She began working in television in 1992, with an early role in the 1994 BBC miniseries Scarlet and Black, based on the novel The Red and the Black by Stendhal, starring Ewan McGregor. She alternated between film, television, and stage for a few years, with a breakout stage role in Design for Living by Noel Coward. One of her earliest Hollywood movies was Going All The Way, based on the novel by Dan Wakefield, and her first starring role was in Swept from the Sea, based on the short story by Joseph Conrad....

This list is mainly romance books as romance books are also my all-time favorites. So, these are the books that stuck with me. Introductions by C.L. Stone Looking for Alaska by John Green Though it wasn’t the first YA book I read, Looking for Alaska was the very first one that made me cry. It was also the first John Green book I read. I loved the beautiful metaphors in it and the fact that Miles had a so-called obsession with famous last words....

So here are some of the best bookish things that happened this week, whether it’s libraries going fine free, literacy initiatives getting funded, or new bookmobiles hitting the streets. Research Proves Libraries Lead to Healthier, More Equitable Communities In news that will likely not come as a surprise to anyone reading this, new research has proven that libraries (and museums) play crucial roles in communities and are “positively associated with multiple dimensions of social wellbeing — in particular, community health, school effectiveness, institutional connection, and cultural opportunity....

When I was in high school I checked The Handmaid’s Tale out of my school library, and it changed my reading life. I had dreams of Atwood’s Gilead weeks after I finished the novel. In my dreams it was my debit card that stopped working at cash machines because I was a woman and no longer able to own property. I was the one sleeping in that gymnasium with a dozen other sex-slaves-to-be, I was wearing that red cloak with the white-winged habit, I was forced to lie between some rich woman’s legs while her husband climbed on top of us and… I dreamed a lot of crazy things, they’re dreams, you guys, they’re supposed to be crazy....

Alongside the joy of getting to know my characters and daydreaming a plot into existence, I also read a lot of books on the craft of writing. Studying, I could do. I know school isn’t for everyone, and that I benefit from a lot of white and neurotypical privilege, but I loved school. Looking back now, I think part of what I loved about it was the (mostly) reliable nature of it....

But then, when did this term originate? As it turns out, it was before the beginning of the Roaring Twenties themselves. On May 23, 1919, Indiana newspaper The Elkhart Truth published an editorial titled “The Age of Jazz.” The editorial recounted a Baptist minister’s complaints about jazz being everywhere, making it “in short, (…) a jazz age.” There is a certain controversy about when, exactly, the Jazz Age ended. Many historians mark the stock market crash of 1929 as the event that concluded the period....

Fashion, whether we have that coveted “taste” or “French girl aesthetic” or not, is what we live in. What we wear is a statement of who we are. Choosing not to worry about what you wear is also a fashion statement. You’re still saying something about yourself and in turn telling the world what to think of you. Fantasy authors use fashion to symbolize what their characters stand for in the world of the story....

It seems Patrick Lenton was the originator of the idea to read all 339 books mentioned in the Gilmore Girls show, but many other sites and readers have also shown they are up to the task as well. The original 339 books has since upgraded to 408 books with the added revival, A Year in the Life. If you’re thinking of taking on the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge yourself, prepare for a lot of doorstopper classics like Swann’s Way and Les Miserables and a whole lot of Shakespeare....

We’ve covered bullet journals a lot, including reading bullet journals. If you’re not familiar, it’s an organization system that is flexible and often quite artistic. Bullet journals are usually used as a variation on a planner, but there are all kind of specific directions you can take them. A reading bujo might track your TBR, the pages you read in a month, your favorite reads of the year, and so on....

My confusion about James’ position on the list stems from the fact that he is called an American author. Let me explain. Henry James was born in the United States. This is true. However, he spent much of his life abroad, traveling extensively throughout Europe and living for extended periods in Paris and London. In 1915, the year before he died, he actually became a British subject. That is the nationality that he chose to identify himself with....

