~WELCOME BOOK LOVERS~
Thanks for stopping by this week for Book Club Thursday (BCT). We are doing a little something special today.
Myself and my best friends(your BCT Bloggers) each work with Tasty Book Tours and we were given the the opportunity to watch and Review the documentary film, Love Between the Covers. Take a look:
Love Between the Covers
A Documentary Film
Written, Produced & Directed by: Laurie Kahn
Releasing July 12th, 2016
Distributed by: The Orchard
Love stories are universal. Love stories are powerful. And so are the women who write them.
Love Between the Covers is the fascinating
story of the vast, funny, and savvy female community that has built a
powerhouse industry sharing love stories.
Romance fiction is sold in 34 languages on six continents, and the genre
grosses more than a billion dollars a year -- outselling mystery, sci-fi, and
fantasy combined. Yet the millions of
voracious women (and sometimes men) who read, write, and love romance novels
have remained oddly invisible. Until now.
For
three years, we follow the lives of five very diverse published romance authors
and one unpublished newbie as they build their businesses, find and lose loved
ones, cope with a tsunami of change in publishing, and earn a living doing what
they love—while empowering others to do the same. Romance authors have built a
fandom unlike all others, a global sisterhood where authors know their readers
personally and help them become writers themselves. During the three years
we’ve been shooting Love Between the
Covers, we have witnessed the biggest power shift that has taken place in
the publishing industry over the last 200 years. And it’s the romance authors
who are on the front lines, pioneering new ways to survive and build
communities in this rapidly changing environment.
The Official Trailer
Director/Producer LAURIE KAHN’s films have won major
awards, been shown on PBS primetime, broadcast around the world, and used
widely in university classrooms and community groups. Her first film, A
Midwife’s Tale, was based on the 18th century diary of midwife Martha Ballard
and Laurel Ulrich’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book A Midwife’s Tale. It won film
festival awards and a national Emmy for Outstanding Non-Fiction. Her film TUPPERWARE!
was broadcast in more than 20 countries, won the George Foster Peabody Award
and was nominated for a national Best Nonfiction Director Emmy. Kahn previously
worked on Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years, The American
Experience, FRONTLINE’S Crisis in Central America, All Things Considered, and
Time Out. She’s a resident scholar at Brandeis’s Women’s Studies Research
Center.
For more information on the film, http://www.lovebetweenthecovers.com/
I'm going to keep my review short and sweet only because if you are a die hard romance reader, you are (mostly) going to LOVE this film. Don't let that iffy comment sway you, because I do think it's worth the watch.
When I sat down to watch the film, I had my pen and paper ready to take notes. And boy did I take notes until...yeah... I stopped. I wanted to pay more attention to the film rather than write things down.
Some of my favorite moments(ok probably they are! LOL) are from prolific author Beverly Jenkins. I'll admit that I don't think I've read a book by her. I'm pretty sure I have at least one stashed away someplace and I hope to find and read it soon, but I digress. Ms. Jenkins in part of her interview describes romance readers/writers: "We are the shit!". LOVE LOVE LOVE that! Her interview/story were compelling and interesting to watch. Ms. Jenkins also makes another spot on comment about "paper and ink". You'll need to watch to learn more!
My other favorite moment concerns author Joanne Lockyer. I won't spoil it except to say I almost shed a tear with her.
Other stuff that hit home: William Gleason from Princeton University compares romances to roller coasters.
And again Ms. Jenkins wisely says that romance books are similar to action movies in plotting and set up and resolution - again watch the movie to see more.
Jayne Ann Krentz also makes some terrific points...yeah you know what I'm going to say...LOL
I've also added something to my bucket list: I want to visit Lady Jane's Salon in NYC (plus when I researched the place I learned it was co-founded by one of my favorite authors (Maya Rodale) if it was mentioned in the film, I missed it!).
NOW...
There were a few moments when certain authors said things I found a bit...off putting - I don't know the right words to describe how I feel but they were head-scratchers. I won't mention anything specifically as I'd love to hear what you think if you've seen the film.
And if you've followed my blog in the past you might recall one of my biggest pet peeves is romance covers. While I liked watching the segment about covers, it kind of set my blood to boiling.
Although the film makes no bones about the fact that romance generates the biggest/majority revenue in sales it brings up the fact us romance readers and writers (and we are a strong community(almost a family) ) are still snubbed, looked down on etc sometimes by other/some (non romance) readers.
Okay- so my beef is that lots of publishing houses consistently get the covers of romance novels wrong. How freaking offensive is that to the author and readers! I mean, HELLO- romance makes publishing houses LOTS OF MONEY.
I mean, what the hell! I know most authors do not have control over their covers. So again, is this the big giant middle finger being given to us when a cover is blatantly wrong? It's not that hard to make sure characters(other facts) are depicted correctly one a cover especially with technology. It's a sore subject with me, and I apologize for my rant. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Oops, I guess I had more to say than I thought. I'd love to hear your thoughts about this film. I was happy I watched it and I'm thankful to Laurie Kahn, The Orchard, and Tasty Book Tours for allowing me access to watch and review.
To learn more about BCT, me and my best friends be sure to visit the tab at the top of my blog. ANd to check out their Reviews and thoughts:
21JULY: CATCHING UP ON: JENNIFER ASHLEY
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