MTV will have the full teaser trailer for Twilight: New Moon on its Movie Awards show starting tonight at 8 PM Central (about 90 minutes from my writing this), but Entertainment Tonight has released HALF a teaser trailer.

Half?

Yes, half. Or maybe even less. The teaser released by ET is a scant 14 seconds long, but I’m certain it will make many fans’ day. The dialogue goes something like this:

[EDWARD & BELLA, STANDING OUTSIDE BELLA'S FATHER'S HOUSE AT NIGHT]

Bella: It’s my birthday.
Can I ask for something?
Kiss me.

Look for the full New Moon Teaser Trailer online sometime tomorrow.

With the release date of the movie version of  “Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince” fast approaching, more and more interesting tidbits concerning casting are surfacing.  However, to me none are as strange as the idea that Tom Felton, the actor who portrays Harry Potter’s arch-nemesis Draco Malfoy, actually auditioned for the role of Harry Potter.

Five times.

When that didn’t work out, he dyed his hair, and then auditioned for the role of Harry Potter’s friend, Ron Weasly!

He revealed: “I went for Harry for about five times and then Ron for a couple more and ended up dying my hair blond for Draco. I had my hair dyed brown, ginger and then blond and finally they got it right.

What a strange sight THAT would have been, readers?

So, if you’ll look the post “Upcoming Updates” got posted three times. For some reason, WordPress isn’t letting me delete the two extra posts of the same thing.
So…please ignore the fact that it’s published thrice. You only need to read it once. Thanks.
-GHP

So, I’ve been rather silent on NeoLibarium, but don’t let that trick you into thinking that I haven’t been reading! After posting about Julia Quinn, I decided that I might want to follow up and I checked out three more of her books from the local library. I’ll be reviewing those soon.
For the sake of nostalgia, I’m also reading a book by James A Michener, which I found in the library. At one point a copy of this book belonged to my grandfather who, as I’ve mentioned, served as an example to me of why reading was awesome. I’ll definitely have to discuss and review that book as soon as I’ve finished.
I’ve also got a few other books on the reading list. This weekend is going to be a busy one for me, though, so don’t be surprised if it’s still a few more days before I really have a chance to post in depth.
NeoLibrarium is not forgotten!
If you have any recommendations for reading (or the site layout) feel free to put them here in this post! Summer is book-mania time for me. I plan to do a lot of reading.

To celebrate the fact that the book-based film Angel’s & Demons dropped 53% in its second weekend in the US Box Office, we here present you with some other interesting facts about Dan Brown:

1. He first published as a woman.  He published his first book, 187 Men to Avoid: A Survival Guide for the Romantically Frustrated Woman, under the pseudonym Danielle Brown.
2. He uses gravity boots and hangs upside down to battle writer’s block.
3. Before getting lucky with his novels, he attempted to become a success as a pianist and songwriter. He named one of his novels after his first recording: Angels & Demons.

And as a bonus, here’s what one of the actors in the movie adaptation of Angels & Demons thinks of his writing:

“I think Dan Brown is a terribly bad writer, but he has cliffhangers after every chapter which makes you continue reading.

It’s like eating peanuts at a bar. You don’t like them, but you keep on eating them anyway.”

Julia Quinn was an author who was recommended to me not by a person, but by the fact that I just kept coming across her name. I kept thinking to myself that I should read at least one of her boos and see for myself whether or not she is a good writer.
The possibilities were pretty much fifty-fifty since she writes historical romance. She could be good at it, or she could be bad. Amanda Quick (the nom de plum for Jayne Ann Krentz’s historical romance books) is good, but formulaic. Nora Roberts is good and only very slightly formulaic. Yasmin Galenorn is bad. (Sorry, Ms. Galenorn I wanted to like your books, but I just can’t.)
So I finally got around to Julia Quinn, and I started reading “The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever”. I was highly skeptical because on the cover Quinn was praised as a “contemporary Austen”.
Well, she’s no Austen.
She is, however, a great writer. If I judge by the book I read – and I’ll read more so I may revise this post and my opinion – then I can safely say that Quinn is a great author and her books are thoroughly enjoyable reads. I’m even saying that despite a couple of plot points that had me rather disgruntled.
Austen is a name that I truly doubt any writer can live up to, but in the scheme of things I will say that Quinn comes closer than most. In fact, I’d say she’s much closer than many of the writers who are trying to emulate Austen.
So…the next time you’re in the mood for a light read or a romance, check out Julia Quinn. You’ll probably enjoy it.

