The Maroon 5 stickers are the first branded stickers for music fans on GetGlue and compliment our branded rewards available for other entertainment verticals - tv, movies, and books.

These stickers are focused on promoting Maroon 5’s 2010/11 tour and their upcoming new album called Hands All Over. The basic fan sticker can be earned by checking into Maroon 5 using GetGlue apps or GetGlue.com. The other three stickers - Superfan, a tour sticker, and the Hands All Over album sticker are secret. Maroon 5 will be giving hints on how to earn these stickers via their Facebook and Twitter accounts as well as during the actual tour.

Maroon 5 is the first band to announce their stickers. We have an exciting pipeline of recording artists and bands that will follow with unique rewards in the coming weeks. Stay tuned - and let us know if you would love to see stickers for a specific artist or group!

New Fiction

Editor’s Pick:

Into a 1908 plucked straight out of the future, Jean-Christophe Valtat places mad eskimoes, secret police, and a mysterious giant floating airship in Aurorarama. The engrossing, rapturous literary thriller has earned raves in its native France and should capture the fancy of fans of authors ranging from Charlie Huston to Haruki Murakami.

More Fiction Suggestions:

If you go for moodily provocative Great Works of Fiction(TM) of the likes of Ian McEwan or Jonathan Lethem, you might like Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom.

If you’re a sucker for uplifting rides of allegorical fiction in the vein of Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist or Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, you might like Francois Lelord’s international best-seller Hector & the Search for Happiness.

New Nonfiction

Editor’s Pick:

As a solo artist and as leader of the indie rock troupe Throwing Muses, Kristin Hersh’s compositions have always been many haunting steps to the left or right of the everyday. In Rat Girl, the singer-songwriter chronicles her career and her ongoing bout with bipolar disorder. For fans of indie rock and of insightful music autobiographies like Cash, by Johnny Cash.

More Nonfiction Suggestions:

If you’re a mathematical whiz or watcher who digs books which translate the power of numbers into something even more universal (think Danica McKellar’s Kiss My Math or David Foster Wallace’s Everything and More), you might like Jennifer Oullette’s The Calculus Diaries.

If you enjoy reading jaunty tales of how humans react to technological advances as in Henry Petroski’s The Evolution of Useful Things or Neil Postman’s Technopoly, you might like Clifford Nass’ The Man Who Lied to His Laptop.

New Movies in Theaters

Editor’s Pick:

For all those hoping to actually see the movies of one or two of the fake trailers which adorned Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s 2007’s Grindhouse films, your wish comes true as Rodriguez expands Machete into a feature film. While it won’t be art, per se, it’ll surely have all the B-movie firepower one expects from his films, plus a starring role from the legendary Danny Trejo (about time). For fans of Black Dynamite and The Expendables.

More Movie Suggestions:

If you’re on the prowl for a more traditional thriller such as Salt or The Sum of All Fears, you might like Anton Corbijn’s The Americans.

If you take to simple, yet moving stories about sunset years in the vein of The Straight Story or Harry & Tonto, you might like Paul Fierlinger’s animated flick My Dog Tulip.

New Music

Editor’s Pick:

Rilo Kiley’s wunderkind Jenny Lewis and singer-songwriter Johnathan Rice have been collaborating for years as Jenny & Johnny, but I’m Having Fun Now is the official debut of their fruits. The intricate, yet confectionery music within has a grizzledly jaded music critic like me writing silly phrases like a match made in indie pop heaven (I think that’s nuff said). For fans of She & Him and Broken Social Scene.

More Music Suggestions:

If you delight in the invigorating molasses pace of moody indie-folk rock such as Iron & Wine and Tindersticks, you might like the solo debut by My Morning Jacket’s Carl Broemel, All Birds Say.

If you’re a fan of the more electronic tone of Radiohead’s later work or its singer Thom Yorke’s The Eraser, you might like drummer Phil Selway’s opening salvo Familial.

