strange and random happenstance

Until American Gods I never thought a show with Ian McShane could ever be bad. He elevates every show he is in, from American Horror Story to Dallas. Though technically American Horror Story should not even be mentioned in the same breath as the magnificent juggernaut that was Dallas. But needs must. Because of American Gods I came to the realization that he isn't capable of saving every show and that's when I gave myself permission to never watch American Gods again. The fact that Bryan Fuller couldn't make it work should have been my sign to abandon it before the end of the first season but I just had to get to the episode filmed at The House on the Rock. If you know, you know. Now I'm not saying that Disraeli: Portrait of a Romantic is bad. It's nowhere near the level of American Gods, it's just that it's so damn forgettable. The main problem is that four episodes is too short to do the life of Benjamin Disraeli credit. Either it should have been longer or shorter, and as for what they chose to focus on? They really needed someone to come along and tell them that the minutiae of back door political deals that took up an entire episode was mind-numbing. He was a larger than life character and they seem to make him into a caricature. Not via the acting I should note, because with Ian McShane, as previously noted, and Rosemary Leach, Anton Rodgers, Patricia Hodge and the like, they aren't going to give a bad performance, they are going to be let down by the material. And they were. The first episode was basically Disraeli sewing his wild oats. Yes, he was a Lothario. The second episode is him trying to get his foothold in politics while having a comfortable domestic life. The third episode is him being the confidant of the Queen. The forth episode, as previously mentioned, is political minutiae as he is hailed as an elder statesman. And, while this outline seems to make sense, each episode tackling the furtherance of his life, the way things change so rapidly in his life because of the condensed timeline gives the viewers whiplash. Character's opinions wildly swing between scenes from hate to love. The most vivid examples are with his wife and Queen Victoria. His wife, Mary Anne Disraeli, was originally the wife of Benjamin's friend and colleague Wyndham Lewis. He thought her vapid and stupid. So how, one year after the death of Lewis, was he marrying her? A cynic would say it was for her money, but he also apparently had a change of heart and viewed her as far shrewder than he ever could have guessed. We don't see this. One scene he's talking about what an idiot she is and the next he couldn't live without her advice. Say what!?! How did that happen? The same thing happens with Queen Victoria. She won't talk to him and then he's her dearest confidant. This just doesn't make sense. Show don't tell. But even if they had shown the change in these relationships properly his relationship with his sister would have made me forever hate him. His sister is the caregiver for their father Isaac and when he's dying he offers no monetary support for his sister. Yes, money was tight, but he was buying a luxury house down the road while forcing his own sister out of her home! At least in a shorter version perhaps we wouldn't have seen this nasty and selfish side to the great statesman. But in a longer version perhaps we could have had some semblance of a cohesive life. As it is this is just bits and pieces that we're supposed to put together to make up a whole. Contradictions and all. Yes, perhaps this is more realistic, but it doesn't make good television. 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: American Gods, Anton Rodgers, Benjamin Disraeli, Disraeli: Portrait of a Romantic, Fifty-Five Years a Masterpiece, Ian McShane, Lothario, Patricia Hodge, Politics, Queen Victoria, Rosemary Leach, The House on the Rock

The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark
Published by: Tor.com
Publication Date: August 21st, 2018
Format: Kindle, 112 Pages
Rating: ★★★★1/2★
To Buy (different edition than one reviewed)

It's 1884 and the Civil War has been in detente for years, nothing more than a temporary armistice. Skirmishes still break out and old General Tubman is still waging her guerilla war against the Confederate States of America where slavery has reached new levels of horror with the use of drapeto gas. In the free city of New Orleans street urchin Creeper is about to stumble across valuable information that could reignite the war. She lives atop Les Grand Murs, large walls constructed as airship ports that also saves the city from the tempêtes noires that strike New Orleans once a year. Thirteen years ago Creeper was born during one of these storms, making her one of Oya's children. Oya is an Orisha, the goddess of storms, life, death, and rebirth. One night Creeper is hiding in her alcove and hears soldiers for the Confederate States planning a meeting with a Haitian scientist to acquire The Black God's Drums. Creeper isn't naive and she puts two and two together and realizes her information could get her the life she wants aboard an airship as well as save some lives. She approaches an airship captain at Madame Diouf's establishment. The captain, Ann-Marie St. Augustine, was a client of Creeper's mother and is known to smuggle guns for General Tubman. What Creeper didn't realize is that Ann-Marie is the child of Oshun, Oya's sister-wife. It can't be a coincidence, especially once Creeper learns the history of The Black God's Drums. The Black God's Drums are known by another name, Shango's Thunder. Shango is Oya's husband. The weapon has only been deployed once, when Dessalines unleashed it against the French to free Haiti. They won, but at what cost? The storm didn't just decimate the French, it killed so so many Haitians. And the tempêtes noires are the aftermath of Shango's Thunder almost a hundred years later. If the Confederate States were to get this weapon they would unleash it against the Union. But these soldiers aren't the only ones who know of Shango's Thunder making its way to New Orleans. The Jeannots, comprised of disaffected Confederate States soldiers who are patriots to the Old New Orleans and want to take back the city for themselves or destroy it want it as well. It is up to Creeper and Ann-Marie to ban together as sister-wives and save a city they both love.

