Carolyn McCulley, one of my favorite authors, has a new book on success coming out RT

“The Norwegian thriller writer Jo Nesbø will write a retelling of Macbeth for the Hogarth Shakespeare series, according to a press release from the publisher. Nesbø is quoted in the release saying, “Macbeth is a story that is close to my heart because it tackles topics I’ve been dealing with since I started writing. A main character who has the moral code and the corrupted mind, the personal strength and the emotional weakness, the ambition and the doubts to go either way. A thriller about the struggle for power, set both in a gloomy, stormy crime noir-like setting and in a dark, paranoid human mind. No, it does not feel too far from home.” Hogarth has enlisted authors including Jeanette Winterson, who will retell The Winter’s Tale, and Margaret Atwood, who will retell The Tempest, for its series launching in 2016, the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.” RT

There is NOTHING I love more than a blistering book review –

“On reflection, it might be quicker to list everyone Raphael loves, a roll-call that begins with R for Raphael and ends, a little abruptly, with R for Raphael” (nominated for Omnivore’s annual Hatchet Job awarding well-written critical/negative reviews) RT

The Atlantic putting the Academy Award noms with their customary succinct accuracy  –

“Finally, there’s Her, my choice for the best film of the year. It made out okay, with nominations for picture, screenplay, score, production design, and even a surprise nomination for “The Moon Song.” As much as I would’ve liked to see Scarlett Johansson nominated for best actress (or supporting actress, if necessary), that was always going to be a heavy lift given her physical non-presence in the film. But the Academy’s decision to pass on Joaquin Phoenix for actor and Spike Jonze for director—those are not to be forgiven. If one day in the not-so-distant future, our artificially intelligent computers turn out to be ill-tempered, more Skynet than Samantha, they will be able to point to these snubs as a rationale for their distrust—and ultimate eradication—of the human race.” RT

And finally, men get dumber when they think women are watching: “Unfortunately for men, this is a case of negative stereotypes containing a grain of truth. A pair of studies showed that when men were simply told that a female observer would be watching them perform a cognitive test, they performed less well, while women showed no difference regardless of the gender of their observer. Whether this is due to societal pressure for men to impress women, or a biological condition was not established.”  RT

Tagged: Academy Award nominations, book art, book reviews, book sculpture, books, Carolyn McCulley, Her, Hogarth Shakespeare series, Jo Nesbo, literary snark, Margaret Atwood, modern Shakespeare, s, Shakespeare, Shakespeare adaptations, Spike Jonze, The Hobbit, the hobbit sculpture, Tolkein