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Entertainment
The Silent Stars Go By Review Plus Interview With Author Dan Abnett
BBC Books recently put out a set of 11 re-released novels to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. We hosted a giveaway where we let 15 readers pick the book of their choice, and six of the fifteen of you picked The Silent Stars Go By by Dan Abnett. You all made an excellent choice. I read it, and had the chance to talk to Abnett about the book.
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Entertainment
Exclusive: Watch The Trailer For The Resurrectionist, A Beautifully Dark Art Book And Novel
The Resurrectionist is part art book and part novel, but both parts are meticulously detailed, dark, and beautiful. It tells the story of the fictional work of Dr. Spencer Black whose field of study could best be described as Darwin meets Frankenstein. It's publisher Quirk Books asked us to give you an exclusive first look at the book's trailer.
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Entertainment
Geekosystem’s Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Novel Giveaway
BBC Books just released eleven Doctor Who novels in the United States to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the show. That's one book per Doctor, if you're counting. You could run out right now and buy them all, or you can tell us which one you'd read first and win your choice of the lot courtesy of our friends at BBC Books.
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Tech
Cory Doctorow’s Homeland Falls Victim to Fox’s DMCA Dragnet
Homeland is a show about a potentially turned prisoner of war starring Claire Danes and Damian Lewis that's produced by Fox for Showtime. Homeland is also a book by Cory Doctorow about...well, it's complicated, but it's a sequel to Little Brother. Fox doesn't seem to care that they're two different things, though, as they're apparently issuing DMCA takedown notices for both.
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Tech
Amazon Acquires Goodreads, Angers and Delights Booknerds Everywhere
I've got a lot of friends who are book authors -- I'm one, too -- and one thing we often ask friends and fans to do is rate and review our books on both Amazon and Goodreads. Why? Because both the online retailer and the social cataloging website are the go-to places for reading book reviews, which in turn do impact sales. But soon, you may only need to go to one of them when you want to write that gushing -- or scathing? -- review. According to a recent statement, Amazon's gone and bought Goodreads.
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Entertainment
5 Goosebumps Books That Would Make Terrible Movies
Now that the Goosebumps movie has a new director, speculation is currently ongoing as to what exactly will be drawn from the vast franchise to congeal into a coherent script. Will they get wacky and dredge something up from the Goosebumps 2000 series, or the even wackier Give Yourself Goosebumps series? Even if they stick to the core 62 titles, though, there are still a bunch of those that would make incredibly awful movies. We've winnowed it down to five Goosebumps books that would make particularly poor movies.
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Weird
Wonder at the Six Oddest Book Titles Released in 2012
Every year, the Diagram Prize is awarded for the published book with the oddest title for that year. The shortlist of 2012 finalists for the dubious honor has been announced, and while we have a soft spot for the first serious scholarly study of pencil sharpening technique in recent memory, we can't say enough good things about a guide to preventing goblins from messing with your chicken coop, which represents the far and away most pragmatic entry. Get a look at all six finalists in the gallery below, and find out how to cast your vote for the oddest book title of the year.
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Entertainment
You, Too, Can Write a Book About Space Marines, No Matter What Games Workshop Thinks
Late last year, author M.A.C. Hogarth's novel Spots the Space Marine was removed from Amazon following a pretty ridiculous claim by Games Workshop that their copyright of the term "space marine" in the context of Warhammer 40,000 meant they had called dibs on pretty much the entire space marine genre of science fiction. Amazon has put the book back up for sale on its site, but that doesn't mean Hogarth's fight is over -- we don't know how willing Games Workshop is to go to the mat defending their claim on the entire literary genre of 'space marines,' but we might be about to find out, and if we do, chances are things will become unpleasant.Read on... -
Entertainment
Nerdy British Children Rejoice: McDonald’s Offering Books in U.K. Happy Meals
Instead of the usual cheap plastic toy, for the next five weeks McDonald's is offering children in the U.K. books with their Happy Meals. That probably means there are a lot of disappointed British children, but for the faction of nerdy little Britons who love books as much as we do, it's a banner day under the golden arches. During the promotion, McDonald's intends to give out one book with every Happy Meal they sell. If that's true, it will inadvertently make them the largest children's book distributor in the United Kingdom.
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Entertainment
Listen to the Stark Kids Beatbox the Game of Thrones Theme Song [Video]
The opening theme for Game of Thrones is epic and all, but -- and there's no denying the truth, people -- it just doesn't resonate with the easily bored kids of today. While the music no doubt gets our blood pumping for that winning combination of swords and sorcery, it does absolutely nothing to pique that sense of vicarious adventure in the youth element. Placing ourselves in the shallow and misinformed mind of a network executive at HBO, how would we go about getting them excited about Game of Thrones? Simple: Get those crazy kids from House Stark -- Sansa, Arya, and Bran -- to give that totally square theme tune some overdue urban flair through the power of beatboxing, that's how! All we have to say is, score one for HBO's marketing department!
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Uncategorized
A Good Year: The 12 Best Things to Come Out of 2012
Happy New Year! Today's the start of 2013, sure, but that doesn't mean we have to give up on 2012 just yet. There were a number of wonderful and amazing things released this past year. From video games to movies, comedy albums to comics, 2012 was chock-full of lovely creations to occupy our time. That said, there were certainly a select few that stood well above the rest. Each of us here at Geekosystem has provided three picks from 2012's lineup that we think everyone else would be foolish not to check out. Hit the jump to see what we consider to be the absolute best things to come out of 2012!
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Entertainment
Philip Pullman to Focus on His Dark Materials Sequel in 2013
There's really no way for me to properly express my feelings on Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials. I read the three books, The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass, years ago on a hiking trip in New Mexico. If you ever want to have a truly transcendental experience, read a good book on the top of a mountain where you can see all the stars. Pullman's been teasing the sequel, The Book of Dust, for years. Now it looks like 2013 will be all Dust, all the time.
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Tech
Rising eReader Use Does Not Mean Books Are Dead
Holiday sales figures are in, and not surprisingly tablets and eReaders were popular gifts this year. Amazon is reporting that Cyber Monday was the best-ever sales day for their Kindle line. A new Pew Research poll shows more people are reading books electronically than ever before, and fewer people are reading physical books now than last year. People reading books electronically doesn't mean printed books are dead. Kindles don't come with the stipulation that, if you own one, you have to burn all your books and vow to never buy one again. You can have both, and, if you're an avid reader, you probably should.
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Entertainment
Take a Journey into Imagination with “Reading Rainbow Remixed” [Video]
Forgive the brief moment of nostalgic adulation, but LeVar Burton is truly a god among mortal men. Having the uncanny ability to instill a lasting appreciation for literature and take us on glorious adventures without even leaving the comfort of our armchairs, it's no wonder why the world can't get enough of the guy. In a gesture of praise and reverence, John D. Boswell -- the creative mind behind PBS Digital Studios' "Icons Remixed" series -- presents his latest accomplishment: "Reading Rainbow Remixed." And you don't have to take our word for it...
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Uncategorized
The Best Thing to Come Out of Fifty Shades of Grey Is This Video
It's not often that we here at Geekosystem find ourselves suggesting that folks involve themselves in anything that has to do with Fifty Shades of Grey. If anything, we're firmly in the camp that believes everything even remotely related to Fifty Shades of Grey should likely be buried and forgotten. Except, maybe, this rather NSFW video from Brock Baker. Watch as Baker selectively quotes the book in a variety of voices. George W. Bush has never sounded so sensual.Read on...