strange and random happenstance

Unnatural Creatures Stories Selected by Neil Gaiman
Published by: HarperCollins
Publication Date: April 23rd, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 480 Pages
Rating: ★★
To Buy

Beasts both natural and unnatural are all around us. What if there was a spot. It starts out on you tablecloth. Which is most vexing. But then it moves. It grows. And it's coming for you! But a spot as some sort of creature is definitely "unnatural." Wasps on the other hand... Everyone has had an experience with wasps. They bring terror with their painful stings. There nests seem nothing put paper, but what if that paper was something special. What if that paper was highly detailed maps of the surrounding area? Then they'd be an even bigger threat. A threat to the safety of humans. And maybe a threat to other insects too. A Griffin is a creature beloved by fantasy readers, but this griffin seeks a friend. But instead of the friend showing others that the Griffin isn't a monster he is tarred with the same brush. Which leads us back to a more recognized creature, snakes. Ozioma, despite being shunned from her community must help them with her unique powers with snakes. The creatures go back and forth from the mundane to the magical. Who doesn't want to learn about a tontine involving a sunbird? Though the sunbird might object when it learns what's on the menu. Did you know that dragons can be invisible? And that werewolves, even when seeming polite, might be very very dangerous. Then there's the Cockatoucan. A bird whose whims and whimsy become reality. And can a tree really be a beast? Also, what happens when in the future beasts are forgotten? Could a person from the future mistake a unicorn for a horse? Well, they are quite similar except for the whole horn... There are also different lands, lands of color! Back in the real world though magic can be everywhere, even at the National History Museum with a platypus turning into a mermaid. The manticore though is more worrying. As are werewolves that don't "have" to change... Because denying what you are is never a good idea. Humans themselves can even view themselves as monsters, even if they don't turn into a wolf at the full moon. Backpedaling to the monsters that might be more artifacts, what about bicycles? Bicycles could become sentient right? And the most deadly beast of all is death... Stories and creatures creepy and deadly, with small children being killed and timelines being messed up. If only someone would wrangle the creatures... But then again, there would need to be a consistent definition wouldn't there? And it might include you!

There comes a time when you realize that an author you like and respect might, just might, have shit taste in books. I remember seeing Erin Morgenstern speak with such fervor about The Secret History by Donna Tartt that as soon as I got home from Erin's event I ordered a copy to read immediately. The Secret History isn't one of my favorite books. I wouldn't even say I liked it just a little. I adore The Night Circus, and the opposite could be said for The Secret History. Now let's take another case study; Patrick Rothfuss. I love Pat, I can't wait for him to one day in the distant future finish Doors of Stone, I mean he's got a stronger chance of finishing than George R.R. Martin does at this point, but Pat, we need to have a talk about your taste in books. In particular comics. You have bad taste. Or at least taste that doesn't align with mine. It's so bad that if you recommend it I know to avoid it like the plague. So, in that regards, you are very very useful. Though we do appear to agree on The Chronicles of Narnia, but I call that a rare nostalgic outlier. Which brings me to the fact that this book is a selection of short stories chosen by Neil Gaiman, an author who, until recently, I respected. And he didn't lose my respect because of his selection of short stories, I'm not that critical of someone's taste in books, and I read this book long ago, he lost my respect due to the recent sexual assault allegations. The media isn't covering this case much but from everything I've read I believe the victims. Because we should always believe the victims. Especially when they have the receipts. So writing this review now is colored by this new knowledge. Someone I respected no longer deserves that respect, no longer deserves the odes I and others have written on this very blog. So I'll try to review this as impartially as I can, which, if I'm honest, isn't much at all. But it's just work he chose and only one he wrote, so I won't tar the other authors with the same brush. For all I know they were or are very nice people. But then again I thought the same of Neil Gaiman. And there's actually only one story I found worth the purchase price. Though one good story can make a book work. It just so happened it was the first story in the book so everything else paled in comparison to "●." Gahan Wilson's story is totally the inspiration for the Doctor Who episode "Blink," and is very British, scary, and interesting, with an abrupt and shocking ending. All the rest? Not so much.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Diana Wynne Jones, E. Lily Yu, E. Nesbit, Erin Morgenstern, For the Love of Book Clubs, Gahan Wilson, Neil Gaiman, Patrick Rothfuss, Peter S. Beagle, Sexual Assault, Short Stories, Unnatural Creatures

Bleeding Heart Yard by Elly Griffiths
Published by: Mariner Books
Publication Date: November 15th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A murderer strikes at a school reunion - but the students are no strangers to death - in this propulsive, twisty thriller from the internationally bestselling author of the Ruth Galloway Mysteries .

Is it possible to forget that you've committed a murder?

When Cassie Fitzgerald was at school in the late 90s, she and her friends killed a fellow student. Almost twenty years later, Cassie is a happily married mother who loves her job - as a police officer. She closely guards the secret she has all but erased from her memory.

One day her husband finally persuades her to go to a school reunion. Cassie catches up with her high-achieving old friends from the Manor Park School - among them two politicians, a rock star, and a famous actress. But then, shockingly, one of them, Garfield Rice, is found dead in the school bathroom, supposedly from a drug overdose. As Garfield was an eminent - and controversial - MP and the investigation is high profile, it's headed by Cassie's new boss, DI Harbinder Kaur, freshly promoted and newly arrived in London. The trouble is, Cassie can't shake the feeling that one of them has killed again.

Is Cassie right, or was Garfield murdered by one of his political cronies? It's in Cassie's interest to skew the investigation so that it looks like it has nothing to do with Manor Park and she seems to be succeeding.

Until someone else from the reunion is found dead in Bleeding Heart Yard..."

Last year I discovered the wonders of Elly Griffiths for myself and now she's a must read author.

A Twist of a Knife by Anthony Horowitz
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: November 15th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In New York Times bestselling author Anthony Horowitz's ingenious fourth literary whodunit following The Word is Murder, The Sentence is Death, and A Line to Kill, Horowitz becomes the prime suspect in a murder investigation - and only one man can prove his innocence: his newly estranged partner in solving crime, Detective Hawthorne.

"I'm sorry but the answer's no." Reluctant author, Anthony Horowitz, has had enough. He tells ex-detective Daniel Hawthorne that after three books he's splitting and their deal is over.

The truth is that Anthony has other things on his mind.

His new play, a thriller called Mindgame, is about to open at the Vaudeville Theater in London's West End. Not surprisingly, Hawthorne declines a ticket to the opening night.