While in college in upstate New York, Shay Evans and her best friends met a captivating man who seduced them with a web of lies about the way the world works, bringing them under his thrall. By senior year, Shay and her friend Laurel were the only ones who managed to escape. Now, eight years later, Shay’s built a new life in a tony Texas suburb. But when she hears the horrifying news of Laurel’s death — delivered, of all ways, by her favorite true-crime podcast crusader — she begins to suspect that the past she thought she buried is still very much alive, and the predators more dangerous than ever....

Here are some tips to read like you’re getting away with something: Here are some suggestions to boost your access to books, enhance your reading comfort, and help you double down on your motivation to work through your TBR. Now that you have the supplies, you might also appreciate this advice on reading more: Not sure which ereader to buy? These guides can help: What Is The Best Ereader? and The Best Tablet For Reading....

Defining Weird Westerns Put simply, weird westerns are a merger of westerns and weird fiction. Think: westerns plus monsters, supernatural phenomena, or outer space (among other “weird” elements). As Anna Bogutskaya points out in her essay “Where to Begin with the Weird West?” the term has its roots in the 1972 DC Comics anthology Weird Western Tales even though the genre-bending tendency for western mash-ups can be traced back at least a few decades prior to that....

So what exactly happened? Well, on Wednesday, September 19th (incidentally, Yom Kippur—someone’s doing some atonement for this one!), DC published the first new issue in their new Black Label imprint: Batman: Damned #1, by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo. At one point in the issue, Bruce returns to the Batcave and strips out of his costume. All the way out of his costume. The original printing (and digital release) of the book showed Bruce from armpit to mid-thigh, with his penis clearly—albeit tastefully—visible....

Which isn’t to say that we don’t still need more books, more stories, and more intersectionality! I am constantly amazed by the number of new books that explore new angles and new stories, and I am eager for more, always. But with this proliferation of queer YA, one thing that seems to come up more and more often is the question of which books are the defining LGBTQ+ books of the YA canon....

It is easy to see why Ms. Gorman’s work rocketed to the top of all the best seller lists. Her delivery and message were pitch-perfect, plus she is a poised and beautiful Black woman. In a moment when many Americans were hoping for a fundamental shift in tone from the previous Commander in Chief, her work represented a visible and welcome change. The piece was deeply moving and her iconic yellow jacket promised brighter days....

To have your answers included in the final tally (we’ll compile all the data and share it with you in a few weeks) complete the form below by Thursday, October 9th. And don’t worry about issue numbers or super-specific stuff; the name of the comic and the author are all we need. Me? I’m pretty new to the world of comics, and my first love was Saga by Brian K....

Established in January 2021, the conservative nonprofit group, founded in Florida, brags of a 70,000+ membership. Tina Descovich and Tiffany Justice, two former school board members in Brevard County, teamed up with Bridget Ziegler after Descovich lost a seat on the school board to a former district employee who campaigned against Descovich’s anti-mask mandate agenda. Ziegler is no longer part of the group. Moms of Liberty is an extremely well-connected organization to a variety of politically conservative groups and individual politicians, including Ron DeSantis, the vice chairman of the Florida Republican Party (Ziegler’s husband), conservative Florida political actions groups, conservative celebrities like Fox news hosts, Florida state representative Randy Fine, the Koch-funded Heritage Foundation (see last week’s news roundup), Parents Defending Education, PragerU, and more....

Maybe you recognized him from the old Tobey Maguire days. Maybe you saw a de-aged Alfred Molina in sunglasses and wondered, “Who in the name of Stan Lee is that?” Here’s a quick primer on Doctor Octopus. Marvelous Beginnings Dr. Otto Octavius, AKA Doctor Octopus, first appeared back in 1963 in The Amazing Spider-Man #3. Doc Ock is one of those classic comic book supervillains created by Stan “The Man” Lee and Steve Ditko in the early days of Spider-Man....