Before I reread this book to review it, and yes, sometimes I do have to reread books to review them, I read a rather bloated critical darling that just wasn't for me. Transitioning from that epic tome to this spare tale was an awakening as to how magnificent this story is. Coming in at a quarter the word count this book's worldbuilding leaves that aforementioned critical darling in the dust. The perfection of language, the specificity of events, the richness of the storytelling left me begging for more, not begging for it to be over. P. Djèlí Clark is an author whose words sing like the masked Jeannots. But it's really the worldbuilding that is breaktaking. It will literally take your breath away. Here we have an alternative outcome to the Civil War, as in, there isn't yet an outcome. Haiti and the Caribbean are the Free Isles. What Dessalines started in 1791 had a chain reaction for the whole Caribbean. But that had a negative impact on the American Civil War. The Confederate States were going to hold onto slavery at all costs. And a war that ended in our world in 1865 is still happening twenty years later. And while many people will point to the Steampunk elements of this story, that's just the cherry on top of the cake. That's a nice decorative glace touch. But stripe this story down and it's the alternative history that just works so well and is terrifyingly believable and the characters that drive the narrative. Though what I want to point to as working so effectively is the Orisha. For myself whenever you have Gods brought across the seas I can't but help think of American Gods and Anansi, who while West African, doesn't belong to the Orisha. And the reason I always think of American Gods is because it's a concept that Neil Gaiman got right. But I feel the time has come to pass the torch, to get authentic voices to continue the stories, to write new tales. And I can't help but see how the Orisha have been embraced in literature in recent years. Just look to Tomi Adeyemi's Legacy of Orïsha trilogy that really didn't work for me. It's hard to balance the human with the divine, and P. Djèlí Clark did just that. This book should be looked to as a classic in the vein of American Gods if only so we can somehow convince P. Djèlí Clark to write more stories within this universe. He got the Orisha right folks! And that, right there, should be shouted from the tops of Les Grand Murs!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alternate History, American Gods, Civil War, Confederacy, For the Love of Book Clubs, Haiti, Neil Gaiman, New Orleans, Orisha, Oshun, Oya, P. Djèlí Clark, Shango's Thunder, The Black God's Drums, Tomi Adeyemi

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
Published by: Gollancz
Publication Date: January 10th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 392 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy (different edition than on reviewed)

PC Peter Grant feels his police career slipping through his fingers. He's had his career progression meeting with Inspector Neblett and has been told they think he'd make a good fit with the Case Progression Unit. He'd be "performing a valuable role" by doing paperwork that no one else wants to do. He's too easily distracted is the kindest way his partner Lesley can think of to put it. And technically it is a valuable role. This vision of his future spurs Peter into doing something desperate. The day before he and Lesley were both guarding an important crime scene. A man literally had his head knocked off in the middle of Covent Garden. When Lesley was off getting them coffees Peter happened to find a witness. A witness that has been dead for over a hundred years. Peter's a sensible man, he doesn't believe in ghosts, but if that ghost could give him valuable information leading to the killer, who is he to complain? And then goodbye Case Progression Unit, hello murder team. Of course when he's off secretly ghost hunting he runs into a senior officer, Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale. And in that moment all possible futures collapse into a singularity. He knew he was bound for the Case Progression Unit. Until Neblett informs him that he has been seconded by Nightingale, who he is to meet in a Japanese restaurant. Nightingale informs Peter that ghosts do in fact exist, as do ghouls, faeries, demons, witches, warlocks, elves, goblins, but no aliens, as yet. As for the current investigation, they are on the lookout for the uncanny, a flash of laughter and violence. Nightingale is offering Peter something beyond the ordinary, an apprenticeship to a wizard. He'd be a part of the Special Assessment Unit based out of the Folly instead of pushing paperwork with the Case Progression Unit. Peter's rather quick to swear his fealty, which is something they still do apparently, because he wants to make a real difference. Only maybe he should have paid attention to the fine print. This is a dangerous job and as more people die in oddly theatrical manners with killers whose faces reshape itself into a mask he realizes he'll be lucky to survive his first case.

Rivers of London is a supernatural police procedural that fills a very specific niche that I don't think many people realized they were missing in their lives. Aaronovitch has created a world were we have a protagonist who has grown up in a mundane world with a scientific background and is thrust into a world of magic. And while that world of magic has drawn comparisons to Gaiman and American Gods in particular due to the personification of rivers, though you could make an argument for Neverwhere too, this book does for me what American Gods was never able to do, make me enjoy the ride. I apologize to all those American Gods fans out there, but sometimes Gaiman's execution doesn't live up to the concept. And I'm by no means saying that Rivers of London is a perfect book, it fumbles the explanation of exactly who the villain is in the end, but would I read this book again? You bet. Because I just love this tension of magic and science. Peter Grant is unwilling to accept that magic can't be explained by the scientific method. So he tests magic. He notices that if he does magic it will fry his phone, so perhaps the magic is draining the energy from the battery, thus proving that the energy magic needs doesn't come out of thin air and also answering the lifelong question of anyone who reads magical books, why don't electronics work in conjunction with magic. Plus he does it with calculators. It's way cooler than I make it sound. But in the end it's the theatricality that sold me on this book. The spirit of riot and rebellion that brings together the bizarre history of Punch and Judy with a V for Vendetta bent. I challenge you to actually find a more dramatic, in all senses of the word, climax than the one at the Royal Opera House. It's scary, funny, and totally over the top. And now I will end with a random aside, I think Ben Aaronovitch has had bowel issues. All the gastroenterology jokes combined with referring to the Punch "possession" as a sequestration, when acid sequestration is a way to rebalance the biome of the gut, it just tracks as it were... Also you DO NOT want to know why I know so much about this.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: American Gods, Ben Aaronovitch, London Calling, Magic, Mr. Punch, Neil Gaiman, Nightingale, Peter Grant, Procedural, Punch and Judy, Rivers of London, Royal Opera House, Sequestration, Theatrical, V for Vendetta

"Mister Gaiman. You should hear this toast in my flat middle western, slightly southern accent. I speak quite quick. Perhaps even fast. But my first words, Missssssttttteeerrr Gaaaaaaaimannn are slow and deliberate.