The play is panned by the critics. In particular, Sunday Times critic Margaret Throsby gives it a savage review, focusing particularly on the writing. The next day, Throsby is stabbed in the heart with an ornamental dagger which turns out to belong to Anthony, and has his fingerprints all over it.

Anthony is arrested by an old enemy...Detective Inspector Cara Grunshaw. She still carries a grudge from her failure to solve the case described in the second Hawthorne adventure, The Sentence is Death, and blames Anthony. Now she's out for revenge.

Thrown into prison and fearing for both his personal future and his writing career, Anthony is the prime suspect in Throsby's murder and when a second theatre critic is found to have died in mysterious circumstances, the net closes in. Ever more desperate, he realizes that only one man can help him.

But will Hawthorne take the call?"

If you can't get enough of the intriguing worlds that Horowitz creates captivating everyone with Magpie Murders on PBS, why not give this series a whirl?

Death at the Auction by E.C. Bateman
Published by: One More Chapter
Publication Date: November 15th, 2022
Format: Kindle, 383 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A brilliant whodunnit mystery perfect for fans of M.C. Beaton and Richard Osman!

Murder stalks the cobbles in England’s finest Georgian town...

When an accident forces Felicia Grant back to her family's auction house in Stamford, she vows it'll only be a flying visit. But as the gavel falls on the final lot, a hidden secret is revealed - the body of her father's business rival, murdered during the packed sale!

Soon, Felicia is swept into a mystery that has everyone in the community as a potential suspect - including her.

As the body count rises and with the people she loves under threat, Felicia takes matters into her own hands. But even the most picturesque place has its secrets..."

Small towns, auctions, and murder scream Midsomer Murders to me, and that's a very good thing.

Flight Risk by Cherie Priest
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: November 15th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Inconsistent psychic Leda Foley and Seattle detective Grady Merritt return to solve the case of a missing couple in this sequel to the "delightful" (The New York Times Book Review) mystery Grave Reservations.

When psychic travel agent Leda Foley is approached by a man searching for his sister, she quickly agrees to help. The missing woman disappeared with a vintage orange car, a fat sack of her employer's cash, and a grudge against her philandering husband - a man who never even reported her missing.

Meanwhile, Seattle PD detective Grady Merritt has temporarily misplaced his dog. While he's passing out bright pink "Lost" flyers at the Mount Rainier visitor's center, the wayward pooch appears - with a human leg in his mouth.

Thanks to DNA matching, Grady learns that the leg has something to do with Leda's new client, and soon the two cases are tangled.

Theories abound, but law enforcement is low on leads. Lucky for Grady, Leda has a few ideas that might just be crazy enough to work. They'll need one yellow dog, a fair share of teamwork, and perhaps a bit of Klairvoyant Karaoke to piece the clues together in this "undeniable treat" (Gwenda Bond, New York Times bestselling author) of a mystery."

I am ALWAYS here for dogs digging up body parts. Likewise I am ALWAYS here for a new Cherie Priest book!

Ghosts from the Library edited by Tony Medawar
Published by: Collins Crime Club
Publication Date: November 15th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A brand new anthology of previously unpublished and uncollected supernatural mysteries by some of the masters of the Golden Age - thrills, spills and chills perfect for Halloween.

It is said that books are written to bring sunshine into our dull, grey lives - to show us places we want to escape to, lives we want to live, people we want to love. But there are also stories that can only be found in the deepest, darkest corners of the library. Stories about the unexplained, of lost souls, of things that go bump before the silence. Before the screaming.

And some stories just disappear. Stories printed in old newspapers, broadcast live on the wireless, sometimes not even published at all - these are the stories you cannot find on even the dustiest of library shelves.

Ghosts from the Library resurrects forgotten tales of the supernatural by some of the most acclaimed mystery authors of all time. From Arthur Conan Doyle and John Dickson Carr to Agatha Christie and Daphne Du Maurier, this spine-chilling anthology brings together thirteen uncollected tales of terror, plus some additional surprises.

Close the windows. Draw the curtains. Just don't let the lights go out..."

Whenever a "new" Daphne Du Maurier stories appears I swoon.

A Taste for Killing by Sarah Hawkswood
Published by: Allison and Busby
Publication Date: November 15th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Worcester, January 1145. Poison strikes down bow maker Godfrey Bowyer and his wife Blanche after their evening meal. While she survives, he dies an agonising death. Few could have administered the poison, which should mean a very short investigation for the Sheriff's men, Hugh Bradecote, Serjeant Catchpoll and Underserjeant Walkelin. But perhaps someone was pulling the strings, and that widens the net considerably.

With an unpopular victim, the suspects are many and varied."

This cover is perfection.

Reader, I Murdered Him by Betsy Cornwell
Published by: Clarion Books
Publication Date: November 15th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this daring tale of female agency and revenge from a New York Times bestselling author, a girl becomes a teenage vigilante who roams Victorian England using her privilege and power to punish her friends' abusive suitors and keep other young women safe.

Adele grew up in the shadows - first watching from backstage at her mother's Parisian dance halls, then wandering around the gloomy, haunted rooms of her father's manor. When she's finally sent away to boarding school in London, she's happy to enter the brightly lit world of society girls and their wealthy suitors.

Yet there are shadows there, too. Many of the men that try to charm Adele's new friends do so with dark intentions. After a violent assault, she turns to a roguish young con woman for help. Together, they become vigilantes meting out justice. But can Adele save herself from the same fate as those she protects?

With a queer romance at its heart, this lush historical thriller offers readers an irresistible mix of vengeance and empowerment."

Best book title ever? Quite possibly.

The Serpent in Heaven by Charlaine Harris
Published by: Gallery / Saga Press
Publication Date: November 15th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"#1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Charlaine Harris returns to her alternate history of the United States where magic is an acknowledged but despised power in this fourth installment of the Gunnie Rose series.

Felicia, Lizbeth Rose's half-sister and a student at the Grigori Rasputin school in San Diego - capital of the Holy Russian Empire - is caught between her own secrets and powerful family struggles. As a granddaughter of Rasputin, she provides an essential service to the hemophiliac Tsar Alexei, providing him the blood transfusions that keep him alive. Felicia is treated like a nonentity at the bedside of the tsar, and at the school she's seen as a charity case with no magical ability. But when Felicia is snatched outside the school, the facts of her heritage begin to surface. Felicia turns out to be far more than the Russian-Mexican Lizbeth rescued. As Felicia's history unravels and her true abilities become known, she becomes under attack from all directions. Only her courage will keep her alive."

