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Five years and six books later, the story of John Smith and the other nine Loric children are finally coming to a close. The seventh and final book will be called United as One.

The title was announced last October 27 on the official Facebook page of the book series, along with its release date.

The series follows the stories of ten humanlike aliens, refugees from the planet Lorien. They have been sent to earth and gifted with superhuman powers in the hope that one day, they will be able to defeat the Mogadorians, save the earth, and replenish their own planet.

In the span of six books, the remaining seven children found each other, albeit being scattered all over the earth, and fight the growing force of their enemies. At the same time, they have managed to train their powers, keep their human friends safe, and stop the Mogadorians from completely destroying the world.

The series is penned by Pittacus Lore, rumored to be a Loric alien who is writing the books as a warning to the human race about the aliens that live among us.

Other than the six books, there are also thirteen novellas which detail background stories of the Loric children who have been dead before the beginning of the books, the remaining seven before they found each other, the Garde, and surprisingly, a Mogadorian who is on the side of the Loric. The fourteenth novella, Last Defense, is set for release months before the penultimate Lorien Legacies novel.

Carry On, the story of Simon and Baz, was published last October 6.

Simon and Baz were characters first introduced in Rainbow Rowell’s novel Fangirl. They are the main characters of a fan fiction story by the main character, Cather, based on a novel mentioned in the book. In other words, this novel is based on a fictional novel mentioned in a novel.

In Fangirl, the protagonist Cather is struggling to finish her popular story before the final Simon Snow novel is released, at the same time dealing with college and a falling out with her twin sister, Wren. Carry On: The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow is the full account of Cather’s story.

Carry On tells the story of Simon Snow and his nemesis, Basilton Pitch. It is set in their eighth and final year at the prestigious Watford School of Magicks.

Readers of Fangirl know that Simon and Baz are the Harry and Draco (JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series) in the novel’s universe. However, Rowell’s inclusion of excerpts from Carry On made readers curious as to what the whole story could be about. Rowell had expressed intent of writing the Simon Snow stories by fictional Gemma T. Leslie soon after the novel became a hit.

Carry On is considered a revolutionary publication because it is fan fiction within a novel within the universe of another novel. Fan fiction is available for free online. What’s unique about this is that Rowell has successfully written fan fiction from a world that doesn’t exist yet. Other critics consider Carry On as a successfully published Harry Potter fan fiction story.

Go Set a Watchman is Harper Lee’s second published book, and although it is considered to be a sequel to her Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece To Kill a Mockingbird, it is actually the first draft that she had written.

Upon the announcement of Go Set a Watchman’s publication in February, people have been in great anticipation for it. But on July 14, 2015, the date of its release, it was nothing but disappointment for most readers. Despite its terrible reception, however, it still remains as one of the best-selling novels in the United States.

Credible reviewers have suggested to simply forget about Go Set a Watchman and reread To Kill a Mockingbird, going so far as to say that its publication depreciates an otherwise excellent writer.

But do not discredit Go Set a Watchman just yet, for without it, To Kill a Mockingbird wouldn’t have seen the light of day. The story starts when Lee’s first draft landed on the desk of editor Tay Hohoff in the midfifties. Instantly seeing the talent of Lee, Hohoff asked her to rewrite it, and that rewritten work is To Kill a Mockingbird, the novel everyone knows and loves.

Moreover, the backstory is why it is wildly inappropriate to describe Go Set a Watchman as a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird because it is just the first draft that Hohoff asked Lee to redo, and it should remain as just that.

Sources:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/books/71085001/harper-lees-go-set-a-watchman-a-poor-mans-version-of-to-kill-a-mockingbird

Belarusian writer and journalist Svetlana Alexievich was awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize for Literature for her writings about female Russian World War II soldiers and the Chernobyl disaster. The award was announced on October 8. The Swedish Academy described Alexievich’s win as something that is “for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time.”

At 67, Alexievich calls the award “a great personal joy.” At a press conference held at her home country, Belarus, she commented, “It's not an award for me but for our culture, for our small country, which has been caught in a grinder throughout history."

