Buzz Worthy News: August 24, 2015

Welcome to Buzz Worthy News where the stories are awesome and not at all well-written. Need your YA industry news? Never fear, Kate Copseeley and Kat Kennedy is here to give it to you straight.

In this week’s Buzz Worthy News: Sad Puppies and Rabid Puppies lose out on Hugos Bid, JK Rowling Plays Coy on Twitter, School puts controversial textbook label on biology books and much much more!

Buzz Worthy News is Cuddlebuggery’s weekly news post bringing you all the best information about the book and blogging world, particularly for the venn diagram of people who overlap between the two. For new releases and cover reveals of all the best Young Adult fiction, check out our Tuesday post: Hot New Titles.

New The Martian Trailer

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I can’t freaking wait until this movie comes out!  Check out the newest trailer below.

Dante’s Inferno To Be Movie

For those who believe in hell and those who don’t, it’s still interesting to see what Hollywood will cook up for their upcoming adaption of Dante’s Inferno.

Warner Bros. has bought a script from Dwain Worrell based on Dante Alighieri’s Inferno. It’s core is going to be the love story — Dante going through hell after the woman he loves. Ironically, that is not the part most people remember. The parts we all know are the nine circles: Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Anger, Heresy, Violence, Fraud, and Treachery.

Apparently, Warner Bros. is excited by the “franchise potential” of the project. Which is endlessly hilarious to me because Purgatorio and Paradiso are so much more boring than Inferno. There’s a reason most people can only tell you things about one-third of theDivine Comedy. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to Paradiso being split into two movies to capitalize on the franchise, Twilight-style.

ahahahaha  I love iO9.  Seriously, though, I think this is gonna be weird in the best way.

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Jane Austen’s Life Is Hilarious

Or so screenwriters would have us believe.  A comedy biopic is in the works that promises to be eyebrow raising, at least.

The life of Jane Austen is being dramatised yet again in an upcoming film called Jane by the Sea, based on the novel by Carolyn V Murray.

The romantic comedy, which is being pushed forward by Voltage Pictures, will examine the important relationships in Austen’s life and how they influenced her major works. According to the Tracking Board, the film will be a combination of scenes from the author’s life and her books.

I tend to be leery of movies about Jane Austen, simply because… well, they’re lacking.  (all versions starring James McAvoy aside)  But I do love me a romcom.

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JK Rowling Plays Coy

There’s nothing that JK loves more than teasing her fans (and if you’ve read various editions of Twitter Roundup, you’ve seen that firsthand).  Well, in another addition of Twitter teasing, JK drops hints about the upcoming play, “Cursed Child”.  But of course, only enough to tantalize. 🙁

https://twitter.com/leapxrxz/status/634645551854809089

@jk_rowling @leapxrxz is the cursed child a character we have already met, or a new one completely?

— meg 🦖 (@megan_jadeeee) August 21, 2015

Answering that would give away a huge amount. To quote Chris Cornell: "You know my name." https://t.co/BzHLelUvCR

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) August 21, 2015

@jk_rowling is the cursed child me?

— ellie (@eternitysnight) August 21, 2015

No, you're just jinxed. It'll wear off by teatime. https://t.co/gAkbWlYeEu

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) August 21, 2015

I don’t understand what all the mystery for this project is about, but from all the word of mouth going around, I’m hoping it will be mind-blowing.

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Marvel To Publish Inhumans Series

Great things are coming to the Marvel universe, in the form of another Inhumans series in prep for the upcoming 2019 movie.  (That’s quite the lead-in)

All-New Inhumans will be co-written by Charles Soule, writer of the September-launching Uncanny Inhumans, and James Asmus, with art by Stefano Caselli, and will focus on a “diplomatic mission/covert strike team” led by former Avengers and Fantastic Four supporting character Crystal.

“Our stories, at first, will be a little smaller in scope, with deeply personal consequences for the characters,” Asmus told Marvel.com. “But we’re building up a cast and a portrait of the new Inhuman world that will soon have to go toe-to-toe with Marvel’s big boys in a very high-stakes way.”

