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So, an unnamed person didn't like a recent post at LifeNPublishing, wrote a note that threatened his/her anonymity, and now LNP is no more.

Which, sad.

From the CBC:

The Swedish publisher of the best-selling The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogy said Tuesday it has hired an author to write a sequel to the series by Stieg Larsson, who died in 2004. 

Norstedts said it signed a contract with David Lagercrantz, the author of I am Zlatan, a biography of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the captain of Sweden's soccer team, to write a new novel about journalist Mikael Blomqvist and hacker Lisbeth Salander that is scheduled to be published in August 2015.

Eva Gabrielsson is quoted as calling the endeavor "tasteless", and I'm inclined to agree with her. (Of course, we'll probably never know whether or not her feelings would be the same if she owned the rights...)

I'll most likely skip it in favor of getting caught up on Carol O'Connell's books. LONG LIVE KATHY MALLORY.

Relatedly, from a PW interview with O'Connell:

Tell us a little about the genesis of Kathy Mallory.

Whenever I go out on tour, someone will ask if Mallory is autobiographical. It always startles me. I like to think that I show no markers for a sociopath. Mallory is purely a work of imagination. This answer disappoints everyone.

Ahahahahahahaha.

Also amazing is his Twitter "apology", which doesn't EVEN MENTION DANIEL CLOWES:

I was truly moved by his piece of work & I knew that it would make a poignant & relevant short. I apologize to all who assumed I wrote it.

— Shia LaBeouf (@thecampaignbook) December 17, 2013

Full story at BuzzFeed, of all places.

At BoingBoing:

Vi transcribed the relevant piece, in which Dini recounts conversations he's had with execs who insist that they don't want any girl fans of their shows, because girls don't buy toys. And to keep girls from watching the shows, they make sure that girls are always presented as sidekicks, "one step behind the boys." It's absolutely infuriating.

*headdesk*

*headdesk*

*headdesk*

and also UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

UGH:

Clarke Co. School Board refuses to ban profane book

Like, who thinks that's a good idea? Journalistically, not clickbaitily?

IT'S NOT THAT HARD TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING NON-JUDGEMENTAL:

School board won't bar book couple wanted removed

I mean, nothing about that second one screams I'M TAKING A SIDE to me. A couple. Wanted a book removed. From a school. The board said no.

Or am I missing some angle?

PLUS. That first link? Has one of those videos that starts automatically. So that's annoying, too.

Stephen Amell (AKA Oliver Queen AKA The Hood AKA Green Arrow AKA the star of Josh's favorite CW show except for Hart of Dixie) is in talks for the Fifty Shades of Grey movie:

Speaking in a video posted on his Facebook page, Amell said: "I get questions about Christian Grey all the time. That project is a long way off. I know this, because I had a meeting about it."

Amell then went on to tease his fans, saying: "A long way off. I mean, not that long, but not close. I wouldn't call it long, but I wouldn't call it close."

At GalleyCat:

Jim Carrey to Self-Publish a Children’s Book

As Josh said, at least he's self-publishing it?

...(brace yourself, because this is depressing)... Jane Goodall:

Jane Goodall, the primatologist celebrated for her meticulous studies of chimps in the wild, is releasing a book next month on the plant world that contains at least a dozen passages borrowed without attribution, or footnotes, from a variety of Web sites.

...is imagining the amazingness of whatever she'll be wearing in her author photo:

Danielle Steel is writing a picture book.

...you aren't alone.

Typepad is working on the problem, so hopefully it'll be back to normal soon. :(

In the meantime, if your comment gets eaten, try again or let me know via FB or Twitter, and I'll try to track it down in the spam folder!

At the CBC: Anne Shirley... goes blonde:



(It's an unauthorized edition, BUT STILL. Also, it was apparently in that round-up of hideous cover art that Jezebel did a couple of weeks ago, but I missed it because the art on The Bell Jar was so wrong that I ran screaming (or, well, clicked away) before seeing the rest of the slideshow.)

But, you know, since I had to suffer, I figured I'd share.

From BookRiot:

Goodreads is the largest bookish social network, with over 13 million users- and apparently some of those users have been using the site for something other than book reviewing: sexual roleplay. On Goodreads. Sexual roleplay…on Goodreads.

