Buzz Worthy News

Welcome back to Buzz Worthy News where the stories are awesome and not at all well-written. Need your YA industry news? Never fear, Kat and Kate are here to give it all to you. Just, ya know, not in any kinda sophisticated sense or nothing.

In this week’s Buzz Worthy News, Kat is drunk but stuff happened so come and read please.

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.

Reading

Awesome Book Store Gives Away Banned Book

Have you read The Miseducation of Cameron Post? Good. Neither have I. Maybe we should read it together on a moonlit night under the cover of clouds while angels sing? I believe that would fill our young and romantic hearts for years to come, would it not? Alright, this is what happened: Cape Henlopen, which sounds like an unfortunate and illegal chicken act, banned The Miseducation of Cameron Post for their junior classes. Don’t ask me why. I’m like the Marie Antionette of books. Let them read smut. Not that I think the Cameron Post book is smutty, but they usually ban books for foul language or sexual content or any of that fun stuff, so I’m going to assume that’s what it is. ANYWAY Apparently banning a book means that ALL the people want to read it, because Browseabout Books can’t keep the damn thing on the shelves. They’ve decided to give away copies to any teen that asks for it. I’ve decided to give away beatings to any teen that asks for it, but nobody’s praising me for THAT!

“I’ve been here 10 years and I’ve not seen anything quite like this,” said McAnelly. “It’s been on twitter feeds, Facebook, blogs. It’s been quite a flurry.”

Yey! Go bookish people! Source

Archie Died. Good Riddance.

Now, hopefully, Betty and Veronica can live their lives free of that varmint. YES! Varmint, I said. Betty, I love you! Marry me, instead! The comic, only one of many AU’s (Alternate Universes) currently running, has been highly publicised. Possibly the reason so many people want to read it is to experience the sweet, sweet moment when Archie finally dies. I know that would be my motivation. Archie Bunker’s Death = Big Sales In what seems like the most obvious news EVER…

“Today, Archie dies a hero,” lies Archie Comics Publisher/Co-CEO Jon Goldwater. “This day will never come again. This is not a gimmick. This is not a stopgap for a year until we bring him back in LIFE WITH ARCHIE. While he will live on forever as a teenager in the digests and classic stories, his adventures in LIFE WITH ARCHIE end today, and we will remember his bravery, loyalty, friendship and pure heart. I’ve said this before –Archie represents the best in all of us, and this issue and next week’s LIFE WITH ARCHIE #37 amplify and celebrate one of the greatest characters in pop culture history. We’d like to thank the fans, comic shop retailers and everyone who’s supported us over the years for helping to make this story an instant hit – critically and sales-wise.”

You go on believing that, Archie Comics Publisher/Co-CEO Jon Goldwater. See you in a year when Archie is back! Source

David Levithan Does a Thing

There’s a thing where his YA Novel is musical. This is a follow up from his Will Grayson, Will Grayson novel with cowriter and Leader of the Free World, John Green.

“From the moment John read me Tiny’s opening lines in Will Grayson, Will Grayson, I was literarily smitten. And the musical numbers that John and I wrote for that book always made me want to write the whole musical. I’m thrilled that after four years of working on it, I’m able to help Tiny make the leap to his own big production.”

I don’t get it since I’ve not read Will Grayson, Will Grayson. But I believe from the bottom of my heart that it will be fabulous! Source

Stuff YA Readers Say

Check out this hilarious video, or I will own your soul.

Weird Al Yankovic Wins All The Awards.

Are you committing some Word Crimes? Weird Al Yankovic has a song for you.

Singapore Is Less Awesome than Usual

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been to Singapore many times, LOVED it many times. But seriously, Singapore, why you fail now? Let the LGBTI children’s books be, okay? The Singapore Government has required the National Library Board to destroy the following three children’s books: And Tango Makes Three, The White Swan Express: A story About Adoption, and Who’s in My Family: All About Our Families. Three books that are vital to adding to the voices of children who grow up in LGBTI families.

“The ban was reportedly spurred by a complaint from a single library user who is also a member of the Facebook group “We Are Against Pinkdot in Singapore.”

Seriously, for a nation that contains such a diverse group of people and that is so modern in many sensibilities, this is a disgrace to many of the families living there. Source

Gender Swapped Thor

Seems like Marvel decided the old Thor had been a naughty boy, or so several sources are reporting, because old Thor is out and new, hot, woman Thor is in.  That’s right, people. Thor has a vagina and will also kick your ass.  Which okay, THAT’S ALWAYS COOL WITH ME.  But apparently there are a few people who want to complain about it or something.  (We’ll get to that in a minute.)

The idea: Thor somehow becomes unworthy of his mighty hammer, and so a qualified woman steps up. Bam, now we’ve got a female Thor. 

“The inscription on Thor’s hammer reads ‘Whosoever holds this hammer, if HE be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.’ Well it’s time to update that inscription,” says Marvel editor Wil Moss. “The new Thor continues Marvel’s proud tradition of strong female characters like Captain Marvel, Storm, Black Widow and more. And this new Thor isn’t a temporary female substitute – she’s now the one and only Thor, and she is worthy!”

“This is not She-Thor. This is not Lady Thor. This is not Thorita. This is THOR. This is the THOR of the Marvel Universe,” added Jason Aaron, who’ll be writing the series.

