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Wanna live forever? Get RE-VAMP in your life!

2010-07-06T09:47:00.000-07:00

Fat Vampire is definitely not your average vampire book. When the protagonist is accidentally made into one of the undead, he thinks his life will become infinitely more awesome. Instead, he's stuck as a geeky, chubby loser who is forced to wear a poncho when he goes outside during sunny days.

Check out the unique trailers for the book including this recreation of the Slap Chop infomercial:

Also, simple tips you can follow to tell if someone you know is a vampire:

For more alternative vampire literature, check out our podcast.

The Truth About Delilah Blue

2010-06-21T05:59:00.000-07:00

Check out the brand new animated trailer for Tish Cohen's brand new novel The Truth About Delilah Blue.

Neko Ramen

2010-06-02T06:14:00.000-07:00

I've got to confess my love for this bizarre manga about a grouchy cat who owns his own ramen noodle shop and his one loyal customer. If you've never read a manga before, you honestly can't go wrong with Neko Ramen. Check out these strips below (remember, manga is read from right to left) or start reading the book here.

There's a ton of stuff on the web devoted to Neko Ramen. The official site and Facebook page (where you can read daily strips from the book or check out photos of ramen prepared by devoted fans) are pretty awesome, but the hilarious animated adaptations are absolutely brilliant.

But if that wasn't great enough, check out the trailer below for the Japanese live action film that's a cross between the Muppets and Iron Chef.

Supernatural Tour Wrap-up

2010-05-28T05:50:00.000-07:00

Here's our photo wrap up of The Supernatural Tour where our trio of fantasy authors Lesley Livingston, Kim Harrison and Aprilynne Pike visited three stores to chat about their books, their writing, and meet some of their biggest fans!

Giveaway - Summer Smackdown 2010

2010-05-27T05:40:00.000-07:00

Love summer reading? Then click here for your chance to win a fantastic prize pack of some of the season's best books.

The pack includes 12 amazing fiction titles including UNBOUND featured picture book Instructions by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Charles Vess!

If that wasn't enough, click here to find out how your blogging skills can help you win some of the biggest upcoming fall books!

Coach House Restaurant

2010-05-25T07:11:00.000-07:00

Three co-workers embark on a quest to eat lunch at every restaurant in their office's surrounding vicinity, documenting their reactions and reviewing the food. This is OUT TO LUNCH.

"I want to get married here." - Lisa Bettencourt on Coach House Restaurant

Lisa: One of the greatest hidden gems of the city. A classic diner owned by the same couple for over 40 years - with a menu and décor to boot -and refreshingly absent of hipsters in such a downtown location. What I love the most – processed cheese slices on my western omelet sandwich. Home fries that made you happy to be alive - tender, greasy and seasoned just right. Friendly service. Everything here is just perfect if you like a cheap, authentic diner. Not to be missed!

Melissa: Loved it. We stumbled upon this tiny restaurant by accident... but what a treasure. Walking in to Coach House is like walking into something classic.
The food was quick, delicious, and generously portioned. I had an Omelets and toast, which was excellent, but all the while wishing I had ordered Paul's over-the-top meal of waffles, over easy eggs, bacon, sausage, home fries... (there was probably more that I can't remember now!) This is a "must return" restaurant for me.

Paul: I am in love and her name is Coach House Restaurant.

A rejuvinating oasis quietly tucked away among the onslaught of noise and commotion at the corner of Yonge and Wellesley, the discovery of Coach House itself was a magical event. Entering the cozy restaurant time-travels you back to the 1940's with it's dark wood paneled bar, cozy bench seats and incredibly delicious and amazingly cheap plate specials. The staff is so friendly and the atmosphere is so homey the entire dining experience is like something out of a movie. I almost expected Jimmy Stewart to walk in and order.

If you know me, you know that if a menu features an all-day-breakfast special, it's going to be next to impossible to persuade me to not order it. And let me say that Coach Houses's all-day-breakfast special is without a doubt the best all-day-breakfast special I have ever had. Eggs, sausage, bacon and ham with an enormous freshly baked golden waffle so deliciously crispy and sugary, it shines as the crown jewel of this royal banquet. Needless to say, I've returned to Coach House since and urge everyone to visit this incredible Toronto gem.

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Supernatural Giveaway & Tour Next Week!

2010-05-21T06:53:00.000-07:00

The Supernatural Tour kicks off next Tuesday with fan favourite authors Kim Harrison, Aprilynne Pike and Lesley Livingston visiting three bookstores together! Come out and meet these fantastic fantasy writers, get your book signed and grab some free giveaways!

