"Dark Tower" Adaptation, Take 2

Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series is one of the most well-known commercial fiction series ever. So it comes as no surprise that there's talk of a film adaptation.

The tv/film rights were optioned by Bad Robot years ago but their vision never came to fruition. Now, the rights have reverted to King and three of Hollywood's biggest talents came a-knockin', according to The Hollywood Reporter:

J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot shingle, which has long sought to crack Stephen King’s “The Dark Tower” book series as a television series, no longer has the rights to one of the author’s biggest properties.

Bad Robot has returned the rights back to the best-selling author. Now Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Akiva Goldsman are teaming up to tackle the fantasy Western.

The three are in discussions on a scenario that would see an adaptation begin as a movie, to be written by Goldsman and directed by Howard, that would lead to a TV series produced by Imagine’s small-screen division.

“Tower” is not set up, nor has any option deal been made, but insiders say Universal, home to Imagine, would be the studio that will release the movie.

Read the rest of the article HERE

Personally, I haven't read anything by Stephen King (I know, I know. Shame on me. I should probably get on that), but I know a lot of people that will feel strong about this news. Some will be very excited, and others will be aghast at the idea of Hollywood digging their hands into such an intricately crafted tale.

How do you feel about this adaptation news?

What's your favorite Stephen King novel?

Guest Blogger, LG: Hump Day Humor

It’s amusing how certain words have evolved over time in our dialect—as has our collective sense of humor. Remember when “gay” used to mean happy? It’s not used that way much anymore, and when it is you can be sure it’ll elicit a few snickers in a crowd.

My art history teacher once caught my attention while I was spacing out during a seminar freshman year of college by saying a peasant in an old painting was carrying a “faggot” on his back. She actually meant he was hauling a large bunch of twigs. And I still giggle childishly whenever someone talks about a “bung hole” in a wine cask.

Yes, let it be said that my preferred brand of humor—typically terribly inappropriate—appeals more to 12-year-old boys than the average 25-year-old female. I can’t even create a character named Paul in my novel without at least one friend joking that I named him that because it rhymes with “ball.”

Even my university had issues: It was an all-women college and yet it was founded by a man named Cocke, and our dining hall was called The Moody Center. What the heck?

Now, knowing all of this about me, you can imagine how The Huffington Post’s slide show entitled “The 11 Funniest Unintentionally-Sexual Books of All Time” has tickled my proverbial funny bone. I mean…appeals to the 12-year-old boy inside me. Oh God… what I mean to say is: Who wouldn’t laugh at a book called Scouts in Bondage or The Day Amanda Came? And really – what is The Pocket Book of Boners about?

I have to say, Games You Can Play with Your Pussy is my favorite. I wonder if my cat would approve…

What are some of your favorite antiquated now-dirty or modernly humorous words, phrases, or even book titles?

Musings from Beyond the Grave

"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."

That's what Marilyn Monroe once said about herself showing a startlingly strong take for a woman who lived from the 1920s to 1960s.

After her death August 1962, a significant amount of mystery has cloaked the secret life of the famed blond bombshell. But now, FSG--an imprint of Macmillian--plans to reveal some of Marilyn's inner-most thoughts in a new collection of Marilyn's own writings, according to EW.com:

The candle in the wind just keeps burning. Farrar, Straus and Giroux has announced that they plan to release a collection of Marilyn Monroe’s own writings. Fragments will include poems, correspondence, rare photos, as well as reproductions of documents handwritten by the blond bombshell herself. It is set to hit bookstores this fall.

The book will purportedly show the seldom seen facets of the breathy pneumatic icon, who was in actuality a whole lot smarter than her coquettish image suggested. What do you think, Shelf-Lifers? Are you interested in getting a glimpse of the Norma Jean behind the Marilyn Monroe?

Check out the post HERE

Seeing this deal news today, it got me thinking, not only about what Marilyn might have to say, but also about posthumous publications in general. While I think they can certainly be interesting, I'm not sure how I feel about them ethically. (There's an interesting blogpost on the topic HERE and a thought-provoking Wall Street Journal article HERE.)

Should our heirs just be free to publish our work, whether it be a drawing, poem, or grocery list? Or should our obvious choice NOT to publish be honored? It also brings up the question of authorial intent--if an author didn't want to publish something, why would you do it for them?

