Book Reviews page updated

Posted on February 29, 2008 by Elizabeth McCullough

bookworm.jpgThe Book Reviews page has been updated with book reviews, near-reviews, and pithy book mentions from the last six months or so of CvilleWords.

Coming soon: The February Round-up!

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When books were the stars

Posted on February 29, 2008 by Elizabeth McCullough

Right around Oscar time, MoviePosterAddict posted 79 Years of Best Picture Winners in Posters. As I scanned through the gallery, I noticed something unexpected: many of the posters of movies adapted from novels actually featured a book in their layout, something you’d never see today. Here are a few examples:

mparebeccaposter.jpg

Rebecca, 1940.

mpahowgreenwasmyvalleyposter.jpg

How Green Was My Valley, 1941

mpathelostweekendposter.jpg

The Lost Weekend, 1945

mpagentlemansagreementposter.gif

Gentleman’s Agreement, 1947

mpaallthekingsmenposter.jpg

All the King’s Men, 1949. No picture of a book, but “Pulitzer Prize Winning Novel” is prominently featured.

mpafromheretoeternityposter.jpg

From Here to Eternity, 1953.

And that’s all, there ain’t no more.

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Next up in VQR

Posted on February 28, 2008 by Elizabeth McCullough

Check the comments for a sneak peek at the next issue of VQR.

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Conversations and Connections April 5

Posted on February 28, 2008 by Elizabeth McCullough

Registration is open for the second annual Conversations and Connections Conference:

Join us on April 5, 2008 in Washington, DC for a different kind of writer’s conference.

The Second Annual Conversations and Connections will help you get the connections and information you need to take your writing — and publishing — to the next level.

This year’s keynote speaker is Mary Gaitskill, author of the novels Veronica and Two Girls, Fat and Thin, and the story collections Because They Wanted To and Bad Behavior.

Our panelists are experts in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, writing for children, making connections, using the web, marketing, and everything in between. Over 30 literary magazines will be represented. Get the real deal straight from the editor’s mouth: your $45 registration fee includes the full day conference, plus face-to-face “speed dating” with literary magazine editors, a subscription to the lit mag of your choice, and a book by featured speakers.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE.

Full schedule, with breakout sessions and panelist information, coming soon!

Would you love to attend a writers’ conference, but can’t scratch up the dough? How about a scholarship:

Writers’ Conferences & Centers is conducting its annual competition to provide scholarships for emerging writers who wish to attend a writers’ conference, center, retreat, festival, or residency. The scholarships will be applied to fees to attend any of the members of WC&C, an association of outstanding conferences, colonies, and festivals for writers.

View a complete directory of WC&C Members

The competition is open to all writers who would like to attend a WC&C member program. To enter the competition, please follow the guidelines below. Two scholarships of $500 will be awarded.

Via: James River Writers

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Paul Bibeau at Book Festival

Posted on February 28, 2008 by Elizabeth McCullough

Sundays with VladThis morning while waiting to be interviewed on WINA*, I heard from Jane Foy that Paul Bibeau will be a speaker well worth hearing at this year’s Book Festival. He’ll be on the panel,”Dracula vs. Frankenstein: A Monster Mash of Fact and Fiction,” on Friday, March 28, at 6 p.m.

Jane got my blood to chillin’ when she confided, “You have no idea how many vampire groups there are in this country.” I assured her that I was very happy having no idea. Nevertheless, I understand that vampire expert Bibeau is quite the raconteur. For a sample, check out this podcast from the Charlottesville Podcasting Network, and learn more about his book, Sundays with Vlad, here.

*Oh, yes, about that interview. My fellow CHERCH lady Rachel and I were on Jane and Rick’s morning show to talk about our upcoming appearance at Wordplay, the fundraising game show formerly known as the Spelling Bee & Dee. (Catherine, our third teammate, was unable to join us, unfortunately.) Teams are forming now, but I have to warn you: the CHERCH ladies have no plans to choke in the second half this year, and our cheering team kicks raucous butt. There will be blood.

Filed under: authors, books, charlottesville, contests, podcasts, reading, VABook08, virginia | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

2008 Tournament of Books judges announced

Posted on February 28, 2008 by Elizabeth McCullough

Ted Genoways of VQR is one.

More Genoways: his frank account of VQR finances. Very innnnnteresting.

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Free download of “Beautiful Children”

Posted on February 27, 2008 by Elizabeth McCullough

BucketheadRandom House really, really believes in Charles Bock‘s debut novel, Beautiful Children. You’ve seen the ads, you’ve read the reviews, you’ve doubted the hype: now download the entire book and decide for yourself. (Via TEV)

Personally, when I’m trying to form a snap judgment about an suspiciously overhyped debut, I skip right to the acknowledgments. The acknowledgments can tell you a lot. F’rinstance:

This novel took a long time to write, and there’s no way I could have completed it without a lot of support. From the bottom of my heart, thanks and praise to:

Buckethead…Slash….Axl Rose.

Guns N’ Roses — bad sign!