So what’s all the fuss about?  You guessed it.  A bunch of whiny people claiming that Thor is now RUINED.  Joss Whedon had a great answer to those complaints, which I post here, because I agree 100%:

http://twitter.com/josswhedon/status/489115238269476864

Can’t wait to see the movie version of THIS.

Source and Source

No Shocker Here: Rainbow Rowell Wrote Harry Potter Fan Fiction

Those of you who’ve read Fangirl, like I have, suspected that Rainbow Rowell was a massive Harry Potter fan, simply because Baz and Simon sound like two characters in alternate reality Harry Potter Fan Fic.  Well, now we have proof:

Rainbow Rowell has revealed that she wrote Harry Potter fanfiction after getting “kind of depressed” between writing two of her own novels. The American author, who has been promoting her books in the UK this week, also revealed that reading Harry Potter fanfiction led her to start thinking about fans and fandom, the subject of her YA novel Fangirl(Macmillan Children’s Books).

I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT!  The geniousness that is Baz, Simon, and the Simon Snow series, had its roots in the greatest MG/YA series ever written.  Oh, this totally makes sense.

Personally, I’d rather see Harry and Ron (or Harry and pretty much anyone over Draco, because ewwww), but the fact that she did THAT is so freaking cool.  Now who wants to see Simon and Baz get their OWN book?

Harry/Draco fandom is the stuff of gods, Kate. Deal with it. -Kat

Source

 Movie Deals

Jungle Book Has Its Mowgli

A bunch of us that saw the 90’s version have been talking about this movie and it seems they’ve found their Mowgli!  His name is Neel Sethi and he is so freaking adorable.  Take a gander:

The 10-year-old Sethi, from New York, was chosen from among thousands of kids who auditioned for the role in the U.S., the U.K., New Zealand and Canada.

“The Jungle Book” will be Sethi’s first acting role.

“Casting is the most important element of any film and finding the right kid to play Mowgli was imperative,” Favreau said in a statement. “Neel has tremendous talent and charisma. There is a lot riding on his little shoulders and I’m confident he can handle it.”

Casting director Sarah Finn described Sethi as embodying “the heart, humor, and daring of the character. He’s warm and accessible, yet also has an intelligence well beyond his years and impressed us all with his ability to hold his own in any situation. Even though he has no professional acting experience, his natural charisma and instincts jumped out at us.”

Sethi is the only actual actor that we’ll see onscreen, as all the other actors will be voice only.

Source

Publishing

Will There Be A Publishing World War?

Let’s all pray to whatever diety we hold dear, (I have an My Little Pony altar in my bedroom) that this isn’t the Amazon Hachette Wars expanding.  Because, UGH.

Hachette isn’t the only book publisher facing down Amazon.com.

The country’s largest bookseller is also in talks with Simon & Schuster, said Leslie Moonves, CEO of the publisher’s parent CBS Corp.

In probably one of the most tactful comments I’ve ever heard someone say in reference to Amazon, Moonves went on:

“Amazon has a definite point of view about what should be done in the publishing business,” said Moonves. “It’s going to be a very interesting thing to watch.”

It wasn’t immediately clear what the nature of Amazon’s talks with Simon & Schuster are, and a spokesman for the book publisher declined to comment. An Amazon spokeswoman didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Well, I’m sure that whatever Amazon has in mind, it’s probably sinister in nature. (like selling 4 out of every 5 books instead of 3)

Source

Amazon Wants to Be THE Netflix For Books NOTHING. Look over there! *whistles innocently*

Bad news Oyster(and Scribd)… Amazon likes your idea. Have you crapped your pants yet?  Well you should, because any time the giganto company gets its bear paws on anything, it churns it out like the machine it is, other companies be damned. Only this time, it seems like Amazon let the cat out of the bag a little to early (either that or its some kind of confusing PR move that no one really understands):

Amazon is testing an ebook and audiobook subscription service called “Kindle Unlimited” that offers “unlimited access to over 600,000 titles and thousands of audiobooks on any device for just $9.99 a month.” Most of the test pages were pulled down Wednesday after some users on the Kindle Boards noticed them, but they are still available through Google Cache and some are still live on Amazon’s site.

Amazon’s service, which has been rumored for a couple of months, would compete with existing ebook subscription services Scribd and Oyster. Publishers Lunch reported last month that Amazon was speaking to U.S. publishers about participating in such a service.

One page, still active at the time of this post and titled “KU Test,” shows 638,416 available titles, and you can browse through them. Among them are many books from Amazon’s publishing imprints, and many books that were already available through Amazon’s Kindle Owners Lending Library, which allows Prime members who own a Kindle to borrow one free ebook per month. That includes the Hunger Games series and the Harry Potter series.

I have Scribd (which I got for free through Smashwords’ book deal with the website) and it’s great and all, but I have to read everything on an iPad.  This is what I see as the essential drawback for Scribd and Oyster, they don’t come on a e-reader.  Reading on an iPad hurts my eyes, and uses up battery power pretty fast.

Amazon making the deal available for kindle owners would be pretty sweet, except that their library doesn’t seem that great, for the price.  And then there’s the whole question of royalties.  Like how are you gonna make that work?  Would there be self-published books involved?

Just some questions that popped into my brain when I heard this one.

Source

 Interesting Links:

Honest Book Titles (I especially love the Jane Austen one. haha)

Buzzfeed Rehashes Some Spoilery Theories about GOT (and readers of the books yawn)

Thomas Jane Picked to Star In New SyFy show based On Book Series

The Originals Becomes a Book Series

More Outlander News