New on DVD

Editor’s Pick:

While Flashforward, the short-lived sci-fi thriller based on Robert Parker’s novel, had its ups and downs and massive plot holes, it also created some of the most exciting, thrillridey episodes of hourlong television while boasting fantastically dark performances by Joseph Fiennes and John Cho. The Complete Series is out for fans of cinematic fast-paced action shows like Lost and 24.

More DVD Suggestions:

If you’re on the lookout for an intelligent, old-fashioned good-guys-get-revenge film in the spirit of Man on Fire and the Death Wish films, you might like Harry Brown.

If you take your old-school family sitcoms with a gleefully bitter twist (see Modern Family or Gilmore Girls), you might like Parenthood.

Video Games

Editor’s Pick:

While the original game Metroid dates back to the halcyon 1980s days of arcades and Atari 2600s, Metroid Other M zooms the concept into the 2010s mix of flash and introspection as our heroine Samus Aran is imbued with the most humanity she’s ever hid behind her imposing Iron-Manesque exoskeleton. For fans of the Metal Gear and Halo series.

More Video Game Suggestions:

If you go crazy for war games in the mode of Call of Duty or Medal of Honor, you might like the latest in the classic aerial attack series, Ace Combat: Joint Assault.

If you loved the board game Clue as a kid (or the subsequent movie or video game) and you are a Disney fan, you might like the mystery puzzle Guilty Party

To earn these stickers you’ll have to check-in to House Hunters with a GetGlue app or on GetGlue.com and share with friends that you’re watching the show.

Be careful though! While you may fall in love with the great design or beautiful marble (hint, hint), it’s not always easy to tell if the house is worth the money (hint, hint).

We’re excited to be working with the Scripps team to bring these fun stickers to fans of one of the hottest shows on HGTV. We hope you love these rewards!

To earn the stickers, you need to like your favorite HBO shows, characters from the shows and stars. So are you an HBO Warrior? Perhaps an HBO Insult Artists? Or maybe an HBO Voyeur? Head over to GetGlue.com and find out!

p.s. And there is one more thing - HBO is now promoting GetGlue on their home page!

New Fiction

Editor’s Pick:

While there’s no doubt JK Rowling and Stephanie Meyer craft books that adults devoured with a voracious appetite, nothing can match Suzanne Collins for sculpting her Hunger Games series, novels even the most jaded literature hound will read with pride (well less shame). Mockingjay, the final chapter, promises more thrills and deft writing as heroine Katniss tries to survive its twisted world for a third go-around.

More Fiction Suggestions:

If you’ve got shpilkes for fiction featuring Jewish-based humor with a darker underbelly (the sort Mordecai Richler or Gary Shteyngart purvey), you might like Michael Wex’s The Frumkiss Family Business.

If your thing is gritty detective thrillers of the Jeffrey Deaver or Tess Gerritsen variety (or if you dig the Fox series Bones), you might like Kathy Reichs’ Spider Bones.

New Nonfiction

Editor’s Pick:

A ferocious tiger stalks the outskirts of a remote Russian village, seeking specific revenge against those responsible for the killing of his relative.  While this may sound absurd — even for a horror film plot — this actually happened in 1997 and John Vailiant’s gripping account in The Tiger is one of the best reviewed works of the year.  For fans of Sebastian Junger and Jim Corbett.

More Nonfiction Suggestions:

If you enjoy the elegant historical pageantry of Taylor Branch or Robert Caro, you might like Richard Rhodes’ final chapter in his nuclear trilogy, The Twilight of the Bombs.

If you enjoy reading pointed essays from great African-American thinkers like Cornell West or Ralph Ellison, you might like The Cross of Redemption, a collection of nonfiction writings of novelist James Baldwin.

New Movies in Theaters

Editor’s Pick:

Vincent Cassel supplanted Gerard Depardieu as France’s premier male actor some time ago. His two part turn as famed criminal Jacques Mesrine may just be his tour de force. The first segment, Mesrine: Killer Instinct, features glitz, glamour, grit, terror, and many a slick stick-up, in a fast-paced film for fans of Snatch and Sexy Beast.

More Movie Suggestions:

If you’re looking for a guts ‘n’ glory period pieces in the vein of 300 and Gladiator, you might like Centurion.

