‘Walking Dead’ Producer Still Wants Rick Grimes Movies

by Valarie D'Amico
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Fans of The Walking Dead who miss the cop turned zombie killer Rick Grimes need not worry – producer Scott Gimple is still hopeful for three movies concerning the protagonist.

“We live in a world where everything is changing moment to moment,” Gimple tells Insider when asked if it would still be a trio of movies,” that said [it’s] still a theatrical movie, still hoping to be a trilogy.”

 

After it was announced that Rick (played by Andrew Lincoln) would be leaving the show, the movies were shortly announced. There hasn’t been much information on the project since then. With the announcement of season 11 being the final season, AMC implied a single film already in production. Both Andrew Lincoln and show creator Robert Kirkman are both heavily involved in the project. AMC has yet to say anything else.

One thing is for sure, though; everyone is dead set on this project.

Featured image vie The Hollywood Reporter

#BOOKSTAGRAMMER OF THE WEEK: @BOOKBOOKOWL

by Anna Borisova
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We’re back with #bookstagrammer of the week, featuring @bookbookowl! She’s one half of a small business, a fan of bright colors and rainbow shelves, and an avid reviewer!

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Jen | Perth, Australia ???????? (@bookbookowl) on Aug 2, 2020 at 2:29am PDT

Why did you start your Bookstagram?

I’d become a first time mum 9 months before and I really wanted some sort of hobby project to keep me connected with a community online.  The typical ‘mum blogs’ don’t interest me, so I decided I’d make an instagram account for my real passion – books.  I had no idea the bookstagram community was so big and fell in love with it immediately. 

Where are you from?

I’m from Perth, Western Australia!

 

What do you want your Instagram to bring to the world?

I really enjoy bringing attention to books people might not have discovered otherwise.  There are so many book releases that it’s easy for great books to fly under the radar.  I also just try to bring a bit of happiness to people, with a rainbow of colours and fun discussions!

Fun Fact about you?

I have a flock of ducks at home.  Our head Drake’s name is Duck Norris and he has graced my bookstagram photos all of once (he disgraced himself on my favourite jeans and hasn’t been allowed back yet).

 

Favorite Bookstagrammers?

I have made some incredible bookstagrammer friends, some of them I count among my very best friends.  They include @readthewriteact @sam_the_fangirl_ and @bookishbiologist , who all have incredible accounts!  I also adore @paperfury and @xenatine , who both inspired me when I started my rainbow account.

Favorite Books and Authors?

It’s so hard for me to pick favourites!  I can barely pick a favourite in each genre. Some of my favourites though are The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett, The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvator, the Scythe series by Neal Schusterman, Jurassic Park and pretty much anything written by Jay Kristoff!  

 

Fictional Crush?

I think it would have to be Rhysand from A Court of Thorns and Roses.  I especially like his amusing banter.  I’m too far past strictly brooding bad boys, they need to be a little bit fun!

TBR List?

My TBR list consists of over 300 books on my shelves I haven’t read!  I read around 15-20 books a month and I don’t think I’ll ever catch up.  A couple on my immediate “read this month” list are Rage and Ruin by Jennifer L Armentrout, The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum and Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust.

image via @bookbookowl

What’s Your Special Approach to Content?

Basically, I try to balance featuring new books I receive from publishers with people’s old favourites.  I also run monthly photo challenges and try to participate in them myself as well.  

Aesthetic / Instagram page theme?

RAINBOW.  All the colour! I’m far from a beige lover and enjoy splashing as much colour about as possible.

 

How often do you post?

I post twice a day, every day.

What does your Bookstagram mean to you?

It’s really one of the biggest things in my life right now!  The friendships I have made, the relationships I’ve formed with publishers and other businesses, they’re absolutely invaluable to me.  It’s also a tie in to the businesses I now run (my bookmark business and a book tour business I own with @readthewriteact, called @readthebooktours)

image via @bookbookowl

Favorite Bookstore?

Unfortunately, I don’t have many bookstores near me.  The closest one is QBD books and they are a 45 minute drive away.  We also have a real lack of hardcover books in Australia, which is my preferred format, so I usually buy most of my books online at Book Depository.  

