The Rumford Meteor » Books

Stephen King, Who Lives In A Mansion Paid For By A Book And Movie That Gleefully Depicts A Misfit Murdering Everyone In The Local School Over Taunts, Tries His Hand At Writing Humor And Says The NRA Is To Blame For Sandy Hook

Aubuchon Connery — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 13:35:22 +0000

BANGOR, Maine — Best-selling Maine horror writer — and gun owner — Stephen King thrust himself into the national debate over gun control Friday with the release of a new Kindle essay on Amazon. In his Kindle Single “Guns,” King reacts to the recent massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School and other mass shootings by calling for tougher nationwide gun control measures, or “reasonable measures” — including a ban on semiautomatic weapons, and clips and magazines of more than 10 rounds. He also advocates for comprehensive, universal background checks — including a waiting period and stiff penalties for those who lie about their pasts in order to obtain weapons. “Here’s how it shakes out,” the essay begins, as it launches into a description of the steps in which the nation sees a school massacre, namely the one at Sandy Hook. From the shooting itself, to initial breaking news reports, to confirmed deaths, to details, to corrections. (read more at Bangor Daily News)

Popular Downton Abbey TV Series Spawns New Books, Including Mrs. Patmore’s Guide To Cankles And Moribund Lady Parts

Aubuchon Connery — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 18:11:41 +0000

The Brit melodrama “Downton Abbey” has spawned countless spoofs. So it’s no surprise a cookbook, liberally seasoned with the Crawleys and their cadre of servants, would surface. Noted on its cover: “This book is unofficial and unauthorized. It is not authorized, approved, licensed or endorsed by Carnival Film & Television Ltd., its writers or producers or any of its licensees.” Fans of the show will enjoy the name dropping and references to the first two seasons, from Mrs. Patmore’s Dropped Roasted Chicken to the Upstairs Anchovy-Onion Tarts. (read more at Kennebec Journal)

New Book Contains Mystery About Old Orchard Beach, Besides The Mystery Of Why The Hell Anyone Would Go There

Aubuchon Connery — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 09:58:54 +0000

A man rescues a woman floundering in the surf off Old Orchard Beach. Nearby, a boy meets a stranger lurking in the dunes. A blood-caked mask washes ashore. And so the mystery of “Strangers on the Beach” begins. The book’s author, Joshua Pahigian, originally from Massachusetts, first visited Old Orchard Beach as a tourist, vacationing in the oceanside town with his wife for multiple summers. “The image I got as a visitor wasn’t really the true essence of the town,” said Pahigian, who moved to Buxton, Maine, with his wife in 2002, after graduating from Emerson College with a master of fine arts in creative writing. “When I finally moved to Maine and got a job working in Old Orchard Beach, I saw it during the off season, when it’s a small community of about 8,000 residents. It’s a supportive community — kind of a hardscrabble town in some ways.” (read more at Bangor Daily News)

Homeless Man Says Donated Stephen King Book Will Probably Burn Pretty Fair For A While, But You Could Barely Warm Your Hands With It. Got Another?

Aubuchon Connery — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 14:22:48 +0000

ELLSWORTH – A signed copy of a rare Stephen King book is up for auction at a Maine bookstore, with proceeds going to a nearby homeless shelter’s emergency home heating fund. The copy of “The Regulators,” written by Maine native King under the pen name Richard Bachman, was donated by a customer of Scottie’s Bookhouse in Hancock. Owner Michael Riggs says there are only 550 copies of the book in a special collector’s box. Auction proceeds will go to the Emmaus Homeless Shelter’s emergency fuel fund in Ellsworth. (read more at Portland Press Herald)

Bethel Bard Believed To Be The First Poet Outside A Men’s Room Stall To Rhyme Mooselookmeguntic Successfully

Aubuchon Connery — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 11:30:44 +0000

Mention the word “poetry” and many people will run in the opposite direction. But even those who only picked up a poetry book at the insistence of an English teacher can likely appreciate poems that are short, clear and meaningful. Bruce Guernsey, who lives seasonally in Bethel, is such a poet. On Oct. 17 people can meet him and learn how he has found poetry in the simplest of objects, including milk, ice, moss, glass and yams. Guernsey is a native New Englander who taught English for 25 years at Eastern Illinois University. A former editor of “The Spoon River Poetry Review,” his poetry has been published in “The Atlantic,” “Poetry” and “American Scholar,” as well as in less-expected publications such as “The Journal of Medical Opinion” and “Fly Rod & Reel.” After retiring in 2003 he and his wife, Victoria, came to Bethel to live seasonally, and they plan to soon make it their permanent home. He described what brought them here: “I’d done some fly fishing around here years back, and had driven through this village out of curiosity and was much impressed by the cleanliness and charm of the place. But what impressed me more than anything was the absence of fast-food joints and WalMart. (read more at the Bethel Citizen)