Quite odd indeed.

I should, from the start, say that I met you in graphic novels. That I was a nerdy girl pretending to be a cool nerdy girl and I wanted a comic because I am a painter and yet nothing ever appealed to me. Until Sandman.

And many hundreds of hours and mugs of strong tea and thick lattes later, you became one of my top five.

But many more eloquent writers and readers than me will talk about Sandman.

I should say I’ve read and listened to both versions of American Gods, and while I enjoy Coraline and Neverworld and The Ocean at the End of the Lane better, American Gods is a perfect book. And yet I am sure one of my friends will toast you with some little known mead and the perfect synopsis of why the tenth anniversary is indeed a better choice.

Best leave it.

Instead I want to celebrate the fact that as I write this, it is not my own voice I hear in my head (as usually I do when I write) but yours. I should find this curious but I do not. While I have read practically everything you’ve written (with the exception of the sneezing Panda books that I am saving for my soon to be niece or nephew), I have also listened to everything you’ve written.

For example, at this moment, both “A Study in Emerald,” “Wolves in the Walls,” and “Coraline,” are all downloaded in my phone. For that matter, so is “The View from the Cheap Seats.” I pick a chapter when I want to think about a writer or an idea. I pick a story when I want to be scared or entertained or frankly soothed.

But most of all?

It’s the way you tell your stories aloud. Neither reading nor performing, but telling.

I feel small and unaccountable excited as you spin out anything - interviewing Stephen King, introducing me to Dianna Wynn Jones (for which I will be always grateful), the kittens! that appear like Capra’s crows in so many books, although I did cry when the Opal Miner killed the narrator’s kitten in Ocean - and it reminds my of why books are magic. Of how hearing something I love makes my chest tight and my breath fast. How there can always be new worlds, even in the most boring of places. How books can be stories and stories are told.

Still it is your voice in my head and I think of this idea of the story. A tale you can tell for the simple and complex enjoyment of hearing it. And then I hear you read Neverwhere, and I believe, absolutely believe, that possibly this story is at least a teensy bit real. “I mean, maybe I am crazy. I mean, maybe. But if this is all there is, then I don't want to be sane.” I wanted to live in the London of two Londons. Of Ming China eating terrible scary men and bumbling heroes making it up as they go along. I never wanted it to end.

Except I definitely wanted to find out how it would end up.

So as I toast you, mug of hot chocolate in my hand, I imagine you sitting on a chair next to my bed or at the other end of the couch from me, and I know I need only wait for you to take a breath.

Then you will tell me a story.

And I will listen with a kitten on my lap.

Gaiman readers one and all, be upstanding, raise your mugs of cocoa and give thanks one and all to Mr. Gaiman’s telling of the story.

Which absolutely beats toasting the Haggis in Gaelic." - Courtney

Courtney and I have actually never met in person, but in this day and age what does that really mean? Like many of my book loving friends I first became aware of Courtney through The Rory Gilmore Book Club on Goodreads, but it wasn't until one of our mutual friends insisted we get to know each other better that we noticed a similar taste in books and television. In fact just in requesting this Gaiman toast from her I might have reignited her addiction to Helen Fielding which I also suffer from. But it is her love of the mystical and magical and Gothic that made me know my Gaiman Gala wouldn't be the same without her.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A Study in Emerald, American Gods, Cats, Coraline, Gaiman Gala, Gaiman Toast, Goodreads, Neil Gaiman, Neverwhere, Sandman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, The View from the Cheap Seats, Wolves in the Walls

Stardust was the second book by Neil Gaiman that I read. It's probably not his most well known piece, people tending to favor his more popular works from American Gods to The Sandman. Stardust is kind of somewhere inbetween with fairies and stars fallen to earth. And the truth is, I can see why people just aren't as engaged with it because I spent the entire afternoon one dark and dreary December 31st trying to finish it so that I could start the new year with a fresh new book, something miles away from Stardust. I couldn't bear the thought of having this book hanging over me at the start of another year. Yet I'm not here to talk about my dissatisfaction with the book, I'm here to talk about the movie that came out over two years later in the summer of 2007. Because I had disliked the book so thoroughly I oddly had no expectations of the movie. I literally was just excited to see so many British actors I loved from television on the big screen, from Henry Cavill to Nathaniel Parker, Jason Flemyng to Mark Heap, and especially Julian Rhind-Tutt to Mark Williams! Also, never forget Ricky Gervais is in this movie fresh off the success of Extras.

My friends thought I might have been a little too excited, I got lots of the "yes yes of course we'll see it" responses with the underlying message being "will you be quiet about it if we agree to go?" It came out the weekend before my birthday and it really was an early gift, despite the grumbling company.  

Stardust is literally one of my favorite movies. A stellar cast, a wonderful love story, magic, humor, a flying ship, oh, and the realization that I actually like Mark Strong. The movie captures that same ephemeral quality that is in The Princess Bride that you can't quite capture if you set out to replicate it. Just look to Neil's own flop MirrorMask which was deliberately meant to be Labyrinth for a new generation. MirrorMask is best forgotten, unlike Stardust. Stardust showed me that you really never can tell about books and their adaptations. They just might surprise you. Just as a great book can make a horrible movie, so can a mediocre book make a fabulous movie. Preconceptions get us nowhere and if we leave them at the door we might be surprised. Though I do think it's time for me to give the book another chance. I've only journeyed back to Wall in the delightful short story that Susanna Clarke set in Gaiman's universe, but you never know, Stardust might end up like The Princess Bride for me, the book and the movie being equally good for entirely different reasons.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments  

Labels: American Gods, Birthday, Gaiman Gala, Gaiman Reminiscence, Labyrinth, MirrorMask, Nathaniel Parker, Neil Gaiman, Ricky Gervais, Sandman, Stardust, Susanna Clarke, The Ladies of Grace Adieu, The Princess Bride, Wall