If you’re in the market for a boundary-pushing foreign drama in the spirit of Y Tu Mama Tambien or Amores Perros, you might like Daniel and Ana.

New Music

Editor’s Pick:

Montreal’s Land of Talk have hovered just below indie pop stardom since the trio’s formation in 2006. A tour opening for Broken Social Scene surely ups the ante a bit, and the trio delivers on the wistfully dense, throwback record Cloak & Cipher, a stirring, sincere album featuring help from its similar-musically minded friends who include members of Stars and Arcade Fire.

More Music Suggestions:

If you’re in the mood for the danceable indie rock of the likes of MGMT and Passion Pit, you might like Ra Ra Riot’s Orchard.

If you enjoy blues-riven modern folk from a matured voice in the style of Alejandro Escovedo or Los Lobos, you might like Chrissie Hynde and JP Jones’ new project JP, Chrissie, and the Fairground Boys’ Fidelity!.

New on DVD

Editor’s Pick:

Whether you loved or hated (or have not seen…gasp!) the controversial ending, it’s hard to deny the breadth of the five month event that was Lost’s final season. While more questions were left unanswered than answered, the sixth year brought all the twists, thrills, and delightful absurdity the show’s endless supply of fans knew and loved. For fans of Flash Forward and Fringe and, well, Lost.

More DVD Suggestions:

If you enjoy quirky bittersweet stories about dysfunctional families like the Brothers McMullen or Little Miss Sunshine, you might like City Island.

If you love documentaries that look inside the art we love (think The Kid Stays in the Picture and The Ballad of Ramblin’ Jack), you might like Yoo-Hoo Mrs. Goldberg.

Video Games

Editor’s Pick:

Now, let’s be clear, I’m not a fan (or at least not a sucker) of violent games, but man are the visuals for Mafia II gripping. Add easy playability and clever subplots and fans of Grand Theft Auto and the first Mafia should be plenty pleased.

More Video Game Suggestions:

If you get excited when classic sports games like Madden 11 and MLB 2K11 drop, you might like NHL 2k11.

If you adored Grease (the movie, the play, the singalong) and you enjoy such music themed games as Dance on Broadway, you might like Grease.

GetGlue for Android

Since we launched GetGlue for iPhone, we’ve received an overwhelming number of requests from our users for the Android-specific app. You sent us dozens of emails and tweets. Sometimes friendly, and sometimes angry - where is the Android app. Well today, your wait is over - GetGlue for Android is now released and available in the Android store.

With the app users can check-in to their favorite shows, music, movies and books, and see what their friends are enjoying in real-time. Check-ins earn users points and stickers from GetGlue and major brands. The app also allows users to rate their favorite shows, movies, music and books and receive personalized suggestions. The main features of the GetGlue Android App are:

• Check-in to tv shows, movies, music, games, and books
• Share check-ins with your Twitter and Facebook friends
• See what your friends are currently watching, reading or listening to
• Earn leaderboard points and get stickers from GetGlue and major brands
• Rate lists of popular shows, movies, music and books
• Get suggestions for weekly new releases and old favorites picked just for you
• Take your favorite entertainment and suggestions with you everywhere

The GetGlue Android app was developed using Titanium - a cross-platform development environment that radically simplifies building mobile apps.

GetGlue Mobile Site

We are also announcing availability of a light-weight mobile web site: http://getglue.com/mobile. The site features basic check-in capability and is meant for users of Blackberry, Windows Mobile and other platforms that do not yet have a native GetGlue app.

Here is the list of main features:

• Check-in to your favorite shows, movies, music, books and more
• See the activity streams for your friends and everyone on GetGlue
• Check and reply to your messages

New Partners and Exclusive Stickers

We are also announcing new exciting stickers from our partners - Revision3, HBO, Showtime, Barnes and Noble, Universal, Thrillist, FEARNet and TV Squad.

Revision3: A geeks dream come true - the fan stickers for all top Revision3 shows are here. We also have some secret stickers for Beer, Kevin Rose and Veronica Belmont.