Speaking of which, click here to enter the Supernatural Giveaway and you could win not only 6 books by these authors, but a Cusinart Ice Cream maker as well!

UNBOUND - Art Gallery Books

2010-05-19T12:58:00.000-07:00

On this episode of UNBOUND we look at some incredible picture books featuring Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess' Instructions, Carin Berger's Forever Friends and Oliver Jeffers' The Heart and the Bottle.

Once you've watched the video, email unboundpodcast@gmail.com with your name, address and one of the answers of our pictionary game. 10 lucky entrants will win a free copy of one of the books featured in the podcast!
The giveaway has now closed! Thanks to all who entered, the winners will be contacted shortly. Keep checking back here for more giveaways.

Oliver Jeffers' 'The Heart and the Bottle'

2010-05-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

Our next podcast is going to feature office favourite Oliver Jeffers' fantastic new book, The Heart and the Bottle. Until then, here's an interesting look into the equally interesting writer/illustrator's studio. Plus, handlebar moustache.

Also, Jeffers' website has a bunch of very cool paintings that reveal his incredible artistic range as well as a much different (but certainly still humourous) sensibility.

Grammar Nazis

2010-05-12T10:51:00.000-07:00

Now all I can think about when writing this post is that someone will find something grammatically incorrect about it. Wait, can you end a sentence with "it?"

Anyway, this video's attention to detail in recreating the opening scene of Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds is incredible, from the acting to the set design.

Sarah Silverman's Shelf Indulgence

2010-05-10T10:47:00.000-07:00

Sarah Silverman comedian, actress and author of the new memoir The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee talks about a few of her favorite movies and CD's. I love this series of videos Borders puts together, so simple and interesting. Be sure to check out Wes Anderson and Jason Shwartzman.

Upcoming Events

2010-05-06T09:18:00.000-07:00

If you're in the area, be sure to check out these amazing author events in the next few weeks.

Sweeter Than Fiction

2010-05-06T09:16:00.000-07:00

Ice cream and classic literature, two venerable pillars of western civilization blended together courtesy of designer Megan Reddish:

"Sweeter Than Fiction, Premium Ice Cream: Curling up with a good book will only get better when you’re spooning with a fantastic fusion of premium ice cream flavors. Indulge in the classics like you never have before. Literary aficionados will fall heads over heels for these witty packages."

I actually feel like having a scoop of 'The Crunchback of Notre Dame' right now... (via The Dieline)

BRONTËSAURUS

2010-05-05T08:26:00.000-07:00

Voltron meets Gothic Fiction, FINALLY.

This video was put together by the incredible Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the filmmaking/animation duo who created the amazingly clever Clone High series and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

Mandatory Star Wars Day Post

2010-05-04T15:01:00.000-07:00

May the Fourth be with you. Yep, it's Star Wars Day. Enjoy the original trilogy narrated by a kid and told entirely in LEGO in just over 2 minutes.

Bill Murray Reads Poetry to NYC Construction Workers

2010-05-04T09:37:00.000-07:00

I don't think I need to explain that this is awesome.

UNBOUND - How to be an Expert at Anything

2010-05-04T06:08:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wanted to be an expert at something? How are artists, musicians or athletes so good at what they do? In the second episode of UNBOUND we look at books that take scientific questions like these and explain them in an entertaining readable way.

~~Once you've watched the episode, email us at unboundpodcast@gmail.com with your name, address and the answer to this question discussed in the video:~~

~~How many hours does Syed say it takes to become an expert?~~

~~5 lucky entrants will be contacted to receive a copy of Matthew Syed's Bounce!~~
Update: The contest is now closed! Thanks to all who entered, the winners will be contacted shortly.

Remember to keep watching this site for more podcasts (and more chances to win fantastic free books.) To get the latest updates, you can subscribe to us through our twitter account @unboundpodcast, through our RSS feed or our Youtube channel .

Ethiopian House

2010-05-03T07:45:00.000-07:00

Three co-workers embark on a quest to eat lunch at every restaurant in their office's surrounding vicinity, documenting their reactions and reviewing the food. This is OUT TO LUNCH.

Melissa: Delish. Again, this is another hidden gem in Toronto that was brought to my attention by Lisa. We were starving the day we went so the food felt like it was taking forever but I think it was worth the wait. I ordered a vegetarian plate that was delicious and plentiful. Some of the flavours were new but definitely welcomed! I will return when I have more than an hour break.

