Amazon discontinued the ability to create images using their SiteStripe feature and in their infinite wisdom broke all previously created images on 12/31/23. Many blogs used this feature, including this one. Expect my archives to be a hot mess of broken book cover images until I can slowly comb through 20 years of archives to make corrections.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

On The Road, National Book Awards, And James Bond Playing Cowboy

First up, it's my turn in the rotation over at Access Romance Readers Gab. Today's topic du jour is glomming. Nom, nom, nom!

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The National Book Award winners were announced last night. I tend to stay away from award discussions online, because on one hand we have the high-falutins' dissecting the navel-gazing, and on the other you have people saying, "Who?!?!"

My employer gives me a pay check every two weeks to pretty much know all there is to know about adult fiction. So it's rare when something gets nominated that I've never heard of. People, do you know how many book reviews I read? A lot. Do you know how much promo I look at? A lot. And while most of the time I think the NBA pretty much sticks to what you think they're going to stick with - every so often they go completely off the reservation. Which they did last night by giving the award to Lord Of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon.

Yeah, when that nomination was initially announced Wendy was the one going "Who?!?!" And last night the dark horse won. The dark horse from a small publisher whose initial print run was the size of a postage stamp. That alone is pretty cool, but the kicker? Gordon teaches in my hometown back in Michigan. At the college where My Man got his business degree. So....that's pretty awesome. Go Kalamazoo Go!

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In the I Have No Idea What To Make Of This department, I give you the trailer for Cowboys & Aliens. Based on a graphic novel, it's exactly what you think it is. The aspect of this that has me totally flummoxed is the casting. Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig. Really? Han Solo and James Bond in a movie called Cowboys & Aliens? And this isn't a comedy? They're playing this material straight? Ohhhhhkay then.



On the upside, we have Daniel Craig dressed in cowboy clothes. Gotta say, I'm not seeing a whole lot wrong with that scenario.

11 comments:

Christine Merrill said...

Ok. It's going to take a lot of Diet Coke to wash down the title of that movie.

But for Daniel Craig? I think I can manage it.

Can we go right now? I wanna see it. Now.

Victoria Janssen said...

I adore the title. It tells you exactly what you get, since "Cowboys and Aliens and Grimy Daniel Craig and Evil Harrison Ford WOO!!!" is a bit too long for a marquee.

Liz said...

The NBA story is funny--same thing just happened with Canada's Giller Prize (the winner was from a small press that created "artisanal" books). Oh, the uproar when it was only available on e-book (end of civilization!) and the small press initially refused to work out a deal with a bigger publisher to churn out more copies. How DARE the jury pick a book that was NOT WIDELY AVAILABLE to people who MUST be seen reading the latest award winner ?!? (yes, I saw that argument in the press). Such fun when literature makes news.

Wendy said...

Christine & Victoria: I have no idea what to think of this movie. It's either going to be great fun or one hot mess. There will be absolutely no in-between (me thinks).

Elizabeth: From what I read on the Internet, there was a moment of stunned silence last night when the winner was announced. Of course her publisher's table erupted :)

The Booker Prize also went off the beaten path this year. It's been an interesting year for the award's circuit......

ms bookjunkie said...

That movie looks like something I must watch. Sometime. Not necessarily in the theater, but sometime.

Cathy in AK said...

The "Cowboys and Aliens" title is pretty lame, but considering the cast and production/direction team (Ron Howard, Brian Glazer, Steven Spielberg) I think it'll be a fun ride.

Elizabeth said...

They showed the trailer for Cowboys and Aliens last night before the midnight release of Deathly Hallows and the general reaction was a big, fat WTF.

I think most people are going to see it based on the sheer stupidity it's sure to be and because of Daniel Craig. Because James Bond makes everything better. :)

Wendy said...

Ms Bookjunkie: Probably not one we'll see in the theater either. Although, who knows? Still gotta show My Man the trailer.

Cathy: That's the thing that floors me. All the BIG, BIG names attached to this project. I mean, just HUGE. Then there's the concept and title and the first thing that comes to mind is Mystery Science Theater 3000 - LOL

Elizabeth: I know! My first reaction was, "Huh?!?!" Can't wait to see the new Harry Potter, although knowing me I'll wait for DVD....like I have with all the other movies. I hoping after the holidays to listen to all the books again and audio. I've been wanting to do that, and just haven't made it a priority....

Gail Dayton said...

On the upside, we have Daniel Craig dressed in cowboy clothes. Gotta say, I'm not seeing a whole lot wrong with that scenario.

Me neither. (Or me too--whatever.)

Cowboys and Aliens-- It's truth in advertising.

And since my first love has always been science fiction/fantasy (I read it back when I still thought kissing was icky) and I have always loved cowboys (living all my life either in Texas or the Mountain West)--How Can I Go Wrong?

Okay--the cowboys who have rat-tail beards down to their stomachs tied off with rubber bands every inch, or the ones with stud earrings all the way around the top of their ears like dogs with a bad tick infestation (YES, I have seen them)--those cowboys I don't love so much--but mostly, cowboys are good people. Farmers with cows.

Wendy said...

Gail: LOL - yeah, truth in advertising! It's not like people are going to wander into the movie theater pondering, "Gee, wonder what this movie will be about?"

JamiSings said...

I would just like to whine that Cowboys & Aliens is not in our system! WAH!