My grandparents had a farm on County Highway JJ in Lone Rock, just twenty some minutes from one of Wisconsin's weirdest attractions, The House on the Rock. The House on the Rock is a shrine to one man's weird collections and architectural dreams. The house itself is like some shag pile automated party house for Austin Powers, while the outlying warehouse-like buildings are crammed with everything from creepy dolls and dollhouses to mannequins wearing some of the oddest outfits to Eastern shrines and vast copper kettles surrounded by little walkways and staircases that go nowhere. And then there's the carousel. It's the world's largest indoor carousel that features 269 carousel animals, 182 chandeliers, over 20,000 lights, and hundreds of mannequin angels hanging from the ceiling. I spent much of my childhood hoping to ride that carousel, but alas, they don't allow it. I literally don't know how many times my parents took me there, it was a way to divert my brother and me for hours. I loved getting lost in the recreation of old streets and looking into fake houses, always wondering about other places and other people's lives.

The last time I went with my parents was for one of my brother's birthday parties. I remember it was sometime after the movie Big came out because I was 100% convinced that my fortune from the Esmeralda Machine, like Zoltar, would come to pass. In fact, it kind of did. I scoffed at it saying I'd end up in theatre and then I went and got myself a degree doing theatre tech! Though I am to this day grateful the card didn't say:

Years later when I was out of high school I went back with my friends and was still awed by the weirdness of it all. Last fall I went for what I am claiming will be my last time. The place was dusty and dilapidated, hot and overwhelming. And so cacophonous with the om-pah-pah music reverberating everywhere. But it's been a part of my life for so long it's no surprise that when I heard there was a book set there written by Neil Gaiman I ran to the bookstore and bought it. I am glad that American Gods wasn't the first Gaiman book I read because I have a feeling I would never have read anything else by him. He has often stated that American Gods is his most polarizing book and I can see that just among my friends. Some view it as the best book they've ever read and some have never been able to finish it. I just feel stupid when I read it, like I need a PHD in mythology to grasp the plot. I even tried to re-read it last fall before my final excursion to The House on the Rock and failed after the first section. But American Gods does hold a special place in my heart because Neil perfectly captured a place that was part of my growing up and immortalized it. So when the dust and decay and faulty wiring finally consume Alex Jordan's vision it will live on through Neil's writing.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alex Jordan, American Gods, Big, Carousel, Esmeralda, Fortunetelling, Gaiman Gala, Gaiman Reminiscence, Lone Rock, Neil Gaiman, PHD, Spring Green, The House on the Rock, Zoltar

Amy and I met on Goodreads through our mutual love of Gilmore Girls, where it didn't take long to learn we have far more in common, including growing up in Wisconsin! Amy is a kick ass acquisitions editor at Llewellyn who spends her spare time doing all her amazing hobbies from knitting to going to Supper Clubs. And yes, those are Dalek ice cubes if you were wondering.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: American Gods, Daleks, Gaiman Gala, Gaiman Toast, Gilmore Girls, Goodreads, Knitting, Llewellyn, Neil Gaiman, Supper Clubs, Wisconsin

Last fall as I was rereading American Gods in anticipation of my first visit to House on the Rock since I last went right out of high school I thought once again how much I associate this time of year with the works of Neil Gaiman. He is among a handful of authors, including Shirley Jackson and Stephen King, who I think are mandatory reading for October. I had once or twice in the past toyed with the idea of doing an October theme month dedicated to this great author but I never seemed to get around to it. With all the hype surrounding American Gods finally becoming a television show, helmed by that genius of televisual geniuses, Bryan Fuller, now seemed the precise time when a celebration was in order. But not your typical celebration, instead a true gala. Gone are the expected reviews and star ratings, in their place are going to be remembrances and toasts! I, along with my friends, are going to raise a glass to that most unique of authors and I hope you will join us. Here's to Neil Gaiman! Hip hip hooray let's dance the Macabray!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: American Gods, Bryan Fuller, Danse Macabre, Gaiman Gala, House on the Rock, Macabray, Neil Gaiman, October, Shirley Jackson, Stephen King, Theme Month, Toast

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Published by: HarperTorch
Publication Date: 1990
Format: Paperback, 412 Pages
Challenge: Horror and Urban Fantasy
Rating: ★★
To Buy
Crawly and Aziraphale have quite literally been there since the beginning. Man, woman, garden, snake. Crawly was the snake. But nowadays he has the car and the suave clothes that befit his side while Aziraphale collects books. What else is there to do when you're waiting for the world to end? The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch predicted it all back in 1655. And that's not the nice that indicates the end of the world next Saturday is a good thing, it's the other, more "precise" kind. It's going to happen. Everything has been put in place, the "horsemen" are assembling, the time has come for the uprising of evil. If only there hadn't been that little mix up with the son of Satan a few years back... because if things had gone to plan it would have been nice and smooth, instead Crawly and Aziraphale aren't sure whose side they're on because they rather like the world as it is, even if any tape left overly long in a car will start blaring Freddie Mercury and Queen. Can you go up against a witch who always knew what was going to happen? Or can you thwart the omens?

While you can see how this book has developed the cult following it has, it still just wasn't it for me. I felt hollow after reading it, most likely due to my inflated expectations. I've read Gaiman and Pratchett at the top of their game, and I just didn't feel this was it... of course, this was before they where GAIMAN and PRATCHETT. Their styles where not yet formed, but I will say they worked well together. They claim that they can't tell who wrote what and they think that perhaps the book started writing itself at some point. I agree with this, not with the book writing it's own text, but who knows, but the bite about who wrote what. The book had a cohesion that made it feel that it was written by one person. The ideas where melded together into one perfect vision and did not feel like two competing minds, which is often the case when two writers collaborate.

