Comments on: Wednesday Midday News Roundup: historical fact v. entertainment

By: Susan/DC

Susan/DC — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:07:42 +0000

@ Janine:

According to the IMDB release info page for this film, “Pope Joan” will be in limited release in the US sometime in 2010.

Thank you. I originally went to imdb but saw only trailers in German; I appreciate the hint about looking at the release information. I’ll keep my eyes open. My hope is that if the movies play anywhere in the US in limited release they will play here in Washington (sometimes movies like this come over in the diplomatic pouches — which I think is kind of cool). Or perhaps they will be available in a dubbed or subtitled version via Netflix (now I just have to buy a TV).

@ Nicola:

the Hildegard film does look interesting, doesn’t it?

Movies about women are all too rare, especially movies about intellectual nuns. No sex, no explosions, but I think the Hildegard film looks fascinating. I’ll have to read up on her before I see it. I also think the Pope Joan movie looks interesting. Focus on a woman, although it does appear to have sex and enough medieval battles to make up for the lack of explosions.

By: Nicola, Sterling Editing

Nicola, Sterling Editing — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:48:38 +0000

@Susan/DC the Hildegard film does look interesting, doesn’t it? I’m just sorry they didn’t use any of her music for the trailer…

By: Janine

Janine — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:09:40 +0000

@Susan/DC: I just searched imdb.com and found the movie, titled "Pope Joan," through John Goodman's page. According to the IMDB release info page for this film, "Pope Joan" will be in limited release in the US sometime in 2010. Presumably it would have English subtitles or dubbing. The release info page may be updated as the release date approaches and you could also google it and see if any more specifics come up. You might be able to find details about the Hildegard of Bingen movie on imdb.com also, if you can locate it through the title (both foreign language and English titles are listed there) or the name of someone involved in the project.

By: Susan/DC

Susan/DC — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:26:08 +0000

Somewhat off-topic, but the link in Nicola’s post to the blog about an historian unable to read historical fiction now has me wanting to see the two movies referred to in one of the responses (a link in a link). One is about Hildegard of Bingen and the other about Pope Joan; the former is historical, the latter mythical. Unfortunately, both appear to be in German, which I don’t speak. I hope they are released in English at some point — the Pope Joan movie has David Wenham and John Goodman, so that hope may not be groundless. Does anyone know?

By: Janet W

Janet W — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:17:23 +0000

More blindness. Did you link to the Epps article (provided by Leah) … I opened links but didn’t find the quote you posted. Thanks.

By: Stephanie Draven

Stephanie Draven — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:36:49 +0000

When I write (or read) historical fiction, I understand that the job of a novelist is different than the job of a biographer. I expect to be educated, but I also expect to be entertained and to imagine the scenario in a different light. The facts can’t be blatantly wrong, but there’s a lot of room for editorial choice, and that’s where the art of it comes in.

By: brooksse

brooksse — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:57:09 +0000

Did you know that Hachette sells digital books straight from its website? Me neither but this article in PW suggests that it does. I went over there and clicked around and saw no ability to purchase ebooks on the site. What am I missing?

According to their Shopping FAQ, there is supposed to be a Buy Now option below the cover image. The first couple books (electronic format) I looked at didn’t appear to have a Buy Now option. The fourth or fifth book I looked at had the Buy Now drop-down. After that, I was able to see the Buy Now drop-down on all their electronic books, even the ones that didn’t appear to have the option the first time I looked at them. So it may be some type of script that doesn’t work correctly.

By: DS

DS — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:44:07 +0000

@Diane V: There was some protest ages ago when lots of people changed their web site to have a black background with white text. I can actually read that without discomfort. But I have to agree with you about this blog. I also have to give it a pass due to the text color. I expect that she is going to have to a decision for either style or readability.

By: Ros

Ros — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:49:30 +0000

@Mischa: You probably already do this, but there are ways of making sure that webpages are always displayed with the colours and fonts that you prefer to look at. In FF, you can simply choose 'No Page Style' and it will revert to the settings you have on your computer. I think there's something similar in IE.

By: Nicola, Sterling Editing

Nicola, Sterling Editing — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:15:17 +0000

With regard to historical fiction, here's a fascinating blog post by an academic on historical mindsets and what novelists usually get wrong. (I'm halfway through Wolf Hall, and it's great in some ways and annoying as hell--POV, for example--in others.)

By: Janet W

Janet W — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:35:06 +0000

I must be going blind too because I couldn’t read, with any facility, the words on Jessica’s pages. Such an individual decision but that’s my honest feedback. Either that or my monitor is shot but surely not :)

By: Mischa

Mischa — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:43:38 +0000

The “Jessica at Book Bound” site made my eyes hurt…didn’t even try to read anything. Never figured out the attraction of a black background with red or purple print — my idea of what the walls of hell look like.

Dark text on a light background is more stressfull on your eyes than light text on a dark background. Most people don't really notice but for those of us with eye sensitivities, I have chronic iritis in one eye, it can be very noticable. (For one thing, staring at a white screen for hours on end can cause a tension headache.) While the dark lavendar was a little hard to read, I thought it and the rose red were quite pretty. Either our monitors are displaying the site differently or we just have different ideas of hell. :-)

By: Diane V

Diane V — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:55:03 +0000

The “Jessica at Book Bound” site made my eyes hurt…didn’t even try to read anything. Never figured out the attraction of a black background with red or purple print — my idea of what the walls of hell look like.

By: joanne

joanne — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:10:14 +0000

I went over there and clicked around and saw no ability to purchase ebooks on the site. What am I missing?

Well that was 20 minutes of my life I’ll never get back! They have a shopping cart. They have a ’shopping FAQ’. They have lots of stuff but if you can buy an ebook there then it’s beyond my ken.

I’ll wait to see what others know that I don’t.

By: Lisa J

Lisa J — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:47:17 +0000

jmc is right on target. Anytime I have my reader out someone asks about it. They are fascinated with it and all want one when we are done discussing it. My nephews threaten to take mine and use it to pick up girls.

By: jmc

jmc — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:24:01 +0000

The end line of the Seattle Times article cracks me up: If you want to meet a girl, don’t get a dog, get a reader. It’s funny, but it is also true. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been approached on the train, the bus, waiting rooms, restaurants, etc., and been asked about my reader.