Latest Books

Following the examples of Bob Dylan Chronicles: Vol.1, other musicians are also turning up to write books. From Eric Clapton to Tom Petty, most of the iconic musicians are turning to the serious business of book writing. So, this year get ready to groove with books. Here are the upcoming ones: � Save Me From Myself: How I Found God, Quit Korn, Kicked Drugs, and Lived to Tell My Story by Brian Welch It tells the tale of the lead guitarist and crystal meth addict. �Ronnie Wood: The Autobiography The Rolling Stone talks about his career and friends; Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts. �Clapton: The Autobiography by Eric Clapton Legendary guitarist writes about everything in his autobiography; right from his childhood to women. �SLASH by Slash with Anthony Bozza The guitarist from Guns N’ Roses tells his tale. �Lyrics by Sting A classical collection of lyrics and commentary; a must have. �Runnin’ Down a Dream, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers by Tom Petty Both memoirs coincide. � Wonderful Tonight by Pattie Boyd, George Harrison and Eric Clapton. Source: USAtoday

Author of the million selling novel ‘A Brief History of Time’ and Physicist Stephen Hawking and his daughter Lucy Hawking are writing a science book for children, which will be ‘a bit like Harry Potter’ but without magic. The middle grade novel ‘George’s Secret Key to the Universe’ tells the story about computer-driven adventures of a young man. Simon& Schuster will publish the book this fall. Rubin Pfeffer, senior vice president and publisher of Simon & Schuster Children’s Trade Publishing, said, We are thrilled that Professor Stephen Hawking has written this one-of-a-kind book for children. The book narrates the story of a boy named George who befriends a scientist and the scientist’s daughter. George soon ‘finds himself on a wildly fun adventure, while learning about physics, time and the universe.’ Read

Amusing but the latest cover of STAR magazine, features 45 best and worst bodies, which soaked the sun, on the beaches this year. However, I don’t like making fun of the flab that others carry but getting this one would be real fun. You’ll find a list of celebs featured in the list from J.Lo to Zac Efron. You can seriously catch out the flab they carry around and truly, some of the celebs have such yuck…bodies. Well, the ‘hottie’ Zac is in the best category. The feature also includes the tragic suicide attempt of Zac. You can go through the reasons that are being speculated for his step here. For one reason I am sure that I’ll be grabbing one as I wanna check out who this lady in blue, white (featured on the cover) is. Source: Allwomenstalk

Tintin in the Congo is the second of the Tintin series comics written by Belgian writer and illustrator Herge featuring Tintin, one of the most popular comic characters and his adventures in the Congo. This comic was first published in 1930 and very soon it became the most controversial among all other Tintin adventures. The adventures of Tintin in the Congo is said to have colonial or racist views developed in it. Because of high amount of controversy this comic was excluded from many reprints of the adventures of Tintin. Recently in another movement in England, Borders bookstores across the country have decided to remove the novel from children section and will place it in the adult graphic novel section keeping in view the racial context of the novel. The Commission for Racial Equality said that it is unethical and unacceptable for any bookstore to stock or sell this particular novel due to its content. While sighting an example a spoke person mentioned the incident when in the novel Tintin Is made chief of an African village because he is a ‘good white man’ and a black woman bowing to Tintin saying: “White man very great … white mister is big juju man!” In today’s context these terms are considered vulgar and extremely racial with colonial touch. She found saying This book contains imagery and words of hideous racial prejudice, where the ‘savage natives’ look like monkeys and talk like imbeciles… How and why do Borders think that it’s OK to peddle such racist material? This is potentially highly offensive to a great number of people Not only racism, this novel is also accused of portraying vulgarity towards animals. The allegation is accepted, if we consider it in today’s point of view. But back in 1930, the situation was somehow different. Harge has later claimed that he was just depicting the social structure of that time. When the novel was re drawn in 1946, Herge made sure to remove traces that highlighted the fact that Congo was ever a Belgian colony. However, this never satisfied the critics. Today they feel that the novel should be placed in a museum with a sign accompanying it saying ‘Old fashioned, racist claptrap’. The entire controversy started with a petition filed by David Enright, a solicitor. while shopping with his African wife and two sons he came across the novel in the children section and was stunned that this kind of novel can be accepted in that particular section. Later he told I was aghast to see page after page of representations of black African people as baboons or monkeys, bowing before a white teenager and speaking like retarded children After his petition, the Commission for Racial Equality issued an instruction to the Borders chain of shops to remove the book from their list. Borders later has removed the book from the child section and put it in the adult graphics section. A spoke person said they really do not believe in removal f the book. They want to make the customers have the final say. So they have removed it from the children section, but have not withdrawn it from the store. While racism is a burning issue today, it is not legal and human to use racist comments these days. But back in 1930 the situation was definitely different. If a novel depicts the scenario of that time, be it in a humorous mood, will it be ethical to call it racist and ask for its withdrawal? The publishers have already issued an illustration with the first publication of the colour print of the book explaining the attitude of the society back in 1930. Still if there is a controversy, it is better to leave the entire matter to the readers rather than putting pressure in certain shops to withdraw the books from the store. Let the people decide what they want. Source: The Guardian

