Polish Outlander

Last week, I was browsing through BookPage at work and down on the third page in some quick notes and highlights was this:

“Good and bad news for Outlander fans: Diana Gabaldon recently sold the eighth book in the saga to her current publisher, Delacorte; the bad news? It won’t be published until 2013. But then, Gabaldon fans are used to waiting for a new installment. 600 pages weren’t written in a day, after all!”

I told my friend and she responded by saying that at least we have plenty of time to re-read and plan accordingly. The question is: is this the last one? Cause if it is, then I’ll reread the books in anticipation of book eight. But if it isn’t, I just might have to hold out and wait to reread them.

Some of you might have read the book crisis I was having when Echo in the Bone came out.

I think I’ll just wait to hear if this will be the last one or not.

But while we wait, there is the graphic novel coming out this Fall. Links about it here and here. According to her blog, Ms. Gabaldon will be at the New York ComicCon. Yipee!

That is quite the array of colors. I wonder what will be the next color they choose?

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

My pick for the week is:

Available April 2010

Last Saturday, Josh and I, and two of our friends went to Times Square to see the Reduced Shakespeare Company perform The Complete Works of Shakespeare….Abridged. All of Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets in one handy-dandy 100 minute production. Performed by three men.

One word: Hilarious!

Josh and I had seen the DVD back in college but this time around, it was even funnier. There were more current references to Wikipedia and even Twilight at one point. There were a lot of kids in the audience which struck us as very odd. How do they know Shakespeare? And what are the parents thinking…it’s bawdy and full of language. Yes, it’s hilarious but knowing Shakespeare makes it funnier. I feel likes some of the stuff might have just gone over their heads, despite all the laughing I heard at the men on stage who pretended to throw up and dressed in women’s clothing. But do they know what a transvestite even is? These kids were in booster seats!!!!

To give you an idea, here’s a video of an interview they did for a local news station just recently. Some of the lines were used in the actual stage production (ie, the name of the comedies and the Othello rap):

And for some more amusement, from an older production of theirs, here is the RSC’s biography of Shakespeare:

ENJOY!

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren. Thanks Kristi!

Some things have trickled in this week. I have no idea when I will find the time to tackle all these great books when I have to catch up on some required reading for work. I always say that but then I force myself to find time, which is a good thing. I just need to avoid Netflix and the Wii. So here’s some stuff that truly came in the mailbox:

From PaperBackSwap, I got:

Vampires, werewolves, witches, shapeshifters — they live among us without our knowledge. Night World is their secret society, a secret society with very strict rules. And falling in love breaks all the laws of the Night World. In Dark Angel, Gillian is saved from drowning by her guardian angel. Only visible to Gillian, Angel will fulfill her heart’s every desire. But when Angel starts making strange and sinister requests, Gillian must question who he truly is and where he came from. Armed with a wooden stake, martial arts, and the will to resist a vampire’s mind control, Rashel struggles to avenge her mother’s death in The Chosen. Then she meets Quinn, her soulmate, who is part of the world she has vowed to destroy. Hannah receives notes warning her of incredible danger in Soulmate. But if death is her destiny, is the Lord of the Night World’s love strong enough to save her? (I read the first omnibus way back in the summer and am looking forward to these stories and how they all come together eventually.)

She was an empress-until she lost everything. Now known simply as Tathea, she will wander the Lost Lands and become empowered by the teachings in a book-a book will that guide her onto a path even greater than the one she walked as a ruler. (I have to admit: I already abandoned this. It wasn’t what I expected and I guess I just wasn’t looking for this great religious/philosophical read in this book. Maybe, at the right time, I might revisit this again but I just couldn’t get into it.)

