strange and random happenstance

Regency Romance

2012-02-01T00:00:00.002-06:00

Now, I'm not just talking about a love for books that are Regency romances, that would limit the field of all those yummy books out there that you love to curl up with on a cold winters day as the season of love and hot cocoa descends on us. I'm talking about a love, a romance, with all things Regency. A love of the time period from the end of the 18th century till the beginning of the 19th century, of course embodied by the works of Jane Austen. The Empire waist line on dresses making you giddy. Knowing the differences between a barouche and chaise (four versus two wheels). Understanding the horrors of an entail. Having an unending love of knee breeches. And being giddy when you hear any quote from Blackadder season 3 and ALWAYS picturing Duke Wellington as Stephen Fry. HURRAH FOR THE REGENCY! A mad king and dachshund named Colin.

And of course, a themed month can't be complete without a giveaway!

Prize: A signed arc of Lauren Willig's the new book, The Garden Intrigue (direct from Lauren).

The Rules:1. Open to EVERYONE, just because you haven't been following me all along doesn't mean you don't matter, you just get more entries if you prove you love me by following.
2. Please make sure I have a way to contact you if your name is drawn, either your blogger profile or a link to your website/blog or you could even include your email address with your comment(s).
3. Contest ends Wednesday, February 29th at 11:59PM CST (yes folks, it IS a leap year!)
4. How to enter:

Answer me this: Who is your favorite regency author? Now, they don't have to have been writing during the Regency, but they have to be writing about the Regency.

5. And for those addicted to getting extra entries:

+1 for answering the question above
+2 for becoming a follower
+10 if you are already a follower
+10 for each time you advertise this contest - blog post, sidebar, twitter (please @MzLizard), etc. (but you only get credit for the first post, so tweet all you like, and I thank you for it, but you'll only get the +10 once). Also please leave a link!
+25 if you comment on any of the posts this month (aka February), with something other than "I hope I win" or a variation thereof.

Tuesday Tomorrow

2012-01-30T00:00:00.075-06:00

Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale
Published by: Bloomsbury
Publication Date: January 31st, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When Charlotte Kinder treats herself to a two-week vacation at Austenland, she happily leaves behind her ex-husband and his delightful new wife, her ever-grateful children, and all the rest of her real life in America. She dons a bonnet and stays at a country manor house that provides an immersive Austen experience, complete with gentleman actors who cater to the guests' Austen fantasies.

Everyone at Pembrook Park is playing a role, but increasingly, Charlotte isn't sure where roles end and reality begins. And as the parlor games turn a little bit menacing, she finds she needs more than a good corset to keep herself safe. Is the brooding Mr. Mallery as sinister as he seems? What is Miss Gardenside's mysterious ailment? Was that an actual dead body in the secret attic room? And-perhaps of the most lasting importance-could the stirrings in Charlotte's heart be a sign of real-life love?

The follow-up to reader favorite Austenland provides the same perfectly plotted pleasures, with a feisty new heroine, plenty of fresh and frightening twists, and the possibility of a romance that might just go beyond the proper bounds of Austen's world. How could it not turn out right in the end?"

Ok, so I was a bit harsh on the first Austenland book when I read it the first time. Now, I'm more mellow, I enjoyed the re-read and this was a fun Agatha Christie-esque spin on the idea of "Austenland."

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Published by: Reagan Arthur Books
Publication Date: January 31st, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Alaska, 1920: a brutal place to homestead, and especially tough for recent arrivals Jack and Mabel. Childless, they are drifting apart--he breaking under the weight of the work of the farm; she crumbling from loneliness and despair. In a moment of levity during the season's first snowfall, they build a child out of snow. The next morning the snow child is gone--but they glimpse a young, blonde-haired girl running through the trees.

This little girl, who calls herself Faina, seems to be a child of the woods. She hunts with a red fox at her side, skims lightly across the snow, and somehow survives alone in the Alaskan wilderness. As Jack and Mabel struggle to understand this child who could have stepped from the pages of a fairy tale, they come to love her as their own daughter. But in this beautiful, violent place things are rarely as they appear, and what they eventually learn about Faina will transform all of them."

I just loved how a review called it: "If Willa Cather and Gabriel Garcia Marquez had collaborated on a book." Sold.

Princess of the Wild Swans by Diane Zahler
Published by: Harper Collins
Publication Date: January 31st, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Princess Meriel's brothers have been cursed. A terrible enchantment--cast by their conniving new stepmother--has transformed the handsome princes into swans. They now swim forlornly on a beautiful heart-shaped lake that lies just beyond the castle walls.

Meriel will do whatever it takes to rescue her beloved brothers. But she must act quickly. If Heart Lake freezes, her brothers will be forced to fly south or perish.

With help from her newfound friends Riona and Liam--a pretty half-witch and her clever brother--Meriel vows to finish a seemingly impossible task. If she completes it, her brothers may be saved.
But if she fails . . . all will be lost."

Fairy Tale retelling yeah!

A Parliament of Spies by Cassandra Clark
Published by: Minotaur
Publication Date: January 31st, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"All the danger and intrigue of 14th-century England spring to life in this "compelling" (Publishers Weekly) series about the brave, incorruptible Abbess of Meaux.

Abbess Hildegard may consider herself “just a nun with no useful skills or connections,” yet her loyalty and intelligence have brought her to the attention of King Richard II himself—not the safest place to be, when the king has enemies on all sides. As Hildegard wrestles with her role as a spy in the parliament that is hastily gathering at Westminster, Cassandra Clark shows us the human side of history, giving readers new reason to follow Publishers Weekly’s rallying cry: “Medievalists rejoice!”

Olde Tyme England with evile poltte, yeah!

River Marked by Patricia Briggs
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: January 31st, 2012
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Being a different breed of shapeshifter-a walker-Mercy Thompson can see ghosts, but the spirit of her long-gone father has never visited her. Until now, on her honeymoon with the Alpha werewolf Adam. An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River-and innocent people are dying. As other walkers make their presence known to Mercy, she must reconnect with her heritage to exorcise the world of the legend known as the river devil..."

Perhaps my favorite Mercy Thompson book now in paperback! You'll have a year till a new one, so savor it.

Anthem for Doomed Youth by Carola Dunn
Published by: Minotaur
Publication Date: January 31st, 2012
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the Spring of 1926, the corpses of three men are found in shallow graves off the beaten path in Epping Forest outside of London—each shot through the heart and bearing no identification. DCI Alec Fletcher of Scotland Yard, the lead detective, is immediately given two urgent orders by his supervisor at the Yard: solve the murders quickly and keep his wife, the Honourable Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher, away from the case! Thankfully, Daisy’s off visiting their daughter at school. But when a teacher is found dead, Daisy is once again in the thick of it. As Daisy tries to solve one murder, Alec discovers that the three victims in his case were in the same Army company during World War I, that their murders are likely related to specific events that unfolded during that tragic conflict, and that, unless the killer is revealed and stopped, those three might only be the beginning."

While I'm not THIS far in the Daisy Dalrymple books, I'm happy to know I have lots more to read! And in paperback too!

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Published by: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication Date: January 31st, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 280 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Fifty years ago, Madeleine L’Engle introduced the world to A Wrinkle in Time and the wonderful and unforgettable characters Meg and Charles Wallace Murry, and their friend Calvin O’Keefe. When the children learn that Mr. Murry has been captured by the Dark Thing, they time travel to Camazotz, where they must face the leader IT in the ultimate battle between good and evil—a journey that threatens their lives and our universe. A Newbery Award winner, A Wrinkle in Time is an iconic novel that continues to inspire millions of fans around the world. This special edition has been redesigned and includes an introduction by Katherine Paterson, an afterword by Madeleine L’Engle’s granddaughter Charlotte Jones Voiklis that includes photographs and memorabilia, the author’s Newbery Medal acceptance speech, and other bonus materials."

I remember the first time my 4th rgade teacher read this to us. Oddly enough, no matter how many times I've read it (even seeing a play about it) I can't seem to remember the plot, just that storm that starts off the book.

Book Review 2011 #2 - Michelle Moran's Madame Tussaud

2012-01-27T00:00:00.001-06:00

Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran
Published by: Crown
ARC Provided by the author
Publication Date: February 15th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy
Marie Grosholtz has one goal in life, and that's to make the Salon de Cire, that she runs with her uncle Philippe Curtis, as successful as possible. If she or Philippe were allowed entrance into the Academie Francaise, well, that would be the pinnacle of success. Modeling the famous personages of the day in wax, Marie prides herself on capturing not only the person she is immortalizing, but the fashions and sensibilities of the day, no matter how fast they change. But Marie feels that in order to be a true success she needs the Royal stamp of approval. She wants the King and Queen to look upon their likenesses and smile. Plus it couldn't hurt ticket sales any. After appealing to the Queen's dressmaker, Rose Bertin, for over a year on behalf of the Salon, Marie finally realizes that perhaps she should be appealing to Rose's vanity. Once Marie agrees to immortalize Rose in wax, suddenly the Salon is in a flurry of activity as they prepare for the royal viewing. But what goes on in the public rooms is nothing to what goes on in the weekly salons held behind closed doors. Revolutionaries, inventors and thinkers, from the Charles brothers, Jacques and the lovestruck Henri, from Marat to Camille, Robespierre to the King's own cousin, the Duc d'Orleans, talk about the day when the monarchy will fall. It's not that Marie and her family really support the revolutionary cause, but their job demands that they are abreast of the voice of the people. Plus, if they didn't meet in their salon, they'd only meet somewhere else... so what can it hurt?

After the Royal visit Marie's life and the success of the Salon de Cire change forever. Marie is invited to sculpt luminaries and lunatics such as Thomas Jefferson and the Marquis de Sade. But more importantly, she is invited to Versailles to work with Louis the Sixteenth's sister, the Princess Elisabeth. She is to help Elisabeth learn to sculpt the human form so that she may create religious effigies. Despite working with a devoutly religious woman who rarely goes out, Marie forms a friendship with the Princess and does occasionally get a glimpse of court life, the life her brothers guard as part of the King's own men. But in Paris people are starving and the public opinion against the King and Marie Antoinette is shifting. The time may come when Marie Grosholtz will have to remove their likenesses from the Salon. Much hope is given to the meeting of The Estates-General, wherein the people will make their voices heard, no matter if the King and the Church object. But whatever concessions the monarchy is willing to make, there seems to be nothing that will quench the thirst for revenge. Soon the people are out of hand and the Bastille falls. Paris changes by the minute and hour, not by the day. Rallies in cafes and scathing articles in newspapers fuel the terror that has begun. Straddling the world of the court she has come to know and the Salon which captures the pulse of a nation, Marie is the ultimate politician just hoping for her own survival. Only soon a rosette in the tricolours will not be enough. Soon she must prepare the death masks of those recently beheaded. Soon she must decide if she can continue in this life she has had thrust upon her, or if there is some point that will make her say no. Some point which will put her head in the guillotine.

Madame Tussaud, Marie Grosholtz that was, is an institution to this day. With wax museums the world over, she has become a lucrative tourist attraction. But what became a venue for people to goggle over celebrities was once a venue for political change. To the people in revolutionary France, the wax works that Marie sculpted were the closest they'd ever get to the King or Queen. While Marie would insist that she was just giving the people what they wanted, her brother was more accurate in stating that what she did, what she showed, mattered. Art is a medium for change. She captured these luminaries and distilled them down into a caught moment. She moved with the times, she transformed and updated. She was able to show the world as it was, ever changing and not staying still in the days of unrest. Whether or not she fueled the revolution, she documented it. She was able to ride the wave of public opinion and stay in touch with both worlds, the rarefied nobility and the common man. Her art and connections let her be more, see more.

The only real problem I had with this novel is that it's too short. The ending sneaks up on you and it's over. I would willingly have read a Margaret George length opus of this quality from Moran. After experiencing the first year of the revolution in detail, to then only be given glimpses of the succeeding years is almost painful. I fell for Marie, this fiercely talented pragmatic artist without the posturing. She thought of art as a business and how things could be changed and improved, versus long diatribes about the proper use of Azure Blue. The one thing I have detested about novels, historic or otherwise, is that they never capture what an artist really is. They become caricatures. People who have their heads in the clouds, have no money concerns and are always somewhat tortured. As an artist myself, I want to find these writers and harm them. Not Michelle! She perfectly captured the analytical mind of an artist that I myself hope I am. She thought about the good of her art, her salon. She had set goals and she had an astounding memory for faces and fashion. And what a world of people she lived in. Michelle brings to life everyone from Marat to Marie Antoinette in a human and compassionate light. What were once figures in history become living breathing people you care about. If the goal of a historical novel is to make history alive again, then Michelle has succeeded immensely.

Book Review 2011 #3 - Brian Selznick's Wonderstruck

2012-01-26T00:00:00.002-06:00

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
Published by: Scholastic
Publication Date: September 13th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 608 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy
"Ground control to major Tom, your circuits dead,
there's something wrong
Can you hear me, major Tom?
Can you hear me, major Tom?
Can you hear me, major Tom?
Can you... "

1977: Ben has always been a unique kid. Deaf in one ear, he never let anything deter him. His mother filled his head with books and stars and curiosities. But now his mother is dead and he's living with his Aunt and Uncle in Gunflint Lake Minnesota left with more questions than he can count, while his true home lies empty next door. His mother never told him about his father, but he always connected him to the David Bowie song Space Oddity. His mother never told him a lot of things. Now that she is gone it seems wrong to go poking about in her past... but it might be the key to his father. A second tragedy leads Ben to run away to New York and hide out in the American Museum of Natural History, where hopefully he will find answers.

1927: Rose is held a prisoner. Rose is held a prisoner for her own safety. She is deaf. But that doesn't mean the world should be shut away from her. She loves the movies. They're still silent... but that will sadly change soon. She often risks everything to venture into the wilds of New York City. The American Museum of Natural History offers her solace, safety and family.

1977: These two lives are intertwined in ways some suspected, and some never dared to be true.

Brian Selznick has done it again. His previous story, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, told the story of early cinema in the streets of Paris through prose and pictures which instantly captivated the publishing world. Here we have yet another little urchin in Ben hiding out in a very famous landmark. All children must have at one time or another fantasized about living in a museum, I know I did, even if Ben's experience is out of necessity, versus determination, like the children in E.L. Konigsburg's book or even the youngest Tennenbaums. The museum is just part of the whole. It's the interweaving stories of Rose and Ben that build the suspense and mystery and drive this story forward. Little clues scattered like stars through the book. Rose's obsession with a film star having real world reasons. Ben's nightmares about wolves being a key to his past, not just a haunting nightmare.

Every little thing builds like an electric charge before a storm making you read and read and immerse yourself in this wonderful world so that when you look up at the clock at 5AM you are literally shocked at how time has flown. The book struck me, just as lightning struck on July 13th, 1977 causing New York City to be plunged into darkness. I can't tell you how I connected to this book. It's something deep in me. My love of collecting, of museums, of books, of mysteries, of the time I was born, of David Bowie, of history. The book is aptly named, I was Wonderstruck.

Book Review 2011 #4 - Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind

2012-01-25T00:00:00.000-06:00

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: 2007
Format: Paperback, 722 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy
Chronicler stumbles upon Kvothe one night and recognizes the man of legend who is now hiding behind a bar and a different identity. Kvothe, or Kote as his is now known, has agreed to tell his story to Chronicler. It will take three days to tell the stories as it should be told in Kvothe's own words, this is the first. Beginning with his childhood with the Edema Ruh, performers and travelling gypsies, he learns to sing and act and play music. After a time the troupe picks up Abenthy, a sympathist, who learned his magics at The University, and knows the name of the wind. Abenethy becomes Kvothes teacher for a time, regaling him of tales of The University and the library, where all the books in the world are held. Soon Abenethy leaves to continue his own life, Kvothe hoping to one day follow his path and learn the name of the wind. Kvothe's parents have been working on a new song, an epic pieced together from story and myth about the Chandrian. The boogie men of their world. Boogie men who happen to be real and don't want a bunch of Ruh singing about them. Kvothe's troupe is massacred. Kvothe was out in the woods and comes back to the end of his world.

Going to Tarbean, he spends years on the street as a beggar, till one day he hears a new story about the Chandrian and realizes that he must start again. He musters the resources and heads to The University, meeting the beautiful Denna on the way. He is able to finagle his way into school, but not without first making an enemy of the wealthy student Ambrose, who is able to trick Kvothe into breaking the rules of the library and is therefore banned. Despite this limitation and his obvious insolence and inability to recognize authority, Kvothe loves school. He also slowly starts to love Denna. He risks it all though when rumors reach his ears that the Chandrian might be near. Kvothe has to choose between avenging his past and seizing his future. He's still only a kid, so his future might have to wait. His future that will end up behind a bar, waiting to die. But hopefully Chronicler will awaken the desire to live in Kote.

The Name of the Wind could been seen to be part Harry Potter, part Tom Brown's School Days, with a little George R. R. Martin thrown in with the slightest dash of Terry Pratchett. But people who set up this comparison fail to realize, that while there are correlations, Partick Rothfuss has transcended these to create a unique world all his own. Comparison is useless when you read a book so effortlessly itself. So funny and unique and wonderfully written that it flows. As I was reading it I kept thinking, why isn't there more humor in other books of this ilk. The humor made me connect with the narrative, made me part of the story, versus an outsider. Making someone laugh is the surest way to create complicity. Me and Kvothe, we're now on this little quest together. A quest that makes up one of the three parts of this book.

The three parts, the past, the present and the quest. We get Kvothe's orgin story, as it where, growing up in the loving arms of the Edema Ruh, which is harshly taken away from him and his early days at The University. We get his present as barkeep and his quest for the Chandrian. While we need to see where he came from to realize how far he has come, I felt that the harshness of Tarbean could have been avoided if he had gone in search of Abenthy. Couldn't he have written a letter? I know so much is character flaws, many of which made me shout at him, such as his continuing taunts of Ambrose. Yes, I know Kvothe can't hear me, that doesn't mean I'm not banging my head against the wall hoping against hope that this time he'll learn. And while I'm curious to know how he ended up in a little bar with a demon as his BFF, I assume it has to do with the whole "Kingkiller" part of the these chronicles. It's the Chandrian that I was desperate for. I was glad that Denna was worked into that story in a way so that Kvothe mooning over her might have some actual purpose. Thing is though... I want the answers now. I do want them to be played out over the books, but can't the books all be done already?

Tuesday Tomorrow

2012-01-23T00:00:00.047-06:00

Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate
Published by: Delacorte
Publication Date: January 24th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"What makes your heart race a little faster? Just in time for Valentine's Day, it's FALLEN IN LOVE, four wholly original new stories collected in a new novel set in the Middle Ages by Lauren Kate. FALLEN IN LOVE gives fans the much-talked about but never-revealed stories of FALLEN characters as they intertwine with the epic love story of Luce and Daniel. The stories include: Love Where You Least Expect It: The Valentine of Shelby and Miles , Love Lessons: The Valentine of Roland; Burning Love: The Valentine of Arriane; and Endless Love: The Valentine of Daniel and Lucinda."

Need something to tide you over till the next Fallen book? How about some short stories eh? Yeah, I know it's not a "real" book, but it's something...

Stealing Magic by Marianne Malone
Published by: Random House
Publication Date: January 24th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Ruthie and Jack thought that their adventures in the Thorne Rooms were over . . . until miniatures from the rooms start to disappear. Is it the work of the art thief who's on the loose in Chicago? Or has someone else discovered the secret of the Thorne Rooms' magic? Ruthie and Jack's quest to stop the thief takes them from modern day Chicago to 1937 Paris to antebellum South Carolina. But as more items disappear, including the key that allows them to shrink and access the past worlds, what was once just an adventure becomes a life and death race against the clock. Can Ruthie and Jack catch the thief and help the friends they meet on the way before the magic—and the rooms—are destroyed forever? Fans of magic, mystery, and adventure will love this rollicking sequel to Marianne Malone's The Sixty-Eight Rooms."