The final book of the Harry Potter series arrived in the bookstores on Friday, and had at once a euphoric and a traumatic effect on Harry Potter fans worldwide. Readers had been waiting eagerly despite the rain outside bookstores in London, England. At a minute past midnight, they rushed to grab the new book, the final one of this immensely popular series, ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’. J.K. Rowling, the author of this series, wrote on her website on Friday that she was feeling a ‘mixture of excitement, nerves and relief’ as the ending book in the boy wizard series moved towards its launch. Within hours, you will know what happens to Harry, Ron, Hermione and the res. All the secrets I have been carrying around for so long will be yours, too ‘ wrote Rowling. The final book has created a massive turmoil worldwide. The vogue of Harry Potter is indeed ‘global’. The last book has boosted ecstatic response from the fans all over the globe. Huge number of fans assembled at London’s Natural History Museum to listen to author J.K. Rowling read from her latest book. Around 500 children from across the world have been privileged with the opportunity of being present at this unique midnight occasion. Rowling sat in a big wing-backed chair and read the opening pages of her book. The release of the ‘Deathly Hallows’ has incited tons of celebrations and all-night events at bookstores throughout the planet. Everywhere, admirers of Harry Potter have gathered to celebrate the ending of the series. Special arrangements have been made by bookstores all over the world for this occasion. ‘Steimatzky’ bookstore of Tel Aviv was to open at 2:01 a.m. on Saturday, violating denigration from the Orthodox Jewish lawmakers who disapproved opening a bookstore on the Sabbath, when the law entails most businesses in Israel to shut down. Stores in India opened at dawn for special Harry Potter festivities. Bookstores across Latin America stayed open late. Gandhi bookstore in Mexico city planned an all-weekend long party, with screenings of the Harry Potter movies and readings in Spanish of extracts from the latest book. However, the ending of the new book has disappointed most children globally. Publishers have reportedly spent $20 million in security to keep the ending of the book a secret. Apparently, their endeavours have failed. Copies of the book have slipped out, and news was out that Harry may not be alive in the end. The dismal event has been anticipated even before the book was released. I don’t want Harry to die ‘ said a young fan waiting at a bookstore for the release. A confidential help line for children called ChildLine said that the readers of Harry Potter could be traumatised if several of the main characters face death in ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’. A senior supervisor at ChildLine told The Guardian ‘ For many children, Harry Potter and his friends have become a major part of their childhood. Death and loss of any kind can make children feel upset, angry and afraid. The story could bring back unhappy memories for children who have lost friends, relatives or pets. Rowling, on the other hand, is completely satisfied with the ending, as she said herself. The final book is what it was always supposed to be, and so I feel very at peace with that fact. The fact that this widely popular series is at an end has also upset many children. A young fan said ‘ I want to keep going because I like Harry’s adventures and it’s sad that the books are ending. The author, who is known to be worth $1 billion, said she feels ‘liberated’ after writing the final book. She said she is not sure whether she will be able to write anything as popular for a second time. Rowling’s Harry Potter has stolen many hearts. The popularity of this book creates a landmark in history. The end of the series is a critical moment, mixed with excitement, anticipation, disappointment, and exhilaration. Let us just hope not too many hearts are broken. Via : CBC Image Credit : CBC, Brittanica Blog

Five Factor Fitness, a book by Harley Pasternak has been earning a reputation lately. Not only the commoners but even celebrities like Jessica Simpson and John Mayer are actually following the described plans. This book was first published in 2004. I guess the author considers five as a lucky number for himself, so, everything starts with five and even ends with five; 5 meals a day, 5 workouts and everything is five. But if we leave the five things aside, it actually is a good book. The book terms five criterion while choosing food; low-fat quality protein, low- to moderate- glycemic index carbohydrate, fiber, healthy fat and a sugar-free beverage. The book also contains recipes for foods that can please you and also maintain the above given five standards. It also gives you a list of five exercises that should be done in a week, at least once. These are strength training/cardiovascular/core movements, Repetitions, Sets, Resistance level, and Rest Periods. Each type of exercise as per the book should be done for at least a span of 25 minutes. Well, I can’t agree with the five factor but the book seriously sounds great. So, I guess I’ll surely pick a copy of it. Source: Diet