I was discussing this very topic last night with a big J.D. Salinger fan. While I'd heard the rumors that many unpublished works were discovered upon Salinger's death, what I didn't know though was that it's also rumored that he left instructions along with said documents. His notes are said to include things like "This is done," "This one needs to be edited," "Leave this one alone," etc. etc.

Personally, I hope that both rumors are true.

But I also hope that whoever's in charge of his estate abides by his very clear wishes.

What are your thoughts on posthumous publication?

Would you release it if you found unpublished works by some well-known, long-dead author?

Book Review: Easy for You

I don't read short stories nearly enough.

I realize that every single time I finish reading a short story collection, yet, I still read so few.

So, when my fellow editor and friend, Kate, told me about Easy for You by Shannan Rouss (one of her beloved authors) I jumped at the chance to snag a copy. And I am very glad I did. I devoured it.

Rouss's debut collection is smart, witty, and unforgettable. Each of the 10 stories in Easy for You take place in a different version of Los Angeles, a city that sparkles with glitz and glamour but also reeks of poverty and homelessness, while still housing the down-to-earth folks that you'd more likely imagine setting up camp in the midwest. Rouss transports readers into whatever LA-scape applies, and she tackles her dark subjectmatter--death, prejudice, anorexia, homosexuality, pretension, etc.--with vivid detail and sharp intelligence.

My favorite thing about Rouss's stories, however, is how flawed and remarkably realistic her characters are. They're people you might walk by on the street without a second glance, and they are all people that a reader can relate to in one way or another. Their stories moved me in a variety of different ways and even made me laugh out loud at times. They are just so inherently human.

The Last Word: A stunning and refreshming collection of stories you won't want to miss. Easy for You will stick with you long after your done reading. ("Neither Here Nor There" is my fave story of the bunch.)

NY Public Libraries Head Toward the Future

A disturbing number of people view libraries as a thing of the past. But in New York City, there is certainly nothing archaic about their libraries' new book sorting technique.

Unveiled about two months ago, a robotic librarian of sorts found its way into the library system, according to The New York Times:

A couple of years ago Salvatore Magaddino, who oversees the distribution of materials for the New York Public Library, complained at a meeting that he was having trouble recruiting book sorters, the people responsible for sorting the millions of books sent each year from one branch library to another.

“It was a mundane, boring job,” Mr. Magaddino said the other day, standing next to a result of that complaint, a gigantic new automated book sorter housed in a renovated warehouse in Long Island City, Queens. This machine — believed to be the largest of its kind — has eliminated much of the drudgery since it was turned on two months ago. Now, when a library visitor anywhere in the system requests a book located at another branch, the automated sorter does the work of routing it.

Here is how it works: On one side of the machine, which is two-thirds the length of a football field and encircled by a conveyor belt, staff members place each book face-down on a separate panel of the belt. The book passes under a laser scanner, which reads the bar code on the back cover, and the sorter communicates with the library’s central computer system to determine where the book should be headed. Then, as the conveyor belt moves along, it drops the book into one of 132 bins, each associated with a branch library. It’s sort of like a baggage carousel that knows which bag is yours and deposits it at your feet.

Read the entire article HERE

and

watch it in action HERE

While I don't like to see machines taking the place of humans (and stealing our jobs!), I can understand why this particular technique was conceived. I've volunteered in a library and worked in a video store for six years--sorting can be tedious and boooooring. Plus, I'm sure the machine increases production speed by the boatload, which is never a good thing unless it affects accuracy.

Still, I must admit, this conveyor belt spin-off makes me sad. Somehow a machine of this magnitude takes the charm out of it all. Libraries remind me of friendlier, more interactive times, and this is just one more thing that takes us further and further from that state of mind.

Who on Earth Proofread THAT?

Printer's errors happen more often than they should. Typos, incorrect line breaks, missing pages even. It's rare though that a book is pulled off the shelves as a result. Publishers will usually just replace copies where there are major issues, especially since PE's don't usually occur in every batch that's printed.

But every so often, an error is big enough for the books to be pulled and pulped (aka literally shredded and destroyed). Just like it did with The Pasta Bible, a recent release from Penguin Books in Australia.

The Pasta Bible, however, did not contain a printer's error. The error occurred in the editing stages of the book and was just never caught--which is shocking given the nature of the error. One particular recipe called for "freshly ground black people" instead of pepper.

