Origami Unicorn

Against the Trend: NPR Goes For More Book Reviews

National Public Radio hired six new book reviewers and added more features to an already existing lineup of author podcasts, critics' lists and other book-focused content: Jessa Crispin, founder of the literary blog Bookslut.com; John Freeman, book critic and a former president of the National Book Critics Circle; and Laurel Maury, freelance comics and graphic novel reviewer and a longtime contributor to PW Comics Week are all now part of a package designed to heighten the site's appeal to the NPR demographic.

“We’re building up our book coverage because book content really works for our audience,” NPR senior supervising producer Joe Matazzoni said. “Books are among the top three topics attracting traffic to the NPR site.” Much of the sites literary content is in tie-ins to shows such as All Things Considered, but there is an effort underway to expand standalone coverage because, Matazzoni said, it “allows the website to adapt material more specifically for the web.”

The site already promotes links to a number of other interests, such as opera, food, and popular music, and commercial services such as Sirius Radio.

The Day the Earth Stood Still

A classic to this day, that gives insight into the hopes and fears of America in the fifties.

This will be coming out as a remake, with Keanu Reeves, in December 2008. It's to believe they will manage to top one of the great classic films, but we shall see. Meanwhile, if you have not seen the original, do so. Yes, the effects are very fifties, but the story works, the acting is good, and the score is performed on its own merits.

Tiny Toons From Conception to Screen

Here we have a complete and accurate account of how cartoons get made.

Okay, well, maybe a little off-kilter. Here's part two:

Note that Buster and Babs do get mentioned in the closing credits.

WALL-E

It looks like all systems are go for the latest entry from Pixar, opening this evening nationwide.

Espresso at Blackwell

UK publisher Blackwell will put sixty machines in its stores, making it the first major user of the device, which prints books in-store in about fifteen minutes. It's a considerable surge forward for the idea, since there are currently only eleven machines in use.

Miami Books Fair Goes For Graphic Novels

The Miami Book Fair will join with Diamond Comics Distributors to add the dynamic flair and younger demographic drawn by graphic novels. This year will be the show's 25th anniversary. Its mid-November dates make it a favorite of winter-weary New York publishing professionals. Its programming reflects Miami's multi-ethnic community and includes an International Village.

Disney Turns to Graphic Novels

Renowned for their ability to recycle and repurpose material, Disney will be drawing on the less-successful actions films it produced in the '70's and '80's for a new line of graphic novels to be called Kingdom Comics. Each book will be at least one hundred and twenty pages long and contain a complete original story. Successful releases may get sequels. The first two writers will be Scott Lobdell and Steve Niles.

Tasha Tudor, 1915-2008

Award-winning children's book illustrator and author, Tasha Tudor, died June 18, 2008 at the age of ninety-two. She worked on nearly a hundred books, the most recent of which was Corgiville Christmas published in 2003.

Tudor and her four children lived a remarkable lifestyle approximating that of the 1800's, and which reflected, she said, a previous life. The family website, which promotes her work, has more details, but two of her daughters are also illustrators, and other members of her family run what has become a substantial business. You can drop by for Tea Stories and recipes.

Pinocchio en Hiver

Pinocchio looks into a snow globe and it is winter:

Pinocchio Klick Klack

It's in French but you'll have no problems figuring it out.