Pop Culture Curmudgeon » book reviews http://popculturecurmudgeon.com Pop culture news and analysis Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:39:43 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.3 en hourly 1 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ Win a Copy of Spotted: Your Only Unofficial Guide to Gossip Girl http://popculturecurmudgeon.com/2009/10/win-a-copy-of-spotted-your-only-unofficial-guide-to-gossip-girl/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://popculturecurmudgeon.com/2009/10/win-a-copy-of-spotted-your-only-unofficial-guide-to-gossip-girl/#comments Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:00:52 +0000 Jennifer Roland http://popculturecurmudgeon.com/?p=1356 Crissy Calhoun loves Gossip Girl.

That is obvious from the loving tone she use to describe the show and its creators in Spotted: Your Only Unofficial Guide to Gossip Girl.

Calhoun pulls together actor and character sketches for the main cast. She describes in detail every pop culture reference, every nuance, and many of the notable outfits in each episode. She compares the plots of the episodes to the books. She even discusses the gaffes, logic flaws, and character development problems and inconsistencies in each episode.

I have always loved these types of episode breakdowns on my favorite shows, so I jumped at the chance to receive an ARC of Spotted from ECW Press. I didn’t learn as much about the world around me as when I read the unofficial guide to the X-Files, but I learned a lot about New York society and the original book series. (No, I didn’t read them.)

I also found out about the backgrounds of the creators. Josh Schwartz’s profile was particularly interesting because he has been behind some of my other favorite shows, such as The O.C. and Chuck.

I am amazed at how prescient Cecily von Ziegesar was in creating the all-seeing, all-knowing, and all-important Gossip Girl blogger for her books. Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage seamlessly updated the concept to include texting and instant messaging, but the core concept remained the same.

Spotted covers seasons 1 and 2, episode-by-episode. It was released in September, so it includes some of the more recent developments off-screen—most notably, the hookups and breakups. I hope to see future installments that cover the rest of the shows run. Perhaps it could be a subscription service with a printed annual compilation at the end of the season.

Uber-fans may also be interested in the Gossip Girl book box set due out in November.

Now on to the fun part. Much as I would like to keep this signed Advance Reading Copy of Spotted, I am going to give it to one lucky reader. (Believe me, I’ve been going back and forth about whether I wanted to keep it or share it all week!)

Enter the random drawing by:

  • Commenting on this post.
  • Tweeting a link to this post in Twitter. You’ll need to comment letting me know that you tweeted. Include your Twitter username for verification.
  • Posting a link on Facebook. Again, comment letting me know that you posted the link.
  • Adding Pop Culture Curmudgeon to your blogroll. Comment that you did that and include a link for verification.
  • Posting something about Pop Culture Curmudgeon or the contest on your blog. Comment that you did it and include a link for verification.
  • Subscribing to the RSS feed or email feed. Comment that you did it to be entered.
  • Following Pop Culture Curmudgeon on Twitter. Again, comment with your Twitter username for verification.

You receive one entry for each action, so you can potentially receive seven entries.

The winner will be announced October 30. Entry deadline is 11:59 p.m. Eastern, October 29, 2009.

No transfers or substitutions.

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]]> http://popculturecurmudgeon.com/2009/10/win-a-copy-of-spotted-your-only-unofficial-guide-to-gossip-girl/feed/ 3 The Truth Behind Fiction Friday http://popculturecurmudgeon.com/2009/04/the-truth-behind-fiction-friday/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://popculturecurmudgeon.com/2009/04/the-truth-behind-fiction-friday/#comments Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:00:36 +0000 Jennifer C. Rodland http://popculturecurmudgeon.wordpress.com/?p=690 Fiction Friday will begin this week. As my penance for not getting my review done for last Friday, I will post of review of not one, not two, but three books. (I felt a little like Ron Popeil there–Wait, there’s more!)

Check back tomorrow morning to find out which books I think you should read next. Until then, I’m wondering whether you want recommendations of books that I enjoyed, or whether you are interested in hearing about books I thought sucked, too.

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]]> http://popculturecurmudgeon.com/2009/04/the-truth-behind-fiction-friday/feed/ 2 Book Reviews Are Coming http://popculturecurmudgeon.com/2009/04/book-reviews-are-coming/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://popculturecurmudgeon.com/2009/04/book-reviews-are-coming/#comments Fri, 10 Apr 2009 12:21:20 +0000 Jennifer C. Rodland http://popculturecurmudgeon.wordpress.com/?p=658 The verdict is in. Book reviews would be much appreciated. So, I will begin a new semi-regular feature here on Pop Culture Curmudgeon, Fiction Fridays.

I’m sure you’re thinking, today is Friday, where’s the book review. I thought I could get one done last night, but instead I was focusing on doing a recap of an old episode of Supernatural for Supernatural: Metal Teeth Chomp. I do love that show. I’ll try to get a review posted later today. Until then, here is a link to a post about some paranormal romance books.

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