From Amazon I ordered:

Be prepared to meet three unforgettable women: Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone. Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken. Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own. Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed. (So here’s the scoop: I had gotten this as a galley last year somehow and it sat on my desk all year and I never touched it. My mom’s school was having a fundraiser, so I gave her some books and galleys that I had laying around that I knew I was never going to get to. My mom had knew this was on the bestseller list so she kept it. Last month she read it. In like a week. Which was quite a success, since she has a hard time finding actual time to read. She was actually glad that they had a snow day last Friday because she got to finish it. She said she hadn’t read anything like this in a long time. So I had marching orders to order the book and I have marching orders to read this like right away. I’ll get to it Mom, I’ll get to it!)

Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption. (Another one of those “must read” books that is out there. My friend at work also ordered this and we’re trying to figure out when would be the best time to read this since we’d like to read this together.)

Sonora Carver was an American entertainer, most notable as one of the first female horse divers. Carver answered an ad placed by “Doc” William Frank Carver in 1923 for a diving girl and soon earned a place in circus history. Her job was to mount a running horse as it reached the top of a forty-foot (sometimes sixty-foot) tower and sail down along the animal’s back as it plunged into a deep pool of water directly below. Sonora was a sensation and soon became the lead diving girl for Doc Carver’s act as they traveled the country. In 1931, Sonora was blinded, a retinal detachment, due to hitting the water off-balance with her eyes open.while diving her horse, Red Lips, on New Jersey’s Steel Pier, the act’s permanent home since 1929. After her accident Sonora continued to dive horses until 1942. (I love the movie Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken!!!! I had known this book was out-of-print for quite some time. And the other day, while looking at the products Amazon was recommending me, this came up! I had no idea they reprinted this. Immediate purchase on my part!)

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school…again. And that’s the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy’s Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he’s angered a few of them. Zeus’s master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus’s stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves. (I am so late in the game with this. It sounds so fun to read though. I’m just glad this series is over! I can read them all without having to worry about when the next book is coming out.)

There you have it. Now back to cleaning this apartment and trying to figure out if the books on my floor can go somewhere better…..

So I’ve been munching on this post for a while. I’ve been trying to figure out if I should even write it and a big part of me wants to. Cause why not? I should be honest. No…I want to be honest.

My blog header mentions “Working and Living with Books.” I’ve spent a great deal talking about the whole “living” with books part and I’ve barely ever mentioned my work and what it is that I do with books. And what is it that I do? Well, I work in publishing. To be more specific, I work for a children’s book imprint. Why publishing? Well, because I love books.

I’m coming up on my own one-year anniversary of this little blog, which started out as an idea that I got while talking to Josh last Spring and how it would be cool to write about all this fun book stuff that was happening at the time. Plus, I was already an avid reader of some blogs to begin with. So like my short little bio says, I just wanted to share my own thoughts and experiences about anything that had to do with books. At first, it didn’t occur to me, “Should I have a book blog, as someone who is part of the industry?” No, I didn’t think of it; I didn’t think it could be considered wrong in any way. All I wanted to do is talk about books and how much I like them. Simple as that. And as for books themselves, well I did come to the realization that it probably wouldn’t be fair of me to talk or give my thoughts on current children’s books. So I’ve mostly talked about graphic novels and adult fiction and even older children’s or teen books from years ago. I just want to share with people other books they might not have heard of, not just current books that are out; and write about why I liked the books. Have I seen other people review the books I work with? Yes. And you know what, everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. Cause not everyone has to like every book out there. If for some reason I happened to have read a negative review of a book that I work with, it doesn’t bug me.

My job is to talk about books. My job is to go “Over here! Read this fantastic new title!” And I love it. I enjoy working with other people who have the same passion as I do. We’re in the business of books and we like them! It’s fun and challenging to come with ideas on how to get people interested in our books. I’ve been to a few conferences and despite the pain of standing on your feet for 8 hours without a lunch break, I get all excited when I ask a librarian or a teacher if they are looking for something particular, or I show them a new title, and just start chatting them up about the books we have and what they’re about. And it’s so nice to see some of the same people who come up to me and recognize me and start chatting again as if months hadn’t passed since our last conference meeting.