After 25 Years Of Where’s Waldo, Parents Say They’ll Only Look For Him If They’re Allowed To Kill Him With An Ax When They Find Him

Aubuchon Connery — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 12:54:00 +0000

Where’s Waldo? He won’t be difficult to find once the 25th anniversary kicks off for the bespectacled, and beloved, children’s book character. England will get the global party started Thursday night, when it lights up its popular tourist attraction, the London Eye, in red and white stripes emulating Waldo’s classic jersey. On Friday, New York’s Empire State Building will follow suit when it, too, is lighted up in red and white. For better or for worse, Waldo, who has already graced the pages of more than 58 million books sold in 30 languages worldwide, is about to become even more famous. And it has nothing to do with his creator, Martin Handford. The British illustrator, who dreamed up the picture-book adventurer back in 1987 and placed him in elaborately detailed, oftentimes humorous search-and-find backdrops from Hollywood to the Great Pyramids, sold the property in 2007 to Classic Media, a New York licensing company that has long had its eye on Sept. 21, 2012, as the start date for a Waldo revival. (read more at Bangor Daily News)

Gore Vidal Dies Alone, Still Clutching The Phone After Spending 14 Months On Hold Waiting To Reserve A Table At Elaine’s

Aubuchon Connery — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 12:30:48 +0000

LOS ANGELES — In a world more to his liking, Gore Vidal might have been president, or even king. He had an aristocrat’s bearing — tall, handsome and composed — and an authoritative baritone ideal for summoning an aide or courtier. But Vidal made his living — a very good living — from challenging power, not holding it. He was wealthy and famous and committed to exposing a system often led by men he knew firsthand. During the days of Franklin Roosevelt, one of the few leaders whom Vidal admired, he might have been called a “traitor to his class.” The real traitors, Vidal would respond, were the upholders of his class. The author, playwright, politician and commentator whose vast and sharpened range of published works and public remarks were stamped by his immodest wit and unconventional wisdom, died Tuesday at age 86 in Los Angeles. Vidal died at his home in the Hollywood Hills at about 6:45 p.m. of complications from pneumonia, his nephew Burr Steers said. Vidal had been living alone in the home and had been sick for “quite a while,” Steers said. (Read more at LewistonSunJournal. The Meteor regrets it cannot send a correspondent to Mr. Vidal’s funeral, but we did send a telegram saying we approved of it)

Local Comic Book Aficionadoes Confused, Upset By News That Only One Superhero Is Gay. Everyone Figured They All Were

Aubuchon Connery — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 10:44:42 +0000

PHILADELPHIA— Green Lantern, one of DC Comics’ oldest and enduring heroes no matter what parallel earth he’s on, is serving as a beacon for the publisher again, this time as a proud, mighty and openly gay hero. The change is revealed in the pages of the second issue of “Earth 2″ out next week, and comes on the heels of what has been an expansive year for gay and lesbian characters in the pages of comic books from Archie to Marvel and others. But purists and fans note: This Green Lantern is not the emerald galactic space cop Hal Jordan who was, and is, part of the Justice League and has had a history rich in triumph and tragedy. Instead, said James Robinson, who writes the new series, Alan Scott is the retooled version of the classic Lantern whose first appearance came in the pages of “All-American Comics” No. 16 in July 1940. And his being gay is not part of some wider story line meant to be exploited or undone down the road, either. “This was my idea,” Robinson explained this week, noting that before DC relaunched all its titles last summer, Alan Scott had a son who was gay. (read more at KennebecJournal)

Stephen King Thinking Of Putting A Hobbit On Page 775 To See If You’re Still Paying Attention

Aubuchon Connery — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 09:53:52 +0000

BANGOR, Maine — Horror writer Stephen King has written a new book, “11/22/63,” scheduled to be released Nov. 8 by Simon & Schuster as an enhanced ebook for $18.99 and also available in hardcover for $35. Simon & Schuster offers the following description of the 864-page work on its website: On Nov. 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back? (read more at BangorDailyNews)

Portland Comic Conventioneers Unsure If A Girl Will Attend, Dead Certain Greedo Shot First

Aubuchon Connery — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:50:18 +0000

PORTLAND, Maine — If next month’s three-day comic convention in Maine’s largest city is nothing more than “the best nerd party in Portland,” co-organizer Tristan Gallagher said, he’ll be satisfied. Of course, the Coast City Comicon, modeled after the high-profile industry showcase conventions held in places such as New York City and San Diego, has the potential to be much more than that. Like its better established “con” cousins elsewhere in the country, Coast City Comicon can boast a few product launches that’ll make a splash. No, Angelina Jolie probably isn’t coming to announce her next action flick, but as far as first-time conventions go, the local one promises to bring some hype. There, Gallagher said, the “Exegesis of Philip K. Dick” will be unveiled, as well as sneak peaks of the highly anticipated “Womanthology,” a massive all-female comic anthology that attracted some of the most talented artists in the business. (BangorDailyNews)