I’m going to be positive, and say that the eleven-person turnout for Joe The Plumber’s Wednesday book signing at a Washington Borders is due to lack of interest in McCain-style politics, and not a sign that the publishing industry as a whole is imploding.  Although I guess there’s that, too.

Tonight at 6:30, the Theta Psi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority will be reading from a selection of books about notable African-Americans.  It’s free, and kids are encouraged to attend.

Providence Public Library
South Providence Branch
441 Prairie Avenue
Providence, RI 02907

What do Oscar winners Ang Lee, Halle Berry, Ben Affleck and George Clooney all have in common? Well, besides the fact that they’ve all won Oscars, they’ve also been involved with some really crappy comic book adaptations.

As someone with a new blog about reading, I feel like I should be talking about the Kindle 2 this week.  But since I don’t have one, and don’t really want one, I thought I’d focus instead on King Magazine’s new list of the 10 Worst Comic Book Movies.

The list, which involves a lot of click-throughs if you go their website*, is focused mainly on stinky movies of the past five years, though it does somehow manage to ignore Ghost Rider.

I actually like one movie on the list; Barb Wire was a lot of fun, though it was unsettling seeing campy Pamela Anderson kicking around with actor Temuera Morrison, the uber-creepy star of Once Were Warriors.

Full list after the jump:

[Read more →]

Sudanese novelist Tayeb Salih died last Wednesday at the age of 80. His 1966 novel Season Of Migration to the North, about a Sudanese man in London, was voted the most important Arabic novel of the twentieth century by the Arab Literary Academy. Salih wrote three later novels, as well as a collection of short stories.

New Art For The People, a fundraiser for Not About The Buildings, will be taking place this Sunday at my house. Artwork from a dozen local artists will be featured:

Caitlin Beck
Jen Corace
Jean Cozzens
Jyll Ethier-Mullen
Shawn Gilheeney
Corey Greyhorse
Delia Kovac
Andrew Sloan
Alec Thibodeau
Jason Tranchida
Neal Walsh
Tom West

Additionally, there will be the last remaining copies of Emily Brown’s prize-winning story How To Kill A Rattlesnake.

Sunday, February 22
3-8 pm
$5-$10 suggested donation
E-mail (notaboutthebuildings at gmail dot com) for more information. It’s open to the public.

Artist M.S. Corley just posted a series of book jacket re-designs on his blog.  Using the wonderful old style of Penguin Classics, he’s re-done the covers for all the books in the Harry Potter, Lemony Snicket, and Spiderwick series.

I’m especially fond of the Snicket covers–note the VFD eye in each one–although maybe just because that’s the only one of the three series that I’ve actually read.

Tonight authors Kathleen Rooney and Kyle Minor will be stopping at Ada Books (717 Westminster St, Providence) as part of their cross-country reading tour.  Rooney’s book, Live Nude Girl: My Life As An Object, details the history of artists’ models (including some of the author’s own experiences.)  Publishers’ Weekly, in their review of Kyle Minor’s In The Devil’s Territory, says that the author “has a knack for capturing melancholy and establishing empathy for his book’s many wayward characters.”

The reading starts at 7pm.

Hi there!

In order to provide you with information about great book-related stuff going on, Not About The Buildings has launched a blog.  Check back here for book reviews, book news, and happenings in literature, including book events in and around Providence.