Charlaine Harris is a must buy author for me. In fact I've already preordered my signed copy.

Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse
Published by: Gallery / Saga Press
Publication Date: November 15th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 208 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Celeste, a card sharp with a need for justice, takes on the role of advocatus diaboli, to defend her sister Mariel, accused of murdering a Virtue, a member of the ruling class of this mining town, in a new world of dark fantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of Black Sun, Rebecca Roanhorse.

The year is 1883 and the mining town of Goetia is booming as prospectors from near and far come to mine the powerful new element Divinity from the high mountains of Colorado with the help of the pariahs of society known as the Fallen. The Fallen are the descendants of demonkind living amongst the Virtues, the winners in an ancient war, with the descendants of both sides choosing to live alongside Abaddon's mountain in this tale of the mythological West from the bestselling mastermind Rebecca Roanhorse."

Since I read Black Sun I've been interested what else Rebecca Roanhorse had up her sleeves.

The Fall Of Númenor by J.R.R. Tolkien
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: November 15th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"J.R.R. Tolkien's writings on the Second Age of Middle-earth, collected for the first time in one volume complete with new illustrations in watercolor and pencil by renowned artist Alan Lee.

J.R.R. Tolkien famously described the Second Age of Middle-earth as a "dark age, and not very much of its history is (or need be) told." And for many years readers would need to be content with the tantalizing glimpses of it found within the pages of The Lord of the Rings and its appendices, including the forging of the Rings of Power, the building of the Barad-dûr and the rise of Sauron.

It was not until Christopher Tolkien published The Silmarillion after his father's death that a fuller story could be told. Although much of the book's content concerned the First Age of Middle-earth, there were at its close two key works that revealed the tumultuous events concerning the rise and fall of the island of Númenor. Raised out of the Great Sea and gifted to the Men of Middle-earth as a reward for aiding the angelic Valar and the Elves in the defeat and capture of the Dark Lord Morgoth, the kingdom became a seat of influence and wealth; but as the Númenóreans' power increased, the seed of their downfall would inevitably be sown, culminating in the Last Alliance of Elves and Men.

Even greater insight into the Second Age would be revealed in subsequent publications, first in Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, then expanded upon in Christopher Tolkien's magisterial twelve-volume The History of Middle-earth, in which he presented and discussed a wealth of further tales written by his father, many in draft form.

Now, adhering to the timeline of "The Tale of Years" in the appendices to The Lord of the Rings, editor Brian Sibley has assembled into one comprehensive volume a new chronicle of the Second Age of Middle-earth, told substantially in the words of Tolkien from the various published texts, with new illustrations in watercolor and pencil by the doyen of Tolkien art, Alan Lee."

After finally seeing Númenor onscreen I can't be the only one desperate to read more!

Rise of the Demon by Diana Rowland
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: November 15th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The long-awaited ninth book in the Demon series returns to the adventures of Kara Gillian and the supernatural threats that surround her.

Kara's drastic ceasefire deal with the formidable demon Imperator Dekkak slowed the attacks on Earth to a trickle, but her troubles are far from over. The god-like demahnk are desperate to return to their own kind, but unless they can stabilize the demon realm, they'll be forever exiled - and they've subjugated Kara's beloved Mzatal to further their hellacious cause. One faction of demonic lords and demahnk has a plan to fix their world, yet their salvation would come at the expense of Earth.

Meanwhile, Kara is wrestling with government bureaucracy, backstabbing allies, enemy lords, as well as the powerful young demonic lord Ashava, who's packing the drama, angst, and rebellion of the terrible teen years into just a few months.

Kara's in a race to stop an apocalypse, but in order to prevail she'll have to make a terrible sacrifice or risk losing everything she holds dear."

Ah, the girl who saves the world, lose everything or make a terrible sacrifice.

Cowboy Bebop by Dan Watters
Published by: Titan Comics
Publication Date: November 15th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 112 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An incredible brand new graphic novel of the hit Netflix series Cowboy Bebop, based on the critically-acclaimed anime.

This it the first ever US comic adapting the franchise.

In 2071, a crew of bounty hunters, known as Cowboys, travel the solar system in search of outlaws on their reliable ship, Bebop.

Spike has a past full of violence he can never escape. Jet was a cop who lost faith in the system. Faye is a renegade who trusts nobody. Together they hunt for bounty and adventure, all the while searching for the one thing that connects them all - somewhere they belong.

In this jam-packed tale of hijinks and mayhem, the crew are on the hunt for a bounty called Melville, an ex-syndicate member who possesses a vest which grants the user unlimited luck! A prize as deadly as it is dazzling - how can they resist?"

If we buy this do we get another season? They claim it was a hit despite cancelling it... Maybe they're waffling?

Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: November 15th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"After All the Feels and Spoiler Alert, Olivia Dade once again delivers a warm and wonderful romantic comedy about two co-stars who once had an incredible one-night stand - and after years of filming on the same remote island, are finally ready to yield to temptation again...

Maria's one-night-stand - the thick-thighed, sexy Viking of a man she left without a word or a note - just reappeared. Apparently, Peter's her surly Gods of the Gates co-star, and they're about to spend the next six years filming on a desolate Irish island together. She still wants him...but he now wants nothing to do with her.

Peter knows this role could finally transform him from a forgettable character actor into a leading man. He also knows a failed relationship with Maria could poison the set, and he won't sabotage his career for a woman who's already walked away from him once. Given time, maybe they can be cooperative colleagues or friends - possibly even best friends - but not lovers again. No matter how much he aches for her.

For years, they don't touch off-camera. But on their last night of filming, their mutual restraint finally shatters, and all their pent-up desire explodes into renewed passion. Too bad they still don't have a future together, since Peter's going back to Hollywood, while Maria's returning to her native Sweden. She thinks she needs more than he can give her, but he's determined to change her mind, and he's spent the last six years waiting. Watching. Wanting.

This shipwrecked Swede doesn’t stand a chance."

Wait, the show got a six season pickup out of the gate? That's how you know this is a romance...

Christmas at Throne Manor by Kelley Armstrong
Published by: Kla Fricke Inc
Publication Date: November 15th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Butterflies and Ballgowns
The North Yorkshire moors are always a magical place, but they're particularly enchanting at the holidays...especially if one gets to travel back in time to a Victorian Christmas. For Bronwyn Dale, it is the stuff of dreams. Fancy-dress balls, quirky small-town traditions, even that classic one-horse open sleigh, complete with jingle bells. There's just the tiny problem of the Butterfly Effect. How does a time-traveler make a difference without disrupting the future forever?