More than any gripes I have with plot or character, which I don't really have except that I really thought that Satan's son shouldn't have been such a boring twit, my problem was that it felt so dated, so 1980s. Ansaphones? Really? Ok, I mean, sure they have been referenced on Dr Who recently, as well as being part of the common vernacular of England, but it still made it feel past it's day. Which brings me back to these authors at their current prime. They don't feel dated! Pick up any Discworld book, it feels fresh and now. Grab American Gods before it becomes mainstream with the HBO series. These are classics. Maybe in a few more years the dated will become nostalgia and I'll like. Every book changes every time you read it. I can see why people have wanted an adaptation or a sequel for years, because there is so much you could do now to update this and make it relevant. So many avenues you could explore. As for the original... not my favorite. But as for the Queen joke, it was worth buying the book. That was priceless.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 2011 Reading Challenge, Agnes Nutter, American Gods, Apocalypse, Discworld, Freddie Mercury, Good Omens, HBO, Neil Gaiman, Queen, Terry Pratchett

The Dog Who Came in from the Cold by Alexander McCall Smith
Published by: Pantheon
Publication Date: June 21st, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The heartwarming and hilarious new installment in the Corduroy Mansions series presents the further adventures of Alexander McCall Smith’s newest beloved character: the Pimlico terrier Freddie de la Hay.

In the elegantly crumbling mansion block in Pimlico called Corduroy Mansions, the comings and goings of the wonderfully motley crew of residents continue apace. A pair of New Age operators has determined that Terence Moongrove’s estate is the cosmologically correct place for their center for cosmological studies. Literary agent Barbara Ragg has decided to represent Autobiography of a Yeti, purportedly dictated to the author by the Abominable Snowman himself. And our small, furry, endlessly surprising canine hero Freddie de la Hay—belonging to failed oenophile William French—has been recruited by MI6 to infiltrate a Russian spy ring. Needless to say, the other denizens of Corduroy Mansions have issues of their own. But all of them will be addressed with the wit and insight into the foibles of the human condition that have become the hallmark of this peerless storyteller."

It's never a bad day when there's a new Alexander McCall Smith novel! And this one has doggies!

Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich
Published by: Bantam
Publication Date: June 21st, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Where there’s smoke there’s fire, and no one knows this better than New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum.

Dead bodies are showing up in shallow graves on the empty construction lot of Vincent Plum Bail Bonds. No one is sure who the killer is, or why the victims have been offed, but what is clear is that Stephanie’s name is on the killer’s list.

Short on time to find evidence proving the killer’s identity, Stephanie faces further complications when her family and friends decide that it’s time for her to choose between her longtime off-again-on-again boyfriend, Trenton cop Joe Morelli, and the bad boy in her life, security expert Ranger. Stephanie’s mom is encouraging Stephanie to dump them both and choose a former high school football star who’s just returned to town. Stephanie’s sidekick, Lula, is encouraging Stephanie to have a red-hot boudoir “bake-off.” And Grandma Bella, Morelli’s old-world grandmother, is encouraging Stephanie to move to a new state when she puts “the eye” on Stephanie.

With a cold-blooded killer after her, a handful of hot men, and a capture list that includes a dancing bear and a senior citizen vampire, Stephanie’s life looks like it’s about to go up in smoke."

I really have been wanting to try out this series... but does anyone else think it's tacky that they're selling this books with stickers? That's just so... grade school.

Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter
Published by: Hyperion
Publication Date: June 21st, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Katarina Bishop has worn a lot of labels in her short life: Friend. Niece. Daughter. Thief. But for the last two months she’s simply been known as the girl who ran the crew that robbed the greatest museum in the world. That’s why Kat isn’t surprised when she’s asked to steal the infamous Cleopatra Emerald so it can be returned to its rightful owners. There are only three problems. First, the gem hasn’t been seen in public in thirty years. Second, since the fall of the Egyptian empire and the suicide of Cleopatra, no one who holds the emerald keeps it for long — and in Kat’s world, history almost always repeats itself. But it’s the third problem that makes Kat’s crew the most nervous, and that is . . . the emerald is cursed. Kat might be in way over her head, but she’s not going down without a fight. After all, she has her best friend — the gorgeous Hale — and the rest of her crew with her as they chase the Cleopatra around the globe, dodging curses and realizing that the same tricks and cons her family has used for centuries are useless this time. Which means, this time, Katarina Bishop is making up her own rules."

I've always wanted to be an art or jewel theif... maybe I shouldn't have said that in case one day I get my chance... At least I can live vicariously through Ally Carter's Heist Society books.

The Dark Enquiry by Deanna Raybourn
Published by: Mira
Publication Date: June 21st, 2011
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Partners now in marriage and in trade, Lady Julia and Nicholas Brisbane have finally returned from abroad to set up housekeeping in London. But merging their respective collections of gadgets, pets and servants leaves little room for the harried newlyweds themselves, let alone Brisbane's private enquiry business.
Among the more unlikely clients: Julia's very proper brother, Lord Bellmont, who swears Brisbane to secrecy about his case. Not about to be left out of anything concerning her beloved—if eccentric—family, spirited Julia soon picks up the trail of the investigation.

It leads to the exclusive Ghost Club, where the alluring Madame Séraphine holds evening séances…and not a few powerful gentlemen in thrall. From this eerie enclave unfolds a lurid tangle of dark deeds, whose tendrils crush reputations and throttle trust.

