Over 40 Romances: Last Chance Harvey Gets Okay Ratings

Rotten Tomatoes gives it an okay rating (75%) so maybe it's worth your while to go and check out this year's over-50 romantic comedy, Last Chance Harvey.

To sum it up from the reviews I've read, it's Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson doing their part to keep up with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton in Something's Gotta Give ... and that's going to be very hard to do.

Add to that, Hoffman is 71 and Thompson is 49. Poor Emma. Somethings in Hollywood never change -- note to self: romance better served where hero is not so old that he can be the dad of the over-40 or over-50 heroine. Geez.

By the way, Diane Keaton was born in 1945, Jack Nicholson in 1937 ... Keaton at 57 not only made more sense coupling with Nicholson at 66, web bios report the two stars actually dated back in the 70s.

For another viewpoint, check out SmackDown! Last Chance Harvey (2008) vs. Something's Gotta Give (2003)

Bottom line: hopefully, someone out there is recognizing a market for over-40 romance stories on the shelves and on the screen ... BabyBoomers do fall in love ... and aassuming this to be true, the best one hasn't hit yet.

Not Everybody's Sales Are Going Down - mediabistro.com: GalleyCat

Over at GalleyCat, there's some good news for writers:

"Overall, fantasy sales are down 18 percent compared to the first 49 weeks of 2007, but mass market paperback sales are up 14 percent—and overall romance sales are up 83 percent, with mass market paperbacks alone experiencing a 50 percent boost. And that's not even considering how many romance books might, in a different climate, have been categorized as fantasies..."

That's right: Mass market paperbacks are skyrocketing in sales ... and romance sales were up 83%.

Anything that's up 83% in this economy is big, big news.

New Penguin "eSpecials" from Penguin tying Hardback with E-Book updates

Starting with the debut of Alan Greenspan's The Age of Turbulence in paperback, Penguin is offering an e-book in tandem with the paperback release.

Penguin is marketing them as "eSpecials."

As an example, the Greenspan e-book is based upon the original work's epilouge, and it's my understanding that this e-book will be periodically updated, to address future changes in our fluctuating economy.

Check out all the details over at Penguin's blog -- New "eSpecials" from Penguin Marks a First in eBook Publishing.

With our economy being what it is, looks like there may be a lot of "e-book specials" for Mr. Greenspan ....