Who would you have supply you with a lifetime of books?

Jay Kristoff.  Hands down. He can make me laugh, cry and yell (sometimes at him with those cliffhanger endings) all in the same book.  I’d never be bored.

 

Author to take a selfie with?

Still Jay Kristoff. 

Favorite book cover?

Oooh that’s a hard one!  I have so many!  I do absolutely adore the UK Nevernight by Jay Kristoff covers and the cover for The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton!

image via @bookbookowl

Book you have claimed to have read that you didn’t?

I don’t think I’ve ever done that, to be honest.  I don’t believe in ‘reader shaming’ or certain books being ‘required reading’ like I hear people say of some classic books.  If I like the sound of a book, I’ll read it.  If I don’t, I won’t, and I don’t see the point in pretending I have read one I haven’t. 

When did you know you had made it as a Bookstagrammer?

I think it was the first time a publisher approached me and asked if I’d like to be added to their book review copy list.  I remember I had 5,000 followers, but I didn’t feel like I had really been noticed until that happened and I suddenly thought “Wait, I think I’m a real bookstagrammer!”)

 

Favorite fandoms?

Nevernight, Scythe and Six of Crows

Advice for aspiring Bookstagrammers?

Set out to make friends, not just followers.  Talk to people in DM’s, comment on other bookstagrammer’s posts, reply to comments on your own posts, join in monthly photo challenges.  Don’t play the ‘follow then unfollow to get noticed’ game.  No-one likes that and you’re likely to be noticed for the wrong reasons.  It’s ok whether you’re on bookstagram to just casually drop in or you want to grow to be a large account.   But, if you do want to build a large following, you’ll only get there through commitment.  The people you see with a large amount of followers spend a lot of time and effort on their accounts.  

Featured image via @BookBookOwl

 

‘Black Beauty’ Adaptation to Premiere on Disney Plus

by Raven Boisclair
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Black Beauty, a classic novel by Anna Sewell, is slated for a Disney Plus adaptation in late 2020.

Kate Winslet will lend her voice to the lead steed, also starring Mackenzie Foy, Iain Glen, and Claire Forlani.

Black Beauty was written in 1871 during Sewell’s final years and was the only book she had ever written. Due to an ankle injury at age fourteen, she relied on horse-drawn carriages for transportation, inspiring her admiration for horses. The novel, narrated by wild horse Black Beauty, discusses his life from beginning to end with moral lessons along the way. It heavily promotes animal rights and even initiated legislation against abuse toward horses in England and the United States. As Sewell writes in the book:

My doctrine is this, that if we see cruelty or wrong that we have the power to stop, and do nothing, we make ourselves sharers in the guilt.

Disney’s take on the classic chronicles the capture of Black Beauty as she is taken from her family. She finds companionship in Jo Green, a teenager who has lost her parents. The shared experience allows them to find strength in one another.

The screenplay will be written and directed by Ashley Avis, who previously directed Adolescence, with production by Jeremy Bolt and Robert Kulzer.

Although the novel was not strictly created for children, it is a cherished story for many and will surely make its way into the hearts of Disney fans and animal lovers.

Featured image via screencrush

V. E. Schwab Announces a Villain Series Spin-Off

by Anna Borisova
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This weekend, Comic-Con refused to be stopped by the pandemic and instead chose to hold remote panels. They are free to watch on their Youtube channel if you’re interested! Some of the high-profile presenters included Noelle Stephenson, L. L. Kinney, and yes, V. E. Schwab! She already had a comics background, having written a Shades of Magic prequel, The Steel Prince. As such, it initially seemed like her panel would only be about the final installment in the series. However, there was something else in the last few minutes of the panel!

 

Yes, it was an announcement of one more collaboration between the fast-growing fantasy author and Titan Comics! In the panel itself, V. E. Schwab discusses her interest in the “cinematic aesthetic” that the visual format would bring to superpowers described in the book series. However, she did not discuss the actual plotline of the announced spin-off to the Villains series. Instead, she later posted it on her Instagram.