The Thorne Minature Rooms in Chicago where always my favorite place to go when I was little. So am I happy that there's an author out there writing about them? Damn straight I am!

The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: January 24th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When her widower father drowns at sea, Gemma Hardy is taken from her native Iceland to Scotland to live with her kind uncle and his family. But the death of her doting guardian leaves Gemma under the care of her resentful aunt, and it soon becomes clear that she is nothing more than an unwelcome guest at Yew House. When she receives a scholarship to a private school, ten-year-old Gemma believes she’s found the perfect solution and eagerly sets out again to a new home. However, at Claypoole she finds herself treated as an unpaid servant.

To Gemma’s delight, the school goes bankrupt, and she takes a job as an au pair on the Orkney Islands. The remote Blackbird Hall belongs to Mr. Sinclair, a London businessman; his eight-year-old niece is Gemma’s charge. Even before their first meeting, Gemma is, like everyone on the island, intrigued by Mr. Sinclair. Rich (by Gemma’s standards), single, flying in from London when he pleases, Hugh Sinclair fills the house with life. An unlikely couple, the two are drawn to each other, but Gemma’s biggest trial is about to begin: a journey of passion and betrayal, redemption and discovery, that will lead her to a life of which she’s never dreamed.

Set in Scotland and Iceland in the 1950s and ’60s, The Flight of Gemma Hardy—a captivating homage to Charlotte BrontË’s Jane Eyre—is a sweeping saga that resurrects the timeless themes of the original but is destined to become a classic all its own."

Another Jane Eyre retelling... but this looks interesting. Of course, none can live up to the original, but some might find an interesting tale to tell.

Detective Inspector Huss by Helene Tursten
Published by: Soho
Publication Date: January 24th, 2012
Format: Paperback, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Inspector Irene Huss, stationed in Göteborg, is called through the rain-drenched wintry streets to the scene of an apparent suicide. The dead man landed on the sidewalk in front of his luxurious duplex apartment. He was a wealthy financier connected, through an old-boys’ network, with the first families of Sweden. But the "Society Suicide" turns out to have been a carefully plotted murder. As more murders ensue, she tangles with street gang members, skinheads, immigrants and neo-Nazis—a cross-section of Sweden’s disaffected—in order to catch the killer."

More Swedish mysteries, yeah!

The Lives of Margaret Fuller by John Matteson
Published by: W.W. Norton and Company
Publication Date: January 24th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 582 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A brilliant writer and a fiery social critic, Margaret Fuller (1810–1850) was perhaps the most famous American woman of her generation. Outspoken and quick-witted, idealistic and adventurous, she became the leading female figure in the transcendentalist movement, wrote a celebrated column of literary and social commentary for Horace Greeley’s newspaper, and served as the first foreign correspondent for an American newspaper. While living in Europe she fell in love with an Italian nobleman, with whom she became pregnant out of wedlock. In 1848 she joined the fight for Italian independence and, the following year, reported on the struggle while nursing the wounded within range of enemy cannons. Amid all these strivings and achievements, she authored the first great work of American feminism: Woman in the Nineteenth Century. Despite her brilliance, however, Fuller suffered from self-doubt and was plagued by ill health. John Matteson captures Fuller’s longing to become ever better, reflected by the changing lives she led. 28 black-and-white illustrations."

Oooh, new bio, this sounds fabulous. Plus a woman with power in the 1800s, say no more, need!

Book Review 2011 #5 - Alan Bradley's I Am Half-Sick of Shadows

2012-01-20T00:00:00.000-06:00

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows: Flavia De Luce Mystery 4 by Alan Bradley
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: November 1st, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
Challenge: Mystery and Suspense 2011
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy
Christmas is coming to Buckshaw. Which means Santa and presents and a film crew. The De Luce's, ever in financial ruin, have rented the house out to a film crew so that they can afford such things as Christmas and food. Flavia, for the moment, is more concerned with the arrival of Santa, because with her cunningly devised experiment she will prove to her sisters once and for all that Santa is real! All that was needed was to whip up a little birdlime, which is a no-brainer to the chemically inclined Flavia. The arrival of the film crew does prove a fun distraction till the long awaited results of Christmas Eve, especially when the star of the film is revealed to be none other than Phyllis Wyvern, the most famous film actoress of the day. Phyllis brings along the requisite entourage of hangers on who make such good suspects, from the leading man to the disaffected lady's maid to the dictatorial director and the haughty costumes mistress. Throw in a blizzard, a bizarre accident to one of the films roustabouts and a charity performance for the church's roof with all the villager's of Bishop's Lacey descending on the house and you have the perfect setting for a nice cozy country house murder. Because, there will be a murder. And if there's one group of people who like to keep secrets, it's those in film who have spent their lives being other people and trying to hid what they really are. And if there's one person who is good at uncovering secrets, it's Flavia De Luce.

The fourth installment of Bradley's Flavia De Luce stories is perhaps the best yet, despite my holding a great fondness in my heart for The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag with the Porson Puppet Show. The country house whodunit is a classic of the mystery genre, and while the previous installments have veered towards this style with the insular little community of Bishop's Lacey, it is nowhere near as perfect as a snow bound Buckshaw. Buckshaw with all it's hidden doors and snow topped heights and forbidden rooms is not just a perfect setting for a period film, but perfect for murderous intentions.

Each book has had their enigmatic stranger that becomes the focal point of Flavia's world, and Phyllis Wyvern is wonderful. An aging actress that still has the chops to pull off a teenage Juliet and capture the audiences devotion, even after she's slapped a lighting assistant who happens to be a local. An actress who nightly carries out her own version of Sunset Boulevard watching her old films and keeping everyone in the heated wing of the house awake till the wee hours. But far away in the unheated wing Flavia is not bothered by this and more fascinated by Phyllis's love of the macabre... having heard all about the Bonepenny incident and subscribing to all the murderous periodicals. I picture Phyllis as Gillian Anderson. She has the smallness of frame, the timeless beauty and with all that X-Files work, the macabre would suit her just fine. I in fact wonder if Alan felt the same because shortly after mentioning her appearance there are multiple references to Bleak House, which is what revitalized Gillian's career. Perhaps it was just felicitous, but I would love to see Buckshaw brought to the screen, and Gillian would be perfect.

What Bradley gives us more than a festive little cozy is a glimpse into a bygone age. A time when villages where villages, when great families could go back generations in a house but be unable to keep the roof up. Where vicars where there to bring everyone together, where films where a special occasion and where little girls could go about their way, even if their way was with dangerous chemicals and poisons and pipettes.

Book Review 2011 #6 - Robin LaFevers' Grave Mercy

2012-01-19T00:00:00.120-06:00

Grave Mercy, His Fair Assassin Book 1 by Robin LaFevers
ARC Provided by the author
Published by: Houghton Mifflin
Publication Date: April 3rd, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 644 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy
Ismae almost died before she was born. Her mother tried to purge her from her body because she knew that Death was Ismae's father. All her life she has been marked by death with a dark wine stain from her shoulder to her hip. On the day of her marriage to a man she neither loves nor likes, he learns the truth and attempts to kill her. The herbwitch that tried to end her in the womb now rescues her and sends her to the convent of St. Mortain. There Ismae learns that she is cursed, but with gifts from Death himself. Trained to be a handmaiden to Death she learns all the subtle arts from poisons to seduction, though she's not too keen on the womanly arts. She becomes a finely skilled tool, an assassin for Death himself. Her first two assignments go rather well and the men are sent to their graves. The deaths of these two men though are inopportune for Brittany's government who is trying to stay an independent Duchy from France. As atonement for the inconvenience the convent has wrought the Duchy's young ruler, Anne, and her bastard brother, Gavriel Duval, Ismae is to accompany Gavriel to court and aid the country, while also serving the sometimes conflicting needs of the convent.

While at court, Gavriel is worried that he has been saddled with a loose cannon. Ismae seems no need to confide in Gavriel, or ask his permission, and seems willing to kill whomever Death has marked, whether it's convenient to Gavriel or not. Ismae though is in a world where, through Gavriel, she is starting to wonder if the convent has things quite right. She has spent the last few years cloistered away from the world and is now questioning the convents teachings. Embroiled in affairs of the Breton Court and the Privy Council, Ismae soon learns that Anne is a ruler worthy of protection and Gavriel may be a man worthy of her heart. If only St. Mortain would show her what her true destiny is.

I have been a fan of Robin LaFever's since I was wandering around Barnes and Noble back in 2007 and stumbled upon Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos. The blend of Egyptian mythology with a plucky heroine in Edwardian England seemed a book that was written to perfectly meld all my favorite things inbetween two book covers. Not to mention the gorgeous art of Yoko Tanaka. Over the years I have waited with anticipation for each of the subsequent volumes to be released. I also fell in love with Robin's other series for younger readers, Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist. Needless to say, she quickly became on of my favorite writers and one whom I've forced nearly all my friends to read. Side note, it's not cruel and unusual punishment if they end up loving the books as I do. Plus, one of my friends named her son Nathaniel, so obviously her son needed a full set of the books (four so far)! Anyways, because of this lovely thing called the internet, I was able to get in touch with Robin because I felt that she needed to be exposed to as many readers as I could get her. First she joined goodreads, which I heartily encourage of everyone, and then with the launching of my blog, I now have even more of a platform in which to declare my love of these books.

This year marks a new series for Robin. Grave Mercy is the first in her new "His Fair Assassin" series, the HIM being Death. Set in Breton in the 15th century, Robin was "curious to see what [I] think, since it is SO different from Theo!" She's right, it is SO different from Theo. But I've come to the conclusion that a great author is able to write in any genre and on any subject matter as long as they have a clear authorial voice that comes through. Robin has that voice. It changes with the characters and the timeperiods she's writing about, but there's a way she grips you from the outset. She has an engaging writing style that doesn't make it feel like you're fighting the text to get from word to word and paragraph to paragraph. It's a book where you look up and find yourself surprised that an hour or two or three have passed, or even that it's five in the morning and shouldn't you be asleep by now?

This flow in her writing is even more impressive when you think about the fact that this is Historical Fiction in essence. I read a lot of Historical Fiction and it can easily be bogged down with overly archaic language, too many historical events and plot points given to you like a lesson at school that you hated the first time around and has you scrambling back and forth over the text trying to remember minutiae of each plot and counter plot. But Robin did an amazing job of making the people real and not making the history presented in a way that it was too complex therefore making me feel dense. The book just flowed. I fell for Ismae and her evil Hogwarts convent and then fell all over again when Gavriel showed up. These characters became real to me. I was invested in their lives and with getting them together! Jane Austen had it so right with Darcy and Elizabeth, now just make one an assassin and the other an upright young man, Anne his sister gets to be Georgiana, and you just wait for them to realize the truth that, though they are so different, they are so right for each other. The thing is, now I have a problem. I want the next book now. You are all reading this and being all jealous that I already got to read it and I'm sure you have no pity for me... but now I have to wait even longer than you for the second book, think of it that way.

Book Review 2011 #7 - Patricia Briggs' Cry Wolf

2012-01-18T00:00:00.001-06:00

Cry Wolf (Alpha and Omega Book 1) by Patricia Briggs
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: July 29th, 2008
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy
Anna is off to Montana with Charles. Little does she know that in the dark, snowbound forest, evil is lurking. Leaving Chicago behind is at once exhilarating and terrifying. She no longer has the fear of her pack, she now has the fear of the unknown. What does Charles expect of her? Is he really a good man? Upon landing in Aspen Creek, Anna is all the villagers are talking about. The stoic and cold Charles has found a mate. Too bad the first time that she gets to be presented to the masses is at Doc Wallace's funeral. A time of respect and reflection is turned into a bit of a to-do when another wolf, Asil, makes a bit of a play for Anna, but recoils when he realizes she's an Omega. Later, back at Charles' house, he explains to Anna that she's quite a catch and that they aren't officially mated yet, so others will set their cap at her.

But the possibilities of other mates is not on Anna's mind. She's worried over Charles still recovering from the Chicago trip and the fact that his father is sending the two of them out into the forest to track a rogue werewolf that is causing trouble. The trouble could be one of two things, it could be a simple rogue, or it could be a power play to intimidate the Marrok and make him back down on his decision to "out" the werewolves, like the fae did twenty years earlier. Neither Charles or Anna think they are in any danger, but Asil knows differently. He is dreaming of her. The young upstart witch who murdered his beloved. The fact that the rogue werewolf has the same markings as Asil's dearly departed Sarai means something. Can a pack of werewolves band together and make a stand against the evil in the forest? Even if that evil might be a very deadly witch.

I loved this spin off from Briggs' Mercy Thompson series. Here we do get a bit more of a romantic boy and girl co-narration going on, but we also get a riveting story and some history. With a smaller cast of characters fighting for survival in the woods, it's kind of like Michael Crichton does werewolves, of course, I should mention that I am a fan of Crichton, and this isn't a slur on the book. Also, delving deeper into the characters that have mainly stayed on the sidelines or in Mercy's back story gives even more depth to the world Briggs has created. From learning about Bran's youth and how he was changed into a werewolf, to Charles' own upbringing and his type of magic. I'll add here, I so want to be able to conjure clothes for myself like Charles does. It seems like such a useful power, especially in the colder climates. I feel like I need a sweater, bam, I have one, awesome! See what I'm saying?

But hands down, it was Asil that rocked my world. A werewolf of legend whose wife was a healer and a wolf and he cultivated roses in Spain till one day their young ward, from a powerful family of witches, turns against him and his life is ruined. So heart wrenching, and so not vampires and fairies. I'm so glad we got to have some witch action in this book, varies it up from the vampire book, fae book, vampire book, fae book pattern that Briggs has established in her previous series. Though I still have some unanswered questions about Walter... but overall, I'm very satisfied, reading to dive into book two and keep my wait for River Marked as painless as possible.

Tuesday Tomorrow

2012-01-16T00:00:00.045-06:00

The Thorn and the Blossom by Theodora Goss
Published by: Quirk
Publication Date: January 17th, 2012
Format: Hardcover Accordian, 82 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"One enchanting romance. Two lovers keeping secrets. And a uniquely crafted book that binds their stories forever.

When Evelyn Morgan walked into the village bookstore, she didn’t know she would meet the love of her life. When Brendan Thorne handed her a medieval romance, he didn’t know it would change the course of his future. It was almost as if they were the cursed lovers in the old book itself . . .

The Thorn and the Blossom is a remarkable literary artifact: You can open the book in either direction to decide whether you’ll first read Brendan’s, or Evelyn’s account of the mysterious love affair. Choose a side, read it like a regular novel—and when you get to the end, you’ll find yourself at a whole new beginning."

A neat little idea for a book, thanks also go to Quirk for sending me a coy! But who could resist that cover? All rich and tapestry-esque.

Gone West by Carola Dunn
Published by: Minotaur
Publication Date: January 17th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In September 1926, the Honourable Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher visits Sybil Sutherby, a school friend now living in Derbyshire as the confidential secretary to a novelist. Suspecting that something is seriously amiss, Sybil has asked Daisy to discretely investigate. Upon arrival, Daisy finds a household of relatives and would-be suitors living off the hospitality of Humphrey Birtwhistle, who had been supporting them through his thriceyearly, pseudonymous Westerns. When he took ill, though, Sybil took over writing them while he recovered, only to see the sales ances increase. Now, she fears that someone in the household is poisoning Birtwhistle to keep him ill and Sybil writing the better-paying versions. But before Daisy can even get decently underway, Humphrey Birtwhistle dies under suspicious circumstances and Daisy now faces a death to untangle, a house full of suspects and a Scotland Yard detective husband who is less than pleased at this turn of events."

Yeah, new Daisy Dalrymple! Now, I'm not actually caught up this far in the series... but I LOVE what I've read so far.

An Irish Country Courtship by Patrick Taylor
Published by: Forge
Publication Date: January 17th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"After less than a year in Ballybucklebo, Barry Laverty is settling into the village, and with only a few more months to go before he becomes a full partner in Dr. O'Reilly's medical practice, Barry's looking forward to becoming a fixture in the community. But an unexpected romantic reversal gives him second thoughts. As much as Barry enjoys the rough and tumble of life in County Down, is tending to routine coughs and colds in a humble G.P.’s shop all he wants out of life?

Doctor Fingal Flahertie O’Reilly is going through personal upheavals as well. After mourning his deceased wife for decades, he’s finally allowed a new woman into his life. But this budding courtship is not going over well with Kinky Kincaid, the doctors’ housekeeper, who fears having her position usurped by O’Reilly’s new flame.

Meanwhile, life goes on in Ballybucklebo. From a mysterious outbreak at the local school to a complicated swindle involving an unlucky race horse, the two doctors will need all of their combined wit and compassion to put things right again—just in time for their lives to change forever."

So, I still have the first book on my tbr pile, which is almost the size of a library, if I'm honest, but this looks like such a wonderful series, so hopefully it's in your tbr pile as well!

Shadows in Flight by Orson Scott Card
Published by: Tor
Publication Date: January 17th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Ender’s Shadow explores the stars in this all-new novel...

At the end of Shadow of the Giant, Bean flees to the stars with three of his children--the three who share the engineered genes that gave him both hyper-intelligence and a short, cruel physical life. The time dilation granted by the speed of their travel gives Earth’s scientists generations to seek a cure, to no avail. In time, they are forgotten--a fading ansible signal speaking of events lost to Earth’s history. But the Delphikis are about to make a discovery that will let them save themselves, and perhaps all of humanity in days to come.

For there in space before them lies a derelict Formic colony ship. Aboard it, they will find both death and wonders--the life support that is failing on their own ship, room to grow, and labs in which to explore their own genetic anomaly and the mysterious disease that killed the ship’s colony."

New Ender's book, I'm down with that.

Amanda/Miranda by Richard Peck
Published by: Speak
Publication Date: January 17th, 2012
Format: Paperback, 176 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Intrigue, romance, and scheming aboard the Titanic

This updated edition of the popular Richard Peck novel, available in time to commemorate the anniversary of the Titanic's fateful voyage in 1912, starts with a chilling prophecy. When Miranda begins her position as maid-servant to the glamorous and selfish Amanda Whitwell, Amanda wastes no time in using Miranda to suit her own cruel purposes. Miranda becomes the lynchpin to a plot that Amanda devises to marry an American who can maintain her lavish lifestyle, but also keeps the rogue she loves close at hand. However, destiny intervenes, and they board the ill-fated Titanic. This story has all of the romance, glamour, intrigue, and tragedy of the Titanic but ends, satisfyingly, with redemption and forgiveness."

Well, with the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, we're going to be getting a lot of new book and a lot of re-releases. Personally, I'm all for it, though I'm most looking forward to the new Julian Fellowes miniseries! It's like Downton Abbey ON A BOAT!

The Fry Chronicle by Stpehen Fry
Published by: Overlook
Publication Date: January 17th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Stephen Fry arrived at Cambridge University as a convicted fraudster and thief, an addict, liar, fantasist, and failed suicide, convinced that any moment he would be sent away. Instead, he befriended bright young things like Emma Thompson and Hugh Laurie, and he emerged as one of the most promising comic talents in the world. This is the engrossing, hilarious, and utterly compelling story of how the Stephen the world knows (or thinks it knows) found his way. Tales of champagne, love, and conspicuous consumption jostle with insights into Broadway and TV stardom. A feat of trademark wit and verbal brilliance, this is a book unafraid of confronting the chasm that separates celebrity from a young man's personal reality."

SO excited about this. I've never really been a fan of Fry's fiction (I know, blasphemy) but his first autobiography, Moab is My Washpot was sensational, so big hopes for this one!