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Can a book really put your kid to sleep? (I need to know, for Science)

Well, actually it’s because I have a three year old who thinks that sleep is for the weak.  (and boy am I weak)  I mean seriously, though, in parenting circles, this book is already a legend.  But before I fork over the cash for this thing, can I get a testimonial or something?

The book is said to use psychological and positive reinforcement techniques to help children relax, focus and eventually drift off. It has since been translated into seven languages.

Forssen Ehrlin said it is “the verbal equivalent of rocking a baby to sleep”.

He told The Telegraph: “I had written books before… but I got the idea for a children’s book while I was driving on a long journey with my mother and she fell asleep. I got the idea of how I could use my methods to help children relax.”

The author said he regularly uses the book to get his own son Leon to sleep, and said many parents‘ reactions have been similar to his.

So basically this is the children’s equivalent to Ambien?? But really, does it work?

One parent who reviewed the book on Amazon said: “Had my boy yawning in about three minutes and fast asleep in 10.”

A grandparent wrote: “Read this book to my grandson and when I had finished he turned around and fell into a deep sleep. I read it to my other two grandchildren on a sleepover and they fell asleep halfway through. It’s brilliant.”

Another wrote: “It didn’t work for us, my six-year-old son laid with his eyes closed and I really thought he was asleep, then he woke up at the end, read it a second time and again thought it worked.

“But again woke up and started chatting when I’d finished.”

Another negative review stated: “Didn’t work for my five-year-old non sleeper. When the book finally finished, she just said “Why do you keep yawning?” (the book tells you to), and “that was boring”. It was a waste of £12 to be honest.”

haha.  That last kid’s response is priceless.  Back to the drawing board, I guess?

P.S. Just read the sample, and guys, it’s hypnosis.  That sounds like a joke, but I’ve done a lot of self-directed hypnosis for meditation, and they use the exact same trigger words.  Which is probably why this works on some and not on others.

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School Puts Controversial Labeling On Textbooks

It all started with a tweet that writer Suzanne Young posted on August 20th(she has since taken it down):

The sticker reads:

The Gilbert Public School District supports the state of Arizona’s strong interest in promoting childbirth and adoption over elective abortion. The District is also in support of promoting abstinence as the most effective way to eliminate the potential for unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. If you have questions concerning sexual intercourse, contraceptives, pregnancy, adoption or abortion, we encourage you to speak with your parents.

I’m not entirely sure what this has to do with a biology book.  Do they talk about abortion and pregnancy in biology these days?  I thought that stuff was for health class.  Anyway, there’s a whole story behind it.

The label is a result of an effort by a religious group and several board members to “present childbirth and adoption as preferred options to elective abortion” in biology textbooks, AZ Central reported last year. They defended the stance by citing state laws that say schools must encourage childbirth or adoption over abortion. In December, the board decided against all-out editing of the textbooks, however, after Superintendent Dr. Christina M. Kishimoto​ raised concerns about potential copyright violations and pointed out how much effort and time it would take to manually edit the books.

Still not understanding what this has to do with a biology book.

Last year, Gilbert Public Schools voted, with the backing of a conservative religious group, to edit the Campbell Biology: Concepts & Connections (Seventh Edition) textbook because it includes a chapter “that discusses abstinence, birth-control methods, tubal ligations and vasectomies, and drugs that can induce abortion,” according to The Arizona Republic.

Oh, I see.  Still, not sure how a sticker is going to help??  Suzanne Young has her own opinions on the matter:

“The public school district has taken an educational text and used it to teach morality,” Young told BuzzFeed. “It assumes that all students have supportive parents to talk to and shuts down further discussion. It shames and isolates girls before supplying them with information and biological facts.”

Sources HERE and HERE

Jonathon Franzen To Adopt Orphan??

In probably the most eye-rolling story to come out this week, author Jonathon Franzen, (notorious for his feud with author Jennifer Wiener) confessed his idea to adopt an orphan from another country.  But it’s not the what but the why that has many on the internet casting scorn.  In researching his latest book, Purity, which has a 20 year old protagonist, he was spending time with a group of young people.  Here is an excerpt from an interview:

Did hanging out with the young people nix his desire to have a baby?

