It’s the big news in books today:

Writer Misha Defonseca admits falsifying information in her Holocaust memoir, Surviving with Wolves.

In the book, Defonseca describes how her caretaker planned to turn the young Jewish refugee over to the German. Fearful, she ran away, forced to live with a pack of wolves and steal farm chickens in or order to eat. Turns out, none of this happened, and Ms. Defonseca isn’t even Jewish.

The Daily Telegraph quotes the author:

“Ever since I can remember, I felt Jewish,” she said. “There are times when I find it difficult to differentiate between reality and my inner world. The story in the book is mine. It is not the actual reality - it was my reality, my way of surviving. At first, I did not want to publish it, but then I was convinced. I ask for forgiveness for all those who feel betrayed but I ask them to put themselves in the place of a small girl of four years old who has lost everything and who has to survive.”

—Nikki Tranter

I’m a dedicated reader, committed to finishing whatever I’ve started. Sure, there have been one or two notable exceptions, like the time I stumbled across Pasternak’s classic, Doctor Zhivago, my sophomore year of university in the central library and decided that since my namesake is derived from a major character, I should take the plunge. Never finished it, to my shame. I have a shortlist of books that I will read at some point, although I am more often too distracted by books that are right in front of me to go searching for titles on the list.

So how do you decide, especially when the book in question is something you’ve been looking forward to reading, when enough is enough and your time could be better spent reading something more gripping?

When Kate Mosse’s 2005 novel, Labyrinth (Penguin), first came out, I saw it everywhere. From magazine advertisements, to the shelves of every European airport bookshop (it was released in the US in 2006), I was mesmerized by the cover and the premise. Historical fiction is more accessible for me than actual history books, there is no doubt. It didn’t bother me that Labyrinth was yet another Grail legend; it involved a clever mystery, the roots of French civilization, strong female protagonists ... Perhaps this would be the next Da Vinci Code! (Yes, I did find Dan Brown’s story to be a page-turner.)

Although I was a student at the time (read: cheap!) and too distracted by other pretty volumes to actually purchase my own copy of Labyrinth, I figured I’d read it at some point. My chance came recently when a coworker asked the librarian in the high school library where I work for some recommendations. This came off the special hidden shelf, where books go to live when they’re deemed too steamy or violent to be catalogued in the general collection. When I spotted it changing hands I exclaimed out loud and it was immediately handed to me, my coworker protesting that she had plenty of other choices before her and did not care about this particular book. I took it home and started reading. I’d been looking forward to this adventure.

Although I was not immediately enthralled, I did not despair; sometimes it takes me several sessions to really delve into a historically intricate tale, especially one that alternates between parallel stories set 800 years apart. I brushed aside uninspiring descriptions of the modern-day heroine, Alice, as having hair “the color of soft brown sugar” and waited for her to learn a lesson from early mishaps, which largely involved being in the wrong place at the wrong time. No such luck. The alternate leading lady, circa 1200 AD, became far more interesting and I stalled on portions of the narrative set in modern-day France, even considering skipping those chapters and reading only about Alais, who chooses adventure rather than shying away from it.

My first inclination to fast-forward through chapters about Alice and read only about Alais should have been a big warning flag: put down the book and step away. If you’re not interested in half the subject matter of a particular book, at what point do you decide that there are too many good reads out there to waste your time on a story that doesn’t grip you and inspire you to keep turning the pages?

What was the last literary waste of your time?

—Lara Killian

It’s almost upon us, Hollywood’s night of nights. I live in a different time zone, so the awards begin as I finish my work day. In true Aussie style, though, I’ve taken half my shift off so I can get home in time to get showered, buy the traditional Oscar-night takeaway of fish and chips, and head to mum’s, ballots in hand. I even have some UDL vodka and green apple cans left over from my birthday celebrations to enjoy as my favourites all get the gold.