Book Review 2011 #8 - Paul Magrs' Never the Bride

2012-01-13T00:00:00.001-06:00

Never the Bride (Brenda and Effie Book 1) by Paul Magrs
Book Provided by Headline Publishing
Published by: Headline Publishing
Publication Date: 2006
Format: Paperback, 280 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy
Brenda has decided that after her long long life it's time for some peace and quiet in the small northern seaside town of Witby, famed for Dracula's ship, the Demeter, crashing into its harbor. While the town does have many B and B's, Brenda sets out to make hers the friendliest and cleanliest for a few select guests. Settling down has always been the last thing on her mind in a life of tumult and late night escapes, but she has a nice routine and a best friend, Effie, her neighbor next door who runs a junk shop filled with centuries of family ephemera. Days are spent cleaning and making her home nice, going out for tea and dinners with Effie, and quietly getting on with life, something the bride of Frankenstein never thought possible. Yet Brenda realizes it is too good to last when during one of her and Effie's outings, their regular waitress at The Christmas Hotel, Jessie, is literally 20 years younger. She has gone to a new boutique in town and the years have just been taken away. Brenda's years of being surrounded by the strange and peculiar means she knows that this "Deadly Boutique" has to be up to something, and her feisty new friend Effie is all for investigating. The boutique though is only one of many strange occurrences. Aliens, vampires, every manner of supernatural goings on start to happen, and they all seem to have one thing in common, Brenda.

For quite awhile now I've had two books by Paul Magrs on my "to_get" shelf on goodreads (I've also oddly had one of them on the shelf nearest my computer tower that I just recently rediscovered). Never the Bride and 666 Charing Cross Road intrigued me, yet not being in print here I was at the whims of someone selling a copy to a used bookstore or biting the bullet and paying the shipping charges from overseas. I met Paul this past fall at TeslaCon and realized that these books needed to be bumped up the list. Paul is an engaging reader. Sometimes authors get up to read their work and it falls flat. You aren't drawn into the world. I was instantly drawn into the world of Brenda and Effie as the characters took him over. During the weekend I got to know Paul a little, attending his readings and Q and A's, hanging out at the hotel's bar.

We're now facebook friends and he put me in touch with his publicist to wrangle me a few of his books for my blog here, yeah. I was instantly over the moon and filled with dread. Here is someone I had met who I genuinely liked but had yet to read his work. What if it was awful? What if he asked me how I liked it? What if I had to break it to him that I hated a book with characters so dear to his heart? It's a constant fear of reviewers, or at least a fear of this reviewer. What if you get too close to your subject? What if you form some alliance or tentative friendship that can't withstand the truth? Because I will always tell the truth. I can't lie. As an artist I have learned to take harsh criticism, and it has made me better at what I do, so therefore I'm not trying to be mean, I'm trying to make you better. Sadly it's easier to write about a bad book than a good one, but when it's someone you like and admire, you feel bad that you didn't like it. I've even once or twice hesitated to even publish my review because the book was so bad and the author someone I so admired, yet I still published my review for all to read. Because in the end, the truth will out. As you've probably surmised because this book is on my top ten reads for 2011 that all my fears where unjustified in this case. Whew.

The book combines so many of my favorite things into one book it's instantly a series I must now devour. Never the Bride is set up like an old fashioned chap book, with each chapter dealing with a different crisis that has arisen. Just like the different guests that stay at Brenda's B and B, each chapter is a cozy little mystery that while solved by chapters end, adds a little more to the books overall story arc. I like cozy little mysteries. There's something comforting about them, but then, sometimes they are formulaic. I think by adding in a few vampires, aliens and characters from Gothic literature, that Paul has smashed the formulae and made something new. It's like Mapp and Lucia for the supernatural set. Buffy for retirees. Being Human, but just a little more mature. In fact I can totally see this as a series with Geraldine James as Brenda and perhaps Annette Crosbie as Effie.

At different points in the book I was sad that the chapter was ending, because, the characters being guests, would leave, and leave me a little sad. The family of aliens that Brenda harbors where so sweet and so well developed they didn't devolve into the horror of cliche, Simon Pegg's atrocious Paul anyone? Because I'm sure the first time I said this book had aliens, you kind of cringed a little, as I myself did. Aliens and Neanderthals (Australopithecus to be exact) don't usually seamlessly fit into fantastical fiction, I'm sure the Neanderthal episode of Buffy wasn't your favorite, aside from adding "Beer foamy" to you quotes; and you sometimes end up with the mess that Jasper Fforde has gotten himself into with his Thursday Next books where you just don't care anymore. But here each character is created with such loving detail that no matter how much you think this might be too much or too far, it isn't. It's just perfect. I instantly felt that these fictional characters where in fact my friends and can't wait to visit them again and again. If only I could stay at Brenda's B and B sometime... and not just in my dreams.

Book Review 2011 #9 - Dodie Smith's It Ends With Revelations

2012-01-12T00:00:00.000-06:00

It Ends with Revelations by Dodie Smith
Published by: Little Brown and Company
Publication Date: 1967
Format: Hardcover, 280 Pages
Rating: ★★★
Out of Print

Jill wanders the streets of a town she once knew in desperate times. How things have changed knowing that she could now have anything in any shop window along the high street. Of course, she doesn't want or need for anything since she married the distinguished actor Miles Quentin. Miles is in town to reopen the theatre by testing out a new play that has been adapted from television before moving to the West End. Jill's life is no longer the chaotic life of a stage manager. Now she's there for Miles. She keeps him on schedule, writes his correspondences, buys little presents for the cast, she is wife and personal assistant in one. While out on errands for Miles she wanders into a shop she remembers frequenting in her past. She wants to buy a box of chocolates for the young lad in the play, Cyril. He's never acted on stage and her and Miles want to give him all the encouragement they can. This day proves to be a fateful day. She runs into Geoffrey Thornton, a member for Parliament whom she met once at a function. They get to talking and she learns that his two daughters, Robin and Kit are huge fans of Miles'. They agree to arrange a meeting. Miles, as well as Jill, are charmed by the girls and soon when Miles is busy with the play, she spends all her free time with the girls.

Provincial runs are short though, and after the week the play packs up for London, as do the Thorntons. They all agree to meet often once back in the city, where Jill and Miles are met by their horribly austere and modern new apartment which they loath. It does not look like the play is going to have as receptive an audience in London and the bets are on that it won't last above three weeks. Miles starts to desperately engage Jill into thinking about what they want to do after the play folds. Perhaps an autumn in the country, some time abroad, a new home. Because while she can't place her finger on when or how, things have changed between her and Miles. It all comes out one day when Thornton takes her to see a possible house for Miles' "autumn in the country." Jill is married to Miles because of convenience. Miles is gay. The girls have long suspected this to be the case and have been encouraging their father with the "Thornton Take-Over Scheme" wherein Jill will be there new mother, seeing as their first nymphomaniac, dipsomaniac mother wasn't the best. Things are made all the more easier by the fact that Jill fell in love with Georffrey at first sight, as he did with her. But Jill will not leave Miles after all he has done for her. She is caught between a rock and a hard place and then, just when the pressure couldn't be any worse a scandal is set in motion.

After my second and most recent foray into Dodie Smith's back catalog thanks to my library, I was hesitant to continue. The Girl from the Candle-lit Bath being perhaps one of the worst books I've read in awhile. I am very glad to whomever put this book on hold at the library so that I had to read it right away, because one can't just return a book to the library unread, it goes against Blue Stocking code! I found the characters sweet and endearing. It Ends with Revelations gave me hope that perhaps I read Smith's worst work and now all I had was wonderful books to look forward to, all piled on my desk! The thing that struck me as groundbreaking about this work is the open discussion of homosexuality. Dodie Smith, spending many years in the theatre industry, obviously didn't have the prejudices of many others in society and therefore homosexuality is represented as it is, just the way people are. Robin and Kit are amazingly refreshing in their attitudes. They where raised by tolerate loving people, their grandmother being a friend of Oscar Wilde. To think this book was written in 1967! Many people don't have this openness of mind to this day. There where times when sometimes the slang to refer to homosexuals was a bit dated, so it seems a little derogatory. But keep in mind that while sometimes the words are a product of their times, the feelings behind them are amazingly progressive.

When one thinks that this book came out the year the sexual offences act finally decriminalised homosexuality in England, you realize how amazingly progressive it is. Jill being Miles' beard, which, lets face it, still happens a lot in Hollywood, and the way the Thorntons open up there hearts and in return change everyones lives for the better makes this a very uplifting book. Of course Dodie tries to throw in a bit of a scandal at the end, which wasn't worthy of the characters or their relationships, but she's an author who dabbles in theatre, you have to forgive her need to sometimes throw in an obstacle or two. I'm also glad to see that according to Amazon, this book is going back into print early next year! A book this fun and progressive and modern should not be confined to dusty shelves where the librarian has to basically go into the catacombs to unearth it for a devoted reader like myself!

Book Review 2011 #10 - Helene Hanff's Q's Legacy

2012-01-11T00:00:00.002-06:00

Q's Legacy by Helene Hanff
Published by: Penguin
Publication Date: 1985
Format: Paperback, 177 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy
Helene Hanff holds a special place in the heart of book lovers for her love affair with the Marks and Co bookstore at 84 Charing Cross Road which she chronicled in the book of the same name. That slim volume is possibly one of the most popular books about books ever written. So popular there was even a movie adaptation with Anthony Hopkins. You bring Anthony Hopkins in and you know it will be a classic. In the book she passingly mentions getting her education through a man she nicknames "Q." Q is known to others as the Cambridge professor, Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, and doesn't have anything to do with James Bond. I wondered a bit about how a poor girl from Philly was educated by this elusive Q. Well, lucky for us 84, Charing Cross Road was only one of a few autobiographies Helene wrote. Q's Legacy starts with that first day she realized that she couldn't afford college anymore and found his books on a shelf at the public library. She instantly found a kinship with this man an ocean away and knew that he would teach her all she ever wanted to learn. Through him she became a writer, after a failed attempt at acting and play writing.

Helene was always living hand to mouth, writing whatever she could to make a buck. When 84, Charing Cross Road unexpectedly became a huge hit she didn't know what to do with herself. She wasn't such a celebrity that she couldn't answer her own fan mail, but still, it opened doors she never thought would open. While she doesn't repeat herself with ground covered in 84, Charing Cross Road or her triumphant trip to London as a result of the book which she documented in the sublime sequel, The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, she adds so many more stories that where possible because of her book. Helene talks about the joy of going to England to see her book become a movie for the BBC and how she got to go to television center and watch her life come alive. She also recounts her trip to England for the opening of the stage adaptation that was a hit in England and a bomb in America. But it's not just the trips, it's the characters that people her life, the way she sees the world. Every time she said that she had a book that she hated writing so badly and chucked it down the incinerator my heart skipped a beat. If only the world had more of her books not less! She was too harsh a critique and because of that we are left with only a few slim volumes of a writer who has the most distinct and original voice I've ever read. So go out a buy this book before it becomes out of print, like so many of her wonderful books ironically are.

I'll leave off with recounting an interesting story of how I found out our lives intersect. On August 13th, 1978, she finally got to pay her regards to Q. She was invited by the widow of his biographer to come to Cambridge while she was there for the opening of the play and to visit Q's study. It was still as it always had been, preserved in memoriam. This was the day where she walked where her mentor walked. The whole book, perhaps her whole life had been building to afternoon tea in Q's study. Half a world away I was born. I say that makes August the 13th 1978 a rather significant date for the two of us.

Tuesday Tomorrow

2012-01-09T00:00:00.004-06:00

Believing the Lie by Elizabeth George
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: January 10th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 624 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"After writing sixteen Inspector Lynley novels, New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth George has millions of fans waiting for the next one. As USA Today put it, "It's tough to resist George's storytelling, once hooked." With Believing the Lie, she's poised to hook countless more.

Inspector Thomas Lynley is mystified when he's sent undercover to investigate the death of Ian Cresswell at the request of the man's uncle, the wealthy and influential Bernard Fairclough. The death has been ruled an accidental drowning, and nothing on the surface indicates otherwise. But when Lynley enlists the help of his friends Simon and Deborah St. James, the trio's digging soon reveals that the Fairclough clan is awash in secrets, lies, and motives.

Deborah's investigation of the prime suspect-Bernard's prodigal son Nicholas, a recovering drug addict-leads her to Nicholas's wife, a woman with whom she feels a kinship, a woman as fiercely protective as she is beautiful. Lynley and Simon delve for information from the rest of the family, including the victim's bitter ex-wife and the man he left her for, and Bernard himself. As the investigation escalates, the Fairclough family's veneer cracks, with deception and self-delusion threatening to destroy everyone from the Fairclough patriarch to Tim, the troubled son Ian left behind."

Yeah! New Inspector Lynley, life is good.

The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges
Published by: Delacorte
Publication Date: January 10th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"St. Petersburg, Russia, 1888. As she attends a whirl of glittering balls, royal debutante Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, tries to hide a dark secret: she can raise the dead. No one knows. Not her family. Not the girls at her finishing school. Not the tsar or anyone in her aristocratic circle. Katerina considers her talent a curse, not a gift. But when she uses her special skill to protect a member of the Imperial Family, she finds herself caught in a web of intrigue.

An evil presence is growing within Europe's royal bloodlines—and those aligned with the darkness threaten to topple the tsar. Suddenly Katerina's strength as a necromancer attracts attention from unwelcome sources . . . including two young men—George Alexandrovich, the tsar's standoffish middle son, who needs Katerina's help to safeguard Russia, even if he's repelled by her secret, and the dashing Prince Danilo, heir to the throne of Montenegro, to whom Katerina feels inexplicably drawn.

The time has come for Katerina to embrace her power, but which side will she choose—and to whom will she give her heart?"

Oh, you can never give me enough Russia!

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: January 10th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.

Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green’s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love."

Ok, yes, it does sound depressing, as doomed love is... but the reviews are amazing on this book! I trust John Green.

Tempting the Gods by Tanith Lee
Published by: Wildside Press
Publication Date: January 10th, 2012
Format: Paperback, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Tempting the Gods collects some of Tanith Lee''s fiction from the late 80s to the present, from a variety of venues (Asimovs'', Weird Tales, and Realms of Fantasy). They range in tone from the dark ("Cain") and Arthurian Legend ("The Kingdoms of the Air"), to Arabian Nights adventure ("These Beasts") and the just plain weird ("Tiger I"). All stories feature Lee''s carefully crafted language, tight plotting, vivid imagination, and matchless evocation of atmosphere. Not all tales are dark - there''s even some humor, such as the new to this collection "God and the Pig." Like Bradbury and Vance, Lee is a unique stylist. This collection - the first part of a two part series - is a perfect introduction to her work, some of the best writing in the weird fiction category."

I love when all the stories are brought together from different sources under two nice covers! Front and back that is, with a nice spine on the side.

Top 10!

2012-01-06T00:00:00.002-06:00

Instead of having to slog through all the books I've read, I'm sure you want to know which ones to just go out and buy. So here are my top 10. These are the best of the best. They made an impression on me and I hope they will on you. They where so good, many where presents to others this year.

10) Q's Legacy by Helene Hanff: The most fully autobiographical of her books, covering most of her life. We get a bit of 84, Charing Cross Road and Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, but so much more. Anyone who hasn't read a Hanff book is missing out on one of the most original voices in biographical literature.

9) It Ends with Revelations by Dodie Smith: Smith is most known for 101 Dalmatians and I Capture the Castle, but It Ends with Revelations really struck me. It's so modern and frank in it's views of sexuality. There are a few cliches thrown in at the end that threaten to destroy it, but it's a book that really left an impression on me and I'm happy to see that it's going back into print this year.

8) Never the Bride (Brenda and Effie Book 1) by Paul Magrs: When I met Paul at TelsaCon this year, it was his reading from his first Brenda and Effie book that made me realize I had to know more about this author and this little world he has created. Paul has made a nonsensical world around Witby, a northern town where Dracula's ship happened to crash land, wherein the more absurd it gets the more it works. This kind of fantastical writing is a balancing act that two books in (I still have 3 more to read!), Paul seems to have mastered. Jasper Fforde better pay attention.

7) Cry Wolf (Alpha and Omega Book 1) by Patricia Briggs: The first book in the spin off from Patricia Briggs' successful Mercy Thompson books is action packed, but in a very small way. We have four "people" out in the cold and snow of Montana, like some extreme survivalist Michael Crichton novel. The fact that they're witches and werewolves and have pasts going back hundreds of years just adds to an already wonderful book.

6) Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin Book 1) by Robin (R.L.) LaFevers: This book, which actually doesn't come out till later this year, is drastically different from any of Robin's previous books. But be it Edwardian England or France in the 1400s, she has a way of making historical fiction come alive. She incorporates the history so well that it's easy to understand and part of the narrative. I never felt lost or at sea, which some historical authors are wont to do. But add a human element, add characters you love, and it's a new favorite series waiting to be read. It even made me pull out a history book to find out more about the time period!

5) I Am Half-Sick of Shadows (Flavia De Luce Book 4) by Alan Bradley: Flavia De Luce has been a favorite of mine since the first book came out and my friend David at Murder by the Book was like, "GET THIS BOOK!" The previous three installments where wonderful, but the conclusion always left me a little cold. This book, while I could say it left me cold, because of the chase over the snowy rooftops, it ended just right. A perfect holiday read, and a perfect Flavia book... I hope there are many more to come.

4) The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicles Volume 1) by Patrick Rothfuss: I know, bad me never picking up the book till this year... him being a local author and all... but, I hated the original cover, and I actually met Pat before I started reading it, so I knew it was always going to be read eventually. With the second book coming out I finally read it and LOVED it. It's just so wonderful. Exquisite world building where there are characters you love to hate, hate to love. Magic! Dragons! A haunted childhood wherein Kvothe will one day avenge the death of his parents by mystically evil badasses. I can't wait for the final volume!

3) Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick: This book, aside from the amazing illustrations, is just a wonderful story. How two generations clash through shared experiences, shared traumas and shared secrets. I could not put this book down, one sitting, and 6 AM where what this book did to me, and it was worth it!

2) Madame Tussuad by Michelle Moran: The French Revolution, or more precisely, what led up to the revolution, has never been more clear or more fascinating than in Michelle Moran's book. Being an artist myself, it was fascinating seeing the world radically changing though another artist's eyes. To see that Madame Tussuad wasn't just that waxworks lady, she was at the center of a revolution. Her displays showed the people the news of the day in the most extraordinary ways, through her tableaux. I can't wait to get my hands on Michelle's next book which also takes place in France!

1) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern: BEST BOOK THIS YEAR! I've been struggling writing a review for this book because it is so awesome. I can't do justice to the lyrical quality of the writing or the depth of the storytelling. Saying it's about a circus wherin two opponents do battle, it's just not right. It's just an aspect of the best book I've read in years, so easily the best book of this year!

A Year in Review

2012-01-04T00:00:00.004-06:00

Ok, I thought that it would be fun to do like an end of year/beginning of the year tally to see what I've read, and also, what I remember. Because the true strength of a book is not the impression right after you read it, but the impression that remains. What stays with you, long after the review has been written, long after the book is set aside. So, without further ado, my 114 reads of 2011. And I promise not the cheat and look at my reviews!

1) The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton: Historical fiction that never quite lived up to what it could have been, but still a great read.

2) Heads You Lose by Lisa Lutz and David Hayword: The authors bickering is easily as funny as the rest of the book. Plus there's a cat, go read it!

3) Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus (Theodosia Book 3) by R. L. LaFevers: I love Theo so much and this third installment did a great job of tying up some loose ends and expanding the possibilities for future books.

4) Theodosia and the Last Pharaoh (Theodosia Book 4) by R. L. LaFevers: Theo finally in Egypt. YEAH!

5) Sense and Sensibility Comic by Nancy Butler: Nancy Butler has no sense (haha) of the truths in the book and therefore brought out a horrid adaptation that misses the boat completely.

6) Bone Crossed (Mercy Thompson Book 4) by Patricia Briggs: I don't know why I waited so long to read Mercy Thompson, sooo good. This one we get a Mercy road trip and a semi-traditional house haunting.

7) Silver Borne (Mercy Thompson Book 5) by Patricia Briggs: Not my favorite, just because being lured into a underground fairy world seems a bit too predictable. Ok, another question, when did underground fairy worlds become predictable in my life?

8) Mercy Thompson: Homecoming by Patricia Briggs: The guys are all drawn as overly hunky, but the depiction of Mercy kind of makes up for this.