HBO: When HBO launched stickers for True Blood, Entourage and Hung, fans loved them for their bold look and edgy names. Today, HBO is announcing a set of HBO personality stickers. To earn these, fans need to like various shows, characters and stars.

Showtime: Showtime is back on with the premier of Weeds and The Big C. We are delighted to offer exclusive stickers for these shows. The new Weeds secret stickers are sure to delight the fans of the Botwin family, with their provocative colors and themes.

Other partners: Barnes and Noble fans can now get a sticker for their favorite book store and also a special sticker for Nook. Since Friday, many of you have already earned a new sticker from Universal for checking-in to the Scott Pillgrim movie. We are also delighted to announce exclusive stickers for fans of Thrillist, FEARNet and TV Squad.

Follow our partners on Twitter and Facebook to get hints for how to earn some of the secret stickers. Also, remember that these and other stickers are available in both digital and physical form. After you earns several stickers, login to GetGlue.com and order physical copies - for free!

That’s all the news for today, please get the Android app and tell your friends. Use the mobile site if you don’t have an iPhone or Android phone and check-in to our partner’s content to earn these awesome new stickers!

Raise a glass to finding something you might like below:

New Fiction

Editor’s Pick:

It’s an exciting time for fans of Shakespeare’s all-too-often overlooked original play The Tempest. While a movie starring Helen Mirren beckons in the fall, the second volume of L. Jagi Lamplighter’s critically lauded fantasy adaptation, Prospero in Hell, takes Miranda and her siblings on a search through the underworld for their ensnared father. For fans of Seanan McGuire and Michelle Sagara.

More Fiction Suggestions:

If you’re a fan of intelligent thrillers set in distant locales — think David Downing or Henning Mankell — you might like Martin Cruz Smith’s latest Arkady Renko novel Three Stations.

If you’re a literary subversive who loves the genre-overturning prose of Jorge Luis Borges or Italo Calvino, you might like the late Felix Feneon’s Illustrated Three-Line Novels.

New Nonfiction

Editor’s Pick:

Even as a frequent abuser of this absurd notion we call the English language, I cannot get enough of cheeky instruction guides by witty grammarians. Roy Peter Clark, of Writing Tools fame, proves there’s room for one more at the table set by the likes of Lynne Truss and Kitty Burns Florey with The Glamour of Grammar.

More Nonfiction Suggestions:

If you’re in the mood to let your Star Wars freak flag fly this week, you might like Star Wars Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle.

If you’re an amateur astronomer or physicist or just someone who enjoys reading a brisk take on the latest scientific theories (think Carl Sagan or Stephen Hawking), you might like A Grand and Bold Thing.

New Movies in Theaters

Editor’s Pick:

Piranha 3D, a remake of Joe Dante’s 1978 “classic”(?), is not going to win any awards (it’s not even being screened for critics to review), but it will surely bring back that not-s0-safe-to-go-in-the-water feeling. With vicious monsters attacking in all the over-the-top, graphic glory its title would imply (plus Richard Dreyfuss in a small role, presumably pondering the need for a larger vessel), fans of Jaws and Snakes on a Plane should love this.

More Movie Suggestions:

If you long for the olden days of whimsical Disney magic like Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, you might like Nanny McPhee Returns.

If you’re on the hunt for a probing war documentary in the vein of Fahrenheit 9/11 or The Fog of War, you might like The Tillman Story.

New Music

Editor’s Pick:

With a throwback folk-country style, blending Nick Drake’s wistful passion with Gram Parsons’ breezy Americana and a memorable rasp, Ray LaMontagne gradually built a cult following over the ’00s. Discerning fans of acts like Iron & Wine and Bon Iver should raise their respectful whisper to a gentle roar when cluing friends in on the singer’s fourth record, God Willin’ & the Creek Don’t Rise.

More Music Suggestions:

If you dig Rawkus/Definitive Jux style underground hip-hop featuring literate lyrics - the likes of Talib Kweli and Aesop Rock - you might like the late Camu Tao’s King of Hearts.

If you’re big on earthy modern folk songs by beloved troubadours such as John Prine and Steve Earle, you might like John Mellencamp’s latest, No Better Than This.