Snowstorms and Sleigh Bells
It's a Victorian Christmas at Thorne Manor, and Rosalind Courtenay is staying far, far away from the door that leads to the twenty-first century. It took her four years to get back home, and she's never going near the time stitch again. But her five-year-old son has other plans, and Rosalind finds herself plunged back into the modern world, where she decides to face her fears and give her family the holiday gift of a lifetime. Once again, Fate has other ideas, sending a blizzard to derail Rosalind's cautious planning and toss them all into a whirlwind of savage snowstorms, spectral sleigh bells and, perhaps, a Christmas ghost or two.

Ghosts and Garlands
Victorian novelist Miranda Hastings is in London for a modern-day Christmas with the man she loves, and they want to see everything. Luckily, they have friends who are going to make sure they get their wish. They're sent on a whirlwind holiday adventure, following their friends' mysterious messages...until an encounter with a ghost who was part of an infamous gang of highwaymen. Murder, mystery, and a ghost in need? Now that's Miranda's idea of a holiday treat."

Because I can't read ONLY murder mysteries for Christmas now can I?

The Phantomwise Tarot by Erin Morgenstern
Published by: Clarkson Potter
Publication Date: November 15th, 2022
Format: Tarot Deck, 78 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A fantastical 78-card tarot deck and guidebook hand-painted by the award-winning author of the spellbinding bestseller The Night Circus.

Welcome to The Phantomwise Tarot. This black-and-white world is a little bit circusy, a little bit Wonderland, and a little bit nocturnal phantasia of its own invention. It is a mix of myth and fairy tale, where each individual you meet may be an illusion, reflection, or distortion.

When Erin Morgenstern was working on her international bestseller The Night Circus, she began a creative exercise to better understand the complexities of the tarot. This painted series captures the themes of each of the 78 cards in a traditional Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck with equal parts whimsy and mystery. Archetypal figures like The Fool, The Hierophant, and The Lovers emerge from dark skies and swirling clouds. The ravens may not be what they seem. The cats know more than they’ll ever tell. The accompanying guidebook offers interpretations of the cards and suggested spreads for tarot readings for beginners and expert readers alike.

These cards have waited patiently for over a decade to find their way into the world. Please welcome them into yours."

Ever since I first heard of this deck back when The Night Circus was first released I've been dying to get my hands on a copy. Now we all can!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Anthony Horowitz, Betsy Cornwell, Charlaine Harris, Cherie Priest, Cowboy Bebop, Diana Rowland, Elly Griffiths, Erin Morgenstern, J.R.R. Tolkien, Kelley Armstrong, Olivia Dade, Rebecca Roanhorse, Sarah Hawkswood

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
Published by: Doubleday
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 512 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

When he was young Zachary Ezra Rawlins found a door. Graffitied on the side of his home. Appearing overnight and painted over by the end of the day. He did not go through it and did not tell anyone about it but over the years wondered what would have happened. Therefore it comes as a shock when perusing the stacks of his school's library during winter break that there is a book with his story in it. This impossibility leads him on a hunt that will forever change his life. A hunt for a bee, a key, and a sword. A hunt that leads him into the cross-hairs of warring parties. At a literary themed masquerade at the Algonquin Hotel in New York he meets the players who will lead him down his path. Mirabel, the painter, and Dorian, the storyteller. But this path doesn't come without dangers. Far beneath the Earth there are tunnels and rooms and each and every one of them is filled with books and stories and adventures to be had. But they are all in danger. This subterranean world was once alive and vibrant and here Zachary Ezra Rawlins has finally stepped through the door into a magical world in it's death throes. What would have happened if he had arrived earlier? What will happen now that he's here? Can he save the library with his new companions or is it all lost before his adventure has really begun?

The Starless Sea is an ode to books and book lovers and all forms of stories. The plot twists and turns and is a complex puzzle waiting to be solved. A quest for the reader and for Zachary Ezra Rawlins. When you reach the end it becomes a beginning and it almost feels necessary to turn back to the first page and relive all the adventure and heartache. There's something nostalgic about it, it harkens back to well loved movies and books and even video games. There's more than a dash of The Neverending Story, and Labyrinth, and The Magicians, and and and a million other books and adventures I loved as a kid and adult. Though I have noted the discontent in some readers who were expecting a new iteration of The Night Circus. At first I to was hoping for that and while The Starless Sea is definitely not that it's so unique, so it's own thing, that I love it for what it is and the work you put in to understand and follow what is happening is justly rewarded. Books shouldn't be easy. Books should make us think, challenge us in ways we didn't expect, take us on an epic adventure that makes us realize why we fell in love with stories in the first place. I fell into The Starless Sea and don't care to be rescued.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Erin Morgenstern, Labyrinth, Library, New York, Nostalgia, Storytelling, The Algonquin, The Magicians, The Neverending Story, The Night Circus, The Starless Sea, Zachary Ezra Rawlins

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
Published by: Doubleday
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 512 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the New York Times bestselling author of The Night Circus, a timeless love story set in a secret underground world - a place of pirates, painters, lovers, liars, and ships that sail upon a starless sea.

Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a mysterious book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues - a bee, a key, and a sword - that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to an ancient library hidden far below the surface of the earth. What Zachary finds in this curious place is more than just a buried home for books and their guardians - it is a place of lost cities and seas, lovers who pass notes under doors and across time, and of stories whispered by the dead. Zachary learns of those who have sacrificed much to protect this realm, relinquishing their sight and their tongues to preserve this archive, and also of those who are intent on its destruction. Together with Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired protector of the place, and Dorian, a handsome, barefoot man with shifting alliances, Zachary travels the twisting tunnels, darkened stairwells, crowded ballrooms, and sweetly soaked shores of this magical world, discovering his purpose - in both the mysterious book and in his own life."

I have been waiting for this book since about five minutes after I read The Night Circus for the first time. And I have been frantically waiting to read it since ARCs made it out into the world, none which would grace my hands. You can be sure that come Tuesday morning I'm going to be the first person into my local bookstore where they're holding me a signed copy. Can. Not. Wait. One. Minutes. Longer. And yes, I have organized all my other reading and work to accommodate my disappearance into this book.

Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater
Published by: Scholastic Press
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The dreamers walk among us...and so do the dreamed. Those who dream cannot stop dreaming - they can only try to control it. Those who are dreamed cannot have their own lives - they will sleep forever if their dreamers die.

