Friday Link Dump: Flowers in the Attic, Adorable Dogs and Nutella

-The big news in the YA book world this week was the release of the Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters teaser trailer. (Yahoo!) If that isn't enough for you, here are some stills (Weebly), and here are author Richelle Mead's thoughts on the teaser (Dhampir Life). All I want to know is, why the hell is Dimitri wearing granny knickers?!

-There is a Nutella recipe book. I want to go to there. (Book Depository)

-I totally want this gorgeous book of illustrations of famous literary heroines. (Refinery 29)

-Even Stephenie Meyer is sick of Twilight. Really. (Variety)

-Cuddlebuggery created some memes about the woes of being a Big Book Blogger. Lulz. (Cuddlebuggery)

-The book isn't always better than the movie - at least according to the authors who wrote these ones. (Cracked)

-If you haven't seen the OCD poetry performance that's been doing the rounds, go watch it. Now. (YouTube)

-This is what Teen Wolf looks like to a Tumblr user who hasn't actually seen the show. Spoiler: It's hilarious. (Hypable)

-The history and magazine nerds inside me are both very happy with this post about the first issues of famous mags. (Mental Floss)

-People who think The Onion articles are true are silly. And hilarious. (Thought Catalog)

-The Toast had a Flowers in the Attic day and it was amazing. They interviewed editor Ann Patty, who also wrote her own account of how the book came to be. They also published some fan art and this insightful piece on "disability horror" - coz V.C. Andrews is about more than incest. Ahem. (The Toast)

-In other V.C. Andrews news, Kiernan Shipka (a.k.a. Sally Draper) has been cast as Cathy in the upcoming Flowers in the Attic movie and I don't know how to feel about this. (Deadline)
 
-Hypable lists their fave Shakespeare movie adaptations. I like that 10 Things I Hate About You made the list. (Hypable)

-I've been reading Tales of the Macabre by Edgar Allen Poe this week and it made me curious about how accurate The Following is in its portrayal of Poe. Apparently not very. (Vulture)

-The 10 types of writers you probably resent. (The Toast)

-I can't decide whether to laugh or cry at these emoji versions of famous artworks. Laugh. It's laugh. (Tumblr)

-I am really excited to watch A.C.O.D. Although it will be odd to see Amy Poehler play Adam Scott's step-mother. But awesome. (Yahoo!)

-The trailer for Cory Monteith's last movie, McCanick, looks great but it's incredibly haunting. It makes me wonder if playing a drug addict triggered his own addiction. So sad. (YouTube)

-GQ lists the key horror movies to watch this year. Although their definition of horror is quite loose. (GQ)

-Tina Fey is working on another TV show and it's the best news I've heard all week. (AV Club)

-Do you ever browse the web and find yourself thinking, "if only every single photo on this page was Ryan Gosling"? No? Well, there's an app for that anyway. (Hey Girl)

-Take this hearing test to see how good your ears are. Mine are "under 40". Yikes. (YouTube)

-These dogs are cat people and although I am not cat people I am all for interspecies friendships. I am also all for dogs who sometimes forget how to be dogs and get themselves into hilarious positions. But most of all I am for dogs who are really excited about being dogs. (BuzzFeed)

-Meanwhile this dog knows how to play with himself (get your mind out of the gutter!). (YouTube)

-I love seeing pictures of Marilyn Monroe that I haven't come across before. Like these. (Vintage Everyday)

Review: Marilyn: Norma Jeane by Gloria Steinem

Like so many others, I am fascinated by Marilyn Monroe. She was a gorgeous, iconic, complex and ultimately tragic woman. I think it's the mystery of Marilyn, the enigma of her life, that makes her legend so enduring. Sure, the many photographs of her that are part of the fabric of our pop culture are absolutely stunning, but I think it's about more than the pretty face and gorgeous body. It's the soul that reaches out of her eyes - the sadness, hope, confidence, insecurity, intelligence, fear, innocence, loneliness, sensuality - the myriad facets of Marilyn that continues to touch our hearts and get under our skin.

I've seen a few documentaries and trashy TV movies about Marilyn's life, but this was my first biography. I think it was a good place to start to get a taste of the truth. It's short and covers each aspect of her life only briefly, but the key information is there and, more importantly, a sympathetic and authentic portrait of Marilyn herself. Steinem focuses on a different theme in each chapter - childhood, body image, career, marriage, and so on - and by looking at such aspects of Marilyn separately, you get a more comprehensive understanding of the whole woman.

Drawing heavily on Marilyn's own writing and interviews, Steinem attempts to get at the heart of the star. What emerges is an overarching picture of a woman of many contradictions. She was incredibly beautiful but incredibly insecure. She was seen as a sex goddess but didn't particularly enjoy sex herself. She was very intelligent but consistently cast as the dumb blonde, both on screen and off. She wanted to be taken seriously as an actress but was forced into silly roles in dubious comedies again and again. She was an independent career woman whilst remaining chronically needy of men. She desperately wanted to be loved but had no relationships that lasted. She had fans all over the world but was unbearably lonely. She was terrified of the mental illness that took her mother and grandmother, but spent most days self-medicating with alcohol and assorted drugs. She had fraught relationships with women and often felt judged by them, but was also at her most comfortable around other women and had some strong female friendships. She loved children and yearned to be a mother, but for one reason or another, she had multiple abortions. She was childlike and innocent but also very sexy and sensual. She was Norma Jeane and she was Marilyn.

Ultimately, Marilyn's tale is an impossibly sad one. Steinem handles it with intelligence, respect and a sense of poignancy. Through her words, you get a sense of not only the Marilyn that was but the Marilyn that could have been. In many ways she was ahead of her time, and had she been born 50 years later, her tale might have ended very differently. But then, without Marilyn, the world might be a very different place.

Rating: 4/5

Fine Print
Published: March 2013, Open Road (first published 1986)
Source: Netgalley
Get It: Amazon

Reading Icons: Michelle Williams

I have a soft spot for Michelle Williams. I wasn't 100 per cent behind her playing Marilyn Monroe to begin with, but after watching the trailer for My Week with Marilyn she grew on me, and this photo kinda cemented my love. Beautiful, and very Marilyn.

Here are a few more photos of Ms Williams reading, just for fun.

Reading Icons: Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe's Fragments, featuring her personal notes and poetry, is currently at the top of my wishlist. Like most of the world, I find her fascinating. Although she had a "dumb blonde" reputation, she was an avid reader with a large personal library. Apparently, some of her favourite photos of herself featured her reading, and I can see why.

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