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News and Miscellany - Book Club

Who's Your Favourite Harry Potter Character?

March 15th 2007 06:22
Severus Snape


Someone asked me this question the other day and it got me thinking. I couldn't answer it straight away as there are so many great characters...

Sirius Black is way cool. Ron always entertains me. Dumbledore and McGonagall both have their moments, and Mundungus is great too. But I think when it comes down to it I'd have to say my favourite character is Professor Snape.


Every time I read a Harry Potter book I find myself just thinking, 'Hurry up and get to the next Snape bit!' He always keeps me glued to the page, and no matter what he says or does I'm still never 100% sure about him. Is he good or bad? Where do his allegiances really lie? Well, the exciting thing is - we'll finally get some kind of answer when the final Harry Potter book is released this June.

So, anyway, who's your favourite Harry Potter character?
Do you think Snape is good or bad?
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Tintin to made into a film by Steven Spielberg!

March 11th 2007 07:29
tintin blue lotus


This is only marginally book-related (comics), but I love Tintin so much that I think I'll put this piece of news up here anywhere.

It looks like Steven Spielberg is finally making a live-action Tintin film. I remember reading a couple of years ago that he currently owned the rights but wasn't intending to do anything with them yet... but, well, it looks like the time has come!


For anyone who's been away for the last 80 years, Tintin is a world famous Belgian comic by gifted artist and storyteller, Herge. The comics detail the adventures of a morally-upstanding boy-journalist who travels all over the world with his dog, Snowy. The stories are a mix of political satire and heart-stopping adventure with a big wallop of old-fashioned derring do and a great cast of supporting characters.

It should be noted that Spielberg might just be acting as producer, it's his company, Dreamworks, that will be making the film - a director is yet to be announced. I don't think Spielberg will direct himself as he tends to only make HUGE movies these days and I can't really see a Tintin film being a blockbuster along the lines of War of the Worlds. Here's hoping Spielberg doesn't cast Tom Hanks as Tintin either!

The good news is that Herge Studios (set up back in 1950 to help the author of Tintin put his comic serials together) is involved and has already started pre-production. The film is scheduled for release in 2009. It's yet to be decided or announced which particular Tintin adventure will be adapted for film.

So... Tintin fans reading this... what Tintin adventure would you like to see on the big screen?
And who should play Tintin? Or (if the story is one that involves him) who should play Captain Haddock?

Personally, I'd love to see 'The Blue Lotus' but unfortunately I don't think it will happen because it's connected to another adventure, 'The Cigars of the Pharoahs'. Others I'd like to see include 'The Crab with the Golden Claws' and 'The Broken Ear'.

As for Tintin, if this was made ten years ago then I think Jude Law would've been good, but I have no idea who I'd cast now. Maybe Leonardo DiCaprio? He has that boyish look about him, and he's been proving himself to be a pretty great actor lately... maybe he's too old as well though.
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New books in March and Beyond

March 9th 2007 08:31
Carrying on from yesterday's post, here are some more new releases and a forthcoming release.

The Widow and her Hero

The Widow and Her Hero by Tom Keneally
The latest novel from Booker-prize winning author and would-be writer of the Australian constitution, Tom Keneally, is a story about truth and the past. Keneally is probably most well-known as the author of 'Schindler's Ark', the prize-winning novel that inspired Steven Spielberg's film 'Schindler's List'. Keneally's last novel, 'The Tyrant's Novel' was released in 2003.

The Company by Max Barry

The Company by Max Barry
This is the third novel by increasingly popular Australian cult author Max Barry. His previous two novels were 'Jennifer Government' and 'Syrup'. All three of his novels have been optioned by film companies interested in developing them for the screen. Apparently this book was released about a year ago, but I don't know - I never even noticed it until it came out in the smaller-paperback form recently (!)

The Quest by Wilbur Smith

The Quest by Wilbur Smith
This latest novel from blockbuster action-in-africa author Wilbur Smith is the fourth book in his 'Ancient Egyptian' series. This series started with 'River God', which is perhaps his most well-known work. 'The Quest' is currently listed as being due out in May, but I've heard that it might see release in Australia sometime in April.
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New books in March

March 8th 2007 08:10
Well, there have been a lot of new books coming out lately, and a few more on the horizon too. I thought I'd talk a little bit about some of them over today and tomorrow.

lady friday

Lady Friday by Garth Nix
This is the fifth book in Australian author Garth Nix's teen-aimed fantasy series, 'The Keys to the Kingdom'. The cover above is not actually the cover for the Australian release, I think it's the UK cover. Anyway, this book actually got released today, and any bookshop that's on the ball should have it on their shelf by now.