And then there are those who are drawn to the dreamers. To use them. To trap them. To kill them before their dreams destroy us all.

Ronan Lynch is a dreamer. He can pull both curiosities and catastrophes out of his dreams and into his compromised reality.

Jordan Hennessy is a thief. The closer she comes to the dream object she is after, the more inextricably she becomes tied to it.

Carmen Farooq-Lane is a hunter. Her brother was a dreamer...and a killer. She has seen what dreaming can do to a person. And she has seen the damage that dreamers can do. But that is nothing compared to the destruction that is about to be unleashed...."

I know I'm not the only one excited for this new trilogy!

Made Things by Adrain Tchaikovsky
Published by: Tor.com
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Kindle, 192 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky's Made Things is dark fantasy tale of how the most unlikely characters may become the most heroic.

Making friends has never been so important.

Welcome to Fountains Parish - a cesspit of trade and crime, where ambition curls up to die and desperation grows on its cobbled streets like mold on week-old bread.

Coppelia is a street thief, a trickster, a low-level con artist. But she has something other thieves don't...tiny puppet-like companions: some made of wood, some of metal. They don't entirely trust her, and she doesn't entirely understand them, but their partnership mostly works.

After a surprising discovery shakes their world to the core, Coppelia and her friends must re-examine everything they thought they knew about their world, while attempting to save their city from a seemingly impossible new threat."

I admit I was initially drawn to the cover, mainly because this artist did the cover of a book of my friend's, but then I read the description, and sold! 

Supernova by Marissa Meyer
Published by: Feiwel and Friends
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 560 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"All's fair in love and anarchy...

Supernova, the epic conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Marissa Meyer's thrilling Renegades Trilogy finds Nova and Adrian struggling to keep their secret identities concealed while the battle rages on between their alter egos, their allies, and their greatest fears come to life. Secrets, lies, and betrayals are revealed as anarchy once again threatens to reclaim Gatlon City."

Yes, I totally HAVE been waiting until this book comes out the read the whole series, it had nothing to do with how unmanageable my TBR pile is...

The Princess Who Flew With Dragons by Stephanie Burgis
Published by: Bloomsbury Children's Books
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Perfect for fans of Shannon Hale, this girl-powered fantasy follows a smart young princess determined to save her kingdom.

Princess Sofia of Drachenburg is sick of being used for her older sister's political gains. At twelve years old, she's already been a hostage to invading dragons and promised to marry a wicked fairy. Now she's being sent to far-off Villene to play the part of a charming, diplomatic princess. Her only comfort lies in writing letters to her pen pal and best friend - Jasper, a young dragon she's never even met.

But when an accident leads to her exile from Villene, Sofia is free to wander as she pleases for the first time in her life. And when Jasper's magical sister Aventurine turns him into a human boy, Sofia thinks life can't get any better. Until...the legendary ice giants of the north attack, trying to reclaim the territory that was theirs centuries ago. With the dragons and royals frozen in ice, can Sofia and Jasper save their families and kingdom?

With another strong heroine and plenty of action, this is an enchanting and strong-hearted fantasy set in the same world as The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart and The Girl with the Dragon Heart."

Do yourself a favor and pick up this or ANY book my Stephanie Burgis and you will be whisked away into a magical land you won't want to leave.

The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A new fantasy series set in the world of Camelot that bestselling author Christina Lauren calls "brilliant," reimagining the Arthurian legend...where nothing is as magical and terrifying as a girl.

Princess Guinevere has come to Camelot to wed a stranger: the charismatic King Arthur. With magic clawing at the kingdom's borders, the great wizard Merlin conjured a solution - send in Guinevere to be Arthur's wife...and his protector from those who want to see the young king's idyllic city fail. The catch? Guinevere's real name - and her true identity - is a secret. She is a changeling, a girl who has given up everything to protect Camelot.

To keep Arthur safe, Guinevere must navigate a court in which the old - including Arthur's own family - demand things continue as they have been, and the new - those drawn by the dream of Camelot - fight for a better way to live. And always, in the green hearts of forests and the black depths of lakes, magic lies in wait to reclaim the land.

Deadly jousts, duplicitous knights, and forbidden romances are nothing compared to the greatest threat of all: the girl with the long black hair, riding on horseback through the dark woods toward Arthur. Because when your whole existence is a lie, how can you trust even yourself?"

I freely admit that I'm a sucker for anything Arthurian, but throw in a cover like that and an author the caliber of Kiersten White and this is obviously on my most anticipated books of fall list!

Unnatural Magic by C.M. Waggoner
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Onna can write the parameters of a spell faster than any of the young men in her village school. But despite her incredible abilities, she’s denied a place at the nation’s premier arcane academy. Undaunted, she sails to the bustling city-state of Hexos, hoping to find a place at a university where they don’t think there’s anything untoward about providing a woman with a magical education. But as soon as Onna arrives, she’s drawn into the mysterious murder of four trolls.

Tsira is a troll who never quite fit into her clan, despite being the leader’s daughter. She decides to strike out on her own and look for work in a human city, but on her way she stumbles upon the body of a half-dead human soldier in the snow. As she slowly nurses him back to health, an unlikely bond forms between them, one that is tested when an unknown mage makes an attempt on Tsira’s life. Soon, unbeknownst to each other, Onna and Tsira both begin devoting their considerable talents to finding out who is targeting trolls, before their homeland is torn apart..."

It's like a sweet mashup of several of my favorite Terry Pratchett series. 

A Christmas Gathering by Anne Perry
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 208 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A cold case adds an extra chill to the holiday season as bestselling author Anne Perry whisks readers to an elegant home in the English countryside for a Christmas of secrets, soul-searching, and forgiveness.

As beautiful as it may be, their friends’ country house is not where Lady Vespasia wishes to spend Christmas with her new husband, Victor Narraway. She’d have preferred a relaxing holiday at home with him - especially as Victor, former head of the London Special Branch, seems to be hiding undercover dealings with the other guests who have gathered at the spacious estate.

As tensions grow, the young and beautiful Iris Watson-Watt becomes the center of several men’s focus. Unbeknownst to Vespasia, Iris carries a sensitive package that she must pass to Victor in the hope of unmasking a British traitor. While Victor plots his moves, he is reminded of a similar case from twenty years before, when a young Frenchwoman also carried a clandestine message - one that resulted in her murder, unsolved to this day. Victor has always been tormented by his failure to protect her, and now, with all eyes on Iris, Victor must act fast before history repeats itself.

