More after the jump!
1. Longtime friend of The Mysterious Bookshop, Jason Pinter, has started a twitter tag called #booknerd. For a book enthusiasts like you and me, this is equivalent to seeing your name in lights, now all we need is an “Empire State of Mind”-esque tribute— ideally orchestrated by Trent Reznor. So all of those nights you spend hiding under covers reading Nancy Drew, the heavy handed thesis on Agatha Christie you wrote at your liberal arts college, and the Friday nights you spent twitching in glee at book signings have come to fruition in the most divine, the most modern way: #booknerd. My favorite tweet so far?: My bookshelves at home are arranged by emotional attachment #booknerd @jasonpinter. (via Huffington Post)
2. If I had a child, I can 98% guarantee that she/he would throw the chesty Barbie doll or equally as chesty ( … disturbing) GI Joe action figure into the fire upon seeing these handmade dolls. These creepily accurate dolls include the likes of Joyce Carroll Oates, JR Tolkien and others. The dolls come fully equipped with props and tiny versions of their most famous books, the only thing missing, as pointed out by a macabre commenter, is Sylvia Plath’s miniature oven… too soon?
3. Independent bookstores have had a long standing in the foundation of culture. From Shakespeare & Co in Paris, City Lights in San Fran, Powells in Portland, The Strand in NYC and, obviously, The Mysterious Bookshop in Tribeca, indie bookshops offer more than just the penned products of today and yesteryear. If you are reading this blog, then clearly I’m preaching to the crime fiction choir when I say that independent bookstores offer an essential lifeblood and sense of community in the literary world. As you may have heard, Amazon.com is bringing out the big guns in the battle for world word domination in their new app, where a potential customer can scan a barcode at any brick and mortar shop to get an online discount. Slate’s technology columnist, Farhad Manjoo has published an argument in support of this customer-poaching scheme, claiming indie bookshops to be “cultish, moldering institutions.” (crickets, crickets). But despair not, my ferocious book warriors, I expect the end of this war to be like the final scene in Braveheart… FREEDOM!
4. Jury is out on the recently-announced remake of the cinematic adaptation of Brett Easton Ellis’ serial killer masterpiece American Psycho, I personally think that no human can trump Christian Bale’s portrayal of Patrick Bateman (not to mention his abs, I mean come on!). But none the less, the remake has sparked a renewed interest in both Ellis’ novel and Jim Thomson’s The Killer Inside of Me. Joseph Dargue has published a very interesting article entitled Fractured Reflection on crimeculture.com. Check it out. (via Mulholland Books).
5. Beat The Reaper by Josh Bazell has been picked for a new drama series with HBO. The show is being penned by Brian Koppleman (who, if you remember, was in the shop about 2 weeks ago signing copies of Block’s Afterthoughts) and David Levien of Ocean’s Thirteen, and is being produced by Leo DiCaprio. As if I didn’t already have Dexter, American Horror Story and Walking Dead episodes to catch up on! (via Deadline).
Have a good one.
--Alex
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