Clash of the Titans, the 2010 film

Though versions of this story have been told for thousands of years, it originated in Ancient Greece. You wouldn’t know that from this latest cinematic translation, which is an anachronistic mish-mash in every way possible. Liam Neeson, as Zeus, seems to have kept his armor from Excalibur. He’s squabbling with his brother, Hades, played by [...]

Read Full Post »

This week on Vulpes Libris:

The weather in the UK at the moment is what is generally referred to as ‘changeable’, veering dramatically between almost spring-like to near-arctic, often within the space of a couple of  hours. Our offerings on Vulpes this week are equally diverse – from a classic British humorist revisited to the latest novel from the author [...]

Read Full Post »

The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian – the literary pleasure of being fooled

Whilst mountain biking on the back roads of Vermont, college sophomore Laurel Estabrook is attacked. Although left for dead, she survives, but her life is changed forever. Six years later, Laurel still struggles with her fears as a result of the assault. She is more withdrawn, but takes a job at a homeless shelter where [...]

Read Full Post »

The Trials and Tribulations of Writing a Screenplay: Part Two

Writing the Bloody Thing As you may know from my last blog post, I have spent the past year wrestling the hydra of screenplay as part of the She Writes Scheme. Writing a feature-length screenplay, I discovered, is a unique form of torture – akin to being locked in a room with a bucket of [...]

Read Full Post »

Is Your Mama A Llama? Written by Deborah Guarino and illustrated by Steven Kellogg.

*New* To read Vulpes Libris’s exclusive interview with Deborah Guarino, please click here. Repeat after me: “Is your mama a llama?” I asked my friend Dave. “No, she is not,” is the answer Dave gave. “She hangs by her feet, and she lives in a cave. I do not believe that’s how llamas behave.” “Oh,” [...]

Read Full Post »

A Despatch from the Dark Side

Back at the beginning of the month, Book Fox Anne Brooke was invited by a publisher to a ‘bloggers’ lunch’ they were arranging – the idea being that selected bloggers would meet selected authors and – presumably – bond over a chummy sandwich or two.  Anne was delighted to see that one of the authors [...]

Read Full Post »

Where The God of Love Hangs Out by Amy Bloom

From the hippy-ish title, I was expecting something a little different. Billed as a short story collection, two groups of stories actually make up novellas, with the space between each story skipping years and events. The first four selections center on two couples, all long time friends. But two of them are attracted to each [...]

Read Full Post »

Coming up on Vulpes Libris

This wide awake fox caught my eye, at the beginning of a week when you’d have to be on the qui vive to discern any linking theme. How to describe a week that embraces llamas, screenplays, short stories and being bamboozled? Read on to find out! Monday: Jackie looks at a book of short stories [...]

Read Full Post »

The House At Riverton, by Kate Morton

I’ve never been a great reader of books with a Below Stairs setting, but this one rather hit the spot, as I’ve been as addicted as so many others to Downton Abbey and the rejuvenated Upstairs, Downstairs. It is an engaging and absorbing read, full of good things (and some minor irritants). Even though it [...]

Read Full Post »

Save Our Libraries: Theresa Breslin tells us why it’s so important

With “more than 400 libraries under threat of closure” (Guardian website),  the 5th February saw people turning out all over the UK for the Save Our Libraries Day. Edinburgh’s protest was lead by well-known writers, Theresa Breslin and Julia Donaldson, as a group gathered to hand in a protest statement to the Scottish Parliament. (To [...]

Read Full Post »