9) Cry Wolf (Alpha and Omega Book 1) by Patricia Briggs: So glad that the spin off series from Mercy Thompson is as good! Just loved this trek in the wilds of Montana.

10) Madame Tussuad by Michelle Moran: Just fascinating look at the French Revolution through the eyes of the key artist of the day. If there was one flaw, it ended too soon.

11) Hunting Ground (Alpha and Omega Book 2) by Patricia Briggs: A little too much like the first... though I loved the werewolves exploring Seattle.

12) The Unicorn's Tale (Nathaniel Fludd Beastologist Book 4) by R. L. LaFevers: Red Unicorns! That's all that needs to be said.

13) Something Rotten (Thursday Next Book 4) by Jasper Fforde: I think this series as really run it's course.

14) First Among Sequels (Thursday Next Book 5) by Jasper Fforde: Yep, totally run it's course.

15) Emma Manga Volume 1 by Kaoru Mori: Wonderful Manga about a maidservant finding love. Not too into the characters yet.

16) Emma Manga Volume 2 by Kaoru Mori: Getting better, starting to fill out the cast with many wonderful characters, and I adore Mori's sum ups at the end, they might be the best part of the book.

17) One of Our Thursdays is Missing (Thursday Next Book 6) by Jasper Fforde: Why am I still reading this series... Jasper has now destroyed and rebuilt the book world. destroying one of my favorite aspects of the series. Pissed that books seven is being pushed ahead and yet no Shades of Grey sequel, which might be one of my most favorite books ever!

18) Emma Manga Volume 3 by Kaoru MoriL So starts the Emma marathon thanks to my library...

19) Emma Manga Volume 4 by Kaoru Mori

20) Emma Manga Volume 5 by Kaoru Mori

21) Emma Manga Volume 6 by Kaoru Mori

22) Emma Manga Volume 7 by Kaoru Mori: But, this isn't the last volume, what do you mean you have no more evil library system (grumble, grumble).

23) The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicles Volume 1) by Patrick Rothfuss: Awesome. Tom Brown's School Days plus Harry Potter plus pure awesomeness! AND Patrick is a huge Joss Whedon fan (Evesdown docks, hehe).

24) The Children of Green Knowe (The Chronicles of Green Knowe Book 1) by L.M. Boston: Why have I never read these? In the same vein as The Borrowers and Edward Eager's Magic Books, it's a wonderful world in a moldy old country house in England. LOVE!

25) River Marked (Mercy Thompson Book 6) by Patricia Briggs: Totally wickedly cool demon otters! Also, a nice break in the series making it stand out more because of it's difference. Charlaine Harris take not, keep reinventing yourself.

26) Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale: Just as wonderful as the first time I read it. The transplanting of this German fairy tale to Mongolia shows the universality of fairy tales, and how awesome Shannon Hale is.

27) The Fifth Elephant (Discworld Book 24) by Terry Pratchett: Uberwald yeah! People take vampires and werewolves too seriously these days, and that's why we need Terry Pratchett!

28) The Deeds of the Disturber (Amelia Peabody Book 5) by Elizabeth Peters: Totally makes sense now why this one went out of print. It wasn't the boredom of England, but the strife between Amelia and Emerson that struck a wrong cord with me.

29) The Guild Comic by Felicia Day: Great little prequel to The Guild, so many things make more sense. I also loved that it wasn't really traditional comic art.

30) The Last Camel Died at Noon (Amelia Peabody Book 6) by Elizabeth Peters: Worst Amelia Peabody book so far. Look an Egyptian culture still thrives in the hidden desert sands. Blurg.

31) Old Habits by Melissa Marr: Why do I keep reading these little short stories that aren't very good and detract from the books?

32) Brisingr (Inheritance Book 3) by Christopher Paolini: I finally finished it! And you know what, I kind of think I might have grown out of these books... we'll see, because I shall (eventually) finish the last book!

33) The Return of the Dapper Men by Jim McCann: So dumb and plotless and why did Tim Gunn write the intro? WHY!?!

34) Chi's Sweet Home Manga Volume 1 by Kanata Konami: So begins Chi working her cute little cat way into my heart.

35) Castle Waiting Volume 1 by Linda Medley: Wonderful, kind of off, fairy tales. Nuns with beards, what more do I need to say?

36) Castle Waiting Volume 2 by Linda Medley: Didn't advance the story as much as I would have liked, but still great.

37) Love Letters by Katie Fforde: Horrid, one of the worst books I've read in a long time. Full of chick lit stereotypes and cliches.

38) Dead in the Family (Sookie Stackhouse Book 10) by Charlaine Harris: Much more fun as a re-read. Also, still totally digging the Romanov angle.

39) Shopaholic and Baby (Shopaholic Book 5) by Sophie Kinsella: MUST STOP READING SHOPAHOLIC. Becky hires a PI to spy on her husband, can we say wrong!?!

40) Dead Reckoning (Sookie Stackhouse Book 11) by Charlaine Harris: Fun new entry, but I think the series needs to come to a close before it gets too stale. It was mean though of EW to say this was one of the worst books of the year. Totally NOT! I've read far far worse.

41) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: I have and will always hate St. John while adoring Rochester.

42) A Bride's Story Manga Volume 1 by Kaoru Mori: Nice departure for Mori from maids. A little weird that the groom is soo young, and it's hard to tell characters apart sometimes.

43) Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett: Ok, I know I should love this, but I just didn't. Don't worry, I have been yelled at by many a friend, so I've gotten my scoldings.

44) Murder Your Darlings (Algonquin Round Table Mysteries Book 1) by JJ Murphy: I want to go back and hang with these people! Perfect historical mystery!

45) Hair of the Dog (Algonquin Round Table Mysteries Short Story) by JJ Murphy: A "barter" economy might not be so bad.

46) Wrapped by Jennifer Bradley: Wait, this might be the worst book of the year. Making Egyptology stupid and lame, it's a sin! I'll send some deities to deal with you Jennifer Bradley.

47) The Doll Short Stories by Daphne Du Maurier: While the main story didn't live up to the hype, because the ending was given away by everyone, the rest of the stories have Du Maurier's signature spooky and unsettling vibe.

48) Heartless (The Parasol Protectorate Book 4) by Gail Carriger: Just what the last book lacked! Tons of Akeldama! Also, poor Biffy.

49) Anya's Ghost by Vera Brogsol: I want to know why people loved this? A girl gets haunted by a mean ghost. End of story, boring, blah.

50) The Wise Man's Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicles Book 2) by Patrick Rothfuss: Not as strong as the first book. I loved the kind of Renaissance court, but the fairy sex, really?

51) Withering Tights (The Misadventures of Tallulah Casey Book 1) by Louise Rennison: I was hoping she'd go more grown up with the new book series, instead it feels like a step back with a less likable lead.

52) The Truth (Discworld Book 25) by Terry Pratchett: Terry can get at the heart of anything, even if it's a nebulous as "the truth." Also, still totally relevant because of how the media distorts the news...

53) Doctor Who: The Ripper Comic by Tony Lee: Stupid ARC, didn't even have the damn Ripper story in it.

54) Evelyn Evelyn by Amanda Palmer: Had to read something by Neil Gaiman's missus... I think if I had known that Evelyn and Evelyn where "real" I would have got it more.

55) Go the F**k to Sleep by Adam Mansbach: The swearing Dr. Suess, totally the hit book of the year for parents.

56) Away in a Manger: A Very Turnip Wedding Night by Lauren Willig: My favorite Lauren Willig character gets his nasty on.

57) Today I Will Fly (Elephant and Piggy Book 1) by Mo Willems: Why have I never read these books? Granted they're for little kids, but they're soo cute!

58) My Friend is Sad (Elephant and Piggy Book 2) by Mo Willems: I am totally the elephant, Gerald, just saying.

59) I Am Invited to a Party (Elephant and Piggy Book 3) by Mo Willems: Just, get these if you have little kids, ok?

60) A Game of Thrones (A Song of Fire and Ice Book 1) by GRRMartin: A re-read of the books before the new one!

61) A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson: It's Downton Abbey in book form, really it is!

62) A Clash of Kings (A Song of Fire and Ice Book 2) by GRRMartin: How I love these books, and how I hate you Onion Knight, most annoying new character.

63) I Am Half-Sick of Shadows (Flavia De Luce Book 4) by Alan Bradley: Might be the best Falvia yet, and so wonderfully Christmasy.

64) I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith: I should have read this long ago. Just wonderful story of a girl and her castle, which a very dysfunctional family inside it's walls.

65) Two L by Lauren Willig: First non-Pink book of Lauren's which is Shakespeare retold at Harvard. Works oddly well, probably because all academics think they are in Shakespeare.

66) Q's Legacy by Helene Hanff: Best of Helene Hanff's books... well, maybe Duchess of Bloomsbury is better, but this covers more time.

67) The Addams Family: An Evilution by Charles Addams: Charles Addams is a God.

68) Apple of My Eye by Helene Hanff: Kind of out of date "travel guide" to New York. She also hates the MET, who could hate the MET!?!

69) My Sister's Song by Gail Carriger: Sort little story about poison honey.

70) The Girl from the Candle-lit Bath by Dodie Smith: Awful, understandably out-of-print. Self centered stupid characters, grrr.

71) Chi's Sweet Home Manga Volume 2 by Kanata Konami: Yeah, more kitty antics!

72) A Charmed Death (A Bewitching Mystery Book 2) by Madelyn Alt: Kind of cosy mystery meets Twin Peaks, so much fun!

73) Chi's Sweet Home Manga Volume 3 by Kanata Konami: I really need a cat.

74) The Wizard of Oz (Oz Book 1) by L. Frank Baum: The true American Classic, they really all very self-centered aren't they?

75) The Sookie Stackhouse Companion by Charlaine Harris: Don't read this as a book, it's a slog. Just read it if you need to look up some obscure fact.

76) Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick: Brilliant! Different generations and secrets and pure awesome.

77) Austenland (Austenland Book 1) by Shannon Hale: Ok, I was harsh the first time I read it. Yes, it's funny and sweet and I am looking forward to the movie.

78) Midnight in Austenland (Austenland Book 2) by Shannon Hale: Darker take on Austenland, like Agatha Christie and Midsomer Murders in one. Basically, if you let the Brontes re-write Austen.

79) Chi's Sweet Home Manga Volume 4 by Kanata Konami: Kitty!

80) The Garden Intrigue (Pink Carnation Book 8) by Lauren Willig: Another wonderful entry in the Pink books, this time Augustus gets off the floor (where he's reciting his cantos) and gets a little action.

81) Chi's Sweet Home Manga Volume 5 by Kanata Konami: Yes, I take out my need for a cat by reading manga... so?

82) Chi's Sweet Home Manga Volume 6 by Kanata Konami

83) Hark! a Vagrant by Kate Beaton: Great comics from Kate Beaton, though the best ones I've already read on her website.

84) Never Learn Anything from History by Kate Beaton: I think actually better than her newer and more popular book because it has less well known comics. Also, not out of print if you order it from her.

85) Endless Night by Agatha Christie: Such high expectations that where dashed in this crappy book. No death for 200 pages! IE, 20 pages from the end of the book!

86) Mini Shopaholic (Shopaholic Book 6) by Sophie Kinsella: Really someone stop me. I need an intervention. These books are so bad yet I keep reading them...

87) Preludes and Nocturnes (The Sandmand Comic Voume 1) by Neil Gaiman: Kind of a meh start to what everyone tells me is such an awesome series.

88) A Bride's Story Manga Volume 2 by Kaoru Mori: I really should have re-read the first book because I was confused by all the characters.

89) Snuff (Discworld Book 39) by Terry Pratchett: I had overly high expectations after the Discworld Convention this year, so obviously, it didn't live up to them... I also missed a lot of my favorite characters as too much time was spent on politics.

90) Chi's Sweet Home Manga Volume 7 by Kanata Konami: Kitty! But now I'm all caught up so what do I do?!?

91) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern: BEST BOOK THIS YEAR!

92) The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield: When in doubt, to spice up a boring book, and incest and a little dash of girl on girl, NOT! Such a horrid stupid book.

93) The Doll's House (The Sandmand Comic Voume 2) by Neil Gaiman: Meh... I'm really not seeing the appeal.

94) The Charles Addams Mother Goose by Charles Addams: Sick, in the best possible way.

95) The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec by Jacques Tardi: Totally not what I expected, and boring to boot. All the males look the same and you can't keep track of anyone.

96) The Snake, The Crocodile and The Dog (Amelia Peabody Book 7) by Elizabeth Peters: I liked that we got to see the spark of Amelia and Emerson all over from the beginning, I just still don't grasp how the titles fable fits in.

97) It Ends with Revelations by Dodie Smith: Shockingly good book that deals with issues of sexual identity and love.

98) The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec Book 2 by Jacques Tardi: Again, I can't tell who anyone is, and what's with the angry rant at the end about no one buying his other book!?!

99) Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (Oz Book 4) by L. Frank Baum: Snarky cats make books 1000 times better. Snarky cats who want to eat piglets, 1000000 times better.

100) Trail of the Spellmans (Spellmans Document 5) by Lisa Lutz: More serious, but still enjoyable, though I'm starting to miss the old young Rae.

101) You Might As Well Die (Algonquin Round Table Mysteries Book 2) by JJ Murphy: Dorothy Parker and Houdini make the best crime fighting duo in ages!

102) The Road to Oz (Oz Book 5) by L. Frank Baum: Um... boring.

103) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium Book 1) by Stieg Larsson: Again with the incest! Also, what's with stealing the ending from Val McDiarmid!?!

104) Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin Book 1) by Robin (R.L.) LaFevers: Female Assassin's in Brittany who work for death. Wonderful!

105) Tintin in the Congo (Tintin Book 2) by Herge: Really racist, not surprising because of the time it was written, but using dynamite on a rhino is a bit much.

106) Dream Country (The Sandmand Comic Voume 3) by Neil Gaiman: Ok, I'm starting to see the appeal...

107) The Bro Code by Barney Stinson: 100% pure Barney. Must read for fans of How I Met Your Mother!

108) The Secret History by Donna Tartt: Incest again!?! What's with that people. It's icky not titillating, which this author seems to think. Also, just kill someone and move on, slow ass paced book.

109) Season's of Mist (The Sandmand Comic Voume 4) by Neil Gaiman: Ok Neil, you totally lost me with your endless pages of the politics of the endless.

110) Piggie Make Me Sneeze! (Elephant and Piggy Book 9) by Mo Willems: Again, so cute.

111) We are in a Book! (Elephant and Piggy Book 13) by Mo Willems: Awesome breaking of the 4th wall.

112) Happy Pig Day (Elephant and Piggy Book 16) by Mo Willems: Because everyone can party on pig day!

113) Never the Bride (Brenda and Effie Book 1) by Paul Magrs: The Bride of Frankenstein running a B and B. Totally wonderful, like Mapp and Lucia for the undead.

114) The Chimneys of Green Knowe (The Chronicles of Green Knowe Book 1) by L.M. Boston: So different from the movie, which started me reading these books, but still so fascinating. Interesting look into blind culture too.

Tuesday Tomorrow

2012-01-02T00:00:00.065-06:00

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Published by: Feiwel and Friends
Publication Date: January 3rd, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future. "

I've been seeing a lot of postings about this book... should be interesing.

Silver-Tongued Devil by Jaye Wells
Published by: Orbit
Publication Date: January 3rd, 2012
Format: Paperback, 332 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Now that the threat of war has passed, Sabina Kane is ready to focus on the future. Her relationship with Adam Lazarus is getting stronger and she's helping her sister, Maisie, overcome the trauma of her captivity in New Orleans. Even Giguhl is managing to stay out of trouble thanks to the arrival of Pussy Willow and his new roller derby team. But as much as Sabina wants to feel hopeful about the future, part of her doesn't believe that peace is possible.

Her suspicions are confirmed when a string of sadistic murders threatens to stall treaty negotiations between the mages and the vampires. Sabina pitches in to find the killer, but her investigation soon leads her down dark paths that have her questioning everyone she thought she could trust. And the closer she gets to the killer, the more Sabina begins to suspect this is one foe she may not be able to kill."

So many good new releases to ring in the new year! Like this new Sabina Kane!

All That Bleeds by Kimberly Frost
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: January 3rd, 2012
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"As the last heiress of the House of North, Alissa knows that striking up a secret friendship with a half-vampire enforcer is dangerous, but Merrick is a temptation she can't resist. But when Alissa is kidnapped, Merrick proves that he will do anything to protect the woman who tempts him with her very existence."

Brand new book that's not in Frost's popular Southern Witch series, should be interesting to read how she writes other stories.

Affairs of Steak by Julie Hyzy
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: January 3rd, 2012
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"White House chef Olivia Paras and her arch nemesis, White House Sensitivity Director Peter Everett Sargeant, must work together to solve the double murder of one of the First Lady's assistants and the Chief of Staff-before they become the next victims of a merciless assassin with a secret agenda."

One of my mom's favorite series, now I hope she doesn't go out and buy it because she's probably to definitely getting it for her birthday.

Smut by Alan Bennett
Published by: Picador
Publication Date: January 3rd, 2012
Format: Paperback, 160 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"One of England’s finest and most loved writers explores the uncomfortable and tragicomic gap between people’s public appearance and their private desires in two tender and surprising stories.

In The Greening of Mrs. Donaldson, a recently bereaved widow finds interesting ways to supplement her income by performing as a patient for medical students, and renting out her spare room. Quiet, middle-class, and middle-aged, Mrs. Donaldson will soon discover that she rather enjoys role-play at the hospital, and the irregular and startling entertainment provided by her tenants.

In The Shielding of Mrs. Forbes, a disappointed middle-aged mother dotes on her only son, Graham, who believes he must shield her from the truth. As Graham’s double life becomes increasingly complicated, we realize how little he understands, not only of his own desires but also those of his mother.

A master storyteller dissects a very English form of secrecy with two stories of the unexpected in otherwise apparently ordinary lives. "

Alan Bennett is a genius. Don't believe me go read The Umcommon Reader and get back to me.

Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: January 3rd, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Meet car mechanic and coyote shapeshifter Mercy Thompson, star of Patricia Briggs's #1 New York Times bestselling series. Being a lowly "walker" in a world of vampires, werewolves, and fae once kept her safe. But Mercy's bark-and bite-are not so harmless any more...

Though Mercy Thompson can shift her shape into that of a coyote, her loyalty never wavers. So when her former boss and mentor, Zee, asks for her help, she's there for him. A series of murders has rocked a fae reservation, and Zee needs her unique gifts, namely her coyote sense of smell, to sniff out the killer.

But when Zee is accused of murdering the suspect Mercy outed, he's left to rot behind bars by his own kind. Now it's up to Mercy to clear his name, whether he wants her to or not.

Mercy's loyalty is under pressure from other directions, too. Werewolves are not known for their patience, and if Mercy can't decide between the two she cares for, Sam and Adam may make the choice for her..."

After this re-issue of the third Mercy Thompson book in hardcover I'll have all the books in hardcover, which my make-up a little for the fact I have to wait a YEAR for the next Mercy Thompson book. Also, this has the awesome introduction of the magical stick that befriends her!

The Orchid Affair by Lauren Willig
Published by: NAL Trade
Publication Date: January 3rd, 2012
Format: Paperback, 496 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Veteran governess Laura Grey joins the Selwick Spy School expecting to find elaborate disguises and thrilling adventures in service to the spy known as the Pink Carnation. She hardly expects her first assignment to be serving as governess for the children of André Jaouen, right-hand man to Bonaparte's minister of police.

At first the job is as lively as Latin, but Laura begins to notice Jaouen's increasingly strange behavior. As Laura edges closer to her employer, she is surprised to learn that she has much in common with him. And Jaouen finds he's hired more than he's bargained for... "

Sooo good. This was one of my favorite books in Lauren's series, and seeing as how much I love this series, that's truly saying something. Go out and buy it now! I don't care if you already own it in hardcover, don't you need a paperback for everyday use as well? At least that's how I justify it.

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T00:00:00.003-06:00

May it be filled with books and warm laps for cats and all the goodness and wonder that reading can bring!

