News & Notes is a weekly Saturday post featuring book- and publishing-related news, links to interesting articles and opinion pieces, and other cool stuff
Book News
- Leading authors call for [U.S.] government probe of Amazon’s ‘damaging’ power. (The Guardian)
- The lawyer, the lockbox, and the lost novel: Harper Lee book mystery widens as Lee’s former literary agent recounts his version of the finding of the Go Set a Watchman manuscript – in 2011, not 2014 as originally stated by lawyer Tonja Carter. (The Guardian)
- Filings Set Stage for New Ruling in GSU Copyright Case. The case deals with fair use in nonprofit education – specifically, whether GSU professors violated copyright protections when they made digital copies of some readings available to their students. The ruling could have wide-ranging effects, particularly if it severely limits the distribution of materials in this way – even when the original material is no longer available commercially. (Publishers Weekly)
- Amazon’s first Prime Day broke global sales records, according to the company, but disappointment over what was on sale (Fortune) combined with frustration when popular items sold out (Wired) may result in a customer backlash. (TechCrunch)
Worth Reading
- ‘Rethinking To Kill a Mockingbird’ is a challenging and thought-provoking look at the novel from a black perspective. (Jabari Asim, for Publishers Weekly), while Errin Whack argues that ‘Go Set a Watchman Is a Revelation on Race, Not a Disappointment’ (NPR’s Code Switch)
- Why To Kill a Mockingbird Isn’t YA is as much about defining YA as it is about Lee’s iconic novel, and offers thoughtful insights into both topics. (Kelly Jensen, BookRiot)
- The Truth: A Three-Star Review Is Not a Bad Review (Brenna Clark Gray, BookRiot)
- Why I’ll Wait to Read Go Set a Watchman explores the problematic question of Harper Lee’s consent and participation (or lack thereof) in the publication of the novel. (Jessica Tripler, Book Riot)
- Why You Should Fly Your Geek Flag High on Embrace Your Geekness Day! You may have missed the actual day, but here’s why we should all embrace our inner geek. (Grammarly blog)
Book & Movie Announcements
- The Shannara Chronicles are coming to television, courtesy of MTV’s new series (io9) The series by Terry Brooks struck me as extremely derivative of Tolkien when I read the first book back when it first debuted, but the books have been so popular that there must be more to them than that. The TV series looks gorgeous; I may have to give the books another try.
- Jim C. Hines, author of Libriomancer, announced he will be leaving his job to write full-time. (Yay – more books for us!)
- Joss Whedon to write a steampunk comic book mini-series with a female lead. Think Buffy meets The Dark Knight meets Upstairs, Downstairs – the main character is a chambermaid who survives being “fed to a dark horror.” (Entertainment Weekly)
Awesome Lists
- Music in Fantasy Fiction (Goodreads list)
- 13 Awesome Fantasy Songs You Need to Hear (The Mary Sue)
Really Useful
- Ever need to leave a movie to use the bathroom – or just get another soda? RunPee is an app that lets you know exactly when to leave the theater so you don’t miss the best or most critical scenes. It tells you how many minutes you have and fills you in on what happened while you were gone. It’s available for iPhone and Android as well as online.
- Want to quote one of the LOTR movies but can’t remember the exact words? Check out this site that contains the dialog and description of every scene – with screenshots.
Bookish Quote
That’s it for this week!
Heather @ Random Redheaded Ramblings
I love the look of the Shannara Chronicles, I read my first Terry Brooks book this year and loved it!
Heather @ Random Redheaded Ramblings recently posted…ABOUT ME! – The Bucket List – Forty thing to do before turning 40!
Lark_Bookwyrm
I read the very first book way back in… oh, never mind when. 😉 I found it horribly derivative, which put me off Terry Brooks’ books for decades. I wish I’d been smart enough then to realize that not every first book hits it out of the park, and it’s often worth trying an author again, later in their career. Certainly plenty of people seem to enjoy his books! And the trailer looks gorgeous.