 

Per the post, the comic will be set between Vicious and Vengeful and will star an entirely new protagonist. Her name is Charlie, and she gains the ability to see people’s deaths and futures in reflective surfaces after a near-death experience. This ability apparently works on her as well, since she predicts her death at the hands of Eli, who is the series’ main antagonist. Not content with dying at the hands of the man who views all people with superpowers as monsters that must be exterminated, she leaves for Merit, the city where the books take place, to avert this.

 

No information on the art team was provided yet, although we do know that the comic will be out next year. Plenty of time to read both of the books, which are about 1000 pages combined (in paperback format)!

Feature image via macmillan
Library e-books

People Want E-Books—Libraries are Getting More Demand During the Pandemic

by Charlotte Susser
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During this pandemic, we’ve all been busy. Between work, Animal Crossing, schoolwork, snacks, and Zoom calls, it seems like there’s barely any time to read. But, never fear, there is! In fact, the demand for e-books has increased dramatically since the lockdown. People want to escape the difficulties of reality more than ever, and libraries are struggling to meet this demand while cautiously planning a future reopening.

 

E-book in the library
Image via North Brunswick Public Library

 

Libraries have reacted to COVID-19 much like many places forced to closed—with innovation and creativity. The Williamsburg Regional Library, located in Williamsburg, Virginia, has converted its bookmobiles into free Wi-Fi hotspots that they can bring around the community. With Wi-Fi access more important than ever in the lockdown era, residents who previously depended on the library’s free WiFi would be left stranded. These mobile hotspots fix that while maintaining social distancing.

 

 

Some libraries, like the Chesterfield County Public Library, are offering curbside pick-up services, so people can keep reading while staying as safe as possible. Other libraries are also holding book clubs, reading sessions, and other events online to keep their communities engaged and connected during this pandemic. Libraries are doing a lot—but one thing people definitely want from libraries is e-books.

 

E-Book borrowing has jumped under lockdown
Image via NPR

 

E-Book borrowing has dramatically increased since the lockdown. According to data collected by OverDrive, which many libraries use to distribute e-books and audiobooks, weekly library e-book lending has increased by nearly 50% since March 9, and audiobook check-outs are up 14%. People want to read, but lack of access to a physical library has been hindering them. E-Books solve this problem, so it’s no surprise that demand for them has jumped highly

What’s interesting about this jump is the distribution across books for different age groups. The demand for children’s e-books has more than doubled, while adult fiction and young adult fiction have only increased by a third and a half respectively. Susan Gross, a data analyst with OverDrive, said,

Now on certain days juvenile fiction surpasses adult non-fiction, which we havn’t seen before…our thought on that is that parents are probably trying to enrich their kids during the school week when they would typically be in school.

 

 

Furthermore, there’s been some shift in popularity among sub-sub-genres, though genres have remained mostly stable. “Motivation” and “happiness” title check-outs have increased within the self-help genre, which makes sense given that COVID-19 and “lack of motivation” and “lack of happiness” go hand in hand. Additionally, Richard Reyes-Gavilan, Executive Director for the District of Columbia Public Libraries, has seen greater interest in books on pandemics and on race relations.

What will happen to this increased demand for e-books and the more expansive array of online library services once libraries reopen? It’s unclear, like so many pandemic-related things are, but it’s not looking good for libraries. Compared to physical books, e-books are a lot more expensive for libraries. Libraries actually pay three-to-five times more for a single copy of an e-book compared to a physical book. And, unlike physical books, libraries don’t have permanent access to the e-books they purchase. Library licenses are often limited by time, or by number of checkouts. So, overall, e-books are expensive and temporary, while physical books are less expensive and permanent (or at least less temporary).

Since libraries are struggling to distribute the more economically viable physical books while customers eagerly demand more expensive e-books, this pandemic could, and is, creating financial problems for libraries. Even as libraries cautiously move into reopening, this demand for e-books could continue as people are still afraid to expose themselves for nonessential reasons. And while supporting libraries through any means is important, let’s not forget that e-books drain financial resources in a way physical books don’t.

 

 

Feature Image via Montgomery Community Media