Tuesday Tomorrow

2011-12-26T00:00:00.046-06:00

The Retribution by Val McDermid
Published by: Atlantic Monthly Press
Publication Date: December 27th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Val McDermid is a world-class crime writer whose books have sold millions worldwide. Now joining the Atlantic Monthly Press list for the first time, she is back with a chilling, high-velocity thriller featuring her immensely popular creations, clinical psychologist Dr. Tony Hill and detective Carol Jordan.

Tony Hill has had a good run. He and detective Carol Jordan have put away scores of dangerous criminals at a rate that colleagues envy. But there is one serial killer who has shaped and defined their careers, and whose evil surpasses all others: Jacko Vance, ex-celebrity and sociopath whose brilliance and utter lack of remorse have never left Tony’s mind in the ten years since his imprisonment. Now Jacko has escaped from prison—even more twisted and cunning than before, he is focused on wreaking revenge on Tony and Carol for his years spent in prison.

Tony and Carol don’t know when Jacko will strike, or where. All they know is that Jacko will cause them to feel fear like they’ve never known. A chilling, utterly gripping tour de force, The Retribution is the ideal introduction or re-introduction to the world of Tony Hill and Carol Jordan. It is an unforgettable read."

How I've been missing Tony Hill! Not having Wire in the Blood anymore is painful, like the torture devised by one of Bradfield's sickest. At least I still have the books even if I don't have Robson Green...

Ghoul Interrupted by Victoria Laurie
Published by: Signet
Publication Date: December 27th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"M.J. Holliday and her crew interrupt the frantic schedule of their reality TV show, Ghoul Getters, and hotfoot it to New Mexico, where a dreadful demon is waging tribal warfare. Same Whitefeather- M.J.'s spirit guide-urgently needs her help to stop this evil spirit from wiping out the descendants of his tribe. It doesn't take a psychic to predict that M.J.'s going to have a devil of a time making New Mexico a demon-free zone."

Yet another new book in the fun and frivolous Ghost Hunter series!

Knit One, Pearl One by Gil McNeil
Published by: Voice
Publication Date: December 27th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this follow-up to Needles and Pearls, McNeil returns to Jo Mackenzie’s lively knitting store in Broadgate, England. Now a mother to three children (Archie, Jack, and toddler Pearl) with different fathers, Jo is pursuing a romancewith a local carpenter, Martin, but also carrying secrets: local superstar Grace is pregnant and Jo isn’t sure about her feelings for Martin. When Pearl’s father—dashing photographer Daniel—reappears, Jo allows herself and the kids to be whisked away on a vacation, and must decide what she really wants out of her relationships with each man. Readers curious about Jo’s antics since the last installment of the Beach Street series will find that McNeil hits the ground running. However, the ground merely focuses on the harried world of single parenthood and owning a business. The plot proceeds slowly, and little changes for Jo or the other characters. Readers who already have a relationship with the characters might not mind; new readers may feel underwhelmed. "

I've only recently picked up the first book in this series... but it looks like it might be a fun series for those of us who like to knit.

Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by The Countess of Carnarvon
Published by: Braodway
Publication Date: December 27th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Lady Fiona Carnarvon became the chatelaine of Highclere Castle - the setting of the hit series Downton Abbey - eight years ago. In that time she's become fascinated by the rich history of Highclere, and by the extraordinary people who lived there over the centuries.

One person particularly captured Fiona's imagination - Lady Almina, the 5th Countess of Carnarvon.

Almina was the illegitimate daughter of banking tycoon Alfred de Rothschild. She was his only daughter and he doted on her. She married the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, at 19, with an enormous dowry.

At first, life at Highclere was a dizzying mix of sumptuous banquets for 500 and even the occasional royal visitor. Almina oversaw 80 members of staff - many of whom came from families who had worked at Highclere for generations.

But when the First World War broke out, life at Highclere changed forever.

History intervened and Almina and the staff of Highclere were thrown into one of the most turbulent times of the last century. Almina was forced to draw on her deepest reserves of courage in order to ensure her family, the staff and the castle survived.

This is the remarkable story of a lost time. But Highclere remains and in this book, Fiona weaves Almina's journey and those of her family into the heritage and history of one of England's most exquisite Victorian castles."

Can't get enough Downton Abbey is what I say! Yeah Downton! Yeah Carnarvons! Yeah!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T00:00:00.001-06:00

Give me your love, on this Christmas Day.

Give me your thoughts when the chimes are ringing.
Send me the happier along my way,
Deep in my soul let your words be singing.

Give me your wishes, as bells sound clear,
Charming the air with their golden measure.
Give me your hopes for the unborn year,
Fill up my heart with a secret treasure.

Give me the things that you long to say,
All of your tenderest dreams unfetter.
Give me your love, on this Christmas Day -
But, come across, please, when times get better.

Dorothy Parker, Christmas 1921,
from Not Much Fun: The Lost Poems of Dorothy Parker

Book Review - J.J. Murphy's Hair of the Dog

2011-12-23T00:00:00.000-06:00

Hair of the Dog: Algonquin Round Table Mystery by J.J. Murphy
Published by: Amazon
Publication Date: May 17th, 2011
Format: Kindle
Challenge: Mystery and Suspense 2011
Rating: ★★★
To Buy
Dorothy Parker just wants a quiet lunch, but the dining room at the Algonquin is anything but. There's a big brouhaha over some missing meat. With the owner steaming mad he points the finger at the likely suspects, the waiter, or Dorothy's dog. One being in the vicinity when the veal was purloined, the other being a dog. But in this day and age with liquor being illegal not slacking the thirst, there's more fluidity to crime and punishment. There's a give and a take. There's a barter system that might just be what's at work. This quick little story was not nearly enough to slack my thirst for this new series. Hair of the Dog was a quick little read that offered yet another glimpse into the bygone era Dorthy Parker lived in. Here instead of the publishing world we see more the lower classes and how, even in the darkest of times, there are ways to have a grand celebration, if you are willing to turn a blind eye.

Book Review - J.J. Murphy's Murder Your Darlings

2011-12-21T00:00:00.001-06:00

Murder Your Darlings: Algonquin Round Table Mystery by J.J. Murphy
Published by: Signet
Publication Date: January 4th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
Challenge: Mystery and Suspense 2011
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy
"In all reverence I say Heaven bless the Who-dunit, the soothing balm on the wound, the cooling hand on the brow, the opiate of the people." - Dorthy Parker

Dorthy Parker may be at the center of a vicious circle of writers in New York, in fact, THE Vicious Circle... that still doesn't mean that any of them are responsible for the appearance of a corpse under their celebrated round table at the Algonquin. But, as any good writer knows, that doesn't eliminate them from the suspect pool. The fact that the corpse is a reviewer that one or more of them has wished dead doesn't help matters. Once the press gets a hold of the story and starts to sensationalize the scenario, things are libel to get out of hand. Dorthy and her fellow writer, Robert Benchley, decide to solve the case on their own without the cops, who seem to be questioning all the wrong people. Not to mention the cops seem obsessed with the young wannabe writer Billy Faulkner, who Dorothy just knows couldn't have done it. She must make sure that Billy is safe and not prime suspect number one! With her dog's lead in one hand, a cup of tea filled with anything but in the other, and a heart longing for the married Benchley, Dorothy will solve this crime if she has to go to every illegal gin joint, speakeasy and bad play that stands in her way.

The unwieldy cast coupled with the plethora of puns does take awhile to adjust to. But once you grasp who everyone is and what they're notorious for, the story fully captures you. I wouldn't say that it's one of those books you just start and plow through cover to cover, with it's wonderfully short chapters and it's witty dialogue, it's a book you can pick up and set down like a nice snack. You get a little bit of refreshment and go on with your day, mulling over the wonderful little world you've been reading about. It's a nice leisurely stroll to the conclusion, which, when reached, makes you wish that you had a few more hours to bask in the time period. I was left with a happy glow that I still look back on fondly and look forward to having again when the next book comes out. Perhaps this time a who's who and maybe a map would improve the reading experience. Or little bios of everyone... because this wonderful world is made that much more interesting when you know the history. Thanks Wikipedia!

Tuesday Tomorrow

2011-12-19T00:00:00.023-06:00

Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder
Published by: Mira
Publication Date: December 20th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Laying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan assumes their wounds and diseases into herself. But rather than being honored for her skills, she is hunted. Healers like Avry are accused of spreading the plague that has decimated the Territories, leaving the survivors in a state of chaos.

Stressed and tired from hiding, Avry is abducted by a band of rogues who, shockingly, value her gift above the golden bounty offered for her capture. Their leader, an enigmatic captor-protector with powers of his own, is unequivocal in his demands: Avry must heal a plague-stricken prince—leader of a campaign against her people. As they traverse the daunting Nine Mountains, beset by mercenaries and magical dangers, Avry must decide who is worth healing and what is worth dying for. Because the price of peace may well be her life...."

The first in a new series by Maria V. Snyder, who has perviously had the succesful Magic Studies series, as well as the Glass series.

Arrested Development and Philosophy
Published by: Wiley
Publication Date: December 20th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A smart philosophical look at the cult hit television show, Arrested Development
Arrested Development earned six Emmy awards, a Golden Globe award, critical acclaim, and a loyal cult following—and then it was canceled. Fortunately, this book steps into the void left by the show's premature demise by exploring the fascinating philosophical issues at the heart of the quirky Bluths and their comic exploits. Whether it's reflecting on Gob's self-deception or digging into Tobias's double entendres, you'll watch your favorite scenes and episodes of the show in a whole new way.

Takes an entertaining look at the philosophical ideas and tensions in the show's plots and themes
Gives you new insights about the Bluth family and other characters: Is George Michael's crush on his cousin unnatural? Is it immoral for Lindsay to lie about stealing clothes to hide the fact that she has a job? Are the pictures really of bunkers or balls?
Lets you sound super-smart as you rattle off the names of great philosophers like Sartre and Aristotle to explain key characters and episodes of the show. Packed with thought-provoking insights, Arrested Development and Philosophy is essential reading for anyone who wants to know more about their late, lamented TV show. And it'll keep you entertained until the long-awaited Arrested Development movie finally comes out. (Whenever that is.)"

If this was written just to cash in on the news of the new series or movie or just to celebrate the awesomest of tv shows, who cares? It's Arrested Development!

The Algonquin Who's Who: Not the Main Two

2011-12-16T00:00:00.003-06:00

January 19 15, 1887-January 23, 1943

Bio:
Drama critic for the New York Times and New York World and commentator for The New Yorker magazine, CBS radio star as the Town Crier, model for the character of Sheridan Whiteside in Kaufman and Hart’s "The Man Who Came to Dinner" and for the far less likable character Waldo Lydecker in the 1944 film Laura. He claimed to be the inspiration for Rex Stout's brilliant detective Nero Wolfe, but Stout, although he was friendly to Woollcott, said there was nothing to that idea.

November 23, 1888-September 28, 1964

Bio:
An American comedian, musician, card player and film star. He was the second oldest of the Marx Brothers. His comic style was influenced by clown and pantomime traditions. He wore a curly reddish wig, and never spoke during performances (he blew a horn or whistled to communicate). Marx frequently used props such as a walking stick with a built-in bulb horn, and he played the harp in most of his films.

November 15, 1881-March 23, 1960

Bio:
Columnist at the New York Tribune, the New York World, and the New York Evening Post; wrote the "Always in Good Humor" and "The Conning Tower" columns. Always known by his initials FPA and his wit. A prolific writer of light verse.

December 7, 1888-December 18, 1939

Bio:
American journalist. He worked as a sportswriter, newspaper columnist, and editor in New York City for such papers and the New York Tribune and New York World. He founded the American Newspaper Guild, now known as The Newspaper Guild. He is best remembered for his writing on social issues and his championing of the underdog. He believed that journalists could help right wrongs, especially social ills.

December 13, 1890-December 21, 1980

Bio:
Newspaperman turned playwright, director, producer, performer, and lyricist; co wrote plays with George S. Kaufman. Won Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1930 for the play The Green Pastures.

1887-September 18, 1934

Bio:
Broadway press agent and a freelance writer who worked for women's rights in New York City, USA, during the era before and after World War I and helped pass Nineteenth Amendment for women’s rights, married Heywood Broun. Hale's cause led her to fight for women to be able to legally preserve their maiden name after marriage. She challenged in the courts any government edict that would not recognize a married woman by the name she chose to use.

November 16, 1889-June 2, 1961

Bio:
Playwright, New York Times drama editor, drama critic, producer, director, actor and humorist. In addition to comedies and political satire, he wrote several musicals, notably for the Marx Brothers. One play and one musical that he wrote won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama: You Can't Take It With You (1937, with Moss Hart), and Of Thee I Sing (1932, with Morrie Ryskind and Ira Gershwin). He also won the Tony Award as a Director, for the musical Guys and Dolls. Wrote forty-five plays (twenty-six hits).

November 6, 1892-December 6, 1951

Bio:
Founded The New Yorker with his wife, Jane Grant, which he edited from the magazine's inception in 1925 to his death. In World War I, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Eighteenth Engineers Railway Regiment. In France, he edited the regimental journal and went to Paris to work for the Stars and Stripes, serving from February 1918 to April 1919. On the Stars and Stripes, he met Alexander Woollcott, Cyrus Baldridge, Franklin Pierce Adams, and Jane Grant.

April 4, 1896-November 4, 1955

Bio:
Vanity Fair drama editor, Life editor, author, playwright who won four Pulitzer Prizes. Won Oscar for writing The Best Years of Our Lives.

August 15, 1885-April 16, 1968

Bio:
An American novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her novels were especially popular and included the Pulitzer Prize-winning So Big (1924), Show Boat (1926; made into the celebrated 1927 musical), and Giant (1952; made into the 1956 Hollywood movie). Cowrote plays with George S. Kaufman, including Dinner at Eight. Ferber and another member of the Round Table, Alexander Woollcott, were long-time enemies, their antipathy lasting until Woollcott's death in 1943. In July 1904, Edna Ferber encountered Harry Houdini in a drugstore on College Avenue. Ferber, just 19 years old, was the first female reporter for the Appleton Crescent. She took the occasion to interview the famous entertainer, and her account of the meeting was published in the Crescent on July 23, 1904.

Side note, people from Wisconsin rock, not that I'm biased or anything...

January 24, 1888-May 12th, 1949

Bio:
Popular magazine cover illustrator, painter. From 1923 through 1937, McMein created all of McCall's covers. She also supplied work to McClure's, Liberty, Woman's Home Companion, Collier's, Photoplay, and other magazines. She created advertising graphics for such accounts as Palmolive soap and Lucky Strike cigarettes. General Mills's Marjorie C. Husted commissioned her to create the image of "Betty Crocker", a fictional housewife whose brand name was intended to be a seal of solid middle-class domestic values.

In each of J.J. Murphy's Algonquin Round Table Mysteries we have had a literary icon or popular culture icon of the day stop by to either help with the sleuthing, or be a suspect in the crime. Here's who's popped by so far... who knows which literary lion will be next?

September 25, 1897-July 6, 1962

Bio:
An American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career. He is primarily known and acclaimed for his novels and short stories, many of which are set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, a setting Faulkner created based on Lafayette County, where he spent most of his childhood.

Faulkner is considered one of the most important writers of the Southern literature of the United States. Though his work was published as early as 1919, and largely during the 1920s and 1930s, Faulkner was relatively unknown until receiving the 1949 Nobel Prize in Literature.Two of his works, A Fable (1954) and his last novel The Reivers (1962), both won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

In Murder Your Darlings:
William Faulkner visits New York City as an unknown writer to stumble upon a murder and the Vicious Circle, becoming a suspect, whom Dorothy just wants to protect. Interestingly, "Billy" did indeed visit New York City as an unknown writer in the early 1920s- although there is no reason to believe he met anyone from the Round Table at this time, or that he was a suspect in a murder. He finally met Dorothy and the other member of the Round Table in 1930 when the table was coming to an end and he was a great literary success... and Dottie did feel a need to mother him.

March 24, 1874-October 31, 1926

Bio:
Born Erik Weisz, later Ehrich Weiss, a.k.a. Harry Weiss was a Hungarian-born American magician and escapologist, stunt performer, actor and film producer noted for his sensational escape acts. He was also a skeptic who set out to expose frauds purporting to be supernatural phenomena which led to a falling out with Arthur Conan Doyle.

In You Might as Well Die: Houdini's show at the Hippodrome is reviewed by Dorothy for Vanity Fair, but she also lures Houdini into the mystery of Ernie MacGuffin's death with the promise to expose some fraudulent spiritualists. While it's unknown if they actually met, he did have a long run of shows opposite the Algonquin when Dorothy was living there, as for the spiritualists, he'd take ever chance he could to catch them in fraudulent activity.

May 22, 1859-July 7, 1930

Bio:
A Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger. He was a prolific writer whose other works include science fiction stories, plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, historical novels and humours.

Following the death of his wife Louisa in 1906, the death of his son Kingsley just before the end of World War I, Conan Doyle sank into depression. He found solace supporting spiritualism and its attempts to find proof of existence beyond the grave. Doyle's book The Coming of the Fairies (1921) shows he was apparently convinced of the veracity of the five Cottingley Fairies photographs (which decades later were exposed as a hoax). He reproduced them in the book, together with theories about the nature and existence of fairies and spirits.

Conan Doyle was friends for a time with Harry Houdini, the American magician who himself became a prominent opponent of the Spiritualist movement in the 1920s following the death of his beloved mother. Although Houdini insisted that Spiritualist mediums employed trickery (and consistently exposed them as frauds), Conan Doyle became convinced that Houdini himself possessed supernatural powers—a view expressed in Conan Doyle's The Edge of the Unknown. Houdini was apparently unable to convince Conan Doyle that his feats were simply illusions, leading to a bitter public falling out between the two.

In A Friendly Game of Murder:
We'll just have to wait and see!

The Algonquin Who's Who

2011-12-14T00:00:00.011-06:00

August 22, 1893-June 7, 1967

Short Bio:
Vanity Fair drama critic, New Yorker critic. Celebrated poet, short-story writer, playwright. Wrote Hollywood screenplays. Champion for social justice.

Longer Bio:
Dorothy Parker—one of the 20th century's most clever, caustic, witty writers—held her own as one of the few women at a table of (almost) equally smart and wisecracking men.

She married stockbroker Edwin Parker when she was in her early 20s. But he was sent immediately to Europe in World War I. By the time he came back, they had grown apart, and Dorothy's career had taken off. As a member of the Algonquin Round Table, she became famous as much for her biting remarks as for her brilliant writing.

A prolific poet and critic, Dorothy published more than 300 poems in the 1920s. The collection of her writing, The Portable Dorothy Parker, has never gone out of print.

In the 1920s and afterward, Dorothy Parker contributed to The New Yorker and Esquire, and even earned two Academy Award screenplay nominations. She took up pet political causes—and numerous pets—and eventually bequeathed her literary estate to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. After his assassination, her estate passed to the NAACP. For her tombstone epitaph, she suggested “Excuse My Dust.”

September 15, 1889-November 21, 1945

Short Bio:Vanity Fair managing editor, Life drama editor, humorist and actor in short films.

Longer Bio:
Robert Charles Benchley was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor. From his beginnings at the Harvard Lampoon while attending Harvard University, through his many years writing essays and articles for Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, and his acclaimed short films, Benchley's style of humor brought him respect and success during his life, from New York City and his peers at the Algonquin Round Table to contemporaries in the burgeoning film industry.

Benchley is best remembered for his contributions to The New Yorker, where his essays, whether topical or absurdist, influenced many modern humorists. He also made a name for himself in Hollywood, when his short film How to Sleep was a popular success and won Best Short Subject at the 1935 Academy Awards, and his many memorable appearances in films such as Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent and a dramatic turn in Nice Girl?. His legacy includes written work and numerous short film appearances.