Before all that, though, let’s have a look at the Oscar-related headlines currently floating around Book World. Seems you can’t turn a newspaper page this week without spotting Oscar predictions, Oscar fashion flashbacks, snub lists, comments, reviews, facts and trivia sheets. So, a round-up of the best Oscar stories proved difficult. There’s a lot of good stuff out there. I especially liked EW‘s snub list—finally some Oscar recognition for Molly Ringwald. It’s not all that surprising, considering the recent writer’s strike and the number of great books turned into films this year, that there are many great news stories about that focus on this year’s nominated authors and screenwriters. Here are just a few of the more interesting bits from the week.

Why the fat kid doesn’t always stay in the picture
Ireland’s Independent.ie has a great piece by Alison Walsh on “alchemy which transforms a novel into a screenplay”. Walsh spotlights two very different screenwriters, Deborah Moggach (Pride and Prejudice) and Peter Sheridan (Borstal Boy) and gets the lowdown on just how each approaches novel to screenplay adaptation. What they come up with surprising and even prophetic. Moggach says: “If you think of a novel as being a noun, because it is a very interior world and nothing can happen at all, in the screenplay you are into the world of the verb, which is full of conflict and drama.” Walsh takes these comments, as well as other from legendary screenwriter WIlliam Goldman, in an attempt to solidify the distinctions between novels and screenplays in terms of each works or does not and why.

Adapting ‘Atonement’ puts Hampton back in Oscar race
Hollywood Reporter‘s Martin A. Grove talks in depth and great detail to Christopher Hampton about writing the Atonement script. Hampton discussed his original plans for the script and how they evolved and changed and eventually became something altogether different. He comments on his inspirations, how he came to get the job in the first place, and his views on the film’s cast and crew. If you were like me and disliked the film’s handing of the final revelations, this piece might help you to come around. Was I the only one who felt so utterly removed from the story come the end? I still wish they’d found a better way of tying up the story’s ends, but reading this interview, the enormity of Hampton’s task becomes a bit clearer. Perhaps it was the only way.

And the Oscar goes to...
This is a fun piece from AfterEllen that features the site’s favourite movie and TV people making their Oscar predictions. Marlee Matlin praises Marion Cotillard and ponders just much No Country for Old Men might have been improved had Anton Chigurh been a lesbian. Jill Bennett from Dante’s Cove talks about her emotional reaction to The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, while director J.D. Disalvatore puts her money of Ellen Page winning Best Actress: “She is so lesbionic.”

Oscars: Mining wealth from the pages of a book
David Ulin, books editor at the Los Angeles Times has a great essay this week that I found in the Salt Lake Tribune. Ulin talks about how Hollywood has long neglected to praise the authors of those books that become great cinematic works (Forrest Gump, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), and examines the costs of such snubbing.  But are things changing?

Nominated writers owe debt to books: Adapters identify with source material
Finally, Variety has a wonderful piece on screenplay adaptation that includes comments ion writing from Diving Bell and the Butterfly screenwriter Ronald Harwood, Away from her screenwriter Sarah Polley, into the Wild screenwriter Sean Penn, Zodiac screenwriter James Vanderbilt, and Hampton. Harwood’s task in turning Jean-Dominique Bauby’s memoir into a film that wound adequately allow the audience to understand Bauby’s sitaution—following a massive stroke, the writer and editor could communicate only by blinking one eye. Harwood says: “The answer I came up with was seeing it from his point of view. So I made it entirely subjective. The camera was him.” Polley’s comments are my favourite—she’s also my pick to win. Away from Her is just a magnificent film, so beautifully lifted from the page. Polley relates her experience: “It was the first time I had thought about what it meant to endure life with someone. It wasn’t about this initial chemical maniacal feeling you have when you first fall in love, but the idea of going through life with someone and the richness of that and the complications of that.”

—Nikki Tranter

Day 2 of our Oscar Countdown and we’re looking at some of the best books out there to get you in the mood for the big day.

