Liked the movie? Read the book!

Red carpet hoopla aside, we all know that movies are the real stars of the Oscars. But with so many award-winning book-to-movie adaptations, it can be an exciting night for book lovers too. The fast-approaching 87th annual Academy Awards is no different, with plenty of spectacular movie nominations beginning first as spectacular books (some might even surprise you). This year Wes Anderson’s "The Grand Budapest Hotel," inspired by The Collected Stories of Stefan Zweig, leads the nominations (along with "Birdman"), so we’re especially excited to be hosting author Matt Zoller Seitz next month to sign and discuss his companion book to the film, which takes readers behind the scenes of Wes Anderson’s imaginative production. That said, we’ve collected the rest of the Oscar-nominated books below and highly suggest you give them a read.  

• "Inherent Vice" (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson), based on Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon 

                                                  

• "Unbroken" (dir. Angelina Jolie) based on Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand 

• "The Theory of Everything" (dir. James Marsh), based on Traveling to Infinity: The True Story Behind the Theory of Everything by Jane Hawking 

• "Still Alice" (dir. Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland) based on Still Alice by Lisa Genova 

• "Gone Girl" (dir. David Fincher), based on Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

• "The Imitation Game" (dir. Morten Tyldum), based on Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges 

• "American Sniper" (dir. Clint Eastwood), based on American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History by Chris Kyle 

 

• "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)" (dir. Alejandro G. Inarritu), based on What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver 

• "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" (dir. Peter Jackson), based on The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

• "Wild" (dir. Jean-Marc Vallee), based on Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

Happy Birthday Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Our lives begin to end the day our we become silent about things that matter." 

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, so you have to ask yourself: What are you doing today to help others? It’s what Dr. King himself believed was life’s most urgent question. And while it’s clear that our world in 2015 is still far from perfect, at Book Soup we recognize that change begins with our daily decisions, interactions, and routines. So what better way to honor Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy than by finding a way to give back to your community? We’ve got some booklover-friendly ideas for those of you in the L.A. area to volunteer your services today and everyday.

1) Donate your old books: Downtown L.A.‘s The Last Bookstore is the largest remaining used bookstore in California and it runs Re-Book It, a free book donation pick-up service with service anywhere in L.A. County (and sometimes elsewhere in Southern California too). No book is ever thrown away and donations help local libraries, charities, hospitals and The Last Bookstore itself. Visit Re-Book It or The Last Bookstore online for more information. 

2) Volunteer for 826LA: 826LA in Echo Park and Mar Vista is a nonprofit organization that provides after school tutoring and writing workshops to help support students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills. There’s need for a lot more than just teachers and tutors too, so to find out exactly what you can do check out their Volunteering 101.

3) Become an adult literacy tutor with Los Angeles Public Library: Not really a “kid person”? No problem. You can share your love of reading with an adult in need through the LAPL's adult literacy program. Note: This community service is available throughout all LAPL branches, so you're not excluded no matter where you live.  

A Look Ahead at the Books of 2015

2014 was a great year for reading. We were moved by some astonishing debut novels from writers like Catherine Lacey (Nobody is Ever Missing) and Eimear McBride (A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing), plus the film releases of Gone Girl and Inherent Vice allowed us to revisit some literary favorites at the cinema. But whether you’ve made it through the massive to-read pile on your nightstand or not, 2014 has rolled cruelly on. It’s 2015 now—the Year of the Green Wooden Goat Sheep. Ok, so I don’t know what that means exactly, but still. There’s a whole bunch of great new books to anticipate this year. Listed in no particular order, here are a few of the 2015 releases that I JUST CAN’T WAIT to read (SPOILER ALERT! They are all written by ladies): 

1) Binary Star by Sarah Gerard (Two Dollar Radio) - Two Dollar Radio consistently publishes work that the pushes the boundaries of contemporary fiction, and Sarah Gerard’s new novel sounds no different. It’s a dizzying, devastating roadtrip tale about illness, addiction and modern culture that defies literary classification.

2) The First Bad Man by Miranda July (Scribner) - This is the debut fiction novel from the artist, writer and filmmaker who gave us No One Belongs Here More Than You. I expect it to be both totally weird and wonderful. 

3) Savage Park: A Meditation on Play, Space, and Risk for Americans Who Are Nervous, Distracted, and Afraid to Die by Amy Fusselman (Houghton Mifflin) - Fusselman is a seriously underrated contemporary writer. If you like Rebecca Solnit and Cheryl Strayed, then you’ll probably love Amy Fusselman. And you’re in luck because she’s reading at Book Soup next month!