Where they ever really an item? Parker was unhappily married, while Benchley was married, whether unhappily or not is unknown. While J.J. Murphy hints at Parker's feelings for Benchley, and rumors have run for years that they had an affair that might have resulted in one of Parker's pregnancies, nothing can be said for sure. As J.J. says in the afterward of Murder Your Darlings: "Although much is known about these famous figures in the public eye, we can only speculate about some aspects of their private lives. Nevertheless, by all accounts, Robert Benchley and Dorothy Parker did not have a romantic relationship, though their close friendship is legendary." So why have an unrequited love story? The feeling of Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday? Because it's fiction and we love it! As Parker herself said: " I don’t care what is written about me so long as it isn’t true."

Tuesday Tomorrow

2011-12-12T00:00:00.025-06:00

The Leopard by Jo Nesbo
Published by: Knopf
Publication Date: December 13th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 528 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
" “With Henning Mankell having written his last Wallander novel and Stieg Larsson no longer with us, I have had to make the decision on whom to confer the title of best current Nordic writer of crime fiction . . . Jo Nesbø wins.”
Two young women are found murdered in Oslo, both drowned in their own blood. Media coverage quickly reaches fever pitch: Could this be the work of a serial killer?

The crime scenes offer no coherent clues, the police investigation is stalled, and the one man who might be able to help doesn’t want to be found. Traumatized by his last case, Inspector Harry Hole has lost himself in the squalor of Hong Kong’s opium dens. Yet when he is compelled, at last, to return to Norway—his father is dying—Harry’s buried instincts begin to take over. After a female MP is discovered brutally murdered, nothing can keep him from the investigation.

There is little to go on: a piece of rope, a scrap of wool, a bit of gravel, an unexpected connection between the victims. And Harry will soon come to understand that he is dealing with a psychopath for whom “insanity is a vital retreat,” someone who will put him to the test—in both his professional and personal lives—as never before.

Ruthlessly intelligent and suspenseful, The Leopard is Jo Nesbø’s most electrifying novel yet—absolutely gripping from first to last."

Need for some Scandinavian mystery? Look no further. My mom loves these, and she's a mystery guru.

Angel The End
Published by: IDW
Publication Date: December 13th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"This is the end, beautiful friend! After years of fighting to protect his friends and the citizens of Los Angeles from the demonic hordes which populate this and other dimensions, Angel must say goodbye. Elaborate plans and selfless acts have come and gone, and now IDW presents the hardcover collection of Angel''s final three volumes: Immortality for Dummies, The Crown Prince Syndrom, and The Wolf, The Ram, and The Heart into one glorious collection, including the never-before-collected Angel Yearbook."

Kind of sad that this is the end of IDW's Angel. Yeah, I know Angel is going over to Dark Horse, but IDW did such a wonderful job with Angel season 6, while Dark Horse did such a shit job with Buffy season 8... at least the new Faith and Angel series is off to a good start, I don't want them destroying any more of my favorite shows!

The Round Table

2011-12-09T00:00:00.002-06:00

"The price of admission is a serpent's tongue and a half-concealed stiletto."

The Algonquin Round Table was a celebrated group of New York City writers, critics, actors and wits. Gathering initially as part of a practical joke aimed at ribbing Alexander Woollcott, his enjoyment of the joke and the success of the event prompted the group in attendance to meet at the Algonquin each day for lunch. The members of "The Vicious Circle", as they dubbed themselves, met for lunch each day at the Algonquin Hotel from 1919 until roughly 1929. At these luncheons they engaged in wisecracks, wordplay and witticisms that, through the newspaper columns of Round Table members, were disseminated across the country.

In its ten years of association, the Round Table and a number of its members acquired national reputations both for their contributions to literature and for their sparkling wit. Although some of their contemporaries, and later in life even some of its members, disparaged the group, its reputation has endured long after its dissolution.

The group first gathered in the Algonquin's Pergola Room (now called The Oak Room) at a long rectangular table. As they increased in number, Algonquin manager Frank Case moved them to the Rose Room and a round table. Initially the group called itself "The Board" and the luncheons "Board meetings." After being assigned a waiter named Luigi, the group re-christened itself "Luigi Board." Finally they became "The Vicious Circle" although "The Round Table" gained wide currency after cartoonist Edmund Duffy of the Brooklyn Eagle caricatured the group sitting at a round table and wearing armor.

How I Met Dorothy Parker Guest Post by J.J. Murphy

2011-12-07T00:00:00.002-06:00

It seems like I’ve known Dorothy Parker all my life, much the same way you seem to have always known, say, the taste of lemonade. You don’t remember when you first tried that bittersweet drink, you’ve just always known what it tastes like.

Dorothy Parker, as you may know, was equally bittersweet. A writer and poet who came to fame in the Roaring 20s in New York, she was as well known for her clever wisecracks as for her writing. Mrs. Parker was a charter member of the Algonquin Round Table, which was a group of like-minded writers, editors and critics who met daily for lunch at the Algonquin Hotel. The group became famous for their funny quips and insults, so much so that the hotel manager installed a round table placed at “center stage” of the hotel’s restaurant, as a draw for more patrons.

Okay, so I’ve never met Dorothy Parker in person—she died shortly before I was born—but I got to know her and her witty sayings when I was a child. And I’ve been bumping into her ever since.

I first heard Mrs. Parker’s most famous line when I was in elementary school. A teacher said to a bespectacled schoolgirl, “Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses.” The teacher was speaking in an ironic and empowering way (at least I certainly hope so). But then again, I don’t recall any boy making a pass at her.

As I got older, my uncle from New York introduced me to the other members of the Algonquin Round Table, with such phrases as Robert Benchley’s line, “Let’s get you out of those wet clothes and into a dry martini.”

It wasn’t until college that I was officially initiated into Mrs. Parker’s poetry and short stories. You may be familiar with “Big Blonde,” an award-winning short story that shows Mrs. Parker’s talents extended beyond clever quips. Later, I got to know her drama and book criticism: “This is not a book to be tossed aside lightly; it should be thrown with great force,” and “Dashiell Hammett is as American as a sawed-off shotgun.”

But her one piece that has stuck with me was just a short little thing, like the lady herself, but with a powerful kick. It’s “Résumé,” which is a brief list of ways to commit suicide and how they all come up short: “...Gas smells awful / Nooses give / Guns aren’t lawful / You might as well live.”

Tuesday Tomorrow

2011-12-05T00:00:00.088-06:00

Death Comes to Pemberly by P.D. James
Published by: Knopf
Publication Date: December 6th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A rare meeting of literary genius: P. D. James, long among the most admired mystery writers of our time, draws the characters of Jane Austen’s beloved novel Pride and Prejudice into a tale of murder and emotional mayhem.

It is 1803, six years since Elizabeth and Darcy embarked on their life together at Pemberley, Darcy’s magnificent estate. Their peaceful, orderly world seems almost unassailable. Elizabeth has found her footing as the chatelaine of the great house. They have two fine sons, Fitzwilliam and Charles. Elizabeth’s sister Jane and her husband, Bingley, live nearby; her father visits often; there is optimistic talk about the prospects of marriage for Darcy’s sister Georgiana. And preparations are under way for their much-anticipated annual autumn ball.

Then, on the eve of the ball, the patrician idyll is shattered. A coach careens up the drive carrying Lydia, Elizabeth’s disgraced sister, who with her husband, the very dubious Wickham, has been banned from Pemberley. She stumbles out of the carriage, hysterical, shrieking that Wickham has been murdered. With shocking suddenness, Pemberley is plunged into a frightening mystery.

Inspired by a lifelong passion for Austen, P. D. James masterfully re-creates the world of Pride and Prejudice, electrifying it with the excitement and suspense of a brilliantly crafted crime story, as only she can write it."

The queen of crime writing a Jane Austen murder, I bet everyone is over the freakin' moon about this one!

The Forgotten Affairs of Youth by Alexander McCall Smith
Published by: Pantheon
Publication Date: December 6th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this latest installment of the beloved Isabel Dalhousie series, our inquisitive heroine helps a new friend discover the identity of her father.

Isabel and her fiancé know who they are and where they come from. But not everybody is so fortunate. Jane Cooper, a visiting Australian philosopher on sabbatical in Edinburgh, has more questions than answers. Adopted at birth, Jane is trying to find her biological father, but all she knows about him is that he was a student in Edinburgh years ago. When she asks for Isabel’s help in this seemingly impossible search . . . well, of course Isabel obliges.

But Isabel also manages to find time for her own concerns: her young son, Charlie, already walking and talking; her housekeeper, Grace, whose spiritualist has lately been doubling as a financial advisor; her niece Cat’s latest relationship; and the pressing question of when and how Isabel and Jamie should finally get married.

Should the forgotten affairs of youth be left in the past, or can the memories help us understand the present? In her inimitable way, Isabel leads us to a new understanding of the meaning of family."

Yeah for new Alexander McCall Smith... though one must wonder, how does one man write so much and of such a high quality?

The Villa of Death by Joanna Challis
Published by: Minotaur
Publication Date: December 6th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Young Daphne du Maurier must defend of a friend who has been accused of murder in this next installment in the beguiling mystery series that readers of Rebecca will love.

t's the summer of 1927, and young Daphne du Maurier has traveled to Thornleigh Manor to attend the wedding of her good friend, Ellen, who is set to marry her beau, Teddy. Having met in the midst of the chaos and calamity of wartime, the lovers were brutally separated years before by family objections, but have since reunited. But when Teddy is found murdered just after the wedding, and Ellen is accused of the crime, Daphne and the dashing Major Browning must uncover the truth before all is lost."

The newest in Challis' series about a young Daphne Du Maurier. Also, the newest in the trend to have real life mystery writers be involved in murders, which is an interesting sub-genre. Look at the Upson Tey books.

Foul Play at Four by Steve Heller and Louise Fili
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: December 6th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
" "New in the series that's "a must for British cozy fans"
Lois Meade has worked through all the days of the week, turning up clues and scrubbing up messes and murderers in the village of Long Farnden. But sleuthing is rarely a spotless endeavor...

A series of robberies have begun to plague Long Farnden, and Lois's own daughter, Josie, is shaken when a thief makes off with a hundred pounds from the till in her grocery shop. But before her policeman fiancé can crack the case, someone cracks Lois's husband on the head when he interrupts a burglary in progress. Now Lois-and the besotted Inspector Cowgill-must determine who's cleaning out Long Farnden, and clean up after an increasingly violent crime spree..."

The newest in one of my mom's favorite series, that I should say isn't written by M.C. Beaton. She love sher M.C. Beaton.

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication Date: December 6th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 528 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street—and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa’s powers for his own dark ends.

With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister’s war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move—and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, though her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will—the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?

As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart."

More Clare, more steampunk, go enjoy!

You Might As Well Die by J.J. Murphy
Published by: Allworth Press
Publication Date: December 6th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 212 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When second-rate illustrator Ernie MacGuffin's artistic works triple in value following his apparent suicide off the Brooklyn Bridge, Dorothy Parker smells something fishy. Enlisting the help of magician and skeptic Harry Houdini, she goes to a séance held by MacGuffin's mistress, where Ernie's ghostly voice seems hauntingly real..."

I've really been looking forward to this book. I mean really really! Plus, it's kind of what this month is about....

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
Published by: Everyman's Library
Publication Date: December 6th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 1144 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The only hardcover omnibus of the best-selling and award-winning fantasy trilogy, in a Contemporary Classics edition.

Philip Pullman's trilogy is a masterpiece that transcends genre and appeals to readers of all ages. His heroine, Lyra, is an orphan living in a parallel universe in which science, theology, and magic are entwined. The epic story that takes us through the three novels is not only a spellbinding adventure featuring armored polar bears, magical devices, witches, and daemons, it is also an audacious and profound reimagining of Milton's Paradise Lost that has already inspired a number of serious books of literary criticism. Like J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis before him, Pullman has invented a richly detailed and marvelously imagined world, complex and thought-provoking enough to enthrall adults as well as younger readers. An utterly entrancing blend of metaphysical speculation and bravura storytelling, His Dark Materials is a monumental and enduring achievement."

Beautiful new omnibus, which I don't really need... who am I kidding, I'll be getting it anyway.

The World of Downton Abbey by Jessica Fellowes
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: December 6th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A lavish look at the real world--both the secret history and the behind-the-scenes drama--of the spellbinding Emmy Award-winning Masterpiece TV series Downton Abbey

April 1912. The sun is rising behind Downton Abbey, a great and splendid house in a great and splendid park. So secure does it appear that it seems as if the way it represents will last for another thousand years. It won't.

Millions of American viewers were enthralled by the world of Downton Abbey, the mesmerizing TV drama of the aristocratic Crawley family--and their servants--on the verge of dramatic change. On the eve of Season 2 of the TV presentation, this gorgeous book--illustrated with sketches and research from the production team, as well as on-set photographs from both seasons--takes us even deeper into that world, with fresh insights into the story and characters as well as the social history."

Downton! I must know all there is to know! I want to live there and meet the people, yes I know they're not real.... oh my, I think I'm in Downton withdrawl. Do they have drugs to help this, or do I just need to watch it over and over again?

The Tiny Book fo Tiny Stories by Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Published by: It Books
Publication Date: December 6th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 88 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"HitRECord’s collaborative coalition of artists and writers are making history with The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories: Volume 1, a collection of innovative crowd-sourced creative projects that pushes the limits of originality, cooperation, imagination, and inspiration. HitRECord, a grassroots creative collective founded by actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, known worldwide for his performances in (500) Days of Summer and Inception, is a forum where thousands of artists worldwide share work and contribute to their peers’ projects in writing, music, videos, illustration, and beyond. Alongside Dean Haspiel’s ACT-I-VATE, a groundbreaking comics collective, and the photographer JR’s Inside Out Project, hitRECord is a haven for budding creatives. Now, the collective has edited together its most promising stories and illustrations to serve as its face in introducing the world to a new generation of talent, in The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories."

Don't care what it is, Tommy from 3rd Rock has written a book! Yes, he will always be Tommy to me.

Indy and Dottie

2011-12-02T00:00:00.000-06:00

My first introduction to Dorothy Parker might not be what you expect. You probably picture my house growing up as jammed with books and me one day stumbling upon The Portable Dorothy Parker and that, as they say, was history. That would be an entirely fictitious history, one that Dorothy herself would probably like, she did after all say "I don't care what is written about me so long as it isn't true." The "truth" of it was, there where shelves and shelves of books, though Dorothy wasn't on them, and I viewed the shelves mainly as the stuff that was behind the tv. Yes that's right, I was not a bookworm as a child. I had a few books I loved and didn't really branch out till after high school, otherwise known as, the time when I got to pick what I wanted to read and wasn't assigned horrid and asinine books, My Brother Sam is Dead anyone?

One of my favorite shows was The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. Ah, Sean Patrick Flannery, you are a god, and will always have a special place in my heart. I squealed like a little fangirl when I got to meet you this summer (luckily not to your face) and had so much fun talking about the show, I did after all bring my original Young Indiana Jones Chronicles fanclub magazine that I ordered through Scholastic, yes I am that dorky. Ironically this show, without me knowing it I might add, did what George Lucas set out to do, teach kids about history through the life of Indiana Jones. While I was more into the romantic travails of Indy fending off a young Ernest Hemingway, the Spanish Civil War wormed it's way into my brain. Pancho Villa worked his way in while I was admiring Indy's horsemanship. Damn that boy can ride! It was a silly episode though about Indy trying to balance three very different women, for the sake of humor, one a blond, one a brunette, and one a redhead, that caught my eye. It wasn't the goofy storyline, obviously he should be with the brunette, she was smart and streetwise and surprisingly Anne Heche, it was the literary world that caught me. Of course the members of the Algonquin Round Table did straddle different worlds and often had people in the arts and theatre other than just writers, it was the writers that Indy meets one day that transfixed me.

The whole table was there, from Benchley and Parker to Woollcott and Ferber. Woollcott and Parker actually go with Anne Heche's character to the Broadway musical Indy has been stage managing wherein Hemingway gets upset that Woollcott won't be quiet. What struck me rewatching the episode (yes, cause I'm that kind of person who won't let the opportunity to rewatch Sean Patrick Flannery pass me by) was that they really did capture the essence of the table. The biting humor along with the camaraderie. Benchley with his arm around Mrs. Parker's chair. The other tablemates telling Indy exactly how the press works. Indy being accepted as one of their own because he makes a biting comment about the scarcity of an Alexander Woollcott first addition saying that a second edition would be even rarer. A book to which they use Dorothy's famous quote, "This is not a book to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown aside with great force." Even if that was about another book entirely... I wanted to be in that room! I wanted to be at that table! One can dream...

I leave you with the finale of that episode.

Dorothy December

2011-12-01T00:00:00.001-06:00

Dorothy Parker is one of the most quotable writers of her day. Her sparkling, and often snarky wit is as fresh today as it was in the 1920s. She is the symbol of her age, the literary "New Yorkers" with intelligence to burn, often burning off many a brain cell at a speakeasy. The literati of the day, when those who wrote the news also made the news. I would give anything to go back to a time when writers where king and not reality television stars and D-list celebrities. When wit and intelligence where prized and not viewed as something odd.

Luckily I found the next best thing to time travel: a new series of books! If there's a better way of getting lost in a time period other than the written word I can't think of it. The world comes alive in your mind. The clothes and the people, long since gone are brought back to us. This of course can be problematic when you then have to face the "real world," but luckily a book will be waiting for you once you're done with the inconvenience of reality. Back in January while perusing the upcoming book lists of new releases, my eye spied a book about Dorothy Parker and the members of the vicious circle, ie, her writing and lunchtime cronies, Murder Your Darlings. This book intrigued me. Dorothy Parker as a kind of lackadaisical and witty crime fighter by accident. With one of those rare instances when I finally read the book it lived up to my expectations. A fun little romp round New York. More of the cosy genre of mysteries, nothing too dark or too gory. A book that makes you feel all warm and content inside, like a cat has taken up residence in you.

Since that day I have been waiting for the follow up book, You Might as Well Die, because the little story, Hair of the Dog, for my e-reader was not enough to whet my appetite. As the days I had to wait grew shorter and shorter a wonderful thing happened. One day I was checking my email and who should have dropped me a line but J.J. Murphy! The writer! Any time a writer contacts me it's a trill with a frisson of excitement. But here was an author not just asking me if I'd like to read the new book (a few weeks early!) but have a giveaway and a Q and A and guest posts and what have you! I don't think I could be more thrilled, unless of course Dorothy Parker herself somehow wrote a guest post from beyond the grave... so I obviously said to J.J., have my blog! Just take it over for December. And thus, Dorothy December was born. I'll have reviews and a giveaway (cough, look below, cough) and little guides to the members of the round table, the witty one, not the one with swords. I'll hope you'll take some time during this holiday season to sit back and get cozy with me and J.J.

Prize: A signed copy of the new book, You Might as Well Die, direct from the author, and if that alone isn't enough, an Algonquin Round Table Mysteries coffee mug, perfect for those cold December days.

The Rules:
1. Open to EVERYONE, just because you haven't been following me all along doesn't mean you don't matter, you just get more entries if you prove you love me by following.
2. Please make sure I have a way to contact you if your name is drawn, either your blogger profile or a link to your website/blog or you could even include your email address with your comment(s).
3. Contest ends Saturday, December 31st at 11:59PM CST
4. How to enter:

Answer me this: Which round table would you rather visit? Arthur's (as in the King) or Dorothy's?

5. And for those addicted to getting extra entries:

+1 for answering the question above
+2 for becoming a follower
+10 if you are already a follower
+10 for each time you advertise this contest - blog post, sidebar, twitter (please @MzLizard), etc. (but you only get credit for the first post, so tweet all you like, and I thank you for it, but you'll only get the +10 once). Also please leave a link!
+25 if you comment on any of the posts this month, with something other than "I hope I win" or a variation thereof.