New on DVD

Editor’s Pick:

While Dexter exploded out of the box — Michael C. Hall’s most-unique serial killer captivating audiences from episode one — the show truly outdid itself in Season 4.  From Dexter as family man to John Lithgow’s spectacularly creepy turn as nemesis Arthur, the year abounded in heart-stopping twists, turns, and emotional stunners. For fans of Six Feet Under and Breaking Bad.

More DVD Suggestions:

If you hunt out that rare species of realistic high school drama (My So-Called Life, Freaks & Geeks), you might like the fourth season of Friday Night Lights.

If your game is gleefully over-the-top soap operas with a comic twist, such as Desperate Housewives and Boston Legal, you might like the final season of Ugly Betty.

Video Games

Editor’s Pick:

Fans of mystical adventure games such as Prince of Persia and Silent Hill could certainly do worse than the legendary Tomb Raider series. The latest installment, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, is available for download this week as part of Xbox’s thrilling Summer of Arcade.

More Video Game Suggestions:

If  Wii’s quest to become the first video game system to churn out healthy humans — with titles like Wii Fitness and Walk It Out — has captured your fancy, you might like Gold’s Gym Dance Workout.

If you like bone-crushing action games, such as Fallout New Vegas and Max Payne 3, you might like Kane and Lynch: Dog Days.

It’s another spectacular week of August filled with more chances for GetGlue to help you find your new favorite thing — be it a movie, book, album, or video game.

Two very different blockbusters dominate the big screen this week. On one end, Edgar Wright portends to be the perfect choice to bring the Scott Pilgrim series to life, while Sylvester Stallone gathers a breathtaking collection of fellow action icons.

Meanwhile, the summer onslaught of fiction continues, as well as the unveiling of the 2011 edition of Madden (and if you have to ask what that is, you definitely are not ready for some football). Without further ado, here’s some ideas for stuff you might just enjoy.

New Fiction

Editor’s Pick:

In Patterns of Paper Monsters, a debut novel brimming with sparkling prose, Emma Rathbone creates one of the most memorable characters of the year in 17-year-old juvy-incarcerated cynic Jacob Higgins. Recommended for fans of off-kilter, character-driven literature in the vein of Michael Chabon and Joshua Ferris.

Other Fiction Suggestions:

If you take to the exotic locales and oddball detectives in the thrillers of Martin Cruz Smith and Anne Zouroudi, you might like Zoe Ferraris’ City of Veils.

If you enjoy graphic novels with a wry sense of fable and fantasy in the vein of Bill Willingham and Neil Gaiman, you might like Chris Roberson’s Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love.

New Nonfiction

Editor’s Pick:

Rosanne Cash, daughter of Johnny (but not June), discusses her life as both scion of a musical legend and feted performer in Composed, a captivating memoir. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly calls Cash “a terrific writer in her own right.” For fans of the Cash family as well as the music writing of Robert Christegau.

More Nonfiction Suggestions:

If you are a dog lover, you might like Jennifer Arnold’s Through a Dog’s Eyes.

If your tastes stray to richly glowing memoirs about the power of friendship such as Tuesdays with Morrie or The Merry Recluse, you might like Gail Caldwell’s Let’s Take the Long Way Home.

New Movies in Theaters

Editor’s Pick:

Yes, Michael Cera may be typecast, but what a type it is. And it’s the perfect type for the youthful swashbuckler and hero of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (adapted from the popular comic series) who, to win the heart of his beloved, must fight and defeat her seven previous beaus (all evil). For fans of  Kick-Ass and Youth In Revolt.

More Movie Suggestions:

If you’re a fan of pure guts’n'glory action films such as The Losers and The A-Team, you might like The Expendables.

If you tend towards wistful observations about love and life such as Under s Tuscan Sun and A Good Year, you might like Eat Pray Love.

New Music

Editor’s Pick:

Aussie Sarah Blasko journeyed up to Sweden to Peter, Bjorn & John’s recording studio for her third record, As Day Follows Night, a feast of ethereal folk recalling the quirky stylings of Regina Spektor and Rufus Wainwright.

