There’s a new Stephen King adaptation to add to your list (you keep a list‚ right? A really long list?). According to The Hollywood Reporter‚ director Francis Lawrence (Constantine) is in “final talks” to direct The Long Walk for Lionsgate (who just picked up the rights). JT Mollner (Outlaws and Angels) will write the script. It’s kind of funny that Lawrence is coming off a story about a deadly competition (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes) and heading into another story about a deadly competition (though one might hope he will focus on the Constantine sequel first). The Long Walk is a 1979 novel that King wrote as Richard Bachman‚ and it is about a deadly contest that takes place in a dystopian future. As entertainment‚ 100 teenage boys go on a very long walk; they must walk at least 4 miles per hour; if they slow down too many times they get shot; the winner gets a lot of money. Or‚ as the summary on King’s website puts it: In the near future‚ where America has become a police state‚ one hundred boys are selected to enter an annual contest where the winner will be awarded whatever he wants for the rest of his life. The game is simple—maintain a steady walking pace of four miles per hour without stopping. Three warnings‚ and you’re out—permanently. I have questions‚ naturally‚ about things like hydration‚ and food‚ and bodily functions‚ but I suspect they’re beside the point. No casting has been announced just yet. Buy Your Shadow Half Remains from:

This past weekend‚ I read Emily Tesh’s Some Desperate Glory. Not quite in one sitting—sleep was required‚ at one point—but in under 24 hours. I’d given myself permission to just read‚ to not do any of the things that were nagging at me‚ and I took that permission and ran with it. The book is fantastic; you shouldn’t‚ by now‚ need me to tell you that. But a detail in the way it’s presented got me thinking about what a reader does or doesn’t want to know when they pick up a book. This is not so much a matter of what counts as a spoiler—an eternal debate in which I do not wish to embroil myself!—but what information is too little‚ what is too much‚ and what is just enough. The description on the cover of Some Desperate Glory tells you something very key‚ very terrible‚ about what the story holds for its protagonist‚ Kyr. She is a teenage girl who’s been raised on a human separatist space station‚ every minute of her days regulated; she’s brainwashed and controlled and she doesn’t know any of this‚ because she believes. She wants to get assigned to a combat wing of the station‚ to make use of all the skills she’s been taught in the way she believes is most valuable. Instead‚ she gets assigned to Nursery‚ which is where women birth and raise the next generation. This could‚ in a different world‚ be presented as a horrible reveal‚ a fate you don’t know is awaiting Kyr. But it’s right there on the back of the book‚ and that changes the way the book asks to be read. Nursery isn’t a shocking fate; it’s an inevitable one‚ in the sense that you know it’s coming‚ and therefore you dread it‚ constantly‚ until it happens. You’re meant to feel that dread‚ to think about where it comes from‚ and what this world is doing to its women‚ and how all of this has shaped Kyr into the hot mess of a person that she is. (I love her. But she’s also a pain in the ass tyrant with a lot to learn.) Two days after I read Some Desperate Glory‚ I read Tajja Isen’s “The Case for Never Reading the Book Jacket” at The Walrus. “These days‚” she writes‚ “I refuse to read the jacket copy in full unless I absolutely have to. Jacket copy offers neither an effective barometer for predicting what I love nor reliable protection from buying things I regret. It is reductive‚ misleading‚ and—I have decided—none of my business.” The constant problem with jacket copy‚ if there is one‚ is that it can’t be for everyone—it can’t be for a reader who only wants to know the vibes; a reader who wants to know all the bad things and if there’s going to be a relatively happy ending; a salesperson trying to get a bookstore to stock the book; a casual reader wondering if this is their next favorite writer; a superfan who wants to know what to expect from a beloved author’s new book; and every other reader or potential reader under the sun. There are more specific problems—trends‚ clichés‚ overblown superlatives a publisher might put on every single new release—but the main one‚ the one there’s no getting away from‚ is that every reader wants something different. What do you want to know‚ when you pick up a book? What makes you pick up that book in the first place? Something gets you before you even get to the words on the back‚ right? The cover‚ the author‚ the title‚ the section it’s in in the bookstore‚ the review you heard on NPR‚ the friend sending you frantic texts about how much they loved it? Would you pick up a book just because a friend loved it‚ even if it were a blank rectangle with no cover text‚ no title‚ no nothing—just the words inside? Do you want to know the microgenre it belongs to‚ the tropes it deploys‚ the character types‚ the kind of pairings?  Buy it Now There’s no right answer‚ obviously. Even Isen eventually comes around to the fact that jacket copy is‚ for the most part‚ necessary: “To do away with jacket copy would be to exclude the segment of the reading population that encounters books that way‚ readers for whom knowing what a book is about helps them decide whether to give or withhold their attention.” And this is what I wonder about: What else helps us decide whether we want to spend hours with a specific book? What happens when that jacket copy says one thing and the experience of the book is something else entirely? Which books have gone unrecognized because the copy didn’t speak to the people it needed to speak to? How is it that sometimes‚ against the odds of all the books published in a given year‚ a book still finds its way to the hands of thousands of just the right readers?  I don’t even know if I can answer these questions for myself: What do I want to know before I read a book? I want to know what in that book is going to speak to me. I want to know if it has SFF elements; I want to know if there are fairy tales in its genes; I want to know if there are women with swords‚ if aging isn’t viewed as a curse‚ if the sentences are going to draw me in or kick me out again. I want to know when “dark academia” is actually going to mean “school is a very real part of this story” and I want to know when I’m going to fall in love with every single member of an ensemble cast. I want to know if the goddamn dog is going to die‚ so I can not read that book. I want to know what happens at first‚ but not what happens in the end. I want to know if there is something in a book I’m going to absolutely love and I want to hope that there is something in a book that is absolutely going to knock me over and make me stare into space for ten minutes. Cover copy can only do so much.  So maybe‚ like Isen suggests‚ sometimes you just skip it. Or maybe your reading time is so limited that you read every single thing you can about a book before you even look at the first words; maybe you want to know exactly what you’re getting into. Spoil everything‚ and then watch how the pieces all line up. Maybe it’s different for every book. Do you think about this? Do you know what you want to know? Molly Templeton lives and writes in Oregon‚ and spends as much time as possible in the woods. Sometimes she talks about books on Twitter.