Shocked to find their investigation spun into salacious newspaper headlines, bristling at the tension it causes between them, the Brisbanes find they must unite or fall. For Bellmont's sakeâ € “ and moreâ € “ they'll face myriad dangers born of dark secrets, the kind men kill to keep…"

I have all the Lady Julia novels in a stack right beside me and I can't wait to dive in.

Nothing Daunted by Dorothy Wickenden
Published by: Scribner
Publication Date: June 21st, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"In the summer of 1916, Dorothy Woodruff and Rosamond Underwood, close friends from childhood and graduates of Smith College, left home in Auburn, New York, for the wilds of northwestern Colorado. Bored by their society luncheons, charity work, and the effete young men who courted them, they learned that two teach-ing jobs were available in a remote mountaintop schoolhouse and applied—shocking their families and friends. “No young lady in our town,” Dorothy later commented, “had ever been hired by anybody.”

They took the new railroad over the Continental Divide and made their way by spring wagon to the tiny settlement of Elkhead, where they lived with a family of homesteaders. They rode several miles to school each day on horseback, sometimes in blinding blizzards. Their students walked or skied on barrel staves, in tattered clothes and shoes tied together with string. The man who had lured them out west was Ferry Carpenter, a witty, idealistic, and occasionally outrageous young lawyer and cattle rancher. He had promised them the adventure of a lifetime and the most modern schoolhouse in Routt County; he hadn’t let on that the teachers would be considered dazzling prospective brides for the locals.

That year transformed the children, their families, and the undaunted teachers themselves. Dorothy and Rosamond learned how to handle unruly children who had never heard the Pledge of Allegiance and thought Ferry Carpenter was the president of the United States; they adeptly deflected the amorous advances of hopeful cowboys; and they saw one of their closest friends violently kidnapped by two coal miners. Carpenter’s marital scheme turned out to be more successful than even he had hoped and had a surprising twist some forty years later.

In their buoyant letters home, the two women captured the voices and stories of the pioneer women, the children, and the other memorable people they got to know. Nearly a hundred years later, New Yorker executive editor Dorothy Wickenden—the granddaughter of Dorothy Woodruff—found the letters and began to reconstruct the women’s journey. Enhancing the story with interviews with descendants, research about these vanished communities, and trips to the region, Wickenden creates an exhilarating saga about two intrepid young women and the “settling up” of the West."

This sounds so fun! High society goes wild west. And it's true!

American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: June 21st, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 560 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"First published in 2001, American Gods became an instant classic—an intellectual and artistic benchmark from the multiple-award-winning master of innovative fiction, Neil Gaiman. Now discover the mystery and magic of American Gods in this tenth anniversary edition. Newly updated and expanded with the author’s preferred text, this commemorative volume is a true celebration of a modern masterpiece by the one, the only, Neal Gaiman.

A storm is coming . . .

Locked behind bars for three years, Shadow did his time, quietly waiting for the magic day when he could return to Eagle Point, Indiana. A man no longer scared of what tomorrow might bring, all he wanted was to be with Laura, the wife he deeply loved, and start a new life.

But just days before his release, Laura and Shadow’s best friend are killed in an accident. With his life in pieces and nothing to keep him tethered, Shadow accepts a job from a beguiling stranger he meets on the way home, an enigmatic man who calls himself Mr. Wednesday. A trickster and rogue, Wednesday seems to know more about Shadow than Shadow does himself.

Life as Wednesday’s bodyguard, driver, and errand boy is far more interesting and dangerous than Shadow ever imagined—it is a job that takes him on a dark and strange road trip and introduces him to a host of eccentric characters whose fates are mysteriously intertwined with his own. Along the way Shadow will learn that the past never dies; that everyone, including his beloved Laura, harbors secrets; and that dreams, totems, legends, and myths are more real than we know. Ultimately, he will discover that beneath the placid surface of everyday life a storm is brewing—an epic war for the very soul of America—and that he is standing squarely in its path.

Relevant and prescient, American Gods has been lauded for its brilliant synthesis of “mystery, satire, sex, horror, and poetic prose” (Michael Dirda, Washington Post Book World) and as a modern phantasmagoria that “distills the essence of America” (Seattle Post-Intelligencer). It is, quite simply, an outstanding work of literary imagination that will endure for generations."

I can't believe it's been ten years since American Gods came out. A great concept that I felt failed in the execution, but still a must read for fans of Gaiman. Also it has The House on the Rock, where I spent many a birthday party, which is also why I picked up the book in the first place all those years ago.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alexander McCall Smith, Ally Carter, American Gods, Deanna Raybourn, Janet Evanovich, Neil Gaiman, Nothing Daunted, The Dark Enquiry, The Dog Who Came in from the Cold, Uncommon Criminals

Hogfather by Terry Pratchett
Published by: Harper Torch
Publication Date: 1996
Format: Paperback, 354 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy
In the 20th installment of Terry Pratchett's Discworld, we once again see old friends and meet some new acquaintances. Though perhaps I should have read this in December, seeing as it's about Hogswatch, Discworld's equivalent to Christmas, I still found it vastly enjoyable during the summer heat. The rouges gallery that Pratchett has assembled for us this time around are the Wizards of UU (that's Unseen University to those not in the know), DEATH, his granddaughter Susan, various other holiday or occupational manifestations in corporeal form, the assassin Mister Teatime (pronounced Teh-ah-tim-eh) and some inept villains, I would say thieves, but they are not licensed.

The core of the book is about belief. What would happen if someone was actually able to kill Santa Clause/The Fat Man/The Hogfather, insert name here, by destroying belief? Could the world actually function if The Hogfather died and what would happen with the extra belief that then seeped into the world? Would random manifestations like a Veruca Goblin or a God of Hangovers actually come into or back into existance to fill the void? Do we, as humans really need to believe the more fantastical lies of youth in order to function later in life? What I find wonderful about Terry Pratchett is that while his books have a flawless veneer of humor that may have you laughing out loud, he truly understands human nature.