“Oh, it was insane, the idea that Kathy and I were going to adopt an Iraqi war orphan. The whole idea lasted maybe six weeks. And was finally killed by Henry’s response. He made a persuasive case for why that was a bad idea. The main thing it did … one of the things that had put me in mind of adoption was a sense of alienation from the younger generation. They seemed politically not the way they should be as young people. I thought people were supposed to be idealistic and angry. And they seemed kind of cynical and not very angry. At least not in any way that was accessible to me. And part of what journalism is for me is spending time with people who I dislike as a class. But I became very fond of them, and what it did was it cured me of my anger at young people.”

So basically, he wanted to adopt so he could understand people younger than him.  For his book, perhaps?  Which you know, either way is an AWESOME reason to adopt a child who will be with you for several years, needing love and attention.

But of course, the best part of this story is the tweets. 😀

So Franzen is basically just openly trolling the popular press now right?

— Jay Kristoff News/Updates (@misterkristoff) August 21, 2015

Like "I wonder if I say the stupidest shit possible, they'll still print it?" Turning the Guardian into the Onion without them realizing it?

— Jay Kristoff News/Updates (@misterkristoff) August 21, 2015

Gonna adopt a male author

— Caitlin Kelly (@caitlin__kelly) August 21, 2015

https://twitter.com/laurendestefano/status/634773448506650624?refsrc=email&s=11

All joking aside, I legitimately like Jonathan Franzen's new author photo. pic.twitter.com/NyYFdD3Uc7

— Maureen Johnson (@maureenjohnson) August 21, 2015

Source

Hugo’s Shut Down Sad and Rabid Puppies

A lot has been written about the Sad Puppies and the Rabid Puppies with their bids to try and destroy the Hugos. Many questioned whether their tactics would pay off and how. Unfortunately for them, there were a lot of No Awards in this year’s Hugo wins.

Not a single Puppy-endorsed candidate took home a rocket. In the five categories that had only Puppy-provided nominees on the ballot—Best Novella, Best Short Story, Best Related Work, and Best Editor for Short and for Long Form—voters instead preferred “No Award.”

The Wired hosted an extensive article about the event which can be read here.

While many questioned The Wired’s coverage of The Hugos and the piece’s attempt to erase the history of minority groups within the Hugos.

New York Times Changes It’s Best Seller’s List

As of August 21 the New York Times is changing how it formats its Children’s Best Seller’s list. For those sick of seeing the same few authors dominate the list, the change is very welcome. Says Pamela Paul about the new list:

“I think in this new reconfiguration, you’ll see a lot more newly published hardcover fiction. Just like book reviews, the bestseller lists are another place for discovery. It will be useful for readers, too.”

The New York Times will now be separating the hardcover lists from paperback and ebook lists, which they hope will be more useful to readers. Problems with the old list included the fact that you had to go down five spaces just to see something that wasn’t John Green.

“New authors would find it hard to break into the list, and it was difficult for readers to discover new writers from those lists. So it made sense to return to the model we use in adult.”

God it’s like they get me. It’s like they really, really get me.

“Given how large our Internet readership is, I didn’t feel we were losing anything. Our Internet audience is growing enormously, and paperback and e-book sales are not trending the way we expected four years ago, and as a result the lists are not reflecting the breadth of what’s being published.”

Don’t stop. DON’T STOP.

And she doesn’t. It’s a great article. Go read it!

NYT Erases Author’s Achievements

The New York Times ran a story about people Making It in new and unexpected ways. Part of it’s piece was about Robyn Schneider – popular Young Adult Author and Youtube. Yet the article couldn’t seem to go past referencing John Green without mentioning a single book she’s written.

Robyn Schneider writes fiction for young adults. She is also on YouTube. ‘‘There’s a huge overlap there, obviously,’’ she says — referring to the fact that so many Y.A. writers, chief among them John Green, the author of ‘‘The Fault in Our Stars,’’ are building their fan bases on the video site. 

What did Robyn Schneider say about the piece?

https://twitter.com/robynschneider/status/634111148233654272

https://twitter.com/robynschneider/status/634138047571959808

Since the NYT didn’t mention it, Robyn Schneider  is the author of The Beginning of Every and Extraordinary Means!

Interesting Links:

Former Yahoo Employee Spills Secrets In New Book

Russia Taking Author’s Names For Propaganda