Category Archives: Book Column

Book Column, Gifts for Book Lovers

iPad Case for a Book Geek

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Here is a pretty stylish book-inspired iPad case for the book lover in your life. Actually the 12 South Travel Journal is more like a briefcase for your iPad that looks like a book:

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This case retails for $99 and you can buy it from the 12 South site. The cover is pretty darn swanky looking and just like any good leather bound book, you can really only start to appreciate the whole story once you’ve opened it.

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Lots of pockets, sleeves, bands, cable holders, slots, zippers, pouches and organization going on it here. I have no idea what that object is going down the spine on the inside. Maybe a tripod of some kind? But it’s a missed opportunity if it’s not an easel for propping up a book (or an iPad, I guess, if you have to).

And according to the specs it will house any iPad or iPad mini. I’ve yet to get to a place in life where I tote the iPad around outside of work. But this iPad case kind of makes me want to.

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Book Column, Book Talk, Movies

Four New Films Based on Books

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The recent release of The Martian movie trailer, based on Weir’s book of the same title, got me thinking – what other books I liked have upcoming movies?

So I searched around and dug up info on these four films. Let me bracket all of this by saying – I do not know squat about Hollywood. I have a vague understanding what “optioned” means and what having a producer attached to film vs. a director with no actors indicates about just how far along a film is in the process. So some of these may never see the light of day. But the interest is good.

And it seems to me that you’d want to crank out a quality film while the book it’s based on is still highly ranked in the public’s collective hippocampus. But again – I don’t know Hollywood. What I do know is a good book when I read it, so if these films based on books do happen and they’re as good as the book they’re based on, then it may be worth an $80 movie pass (or whatever movies cost these days).

Into-Thin-Air_coverInto Thin Air by Jon Krakauer – this is the second time Krakauer’s true story about climbing Mount Everest has been made into a film. The title of this film is simply Everest and stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Keira Knightley and Josh Brolin. Looks like everything is on track for a September 18th release date.

 

 

Ready_Player_One_coverReady Player One by Ernest Cline – Steven Spielberg has signed on to direct this one. I can absolutely see this book working as a film. Everything from the real-world vertical trailer parks to the special effects needed for the game sequences would be great on the big screen. It’s still in the writing stage it looks like, so no word on a release date.

 

The_Girl_With_All_The_Gifts_coverThe Girl With All the Gifts by Mike Carey – the title has been changed to She Who Brings Gifts and parts of it started being filmed last month. The story paints a bleak future where humanity has been almost wiped out by fungus/plant infections. Glen Close and Gemma Arterton are acting in this one. Looks like it’s slated for 2016.

 

 

goldfinch-donna-tartt_CoverThe Goldfinch by Donna Tartt – last year’s Pulitzer Prize winner has been optioned and has a producer. The screenplay is being drafted by the same guy who did Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy, to give you an idea of how they’re thinking about this film. There is no release date or start date for this movie yet.

 

 

But of course we all know, no matter how good any 90 minute film is…

TheBookWasBetter

Birmingham, Book Column

Heavenly Donut Co. + Free Books

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I love when a local shop steps up and surprises you. Such is the case with The Heavenly Donut Co., here in Birmingham, AL. I went for the bacon maple donut, but stayed for all of the books! Over to the left of the eating area, by the couch, is a big case of books. It was great.Heavenly_Donut_co

The whole setup operates on the simple premise:

Take One, Leave One.

So it’s free book and tasty donuts? Awesome. To date I have snagged one book and left two. I’ll have to swing by periodically to see if there’s anything else I’d like to read. I don’t make it out to that side of town much, but folks out there have pretty good reading tastes judging by the batch of donated books. Or is it dough-nated? Ew. Sorry. Bad pun.

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So check them out. The Heavenly Donut Co. opens around 6 a.m. on weekdays and closes around 9 p.m. which are great hours. They are on Twitter too.

Do you know of any other book exchanges around Birmingham? I listed a few like Crestwood Coffee Shop here in an earlier post, but would love to visit some place new and see what’s out there.

 

 

Book Column, Book Covers, Book Design, Upcoming Titles

Go Set a Watchman Releases in 4 Weeks

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Ok, folks – Harper Lee’s new book hits book store shelves in less than a month, on July 14th. You can pre-order all of the internet or your local bookstore. It’s been fun seeing how awareness of the book has developed. And it all started with the origin of the manuscript and all the questions surrounding that.

Now the covers are out. As with just about any book published today, it’s fun to compare the U.S. cover with the British cover. First, we have the U.S. cover, which seems to be purposefully designed to match the vintage To Kill a Mockingbird cover.

Go Set a Watchman is set 20 years after the end of TKAM, but the cover certainly lets you know you’re in the same place. Here’s the original 1st edition cover:

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While over across the pond they seem to have gone a little more modern noir feel I think, but the type is period.

Most of the time I usually prefer the U.K. counterparts to U.S. covers, but this time I’m non-plussed. The fact that the author’s name is set the same as the title feels weird. It’s as if the marketing and design teams could not come to an agreement so they just threw their hands up and said “Make it all the same size” or something.

Though I do like the way they shadowed in the words To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s a bit literal for me, but it’s ok.

Both covers have an October harvest vibe as well. Maybe that figures in heavily to the story? We’ll have to wait and find out! It will be interesting to keep up with the reviews once they start rolling out when the book is released on July 14th. And to watch sales numbers. I know some folks took a step back when Harper Lee’s letters didn’t fetch a reserve price at a recent auction, but the crowd that buys million dollar scribbles is a totally different crowd than those waiting to see what Harper Lee has to say about Scout and Atticus.

What do you think of the covers? Have you pre-ordered the book or are you tired of the hype?