As the handful of regular readers will notice, I buy a lot of books. And I think working in publishing really set me on the course on book-buying frenzies; that and probably having a steady income helped too. I may work for a publishing company, but that does not stop me from opening up my wallet and spending money on books. You need proof of that? Just look at my IMM posts. I don’t want to give the impression that just because I work in the industry, I get free books 24/7. I don’t. My bookcases are just bursting and despite my best efforts, books are slowly starting to end up on the floor. And my poor husband? He just shakes his head in dismay.

So why have I been mulling over this post for so long? Well, I know that a few bloggers have shared their bad experiences, in terms of people writing to them and telling them that it’s not fair that these bloggers get all these free books and galleys and the regular people get left out. Plus there have been other issues as well. And I guess I didn’t want to have to go through that sort of experience myself. I know how big bloggers are these days and trust me, I’ve sent out books from work to lots of them…maybe even  you!

So, what am I trying to get at with this post? It feels like a confession of some sorts. Maybe it is. But this is what it boils down to:

First and foremost….I am a reader and lover of books and that’s how I want to be considered in this blog. Hence wanting to blog about books and such, and chat with other bloggers. Heck, I’ve discovered some new books as well, books I never heard of or would not have thought to pick up earlier. And what’s also great is that I get to chat with all you fun people about books. That’s a big highlight for me and that is not an understatement.

So there you have it. All my cards are laid out before you. Take them as they are.

Now I think I’ll put the cat back in the bag.

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Myy pick for the week is:

Coming June 2010

As in the original novel, our story follows two relationships: the tragic adulterous romance of Anna Karenina and Count Alexei Vronsky, and the much more hopeful marriage of Nikolai Levin and Kitty Shcherbatskaya. These four, yearning for true love, live in a steampunk-inspired 19th century of mechanical butlers, extraterrestrial-worshiping cults, and airborne debutante balls. Their passions alone would be enough to consume them—but when a secret cabal of radical scientific revolutionaries launches an attack on Russian high society’s high-tech lifestyle, our heroes must fight back with all their courage, all their gadgets, and all the power of a sleek new cyborg model like nothing the world has ever seen. Filled with the same blend of romance, drama, and fantasy that made the first two Quirk Classics New York Times best sellers, Android Karenina brings this celebrated series into the exciting world of science fiction.

Ok, so I never finished reading Anna Karenina. In fact, my bookmark is still in the book. This was back in high school, which makes it about 10 years ago. Also, I didn’t like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I just couldn’t get into it. But, I am willing to give this a shot since it is veering away from the zombie or vampire norm that is going on with all these classics.

Last Tuesday, Josh and I went to see The Tempest at BAM. It was part of this year’s Bridge Project, and directed by Sam Mendes (aka Kate Winslet’s husband aka Hollywood Director). It was also my birthday present from Josh. It had been awhile since I read this play. I remember exactly when I read it actually: the summer between freshman and sophomore year of high school. And I have to say, this production made me like the play even more. Seeing it performed made me look at the play differently as well.

When the actors first appeared during the storm scene, I was a bit weary because of the modern-ish looking clothing. Sometimes I just don’t think Shakespeare should be modernized; it just ruins it for me.  (In college, Josh and I had gone to see a production of Hamlet in Boston Common, and we ended up walking out of it during intermission. Thank goodness it was free!) But I had nothing to worry about this time around.

The simple set with the circle of sand and water behind it was used wonderfully. I loved the fact that they didn’t focus so much on the “fantastical” part of the play. The production truly turned this play into a story about family and forgiveness and love.

There were two musicians, one on each side of the stage, performing the music and the sounds of the island. At times, I forgot they were there, which is a good thing. I liked the little bits of noise that they tuned up.