We know John Grisham for his thrillers. But, he is altering his way with his new novel, Playing for Pizza, where his last novel The Broker exemplified his love for Italian culture, this one revives both football and Italy in an amalgamation. The story of the new novel tells a tale of Rick Dockery, who is struck out of his team for a bad performance. The man is portrayed as one who loves football and can be associated with Shakespearian ‘hemartia’. He, like the author himself loves Italian food and wine too. The guy later on takes up a job as a quarterback for the Parma Panthers and the story unfolds with the discovery of new pleasures of the game. Grisham doesn’t allow the readers to escape even one page of the novel even when they know that it is just the description of the game being played. The novel can be looked forward to for the beautiful and ardent language it employs. The novel is not one of the regular football novels but has much to be hunted beneath and above the game itself. Make sure you buy one copy! Source: USAtoday

After giving seven wonderful books of Harry Potter, now J.K. Rowling is going to add one more addition to Harry Potter. This time the 41-year-old English writer is not set to tell you another story of wizard Harry, but as a matter of fact she is to pen down an encyclopedia about the seven Potter books and movie franchise. After her recent seventh book, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows that also happens to be the last series of the Harry Potter she has decided to give A-Z clear details of all the characters in the Harry Potter encyclopedia to her fans. Rowling who happens to be the first person in America to become US-dollar billionaire by writing books says: There’s always been bits that I knew about characters that didn’t make the final cuts because they weren’t that relevant. Hats Off to Rowling as she has that magic in her words that pull away all kids from computer screens and make them read her wizard tales. Image Source: Femalefirst

Ralph Lauren…the big name…a big game! Ralph Lauren is Ralph Lauren and I guess I am running out of words to describe or rather start on this. Be it an American cultural party, any red carpet event, today’s youth in rugged denims or the neo England style; it is all associated with Ralph Lauren. Ralph Lauren is the name of the revolution that changed the styling sense especially of Americans and made them glamorous. Now, the revolution, the enigma, the magic has been scripted into a single creation. Wonder what it could be, that can contain such a far-reaching era; it’s a book. 2007 marks the fortieth year of the enigmatic Ralph Lauren designs. That certainly calls for celebration and to do that he has assembled his designs, evolution; professional and personnel, passions, his inspiration and design philosophy in a single book that has over five hundred pages. I think it is hard to cover such a massive entity in around 500 pages, I am happy that we might get a few glimpses of it. A line from the book says, ‘Fashion is a function of lifestyle, and style a function of quality, integrity and timelessness.’ Ralph started with a neckwear line in 1967 that also helped the launch of well known label Polo later on. In 1972, he launched womenswear and there was no looking back. Now, the line includes everything, from clothes to furnishings to fragrances. The book contains around 750 photographs and illustrations. The book also stands divided into four sections: � LIVING: This section describes his personnel life, work, difficulties and marriage as well. � MOVIES: This section basically deals with his marketing strategies and various other campaigns. A line quotes, ‘When I work on a collection I feel like I’m making a movie. I want to tell a story, so I guess you could say I write through my clothes.’ � HEROINES: This section basically deals with women or rather the heroines of the label. It also gives you a glimpse of his design philosophy. Explaining the imagination that forms the background for his dazzling styles and dramatic clothes, he says, ‘When I design a collection I have a character in mind. I’ll say, ‘Who is she? Where does she live? What is her taste?’ I study her character and I create for her and through her.’ � HISTORY: The book closes, well sad that is, but the end comprises of flaunt of personal mementos, news clippings and photos, of course dealing with Ralph. A line from this section says, ‘My vision continues to be as it was in the beginning. It hasn’t changed. I don’t want what I created in 1967 to be old, and what I created in 2007 to be new.’ Well, this section can make any other designer jealous and also inspire many others. Pheww…that is the ‘Ralph Lauren.’ As far as I am concerned, I recommend it as a must read. It will be out in October, till then aspire. Source: Fashiontribes