I also find it fascinating that, like Neil Gaiman, he tackles the issues of what happens to gods over time. While in American Gods, Neil Gaiman has the new gods and the old gods battle it out for their piece of belief, whereas in Hogfather, we have old gods who do new jobs. Just because The Hogfather is all modern and Santa-esque with the sleigh pulled by giant pigs in his red kit doesn't mean that before that or even at the same time he's from an older age of blood and ice and fire. You need to evolve with faith and belief not to be outmoded and made obsolete.

Finally I would just like to say I think Susan is perfectly matched against Mister Teatime. She is no nonsense, monsters who threaten her or her charges will get the poker. I kind of admire her for her take no prisoners, nothing can faze me attitude, though having DEATH as your granddad probably teaches you the harsh realities rather fast. Against her Pratchett has placed Mister Teatime "who saw things differently from other people, and one of the ways that he saw things differently from other people was in seeing other people as things." A terrifying assassin who's own guild is trying to oust him. The struggle between the two is a great read, but it should be no surprise as to who wins in the end.

So go out and read this book! In fact, read all of Discworld, it's a place striding across time and space on the backs of four giant elephants atop the space turtle Great A'Tuin, that you'll want to stay in for quite awhile, and luckily for you as of this month there are 38 novels in that wondrous land.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 1 comments  

Labels: American Gods, Book Review, Christmas, DEATH, Discworld, Great A'Tuin, Hogfather, Mister Teatime, Neil Gaiman, Susanns Clarke, Terry Pratchett, Unseen University, Wizards

Odd and the Frost Gaints by Neil Gaiman
Published by: Scholastic Press
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2009
Format: Hardcover, 128 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

In ancient Norway (Midgard) there lives a boy, Odd. His name is not odd, but he himself is a little, with an infuriating smile he loves to wear. Odd has had some rough times of late. His father, a gifted woodcarver, died on a pillaging trip. His mother, who feels alone in town because she is from Scotland, remarries a man who has his own kids and doesn't like Odd. Odd himself has become crippled. All of this Odd could deal with if only spring would come. Only this year spring isn't coming for some reason. Odd decides to run away to the wood cutting cabin his father kept deep in the forest. Once there he finally feels safe and secure, but he stumbles upon some interesting characters, a fox, an eagle and a bear. This being the Norway of myth and legend, they of course aren't want they seem. They are in fact Gods, fully animal and unable to change back, because they were banished from Asgard by a Frost Giant who tricked them. Odd says he will help, his mother used to sing him songs, and the boy always is able to defeat the giant. Once in Asgard it takes all that Odd has in him, even that which he didn't know he possessed to attempt to defeat the giant. But if Odd does succeed what will he do? He can't go home can he?

So I had doubts about this book working at first, most of them related to the quote on the back of the book: "inventive, short, yet perfectly formed novel." Who reviews a book on it's brevity but then has to mention, oh, that's not bad, it's "perfectly formed." Like it's being judged on its structure, like an essay you write for school. Of course they turned out to be right, but I still think that's going to turn some people off the book. A book is however long a book needs to be to fully tell the story, no more or less. This is such a sweet little compact and funny novel I think everyone should read it. What I love about this book is that while it's about Norway and Scandinavian gods, Neil Gaiman makes them seem so human and real, people you'd want to be around and not some mythical beings who you can't relate to. Oh, and they're funny.

But of course, underneath all the humor and myth there are also profundities. Beauty, wisdom and want, and what happens when you get what your heart's desire. And of course, Gods. While I didn't like Gaiman's American Gods, I liked his thoughts on the nature and behavior of them. I have read some reviews that felt this book was almost written as research for American Gods. I heartily disagree, and not just because temporally that's absurd. This book, while dealing with some of the Gods who will figure into his earlier work, is more of a little meditation of the nature of Gods, versus an all out treatise with a battle at the end. And of course he's fascinated with similar topics, we like familiarity, but it's the genius of Gaiman to bring us something that while it feels old is still so new. A sweet little fairy tale of the boy outwitting the giant, again, but gaining wisdom in the process. These people Odd has befriended are Gods, and the nature of Gods are they are timeless, unchanging and eternal. In American Gods they are forced out, made to change, while in Odd and the Frost Giants, they are as they always were and ever will be. This has all happened before and it can happen again. But Odd sees that now. I wouldn't mind spending time with this new Odd, and as Gaiman says in his hilarious bio at the back of the book, he "thinks there are more stories about Odd he would like to tell." I for one hope it's true.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 5:33 PM 2 comments  

Labels: American Gods, Asgard, Book Review, Gods, Midgard, Neil Gaiman, Norway, Odd, Odd and the Frost Giants

Odd and the Frost Gaints by Neil Gaiman
Published by: Scholastic Press
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2009
Format: Hardcover, 128 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this inventive, short, yet perfectly formed novel inspired by traditional Norse mythology, Neil Gaiman takes readers on a wild and magical trip to the land of giants and gods and back.

In a village in ancient Norway lives a boy named Odd, and he's had some very bad luck: His father perished in a Viking expedition; a tree fell on and shattered his leg; the endless freezing winter is making villagers dangerously grumpy.

Out in the forest Odd encounters a bear, a fox, and an eagle—three creatures with a strange story to tell.

Now Odd is forced on a stranger journey than he had imagined—a journey to save Asgard, city of the gods, from the Frost Giants who have invaded it.

It's going to take a very special kind of twelve-year-old boy to outwit the Frost Giants, restore peace to the city of gods, and end the long winter.

Someone cheerful and infuriating and clever . . .

Someone just like Odd ."