I was curious to know how they would treat and show Caliban, and I think he was the best thing out of the entire production. The actor played him so well. He was able to show the character’s vulnerable and monstrous, and even drunken side. He was played by this guy:

He recently did an interview with Time Out New York: You’re playing Charles the Wrestler in As You Like It right now, but I gotta say, I can’t wait to see what you do with Caliban in The Tempest next month. That character is such an enigma. Caliban is one of the most difficult characters to play because there’s not a lot of history there. It’s sort of a half-animal, half-man and there’s not a lot of background. So I’m working right now with a lot of movement, I’m studying a lot of different animals, cats and tigers and lions. I’m also working very closely with Stephen Dillane—who’s a master with the language—and trying to come up with my own interpretation…how to deal with the colonialism of the character, the 18^th-century Romanticism of the character. But I’ve found another ingredient which I’m gonna try, which is the idea that Caliban is feeling love for the first time. I’m incorporating the bond that he made with Prospero and also the hate from having the island taken from him. We started talking about this idea of Caliban being Prospero’s id, or Prospero conjuring him up in his mind as he’s writing this story, so they’re sort of one and the same; you have to deal with both in order to be whole. And Sam is so open to interpretation and such a wonderful director in terms of letting the actor express himself and bringing in different ideas. We’re kind of a melting pot it right now.

Oh and let me tell you…that study of different animals definitely showed.  He was just fantastic! I would love to see him in more plays.

Here’s a great review of the production, and in it, you can see that circle of sand. That sand circle was definitely a key element in the play: That’s where Prospero was able to have control over everything, where he bossed Ariel about, and where his magic was performed.

This was the second Shakespeare production we have seen at BAM. The first being Macbeth, played by none-other than Captain Jean-Luc Piccard aka Professor Xavier aka Patrick Stewart. That, hands down, was the best Shakespeare I’ve ever seen, and not just because he was so good as Macbeth, but the entire production was just….well…creepy! In such a good way. And frightening. We still reminisce about it. So now we’re wondering what BAM will have lined up for next year.

The New York Times just wrote a review and, thankfully, it had some pictures. It also includes a slideshow, so you can see clearly how the stage was set up and how the actors looked. Here are some highlights:

Ariel

Ferdinand, Prospero, and Miranda

Prospero and Caliban, making his entrance from beneath the ground

If you happen to be in the New York area, definitely check this out within the next two weeks.

Elena: Now she rises from the dead to recreate the powerful vampire trio.
Stefan: Summoned by Elena, he keeps a promise to her and fights the most terrifying evil he’s ever faced.
Damon: Joining the brother he once called enemy, Damon battles this new horror with strength, cunning, and deadly charm.

Danger Danger Will Robinson! SPOILERS! Danger Danger!

Ahhh…..so we finally come to the conclusion of the series. Well sort of. The author has obviously been writing more books in this series. So here’s my thing: If a character dies, why can’t she just stay dead? I know the series ends here. It ended with this book years ago. But I know with the new books the story picks up with Elena alive again. Yes, Elena comes back alive, BUT why? She could stay dead. She should stay dead. But based on the author’s own website, there is always a happy ending, despite all the darkness. I’m not sure what the point of this mini-rant was. Maybe because I think it wasn’t fully explained or justified why she came back. Or for that matter why when she died at the end of The Fury she didn’t just move on. Instead, we find Elena in a place beyond death, more like a limbo controlled by the The Big Bad in this fourth book. I’m not sure how I feel about the ending. I totally respect the author’s wishes in terms of having a happy ending. Cause let’s face it: we like happy endings. I guess I just wish it was done differently. And I guess to have it done differently, The Fury would have to be changed slightly too.