Salmon Fishing in Yemen

Salmon Fishing in Yemen by Paul Torday
This is the debut novel by Paul Torday, who studied english literature at college before embarking on a career in business. This book of life, love, politics and dreams promises to be a memorable foray into literature for anyone interested, and touts an impressive cast of quirky characters. Already in release.

Plum Lovin

Plum Lovin'
Janet Evanovich's latest crime-comedy-caper, 'Plum Lovin', is already riding high in the bestseller lists. This novella is a 'between the numbers novel' from her Stephanie Plum series, and acts as a teaser for the soon-to-be-released full-length adventure 'Lean Mean Thirteen'. It's short, sweet and cheap.

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Pullitzer Prize for Fiction

March 6th 2007 10:29
march by geraldine brooks


I'm kind of snowed under a bit lately with stuff, haven't really had much of a chance to read any books. Anyway, I figure I might as well put up another list of Prize-winning novels - better than not putting anything up at all, ay


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Elizabeth Jolley dies

March 3rd 2007 10:20
Elizabeth Jolley
Elizabeth Jolley (1923-2007)


I'm not really all that familiar with her work, but I thought I'd report this anyway (albeit belatedly), as she made quite a dent on Australia's literary scene in her time


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Some more books that caught my eye lately

March 2nd 2007 07:53
Working in bookstores, and being around books all day, and always thinking about books because of this blog, and trying to find time to read books... it all adds up to books on the brain. So it's only natural that, despite having close to fifty unread books currently sitting on my shelf, I would be drawn to a few other books I've spotted lately. I can't help myself. Here are some tempting tomes I've been eyeing off and hoping to read soon...

Wasp Factory

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New Up & Coming Books

February 27th 2007 04:08
Tolkein


The Children of Hurin by J.R.R. Tolkein
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Films Based on Books

February 24th 2007 08:47
I'm going to do something a bit different today. I'm going to talk about (and link to reviews of) some films that have been based on novels.

Little Children

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Commonwealth Writers Prize

February 22nd 2007 03:40
The Carpathians


Just a quick post today, thought I'd put up a list of the Commonwealth Writers Prize winners. There's a few good books in the list, so I'd say it's pretty reputable guide if you're looking for some decent literature to read


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Some upcoming releases

February 20th 2007 00:12
Here are three books that should be coming to our shores in the next couple of months.


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Schapelle Corby cops it hard

February 14th 2007 00:40
A bit off-topic, but this relates to a story an article I ran on here a while ago when Schapelle Corby's book was first due to be released. This article can be read here.

Some pretty damn irrefutable evidence is starting to emerge in regards to Schapelle's guilt regarding the drugs-in-bodyboard-bag arrest. Today Tonight did a story - and some unaffiliated news programs have picked up this story since, which might be a first for Today Tonight - on one of Schapelle's old 'friends'. This woman, Jodi Power, says that Schapelle and Schapelle's sister, Mercedes, asked her if she would do a drug run to Bali and that they said they had done them before. What makes this particularly damning is that Power passed two out of three polygraph tests. Story here
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Some Selected Reviews

February 13th 2007 09:47
Bit busy at the moment with other projects, but in the meantime here are some older reviews and articles that might be worth checking out if you've only found this blog recently.

The Snapper - Roddy Doyle's second novel is a wonderful and realistically funny story of unwed pregnancy in suburban Ireland


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The Spiderwick Chronicles come to the screen

February 12th 2007 08:15


Lately I've been speaking a fair bit about children's fantasy books being adapted for the screen. Well, it seems there's no shortage of film execs looking to jump on the Harry Potter bandwagon, and virtually every half-decent children's fantasy series is at some stage of movie development at a result. Last week I spoke about 'The Amulet of Samarkand' being developed for the screen, and mentioned other projects already arrived, on the cards and forthcoming sharpish ('His Dark Materials', 'Inkheart', 'The Spook's Apprentice', 'Eragon', 'Lemoney Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events', etc, etc). Well, it appears there is now another to add to that list, 'The Spiderwick Chronicles


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