With the joy of Christmas at risk of being forgotten and Vespasia feeling alone with a distracted husband, Victor must ultimately learn to forgive himself in order to save both his country and the spirit of the holiday."

English country house murders are my holiday catnip!

Upon the Midnight Clear by Tasha Alexander
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Kindle, 73 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In Upon the Midnight Clear, a heartwarming new Christmas short story featuring Tasha Alexander's beloved Victorian sleuth, Lady Emily and her husband, Colin, discover a clue in a Christmas cracker that leads to a true holiday miracle.

While most of London society has fled to their country estates for the holidays, Lady Emily and her family are enjoying a few days in the city. On a shopping trip to Hamley’s Toy Shop, a kind-hearted stranger gives Emily’s son a Christmas cracker - but when he opens it to reveal a cryptic clue inside, Emily suspects there’s more to the gift than Christmas cheer.

By the next day, her suspicions seem well-founded when a Scottish stranger arrives with a heartbreaking tale and an urgent plea for help. He believes his long-lost daughter, kidnapped by her well-meaning grandparents as an infant, may be hidden away somewhere in London. As Colin and Emily trace the clues through the city’s snowy streets, more mysterious crackers arrive to guide their investigation. But who is sending them? What do they mean? Emily and Colin must find the answers as they seek to reunite a father with his beloved daughter by Christmas Eve."

I have a confession to make. I've actually had the ARC of Tasha's new book for about a month but I didn't want to read it out of order so have been desperately waiting for this Christmas tale so that I can then dive into In the Shadow of Vesuvius... 

Tell Me No Lies by Shelley Noble
Published by: Forge Books
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Miss Fisher meets Downton Abbey in Tell Me No Lies, part of the critically acclaimed Lady Dunbridge Mystery series from New York Times bestselling author Shelley Noble.

Rise and shine, Countess, you’re about to have a visitor.

Lady Dunbridge was not about to let a little thing like the death of her husband ruin her social life. She’s come to New York City, ready to take the dazzling world of Gilded Age Manhattan by storm. The social events of the summer have been amusing but Lady Phil is searching for more excitement - and she finds it, when an early morning visitor arrives, begging for her help. After all, Lady Phil has been known to be useful in a crisis. Especially when the crisis involves the untimely death of a handsome young business tycoon.

His death could send another financial panic through Wall Street and beyond.

With the elegant Plaza Hotel, Metropolitan Museum of Art and the opulent mansions of Long Island’s Gold Coast as the backdrop, romance, murder, and scandals abound. Someone simply must do something. And Lady Dunbridge is happy to oblige."

Because how else are you to fill the void between the Downton Abbey movie and the Miss Fisher movie?

The Missing Diamond Murder by Diane Janes
Published by: Severn House Publishers
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 208 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Frances Black leaves her domestic worries behind and travels to Devon to solve a family mystery featuring a suspicious death and a missing diamond.

1930. Frances Black is worried - divorce proceedings are under way and her solicitor has learnt of a spiteful letter sent to the court claiming that there is more to her friendship with her sleuthing partner, Tom Dod, than meets the eye.

Fran takes Tom’s advice to get away, travelling down to Devon to help the Edgertons with their family mystery. After meeting the charismatic Eddie Edgerton and arriving at their residence, Sunnyside House, Fran soon learns that Eddie’s grandfather, Frederick Edgerton, died in mysterious circumstances when his wheelchair went off a cliff. Was it really an accident? And what happened to Frederick’s precious diamond which went missing at the time of his death? As Fran investigates, she uncovers family scandal, skulduggery and revenge, but can she solve the mystery of the missing diamond?"

Family secrets in Devon? Yes please!

I Lost My Girlish Laughter by Jane Allen
Published by: Vintage
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Paperback, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A lost literary gem of Hollywood in the 1930s, I Lost My Girlish Laughter is a thinly veiled send-up of the actors, producers, writers, and directors of the Golden Age of the studio system.

Madge Lawrence, fresh from New York City, lands a job as the personal secretary to the powerful Hollywood producer Sidney Brand (based on the legendary David O. Selznick). In a series of letters home, Western Union telegrams, office memos, Hollywood gossip newspaper items, and personal journal entries, we get served up the inside scoop on all the shenanigans, romances, backroom deals, and betrayals that go into making a movie.

The action revolves around the production of Brand's latest blockbuster, meant to be a star vehicle to introduce his new European bombshell (the real-life Marlene Dietrich). Nevermind that the actress can't act, Brands' negotiations with MGM to get Clark Gable to play the male lead are getting nowhere, and the Broadway play he's bought for the screenplay is reworked so that it is unrecognizable to its author. In this delicious satire of the film business, one is never very far from the truth of what makes Hollywood tick and why we all love it."

A rediscovered classic and a must for those who love the golden age of Hollywood!

Poppy Redfern and the Midnight Murders by Tessa Arlen
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Charming and feisty Poppy Redfern stumbles into murder in this exciting new World War II historical mystery series from critically acclaimed author Tessa Arlen.

Summer 1942. The world has been at war for three long and desperate years. In the remote English village of Little Buffenden, Poppy Redfern’s family house and farmland has been requisitioned by the War Office as a new airfield for the American Air Force. As the village's Air Raid Warden, Poppy spends her nights patrolling the village as she tries to ease her neighbors’ fears about the “Friendly Invasion” and what it means to their quiet way of life.

When two young, popular women who were dating American servicemen are found strangled, Poppy quickly realizes that her little town has been divided by murder. The mistrust and suspicion of their new American partners in war threatens to tear Little Buffenden apart. Poppy decides to start her own investigation with the help of a charismatic American pilot and she soon unearths some chilling secrets and long-held grudges. Poppy will have no choice but to lay a trap for a killer so perilously close to home, she might very well become the next victim...."

Look at that cover! Look at that corgi!

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Be careful who you let in.

Soon after her twenty-fifth birthday, Libby Jones returns home from work to find the letter she’s been waiting for her entire life. She rips it open with one driving thought: I am finally going to know who I am.

She soon learns not only the identity of her birth parents, but also that she is the sole inheritor of their abandoned mansion on the banks of the Thames in London’s fashionable Chelsea neighborhood, worth millions. Everything in Libby’s life is about to change. But what she can’t possibly know is that others have been waiting for this day as well - and she is on a collision course to meet them.