Goodbye to Oz

2011-11-30T00:00:00.001-06:00

While it's true the month of November is drawing to a close, as months are wont to do, that doesn't mean that Oz is going away! Oz has become part of our collective consciousness. Just the other day I recommended the name Dorothy to a friend for her upcoming baby and she said it was too "Ozzy" (meaning wizard of, not bat biting Osbourne). Over a hundred years later and that name still brings up images of tornadoes and checked gingham. We might not be able to physically get there, but just by opening the pages of a book we will be instantly transported, without the need of a cyclone, typhoon, earthquake or magical accessory. If you've been reading the reviews I've posted, you'll probably notice I'm rather harsh on the failings of the main characters and sometimes the repetition of the plots. The thing is though, while Oz has failings, they do not take away from what has been created here.

Oz is some of the most magical worldbuilding you'll ever read. Baum created a magical fairyland that has spanned centuries! He started writing this books during the reign of Queen Victoria, and to this day we have new adaptations, new books, new satires, all because this world he created is so loved. The few reviews I've written only span about half of the Oz books Baum himself wrote, having written fourteen books and a series of short stories all about that wonderful world. I hope that if nothing else, this month has increased peoples knowledge of Oz, showing there's more than just the one book, and made everyone realize how awesome Flying Monkeys are. How can they not be awesome! You still have a few hours to have one of your own!

Tuesday Tomorrow

2011-11-28T00:00:00.003-06:00

Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
Published by: Penguin
Publication Date: November 29th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"What better place to spend the holidays than Cold Comfort Farm?

Available for the first time since its original publication more than fifty years ago, Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm is a charming collection whose hilarious title story features Christmas dinner with the Starkadders before Flora's arrival. With Adam playing Santa while draped in Mrs. Starkadders's shawls, the family shares their traditional "Christmas pudding"-a mélange containing random objects of doom foretelling the coming year: a coffin nail for death, a bad sixpence for financial ruin, and a menthol cone to indicate that the lucky recipient will go "blind wi' headache." These lively tales will delight anyone who loves Stella Gibbons and her signature wit."

For Cold Comfort Farm fanatics, this is the Holy Grail. Stella Gibbons wrote two followups to her classics, Cold Comfort Farm: Conferance and Cold Comfort Farm and Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm. If you're lucky, like me, you found a copy of Conferance at Cold Comfort Farm for under $100 at some time in your life. But Christmas... ah, I' don't know if I've ever seen one below $500, most ranging aroun $1000... so imagin my joy that FINALLY I'll be able to read it! (Conferance at Cold Comfort Farm has also been recently re-released in England).

Spring Muslin by Georgette Heyer
Published by: SourceBooks
Publication Date: November 29th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Sir Gareth Ludlow is just about ready to settle for marriage with Lady Hester, a plain woman who falls below his standards (according to his sister). Despite her protests, however, Gareth sets out to propose marriage.

Along the way, he encounters young Amanda wandering unattended. Honor-bound to restore her to her family, the gallant Sir Ludlow finds he has more than he bargained for with his young charge and her runaway imagination."

The week for reprints is apparently upon us. I love the gorgeous SourceBooks editions of Georgette Heyer's novels, so pretty, must have them all.

Vintage Type and Graphics by Steve Heller and Louise Fili
Published by: Allworth Press
Publication Date: November 29th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 212 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
""Type lovers and history buffs alike will enjoy this gallery of vintage typefaces, ornaments, letterheads and trademarks."—ID Magazine

Exquisite graphic design artifacts comprise this unusual collection culled from the pages of type and typography books dating from 1896 to 1936. Design professionals, students and teachers of graphic design, and anyone with an interest in vintage design will be delighted to ﬁnd rare, never-before-reprinted type specimens, vintage layouts, logos, and decorations that will serve as an inspiration and resource for practicing and aspiring graphic designers. 400 black-and-white illustrations."

Not that I'm TRYING to give people ideas for what to get me for Christmas... just that this is a very lovely new Steven Heller book...

Book review - L. Frank Baum's Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz

2011-11-23T00:00:00.001-06:00

Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (Oz Book 4) by L. Frank Baum
Published by: Books of Wonder
Publication Date: 1908
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Dorothy once again ends up in the land of Oz because of a natural disaster. This time it isn't a storm at sea or a tornado. This time the ground literally opens at her feet from an earthquake and down she tumbles. She was on the way with her new kitten Eureka to meet up with her Uncle at his Brother-in-Laws ranch in California after the long trip back from Australia when Dorothy, her cousin Zeb, and the horse and buggy went a tumbling down. And they tumble and tumble, falling far but apparently not increasing in speed. They seem to be slowing down. A weird fairy world appears below them illuminated by multicolored suns where all the buildings are glass and gravity seems far more flexible. Also as it's a fairy world Jim the horse pulling the buggy and Eureka soon start chatting away. The people whom they descend on aren't at all pleased with their arrival. The Mangaboos quickly take the trespassers off to their wizard when whom should appear above? Dorthy's own wonderful wizard of Oz!

The Wizard has good timing and not only saves them all from the Mangaboos' wizard, but performs some wonderful humbug magic with nine cute little piglets, that Eureka thinks looks decidedly tasty. The Mangaboos are a strange and cold people, it's like they have no blood, which it turns out they don't, being vegetables! They soon revolt and throw the motley crew out of their land, wherein their true adventure begins, travelling through a land of invisible people where invisible bears are there, oh my. Wooden gargoyles and dragonettes all block the path on their way out of the center of the earth. Luckily when all seems lost, the deus ex machina of Oz swings fully into action and the wizard returns to the land he belongs in.

Looking back on this book I have this odd memory of hating it. Maybe that belief let me free up my expectations and just love it. The wizard is an unlikable humbug, Zeb doesn't do much, Jim the horse has to do the majority of the heavy lifting, but Eureka and the piggies are a delight in this odd comical children's version of what Journey to the Center of the Earth would mean to them. There's a Roald Dahl playfulness that is sometimes lacking in the earlier books that has Baum almost forcing the plot and the characters to interact. Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz felt like it just flowed from his pen. Though I do still have Dorothy issues. Dorothy, in another sign of her egocentrism, never thinks of what hell she's putting her family through until she gets bored and it's time to go home. Her Aunt and Uncle where actually MOURNING HER! Full on, black mourning. She almost killed her Uncle with her disappearance on the way to Australia, where they where going for HIS health, and here it is a few months later and she scares them again. There really needs to be a way to not scare the heck out of these good Kansas farm folk. Also, in a total non sequitur, how stupid is Toto? All other animals get to Oz or a fairy land and start chattering away, yet Toto never spoke once in the first book. He must be a total dullard.

Enough odd rantings, I want to state clearly why this book is the best Oz book. Eureka! This kitty cat is all the best qualities of cats, which none cat lovers will probably see as negatives, not understanding the subtlety of cat awesomeness. She's manipulative, vain, only out for herself and never hides the fact that she wants to eat those pork filled piggies. Everyone in Oz always extols their virtues and how wonderful they are, showing them to be pompous asses. Eureka just is. No one really likes her, no one really cares to have her around, but she never justifies, never apologizes, and just is. She won't even defend herself when she is brought to trial on charges of murder (one of the piggies of course). If all the characters would just learn to "be" this series would work so much better. Don't talk about it, don't extol, just be. And if you can, be a cat.

Tuesday Tomorrow

2011-11-21T00:00:00.004-06:00

Micro by Michael Crichton and Richard Preston
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: November 22nd, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 448Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Three men are found dead in the locked second-floor office of a Honolulu building, with no sign of struggle except for the ultrafine, razor-sharp cuts covering their bodies. The only clue left behind is a tiny bladed robot, nearly invisible to the human eye.

In the lush forests of Oahu, groundbreaking technology has ushered in a revolutionary era of biological prospecting. Trillions of microorganisms, tens of thousands of bacteria species, are being discovered; they are feeding a search for priceless drugs and applications on a scale beyond anything previously imagined.

In Cambridge, Massachusetts, seven graduate students at the forefront of their fields are recruited by a pioneering microbiology start-up. Nanigen MicroTechnologies dispatches the group to a mysterious lab in Hawaii, where they are promised access to tools that will open a whole new scientific frontier.

But once in the Oahu rain forest, the scientists are thrust into a hostile wilderness that reveals profound and surprising dangers at every turn. Armed only with their knowledge of the natural world, they find themselves prey to a technology of radical and unbridled power. To survive, they must harness the inherent forces of nature itself.

An instant classic, Micro pits nature against technology in vintage Crichton fashion. Completed by visionary science writer Richard Preston, this boundary-pushing thriller melds scientific fact with pulse-pounding fiction to create yet another masterpiece of sophisticated, cutting-edge entertainment."

When Michael Crichton died unexpectedly it left a major hole in the publishing world. I know some people are against him, some people say he's too populist, but he, more than any other author, is what turned me into a biblophile. Here is what was going to be his next bestseller and will now be his last. A partial manuscript finished off, in what we can hope is a way Michael Crichton would approve.

The Impossible Dead by Ian Rankin
Published by: Reagan Arthur Books
Publication Date: November 22nd, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Complaints: that's the name given to the Internal Affairs department who seek out dirty and compromised cops, the ones who've made deals with the devil. And sometimes The Complaints must travel.

A major inquiry into a neighboring police force sees Malcolm Fox and his colleagues cast adrift, unsure of territory, protocol, or who they can trust. An entire station-house looks to have been compromised, but as Fox digs deeper he finds the trail leads him back in time to the suicide of a prominent politician and activist. There are secrets buried in the past, and reputations on the line.

In his newest pulse-pounding thriller, Ian Rankin holds up a mirror to an age of fear and paranoia, and shows us something of our own lives reflected there."

This one's for my mom, the Ian Rankin addict. Maybe I shouldn't have put this on her and just surprsied her for Christmas...

The Doll: The Lost Short Stories by Daphne Du Maurier
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: November 22nd, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The lost stories of Daphne du Maurier, collected in one volume for the first time.

Before she wrote Rebecca, the novel that would cement her reputation as a twentieth-century literary giant, a young Daphne du Maurier penned short fiction in which she explored the images, themes, and concerns that informed her later work. Originally published in periodicals during the early 1930s, many of these stories never found their way into print again . . . until now.

Tales of human frailty and obsession, and of romance gone tragically awry, the thirteen stories in The Doll showcase an exciting budding talent before she went on to write one of the most beloved novels of all time. In these pages, a waterlogged notebook washes ashore revealing a dark story of jealousy and obsession, a vicar coaches a young couple divided by class issues, and an older man falls perilously in love with a much younger woman—with each tale demonstrating du Maurier’s extraordinary storytelling gifts and her deep understanding of human nature."

For those of you who where actually able to wait a few extra months for these stories to be available stateside, you're in for a treat. While the story The Doll does disappoint, if you've read any summaries, the rest of the stories are so stellar, one wonders why they have been out of print so long!

Agtha Christie: An Autobiography by Agatha Christie
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: November 22nd, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 544 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In an all-new edition, an engaging and illuminating chronicle of the life of the “Queen of Mystery,” complete with a bonus CD featuring the voice of the grande dame herself

Agatha Christie was a woman of mystery, in every sense of the word. Her novels made her the world’s best-selling author, but her private life was hidden from view. For many years she dodged reporters and gave no interviews, and for a brief time she famously disappeared. She started writing her autobiography in April 1950 and finished it fifteen years later, when she was seventy-five years old and decided “it seems the right moment to stop.”

In this book, which was originally published in 1977 in the United States by Dodd, Mead & Company, Agatha Christie sheds light on her past. She tells of her childhood in Victorian England, her volunteer work during World War II, her rise to success, her working habits, the inspiration for her most famous characters—Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple—and the places and people that influenced her. After being out of print for several years, this book is being brought back in a new hardcover edition with a CD featuring excerpts dictated by Agatha Christie herself."

Yeah for new updated swanky edition of a book every Christie fan should have. They literally should not be without this book!

Adele Blanc-Sec by Jaques Tardi
Published by: Fantagraphics
Publication Date: November 22nd, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 96 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The saturnine heroine returns for further adventures in early 20th century Paris.

After establishing the world of the prickly heroine with the first two episodes of this classic series (combined in Fantagraphics’ The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec, Volume 1), Jacques Tardi plunges us back into Belle-Époque Paris for another double dosage of heroic derring-do, evil and crazy malefac- tors, mad actresses (yes, Clara Benhardt makes a return appearance) and monsters!

In “The Mad Scientist,” the science that brought us revived dinosaurs now results in a pithecanthrope stalking the streets of the City of Light, climaxing in an amazing car chase involving a foe from the previous volume. Will the perpetually inept Inspector Caponi just make things worse? Probably. Then in the second episode, “A Dusting of Mummies,” the mummy glimpsed in Adèle’s apartment in previous episodes comes alive! The volume concludes with the sudden startling (and delightful) incursion of some characters familiar to Tardi fans, and a shocking climax that leaves the future of both Adèle and this series in doubt as World War I erupts. (It’s the only story in the entire series not to feature an “in our next episode” teaser.)

The Extraordinary Adventure of Adele Blanc-Sec, Volume 2, is the lucky seventh book in Fantagraphics’ acclaimed series of Tardi reprints, showcasing the rich variety of graphic novels from one of France’s greatest living cartoonists."

Seeing as this book came out in France in the 70s, it's about time they got here right? But I really didn't find it all that great. Too many characters that are drawn too similarily and a meh plot. Plus, knowing I can't finish the series for years and years (again, stupid translators, I should take up French again) makes this kind of a pass for me.

Lady Gaga: Dress Her Up!
Published by: Carlton
Publication Date: November 22nd, 2011
Format: Paperback, 34 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Ooh, la, la, Gaga! She's sold millions of albums, turned heads with her crazy outfits, and continues to scandalize the world. Now the Lady Gaga: Dress Her Up! paper-doll book gives you your own Gaga to adorn in a range of wild, surreal outfits, from her black lace bodysuit to her controversial Meat dress. Choose from 20 costumes, plus added accessories and hairstyles such as the Telephone hat and Bow hair. And there are illustrations of her spectacular stage sets, so you can place Gaga in “Orbit” and carry her in the “Egg!”"

I really can't be the only one out there who finds this totally hilarious!

Book Review - L. Frank Baum's Ozma of Oz

2011-11-18T00:00:00.002-06:00

Ozma of Oz (Oz Book 3) by L. Frank Baum
Published by: Everyman's Library
Publication Date: 1907
Format: Paperback, 624 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy

Dorothy and her Uncle are headed to Australia for his health. The sea voyage turns into a harrowing experience when Dorothy is blown overboard. The plucky little girl from Kansas is resourceful and is able to cling to a chicken coop and ride through the storm, soaking wet, but without fear. This is just the beginning of another adventure. Come morning she is making for landfall in what she takes to be a fairy land. It isn't Oz, because Oz is surrounded by a deadly desert on all sides, but it is most definitely fairy, how else would the chicken Billina be able to talk to her. Animals only talk in fairy worlds. Soon after landing the fact that this world is magical is increased by a tree that grows lunch pails, men called wheelers who have wheels on there hands and feet and a windup man, Tik-Tok, who works through his wonderful engineering.

Once Dorothy gathers a posse, she heads inland to the capital city where the royal family have been enslaved by the evil Nome King and the country is run by a vain relative of the royals, Princess Langwidere, who has a room full of heads that she switches out whenever she wants to be prettier, or in a different frame of mind, that raven haired head sure has a temper. Soon all the denizens of Oz arrive in this land, which, as Dorothy surmised, was close but not Oz. Dorothy is reunited with all her friends and finally meets Ozma, whom she becomes fast friends with. The delegation from Oz has come to rescue the royal family after hearing of their plight. They all set out for the Nome King's domain to find that he is a tricky and conniving man who will twist any situation around to his advantage. Yet, never underestimate a plucky chicken from Kansas!

Back when the Oz books where being re-released and I was starting my journey into reading I totally held this as my favorite Oz book. But looking back I realize it's less because of the book and more because of the movie Return to Oz. When I was little I remember finding a comic book adaptation of the movie in my school library. I remember reading it up to where Dorothy leaves the asylum. Also being extremely traumatized by it. Dorothy going to get electroshock treatment was enough to do permanent psychological damage to me. After I read the comic the first time I was never able to find it in the library again. I cannot account for that, but it made me start to think I had made the whole thing up and that, like Dorothy, Oz, like this comic, wasn't real.

Of course I got a little older and realized that it was a movie, which also traumatized me. Take the wheelers, add in a psycho who keeps heads in glass cases and switches them like we would clothes, and it was the stuff of nightmares. When I finally got to read the books I realized that this movie was an amalgam of The Marvelous Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz, more heavily influenced by Ozma. But the movie took the best bits and omitted all the boring stuff. If there's one thing that annoys me about Oz it's that every time we have a reunion of the characters it's unendurably long with lots of crying and kissing and discussing how they are better than everyone else. Because, these characters really think they are awesome. I'm surprised all the egos fit in one room! But despite all the faults, every time I read about the tree with lunch pails growing from it and the wheelers and the castle of the Nome King with people being turned into knickknacks, it takes me back to my childhood. This is a book for nostalgia, the horror and the magic that lives when you are young, and to get that back, even for a few minutes, is magic indeed.

Book Review - L. Frank Baum's The Marvelous Land of Oz

2011-11-16T00:00:00.000-06:00

The Marvelous Land of Oz (Oz Book 2) by L. Frank Baum
Published by: Everyman's Library
Publication Date: 1904
Format: Paperback, 624 Pages
Rating: ★
To Buy

Tip lives with the wicked witch Mombi. Though she's not technically allowed to call herself a witch, she is truly wicked. Tip has been with her as long as he remembers. Basically a glorified slave or indentured servant, Tip takes every opportunity to get one over on Mombi. So one day when she heads over to a neighboring warlock's house to swap secrets, Tip laboriously creates Jack Pumpkinhead. Jack is a tall scarecrow like creation with a face carved out of a pumpkin with a maniacal grin. Tip even gives Jack working joints. Tip places Jack where he's sure he will startle Mombi on her return. Mombi is a hard one to scare, so instead she sees in Jack the perfect experiment. She has just gotten some "Powder of Life" and decides to test one of her precious three doses on Jack. It works marvelously. Jack is brought to life. What's more, Jack will be a far better servant than Tip, who has to eat and sleep, so Tip is thrown out. As revenge Tip steals the "Powder of Life" and Jack and heads south in order to find a new life in the Emerald City of Oz.

Soon it become apparent that Jack isn't as well made as Tip thought he was. He might rot or his joints might break from all the walking. Tip decides that Jack needs a stead, and makes a saw horse come to life as a real horse. The three continue on their way to the Emerald City but are soon separated and set upon by an approaching army. General Jinjur and her comely all-girl army of revolt are on their way to the Emerald City to depose the Scarecrow and claim the city and all it's jewels for themselves, armed only with their indignation that they have to do all the household work and knitting needles. Jinjer is successful in becoming queen, but she soon looses her Scarecrow captive who, with the help of Tip and his unlikely allies, rescues the Scarecrow and heads off to the Tin Man's Empire, where dear old Nick Chopper is a benevolent leader to the Winkie's, unlike the Wicked Witch before him. Soon the motley crew is planning on reclaiming the thrown, but things never go to plan... and it soon falls to Glinda to straighten things out and bring back the rightful ruler of Oz, Ozma, who has been missing these many years.

This book sets out to establish more of a history to Oz, with it's hidden princess and the evils the Wizard of Oz wrought, some with Mombi's assistance. The fault though lies in the fact there is no Dorothy. Dorothy was our access into the world, because she, like us, is an outsider. We have no literary conduit, instead we have a rag-tag group of self centered and self impressed asses. Each character spends almost the entire time saying how they are better that the others. The Scarecrow has the best brains, but Nick assures him, that without a great heart like his, he's nothing. How are these people friends? They never converse, they only shout monologues out into the air and occasionally they offend someone and use their superiority as an excuse. They grate on the readers nerves. But the egocentric character flaws are nothing compared to General Jinjer.

