Happily ever after

Kids around the country are probably already counting down the days until the release of Disney’s latest animated film: The Princess and the Frog. The movie, based on E.D. Baker’s 2002 YA novel The Frog Princess and the Grimm brothers’ classic The Frog Prince, opens in New York and Los Angeles today. The rest of us can’t see it until Dec. 11 (such a disappointment, when the trailer – after the jump – looks so fantastic).

Set in New Orleans’ French Quarter, the plot follows Tiana (the first African-American Disney princess) as she’s turned into a frog after a kiss from Naveen – a prince who’d himself been turned into a frog. To reverse the spell, they have to seek out the good voodoo priestess of the Bayou.

Looking forward to the movie, I thought I’d revisit some contemporary fairy tales covered in BookPage (click on the book covers to read the review). Browse, enjoy and tell us: What’s your favorite fairy tale?

What We’re Reading Wednesday

Blackout by Connie Willis
February 2010, Spectra

Eileen, Polly and Mike are historians at Oxford in 2060, where a time-travel machine can send researchers into the past to study history as it happens. Eileen is observing the children evacuated to the British countryside during World War II, while Mike is studying the heroes of Dunkirk and Polly is sent to London during the Blitz. But back in 2060, the future of time travel grows increasingly uncertain, and the scheduled “drops” more erratic. What will happen to Eileen, Polly and Mike if they can’t get home again?

Four months, Eileen thought, separating them. I only have to put up with them for four more months. “No one’s going to invade,” she said firmly, “tonight or any other night.”

“‘Ow do you know?” Alf demanded.

“You can’t know something what ain’t ‘appened yet,” Binnie said.

“Why ain’t ‘e going to?” Alf persisted.

Because the British Army will get away from him at Dunkirk, Eileen thought, and he’ll lose the Battle of Britain and begin bombing London to bring the British to their knees. But it won’t work. They’ll stand up to him. It’ll be their finest hour. And it will lose him the war.

“Because I have faith in the future,” she said, and, getting a firmer grip on Alf and Binnie, set off with them into the darkness.

Blackout is Connie Willis’ first novel since 2001’s Passage, reviewed in BookPage here.

What are you reading today?

Random Reads: Roald Dahl’s ‘My Uncle Oswald’

Earlier this month, I got around to reading Roald Dahl’s My Uncle Oswald, which I’d picked up at the Salvation Army back in June. Dahl’s work, especially The Witches, really captured my imagination as a child, and in high school and college I read most of his short stories. Though it is definitely an adult novel, Uncle Oswald contains all the madcap magic of Dahl’s writing for children, and it was perfect beachside reading.

The action begins at a dinner party, in the year 1912. Oswald Cornelius, who at 17 is already a ladies’ man whose one ambition is to become a wealthy sybarite, hears the story of a beetle whose crushed carapaces have a Viagra-like effect. Recognizing his ticket to fame and fortune, Oswald heads to Africa and collects some beetle powder, compounding a pill that has the world’s most rich and famous men of a certain age willing to pay anything for a dose before his scheme is interrupted by service in World War I.

Fast forward a few years, and enter the adult themes: with the help of a scientist and a beautiful Girton student, Oswald decides to compile a sperm bank of geniuses (interestingly,  the so-called “Nobel Sperm Bank” idea was being dreamed up right around the time the book was being written, in the late 1970s).

“Can’t you see her,” I said, “this rich, unhappy woman who is married to some incredibly ugly, coarse, ignorant, unpleasant industrialist from Birmingham, and all at once she has something to live for. As she goes strolling through the beautifully kept garden . . . she is humming the slow movement of Beethoven’s Eroica and thinking to herself, ‘my God! Isn’t it wonderful! I am pregnant by the man who wrote this music a hundred years ago!’ “

“We don’t have Beethoven’s sperm.”

“There are plenty of others,” I said.

McCann in paperback

We’ve already blogged quite a bit about Colum McCann and Let the Great World Spin, but I couldn’t resist another mention after hearing some good news: On Dec. 4, Random House will release the paperback version of the book, which will have a first printing of 100,000 copies. The National Book Award-winning novel was originally slated to come out in paperback in the spring.

