The Eagle of the Ninth

The Eagle of the Ninth has been made into a big Hollywood movie starring heartthrob Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, and Donald Sutherland. The movie is directed by Kevin MacDonald, best known for The Last King of Scotland.

The movie is simply titled The Eagle, but it is based on the classic tale by Rosemary Sutcliff which was published more than fifty years ago. The epic story is set in Roman Britain and it centers on a young soldier named Marcus. After he is badly injured in an attack, he is sent to recover at his uncle’s home where he learns more about the mysterious disappearance of his father twenty years before. Marcus’ father was the commander of the Ninth Legion, a company of 5,000 men that marched into northern England and was never seen again. Marcus decides to set out on a dangerous quest to find out what happened to his father, the Ninth Legion, and the golden eagle which was their standard. The movie opens on Feb. 11, 2011 and it’s in English and Gaelic, with subtitles.

Click here to view the trailer.

This book's got bite. . .

Vampire lit is all the rage now, with many authors trying to capitalize on the success of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. This parody made me laugh. Nightlight, by The Harvard Lampoon, promises "a hilarious send-up of the teen literature sensation, complete with a klutzy heroine, a sparkly hero, romance, danger, and a vampire prom."

Here's a sample:

He was the most beautiful boy I had ever seen. Yet there was something about him that I couldn't quite name...something curious about the way he poured ketchup on a doll's neck, then furiously licked it off.

Looks like fun. Out in November.

Make Yourself Over This Month!

One of my guilty pleasures is watching the TLC show 'What Not To Wear'. It's packed with great advice for 'fashion-challenged' souls like myself. One of my favourite parts of the show is when the participants get their hair and makeup done, so I was very excited when I learned that we had books coming this season (from separate publishers) from both the hairstylist (Nick Arrojo) and the makeup artist (Carmindy) from the show. Both just came out and are great resources for anyone looking to make some changes to their looks.

Great Hair by Nick Arrojo. While I was on holiday last week, I had eight inches of my hair chopped off, so this book came very handy in preparing for the 'big day'. Arrojo opens the book with a section on getting to know your hair, the basics of hair care, how to shampoo, condition and dry your hair properly and what shampoo and conditioner is right for your hair. Read this section even if you think you know it all already- I didn't realize that the way I was towel drying my hair might have been contributing to the frizziness/breakage problems I'd been having. He suggests great styles for fine, medium-smooth, thick and curly hair types- why they work for the model's hair type and face shape and how to style it. There are chapters on how to find a hairdresser, how to style your hair at home (what products are best for what purpose, how to use them, tools you'll need, how to do the perfect blow out, how to combat frizz, how to use a flat iron, diffuser, curling iron etc.), colouring your hair, problem hair & solutions, and a separate section on the special concerns of ethnic hair.

Get Positively Beautiful by Carmindy. This book covers all of the basics of beauty, starting with getting readers to focus on ditching negative self-thoughts and showing us how to highlight the qualities that make us all uniquely beautiful. There are chapters on playing up your eyes, your skin, cheekbones, or lips, and Carmindy takes readers through basic techniques, products and tricks of the trade. There are chapters on the basic tools you'll need, essentials for your makeup bag, & how to change your beauty routine according to the season. There is a 'Carmindy Fan Q&A' page in each section of the book from fans of all ages from across the U.S. and Canada, and (of course) a makeover section. I love the positive focus of the book-which is also why I would heartily recommend this as a YA crossover as well. She includes a picture of herself at age eleven when she was chubby, wore braces and had a bad perm, and writes about how she let the comments of others affect her self-image for far too long.

Carmindy will be in Toronto this week to launch her book. We are having a book launch at the Sephora store located at 131 Bloor Street West on Wednesday October 8th from 7-9 pm. City TV will be covering the event. She will be appearing live on Canada AM at 8:40 on Thursday October 9th. While she is in town, she'll also be doing interviews with Metro News and LouLou Magazine, taping an episode of CBC’s Steven & Chris show, and she's also taping an interview with Entertainment Tonight Canada.