Tags: Austen, Authors, historical romance, Julia Quinn, London, The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever

Mattimeo

Mattimeo is the third book in the Redwall series, and tells the story of Mattias and Cornflower’s young son. It has been eight years since the attack on Redwall by Cluny the Scourge, but the aftereffects have lasted for longer than anyone in Redwall Abbey could have imagined.
Slagar the Fox is a slaver who wants revenge on Redwall’s Warrior, Matthias, for wounds he recieved during the battle so many years ago. He plots to kidnap the children of Redwall, including young Mattimeo and sell them in the South as slave laborers.
Slagar tricks his way into the Abbey under the guise of a friend, and swindles the Redwallers during their summer feast. After kidnapping the young ones and fleeing Redwall, Slagar puts the slaves and his band of slavers to a quick march, hiding all signs of passage as the press South.

Matthias, Jess Squirrel, and Basil Stag Hare all set off from Redwall Abbey to find the slave caravan and retrieve the stolen children. The going is rough because of foul weather, dangerous terrain, and ambushes planned by Slagar to trip up the pursuers.

During captivity, Mattimeo has to learn how to be an adult and a true warrior instead of a spoiled young mouse that happens to be the son of Matthias the Warrior of Redwall Abbey. He becomes the leader of the group of Redwall children that are with him, and befriends some of the other slaves that are in similar situations – including Auma the badger, whose own father is a great warrior and hot on the trail of the slavers. New and old familiar characters appear to bring the story together and give shape to not only the plot, but the characters themselves.
I found Mattimeo just as enjoyable a read as the previous two books, so I’ll settle for just recommending the series again. The first book is Redwall, followed by Mossflower, then Mattimeo. As for the rest; I’ll let you know about as I read my way through the series!

Tags: Auma, Basil Stage Hare, book three, Chickenhound, chickenhound the fox, Martin the Warrior, Matthias the Warrior, Mattimeo, Mordalfus, Mossflower, Redwall, Redwall Abbey, redwall series, Slagar the Cruel, Slagar the Fox

Island of the Blue Dolphins is a work of historical fiction based on the true story of Juana Maria, an Nicoleño woman who was left stranded on the Island of the Blue Dolphins when her village abandons the island on a ship from Santa Barbara. She was found by a rescue mission after spending 18 years on the island completely isolated from the rest of the world and spent the rest of her life living in a mission. Nobody near the mission could understand the language that she spoke, but small pieces of the story were gleaned from her by a priest that was there when she was brought back.

The main character, Karana (or Juana Maria) tells her story from her point of view accounting for the time she spent on the island. When a tribe of people with a Russian leader come to the island, Karana’s father makes a deal with them so that they may hunt for otter pelts on the island. When the traders decide to leave, however, they try to go back on their deal and the resulting conflict ends in the death of almost all of the able-bodied men – warriors and workers – in Karana’s community as well as  the death of her father. Read the rest of this entry »

The fine and funny folks over at Summit Entertainment were kind enough to release the first teaser poster for New Moon, the second film adaptation in the Stephenie Meyer “Twilight” book series.  The film, currently filming in Canada and Italy, is scheduled for a release date of November 20, 2009.

Tags: Bella, Edward, new moon, pattinson, stephanie meyer, stephenie meyer, Stewart, Twilight