Can you read a novel a day?

If you could read one a day…well, it would be an interesting challenge anyhow.
Daniel Dalton of BuzzFeed made the picks.
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt: The beloved fable about immortality will outlive us all.
Read the article
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8 Forthcoming Films Adapted From Classic Novels
It’s often thought that if a good book makes it into the right hands, Short List says, then it will make a good film — or a good TV show.
Since the dawn of cinema, thousands of books have been adapted to screen to varying degrees of success. While Twilight and more recently Divergent may spring to mind, we take a look at the pre-2005 – and even pre-1805 in some cases – classic novels that are being adapted for the big screen within the next two years.
The Price Of Salt: Also known as Carol (which the film will also be named after), the novel – written by Patricia Highsmith – tells the story of a down-and-out department store worker who falls in love with a married older woman. Published in 1952, the book rose to notoriety due to the lesbian relationship of its protagonists, Therese (to be played by Rooney Mara) and the titular Carol (Cate Blanchett). But will we see all the salacious details adapted on screen? Time will tell.
Macbeth: Another year, another Shakespeare adaptation. The titular role is being taken on by Michael Fassbender. It features a largely British cast including David Thewlis, Sean Harris and David Hayman, in addition to France’s national treasure Marion Cotillard playing the menacing Lady Macbeth.  This is shaping up to be one of the classic Shakespeare adaptations.
Read the article
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The top 10 novels about childbirth
Childbirth and early parenthood are common and utterly life-changing experiences, novelist Bethan Roberts writes in The Guardian.
They are rich in narrative opportunities, offering a journey full of conflict, joy, struggle and pain, both physical and emotional. Yet they are rarely the subject of fiction. When I was in the throes of pregnancy and early motherhood, I felt really angry about … the fact that, for the first time in my life, fiction seemed to have let me down….where were the novels that could tell me how it actually was?
A few notable exceptions to fiction’s natal taboo.
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver: Shriver’s novel is the most sensational book on my list, perhaps, but it’s also blackly hilarious and ultimately moving. We follow Eva, bright, brittle, lost, as she relates her journey from successful businesswoman to vilified mother-of-a-monster via a series of chillingly realistic (and recognizable) parenting “challenges” with her son. Some women were incensed that Shriver, not a mother herself, could write such a novel. Personally I think this is one of the bravest and most honest books about parenting that I have encountered.
 
Read the article
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10 of the Worst Jobs in Literature
Why not indulge in a little literature, Emily Temple  suggests at Flavorwire, particularly literature that reminds you just how good you have it when you are in the office? After Here you’ll find ten of the absolute worst jobs ever committed to fiction.

 
Stanislaw Lem — Solaris: Scientist on Solaris Station: Scientist is a pretty cool job. But just wait until you’re trapped on a space station being tormented by an alien sea who, every day, sends a clone of someone you’ve loved that won’t leave you alone until you kill it. And then it just comes back the next day.
 
 
Read the article
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The Weirdest Thing You Never Knew About Your Home State
Todd Van Luling selects the strangest thing from every state for The Huffington Post. For example:
In 2006, a tomcat named Lewis was put on house arrest after attacking an Avon representative selling products in the Connecticut town of Fairfield. Lewis’ owner, Ruth Cisero, claimed that her cat only attacked because he was under a lot of stress from being tormented by egg- and water-throwing neighbors. A judge ruled in 2008 that Lewis was safe and free to once again roam the streets of Fairfield.
Flat as a pancake Kansas: It’s not just a popular idiom. The state was proven to be flatter when scientists bought a pancake from an IHOP and tested the topography against the flatness of the state. They measured “perfect flatness” on a scale of 1 with the IHOP pancake testing as 0.957 and Kansas scoring a 0.997.
To raise money for construction on the National Cathedral’s west towers during the 1980s, a contest was held for children to submit “gargoyle” designs to add to the construction plans. Christopher Rader won third place with his Darth Vader design, and the Sith Lord was added to the building.
 
Read the article
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THIS ‘n THAT
The One Word Only Women See In Their Performance Reviews
At Fast Company, Kathleen Davis reports that there’s one adjective that’s never used to criticize men, yet it shows up at an alarming rate in women’s performance reviews.
Can you guess what that word is?
Read the article
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Quote of the Day (thanks to Mike Toot)
“Every journalist has a novel in him, which is an excellent place for it.“ ~ Russel Lynes
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Alma Alexander
My books
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