Lisa: I have heard this is the best Ethiopian food in the city, but I think we just came on an off day. The food took almost an hour and the portion sizes were small and the injera lacked the texture and flavor that it usually has at other Ethiopian restaurants. The vegetarian meal lack variety. I would give it a second chance but not recommend it based on this one time. Try Nazareth, Lailebela or Addis Abada for better food and service.

Paul: Unlike Melissa and Lisa, I've never had Ethiopian food before, so I can honestly say this is the best Ethiopian food I've ever had. Kidding aside, this was a pretty great lunch. I ordered the lunch special that came with pan fried beef and collared greens (a phrase I enjoy both typing and saying aloud) and different vegetables that were all delicious and flavourful. The one downside for me was cottage cheese, which I didn't know anyone actually liked until my two lunch-mates happily ate my portion.

The experience of eating with your hands using the Injera bread made the meal oddly more satisfying (probably because after the wait it took for our order to come I no longer had time for utensils.) The decor is appropriately funky, with brightly coloured throw pillows meeting your gaze in all directions and the walls filled with interesting pictures and designs in a style reminiscent of a Wes Anderson film set in Ethiopia. Suffice it to say, I would definitely go back for another meal.

Ethiopian House Website

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The Literates are BACK

2010-04-30T11:30:00.000-07:00

The superheroic Paige and The Spine return, this time trapped in Victorian London where they team up with secret agents Modo and Octavia, the heroes of Arthur Slade's steampunk adventure series The Hunchback Assignments and the brand new sequel The Dark Deeps.

Click here to read the action-packed Issue 3 now and become a fan of The Literates on Facebook!

One Book to Rule Them All, One Twitter to Bind Them

2010-04-29T09:12:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this post has nothing to do with Lord of the Rings, that title was just too good of an opportunity to pass up. What it's really about is that Neil Gaiman's American Gods has been chosen as the focus of One Book, One Twitter. The idea of Jeff Howe, writer of Wired magazine explains exactly what this is:

What if everyone on Twitter read the same book at the same time and we formed one massive, international book club? ...The point of this (to the extent it has a point beyond good fun with a good book) is to create community across geographical, cultural, ethnic, economic and social boundaries.

To view the twitter coversation check out posts tagged with the hashtag #1b1t or follow Howe @crowdsourcing for updates including a promised schedule for everyone participating in the next few weeks. And if you have a twitter account and aren't following Neil Gaiman, well, you really should be.

Chris Moore's Canadian Tour

2010-04-27T06:02:00.000-07:00

Alt-Vampire-Lit guest Cory Beatty and Christopher Moore (author of Bite Me, Fool and many more) flash the camera some sort of gang signs on The Author Guy's recent 4-city Canadian tour. Stopping in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Waterloo, Moore had an incredible turnout from his Canadian fans.

Funny Business

2010-04-26T12:59:00.000-07:00

Great video for the upcoming humour anthology Guys Read.

With such great writers as Jon Scieszka and Paul Feig of Freaks and Geeks fame, the book features truly laugh out loud stories (including a really eerie one about a killer turkey. Seriously.)

3 Links for the Weekend

2010-04-23T13:06:00.000-07:00

This week, it's all about mashups. Check out this amazing MacGyver/Big Lebowski edit, I honestly wish this was a series.

Next the bizarre and very well done Iron Man vs. Dirty Dancing. I'm not sure what to make of this one yet. Check out more Iron Man mashups here.

And last, check out this amazing 5 minute sequence from the fan made Star Wars Uncut.

Star Wars Uncut "The Escape" from Casey Pugh on Vimeo.

The Page 100 Project

2010-04-23T12:44:00.000-07:00

Via Drawn.ca

Here’s a fun activity if you’re looking for a little comicking inspiration. Jason Turner has started what he calls The Page 100 Project.Take one of your favourite books, turn to page 100, and adapt it into a comic.

Jason has chosen one of my favourite books, Michael Chabon's fantastic neo-noir detective novel The Yiddish Policemen's Union:

Check out Drawn to see Emily Carroll's adaptation of Barbara Gowdy's The White Bone.

So That's How You Say It

2010-04-21T19:02:00.001-07:00

You've just finished an amazing book and you can't wait to tell someone just how damn fantastic it is. After listening to you babble on for a few minutes, your friend kindly asks you the book's author and your exchange goes something like this:

"Michael cha-BONE."
"Oh yeah, you mean Michael SHAY-bahn."
"Is that how you say it?"
"Er, I thought so..."

It's hard to sound smart and talk about books when you can't pronounce an author's name properly, so The Chatter has scanned this helpful guide to help you realize just how wrong you've been saying it for all these years.