Twenty-five years ago, police were called to 16 Cheyne Walk with reports of a baby crying. When they arrived, they found a healthy ten-month-old happily cooing in her crib in the bedroom. Downstairs in the kitchen lay three dead bodies, all dressed in black, next to a hastily scrawled note. And the four other children reported to live at Cheyne Walk were gone."

Come on! How can you NOT read the teaser and be like, I NEED TO READ THIS NOW!

Deadly Little Scandals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Published by: Freeform
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Reluctant debutante Sawyer Taft joined Southern high society for one reason and one reason alone: to identify and locate her biological father. But the answers Sawyer found during her debutante year only left her with more questions and one potentially life-ruining secret. When her cousin Lily ropes her into pledging a mysterious, elite, and all-female secret society called the White Gloves, Sawyer soon discovers that someone in the group's ranks may have the answers she's looking for. Things are looking up... until Sawyer and the White Gloves make a disturbing discover near the family's summer home--and uncover a twisted secret, decades in the making.

No one is quite who they seem to be in this twisty, soapy, gasp-inducing sequel to Jennifer Lynn Barnes' unputdownable Little White Lies."

I'm all about the secret societies right now! 

Mobituaries by Mo Rocca
Published by: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From beloved CBS Sunday Morning correspondent and humorist Mo Rocca, an entertaining and rigorously researched book that celebrates the dead people who have long fascinated him.

Mo Rocca has always loved obituaries - reading about the remarkable lives of global leaders, Hollywood heavyweights, and innovators who changed the world. But not every notable life has gotten the send-off it deserves. His quest to right that wrong inspired Mobituaries, his #1 hit podcast. Now with Mobituaries, the book, he has gone much further, with all new essays on artists, entertainers, sports stars, political pioneers, founding fathers, and more. Even if you know the names, you’ve never understood why they matter...until now.

Take Herbert Hoover: before he was president, he was the “Great Humanitarian,” the man who saved tens of millions from starvation. But after less than a year in the White House, the stock market crashed, and all the good he had done seemed to be forgotten. Then there’s Marlene Dietrich, well remembered as a screen goddess, less remembered as a great patriot. Alongside American servicemen on the front lines during World War II, she risked her life to help defeat the Nazis of her native Germany. And what about Billy Carter and history’s unruly presidential brothers? Were they ne’er-do-well liabilities…or secret weapons? Plus, Mobits for dead sports teams, dead countries, the dearly departed station wagon, and dragons. Yes, dragons.

Rocca is an expert researcher and storyteller. He draws on these skills here. With his dogged reporting and trademark wit, Rocca brings these men and women back to life like no one else can. Mobituaries is an insightful and unconventional account of the people who made life worth living for the rest of us, one that asks us to think about who gets remembered, and why."

I've loved Mo Rocca for so long I don't even remember when it started. But how I missed Mobituaries, his podcast, until he was recently on Colbert I will never know! This book is perfect for fans of Mo, history, and those who just can't quite get into podcasts...

Mudlark by Lara Maiklem
Published by: Liveright
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A quixotic journey through London’s past, Mudlark plumbs the banks of the Thames to reveal the stories hidden behind the archaeological remnants of an ancient city.

Long heralded as a city treasure herself, expert “mudlarker” Lara Maiklem is uniquely trained in the art of seeking. Tirelessly trekking across miles of the Thames’ muddy shores, where others only see the detritus of city life, Maiklem unearths evidence of England’s captivating, if sometimes murky, history - with some objects dating back to 43 AD, when London was but an outpost of the Roman Empire. From medieval mail worn by warriors on English battlefields to nineteenth-century glass marbles mass-produced for the nation’s first soda bottles, Maiklem deduces the historical significance of these artifacts with the quirky enthusiasm and sharp-sightedness of a twenty-first century Sherlock Holmes.

Seamlessly interweaving reflections from her own life with meditations on the art of wandering, Maiklem ultimately delivers - for Anglophiles and history lovers alike - a memorable treatise on the objects we leave in our wake, and the stories they can reveal if only we take a moment to look."

I've always thought I'd be a good mudlark. FAR better than a tosher. 

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: The Journey
Published by: Arthur A. Levine Books
Publication Date: November 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The official behind-the-scenes book of the record-breaking, award-winning play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is one of the most celebrated stage productions of the past decade. Opening in London's West End in 2016, on Broadway in 2018, in Melbourne in 2019 -- and with more productions worldwide still to come (including San Francisco later this year) -- the play has smashed records, collected countless rave reviews and awards, and captivated audiences night after night. Now readers are invited behind the scenes to experience the show's journey to the stage -- from the earliest phases of development with producers Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender, to the crafting of the eighth Harry Potter story with J.K. Rowling, director John Tiffany, and playwright Jack Thorne, to the gathering of an extraordinary team of artists and actors together to bring this new part of Harry Potter's story to life.

With stunning photography, insightful interviews, and never-before-seen sketches, notes, candid backstage photos, and more, this full-color deluxe edition offers readers unparalleled access to this unique production, and is a beautiful gift for Harry Potter fans and theater lovers alike."

A MUST READ for those who went to the show or those who longed to but couldn't.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Anne Perry, Diane Janes, Erin Morgenstern, Jane Allen, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Kiersten White, Lisa Jewell, Marissa Meyer, Mo Rocca, Mudlark, Shelley Noble, Stephanie Burgis, Tasha Alexander, Tessa Arlen

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Published by: Doubleday
Publication Date: September 13th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 387 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Hector Bowen, the stage magician better known as Prospero the Enchanter, has a secret. Every night when he packs the stalls his audience has no inkling that what they are about to see is real magic. They assume that he is just adept at illusion, never thinking that it's possibly real. After one performance in New York in 1873 Hector gets a shock, finding a young girl in his dressing room. This small child is unmistakably his own and the note pinned to her coat informs him that his lover, the girl's mother, is deceased and he must take over the charge of their child. At first he thinks it will be an encumbrance until he realizes that Celia has inherited his abilities and an idea starts to form. The great game might be played once more! For more years than he can count he has been involved in an increasingly complex challenge with the enigmatic Alexander. A.H. is also magically inclined but holds different teaching beliefs and practices than Hector. The challenge is that they must each train a competitor for the challenge, the winner supposedly proving the correct method of magical learning. Hector is convinced he can win with his own flesh and blood, whereas Alexander is sure he can pick any child off the street and train them to beat Celia. Once Alexander finds Marco in an orphanage the game is afoot.