Made for Each Other: Fashion and the Academy Awards by Bronwyn Cosgrave
Bloomsbury, December 2006
A heavily research history of fashion at the Academy Awards—it’s a splendid idea, and one that is executed beautifully by Vogue contributor Bronwyn Cosgrave. This book not only celebrates memorable dresses, like Cher’s star-shaped Bob Mackie and Diane Keaton’s suit dresses, but looks at how integral fashion is to the ceremony. Women nominees learned early on that a good frock meant extra copy and so the night was used as stepping stone as well as a celebration. Cosgrave takes us through the fashion partnerships that have come to define Oscar glamour—Audrey Hepburn and Givenchy, Grace Kelly and Edith Head, Liza Minelli and Halston to name a few.

Oscar Season by Mary McNamara
Simon and Schuster, January 2008
Perfectly times, this Jackie Collins-esque look behind the Oscar stage is full of murder and intrigue! Clearly, it’s satirical, but you just know nuggets of truth are hidden throughout. The plot: a top PR chick must join forces with an aging superstar to find the killer (or killers) behind a series of shocking and Oscar-related murders. Despite it’s apparent “clunkiness”, EntertainmentWeekly gave it a B.

The Big Show: High Times and Dirty Dealings Backstage at the Academy Awards by Steve Pond
Faber and Faber, December 2005
If it’s Oscar gossip you want, look no further. Premiere writer Steve Pond takes us on an all access tour of Academy Awards ceremonies over many decades. The result is a funny, smart look behind the big gold curtain. Pond takes a thorough look into 10 specific ceremonies from 1994 to 2004 and reveals the wheeling and dealing we never see, and probably wouldn’t understand even if we did. Pond looks at the best Oscar moments and some of the most embarrassing and lets us know what happened afterwards.

The Academy Awards: The Complete Unofficial History by Gail Kinn and Jim Piazza
Black Dog and Leventhal, May 2006
Exactly as you would imagine, this book is look back at Oscar the year he turned 78. All rather standard—news and gossip, style and speeches, memories of shining moments and big stumbles. This one is up there with the best Oscar books because its photos are superb, big and glossy, and it’s got some great quotes from Oscar’s best speeches in there, too.

A Visual History of African American Academy Award Nominees 2008 Calendar by Rene Carson
This is a great idea—a beautifully designed catalogue celebrating African American Oscar nominees past and present. I found this for sale at Amazon where you can look at little thumbnails of the glossy pics inside of Cicely Tyson in Sounder, Alfre Woodard in Cross Creek, Ethel Waters in Pinky and heaps of others. Each month also features trivia and facts about the pictured films. It’s a cool idea for an Oscar gift.

—Nikki Tranter

Day One: Re:Print Hearts Scott Rudin

It’s five days until show time, when Hollywood picks its best and brightest, and tells this is the best no matter what you think! I love my Oscars, even though I can’t remember a time I’ve entirely agreed with more than a handful of winners in any given year. Still, it’s the one time of year when I choose to ignore the pomp and the politics behind the big golden curtain and just let the glamour sweep me away.

I’m looking forward to this year’s ceremony for a few reasons. Mainly, I want to see Casey Affleck win for his role in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, because he was good, and because he was even better as private detective Patrick Kenzie in another great film this year, Gone Baby Gone.

I’m also eagerly anticipating the show because of just how literary the whole thing feels this year. Atonement, There Will Be Blood, The Assassination of Jesse James, No Country for Old Men, Charlie Wilson’s War, Into the Wild, Gone Baby Gone—these works are becoming synonymous with great cinema as well as great literature. I can’t remember a time when books so diverse and from such varied eras were so prominent at the Oscars, or at least that the audience were so aware of it. I’m struggling, too, to remember a time when so many big-time actors’ faces stared back at me so somberly from bookstore shelves.

It’s a phenomenal year for books at the Oscars. In the days leading up to the ceremony, Re:Print will take a look at the nominated texts, discuss their transition to the screen, and look at other works about the ceremony and its history. We’ll also be taking a look at the media buzz surrounding Oscar’s new role as literary expert, no doubt single-handedly filling up Book Club itineraries across the globe.

