Game of Thrones, S. 5, E. 1: “The Wars to Come”

April 13, 2015 by Caitlin

Welcome to season 5, folks! These posts will contain spoilers for the episodes, as well as discussion of book content (but I promise not to spoil any book events that haven’t happened yet). Looking forward to discussing this season with you! Sometimes, despite excellent acting, superb writing and all-around awesome source material, Game of Thrones is BORING. Season 5 welcomed us with a verifiable snoozefest, even though it did its best to set the stage for action to come. Let […]

Categories: Adaptations • Tags: game of thrones, game of thrones episode review, HBO, Song of Ice and Fire

Valar Must-Eat-It: All Men Must Pig Out – Literary Happy Hour

April 11, 2015 by Caitlin

The much-loved and highly raged about HBO after-school special Game Of Thrones (what, you don’t think it’s family friendly?) returns this Sunday, April 12, to the delight of fans everywhere. As the show is reaching the end of current book-related content, this season is sure to present a lot of shocks for everyone, not just those who skipped the books. While everyone’s getting eager for boobs and bloodshed and bastards, I decided to steel myself for this upcoming season with […]

Categories: Happy Hour • Tags: cooking, game of thrones, HBO, Literary Happy Hour, Song of Ice and Fire, valar morghulis

Top Five Fantasy Comics (For People Who Don’t Read Comics)

April 7, 2015 by Caitlin

When asked the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions comic books, I’d warrant a guess that many people think “superheroes.” You know the type – square jawed and muscular, super-human talents and tights. I mean, this association isn’t wrong, but it’s where many literature enthusiasts I know often draw the line between books and comics – the superhero thing just doesn’t do it for those who get swept up in fantasy and folklore. Good news, everyone – […]

Categories: Best Of • Tags: Bill Willingham, Bone, comic books, Fables, fantasy, folklore, graphic novels, Hellboy, Jeff Smith, Neil Gaiman, Sandman, wonder woman

Woman Crush Wednesday: Madeleine L’Engle

April 1, 2015 by Caitlin

Popular Works: A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in The Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, An Acceptable Time, Troubling a Star About Her: Madeleine L’Engle, born November 29, 1918, published her first book, A Wrinkle In Time in 1960, though she began writing at the wee age of five. She’s most notable for her Kairos and Chronos series, which feature the Murry and O’Keefe families respectively, but has published more than 60 books. Fun Fact: A Wrinkle In Time was […]

Categories: Ladies • Tags: A Wrinkle In Time, children's literature, Hope Larson, Madeline L'Engle

The Prison Ballerina, A Ghost Story – The Walls Around Us Review

March 24, 2015 by Caitlin

Title: The Walls Around Us Author: Nova Ren Suma Genre: Young Adult Published: March 24, 2015 Rating: ★★★★☆ Sometimes, despite age-old advice, you judge a book by its cover. Sometimes, in a time when Pinterest and Instagram fuel one’s obsession with typography and graphic design, a cover deems a book not only a “want” but a “must have,” no matter what the contents. And then, delightfully, sometimes you are truly lucky, as you judged a book by its cover and discovered that the insides were even […]

Categories: Book Review • Tags: ballet, Nova Ren Suma, prison, The Walls Around Us, YA, young adult

Goodbye, Terry Pratchett

March 12, 2015 by Caitlin

We lost one of the greats today. Sir Terry Pratchett, aged 66, creator of Discworld and countless characters and fantasies, passed away at home, with his family and cat by his side. What do you say about a hero? Selfishly, I am entirely heartbroken at his passing. I always wanted to meet the man behind some of my favorite books, and that chance has passed. His wit and wisdom was such a gift – hysterical, dry humor, wry as only a British […]

Categories: Featured • Tags: Terry Pratchett

2015 Academy Awards: Literary(ish) Drinking Games and Live Blogging

February 22, 2015 by Caitlin

The 87th Annual Academy Awards are tonight!  Sure, the Academy Awards are all about movies, but as we see time, and time again, our favorite thing – books – inspire the silver screen even more than Jennifer Lawrence. We think that’s as fine a reason as any to tune into the event (and of course to gossip about all the best star fashions). Exactly which movies were inspired by books this year? Here’s a pretty conclusive list by The Reading […]

Categories: Adaptations • Tags: 2015 Academy Awards, Neil Patrick Harris, Oscars, the book was better than the movie

Fifty Shades of Crap

February 12, 2015 by Caitlin

It’s here, like it or not, the movie that people have drooled over, laughed at, debated heavily and are even boycotting. Fifty Shades of Grey has arrived on the big screen, and we’ve got one word for you, stolen from the biten lips of the main character herself: Crap. Anastasia thinks or utters the word “Crap” nearly one hundred times in this book, varying from “Holy crap” (the most popular), to the dreaded “Double crap.” It’s all just so… crappy. I think…I […]

Categories: Adaptations • Tags: Anastasia Steele, bad writing, crap, double crap, el james, Fifty Shades of Grey, holy crap

Sort of Scary Stories to Tell in The Dark – Trigger Warning Review

February 11, 2015 by Caitlin

Title: Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances Author: Neil Gaiman Published: February 2, 2015 Genre: Fiction, Short stories Rating: ★★★★☆ One can always expect the same thing from Neil Gaiman: he’s going to take you on a weird ride. Trigger Warning, his newly release book of short stories is no different. Comprised of 23 of Gaiman’s short stories and poems, this compilation was inspired by one of the most, in my humble opinion, misused terms on the internet: “Trigger warning.” […]

Categories: Book Review • Tags: creepy, doctor who, fiction, Neil Gaiman, poetry, sherlock holmes, short stories, Trigger Warning