Rich Koslowski is the master of a wonderful array of comics and graphic novels. Right from the beginning, he had great passion for comics, which he articulated as his ‘first love’. To this day he has produced twenty five 3 Geeks comics, 4 trade paperbacks, and had The 3 Geeks as a backup feature in the popular Dork Tower series by John Kovalic. In a maxim to the budding artists he says, that if motivational spirit is not present in oneself then one must ‘not even attempt to get into this field’… scroll down to see more, 1. May we have the honor of knowing your source of inspiration? Rich: I’m inspired by many different things. Thoughts and ideas are constantly flooding my mind. It can be as simple as sitting in a restaurant eating and my meal gives me a notion or it can be a more emotional inspiration like when I’m looking into my daughter’s face as she lays peacefully sleeping in her bed. But they never stop–the ideas. They’re constant and the inspiration is varied. 2. While working on one of your famous book, ‘The King’, you met with an accident that left you with a severe eye injury. How did you try to cope up with it and what is the situation presently? Rich: Yes, while working on THE KING I suffered a very severe eye injury while playing basketball (I always wear and advocate protective eyewear now!) that left me with a severe and permanent case of double-vision. I went to several doctors and no one could help me. But they kept sending me up the ladder until, finally, I went to a specialist who eventually operated on the OTHER eye to compensate for the damage in the injured eye. He essentially damaged the good eye to match the bad eye!!! Needless to say, I was terrified when he told me the plan, but after 8 months of Hell not being able to see I was ready to try anything. The headaches, fatigue, and sleeping 14-16 hours a day as a result had me very depressed and losing hope for my vision. Coping with the injury was extremely difficult. My wife and daughter gave me a lot of strength. The operation worked! It did take a few months for the eyes to adjust and my vision will never be the same but I am at about 90% of what it was. I only suffer occasional eye fatigue now. 3. How did you enter into the world of Archie Comics? And who is your favorite Archie character? Rich: I got into Archie Comics in a very strange way. I was working in the animation field as a storyboard artist on a variety of shows. One of them was the new Sonic The Hedgehog cartoon. It was the people over at Sega who mentioned to Archie that they liked the work we (me and Art Mawhinney, Sonic penciller) were doing on Sonic and thought we should be doing the comic Archie had just started publishing. And, there you have it! A few months later Art was pencilling the comic and I was his Inker. Since then (14 years) I’ve worked on just about every title and Inked thousands of pages. My favorite Archie character would probably be Jughead. I find him to be the most interesting. He’s always good for a solid laugh and he never changes…he stays the course! 4. We would like to know your all time favorite work with respect to all your projects? Rich: My favorite work that I’ve done?…Boy, that’s a very tough question. It’s usually the one I’m currently working on. But if I had to look back and pick a single favorite issue or story I’d probably pick my graphic novel THREE FINGERS or the 3 GEEKS story arc in issues 10 and 11 where my character Allen loses his soul and Keith and Jim have to save him…in very typical 3 GEEKS fashion…that is to say absurd, over-the-top humorous situational madcap comedy. 5. You’ve had varied careers as a book illustrator and a writer, in addition to creating comics. How has been the journey up till now? Rich: The journey I’ve had as a writer and an illustrator has been very challenging at times and very rewarding at times. It’s a very difficult and competitive business. And all too often people have this expectation that we artists just love what we do SO MUCH that we’re willing to do it for nothing. That for some reason we shouldn’t always be paid anything–or next to nothing–for what we do. It’s hard to understand. And it doesn’t always help that there are so many eager up-and-coming artists looking for a chance to break into the business that they will work for free. Sometimes publishers take advantage of artists because of this and it’s a shame. But, all that being said, I have had some success in this tough business and I’m grateful for that I work very hard and pride myself on always coming through and delivering my best possible effort. Hopefully all the hard work pays off. That’s all I can hope for. I’ll keep at it until it does. 6. If you could sit on the shoulders of readers and reviewers, how would you tell them to regard your work? Rich: If I could sit on their shoulders I’d probably break their back! I’m fairly large–206 pounds (all muscle, though!). Seriously, though, I’d probably ask them to try and appreciate the originality and subtle story structure I try very hard to create. I’d also hope they appreciate the effort I put into the artwork. I fully realize that I am not the best artist in comics, but I think I do a pretty good job. I always, ALWAYS give my best effort on my books. I’d just hope that when they’re reading my work they see this. 7. Do you have story ideas for other cartoon characters? If yes, then your potential targets gonna be? Rich: I have so many ideas for so many different stories and characters that it will be impossible to get to them all in one lifetime. My