This week I have two radically different books to present, by two very different authors who are both Britons living in America and have both have had the word "American" in a title of their respective books. First up Neil Gaiman has written abother kids book and I say yeah! For me he's a far better writer when he's writing for children that for adults, just read The Graveyard Book and then American Gods, yes they are radically different, but The Graveyard Book is hands down the winner in my mind. Sure it's been out in England since last year, but that's a big ocean away...plus illustrations by Brett Helquist, most known for The Series of Unfortunate Events books, or the only reason I started reading the books in the first place. The book is also out on CD the same day read by the author himself.

I also just found the awesome book trailer:



American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot by Craig Ferguson
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2009
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In American on Purpose, Craig Ferguson delivers a moving and achingly funny memoir of living the American dream as he journeys from the mean streets of Glasgow, Scotland, to the comedic promised land of Hollywood. Along the way he stumbles through several attempts to make his mark—as a punk rock musician, a construction worker, a bouncer, and, tragically, a modern dancer.

To numb the pain of failure, Ferguson found comfort in drugs and alcohol, addictions that eventually led to an aborted suicide attempt. (He forgot to do it when someone offered him a glass of sherry.) But his story has a happy ending: in 1993, the washed-up Ferguson washed up in the United States. Finally sober, Ferguson landed a breakthrough part on the hit sitcom The Drew Carey Show, a success that eventually led to his role as the host of CBS's The Late Late Show. By far Ferguson's greatest triumph was his decision to become a U.S. citizen, a milestone he achieved in early 2008, just before his command performance for the president at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. In American on Purpose, Craig Ferguson talks a red, white, and blue streak about everything our Founding Fathers feared."

This recommendation is specifically for Michele (and all other devotes of Craig Ferguson). Craig Ferguson might most be known for his late show or his performance as Mr. Wick on The Drew Carey Show (his atrocious English accent being punishment for Scotty on Star Trek, or so he says) but that is one side of this greatly talented man. Last year her got a lot of press due to the fact that he became a US citizen, hence the name of the book. He has also written and co-starred in three movies, Saving Grave later being spun off into the popular British Drama Doc Martin. He also still does the occasional stand-up, I got to see a performance a few years back and he was awesome. I'm planning on picking up this book because if it's even half as funny as he was live this will be a great read.

He'll also be doing a few signings so if you have the chance go check him out, I'm sure Michele will!

Wednesday, September 23rd @ 7:00PM
Borders Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois

Friday, September 25th @ 12:00PM
Palace of Fine Arts
San Francisco, California

Saturday, Septmeber 26th @ 12:00PM
Book Passage
Corte Madera, California

Friday, October 2nd @ 12:00PM
Town Hall
Seattle Washington

Sunday, October 4th @ 6:00PM
Vroman's
Pasadena, California

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:32 AM 3 comments  

Labels: American Gods, American on Purpose, Craig Ferguson, Neil Gaiman, Odd and the Frost Giants, The Graveyard Book, Tuesday Tomorrow

Hogfather by Terry Pratchett
Published by: Harper Torch
Publication Date: 1996
Format: Paperback, 354 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

In the 20th installment of Terry Pratchett's Discworld, we once again see old friends and meet some new acquaintances. Though perhaps I should have read this in December, seeing as it's about Hogswatch, Discworld's equivalent to Christmas, I still found it vastly enjoyable during the summer heat. The rouges gallery that Pratchett has assembled for us this time around are the Wizards of UU (that's Unseen University to those not in the know), DEATH, his granddaughter Susan, various other holiday or occupational manifestations in corporeal form, the assassin Mister Teatime (pronounced Teh-ah-tim-eh) and some inept villains, I would say thieves, but they are not licensed.

The core of the book is about belief. What would happen if someone was actually able to kill Santa Clause/The Fat Man/The Hogfather, insert name here, by destroying belief? Could the world actually function if The Hogfather died and what would happen with the extra belief that then seeped into the world? Would random manifestations like a Veruca Goblin or a God of Hangovers actually come into or back into existance to fill the void? Do we, as humans really need to believe the more fantastical lies of youth in order to function later in life? What I find wonderful about Terry Pratchett is that while his books have a flawless veneer of humor that may have you laughing out loud, he truly understands human nature.

I also find it fascinating that, like Neil Gaiman, he tackles the issues of what happens to gods over time. While in American Gods, Neil Gaiman has the new gods and the old gods battle it out for their piece of belief, whereas in Hogfather, we have old gods who do new jobs. Just because The Hogfather is all modern and Santa-esque with the sleigh pulled by giant pigs in his red kit doesn't mean that before that or even at the same time he's from an older age of blood and ice and fire. You need to evolve with faith and belief not to be outmoded and made obsolete.

Finally I would just like to say I think Susan is perfectly matched against Mister Teatime. She is no nonsense, monsters who threaten her or her charges will get the poker. I kind of admire her for her take no prisoners, nothing can faze me attitude, though having DEATH as your granddad probably teaches you the harsh realities rather fast. Against her Pratchett has placed Mister Teatime "who saw things differently from other people, and one of the ways that he saw things differently from other people was in seeing other people as things." A terrifying assassin who's own guild is trying to oust him. The struggle between the two is a great read, but it should be no surprise as to who wins in the end.

So go out and read this book! In fact, read all of Discworld, it's a place striding across time and space on the backs of four giant elephants atop the space turtle Great A'Tuin, that you'll want to stay in for quite awhile, and luckily for you as of October there are 37 novels in that wondrous land.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:19 AM 2 comments  

Labels: American Gods, Book Review, Christmas, DEATH, Discworld, Great A'Tuin, Hogfather, Mister Teatime, Neil Gaiman, Susanns Clarke, Terry Pratchett, Unseen University, Wizards