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Hollywood has been chasing after popular books for inspiration. Titles such as the Harry Potter series, The Hunger Games trilogy, and The Fault in our Stars novel have been transformed into blockbluster film franchises.

At this point in time, a diverse array of adaptation projects are being developed for YouTube, Hulu, and the silver screen. In recognition of book creators, The Hollywood Reporter has crafted a list of “Hollywood’s 25 Most Powerful Authors.”

J.K. Rowling claimed the number one spot because arguably speaking, “no single creator has had so much influence on a megafranchise since George Lucas and the original Star Wars trilogy.” We’ve posted the list of the top 10 authors below—what do you think?

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand has debuted on Apple’s Top Paid iBooks in the U.S. this week at No. 2.

Apple has released its top selling books list for paid books from iBooks in the U.S. for week ending 7/7/14. Invisible by David Ellis & James Patterson and The Silkworm and The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith aka JK Rowling also made the list this week.

We’ve included Apple’s entire list after the jump. (more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Laura Hillenbrand’s bestseller Unbroken: An Olympian’s Journey from Airman to Castaway to Captive will be adapted as young adult novel. Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, will publish the work on Veteran’s Day 2014.

Hillenbrand adapted the work for young readers. “The saga of a man’s bravery, ingenuity, and unwavering will in the face of almost unimaginable challenges, Louie Zamperini’s story is spellbinding to people of every age,” explained Hillenbrand in a statement. “At the urging of librarians, teachers, and parents, I’ve created this edition specifically for younger readers. I’m delighted to bring Louie’s inspiring, exhilarating story to a new generation.”

The first printing of the YA adaptation will be a 200,000 copy run. The original book has sold almost 4 million copies and has been on the bestseller list for more than 160 weeks, with 14 weeks at No. 1. The book has also been adapted as a film starring Angelina Jolie, which is slated for release on Christmas Day 2014.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

While on vacation in the Adirondacks this summer I read Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken. For those who might not know the book, it's about a World War II crew of a B-24 (not affectionately called a "Flying Coffin") that plunges into the Pacific, killing most of the men. The few who lived through the crash, including Olympic runner Louis Zamperini, survive in a tiny, disintergrating rubber raft for over a month, are captured by the Japanese and imprisioned on a small island, and then sent to Japan and made to do hard labor, accented by senseless torture. It's the sort of story where just when you think nothing worse could possibly happen to these guys something even worse does indeed happen.

It's an amazing book and one I would highly recommend to anyone interested in gripping, well-written nonfiction. But here's the thing: it's almost too perfect. Hillenbrand has clearly done a ton of research as even a casual glimpse of her Notes and Acknowledgments makes clear, with Zamperini providing a wealth of information in over seventy-five interviews. Even so, I sometimes found the level of detail startling and wondered if it all came from Zamperini or whether some was author speculation. Take this brief paragraph (that I picked by opening the book and, without looking, pointing at a part of the page) that describes the moments after Zamperini is thrown into a small, wooden cell on the island of Kwajalein:

"At first, Louie could barely see. His eyes darted about uncontrollably. His mind raced, flitting incoherently from thought to thought. After weeks of endless openness, he was disoriented by the compression of the space around him. Every nerve and muscle seemed in a panic."

I have no problem with the basic facts; the notes for p. 174 say that Zamperini provided them. But do any of us think he described his eyes darting about or the panic in his nerves and muscles? I'm willing to say "well, maybe," but in my heart I'm thinking this is made up stuff. And I wouldn't be bothered by one or two places where this happens. Or ten. But it seemed that every scene (whether Zamperini is the focus or not) is fleshed out with similar rich, dramatic detail and emotional insight. It's almost as if they're too complete and rounded out

It's possible that I was recalling the numerous blog-o-sphere discussions recently where non-fiction writers have been urged to speculate more about their subjects (to build drama and emotion and to help go beyond "history as story" in order to discuss opinions and ideas). Or maybe I was remembering an article that (wiesly in my opinion) warned about fictional details sneaking into children's non-fiction. So I may be a little too sensitive to these things and as a result totally unfair to Hillenbrand. Maybe she did write a perfect book! Even so, it did make me wonder where the line should be drawn when it comes to speculation and who, besides the author, should be monitering it. I've had editors (Dinah Stevenson to name one) who know history and can sniff out every false note in a text. But I think that a lot of editors might not be quite so versed in history and might not be able to spot fact from decent, based-on-solid research speculation versus made up stuff. Reviewers? Again, a mixed bag of expertise that might allow a nonfiction book loaded with questionable speculation to pass unchallenged.

It's a complex and potentially troubling situation (especially considering who our main audience is) and one that may never be resolved in a clear and satisfying way. I'd love to hear what others think about this and what we should do.

Why does everything take so long? Um . . . maybe because I put it off forever?

But today my choices were clean off my desk (never) or finally update my Book Store (okay, yes). So what you’ll find there are not just some random selection of novels, biographies, science books, food books, etc., but an actual thought-out list of recommendations for some great reading in a bunch of different categories.

What have I read most recently that I absolutely loved? Why, Judi Dench’s memoir, of course. If you’re a fan of Dame Judi–and really, how can you not be?–then you’ll enjoy her book AND FURTHERMORE, even though those of us who aren’t British may not be as familiar with all the names she drops from her days in the Royal Shakespeare Company and all that. But I’ll tell you what, thanks to her memoir (which I’m now re-reading a week after I finished it, because I just want to), I’m on a Judi Dench movie kick lately. This weekend it was CASINO ROYALE and QUANTUM OF SOLACE, because even though Dame Judi was fabulous as Queen Elizabeth in SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, really there’s nothing better than watching her as M in the James Bond flicks.

And thanks to one of her scenes in QUANTUM OF SOLACE, I really want to start answering the phone, “What is it?” That’s right, Judi, make them get right to the point.

The other book I’m absolutely rabid about right now is Laura Hillenbrand’s UNBROKEN: A WORLD WAR II STORY OF SURVIVAL, RESILIENCE, AND REDEMPTION. That book will amaze, horrify, and most likely change you. I’ll tell you one thing, it certainly makes you want to stop complaining about every little thing in your life. I listened to the audio book on a long car drive recently, and it not only made the miles fly by, it also made it a little dangerous at one point because I was crying so hard I probably should have pulled over. Sorry, Safety Monitors. But that book was so inspiring I’m probably going to read the print version next, because I really need to experience it again.

Both the Judi Dench memoir and the Laura Hillenbrand biography can be found in my book store under the category “Burly Adventurers Who Inspire Me.” Because you don’t have to be a mountain climber to make it into that group–you just have to lead a remarkably bold and fearless life.

My final current recommendation, listed under “Favorite Books on Writing,” is James A. Owen’s DRAWING OUT THE DRAGONS: A MEDITATION ON ART, DESTINY, AND THE POWER OF CHOICE. Owen is the bestselling author and illustrator of the CHRONICLES OF THE IMAGINARIUM GEOGRAPHICA series, starting with HERE, THERE BE DRAGONS. His new book grew out of the inspirational talks he gives to middle school and high school students, encouraging them to pursue their dream of being writers and artists. I’m already pursuing that dream, but dang if I wasn’t re-inspired. It’s like one of my other favorites, Stephen King’s ON WRITING, but without the drugs.

So there! Another item I can mark off my to-do list! Now what else can I do instead of cleaning my office?

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