Charming. Quirky. Nostalgic. All words that have been used to describe Mary Ann Shaffer's bestselling novel, The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society. The historical WWII novel that Shaffer (a former librarian) wrote when her plans for a biography of Robert Falcon Scott's widow, Kathleen Scott fell through, "Guernsey" was extremely popular when it…
And the nominees are…
The nominees for the Academy awards have been announced for this year. For me the most notable inclusions are "genre" films in the Best Picture category. It's unusual for genre films to get much love from the Academy in this category (Peter Jackson's The Return of the King is so far the only fantasy film…
Books on screen: Murder most foul, sci-fi classics and more
Read the book before you see the film/TV series, or read the source material afterwards for all the added backstories and characters (that you can absorb at your own pace)? It's a tricky one and the answer really depends on your own personal tastes and inclinations. Either way, here is the latest crop of works…
The Changeover: Girls with big hair, saving people
The film adaptation of The Changeover premiered in Christchurch a few weeks ago, and is now screening in cinemas across the country. If you haven't yet encountered this melting pot of red-zone Christchurch, subtle romance and sinister magic, I highly recommend watching the movie and reading the novel it was loosely based on. It's a measure of how well-loved the…
The Dark Tower: A Constant Reader worries
Last week’s release of the trailer for Stephen King’s The Dark Tower movie just about broke the internet, with fevered and passionate discussion about just how right or wrong the director had got things. Widely recognised as the most important of King’s works, The Dark Tower series is a ridiculously huge tale, with nearly 4300…
Mortal Engines rule!
If you haven't read Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve, you'd better get on to it. Or you won't be able to compare it with the movie - our very own Peter Jackson began shooting on this film in March 2017! Written for young adults, Carnegie Medal winning Mortal Engines is a fast-paced tale of good…
Book to film: The Changeover
Margaret Mahy's young adult novel, The Changeover was already several years old when I first picked up a worn copy in my high school library at the age of 15. The Changeover I was so taken with it that even before I had finished reading it I was re-imagining it in my head as a…
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
Want to instantly feel better about being a teen? Be thankful you’re not peculiar… Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs is a book was so weirdly compelling it had me from the moment I saw the strange image on the cover – it had to be different from your average vampire romance. Miss Peregrine's…
New Zealand International Film Festival 2016
Last night the Christchurch programme for the New Zealand International Film Festival was released and as usual, in amongst a programme that really does have something for everyone, there's a healthy clutch of literary offerings. Every year the New Zealand International Film Festival screens a range of films over a two week period. The 2016 Christchurch festival runs from…
Give your family Goosebumps
I was a big fan of the Goosebumps books by R.L. Stine when I was a kid. There weren't a lot of scary, horror stories for kids around at that stage so Goosebumps were the go-to books if you wanted to scare yourself a little. There were always plenty to choose from and they were…
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