In a press release, Jane von Mehren, Publisher of Trade Paperbacks for the Random House Publishing Group, said: “Let the Great World Spin is one of the year’s great word of mouth novels. We are moving fast because this is Colum McCann’s moment.”

If you’re still on the fence on this one, Robert Weibezahl’s rave review in BookPage’s Well Read column should convince you to read this book.

On the flip side, the paperback release of Kathryn Stockett’s The Help has been pushed from February to June, since the hardcover is selling so well.

Will you be buying Let the Great World Spin in hardcover or in paperback?

The visual Gore Vidal

Not long ago we got a special treat in the mail at BookPage: Gore Vidal: Snapshots in History’s Glare. This book (retail value: $40!) is a visual memoir of Vidal’s life, complete with pages and pages of photos, letters and other memorabilia (not to mention Vidal’s writing).

Vidal received a National Book Award in 1993 for his essay collection United States. He also ran for Congress in 1960; contributed to the script of Ben-Hur; and wrote many novels, including the classic (and controversial) The City and the Pillar.

I could go on – but instead, one lucky reader can read for him or herself in Vidal’s new book. Just answer the following question in the comments (think of this as a BookPage.com scavenger hunt):

Which of Vidal’s audio books was named as “Sukey’s Favorite” by BookPage audio book columnist Sukey Howard? I’ll choose a random winner from the correct answers. I’ll announce the lucky reader on Monday. Good luck!

‘Under the Dome’ to go to TV

On Friday, we heard that Stephen King’s Under the Dome had been optioned by DreamWorks TV as an “event series.” I think the new novel is extremely well-suited to a miniseries format and can’t wait to see how it turns out (if you haven’t seen my review of Under the Dome, it’s here).

Mitchell

Of course, this news can only mean one thing—coming up with casting ideas! I could see Elizabeth Mitchell of “Lost” doing a good job as Julia.

Murphy in 'Batman Begins'

She’s about the right age and could play the role of a relentless reporter without batting an eye.

Actor Cillian Murphy has a talent for being creepy without becoming a caricature (Red Eye, anyone?), so he’d be a great Junior. But at 33, is he too old for the role?

As for Big Jim and Barbie—I’m stumped! And what about the endearing Joe McClatchy and his teen cohorts? Other Under the Dome readers, share your ideas in the comments.

Thanksgiving Rules winner

Update: Nadia won a copy of Thanksgiving Rules by Laurie Friedman.

We love hearing about the books you’re thankful for, however, so feel free to keep commenting on our original Thanksgiving post.

P.S. If, like Nadia, you like Bernard Waber, here’s a handwritten interview with the author/illustrator.

Chatting with Gary Paulsen

Gary Paulsen

This afternoon I had the incredible good fortune to get to interview Gary Paulsen over the phone about his January 2010 release Woods Runner. I won’t reveal too many details from the conversation (for that, you’ll have to wait for our January feature on BookPage.com), but I will give this teaser: In our hour-long conversation, I somehow managed to seriously crack up over Paulsen’s jokes; be incredibly inspired by his love of reading and writing; and feel compelled to buy a used copy of Hatchet on my lunch hour since my own copy is on the shelf in the house where I grew up. If you love Paulsen (and what fan of children’s literature doesn’t?), then you are in for a treat come January. Woods Runner is excellent, and it was made many times better when I got some background information from the author.

I did manage to extract a bit of news you may be interested in. Paulsen is an amazingly prolific writer (he’s written over 175 books), and 2010 will be no exception. Besides Woods Runner (out on Jan. 12), you can look forward to the release of Lawn Boy Returns on May 11. This is the sequel to Paulsen’s Lawn Boy, a novel about a kid who makes nearly half a million dollars when he starts up his own lawn business. BookPage reviewer Angela Leeper wrote of the novel: “With his quick-paced, conversational narration and such chapter headings as ‘The Law of Increasing Product Demand Versus Flat Production Capacity,’ Paulsen presents capitalism and storytelling at its best in this delightful summer story.”