Re:Print‘s road to the Oscars today looks a little bit further forward than this Sunday’s events. We’re looking specifically at a Radar Online report from this past week that discusses uber-producer Scott Rudin, behind No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood, and the number of famed literary works in his possession that he is developing for the big screen as we speak.

Rudin produced the film versions of Pulitzer Prize winning books The Hours and Angela’s Ashes, and helped turn Joe Connelly’s amazing Bringing Out the Dead into a superb film, so he’s already in our good books. Rudin, it would seem, knows the reader’s thirst for big-screen representations of our favourite novels and memoirs. The future looks very bright with the following works apparently in his hands:

Blood Meridian
William Monahan, screenwriter of The Departed, looks to be working on this adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s 1985 book about a runaway mixed up with a group of scalp hunters called the Glanton Gang. Ridley Scott is attached as director.

The Corrections
Based on Jonathan Franzen’s book about an offbeat family getting together for a final Christmas together, no information is available yet on this one. Rudin is behind it, according to Radar.

Special Topics in Calamity Physics
Same again—no details, but Rudin is in control of turning Marisha Pessl’s first novel into a movie.

The Reader
I’m too excited for this one, mainly because Kate Winslet has taken over from Nicole Kidman as Hannah Schmitz. It’s a role much better suited to Kate, and just a brilliant piece of work all ‘round. It’s great to hear the quality of the names attached from Kate and Ralph Fiennes, to director Stephen Daldry and screenwriter David Hare, who worked together on The Hours.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
Also to be directed by Stephen Daldry, little is known about this adaptation. Author Michael Chabon has written the screenplay. The story is about the creators of a globe-trotting, tyranny-ruining comic book hero, The Escapist.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Whoever thought of this is now on my list of favourite people. Wes Anderson is directing an animated adaptation of Roald Dahl’s book, which is about three farmers who decide to do away with their ultra-wily chicken-stealing nemesis and his family. Great list of names attached, including Cate Blanchett and Bill Murray.

Goat
Rudin is attached to the film version of Brad Land’s 2005 memoir about his experiences with fraternity hazing rituals.

Correction: I mistakenly referred to Joe Connelly as John Connolly.

—Nikki Tranter

Taking a position at a local high school/middle school library in the fall of 2007 held unexpected benefits. Sure, I thought being surrounded by books would be great, but arriving in time to check in books returned before school starts each day allows me a glimpse into the literary life of the teens here: I have the advantage of seeing which books go out over and over again. And I can grab them the next time they come through—if the kids are reading them and telling their friends, chances are that the story is well written. Attention spans are short in high school these days. And take out those earbuds, if you please.

Of course I try to be somewhat discriminating, and have managed to avoid the lure of Meg Cabot (The Princess Diaries, Queen of Babble) and Megan McCafferty’s novels, wittily titled things like Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings, which appeal heavily to our older teen girls. Meanwhile I was glad I’d already read Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy as with the first movie coming out in December the resident copies have been in high demand. I was quickly alerted to Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series (Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse) about high-school-attending vampires and werewolves in perpetually rainy Forks, Washington (now in movie production) and tore through the first three novels. Although the premise may sound a bit dicey, the characters are totally compelling and the dialogue in particular is genius. I’m now pining for the fourth (Breaking Dawn), currently being written and due to be released in August 2008. Meanwhile I received a tip that led to my discovery of Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle trilogy, an account of late 19th century English boarding school girls dabbling in the occult, and whizzed through the first two novels. The third, The Sweet Far Thing, was just released in December 2007, and I was in a good position to lobby the head librarian to add the final chapter of Gemma’s adventures to our most recent order of books.

Having the opportunity to discover a whole new generation of page turners is just the thing for a jaded English major who remembers plodding through Dickens and Nabokov (excluding The Defense or Invitation to a Beheading, naturally). Sometimes a little light reading is enough to re-invigorate an appetite for the pure pleasure of fast-paced fiction. What are you reading this week? 

—Lara Killian