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Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult

March 2009

A family is torn apart by the very thing they most desired: a baby. This child, so wanted, has a disease so debilitating that the mother is convinced to bring a malpractice suit. But who can say whether they would have been better off had the child not been born? 

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March 1, 2009

Sweet Coraline

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By John Hogan
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I doubt anyone was waiting for my recommendation, but let me add my voice to the chorus of people giving praise to Coraline, the new 3-D animated movie based on Neil Gaiman's book. The animators did such a fine job with this (loved the effects used on the tunnel between the two worlds in particular), and there's an added bonus for French & Saunders fans: Both ladies are in there and do a hilarious off-color song that will probably go over the heads of most young viewers. (The 3-D is fun, too, not to mention far removed from the flimsy paper red-and-blue glasses of my youth. You actually get sturdy plastic ones now.) Also, the opening title sequence is so creepy and delightful that it's mesmerizing. I loved the film all the way through.
March 1, 2009

Graphic Teaching: Watching a Book Come into the World

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By Adam Johnson
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This is the second year of the Stanford Graphic Novel Project, an endeavor to teach narrative through graphic storytelling. Our goal is to treat the graphic novel as a collective, collaborative project and as a team create a book during the winter term of each year. With co-instructor Tom Kealey, our 2008 class wrote, storyboarded, illustrated, designed, and published a 224-page graphic novel called Shake Girl. Fifteen students drew the 700 illustrations for Shake Girl in six weeks. This year, our students are currently at work on a 256-page graphic novel set in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Lisa Jackson, author of Lost Souls

Kristi Bentz wants to write true crime. All she needs is that one case that will take her to the top. She finds it when she enrolls at All Saints College after learning that three troubled girls have disappeared in one term. When the bodies are found, all blood drained from their bodies, rumors abound that vampires are on the loose. Are they?

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Interview: Francisco X. Stork, author of Marcelo in the Real World

Mar 1, 2009

 

Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption by Jennifer Thompson-Canino

March 2009

Jennifer Thompson was raped at knifepoint by a man who broke into her apartment. Her positive identification of Ronald Cotton as her attacker was the compelling evidence that put him behind bars. After 11 years, Ronald was allowed to take a DNA test that proved his innocence. He was released, after serving more than a decade in prison for a crime he never committed. Two years later, Jennifer and Ronald met face to face --- and forged an unlikely friendship that changed both of their lives.

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March 2009

Happy March --- the month that roared in like a lion with snow and wind. I am ticking off the days until spring and hoping that it arrives right on time. I would like another color besides gray looking in at me from my window, and the trees can use some color, too. I like my world colorful!

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In the past year, how many books have you recommended to people by saying the following: “You HAVE to read this book.”?

March 1, 2009, 716 voters

March 2009

It’s been a busy time in comics lately, and I’ve been having several opportunities to geek out. First up: Tomorrow night I’m going to see an advance screening of Watchmen, which opens in theaters on Friday! How long have we all been waiting for this one? It feels like forever, but it’s finally here. Expect a spoiler-free review to be posted on the site next week after I’ve seen it. I confess, I am an über-Watchmen fan, and I am going with Carol, who is reading Watchmen for the first time. It will be interesting to see her take and compare it to mine. One of our goals on the site is to create content that appeals to those who have been reading the format for years, as well as for new readers, and everyone in between. Through it all, we want everyone who reads the site to feel represented and like they have a home on the site.

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February 27, 2009

Monday night I was a presenter at the Books for a Better Life Awards. I always enjoy this evening as we recognize authors who have written books that motivate and change people’s lives. Now having an awards ceremony the night after the Oscars had me in a mindset where I had perfected my “may I have the envelope please” line.

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