Sandra Gulland on 17th-century French theater, and a moving people's protest against authority.

Five years ago I went to Paris to research the life of Mademoiselle Claude des Oeillets. It was going to be a challenge, I knew. Claude--or Claudette, as I think of her--was a two-bit-player-turned-lady's maid, and she had lived over 250 years ago. As it is, there is often little in the historical records about the serving classes.

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So you're an author, and your book is out there in the world. You've sweated and agonized and copy edited and re-read; in short, you've done everything you could to make sure your book is the best thing you can write at that moment. You wait nervously for its release. Will it sell? Will people like it? And then the reviews start to appear. Maybe it's a positive review (yeah!); maybe it's negative (ouch!), but the reviewer takes the time to explain what it is they didn't like about the book in a clear and fair way (still ouch, but okay, I get it, no book is for everyone).

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The other day I learned that an author I like has a new book coming out. Of course I was interested and planned to pre-order the book. I also wanted to read any pre-publication reviews to see what the pros think about it, whether they feel it lives up to the author's previous high bar. I also wanted to learn a bit more about the story - but not too much.

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Have you ever wondered how many women are in book clubs, how many books they read and what they read?

Here are answers to these and many other book club questions!

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If you're wondering what movies based on books will release between April - June 2014, you're in the right place! Check them out below including Every Secret Thing based on the book by Laura Lippman, How to Train Your Dragon 2, based on the book by Cressida Cowell, and the much anticipated film adaptation of The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

See more books into movies in our previous posts.

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At BookBrowse, we don't just review books, we go 'beyond the book' to explore interesting aspects relating to each book we feature. Here is a "Beyond the Book" feature for The Unchangeable Spots of Leopards by Kristopher Jansma about famous literary spats...


When famous figures spar, their words become part of the public record, particularly when those quarreling are popular writers.

Ernest Hemingway, for example, was notorious for his antagonistic relationship with many of his contemporaries. While once close, he had a disagreement with his mentor Gertrude Stein over their differing opinions of Sherwood Anderson's works. As the friendship deteriorated, Stein published an unflattering portrait of Hemingway in The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas. Hemingway countered with A Moveable Feast, in which he criticized Stein's writing for its use of "repetitions that a more conscientious and less lazy writer would have put in the waste basket."

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