Alexievich is the 14th woman to have been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. The award being given to a nonfiction writer is also a rare occurrence. Although the Nobel Prize has been awarded to historians and philosophers before, it has been a while since a nonfiction writer has received the award.

The recognition given to Alexievich is applauded by some because it highlights that journalism can be recognized as a literary art. The journalism genre of writing is seen as an avenue for spreading information and is rarely recognized as a form of artistic endeavor. Alexievich’s win is certainly a huge success in the field of journalism.

Alexievich’s books cross over the dividing borders that separate the journalistic genre of writing from the more artistic genre of fiction writing. They are based on historical events told through oral histories. Her writing, however, has a quality to it that is distinct and literary. The permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, Sara Danius, said that Alexievich’s award-winning work is a “true achievement not only in material but also in form.” She added that her works contain “a history of emotions—a history of soul.”

A major element to Alexievich’s work is its distinct perspective. It gives voice to the men and women who have experienced disastrous events such as the Chernobyl nuclear incident in 1986 and the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan that happened from 1979 to 1989. The Chernobyl incident is an event that has personally affected Alexievich’s life because her sister died and her mother was blinded because of it.  

A writer for the New Yorker Philip Gourevitch is one of the people who has campaigned for the recognition of nonfiction as literature and has called on the Nobel Prize committee to recognize this. Of Alexievich’s work, Gourevitch commented, “What she’s doing, there’s a lot of art in it. She has the voice that runs through her work that’s much more than the sum of the voice she’s collected.”

Alexievich’s most acclaimed work is War’s Unwomanly Face, which was published in 1988. It is about the women who lived through the World War II. It is a part of a series of works called as “Voices of Utopia.”

The technique of blurring the lines between journalism and literary work which was prominent in Alexievich’s works was inspired by the Russian tradition of storytelling. “I decided to collect the voices from the street, the material lying about around me,” Alexievich said in an interview. “Each person offers a text of his or her own.”

Resources:

·         http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-34475251

Author Greg Neri is set to release his new novel entitled “Tru and Nelle” in the spring of 2016. The novel is said to be a about the childhood and friendship of two well-known authors, Truman Capote and Harper Lee.

The two famous authors became known for their respective works—Capote is most known for his novella “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and his nonfiction crime book “In Cold Blood,” while Lee is best known for her novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Along with their respective literary successes, it is also known that the two shared a friendship during their childhood in a small town in Alabama in the 1930s.

Neri said he first got the idea of writing the book after watching the movie “Capote,” which stars actor Philip Seymour Hoffman in the role of Truman Capote and is about how Mr. Capote came to write the book “In Cold Blood.” Neri said that the idea fascinated him, and he wondered why no one has written the same kind of book before.

A lot of biographies have already been written about the lives of the two authors, but Neri’s book is the first to focus on their childhood and to use a fictional approach. “Tru and Nelle” is not the first novel for Neri, who has already written six books previously, including the novel “Ghetto Cowboy.”

The release of “Tru and Nelle” follows new releases from both Lee and Capote in 2015. Lee’s novel, “Go Set a Watchman,” which she wrote about 60 years ago, has just been released in July. A collection of short stories written by Capote as a young man will also be posthumously published in October.

The friendship of Truman Capote and Harper Lee is one that has taken the fascination of literary fans over the years. It has been said that Lee has based the character Dill in “To Kill a Mockingbird” on Capote. Dill is a neighbor of the novel’s protagonist, Scout, who became the latter’s friend and playmate. In “Go Set a Watchman,” a scene involving Scout and Dill is said to be inspired by a true event that happened in Lee and Capote’s childhood. Capote, on the other hand, also reportedly based a character named Idabel Thompkins on Lee for his novel “Other Voices, Other Rooms.”