The Crowded Leaf asked me in one of my previous posts what I thought of the show, and if she should read the books. I think yes. At first, it will be hard separating yourself from the show. I had that problem because I started to read the first book right when the show started and just couldn’t really get into it because I was enjoying the show that much. That, and Elena is such the unlikeable character in the books. But now that I’ve gone through my week-long reading blitz of reading the other three books, I can safely say that I really consider the books and movies as separate entities. The books were fun and fast reads. But, the show is definitely trying to maintain some of the books elements: Bonnie being a witch, the whole Elena-Stefan-Matt awkwardness, the Katherine surprise, Damon being Damon, Tyler being a werewolf (? there were hints of something like this to come in the show so I wonder if they will follow through with it ?). But the show is doing all this in its own unique way.

In keeping with the Diary theme, I liked that Bonnie took up the pen, in Elena’s stead. Meredith has become a character that I like and I wonder why she’s not in the series. Maybe it would be too many people?

I’m definitely going to be reading the next new books in the series because I am curious to know what direction the author takes.

And for your amusement, some foreign editions of the book (Germany, UK 2001, Spain:

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren. Thanks Kristi!

Last weekend, my friend and I went to the annual Park Slope United Methodist Church Book Sale. I had heard of the book sale for a while but never managed to go. So on a very sunny Saturday morning, my friend and I made our way to Park Slope to enjoy some cheap books, even though we are both bursting in our bookshelf seams. Afterwards, we had some good Mexican brunch since book shopping can make you quite hungry. So here’s what I got at that book sale:

Set during and after the First World War, A Very Long Engagement tells the story of a young woman’s search for her fiancé, whom she believes might still be alive despite having officially been reported as “killed in the line of duty.” Unable to walk since childhood, fearless Mathilde Donnay is undeterred in her quest as she scours the country for information about five wounded French soldiers who were brutally abandoned by their own troops. A Very Long Engagement is a mystery, a love story, and an extraordinary portrait of life in France before and after the War. (My mom had seen the movie and said it was quite good. I was actually afraid that I had this already but I haven’t delved into my shelves and piles yet to make sure. Either way, been meaning to read this for awhile.)

A classic picaresque, Tipping the Velvet chronicles the adventures of Nancy King, who begins life as an oyster girl in the provincial seaside town of Whitstable and whose fortunes are forever changed when she falls in love with a cross-dressing music hall singer named Miss Kitty Butler. When Kitty is called up to London for an engagement on “Grease Paint Avenue,” Nan follows as her dresser and secret lover. Before long, Nan dons trousers herself, and the two male impersonators become a celebrated pair of the stage. But when Kitty betrays her, a solitary, heartbroken Nan reinvents herself as a butch roue — a sort of Moll Flanders in drag — navigating her way through London’s seamy and flourishing gay demimonde as she pursues her thrilling and varied sexual education. (I had never heard of this and looked interesting.)

Elena: transformed, the golden girl has become what she once feared and desired.
Stefan: tormented by losing Elena, he’s determined to end his feud with Damon once and for all—whatever the cost. But slowly he begins to realize that his brother is not his only enemy.
Damon: at last, he possesses Elena. But will his thirst for revenge against Stefan poison his triumph? Or can they come together to face one final battle?

So after reading the conclusion of this book, I can see why the Polish publishers decided to have the first three books in one omnibus. I can see the sense in that decision.

Elena kept fainting and falling….a lot. Maybe it was the stress of becoming a vampire? The stress of choosing between two guys? The stress of being dead to her community? It’s a lot for this blonde queen.

In the summary above it says that Damon finally possesses Elena. I didn’t get that impression. He had her for like all of two seconds. At the beginning of the book, why yes, she was all over him but then she came to her senses. Despite this, it’s clear she cares for both brothers.

Now, I can see where the TV show is getting some of it’s storyline for the series. The show isn’t following the books “by the book”, but the whole Katherine being alive unexpectedly that we found out about at the end of the last aired episode? Yeah, there’s mention of this in the book.

So the books ends. And heck, the whole thing could have ended there. It was a fine ending, as bittersweet and tragic as it may have been. But, as we all know there are more books. So I am curious to know where the series goes now in terms of plot.

Here are some foreign-edition covers that I found online (Germany, Portugal, Russia):