More Music Suggestions:
If you like souled out nostalgic funk with a modern twist such as Mayer Hawthorne or Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, you might like Eli “Paperboy” Reed‘s Come and Get It.

If you go for highly politicized rock/hip-hop hybrids such as M.I.A. or Gorillaz, you might like Street Sweeper Social Club’s Ghetto Blaster.

New on DVD

Editor’s Pick:

While for those who saw the subtly brilliant British original, Death at a Funeral might have seemed an odd (even unnecessary) movie to remake. However, Chris Rock and Neil LaBute, with only a few changes and a bevy of comedic talents, found a new angle to this mannered comedy of errors. For fans of Nurse Betty and Meet the Parents.

More DVD Suggestions:

If wacky comedies where everything that can go wrong does — such as Pineapple Express and After Hours — are your thing, you might like Date Night.

If you enjoy sharp crime-solving shows in the vein of Bones and Criminal Minds, you might like Numb3rs.

Video Games

Editor’s Pick:

No football season is complete without the newest version of Madden and if you’ve checked out the samples on YouTube, you’ll probably know I’m not screaming Dixie when I say Madden NFL 2011 is the best Madden yet!  For fans of football and Madden NFL 2010 (and all its versions).

More Video Game Suggestions:

If you grok colorful puzzle games like Chuzzle and, well, the whole Bejeweled series, you might like Bejeweled Blitz.

If you like one-on-one fighting games like Mortal Kombat and Tekken (or just love Scott Pilgrim — the Everything — you might like Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World.

Whether you’re an indie-rock-loving hipster, a comic-obsessed geek, a parent in need of a wholesome family night, or someone who prides herself on being impossible to label, there’s a new release for you for this first week of August (and beginning of the end for summer).

Arcade Fire releases a follow-up to Neon Bible with The Suburbs, while Kick-Ass keeps the comic-book fans happy in the costume-strewn wake of San Diego Comic Con. There’s a new video game that doesn’t require physical coordination (score!), and a book that combines Regency love and propriety with magic (double score!).

For all the hottest new releases and most exciting sitewide news, be sure to follow @GetGlue on Twitter.

Fiction: Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kawal

As an unabashed fan of all things Jane Austen from Pride and Prejudice to Clueless, I’ve always said that the only thing missing from her Regency-era novels was magic. Well, perhaps not, but Mary Robinette Kawal has merged fantasy with the comedy of manners to earn a solid review from Cory Doctorow.

In Shades of Milk and Honey, her heroine — named Jane, of course — is a 28-year-old spinster who stands in her beautiful sister’s shadow, in every way but one: her ability to perform a specific kind of magic called “glamour.” Amidst the fantastical elements weaves a love story or two that should have fans of classic romances swooning.

Also new in fiction books this week: Cast in Chaos by Michelle Sagara, Fragile by Lisa Unger, and more. See them all at Fiction New Releases.

Nonfiction: The Girls of Murder City by Douglas Perry

If the antics of Chicago’s Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart seemed too sensational to be true, this nonfiction book demonstrates that even though something has “Razzle Dazzle,” it could be in the history books. For The Girls of Murder City, author Douglas Perry focuses on both the famed murderesses — named “Stylish Belva” Gaertner and “Beautiful Beulah” Annan in real life — as well as Maurine Watkins, the spitfire journalist who covered their stories.

The writer uses the rich history and environment of Prohibition-era Chicago to recreate a setting that certainly plays into the glamour of the headline-makers and their deadly crimes. Appropriately, Perry also wrote The Sixteenth Minute: Life in the Aftermath of Fame.

Also new in nonfiction books this week: Notes from the Night by Taylor Plimpton, Design Is How It Works by Jay Greene, and more. See them all at Nonfiction New Releases.

Movies in Theaters: Cairo Time

Featuring an exotic setting and gorgeous cinematography, Cairo Time stars the luminous Patricia Clarkson as Juliette, a magazine editor who visits the Egyptian capital to see her husband. However, as she waits for her spouse to appear, his friend Tareq (Alexander Siddig) steps in to keep her entertained and chaperoned in the unfamiliar, often forbidding city.

