Ummm...

You can call me a dirty old woman. (If you call 30 old.)
But when did Daniel Radcliffe become buff and hot?
Check out these publicity stills from the new London West End production of Equus.

Happy Trails...

Oprah's Book Club Returns...

Ladies and Gentlemen....drum roll... Oprah's Book Club has returned! What? You're not rushing to the bookstore to purchase Sidney Poitier's Autobiography The Measure of a Man? Well, truthfully, neither am I.
I have to say, while Ms. Winfrey's book club is somewhat cheesy. She has inspired millions more people (women especially) to read more books. Which is always a good thing. And Mr. Poitier certainly deserves the accolades and millions of dollars this opportunity will present.
It is an interesting choice this autobiography. It is a choice with a clearly defined genre, a subject which is easily fact checked, and a PBS documentary tie-in! After the last book club round with the Frey debacle I'm sure Oprah wants no controversy.

First Chapters Update...

After much press and fanfare the first chapters of the First Chapters contest were posted today. There are already so many! Gather.com has said if there are less than 200 entries then Simon and Schuster reserves the right to pull the publishing contract and the winner will be awarded the $5000 prize only. After 26 entries posted the first day, I don't think it's going to be a problem. I think this contest is a great idea and I'm sure the brains behind the operation thought they would be giving an amazing opportunity to an unpublished writer. I don't think they know how many people harbor the unpublished novel deep in the recesses of their hard drive. If you look at the FAQ's on every nearly writer's website, there is usually the question "How do I get my book published? Can I send you my manuscript?" The answers are usually "Get an agent!" and "No." My friend Linda gets asked these questions all the time and she's an illustrator.
It will be interesting indeed to see the quality of these submissions...

Hannibal the Cannibal of Words

Interesting news today about the new Thomas Harris book Hannibal Rising. Apparently Harris may have been plagiarising his fan fiction for material for his new novel. Check out the article here. I have to say even the idea of this book is appalling to me. Like Chriton's Lost World, Hannibal Rising is coinciding with a movie release. After reading his last book Hannibal I was horrified. I really felt that the ending was just sensationalized and not at all what Clarice Starling the character he has so well established in Silence of the Lambs would do. (The Hannibal movie ending was so much better.) I thought Hannibal was a sell out, when I heard about Hannibal Rising I was just disgusted. Now this charge of plagiarism is very curious indeed...

First Chapters...

Ah the popularity of the "America-Chooses-the-Winner-Contest." "American Idol" is the cornerstone of this type of contest it has been around the longest-followed by "So You Think You Can Dance?" Even porn stars have gotten into the act in "My Bare Lady" An adult movie star gets a chance to be a Shakespearean actress! (I'm not kidding! I wish I were.) Over saturation of this market aside the contest-reality show has now spilled into my life in two direct forms. First in theater with NBC's Grease: You're the One That I Want which I intend to watch because I want to see if any one I know will be on it. And Gather.com's First Chapter Contest which I will be participating in as a reader. I'd never even heard of Gather.com until the press started buzzing about this contest, but joined immediately. Essentially it's like American Idol with reading, there are judges but America Reads, and America Votes, and one lucky contestant gets a book deal. (If only Anya Peters had waited another year in her car-think of the glory!)
Round one is the first chapters of the submissions narrowed down to a field of twenty. Fifteen of those are chosen by readers five by the official judges. The second and third rounds are the second and third chapters, respectively. Four of the five finalists will be selected by the readers, one by the judges, and the finalist will be announced May 31st decided by the judges.
While I think "My Bare Lady is a little out of control, anything that gets Americans reading and voting gets my vote.

Outlander

by Diana Gabaldon
I heard about this book from two reputable sources within a few weeks of one another and that sealed the deal giving them a try. Funny enough both sources also mentioned the fact that these books are also usually labeled as Romance novels-"But they are not-not at all!" I purchased a copy at Book Trader from the Sci-fi section. I purchased a copy at Borders for my mother as a gift and it was in the Romance section. Yesterday when I went to Books and Co. to get a couple more books in the series it was shelved in regular ol' literature.
So Outlander really has no genre. Yes it's literature, yes there is romance, and there is time travel involved so it could be sci-fi. Regardless it's a really good story and well written. (Though poorly edited-I'll get to that later) Essentially Claire Randall, our heroine, accidentally travels in time through a stone ring from 1943 to 1743. There she gets trapped and meets, and marries, Jamie Frasier. It's a whirlwind of a novel that has adventure, history, fighting, torture, poison, true love, hate, revenge, bad men, good men, pain, death, bravery, cowardice, chases, escapes, lies, truths, passion, and miracles. I described it to my mother as Brigadoon meets Clan of the Cave Bear. Meaning Scottish mysticism mixed with an impeccably researched historical setting, and a hot love story. For more on what Outlander is or isn't check out the male perspective of Gavin McNett on Salon.com.
My only gripe is the editing of the novel. Usually my problems with book editing come from the editor allowing the author to run his or her mouth with the story. (See Stephen King's It) In this case as the novel progresses punctuation, spelling, and grammar get spotty. For which there is just no excuse. Especially when a book has been reissued a few times. (Note: While my posts may not be the most grammatically correct, I do not have an editor, just spell check.)
So like many others who have read this book before me, I highly recommend it. It is not a romance novel. Don't be a book snob, march right into the Borders romance section and grab yourself a copy.