….William and Allison Woolston for two of the greatest summers known to man, and the most perfect place to get married that a person could ask for.

Needless hyperbole — bad sign.

….Pumpkin and Hippolyte.

Friends with amusing names. How droll.

….Messy Stench drew the awesomest flyer in the history of papyrus (her website, craptabulous.com, rules, go visit it).

Two-fer: Funny name and needless hyperbole. Or maybe I’m just jealous of the plug.

….To Mohammed Naseehu Ali, I make a personal promise, one day I will dance and sing for your birthday and you can insult me….Alison Smith is my personal corn muffin and I love her no end.

Jokes to which we are not privy.

[Obligatory faux-ironic gushing over publisher, editor, agent deleted.]

….Mary Beth Hughes not only changed my life, but taught me how grace moves through the world.

I must meet this woman! She is a goddess.

….The Great One.

Jackie Gleason??

….Wyatt Mason possesses the finest mind I’ve ever known; moreover, he is the best friend I’ve ever had.

Risky — this could come as an unpleasant surprise to the many wonderful people previously mentioned.

[Sister, wife, parents, blahbiddy-blah.]

So, that gives you an idea what we’re up against. It doesn’t mean the book is bad. It might just mean the author thinks a bit much of himself for having written it.

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New contest from Internet Review of Books

Posted on February 26, 2008 by Elizabeth McCullough

Have you heard of the Internet Review of Books? From their blog:

Newspapers are gradually withering away. Sad to say, among the first things to go have been book sections, and the space given to reviews in most papers shrinks daily.

We aim to fill this gap with the Internet Review of Books, an online site devoted to reviews of recent or forthcoming nonfiction in the fields of science, social science, history art, music or current affairs.

Looks like they’re trying to energize a worthy enterprise with a bit of competitive spirit:

The Internet Review of Books offers a $100 prize for the best entry in its “Lasting Impressions” contest.

Is there a book that has remained front and center on your bookshelf or in your mind, even though you read it ages ago? A book that made a lasting impression on you? It might be fiction or non-fiction, something you read as a child or an adult, but it somehow made you think, changed you, taught you something, or otherwise has remained important to you through the years.

Write a 600- to 900-word book review that includes the reason this book made a lasting impression on you. Send it as plain text in your e-mail message form to this address. Include a bio of 50 words or less.

For examples of previous Lasting Impression reviews, see our archive:

First place – $100 with publication in the May issue of IRB

Second place – $50 and possible publication

Third place – $25 and possible publication

Entry fee – $5.00. Enter now using the convenient PayPal link on our guidelines page.

Deadline – Entries and payment must be received by April 20, 2008.

More information

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Will Shortz to speak at UVA

Posted on February 26, 2008 by Elizabeth McCullough

Will ShortzThis one is going on the calendar for sure:

Will Shortz
Location: Chemistry 402
Date and Time: Wednesday April 2, 2008, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM (EST)

Description: Come see Will Shortz, crossword editor of The New York Times whose puzzles appear in the Cavalier Daily. He is puzzle master for NPR’s “Weekend Edition Sunday” and founder of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Along with writing/editing more than 150 books, Will Shortz is the subject of the acclaimed 2006 documentary “Wordplay.” A graduate of UVa Law School, class of 1977, he also holds the world’s only college degree in Enigmatology, the study of puzzles.

Contact Information
Kate Becker
757.567.4571
klb6y@virginia.edu

Yeah, yeah, UVA Law School — but guess where he got that degree in Enigmatology? My alma mater!

Filed under: authors, bloomington, books, charlottesville, Indiana, lectures, virginia | Tagged: , , , , , | 5 Comments »

Viggo? McCarthy? The Road?

Posted on February 26, 2008 by Elizabeth McCullough

The Road by Cormac McCarthyWho knew this? Did you know this? That Viggo Mortensen is starring in a film version of Cormac McCarthy‘s The Road?

Pinky knew it.

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“Garfield minus Garfield”

Posted on February 26, 2008 by Elizabeth McCullough

garfield2.jpgYou’ve suspected it all along: the only thing preventing Garfield from being an indictment of modern American anomie is Garfield himself. Behold Garfield minus Garfield: poignant, disturbing, moving, and much, much funnier.

(Via Bookslut)

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VaBook author writes Book World review

Posted on February 25, 2008 by Elizabeth McCullough

Michael Sims, author of Apollo’s Fire and member of the Science Writing panel at the Virginia Festival of the Book, had a book review published in this past Sunday’s Washington Post Book World. He covered two new books on the topic of death and dying: Irving Yalom‘s Staring at the Sun, and David Shields‘ The Thing About Life is that One Day You’ll be Dead. (Be sure to check out Shields’ site — its splash page is quite splashy.)

