’re in for a treat. Several references, quotations, and parallels throughout.
Rating: ★★★★.5 of 5
GoodReads: 4.28 of 5
What’s Coming in 2012: Book Publishing – PaidContent – Laura Hazard Owen
Three things to note this year, according to Owen:
Indies Battle Amazon: By Becoming Publishers – Salon – Steve Almond
Independent bookstores are stepping up and creating their own small publishing hub to produce more titles. This is a unique competition with Amazon and the apparent threat of ebooks.
The leap into publishing by indies can be seen as the literary equivalent of the locavore movement. It not only emphasizes local writers, and local subjects, but also asks residents to support a local business with their dollars.
Teter is under no illusion about the forces arrayed against independent bookstores, not the least of which is the rise of electronic books. But she, along with her compatriots, is cautiously optimistic that small-scale publishing can be part of the answer, by providing an alternative to traditional publishers and Amazon, which are increasingly focused on books they can turn into national bestsellers.
As Kaplan reminded me, the true value of a great independent bookstore resides in its connection to a particular community: “If someone loves our bookstore, has been coming in for years, understands what we’re trying to do, and you can put a great book in their hands that was published by our store, I mean, who’s going to say no to that?”
Regardless of your stance on ebooks and ereaders, this is really neat!
Scribbles & Wanderlust 