During her lifetime, critics dismissed Daphne du Maurier as a lightweight romance novelist—a categorization that infuriated the bestselling author. The Christian Science Monitor said that her masterpiece, Rebecca, “would be here today, gone tomorrow.” Time has been kind to du Maurier, however; Rebecca enjoys continued popularity—voted the fifteenth “best loved novel” in a 2003 BBC survey—and du Maurier is now acknowledged as a master suspense writer.
Imagine skimming through a new novel at the bookstore, when suddenly your name jumps unexpectedly off the page. With a little more digging, you realize that the character carrying your identity is not saving the day or getting the girl. He’s not even a plucky sidekick – he’s the villain.
This week has been action packed for sci-fi fans: Friday saw the opening of Peter Jackson's second installment of The Hobbit, based on JRR Tolkien's famous novel. And tomorrow the trailer of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes will be unveiled. When the first Planet of the Apes adaptation was produced back in the 1960's, author Pierre Boulle had thought the book unsuitable for adaptation.
October is the month of goblins, ghosts, and ghouls. While these imaginary creatures are surely scary, another sort of monster has fascinated and frightened us since 1886. That year, Robert Louis Stevenson published Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The tale has gripped generations of readers because it reminds us that we all have monsters lurking within.
Today Elmore Leonard passed away at his home, surrounded by his family. The American author had recently suffered a stroke. Leonard was an incredibly prolific author who occupied the worlds of popular culture and literature.
On June 3, 1936, Larry McMurtry was born in Archer City, Texas. Famous for his novels about the American West, McMurtry has had a rich career as a writer--and as a bookseller. Though he's since retired from both careers, McMurtry has made an indelible mark on the book collecting world.
Today "The Great Gatsby" premiers in the United States. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby and Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan, the movie has been long awaited in circles of moviegoers and readers alike. The film brings a classic novel to a new audience, giving us a fresh perspective on the book that's often considered Fitzgerald's magnum opus. Fitzgerald, a member of "the Lost Generation" and a contemporary of legendary authors, thinkers, and artists like Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, and Pablo Picasso, held a peculiar place among his peers. He continues to captivate us--sometimes in surprising ways.
Tonight marks the 85th Annual Academy Awards, lovingly known as the Oscars. The awards recognize the year's best in film, acting, and production. This year's nominees for the honor of best film include Life of Pi, the charming and innovative novel by Yann Martel. Movie adaptations of books are frequent contenders at the Oscars, and if Life of Pi wins Best Picture, the movie will join an illustrious list of films that started as books. Find it and many other first editions in our Movie Tie-Ins category.
Today marks the birthday of John Gardner, the British author who succeeded Kingsley Amis as the bearer of Ian Fleming's James Bond legacy. Before his writing career, Gardner was a commando, an Anglican priest, and a theatrical journalist.
