Source: Huffington Post
The Most Unfilmable Books
Book adaptations are always an engaging subject. Last week, we posted a slide show of ‘unfilmable books”: texts that simply would not adapt well to the silver screen. We asked: Is it true that some books tell a story that no matter which way Hollywood cuts it, it just won’t work as a movie?
Readers went wild in response to the piece and we took notice. From science fiction to literary masterpieces, you recommended many more books that would not work as movies. So, here are 7 more ‘unfilmable books.’ But let us know if there are more out there!
Click HERE to view the top unfilmable books
Romance Authors Going PG
Via: Publisherweekly
Young adult novels often touch on themes of romance, sex, and gender relations that loom large in the teen psyche. This has made it natural for traditional romance authors to make the jump to YA writing. Romance and romantic suspense author Roxanne St. Claire, whose debut YA novel, Don’t You Wish, will be published by Delacorte in 2011, says, “Starting to write YA was a lot like writing my first book—it just poured out! It was an utterly different voice than my romantic suspense voice, but it felt very comfortable.”
Working in the YA realm can give romance authors a way to explore love and lust from an emotional perspective, without the explicit sex scenes that readers increasingly demand in adult romance. Historical romance author Sophie Jordan was surprised to hear the label “erotic” applied to Firelight, her recently launched and very successful first YA novel for HarperTeen. “So much of the romance in a romance novel is the chemistry, and the mood, and the simple touches and glances, not so much that there’s full consummation,” she says. “Everybody talks about how steamy Firelight is, but the characters do nothing more than kiss in the book.” Jordan also notes that shifting gears can free authors from some of the other traditional constraints of romance writing: “The only expectation in romance is a happy-ever-after. The YA market is open to ambiguity or an ending that’s not 100% happy, or happiness that comes with a price.”
“I think romance writers may be drawn to YA stories because a teenager wants to read about another teenager who is forced to squirm a little bit,” St. Claire suggests. “For a teenager, that’s a situation where they feel they’ve lost control, or they’re tested, or they’re put under pressure for the first time. As romance writers, we’re also drawn to stories that make people squirm emotionally and earn their happy ending.”
More HERE
Divergent
Publisherweekly
Jill Hendrix, owner of Fiction Addiction in Greenville, S.C., talks about a spring novel that she expects will be a hit with teens.
Set in a future Chicago, the novel features Beatrice (aka Tris) who, at 16, must choose which of the five factions (Erudite, Amity, Abnegation, Dauntless, or Candor) she will belong to for the rest of her life—assuming she survives her initiation. What made me like Beatrice more than Katniss from The Hunger Games was that she seemed more in control of her destiny and more proactive in handling problems, rather than just reacting to the things an all-powerful government throws at her.
The Rest HERE
Vampire Empire Trilogy is a Landmark Work
Source: Book Clubs at BN
I’ve been reviewing genre fiction for almost half of my life – and I’ve seen an extraordinary evolution in genre fiction during that time. In the late ‘80s, before I became a reviewer, I managed bookstores all over Upstate New York and got a firsthand look at this transformation in genre fiction, not only from the perspective of the type of novels being published but also in the changing literary appetite of my customers.
Back in the day, readers largely stayed within the boundaries of their favorite genres – it was almost like being a member of a tribe. Romance readers entered the store, went straight to their tribal grounds, picked out a few books, paid for them and left, rarely looking to see what was being released in other genres (mystery, science fiction, horror, etc.). The same can be said for members of the science fiction and fantasy tribe, the mystery tribe, the small but devoted western tribe, etc. The boundaries between genres were like unassailable walls – and in some cases, exploring new genres was nothing short of sacrilege. I distinctly recall an exchange between a group of young men who frequented one of the bookstores I managed. They were hardcore fantasy fans – bigtime David Eddings fans as I remember – and when one of them meandered over to the bestseller pyramid at the front of the store and picked up a mainstream fiction release, his friends descended on him like a pack of wolves and ruthlessly mocked him. Yes, it was in good fun but there was something deeply significant behind it that stayed with me – reading fantasy defined who they were in some sense and perusing something new was comparable to an existential crisis. It was almost like they were saying to their buddy: “The tribe has spoken. It’s time for you to go.”
More HERE
Fantasy’s Best Friend Is Horror
From: Omnivoracious Amazon Blog
Or maybe Horror is Fantasy’s evil older sister…. They are definitely closely related, at least in my creative approach. The fantasy and horror elements in Half World are permeable–and I think it’s a natural combination that l experience, frequently, when I go to sleep. And, perchance to dream….
I often have vivid and detailed dreams, and I love the otherly qualities of them (though sometimes the nightmares are horrendous), the rich symbols, and the almost mundane ease with which we can experience something utterly fantastic and mind-altering, so viscerally, all inside our own head! Without drugs! (Say no, to drugs!)
How rich that realm where we can plummet to the earth without dying, or slide through water, breathing, like we move through air…. I can be shot by a dart gun and feel the slam of impact, the barbed sting, the burn of the spreading poison. There is a silent dog in a dank and dirty hallway, watching me, and he is uneasy. I am uneasy.
Elements of the fantastic and the horrific entwine in Half World, because the realm itself is like a nightmare come true; the nightmare that does not end. A kind of purgatory where the long-ago dead have been endlessly suffering and re-suffering their most traumatic moment, Melanie must witness their awful repeat half lives, and discover why they are trapped in this torturous cycle. There is no waking up, for Melanie. She must fight for her life, for her spirit, in order to survive.
Read More HERE
Wow, that’s a lot of news! What do you think of the unfilmable books? I haven’t read any of them so I can’t really comment, so I want to know your thoughts!
I do find it interesting that every time a I look at some of my favorite romance authors websites, I see their coming out with a YA book. I would love to see how they tone down their books and such. Have you read anything from an author who rights both romance and YA?
Divergent sounds kind of cool, I still have yet to read the Hunger Games so I can’t make the comparison they did, what do you guys think?
I do have to say, I remember as a kid going to the book store with my grandma and she was always on a mission. She would go to ‘her’ section and then leave. I know from personal experience that it isn’t that way anymore, I go to the store and buy all sorts of genres. Makes reading interesting, you aren’t always getting the same story line. Also vampires are here to stay I think. What about you, do you read just one genre? Are you a fan of vampire books?