Paulsen has another intriguing project in the works. He has written a book about kids who read books (such as Moby Dick), then try to re-enact them. The book was inspired by a fan who sent him a homemade video re-enactment of Hatchet (that involved the kid taking his mom’s fur coat into a swamp). No publication date on this one yet, but we’ll keep you posted.

Related in BookPage: An interview with Paulsen from 2003.

What’s your favorite Paulsen book? There are a lot to choose from! My favorite is Harris & Me. I found out today that “Me” is really Gary.

Redesigning Nabokov

Vladimir Nabokov (with a butterfly)

Will a new cover on a classic inspire you to purchase a book you’d long looked over?

You all loved HarperPerennial’s Olive Editions and Penguin’s Classics. Now, Vintage is getting in on the action with a redesign of Nabokov’s works (coinciding with Tuesday’s publication of Nabokov’s posthumous novel, The Original of Laura).

Over at the Vintage and Anchor Books blog, there’s a post from Art Director John Gall on the project. He writes, “Every so often, a dream project lands on your desk. Here’s one: redesign Vladimir Nabokov’s book covers. All twenty-one of them. Let me rephrase. Every so often the most daunting project of your entire life arrives on your desk.”

What do you think of the result? Because Nabokov was an avid butterfly collector, each cover is designed to appear like a classic specimen box. Gall had a variety of designers help him with the project. I have to say that I love these retro, stylish covers. A few of my favorites are below. You can see a slideshow here.

Designers: Chip Kidd for Ada, or Ardor; Charles Wilkin for Look at the Harlequins!; Paul Sahre for The Luzhin Defense; Marian Bantjes for Transparent Things.

Related in BookPage: A handwritten interview from Chip Kidd and a review of Chip Kidd: Book One: Work: 1986-2006.

Colum McCann: suggested reading

Colum McCann

This morning we posted in the News section of our website that Colum McCann’s novel Let the Great World Spin won the National Book Award for fiction. We predicted that this title would be the winner, not least of all because of Robert Weibezahl’s rave review in our Well Read column – although McCann has long been a favorite of BookPage. If the National Book Award has piqued your interest in this talented novelist, you might enjoy some of his prior works, too.

Dancer, from 2002, is a “glittering biographical novel,” according to reviewer Julie Hale. McCann “tells the story of Rudolf Nureyev, one of the 20th century’s greatest ballet dancers and an international star done in by his own decadent lifestyle.”

This Side of Brightness, a story about a man’s struggle to raise a family in New York City, demonstrates McCann’s talent to create “lyrical prose that is both refined and urbane,” writes Charles Wyrick. “McCann addresses the big issues of race, love, and time with a literary majesty that completely befits the nature and scope of this family epic. His tone as novelist is a wonderful reminder of the self-assured poetics of his shorter fiction, yet now even more of a literary treat as he traces out his tale through the vicissitudes of time.”

Wyrick also praises McCann’s short story collection, Fishing the Sloe-Black River: “McCann is a master at making his language float about whatever subject or object he has chosen to describe. In his stories his vocabulary slips easily from the archaic to the profane, proving him to be much more than a literary stuffed shirt. McCann’s strong knowledge of words is only out done by his even stronger sense of the way words sound. Whether expressing dialect or trying to evoke the emotion of a certain exchange, one cannot help but admire the way McCann’s dialogues draw out sounds. The stories of Fishing the Sloe-Back River are a wonderful testament to a writer with an incredible ear for language.”

We also recommend that you check out Zoli, a novel about an exotic singer and poet. The story is based on a real-life Gypsy poet, and McCann enriches “that story with insightful and evocative prose,” writes Deborah Donovan. In Zoli, McCann creates “a vibrant character who is able to maintain her identity and proud heritage, even when abandoned by those she loves.”

Will you be reading any of these books? Also, what is your favorite novel by Colum McCann?