Iceland or Mordor?

2010-04-20T12:04:00.000-07:00

Our boss is currently stuck overseas in Europe (yeah, we feel for him) due to restless volcanic disruptions of Iceland's Mount Eyjafjallajökull. We're actually not sure when he'll be back, I mean take a look at the havoc caused by the eruption:

OK you got us, this is actually an image of Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings. But checking out the actual photo below, they sure look similar. Can you tell the difference? Check out these other images and put yourself to the test (via Buzzfeed):

Lets play a little game. Try to figure out which of the following are photos taken in Iceland this week, and which are pictures of Mordor from Lord of the Rings.

3 Links for the Weekend

2010-04-16T13:14:00.000-07:00

It's Friday! To celebrate, here's 3 links to check out over the weekend.

Like making decisions? Over and over and over again? Well then you can help decide what the MOST AWESOMEST THING EVER is at mostawesomestthingever.com

Do you like Pixar, being obsessive and staring at charts? Then check out 100 Pixar characters drawn to scale over at FlowingData.com

Lastly, find out exactly what makes the iPad so amazing over at jakeandamir.com The answer may shock and surprise you...

What Authors Watch: Catherine McKenzie

2010-04-16T08:55:00.000-07:00

We recently asked some authors what their favourite youtube videos are. Here's Spin author Catherine McKenzie on PianoChatImprov:

It seems like two things are trending every day on Twitter: Justin Beiber and Chatroulette. Since I’m no longer a twelve-year-old girl, I fall outside JB’s sphere of influence. And since I have no desire to be bombarded with a random sampling of creepy men exposing themselves (for this is what I hear Chatroulette is all about), I also have no desire to talk about that social networking site on the social networking site that I do tune in to. But I admit, I have been a little curious. I mean, is it really just about men exposing themselves? And why would anyone want to spin an electronic roulette wheel if this is what it turned up?

And then a friend told me about a video on YouTube that seemed an answer to, well, not my prayers exactly, but my morbid curiosity. Seems that a musician decided to hook himself up to Chatroulette while seated at his piano and sing improvised songs to whomever he saw. And, thankfully, this video is also about as PG as Chatroulette gets.

Some details. The Piano Man chose to hide his identity: he’s sporting a young Unabomber look which doesn’t put off as many people as you’d think. (This is Chatroulette we’re talking about – the third person he comes across is dressed EXACTLY LIKE HIM!). He’s also quite talented – nice singing voice, mad skills on the keys. At one point he comes across three girls in their late teens (girls, girls, Chatroulette is NOT where you should be hanging out, like, ever) and they make hearts with their hands because they love his song. Those hand-hearts should be for Justin Bieber, girls. Go talk about him on Twitter.

UNBOUND - Alt-Vamp-Lit

2010-04-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

Vampires are everywhere, so in the first episode of UNBOUND, we discuss some examples of Alternative Vampire Literature (or Alt-Vamp-Lit), looking at some books for people who want more blood and less stud.

Once you've watched the episode, email us at unboundpodcast@gmail.com with your name and the answer to any of the questions in the Vampire Quiz portion of the podcast. 15 lucky entrants will be contacted to receive a copy of one of the books discussed in the episode!

The contest has now closed and the winners will soon be contacted by email. Thanks to everyone who entered, keep checking back for more giveaways!

Monthly Mixtape: All Girl Rockers

2010-04-13T06:39:00.000-07:00

In this first installment in Unbound's Monthly Mixtape Series we honour The Runaways, one of the loudest, rawest and most influential rock bands of all time. With their hard-edged punk attitude and stylish glam sensibilities, The Runaways paved the way for women rockers in music history, while kick-starting a range of musicial movements in their wake. So here's a mix of my favourite gems from some well-known and cult all-female bands in roughly chronological order.

Picture Book Report: The Hobbit

2010-04-12T08:14:00.000-07:00

Sam Bosma is creating some beautiful illustrations using scenes from The Hobbit over at Picture Books Report.

UNBOUND

2010-04-10T07:32:00.000-07:00

Welcome to UNBOUNDPODCAST.COM, the brand new home of the soon to be released UNBOUND PODCAST.

This blog and video podcast will evolve over time, with your help. Soon you’ll be able to subscribe through iTunes in addition to those feeds available now. In the meantime, we’re just going to talk about things that interest us: books, movies and whatever keeps us entertained here in the office. Feel free to shout back in the comments, we’re hoping to do a number of giveaways each week.