Capote and Lee allegedly had a falling out after Capote failed to properly credit Lee’s research contributions to “In Cold Blood.” There were also rumors of some rivalry that had put a strain on their friendship. It has been said that the last years of Capote’s life was filled with heavy use of drugs and alcohol. Capote died in 1984 at the age of 59 because of liver disease. Lee, on the other hand, is 89 and continues to lives in an assisted living facility in her hometown in Alabama.

 Resources:

Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice is about to come back to life in a whole new way this February. Based on Seth Grahame-Smith’s bestselling mash-up novel, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is set hit theaters this February 5.

Austen’s classic romance features the unlikely romance between the headstrong Lizzy Bennet and the elusive Mr. Darcy. More than the romance, it also features themes of feminism, politics, and fighting against social classes. In this film, a new element is added in the form of zombies. These zombies, called the “sorry stricken,” have been around for 70 years. What caused their illness is unknown.

The film takes on all the elements of a good period film: the grand costumes, the riveting romance, and the gritty action. Lily James (Cinderella) plays the lead character, Elizabeth “Lizzy” Bennet. She loves the idea that in this film, girls are polishing muskets rather than knitting and crocheting.

Entertainment Weekly revealed a concept art from Marvel’s Doctor Strange, featuring Benedict Cumberbatch in the titular role.

The man behind the superhero identity is a famous surgeon, Stephen Strange, who goes to Nepal in search for a sorcerer, The Ancient One, who might be able to heal his hands after being damaged in a car accident. She does more than heal Stephen Strange; she transforms him into a superhero with magical powers.

In contrast to other Marvel superheroes’ usual straight-to-the-point powers, Doctor Strange features powers of a mystical and magical nature. His array of superpowers includes spell casting, the ability to open portals, and a levitation cloak that has a consciousness of its own.

Cumberbatch is an actor known for bringing several literary characters to life, both on-screen and onstage. Onstage, he has played both the Doctor and the Monster from the stage adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein at the Royal National Theatre and Shakespeare’s Hamlet at London’s Barbican Theatre. Currently, he is best-known for his portrayal of the titular role in BBC’s Sherlock, a modern adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic mysteries.

The movie will costar Rachel McAdams, playing Doctor Strange’s love interest and fellow surgeon, and Mads Mikkelsen as the main villain. The movie will also include Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One, who will take Cumberbatch’s character across different dimensions of the Marvel multiverse.

After its announcement in December 2013, fans have been eager to know more about the upcoming Harry Potter play on the West End. Months after the title was announced, JK Rowling has now revealed more vague details about it.

Titled Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the play is a two-part story written by Jack Thorne based on a story by author JK Rowling. The story will focus on the relationship of Harry Potter, now an employee of the Ministry of Magic, and his second son, Albus Severus, the titular “cursed child.” The synopsis is very ominous and reveals very little detail, saying only that Albus Severus is the bearer of a family legacy he never wanted.

Baybayin Translator App launched

A new app allows you to translate your texts into Baybayin, the ancient Filipino language.

Baybayin is the ancient script used by Filipinos, which is also referred to as Alibata. Baybayin comes from “baybay,” which literally means “spell.” The app is a product of baybayin.com, a website that helps educate and reeducate Filipinos about the writing system.

Much like other forms of writing, Baybayin is a writing system in which syllables are represented by different symbols. Dots, dashes, and other signs added to the sign also help in distinguishing the varied pronunciations of some of the symbols.

A demonstration on YouTube shows how to use the app. Upon opening it and tapping the “Translator” portion, a textbox will appear. The user may begin typing in whole words or syllables. Its equivalent spelling in Baybayin will be shown right below the text box. The app also has a Baybayin chart and guide.

The website is founded by Christian Cabuay, an artist whose work focuses on the ancient script. He also developed a modern style of writing Baybayin called Tulang Kalis (Poetry of the Sword). This has been introduced in 2012 as Filipino calligraphy.

The Baybayin Translator is available for both Android and Apple smartphones.

Amazon opens its first physical store

After 20 years of being an online retailer, Amazon opened its first physical bookstore in University Village, Seattle, last November.