Oh, CW. For once, you have failed me:

The CW Greenlights ‘Hunger Games’-Esque Reality Series:

THE HUNT is an intense wilderness competition taking place over one month, as 12 teams of two are provided no food, water, or shelter, but must compete in a game where they’ll rely on their physicality, survival skills, and hunting skills to endure their conditions, capture one another, and ultimately win a huge cash prize.

At the Guardian: Britney Spears in talks to write novel.

As fascinating as this all is, it should be noted that the Guardian is incorrect in claiming that this would be BritBrit's first foray into fiction.

From TheForce.net:

Lucasfilm to join company's global portfolio of world class brands including Disney, ESPN, Pixar, Marvel and ABC.

STAR WARS: EPISODE 7 feature film targeted for release in 2015.

The Clone Wars is great (and for that matter, so are the Legos), but MAKE THE MOVIES STOP.

This blog comment seems to suggest as much.

WooooOOOOOoooooOOOOOOOoooooo.

As I said on the FB, I totally always got the creeps when I was in the store's basement by myself at night, but I just chalked it up to my innate, never-totally-kicked fear of being alone in the dark.

(via Chrissy)

_____________________________

*Or whatever it's called now.

The one about the publicity campaign for the YA book with the blackface video?

It's been going on for weeks (or longer?) now, but I only just stumbled across it due to the Io9 link above.

Yikers.

From what I've seen—and yes, this is based solely on only having read articles/essays/rants (and, to be fair-minded, the author's rebuttal) about it and being excruciatingly uncomfortable while watching the video—it does look hugely problematic. But I'd love to hear from someone who's actually read the whole book.

From the Guardian:

Readers will finally be able to read what the books could have been like if erotic romance had been acceptable in that day and age, redefining the boundaries and bringing the classics to a new generation of readers. We're keeping the works as close to the originals as possible. It's not our intention to rewrite them, but to add a deeper relationship and character development to them; to enhance rather than to distort.

Baloney. The relationships and character development already have plenty of depth. You're adding sex scenes to appeal to the erotica and gimmicky mash-up markets, and to jump on the Fifty Shades of Grey bandwagon. I mean, by all means, go for it, but let's not try to dress it up, eh? (<--There's a joke there, but I'm feeling too lazy to put it into words.)

[ETA: Um. The series apparently includes a erotic reworking of SHERLOCK HOLMES.]

From the Daily Mail:

Adrienne Harris, prosecuting, said: ‘Mr Hodgson thought that the book was pornographic, and that she should not read such literature. The argument continued into the following day, with the two exchanging text messages. 

‘He (Hodgson) then went to her home at 7pm on June 26 and took with him a bottle of brown sauce.

‘She answered the door and the argument continued. She went to close the door and he jammed his foot into the door, slapped her once in the face, and then squirted her with this bottle of sauce.’ 

Classy!

In an interview with BBC Breakfast, author GP Taylor argued in favor of putting ratings on children's books, saying:

"I wrote the Vampyre Labyrinth, it came out, I hadn't really read it when I wrote the book, and people who were reading it and reviewing it were saying this is the most frightening thing that has ever been written for kids," said Taylor. "I have changed my mind: I think children's literature has gone too far."

Is he saying that he didn't read the book while he was writing it?

Because that would explain why Shadowmancer was so terrible... so terrible that it inspired me to START THIS BLOG. Perhaps I should re-visit it so I can explain exactly why I found it so terrible. Apparently I didn't feel the need to do that back in 2004.

From Smart Bitches:

The fan response sounds very familiar, as do the elements of the plot: wealthy, overwhelmingly attractive, elusive and authoritative hero; a young, inexperienced heroine. Secrets, chaos, and sex? Sounds very familiar. And it seems this book developed a portion of the same absorbed and enthusiastic fanbase as did 50 Shades, Twilight, and the rest.  

Um. It's a rape-y romance from the '80s. Written and published for the teen audience.

While I'm totally horrified, obviously I need to read it.

After I track a copy down.

Which I can only do after I return all of my overdue books.

Sigh.

I really am the baddest of the Bad Librarians.

I can't help but be tempted by the trailer for Breaking Dawn Part 2:

Confused about my wrath? Check out the bit until the '15 snacks that make you slim' headline.

(via Emily on FB)

Sexist much?

Here y'are!