Disney Dreamlight Valley consistently releases with new content updates‚ one of them allowing you to learn how to glide. Gliding is a new way to traverse the Valley‚ since it can get quite large and annoying to travel through. Here’s how to perform this maneuver. How to glide in Disney Dreamlight Valley The more you play this game and expand the Valley‚ you’ll realize that getting around can be quite difficult. The only way around is to walk or run‚ but even running can be slow at times. How you can glide in Disney Dreamlight Valley is by holding ‘Shift’ while being Well-Fed. Learning how to glide is quite simple‚ but can be an easily missed feature. The first step to gliding is to make sure you’re Well-Fed. This means that you’ve just eaten a cooked meal‚ something like Fish Creole or Bouillabaisse. You can tell if you’ve received this buff if you look at your Energy bar at the top left corner of your scr...

Destiny 2 is infamously hard to get into as a new or returning player‚ so anything to make it easier is a good thing‚ right? The Destiny 2 Starter Pack sounds like it might help‚ but it’s certainly raised a few eyebrows in the community. Related: When does Destiny 2 Season of the Wish start and end? Writer’s Edit: Since publication‚ Bungie has removed the Starter Pack from every storefront‚ including Steam. Not only that‚ Bungie has addressed the situation on Reddit. The post cites the pack “not bringing joy” as the reason for its removal. Although the announcement doesn’t address the community sticking points‚ it’s good to see this horrendous ‘deal’ swiftly removed. What’s included in the Destiny 2 Starter Pack? The Destiny 2 Starter Pack includes the following items: Sleeper Stimulant Exotic Fusion Rifle Ruinous Effigy Exotic Trace Rifle Traveller’s Chosen Exotic Sidearm Spa...

Payday 3 is known for its server issues‚ so you’ll want to know how to check them. They often have problems resulting in bad connections‚ slow matchmaking‚ and dropouts in the game. From my experience of playing Payday 3‚ it looks like it’s a mixed bag. Sometimes it’s good‚ other times‚ it can be a chore to get into a match. Often this is due to the fact that the servers are overloaded with the large influx of players coming on. This guide will show you how to check the server status of Payday 3. Regardless of which platform you’re running on‚ this guide should come in handy. Payday 3: How to check the game’s server status There are a lot of games out there that like to keep their players in the loop. Always online games like these often need a go between to let player know if server maintenance is bing done. Sadly‚ Payday 3 isn’t one of these. This just means we need to use a few other options at our disposal to figure out if the Payda...

The Dragon’s Breath Exotic Rocket Launcher is tied to the Season of the Wish Pass‚ just like the Ex Diris from the Season of the Witch. Like many Exotics‚ you can upgrade it with a Catalyst. With this in mind‚ let me show you How to get and level up the Dragon’s Breath Exotic Catalyst in Destiny 2. Related: How to get the Wishbearer Title in Destiny 2 How to get the Dragon’s Breath Exotic in Destiny 2 The Dragon’s Breath Exotic Rocket Launcher is available to all players during the Season of the Wish‚ although you get it immediately if you buy the pass. If you don’t purchase the pass‚ you’ll still unlock the weapon when you reach level 35. The launcher is the same‚ but it’s worth mentioning the Dying Dream ornament for the Dragon’s Breath is only on the premium track. Where is the Catalyst for the Dragon’s Breath in Destiny 2? You can grab the Dragon’s Breath Catalyst questline from Ban...

While playing Disney Dreamlight Valley‚ you’ll notice that all characters have different sleep schedules‚ but what are they? If you’re looking to interact with specific characters‚ but don’t know when the right time to do so is‚ here are all their sleep schedules. Disney Dreamlight Valley: Character sleep schedule guide I’m not sure how they get by with such little sleep‚ but every character has a four-hour period where they’re inside their home and sleeping. You cannot interact with them‚ and you have to wait in real time until they wake up. Screenshot: Gameloft Also‚ with each new update typically comes new characters‚ so this isn’t the final list. We will continue to update this list with brand new characters arriving to the Valley. Otherwise‚ let’s jump right into all the characters’ sleep schedules in Disney Dreamlight Valley. Related: Disney Dreamlight Valley: How to glide ...

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