From the film’s romantic trailer, audiences get a glimpse of the yearning and desire that permeates the relationship between Juliette and Tareq. The forbidden love may seem familiar, but Clarkson is always the highlight of the films she’s in, and Siddig is an underrated charmer.

Also new in theaters this week: The Other Guys, Step Up 3D, and more. See them all at Movies in Theaters.

Music: The Suburbs by Arcade Fire

City-bound hipsters have never been so happy to visit the suburbs. The new album from indie-rock favorites Arcade Fire takes its title — and resultant theme — from the place where so many of us (including the band’s frontman Win Butler) grew up.

Arcade Fire reunites with Neon Bible producer Markus Dravs (Coldplay, Mumford and Sons, Bjork) to create a strong, layered album that manages to be both fun and complex. The pop-art of “Rococo” has been on constant repeat in my headphones, but the fourth track is only one solid song among 16 on this critical favorite.

Also new in music this week: The Remix by Lady Gaga, Trill O.G. by Bun B, and more. See them all at Music New Releases.

New on DVD: Kick-Ass

Gleefully violent and delightfully dorky, Kick-Ass isn’t quite The Dark Knight or even Iron Man. In fact, much to the consternation of parents who can’t read ratings reasons (or even the simple R itself), this is comic book fun that is definitely for adults. 

Based on a comic by Mark Millar (the same twisted mind behind Wanted), Kick-Ass follows an average guy as he tries to be a superhero. But for me, the title character wasn’t the draw; it was the fantastic, title-deserving performance by Chloe Moretz as Hit Girl and Nicolas Cage as Big Daddy.

Also new on DVD this week: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, A Prophet, and more. See them all at New on DVD.

Video Games: Disney Sing It: Family Hits

For a family-centric karaoke night (or merely a nostalgic one), Disney Sing It: Family Hits invites players to along with beloved favorites from classic Disney movies. Whether you want to be Baloo from A Jungle Book or Ariel from The Little Mermaid, this game for Wii and PS3 has offerings from hand-drawn essentials and Pixar crowd-pleasers alike.

Extra features include actual clips from the movie (far more authentic than the cheapo offerings at your local karaoke bar) and the ability to go solo, sing a duet, or let everyone in the room join in. If you’re a bit (or a lot) off key, The Princess and the Frog star Anika Noni Rose serves as a guide to better singing.

Also new in video games this week: 7 Wonders 2, Mahjong: Journey Quest for Tical, and more. See them all at Video Game New Releases.

In addition to the newest releases, we also have the previous weeks’ movies, books, and more in our Recently Released section.

As the saying goes, last week’s winners continue to earn prizes, so without further ado, here’s this week’s featured books:

Brilliant, by Jane Knox

In an illuminatingly (sorry, enough already, I know) thorough read, Jane Knox explores the history of artificial light, starting from the caveman’s cultivation of fire, progressing through the 1894 Chicago Fair’s White City, taking us up to the modern day’s desire for renewable energy. Far from a dry history, Knox relates the concept to how far we have come (and/or not come) as a society.

The Patterns of Paper Monsters, by Emma Rathbone

Emma Rathbone’s debut novel is an arresting feast of language centering on Jacob Higgins, a 17-year-old misfit and possible sociopath biding his time in a juvenile detention center. He wields a sardonic wit at both his alcoholic mother and the other residents of the facility.

The Hypnotist, by M. J. Rose

M. J. Rose returns with more paranormal sleuthery in the third volume of her Reincarnationist series. In this chapter, Special Agent Lucien Glass is on the case of an art thief who threatens to annihilate classics unless New York’s Met gives him an 8-foot statue with special powers.

Numb, by Sean Ferrell

The world of Sean Ferrell’s debut lies just to the left of center - it’s one where an amnesiac from a circus sideshow can earn celebrity status in the always-fussy NYC scene for his inability to sense pain. Critics have hailed it as a striking opening salvo from an up-and-comer.

All contests open only to US residents.