TitleTales

Celebrating China: by Kimberly Stack

Adult Fiction/Nonfiction post—02/13/09
China has been on the American mind with the Beijing Olympics, business and recent news pictures of colorful celebrations of their New Year Festival. Xi’an, Shaanzi and the Terracotta Army about northern China’s great historic and archeological center contains 180 color photos, 16 maps, and commentary from a working journalist, released while some of the Terracotta artifacts make a limited U.S. tour, tempts me as do other books about China, the Chinese people and Chinese-Americans. The most recent titles of Lisa See and Nicole Mones (both on my list of “must read” authors) explore the intersection of these cultures. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford, a debut author, also explores this theme about the Asian experience in America during World War II. For nonfiction histories, check out China Witness by Xinran or The Corpse Walker by Yiwu Liao on Celebrating China, a list of two-dozen recent books about this vast country with its fascinating culture and growth.

Mock Oscar Awards 2009: by Erin Stachowiak

Movies post—02/13/09
Watching the Oscars is something I’ve done almost every year. When I was little, it was all about the party and the spectacle. Nowadays, it’s still about the party, but more about the spectacle. I love watching the Oscars every year no matter what’s nominated, but it’s just as exciting to track the film releases from the year and make my predictions about what films will be nominated for what award. And once they’re announced, it’s so fun to fill out a ballot with my friends here to predict who will win on the big night. This year The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Slumdog Millionaire, Milk, The Dark Knight and WALL-E have secured the most nominations. Of course, this doesn’t mean they’ll walk away with the most golden statues. Who do you think will win?

Movies from Children’s Books: by Lori Fennel

Children/Teens post—02/13/09
Two of my favorite things are children’s books and movies, so for my first blog, I decided to combine the two by researching which major motion pictures currently in production, or scheduled for release in 2009, have been adapted from children’s books. In addition to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Coraline, and Inkheart—which most of you probably already know about—I found out Steven Spielberg is working on a Tintin movie, Wes Anderson is adapting Fantastic Mr. Fox, Tim Burton is making an Alice in Wonderland and Spike Jonze is orchestrating Where the Wild Things Are. Long live movie adaptations — even if the books are (almost) always better!

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