Overlooked books

Everyone's seen the Best Books Lists of the year, and it's the usual suspects: Junot Diaz, Alice Munro, Lauren Groff, Dave Eggers, Hilary Mantel, Gillian Flynn, and others. Book Riot, however, put together a list of five overlooked books of 2012. All five are books that look promising.

The list is a response to Slate's similar list of 20 books. As the title suggests, I haven't heard of any of them. Perhaps a few of these will make by tbr list for 2013.

New Book Clubs to Check Out

There are dozens of online book clubs worth checking out these days, as it's just not feasible for many people to meet in person every month. Unputdownables has a regular Read-A-Long, for instance, where readers can sign up to follow a weekly schedule of reading (usually) a classic piece of literature. Currently, the group is reading Wuthering Heights.

Slate also has a monthly book club in podcast form, which is a similar idea but not interactive, and The Globe & Mail has an online version where the ongoing comment list provides the discussion for the selected book. At Huffington Post, the book selection has its own subsite with relevant links and articles.

This site was created to give a forum for a group to read and comment on a book but we lived in different places and couldn't meet in person; it has evolved into an open discussion, for people to read or read along, join the discussion or contribute ideas.

Of course, search "book club" in Google Blog Search and you will  have myriad options. If you want to rediscover the classics, get into a different genre or just read other opinions about the books you love, there are many, many options online. It is low on commitment and expectation, and you can leave at any time. There is an option for everyone!

"Kind of like 90210 with owls"

With the release of HP6's film version, I suppose I should post something about the movie. I'll keep it short by referring to Slate's movie critic Dana Stevens, who writes that "too much of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince resembles a lesser episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 with owls."

See the full review here.

*update* Saw Half-Blood Prince tonight. Enjoyed it a lot, on the edge of my seat and all that. Jim Broadbent as Slughorn stole the show, and Michael Gambon as Dumbledore once again proved that he is the best actor for the part. Of course, it was visually spectacular. On the other side of the coin, there were a few missing elements that I felt were crucial, such as the climax at Hogwarts, and an added scene that was superfluous at best. All in all, however, an enjoyable experience. Certainly the funniest of the movies - the actors are definitely coming into their own as a troupe. Looking forward to the sequels!!