At the risk of sounding negative, I really wanna talk about this.

I’ve notice in recent months there’s been huge influx in books being adapted to movies and TV shows (not mention the ever growing quest that is From Bookshelf to TV).

I’ll be honest. There was a time when I used to look forward to favourite books being adapted, mainly being turned into animated series. But it’s really worn me down as of late.

After the disaster that was “Wuthering Heights”, I’m weary of any story that gets adapted. I’ve seen Nolan’s Odyssey trailer, and I’m less than impressed.

I understand that we have interpretations. Afterall, what makes an adaptation or a retelling interesting is what new conversation it brings to the table.

Nolan’s Odyssey looks so glum and sci-fi-y. He’s playing off Viking motifs as if they’re Greek. There’s no colour other than blue or black, the costume, and I could keep going. The counter to these criticisms I’ve seen is that Homer didn’t care about costumes as they weren’t central to the story, so why should we? Which is just not true if you’ve either The Iliad and The Odyssey.

Costumes indicate status. There’s repeated mention of Telemachus’ purple robes, indicating his royal lineage, and despite that he’s treated so badly in his own home. Soooo much detail about Paris putting on his costume to go duel with Menelaus to show what a dandy he is. And Agamemnon’s costume.

I think all’s been said about “Wuthering Heights”, and though I haven’t read it myself, I’m 100% sure whatever Emerald Fennel was doing with her film wasn’t central AT ALL to the book’s themes.

There are some stories that just can’t be adapted (looking at Lolita). And we shouldn’t force it.

I’m not asking for word-for-word, the most faithful adaptation. I’m asking for meaning. I think we all just want the central themes of the stories to be explored in whatever way the director sees fit.

Despite my complaints, I’ll give Nolan’s Odyssey a chance. Maybe he does explore the central themes of how a journey can change us, trauma, loss, grief, homecoming, etc. I was excited for it before the trailer anyway.

I want to hear everybody else’s thoughts in regards to Film and TV adaptations. I liked The Vampire Diaries for the most part (it has major problems still), glad they strayed away from the books. But that show is just so different that I’m not sure it even counts as an adaptation.

I’m not a big film/show watcher for this reason (other than my terrible attention span lol), but if there’s any you liked I’d be interested to try.

Yo Stella Prize fans!

The longlist dropped tonight - how are you feeling about it?

And what do you do next?

I’m pretty stoked with the list, I’m really happy to see Debra Dank, Lee Lai, and Evelyn Araluen end up on another longlist. 58 Facets looks really interesting, as does Apron-Sorrow/Sovereign-Tea.

I put on library holds for everything I can as I was watching the announcement, and now I wait for them to come in so I can read as many as I can before the shortlist is announced. I think this is the first year I’ve not read anything on the longlist, and I’m very excited to dive in!

(The Stella Prize is a prize for works by Australian women and non-binary authors across fiction, non-fiction and poetry).

When you are reading a saga and the books are now all out yet ... how do you handle the wait. Like I was reading the "Fallen Light" saga by H.C. Newell in 2024 winter and the last book she pubblished ended up with such a cliffhanger I still keep thinking about it. I keep wondering what will happen next, what those characters will go through. Will they survive? Will they defeat the evil in that epic battle that is to come? I have read that she wanted to pubblish the new one before the end of 2025 but ... nothing so far and I am DESPERATE. How do I HANDLE IT. I am not strong enough, I want to KNOW 😭

There’s a recent thread about age gap books And I was just scrolling through it and someone mentioned a book titled “Your Dad Will Do” and I’m not gonna lie I almost laughed so hard I cried. It’s just such a hilarious title for a book to me. I don’t care for regular romances and I don’t care for age gaps but I may actually read this book simply for the title.

What hilariously titled books have you stumbled upon?

Hi everyone! I'd love book recs with the following themes, if possible: lesbian historical fiction, an unreliable or morally grey narrator, complicated relationships, diverse character gender presentations, etc.

Essentially, I'm looking for a book that shows the human, imperfect, raw messiness of lesbian relationships across time. I'd also prefer if it isn't explicitly a romance, but rather just features a romantic partnership/s. Bonus points if it's translated. I hope this isn't too picky! Thanks! 🩷