Well my husband and I finally made it to colorful Colorado and I'm currently typing away at my mom's home. I have tons of photos to share from the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky (yes, we hit them all) to the St. Louis arch, and yummy BBQ in Kansas City. But since I just have a few minutes to gulp my coffee down and check my email before we run and do errands, I thought I'd share a couple fun literary things I found.
While I was reading the Shelf Awareness email, I found the longlist for the Man Booker Prize.
Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey
Room by Emma Donoghue
The Betrayal by Helen Dunmore
In a Strange Room by Damon Galgut
The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson
The Long Song by Andrea Levy
C by Tom McCarthy
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
February by Lisa Moore
Skippy Dies by Paul Murray
Trespass by Rose Tremain
The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas
The Stars in the Bright Sky by Alan Warner
Has anyone read any of these? I'll be honest and say that the only one I've heard of is Peter Carey's novel Parrot and Olivier in America. I've also read a previous book by Rose Tremain called The Colour (click the link to read my review). While well written, I had problems with some of it but I've also read other great reviews of her novels.
I also read in Shelf Awareness that since Eat Pray Love is about to be released in the theaters, a huge market has gone up for Eat Pray Love products - like perfume, home decor, etc. What do you think about that? I normally only see stuff for Twilight, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and such. I've heard that while some people really enjoyed the book, others really couldn't get into it. If you enjoyed it, would you buy themed products based on the book or movie?
I haven't read these books on the Man Booker list, but I'm planning to! And as far as Eat Pray Love products? I loved the book, but quite honestly, it's weird to see that there will be products designed and sold for it. So bizarre -- I think if they were going to make any specific products for this, perhaps journals, stationery, pencils, things like that -- but perfume? I mean, is there going to be an Elizabeth Gilbert action figure, too?
ReplyDeleteEnjoy Colorado!
I'm not much of a themed movie product buyer. I'm usually just happy to have the book.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any of the Booker books, but I'm really interested in ROOM. Have read Donoghue before, and she's pretty awesome!
The Long Song by Levy is really good...it's about Jamaican slavery and is told in a memoir style. Painful but great writing.
ReplyDeleteI'm starting Room today.
As far as movie stuff, that just seems weird. I can picture a McD happy meal for moms with a little Eat Love Pray candle in it. So sad. Galley Cat had some funny entries in an online merchandising contest for other famous books...