The popularity of retellings

Spoilers are discussed on BookRiot.

Several years ago, a psychologist at UC San Diego found that spoilers actually increase, yes my friends increase, your enjoyment of a story. Nicholas Christenfeld and Jonathan Leavitt found that it’s low-level predictability that people really enjoy in a story, being able to make connections and figure out how things happen. Because humans like to feel smart, which means plotting may be more fun than being surprised by a plot twist.
This certainly explains the popularity of re-tellings. No one expects a Jane Eyre retelling to skip the harsh beginning, the wife hidden away in the attic, the fire, and the marriage at the end. (Aimee Miles)

The Times reviews Sally Cookson's new stage production, A Monster Calls.

Cookson, the director who has breathed new life into classics such as Jane Eyre and Peter Pan at the National Theatre, tends to do things her own way with her extraordinary, intelligent, physical productions that rely on the whole ensemble and a simple set. (Alex O’Connell)

The Independent features Garfield and its creator Jim Davis, who makes a good point.

It’s a far cry from when comic strips were decried as trash literature that should be thrown in the bin rather than get in the way of “proper” reading.
“Absolutely,” says Davis. “But there are studies that say two-thirds of newspaper readers started off reading the funny pages, and if you start with comics then you can move on to Wuthering Heights or whatever… there are no limits after that.” (David Barnett)

A contributor to Asbury Park Press shows how to make a Jane Eyre-inspired wine charm. Brontë Babe Blog is doing an A to Z (so far it's A to Q) of Charlotte Brontë's juvenilia.