General Jinjer and her very attractive army are my problem! They are all "very attractive" and no longer want to do "women's work" so with a symbol of their imprisonment they march on the Emerald City, knitting needles in hand. Why do they really want the throne? For the jewels of course! For Baum, who was supposedly a big supporter of the Suffragettes, his depiction of these soldiers is rather sexist. They just want to be lazy and pretty, but are easily defeated the first time because some mice scare them. Talk about stereotype! Also, the women of Oz gladly taking back their chores at the end of the book because their husbands where useless, seems... stupid. It says to anyone reading this book that girls are only good for domesticity. Which is odd considering that the power base of Glinda is based on girl power as well... but a far more dangerous sword wielding kind. But Glinda's army is an army to maintain the status quo. But the status is not quo. This book implies that women should stay home and only take up arms if that status is upset. EXCUSE ME! Fight for your right for household chores? Mr. Baum, I think you really need to look to yourself. I think you're a hypocrite and I think this might be the worst Oz novel, if I remember correctly from my previous readings.

Tuesday Tomorrow

2011-11-14T00:00:00.000-06:00

The Folded World by Catherynne M. Valente
Published by: Night Shade Books
Publication Date: November 15th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When the mysterious daughter of Prester John appears on the doorstep of her father''s palace, she brings with her news of war in the West--the Crusades have begun, and the bodies of the faithful are washing up on the shores of Pentexore. Three narratives intertwine to tell the tale of the beginning of the end of the world: a younger, angrier Hagia, the blemmye-wife of John and Queen of Pentexore, who takes up arms with the rest of her nation to fight a war they barely understand, Vyala, a lion-philosopher entrusted with the care of the deformed and prophetic royal princess, and another John, John Mandeville, who in his many travels discovers the land of Pentexore--on the other side of the diamond wall meant to keep demons and monsters at bay. These three voices weave a story of death, faith, beauty, and power, dancing in the margins of true history, illuminating a place that never was."

I know you're all excited about a new book by Cat Valente!

The Feng Shui Detective Goes West by Nury Vittachi
Published by: Felony and Mayhem
Publication Date: November 15th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Feng shui master C.F. Wong has never been to the West, but he knows he doesn't like it. It is unquestionably full of Westerners, with their large noses and their disgusting food and their habit-he has seen it many times in movies-of fighting with each other on top of speeding trains. And yet C.F. is going to England. The Family has been having a bad time. The Family needs a feng shui master. Only Wong can bring balance to Buckingham Palace."

So, I've never heard of this series till now, but just the fact that it has a good luck kitty on the cover and is published by Felony and Mayhem has me sold.

Saul Bass: A Life in Film and Design by Jennifer Bass
Published by: Lauren King Publishers
Publication Date: November 15th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 428 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"This is the first book to be published on one of the greatest American designers of the 20th Century, who was as famous for his work in film as for his corporate identity and graphic work. With more than 1,400 illustrations, many of them never published before and written by the leading design historian Pat Kirkham, this is the definitive study that design and film enthusiasts have been eagerly anticipating. Saul Bass (1920-1996) created some of the most compelling images of American post-war visual culture. Having extended the remit of graphic design to include film titles, he went on to transform the genre. His best known works include a series of unforgettable posters and title sequences for films such as Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo and Otto Preminger's The Man With The Golden Arm and Anatomy of a Murder. He also created some of the most famous logos and corporate identity campaigns of the century, including those for major companies such as AT&T, Quaker Oats, United Airlines and Minolta. His wife and collaborator, Elaine, joined the Bass office in the late 1950s. Together they created an impressive series of award-winning short films, including the Oscar-winning Why Man Creates, as well as an equally impressive series of film titles, ranging from Stanley Kubrick s Spartacus in the early 1960s to Martin Scorsese s Cape Fear and Casino in the 1990s. Designed by Jennifer Bass, Saul Bass's daughter and written by distinguished design historian Pat Kirkham who knew Saul Bass personally, this book is full of images from the Bass archive, providing an in depth account of one of the leading graphic artists of the 20th century."

I have been waiting years for this book! No joke either! It would have made my presentation on Saul Bass for Typography so much easier. But at least better late than never, plus, Martin Scorsese doing the intro! Can't go wrong there.

Book Review - L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

2011-11-11T00:00:00.001-06:00

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Published by: Everyman's Library
Publication Date: 1900
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
Challenge: Victorian Literature 2011
Rating: ★★
To Buy

Everyone knows The Wizard of Oz. Or at least everyone thinks they do. Let me disabuse you of a few notions. There are no ruby slippers. The flying monkeys aren't the creatures of the Wicked Witch, they only answer to her because of a golden cap. The Tin Man cut off his own limps because of an enchanted ax and has a bit of a problem with wanting to chop off other creatures heads French Revolution style. The Emerald City is only Emerald colored because of a nice little trick with colored glass. Likewise, the Wicked With isn't mentioned as being green, only having the deformity of a single eye. Glinda the good witch doesn't meet Dorthy at the start of the Yellow Brick road, but only till the Wizard is gone and Dorothy journeys to the land of the Quadlings. There are no lions and tigers and bears oh my, or manic singing. There aren't a lot of things that where changed to make cinema magic. And finally, it wasn't all just a dream.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was written in an attempt to create a new class of Fairy Tales distinctly American. I can think of no other literary character so closely connected to America, except perhaps Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. Dorothy is an icon in literature, which is why it's frustrating that not more people have read the book and rely on the film to know about Oz. The story is a cute little voyage of discovery where Dorothy lands in a magical utopia that is very primary color based (all the countries really LOVE their color) and meets a few friends and gives them a better life and then gets her wish to go home. Because, while a fairyland is well and good, the movie did get it right that "there's no place like home." Or at least, not until the depression comes and your whole family moves to Oz to be treated as royalty...

Welcome to Oz

2011-11-09T00:00:00.003-06:00

Oz is that magical place. That land that everyone knows about even if you haven't read the books, because that movie is part of who we are. I defy you to find someone who doesn't know all the lyrics to "Over the Rainbow." Most people don't know that the books, instead of just being one, actually number into the double digits. L. Frank Baum wrote a land that everyone loved and could never get enough of, so much so that many authors took up the mantel of "Royal Historian of Oz" long after his death. One of the best "Historians" is Gregory Maguire. If the Oz books have failings it's that they are sacarine and sweet and sometimes too much of a sweet thing can give you a taste for bile. You want to know darker things, see bad things happen to Dorothy and side with the "wicked" witch. That's where Gregory Maguire's Wicked and subsequent volumes come to fill a void. It's Oz, but not quite as we know it. In honor of the final volume in his "Wicked Years," I am devoting the month of November to Oz. And what's a theme month without a giveaway?

Prize: This adorable flying monkey!

The Rules:
1. Open to EVERYONE, just because you haven't been following me all along doesn't mean you don't matter, you just get more entries if you prove you love me by following.
2. Please make sure I have a way to contact you if your name is drawn, either your blogger profile or a link to your website/blog or you could even include your email address with your comment(s).
3. Contest ends Wednesday, November 30th at 11:59PM CST 4. How to enter:

Answer me this: What would you rather have? A Heart, A Brain or Courage?

5. And for those addicted to getting extra entries:

+1 for answering the question above
+2 for becoming a follower
+10 if you are already a follower
+10 for each time you advertise this contest - blog post, sidebar, twitter (please @MzLizard), etc. (but you only get credit for the first post, so tweet all you like, and I thank you for it, but you'll only get the +10 once). Also please leave a link!
+25 if you comment on any of the posts this month, with something other than "I hope I win" or a variation thereof.

Tuesday Tomorrow

2011-11-07T00:00:00.000-06:00

Inheritance by Christopher Paolini
Published by: Knopf
Publication Date: November 8th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 880 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Not so very long ago, Eragon—Shadeslayer, Dragon Rider—was nothing more than a poor farm boy, and his dragon, Saphira, only a blue stone in the forest. Now the fate of an entire civilization rests on their shoulders.

Long months of training and battle have brought victories and hope, but they have also brought heartbreaking loss. And still, the real battle lies ahead: they must confront Galbatorix. When they do, they will have to be strong enough to defeat him. And if they cannot, no one can. There will be no second chances.

The Rider and his dragon have come further than anyone dared to hope. But can they topple the evil king and restore justice to Alagaësia? And if so, at what cost?

This is the much-anticipated, astonishing conclusion to the worldwide bestselling Inheritance cycle."

How long have I waited? YEARS! I remember, back when it was a trilogy not a "cycle" waiting for the final book and then having my hopes dashed because it was not, in fact, the final book. Now it finally is! YEAH!

How to Break a Dragon's Heart by Cressida Cowell
Published by: Little Brown
Publication Date: November 8th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Stranded on the exceptionally dangerous, and possibly haunted, Beach of the Broken Heart, Hiccup must face Ug the Uglithug and complete the Impossible Task--or die trying. Along the way, he'll have to battle Berserks, dodge Scarers, and save Fishlegs from being fed to the Beast, all while being hunted down by an old enemy with a dark secret about the mysterious Lost Throne. With Toothless by his side, and time to stage his rescue running out, what's a Hero to do?"

Ever since the movie came out a few years ago I've been dying to since my claws into these books!

Betsy-Tacy Treasury by Maud Hart Lovelace
Published by: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
Publication Date: November 8th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 736 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"There are lots of children on Hill Street, but no little girls Betsy’s age. So when a new family moves into the house across the street, Betsy hopes they will have a little girl she can play with. Sure enough, the moment Betsy meets Tacy, one of the most heartfelt friendships in all of children’s literature begins.

The Betsy-Tacy Treasury brings together the first four books in Maud Hart Lovelace’s classic series: Betsy-Tacy; Betsy, Tacy and Tib; Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill; and Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown. Tracing the girls’ lives from early childhood to the brink of adolescence, Lovelace illuminates their innocent, mischievous fun and their eye-opening adventures exploring the world around them—from the stories Betsy spins from their neighborhood bench and the sand stores they run in their backyards, to their first experiences at the library, the thrill of the theater, and the sight of their first automobile."

The have slowly been re-releasing this lovely books in PS editions with nostalgic covers. Finally we're getting the early books versus the later ones!

NaNoWriMo

2011-11-04T00:00:00.000-05:00

It's said everyone has a novel in them... if that's true then November, being National Novel Writing Month, is going to prove it. Every year I think, man, I should do this, and every year I don't. One year I will, because will the superfluity of words I write in this blog every year indicates that perchance I could write words in book form too. Though maybe non-fiction... Many authors even do this. Why? Because it's a way to get your ass in motion, also, a way to entertain you readers with really funny bios, Patrick Rothfuss's being the funniest I've read in years:

"Patrick Rothfuss sprung fully formed from Marge Rothfuss, his mother, in Madison Wisconsin. In a mere three months, Pat grew to the height of a man while teaching himself to read and write using only a shovel and a dead cat.

When the voices told him to, Pat left home to attend college in at University Wisconsin Stevens Point where he joined Slytherin house and had many wonderful adventures. After graduating, Pat evolved into a being of pure light and energy. Then he went to grad school and evolved even further into being composed entirely of bile, rage, binder twine, and sweet, sweet, methadone. After grad school Pat joined forces with five plucky Japanese schoolgirls to form a giant robot that fights crime.

Through all of this Pat has read fantasy, watched fantasy, and written fantasy. Some academics have suggested that Pat eats, sleeps, and breathes fantasy, but this is simply untrue. The truth is that Pat eats burritos, sleeps like a drooly baby, and breathes a white-hot plasma composed of molten gold and rage."

Damn, I wish I could have a bio half as cool...

Winners Announced!

2011-11-02T00:00:00.000-05:00

Well, seeing as October had not one, but two giveaways, I think it's time that I announce the winners, seeing as they have already been notified and are doing little dances of joy (or so I asume from the joy in the emails).

Snuff is being sent out to Carol, who would like to be Susan, as would I, as would I.

Haunted Wisconsin is being sent out to cyn209. Get those lightbulbs changed, you won't want to be in the dark once you start reading this stories!

Thanks to everyone who entered, come back in a week because I have a feeling another fun giveaway will be starting.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T12:00:00.002-05:00

Boys and girls of every age

Wouldn't you like to see something strange?

Come with us and you will see

This, our town of Halloween

This is Halloween, this is Halloween

Pumpkins scream in the dead of night

This is Halloween, everybody make a scene

Trick or treat till the neighbors gonna die of fright

It's our town, everybody scream

In this town of Halloween

I am the one hiding under your bed

Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red

I am the one hiding under yours stairs

Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair

This is Halloween, this is Halloween

Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!

In this town we call home

Everyone hail to the pumpkin song

In this town, don't we love it now?

Everybody's waiting for the next surprise

Round that corner, man hiding in the trash can

Something's waiting now to pounce, and how you'll...

Scream! This is Halloween

Red 'n' black, slimy green

Aren't you scared?

Well, that's just fine

Say it once, say it twice

Take a chance and roll the dice

Ride with the moon in the dead of night

Everybody scream, everbody scream

In our town of Halloween!

I am the clown with the tear-away face

Here in a flash and gone without a trace

I am the "who" when you call, "Who's there?"

I am the wind blowing through your hair

I am the shadow on the moon at night

Filling your dreams to the brim with fright

This is Halloween, this is Halloween

Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!

Halloween! Halloween!

Tender lumplings everywhere

Life's no fun without a good scare

That's our job, but we're not mean

In our town of Halloween

In this town

Don't we love it now?

Everybody's waiting for the next surprise

Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back

And scream like a banshee

Make you jump out of your skin

This is Halloween, everyone scream

Wont' ya please make way for a very special guy

Our man jack is King of the Pumpkin patch

Everyone hail to the Pumpkin King now!

This is Halloween, this is Halloween

Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!

In this town we call home

Everyone hail to the pumpkin song

La la la la la la

Tuesday Tomorrow

2011-10-31T00:00:00.070-05:00

Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: November 1st, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 592 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The marvelous land of Oz is knotted with social unrest: The Emerald City is mounting an invasion of Munchkinland, Glinda is under house arrest, and the Cowardly Lion is on the run from the law. And look who’s knocking at the door. It’s none other than Dorothy. Yes, that Dorothy.

Amid all this chaos, Elphaba’s granddaughter, the tiny green baby born at the close of Son of a Witch, has come of age. Now, Rain will take up her broom in an Oz wracked by war.

The stirring, long-awaited conclusion to the extraordinary bestselling series begun with Wicked, Out of Oz is a magical journey rife with revelations and reversals, reprisals and surprises — the hallmarks of the brilliant and unique imagination of Gregory Maguire."

The conclusion to Gregory Maguire's wonderful Wicked books which totally reinvented Oz... in the most devious of ways.

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: November 1st, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"It’s Christmastime, and the precocious Flavia de Luce—an eleven-year-old sleuth with a passion for chemistry and a penchant for crime-solving—is tucked away in her laboratory, whipping up a concoction to ensnare Saint Nick. But she is soon distracted when a film crew arrives at Buckshaw, the de Luces’ decaying English estate, to shoot a movie starring the famed Phyllis Wyvern. Amid a raging blizzard, the entire village of Bishop’s Lacey gathers at Buckshaw to watch Wyvern perform, yet nobody is prepared for the evening’s shocking conclusion: a body found, past midnight, strangled to death with a length of film. But who among the assembled guests would stage such a chilling scene? As the storm worsens and the list of suspects grows, Flavia must use every ounce of sly wit at her disposal to ferret out a killer hidden in plain sight."

This might just truly be the best Flavia book yet... AND the perfect Chirstmas present in one!

House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz
Published by: Mulholland
Publication Date: November 1st, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Sherlock Holmes is the greatest detective in literary history. For the first time since the death of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a new Holmes story has been sanctioned by his estate, whetting the appetites of fans everywhere. Information about the book will be revealed as deliberately as Holmes himself would unravel a knotty case, but bestselling novelist and Holmes expert Anthony Horowitz is sure to bring a compelling, atmospheric story to life. With access to the estate's archives and careful study of the original stories, Horowitz is sure to weave a tale that satisfies new fans as well as the most dedicated Baker Street Irregular."

A NEW, authorized Sherlock Holmes by the man you brought us Foyle's War and the best dramatizations of Midsomer Murders and Poirot you could expect to see! YES! Full of WIN!

Crossed by Ally Condi
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: November 1st, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky - taken by the Society to his certain death - only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.

Cassia's quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander - who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia's heart - change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever. "

The first book, Matched, got such buzz I picked it up recently, and here's book two already.

The Mischief of the Mistletoe by Lauren Willig
Published by: NAL
Publication Date: November 1st, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The delightful latest entry in the Pink Carnation series finds bumbling Turnip Fitzhugh in over his head when he visits sister Sally at boarding school, where a chance encounter with school mistress Arabella Dempsey lures the siblings into a complex web of espionage and derring-do. Guest appearances by Dempsey's best friend Jane Austen and characters from previous installments of the series round out the laugh-out-loud holiday-themed romance of intrigue. Readers familiar with the series will relish this newest installment and rejoice that Turnip has finally been given his due and a wonderful foil in Arabella. While readers never feel that the espionage aspect would actually put anyone in real danger, it definitely makes for an exciting story."

Easily the best book I read last year (both times I read it). If you love Jane Austen or Christmas BUY THIS BOOK!

The Nerdist Way by Chris Hardwick
Published by: BerkleyPublication Date: November 1st, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Nerd superstar Chris Hardwick offers his fellow "creative obsessives" crucial information needed to come out on top in the current Nerd uprising.

As a lifelong member of "The Nerd Herd," as he calls it, Chris Hardwick has learned all there is to know about Nerds. Developing a system, blog, and podcasts, Hardwick shares hard-earned wisdom about turning seeming weakness into world-dominating strengths in the hilarious self-help book, The Nerdist Way.

From keeping their heart rate below hummingbird levels to managing the avalanche of sadness that is their in-boxes; from becoming evil geniuses to attracting wealth by turning down work, Hardwick reveals the secrets that can help readers achieve their goals by tapping into their true nerdtastic selves.

Here Nerds will learn how to:
• Become their own time cop
• Tell panic attacks to go suck it
• Use incremental fitness to ward off predators

A Nerd's brain is a laser-it's time they learn to point and fire! "

I've been crushing on Chris Hardwick since the Singled Out Days. So glad he's gotten a second career doing what he does best, being a nerd. Still pissed I didn't get to see him at Wizard World Chicago, totally lame he was there only to interview Patrick Stewart...

Book Review - Terry Pratchett's The Truth

2011-10-28T00:00:00.000-05:00

The Truth by Terry Pratchett
Published by: Harper Torch
Publication Date: 2000
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy
Movable type has come to Ankh Morpork. No longer are writers at the whims of the engravers guild. The element of time has changed. News is new! Instead of having to laboriously carve out a plate, just get the dwarves to slap together some letters and viola. William De Worde has always made his way in the world by collecting interesting information and sending it on to people of interest located in Discworld's vast countryside. Just the latest gossip about a duke or the latest bar brawl or the latest rumor about Lord Vetinari. Nonsense, but paying nonsense. Till one day an accident leads him to the dwarves and they show him that with their press and movable type, he can have his letters now.

With time spreading before him William doesn't know what to do. Soon he's back at the Dwarves little printing shed. The Dwarves reckon that perhaps the man on the street would like to read these bits of info that William is accumulating for his wealthy patrons in the provinces. The dwarves appear to be right. There is a demand. In fact, such a demand that soon he hires the daughter of his irate engraver, Sacharissa Cripslock as a cub reporter and Otto, a vampire with a good photographic eye.

Soon a rival newspaper springs up, a newspaper not so much into truth as sensation. When Lord Vetinari is accused of attempted murder, will the truth out? Or will people just believe what they want to believe. Perhaps Lord Vetinari was right when he told William that giving people what they thought they wanted was a dangerous thing.

The advent of movable type changed our world forever. I would not have been able to read this book if not for it's invention. Just think of the impact this had on the world. Anyone could have access to books and bibles. Learning and reading was no longer just for those who could afford it but for anyone! Terry Pratchett has distilled this down, as only he can, into a comedic tour de force that shows, not just what news can do to a community, but what sensation and speculation can do. Terry has sped up the evolution of type from the first newspaper to the gaudy celebrity hunters of today. He has shown us, not just what we are, but the dangers of what we are. 24 hour news channels and gossip whores....