Amazon Books opened holding 6,000 titles, and the prices of all the books are the same as the ones available for sale on the website.

Richard Mollet, chief executive of Publishers Association, said this move is a big support for physical hardbound and paperback books.

“Book stores have been imperiled in recent years, but even Amazon has seen the benefit of a physical browsing experience,” he said.

He also added that Amazon Books could be a boost to the industry if it expands into a chain.

The store also has a shelf holding the bestsellers on the website and those rated 4.8 stars and above by customers. Much like the website, under the face of the book is a review card indicating its online rating and showing a review. While physical books are available, customers are also welcome to try Amazon technology products such as the Kindle and the Fire Tablet.

 Source:

Neil Patrick Harris set to star in A Series of Unfortunate Events

Stage and screen actor Neil Patrick Harris has been cast as Count Olaf in Netflix’s upcoming A Series of Unfortunate Events.

In 2004, a movie based on the series was created, starring Meryl Streep, with Jim Carrey as Count Olaf. Sadly, the movie failed to launch the series.

The role will mark Harris’s return to television, following the end of the long-running sitcom How I Met Your Mother and the cancellation of his short-lived variety show Best Time Ever. Harris had also been nominated for a Tony for his Broadway performance in Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events follows the story of the Baudelaire orphans as they search for their inheritance and the truth behind their parents’ deaths. The children are at the hands of their uncle Count Olaf, who has desires on their family fortune.

The June 2015 update of the Oxford English included more than 500 new words, ranging from colloquial terms to global English words, some coming from the Philippines.

Some of the new words include twerk (a form of dance emphasizing one’s posterior), cisgender (a person whose identity corresponds to the sex/gender he/she was assigned at birth), and stagette (a party given to a woman about to be married).

More notable is the amount of words that are from the Filipino language or English compound words coined in the Philippines. Some of these words include gimmick, barkada, carnap, and presidentiable.

According to the head of US Dictionaries, Katherine Connor Martin, the Oxford English Dictionary generally does not add words that were recorded in use after the 1990s. In the last fourteen years, however, this has begun to change, as more words from the twenty-first century are being added.

 Source:

http://public.oed.com/the-oed-today/recent-updates-to-the-oed/june-2015-update/new-words-notes-june-2015/

A decade before “The Hobbit” was written, J.R.R. Tolkien has worked on a story called “The Story of Kullervo.” About a century after it was written, the book is to be published in the United Kingdom on August 27 and on October 13 in other parts of the world. The book, which was written in 1914, is said to have been an inspiration to Tolkien in his process of creating the lore of Middle Earth for his later books, “The Hobbit” and the “The Lord of the Rings.” It is said to have been inspired by the Finnish poem, “Kalevala.”

Tolkien’s Middle Earth is a fantasy world that has been loved by fans all over the world for years. One of Tolkien’s earlier works that became a stepping stone for the creation of Middle Earth is “The Story of Kullervo,” and it has remained mostly unknown to the general public. It has only been published in an academic journal once, but it is now about to get its wide release.

Tolkien was spending his time studying English at Exeter College in Oxford when he wrote “The Story of Kullervo” in 1914. In letters he wrote, it can be inferred that the story is the main basis for “The Children of Hurin.” It eventually helped to inform the creation of Tolkien’s later works that became some of the world’s most loved fantasy stories.

The tale is a tragic story about Kullervo, an orphan with supernatural powers. The description of the novel for its book release says, “Brought up in the homestead of the dark magician Untamo, who killed his father, kidnapped his mother, and who tries three times to kill him when still a boy, Kullervo is alone save for the love of his twin sister, Wanona, and guarded by the magical powers of the black dog, Musti. When Kullervo is sold into slavery, he swears revenge on the magician, but he will learn that even at the point of vengeance, there is no escape from the cruelest of fates.”