I’ve been a big fan of Yalom’s since my grad school days, so I was glad to see that his newest book holds true to form:

Staring at the Sun is neither textbook nor mere self-help. Philosophical it is, but never arid with theory. Its lively chapters are populated with patients whose raw angst Yalom refines into vignettes that are always enlightening and often quite moving. “Death has a long reach,” he writes, “with an impact that is often concealed.” He calls anxiety about death the mother of religion, but says his own work is “rooted in a secular, existential worldview that rejects supernatural beliefs.” With convincing examples, he argues that awareness of mortality “may serve as an awakening experience, a profoundly useful catalyst for major life changes.”

As for The Thing About Life…not so much of a thumb-up from Sims:

Apparently, Shields began this book with the laudable ambition of portraying his own life against the hard facts of existence that we all share. But, as it stands, The Thing About Life reads like two or three manuscripts shuffled into a single volume. It’s a shame because the personal-memoir pages are vivid and powerful.

Ah, well. Sims’ appreciation for Yalom makes me all the more eager to dive into Apollo’s Fire. I believe it just moved to the top of my TBR stack.

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Book discussion at New Dominion Bookshop Mar. 15

Posted on February 25, 2008 by Elizabeth McCullough

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel ShriverOn Saturday, March 15 at 10:30
Mariflo Stephens will lead the New Dominion book group discussion of
Lionel Shriver‘s We Need to Talk About Kevin

We Need to Talk About Kevin is the gripping international bestseller about motherhood gone awry.

Eva never really wanted to be a mother—and certainly not the mother of the unlovable boy who murdered seven of his fellow high school students, a cafeteria worker, and a much-adored teacher who tried to befriend him, all two days before his sixteenth birthday. Now, two years later, it is time for her to come to terms with marriage, career, family, parenthood, and Kevin’s horrific rampage in a series of startlingly direct correspondences with her estranged husband, Franklyn. Uneasy with the sacrifices and social demotion of motherhood from the start, Eva fears that her alarming dislike for her own son may be responsible for driving him so nihilistically off the rails.

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Totally overwhelmed with joy and sparkles and fireworks

Posted on February 25, 2008 by Elizabeth McCullough

I won an Oscar pool! A certain J. S. at the Indiana University-Bloomington Office of the Registrar runs an annual Oscar pool, and this year, I won with 7 out 8 correct! Here were my picks:

Best Actor:

  • George Clooney for “Michael Clayton”
  • Daniel Day-Lewis for “There Will Be Blood”
  • Johnny Depp for “Sweeney Todd”
  • Tommy Lee Jones for “In The Valley of Elah”
  • Viggo Mortensen for “Eastern Promises”

Best Supporting Actor:

  • Casey Affleck for “The Assassination of Jesse James”
  • Javier Bardem for “No Country for Old Men”
  • Phillip Seymour Hoffman for “Charlie Wilson’s War”
  • Hal Holbrook for “Into the Wild”
  • Tom Wilkinson for “Michael Clayton”

Best Actress:

  • Cate Blanchett for “Elizabeth: the Golden Age”
  • Julie Christie for “Away from Her” (Wrong!)
  • Marion Cotillard for “La Vie En Rose” (Winner)
  • Laura Linney for “The Savages”
  • Ellen Page for “Juno”

Best Supporting Actress:

  • Cate Blanchett for “I’m Not There”
  • Ruby Dee for “American Gangster”
  • Saoirse Ronan for “Atonement”
  • Amy Ryan for “Gone Baby Gone”
  • Tilda Swinton for “Michael Clayton”

Best Adapted Screenplay:

  • “Atonement” – Christopher Hampton
  • “Away from Her” – Sarah Polley
  • “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” – Ronald Harwood
  • “No Country for Old Men” – Joel and Ethan Coen
  • “There Will be Blood” – Paul Thomas Anderson

Best Original Screenplay:

  • “Juno” – Diablo Cody
  • “Lars and the Real Girl” -  Nancy Oliver
  • “Michael Clayton” – Tony Gilroy
  • “Ratatouille” – Brad Bird
  • “The Savages” – Tamara Jenkins

Best Director:

  • Julian Schnabel for “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”
  • Jason Reitman for “Juno”
  • Tony Gilroy for “Michael Clayton”
  • Joel and Ethan Coen for “No Country for Old Men”
  • Paul Thomas Anderson for “There Will be Blood”

Best Picture:

  • “Atonement”
  • “Juno”
  • “Michael Clayton”
  • “No Country for Old Men”
  • “There Will be Blood”

Filed under: awards, movies | Tagged: , | 1 Comment »

I, Comma

Posted on February 25, 2008 by Elizabeth McCullough

You Are a Comma


You are open minded and extremely optimistic.

You enjoy almost all facets of life. You can find the good in almost anything.You keep yourself busy with tons of friends, activities, and interests.

You find it hard to turn down an opportunity, even if you are pressed for time.

Your friends find you fascinating, charming, and easy to talk to.

(But with so many competing interests, you friends do feel like you hardly have time for them.)

You excel in: Inspiring people

You get along best with: The Question Mark
A comma?? There may be no punctuation mark I am less like. I’m more like open quotation marks, “Because I’m never sure when to quit….  Or maybe parentheses (I’m always muttering under my breath). Or a dash — I like to change directions suddenly.

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