4) The Remains by Annie Freud (Picador) - Inspired by Freud’s visit to an exhibition of Sung Dynasty artworks and also illustrated by the poet herself, The Remains is said to explore what’s left when everything seems broken or lost.  

5) Naked at the Albert Hall: The Inside Story of Singing by Tracey Thorn (Virago) - Don't even get me started. Tracey Thorn is just the coolest and I can listen to her moody lady croons for hours on end. This book is part memoir, part exploration of the art and power of singing (cue “Missing”).

6) After Birth by Elisa Albert (Houghton Mifflin) - Hey, throw around the term “afterbirth” in any form and you’re sure to get my attention. Plus, Lydia Davis has only words of praise for this book, which seems like reason enough to pick it up. 

7) The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson (Graywolf) - DISCLAIMER: I already read an ARC version of this, so I know it’s good. For lovers of cult classic Bluets, Maggie Nelson does not disappoint with her latest meditation on queer family-making and “good enough” mothering.

8) In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume (Knopf) - Are you there God? It’s me, Adriana. I’m an “adult” now, but I never really got over the horrifying upset of female puberty. Thankfully, Judy Blume is publishing her first book for adults in 15 years and I’m sure it will make us all feel a little less utterly alone, just her like her YA books did once. 

#1 for #2 is a new, semi-regular series that focuses 
on the preferred bathroom reading materials
of Book Soup staffers and customers. 

#1 for #2

episode 1

with 

DAVID LANGFORD

Book Soup's assistant manager 

What's your go-to book when you're using the little boys' room?

That would be Harold and the Purple Crayon.

Why?

Harold and the Purple Crayon is essentially a story of consequences. Harold draws something with his magical purple crayon that inevitably creates a dilemma that he must overcome. The sensation and ultimate satisfaction when purging [waste] couples nicely with this story. I liken it to going to the Chinese Theater and sitting in the seats that vibrate. One doesn't need the other in order to be facilitated, but combine them and you have a next level experience. 

BONUS QUESTION: What do you know about the First World War (AKA "The Great War" and "WWI") apart from it being partially instigated by the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand?

Let's see, it was the first war to utilize toxic gasses as an agent of death and destruction. It also left Germany's economy in a shambles, leaving the country in a desperate state of dire straits, and making them vulnerable to Hitler's genocidal regime. That and a surprising shortage of working toilets (little known fact).    

Bzzzzzzzz.

That sound indicates the end of round one. Thanks for reading, and be sure to tune in next time, when Zane Morris discusses martial arts and self-control.

Unrelated link: Instructions to make and use a grappling hook!

Yazoooo!

A Book for Every Resolution

Happy New Year, you beautiful bags of friendship!

Here’s hoping you got everything you wanted for whatever holiday you celebrate (Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Feast of Sweet Satan, Lebron James’ birthday, etc.), and that you didn’t fall into an open manhole and break your femur. (How does that always happen to you?)

In either case, we’re here for you, amigos… Our new resolution-themed window has everything you need to either a) keep your lucky streak going, or b) get your life back on track while your leg heals:

             

  

Hot mama! Look at all those potential resolutions! You’re probably wondering how we came up with them.
Would you believe that we consulted a pool of bespectacled social scientists, dubiously-licensed life coaches, honorary doctors, and weathered ship captains (who seemed taciturn and irascible at first, but proved to have kind, caring hearts buried deep beneath their gruff exteriors and bright yellow rain jackets)? Not buying it? Good instinct. Our graphic designer and assistant manager actually came up with the list while eating spicy tacos and talking about that scene in “Harry and the Hendersons,” where Harry has to go back to the – oh wait – that’s probably a spoiler, huh? (If you want to find out more about the scene, email our assistant manager.)

Okay, where were we? Ah yes – your new Book Soup-approved resolutions... Here they are in all their glory - each bold, each brave, and each linked to a pertinent book that will keep your cat's pajamas as wet as a whistle, or however the expression goes:

    

    

    

    

     

     

Yazoo! If those links don’t get your hemoglobin pumping, I don’t know what will!

Well, what’re you waiting for? Do you really want to redesign your apartment, kill your spouse, and/or start a big ol' revolution, or what? Don’t let these become another batch of passionate resolutions that get discarded by February, like a delicious chocolate-covered Snickers bar that you buy in January and discard by February!

Make sure that this year is different! - Like Henry Ford always said, “Who cares if you fell in a stupid manhole? Dust yourself off, arm yourself to the teeth with books, and build your future with suicidal gumption and butterscotch dreams!”