Video Found: Orbit Books and the Making of a Book Cover
Thanks to NextRead for discovering this fast-paced look at how book covers are made today. Without further delay, here it is (after the fold): I find it fascinating how so much is done with small, almost insignificant motion (lots of poking around in there). I’d love to see something like this done at normal speed.
Book Giveaway: Num8ers by Rachel Ward
Guess what? I have three copies of Num8ers by Rachel Ward to give away to three lucky readers! See the bottom of the post for details on how to enter and earn extra entries (it’s easy, so don’t fret). First things first, the book: Ever since she was child, Jem has kept a secret: Whenever she meets someone new, no matter who, as soon as she looks into their eyes, a number pops into her head. That number is a date: the date they will die. Burdened with such awful awareness, Jem avoids relationships. Until she meets Spider, another outsider, and takes a chance. The two plan a trip to the city. But while waiting to ride the Eye ferris wheel, Jem is terrified to see that all the other tourists in line flash the same number. Today’s number. Today’s date. Terrorists are going to attack London . Jem’s world is about to explode! If you’d like to learn more about the book and the author (and read the first chapter), check out its Scholastic webpage. Here’s the book trailer: How to enter:Leave a comment below. If you do not have your email attached to your Blogger account (or don’t have a Blogger account), then please leave me a way to contact you in your comment. Contest is only open to U.S. residents (sorry folks, but I don’t have control over that). Contest closes at 12 PM (EST) on March 22nd. Winners will be announced within a day or two. Ways to get extra entries (+1 for each; provide a link or a note as appropriate):–Tweet this giveaway–Blog about this giveaway–Subscribe (or already be subscribed) to my blog (links on the left sidebar at the top)–Stumble this giveaway–Become a fan of the WISB fan page (or already be a fan) Good luck!
Question: If you were going to teach a class on fantasy literature, what would you cover?
That’s a big question. I’ve always wanted to design an introductory course on science fiction or fantasy (doing both at the same time would be impossible). Selecting texts, however, is always a problem for any genre-specific course. Where do you start? Where do you end? Which movements do you represent or ignore? Do you risk bringing in texts that few people have heard of in the hope of trying to show the true breadth of the fantasy genre, or do you keep it simple and recognizable, at risk of being a little dull or cliche? Now, I’m no expert on designing literature courses, primarily because I’m a fairly new educator. That said, if I were to devise an introductory sixteen week college course on fantasy literature, it would look something like the following: Novels, etc. (in order by movement or period)The Epic of Gilgamesh (pretty much the earliest fantasy text in existence) — Between 20th and 16th Centuries B.C.E.The Odyssey by Homer (if any text has been integral to the creation of the modern fantasy genre, it is this one) — 8th Century B.C.E.Phantastes by George MacDonald (1858) OR Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865)(either of these texts would be a great introduction to the trend of secondary-world fantasy we are so familiar with today)The Metamorphosis and Other Stories by Franz Kafka (a lot of classic must-reads for early weird and magical realist writing here) — 1916-19The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (because you have to have it, even if you don’t want to) — 1954-55Duncton Wood by William Horwood (by far one of the best animal fantasies ever written, but without all the swords and things) — 1980The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe (a unique and powerful fantasy story worth reading and discussing) — 1986Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb (a great book for discussing social dynamics and issues of gender) — 1999The House of the Stag by Kage Baker (an excellent modern fantasy tale with a wonderful fairytale twist) — 2008 Note: I would argue that The Epic of Gilgamesh, Beowulf, and The Odyssey are interchangeable. It really doesn’t matter where you start, because you can talk about all three of these texts without putting all of them on the curriculum. It really depends on personal tastes. Personally, I think the ones I selected for the list are more accessible for a more general audience; Beowulf can be a very difficult text for some folks. I would also recommend shoving The Rings of the Nibelung by Richard Wagner immediately prior to The Lord of the Rings if there is space and time for it; it represents one of the most obvious precursors to Tolkien’s greatest works. You could even show the last act of the opera if you’re so inclined. Critical Texts:The Fantastic by Tzvetan Todorov (offers a provocative theoretical approach to literature and the fantastic) — 1973Fantasy: The Literature of Subversion by Rosemary Jackson (another interesting theoretical text that would do some good for engaging with the novels above) — 1981Rhetorics of Fantasy by Farah Mendlesohn (possibly one of the best critical texts to be written in the last ten years) — 2008 Note: Likely the texts in this section would be read in excerpts as supplements to the fiction reading. There are also essays I’d put in here that aren’t directly related to fantasy as supplements to specific themes and texts. I don’t know if I’d show movies in such a course. There are a lot of films worth considering. For example, instead of reading The Lord of the Rings, you could having movie nights to watch the films (which I think are better than the books anyway). There are a lot of other interesting films to consider, such as: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Legend, or The Fountain. Looking above, it’s clear that I’m leaving out a lot of movements and genres–New Weird, Young Adult Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, and others. It’s inevitable, though. So, any thoughts?