Bea @Bea's Book Nook
The first few books were EXTREMELY derivative but he kept building and expanding and ended up with a world and mythology all his own. Too bad I don’t have cable and won’t be able to watch the show. I’ll have to hope it ends up on NetFlix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime.
Bea @Bea’s Book Nook recently posted…Bea Reviews All For You by Christi Barth
Lark_Bookwyrm
I don’t have cable either, so ditto. But your assessment agrees with a lot of other reviews I’ve seen – that the series grew and he grew as a writer and it became more and more original. Which means I might have a new old series to look forward to! 🙂
Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library
I have mixed feelings about Go Set a Watchman. For starters I don’t trust the lawyer. There’s something hinky about the whole situation though I have no idea what it is. But I’m concerned about some of the issues with the actual book itself. The fact that Atticus is more racist than thought to be in TKAM doesn’t really bother me but it sounds like there are some consistency errors that would. Thanks for sharing! I’m going to go check out the 3 star link. That looks interesting.
Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library recently posted…Good and Cheap – Cookbook Review
Lark_Bookwyrm
I agree that there’s something a bit “off” about the whole manuscript-discovery thing, and the publication this late in Lee’s life. Having read neither book so far, I can’t pass judgement on the books themselves, but I found the two perspectives on racism interesting. And I think you’ll love the 3-star reviews link. She says everything I’ve wanted to say about it. (Which does kill one of my post ideas, but she says it so well!)
Bea @Bea's Book Nook
Do the post! Another blogger did it but I’d love to see what you have to say. I had a long Twitter discussion about it with some authors and bloggers and I just can’t see a 3 star review as bad.
Bea @Bea’s Book Nook recently posted…Bea Reviews All For You by Christi Barth
Lark_Bookwyrm
No, nor can I! In fact, a 3-star or 3.5-star rating from me is good. I’ll think about doing the post, but she said a lot of what I would say!
R_Hunt @ View From My Home
I am one of those bloggers that give high star ratings as compared to others, and I can’t help it. If I finish a book and really enjoyed it, I want to say that *for me only* it was a great experience. I understand that I aim too high but it’s hard to backtrack. I did put an explanation of my rating system on my sidebar, though.
I don’t remember the last time I gave a 1 or 2 star rating because I’ll put down a book unfinished if I don’t like it. Most times it’s because I am just not in the mood for that type of story, or it was a wrong fit for me. I understand that not everyone has that luxury if they are reading a requested book or gifted from a publisher. Interesting link, and I do remember to adjust my idea about a book when I visit your blog, since you give lower ratings than I do 🙂
Thanks for the Terry Brooks link about the tv show. Wow, that trailer looks sooo good to me as a LOTR fan. Now I’ll be on the lookout for the first book in his series to give it a try.
R_Hunt @ View From My Home recently posted…Discussion of Go Set a Watchman by Someone Who Won’t Read It
Lark_Bookwyrm
I rarely give 1- or 2-star ratings either, Rita. Like you, I usually don’t finish a book if I don’t like it or it’s badly written. But you’re right, I tend to rate a bit conservatively from 3 to 4, saving 5 for books that are really amazing or I really, really love. And it’s just fine that you and a lot of other people don’t do that!
Re the Terry Brooks – just bear in mind that book one was (as I recall) kind of a Tolkien knock-off in many ways. I hear the author got a lot more original as time went on. 🙂
R_Hunt @ View From My Home
Thanks for the warning. I might still read it. I would love to find a series or trilogy, whatever, that resembles the magic and beauty that is LOTR without being a copy of it.
R_Hunt @ View From My Home recently posted…Discussion of Go Set a Watchman by Someone Who Won’t Read It
Lark_Bookwyrm
Oh, I’m not saying you shouldn’t read it! Just to be aware that (I’m told by a number of people) it gets better as it goes along.