hopes are that in my time as an artist I create dozens of memorable stories and characters for a wide audience of readers. I like covering all the age ranges from young children to the older more mature readers. What and when I produce whatever I produce depends on my mood at the time and whatever story I currently am the most excited about. I just wish I had more time. 8. What are the other comic companies, you have worked for? Rich: A few of the comic and animation companies I’ve worked for are ARCHIE COMICS, 3 FINGER PRINTS (my own publishing company) TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS, IMAGE COMICS, SABAN, DIC, ANIMAGINATION, PUBLICATIONS INTERNATIONAL, BONGO (SIMPSONS), DARK HORSE, INKWORKS (FAMILY GUY), and I’m currently writing for MARVEL COMICS for their upcoming MCP (MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS) which will debut this September! I’m also illustrating a fantastic book called BB WOLF& THE 3 L.P.S written by newcomer Johnnie Arnold. It’s a fabulous story and my artwork is probably the best thing I’ve done to date. ALSO! My newest self-published book, THE LIST, will be hitting the stands in days! Please visit my website RichKoslowski.com to see some of the books I’ve done. 9. Rich, what are your other interests besides your work? How are you able to snatch out time for other things? I would appreciate if you’d share your working and lifestyle with us. Rich: Besides working in the comics/graphic novels/books field I am also a voracious reader of books, off course. I’ve been an avid reader and collector since I was 5 or 6 years old. I also enjoy music, movies, exercising, baseball, basketball, weightlifting, running, and traveling as much as possible. I enjoy fine food, too! And I spend the majority of my time playing with my 5-year-old daughter. Finding the time to “snatch out time for other things” is very difficult. I seem to be a slave to my work at times. But, as the old saying goes, “All work and no play makes Jack (or Rich in this case) a dull boy!” So I make the time to exercise and enjoy time with my family and friends. Otherwise, the alternative is to go crazy (or “crazier” in my case). Since, I work out of my home the work’s always there so I work a lot. BUT since I’m self-employed I can choose the hours I work…when I work. Sometimes I work in the morning, sometimes at night, sometimes both! But the flexibility is the key. If my daughter has a gymnastics class in the middle of the day, not a problem, I can adjust my schedule which is very nice. But, basically, I work a lot, I eat, I sleep. Watch some TV, listen to some music. Play with my daughter. Go out to restaurants often, and try and make time for myself to enjoy the things I like as well. I’m very active. But there’s no real structure, per se…It’s pretty chaotic and random. I always seem to get things done though…and on time! 10. Looking at the industry itself, what advice would you give to people trying to break in as you have? Rich: My advice is that you should have a very high level of perseverance if you’re planning on breaking into the publishing field. You need talent off course, but you’ve got to be tough, too! And you have to work hard, very, very hard. Be honest with yourself…if you are not capable of working extremely hard–if you’re not able to motivate yourself–do not . I’ve seen many very talented artists who just can’t seem to make it in this business, and, quite frankly, it’s all-too-often been because they couldn’t seem to motivate themselves to work hard enough. Self-motivation is a rare thing. If you’ve got it you’ve got a chance! And the talent, off course. You have to have lots of both. 11. Finally, we would like to have your thoughts on the Instablogs News Network and all its related sites. Which one is your favorite? Rich: I must confess that I don’t do much surfing of the web. No time! I’m baffled by how so many people seem to have so much time surfing the web sometimes. But I do try and visit sites related to my work and since being contacted by you I have enjoyed visiting Instablogs, a very well-organized and entertaining site. I plan on visiting more and more now that you’ve introduced me to it! A few questions in quick succession: 1. Describe yourself in one word. Rich: Irresistible! 2. The world of comics is an art or industry? Rich: Both! It has to be both. To function properly and sustain itself you have to make money at it otherwise it would cease to exist. And it has to be art…that is what it is. 3. If you would have been a cartoon character, you would have been? Rich: Oh that’s an easy one…SUPERMAN! 4. Who is the most important person in your life? Rich: Our daughter, Stella. She’s my joy and inspires me every day of my life (when not driving me crazy). 5. What would you like to accomplish in life that you haven’t yet? Rich: I want very much to leave something behind, a legacy. You only get one life and I want mine to matter. My hope is that my works will be read by many generations. That and that my daughter lives a wonderful life. I pray for her happiness every day. 6. What’s your greatest artistic ambition? Rich: I dream of having a “best seller” off course. And I also dream of seeing one of my stories make it to the “big screen” some day. I think I’ve got a few ideas that would translate very well into film. That would be a very cool thing indeed. Before signing off, I’d like to thank Rich for taking time out to do an interview with us, it is greatly appreciated. Also, I’d like to wish him success for all his future endeavors.