Whoa.

Here's what Penguin had to say about the matter:

Penguin Group (Australia) confirms the Pasta Bible ISBN 9780143011071 has been pulped due to an error in the recipe for Spelt tagliatelle with sardines and prosciutto. The recipe incorrectly suggests adding salt and freshly ground black people – instead of freshly ground black pepper. The error occurred during the book's editing process. A member of the public contactedPenguinto advise of the mistake, and 7,000 copies of the Pasta Bible were immediately quarantined in Penguin's warehouse and pulped. A revised edition of the Pasta Bible will be available from late May 2010.

Readers are advised that anyone who wishes to return their current edition of the Pasta Bible can do so by sending the book care of Reply Paid 83659, Penguin Books, 250 Camberwell Rd, Camberwell VIC 3124. Penguin will offer readers the choice of either a full refund or a replacement copy, once the new edition of the Pasta Bible becomes available. Penguin has also contacted Australian booksellers, to advise how remaining stock can be returned for pulping. The team at Penguin sincerely apologises for any offence this error may have caused readers.

Background on Pasta Bible Error

Misprints are always unfortunate and they are doubly unfortunate when they carry an unintended meaning. As the Pasta Bible is a cookbook, there was obviously no intent behind this mistake – it was simply a regrettable error.

At Penguin every book is proofread at least twice, depending on its complexity. In this case it is clear that a spell-check error crept in, the recipe incorrectly suggesting the addition of salt and freshly ground black people instead of freshly ground black pepper. Normally such an error would be picked up by proof readers, but they would have been concentrating on checking quantities, a common source of error in cookbooks. Penguin would also like to point out that it maintains the highest of standards throughout the editing process, hence a mistake such as this is a very rare occurrence. Obviously though, editors are human and even the best and most professional will at times overlook an error.

The moment Penguin was made aware of the misprint it took immediate action and pulped the 7000 copies still in our warehouse. Penguin will also willinglyreplace a copy of the Pasta Bible owned by anyone who feels uncomfortable about having a copy of the book in their possession.The team at Penguin sincerely apologises for any offence this error may have caused.

See Penguin's statement HERE

Talk about a bad proofreader!

Also, check out the AP article HERE.

It's Almost Time for Beach Reading...

This year, Entertainment Weekly's Summer Entertainment Guide offers readers 18 exciting upcoming book releases in their most recent issue.

Bring on the beach reading!

THIS BODY OF DEATH, Elizabeth George (April 20)

HALF LIFE, Roopi Farooki (April 27)

GIRL IN TRANSLATION, Jean Kwok (April 29)

THE INVISIBLE BRIDGE, Julie Orringer (May 4)

THE LAST STAND, Nathaniel Philbrick (May 4)

SLOW LOVE: HOW I LOST MY JOB, PUT ON MY PAJAMAS AND FOUND HAPPINESS, Dominique Browning (May 9)

WAR, Sebastian Junger (May 11)

THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST, Stieg Larsson (May 25)

THE PARTICULAR SADNESS OF LEMON CAKE, Aimee Bender (June 1)

THE SHORT SECOND LIFE OF BREE TANNER, Stephanie Meyer (June 5)

THE PASSAGE, Justin Cronin (June 8)

SO COLD THE RIVER, Michael Koryta (June 9)

THE COOKBOOK COLLECTOR, Allegra Goodman (July 6)

LUCY, Laurence Gonzales (July 13)

RED HOOK ROAD, Ayelet Waldman (July 13)

I CURSE THE RIVER OF TIME, Per Petterson (Aug. 3)

YOU LOST ME THERE, Rosecrans Baldwin (Aug. 12)

MOCKINGJAY, Suzanne Collins (Aug. 24)

See the covers and read the descriptions HERE

I was surprised that I didn't know the majority books EW is jumping up and down about here. But of course, among their wide variety of suggestions are the much-awaited Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (the final book in her dystopian YA trilogy), The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Steig Larsson (the fourth book in his bestselling series), and the next installment of Twilight--The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner--told from the perspective of a young vampire who cameos in Eclipse.

I also now have a few new books to add to my list, as I'm particularly excited about Half Life, Slow Love, The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, The Cookbook Collector, I Curse the River of Time, and You Lost Me There.

I can't wait to go to the beach and read all day!