The basis for “The Story of Kullervo” is a nineteenth-century Finnish epic poem entitled “Kalevala.” The said poem is a huge part of Finnish folklore. Both the poem and Tolkien’s work revolves on an orphan hero seeking revenge for the cruelty they have experienced and ends up with a tragic fate. Tolkien has taken inspiration from the poem to write a tale of his own. In one of his letters, Tolkien referred to his tale about Kullervo as “the germ of my attempt to write legends of my own to fit my private languages."

Another one of Tolkien’s earlier works is “The Silmarillon.” In this tale, the hero is called Turin Tumambar. Kullervo, the hero in “The Story of Kullervo,” is Turin Tumambar’s direct ancestor.  

“The Story of Kullervo” is an unfinished tale. The original manuscript of the story will be used for the upcoming release. After a century since its writing, “The Story of Kullervo” will now finally get to be seen by the fans who love the stories of the Middle Earth.

Resources:

Shepherd, Jack. "JRR Tolkien Novel The Story of Kullervo to Be Published a Century after Being Written." The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media. Web. 20 Aug. 2015. <http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/jrr-tolkien-novel-the-story-of-kullervo-to-be-published-a-century-after-being-written-10451314.html>.

 Mack, Eric. "Lost Book by J.R.R. Tolkien Coming Soon Is Basically Fanfic for Fans of Finns - CNET." CNET. Web. 20 Aug. 2015. < http://www.cnet.com/news/lost-j-r-r-tolkien-book-coming-soon-is-basically-fan-fiction/>.

Coloring books have always been essential in keeping children busy and at the same time enhancing creativity. In this age, however, coloring books for adults have become increasingly popular as well.

Johanna Basford’s Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book was initially released in 2011. By 2013, almost two million copies had already been sold. This book along with a follow-up entitled Enchanted Forest: An Inky Quest and Coloring Book have become two of the best-selling books on Amazon earlier this year.

This trend of adult coloring pages and books is said to have started on Pinterest and Facebook, as colorists began posting their work on social media. Soon, other interested users started sharing their own work, as well as tips to improve. They also started sharing the benefits of coloring, such as stress relief and anxiety reduction.

A noted factor for the increase in popularity of adult coloring books is the growing “Peter Pan” market. This market is said to have roots in the publishing industry, upon observation that books targeted for younger audiences are being consumed by older readers. Today, this market is said to be expanding into commodified childhood experiences, such as summer camps and preschool-style vacation.

Adults are also said to lack a creative outlet nowadays, and coloring books are a quick and easy solution to this. Coloring books are also said to substitute traditional forms of therapy.

Moreover, as the world becomes more digital, “grown-ups” start looking for things that are artisanal and handmade to strike a balance. The act of coloring books allows these grown-ups to disconnect themselves from anything digital and get back in touch with the world.

One of the biggest questions about this trend is, of all forms of art, “why coloring?” Basford answered simply, “Coloring is accessible. It unleashes the creativity we all have in a way that’s quite safe.”

 Sources:

http://flavorwire.com/533583/are-grown-up-coloring-books-the-future-of-publishing?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow&utm_campaign=FlavorwireSocial&utm_content=FaceBook

http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/why-adults-are-buying-coloring-books-for-themselves

A recent press release from theater production company Concertus confirmed that the popular musical Les Miserables will come to Manila in March 2016. This news was confirmed by the producer of the musical, Cameron Mackintosh. The Australian Les Miserables cast will be the one coming to Manila as part of their tour. The cast is led by Simon Gleeson as Jean Valjean, Earl Carpenter as Javert, and with the special participation of Rachelle Ann Go as Fantine, who is currently playing the same character as part of the West End cast. Les Miserables will open at The Theatre in Solaire beginning March 11, 2016. Ticket sales will be open to the public beginning October 30, 2015.

The musical, which is nearly three decades old, is based on the popular classic work of the same name by French author Victor Hugo. Les Miserables tells the tale of an ex-convict who swore to protect a stranger’s daughter, the policeman chasing after him who faces conflict between his duty and his faith, and a group of youths who revolted against their leaders. This all takes place before the great French Revolution.