The Book Corner season 5: Book vs film. Episode 3: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan The Percy Jackson heroverse is a middle grade mega-brand today, but 2005’s The Lightning Thief was cast firmly in the role of Harry Potter wannabee by its 2010 movie adaptation. Does the plucky young demigod deserve his reputation, and […]
Season 5 episode 2: The Dark Tower vol 1 — The Gunslinger, by Stephen King The original concept for this season was “great book, shit film”. The Gunslinger certainly qualifies for the latter half and while The Dark Tower series has a passionate fanbase, “great” has to do a lot of heavy lifting for the […]
The Book Corner season 5 episode 1: Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion The Book Corner takes on a series of books and their adaptations, for better or for worse. We start with Isaac Marion’s 2012 rom-zom-com Warm Bodies and the 2013 film starring Nicholas Hoult. Was it a fresh take on the zombie genre or […]
The world ends at least five times in season four of my writing group’s monthly book corner. Either it was accidentally about apocalypses, or we’re a very dark group. The season concludes with: What is the book corner? Each month the group takes a break from critiquing our WIPs to examine a complete, published novel. […]
Tropes abound as the second trio from season four of my writing group’s monthly book corner takes in feminist speculative fiction, a classic of SF satire and a contemporary fairy tale: What is the book corner? Each month, our writing group takes a break from critiquing WIPs to examine a complete, published novel. Everyone picks […]
It’s time for The Book Corner season 4, part 1, loosely themed around books that had shaped our writing journeys. With nine very different titles, I’ll give my tuppence-worths in three instalments. What is the book corner? Each month, our writing group takes a break from critiquing WIPs to examine a complete, published novel. Everyone […]
My new reading list is too long for every book I’d like to re-read, but one book of writing tips that I often come back to is How Not To Write A Novel. If you’re embarking on a Nanowrimo project, now is a good time to dig into a short book that could make a […]
Literary awards and book prizes are an essential ingredient of the modern publishing industry. A gong on the cover can turn a mid-list novel into an international best-seller, ensuring plaudits (and bonuses) for everyone involved. The novel might even merit a Wikipedia entry. But are lit prizes a sign of quality, a tribute to fan […]