Those of you paying attention to recent entertainment headlines may have caught the news that, after years of negotiations, two films based on The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendary prelude to The Lord of the Rings, have been officially greenlit. That’s right — TWO films! One based on The Hobbit, another inspired by the reams of background material Tolkien wrote (check out the Return of the King appendices, The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales for a glimpse at some of this exciting material). This opens the way for popular characters such as Aragorn, Legolas and Saruman to return, even though they don’t directly appear in the book!
Although Rings director Peter Jackson is attached to produce and oversee the films, a new director will be hired. While nothing’s set in stone yet, the smart money’s on Spanish fantasist Guillermo Del Toro, the director of The Devil’s Backbone, Blade II, Hellboy and, most recently, Pan’s Labyrinth. (This is terrific news to me, since I found Pan’s Labyrinth to be one of the best films of recent years.) If Del Toro drops out of the running, the name of Sam Raimi, director of the Evil Dead and Spiderman trilogies, has also been mentioned. Which one would you prefer?
The films aren’t due until 2009 at the earliest, so while you’re waiting, why not check out The Hobbit graphic novel, or the recently published The Children of Húrin? The Hobbit is also available in a great annotated edition, with lots of rare pictures and behind-the-scenes info. And, of course, if you haven’t seen the Extended Edition DVDs of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King, they’re filled with great scenes and characters that never made theaters!
January 28, 2008
Looking for a good book? Look no further, YALSA has already done the work for you. YALSA (young adult library services association) has just recently announced the 2008 winners of a variety of awards. You might be familiar with the Caldecott or Newberry awards that are awarded to books for children and juveniles respectively. YALSA has a series of similar awards for 
young adult titles. The main award is called a Printz award and it has been awarded for many great books including American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang and Looking for Alaska by John Green. This year’s winner is The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean.
In addition to the Printz award YALSA has a variety of other award and book list categories each year that are worth checking out. There is a list called Great Graphic Novels for Teens, which is fairly self explanatory. There are the Alex Awards, which are awards given for books 
that were written for adults but have appeal for teens. There is also the Teens’ Top Ten list, which is a list of the top ten books each year voted on by teens during teen read week, which is usually in October. Last years #1 on the Teens Top Ten list was New Moon by Stephenie Meyer.
So, if you are wondering what to read next, check out the YALSA booklists and awards website and you are sure to find something you would want to read.
January 24, 2008
What are you enjoying?
One of the reasons for creating this blog is to provide a place for people to discuss all the assorted types of media that they enjoy. To accomplish that I am going to ask you every month or two about what you have enjoyed recently. So, please use the comments to share your thoughts on the best experience you have had recently with a book, movie, music, game, etc… I will lead us off.
I am currently reading The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan and I absolutely love it. It is about a twelve year old boy named Percy Jackson who has bounced around from school to school, and is worried he might be expelled from his current school. What Percy soon realizes is that there is a reason for all of his previous troubles. It turns out that Percy is a Hero, and by Hero I mean one of his parents is a God, one of the 12 ancient Greek gods that is. This story has a ton of action and reminds me of a mixture of Harry Potter and Homers Odyssey. If you’re a fan of Harry Potter, or of the Pendragon series you would most likely love this book.
I have also been listening to two relatively new albums lately, and I would recommend both of them. The first one is called Challengers, by The New Pornographers. The New Pornographers are a Canadian indie band. You may well have heard of Neko Case, one of the band members who has done a lot of her own stuff as well. This new album is great and seems to be getting a lot of national attention, as I first heard some of it on NPR. The second album I would recommend is Chase This Light by Jimmy Eat World. Jimmy Eat World is often considered one of the early greats of the Emo movement and they were one of the first bands to release an Emo album on a major label. This new album does not disappoint, especially if you have enjoyed any of their early music, as it reminds me a lot Clarity, their well known 1999 release.
So, how about you? What have you enjoyed recently?
January 14, 2008
Just a quick note for fans of Scott Westerfield’s hugely successful “Uglies” trilogy (Uglies, Pretties and Specials) – a sequel/companion book called Extras has been out since October.
In the universe of “Uglies”, genetically enhanced “perfection” ruled, and normal was considered “ugly”. This time around, “‘Tech-heads’ flaunt their latest gadgets, ‘kickers’ spread gossip and trends, and ’surge monkeys’ are hooked on extreme plastic surgery. And it’s all monitored on a bazillion different cameras. The world is like a gigantic game of American Idol. Whoever is getting the most buzz gets the most votes. Popularity rules.“
As of this blog entry, there’s still a waiting list for Extras, so place your hold ASAP!
January 9, 2008