Years pass as the two competitors train apart without any inkling of when or where the challenge will commence. But then an arena is conceived. A traveling circus, Le Cirque Des Reves, will be opening in London on the night of October 13th, 1886. Marco has insinuated himself behind the scenes as the assistant to the circus's founder, Chandresh Christophe Lefèvre, while Celia gets hired as the illusionist. The challenge is to create tents of wonder and awe in a game of one-upmanship. As the competition continues, stretching on for years, it soon becomes clear that the two of them feel adrift with only each other to relate to. Over time their moves become almost love letters to each other. Yet they have no idea what the rules are or how a winner is declared as their feelings for each other grow and they desire a decision to be made by Hector and Alexander. What is clear though is that the circus has become bigger than the two of them. While Celia and Marco maintain and expand it it has also taken on a life of it's own. When Celia finally realizes what the endgame is she sees that lives are at stake and all this beauty could be lost forever. If only there was some way to cheat. Some way to preserve the arena after the competitors have quit the stage. Some way for them both to win.

When I first devoured The Night Circus after going to an Erin Morgenstern event which was a perfect day worthy of a song in Dear Evan Hansen it instantly became one of my favorite books ever. I wanted everyone I knew to read and love it which made me suggest it to my book club. Here's a good rule of thumb, if you love something to an insane degree it's perhaps not a good idea to have all your friends read and dissect it. The more you know. This was literally the first time I realized that The Night Circus is a very polarizing, divisive book, you either love it or you hate it. And boy, did most of my book club hate it. I seriously do not get it. But then again, I just read a book that one of my fellow members views as one of his favorite books and really disliked it, so I just have to take deep breaths and remember book tastes aren't universal. We all like what we like and I'm never letting anyone in my book club read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell because I wouldn't be able to survive that betrayal. Getting down to the nitty-gritty of what most of my fellow members objected to is that they were caught up on the aesthetics of the world Erin Morgenstern built. They thought it was all about the visuals, all surface, no substance. I of course heartily disagree with this statement and am now going to illuminate why.

Yes, The Night Circus is a very visual book. There is no doubt about this. The tents, the costumes, even the food, are all described in loving detail. This visually Burton-esque world leads many to say that the book feels as if it was written for the inevitable movie adaptation. Perhaps by Tim Burton himself. Here's the thing that drivers readers and authors crazy, a book is a finished product not just something that is sitting around to be used as the basis for another art form. Yes, I love adaptations, but reading and watching are two totally different experiences. The experiences I had while reading this book could not be replicated by a movie or miniseries. I was fully immersed in this world in a way that can never be achieved by cinema, even if theaters were to bring back the disastrously kitsch idea of Smell-O-Vision. And I'm sure Erin Morgenstern wasn't sitting around going, and now lets add some more Tim Burton touches just so I can get to Hollywood! No, she was thinking, how can I make this world more immersive for my readers? How can I make it so it feels they are walking the spiraling paths of Le Cirque Des Reves with a warm cider in their hands?

In fact I think the immersive nature of the book was really ahead of it's time. Since it's publication there has been a veritable explosion in immersion events. What started out with smalls roots in LARPing (Live Action Role Playing) and Renaissance Faires has just grown and grown until every town has an escape room and conventions catering to Cosplay have exponentially expanded. It's more and more I wouldn't say acceptable, because that gives immersive events a negative connotation, but more prevalent to see people escaping into worlds of imagination than ever before. Who knows if it's a desire to leave behind the shit show that is the daily news or a way to express their creativity, but immersive events are here and they're hot and I think a lot of their popularity can be traced back to this book. The first real world experience I had with immersion was at the North American Discworld Convention, where they turned the hotel into Ankh-Morpork. For years after I was still calling certain hotel rooms names out of Discworld. But my deep dive was at TeslaCon, the Steampunk Convention held in Wisconsin every year. People created the most elaborate costumes and even personas. One year they even did The Night Circus, but in their ever scheming ways to get out of copyright, it wasn't "this" Night Circus... sure...

Moving beyond the emotive nature of the book I want to discuss a writerly technique. Throughout the book the chapters are interspersed with little experiences the viewer would have while visiting Le Cirque Des Reves. These sections are written in the second person. Here's the thing about second person, it's a very tricky POV to get right without coming off as pretentious with all the "yous." In fact when I read John Scalzi's Redshirts the codas written in first, second, and then third person drove me to really hate that book. Scalzi has since redeemed himself in my eyes, but he will never live down those codas. Never. This hatred has made me leery of anyone attempting second person and therefore I want to stand up and applaud Erin Morgenstern. You nailed it! The way you brought me and other readers into your world with just a few lines on how we would experience the world around us gave me chills. It didn't come across as pretentious in the least, it came across as a magical spell. You will feel this way when you enter the circus. You will have these experiences and marvel at the wonders. You will become a participant, not just an observer. The repeated use of "you" wasn't annoying, it created the cadence of a spell that all these years later I am still under.

And spells and magic are what it all comes down to. Going back to the argument that this book is heavy on visuals and light on plot I would counter that that is because the reader is ignorant of what has historically happened to great wizards and magicians. They often become trapped by their own skills and magical abilities. In one version of Merlin's end he is trapped in a tree. Hell, even in Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell they end up trapped in Hurtview Abbey. Therefore the book leading to the binding and trapping of our leads seems a bleak ending to some, I say it's historically significant. Of course this opinion of mine was reached after several readings of The Night Circus. The first time I read it while I felt the ending was satisfying, I didn't fully get all the layered implications and callbacks. This reading what struck me most wasn't the idea of the Merlin connection and how being trapped would be fine so long as you loved who you were trapped with but the more Shakespearean angle, we do after all have a magician named Prospero who wished his daughter had been named Miranda. The quote from Hamlet seemed to apt, "I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space." Infinite space in something considered a trap by others... perhaps even a metaphor for this book and it's detractors?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Dear Evan Hansen, Discworld, Erin Morgenstern, John Scalzi, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Le Cirque Des Reves, Magic, Merlin, Redshirts, Shakespeare, Ten Years, Teslacon, The Night Circus, Tim Burton

Bookstore: Books and Company

Location: Oconomowoc, Wisconsin

Why I Love Them: Because of Books and Company's tendency to hold their bigger events offsite at the local High School I had attended many events before I actually entered their store. But you can actually tell a lot about a bookstore by how they manage an event and their sales when away from their brick and mortar. The most obvious observation was that they were willing to cater to my crazy. And here I'd like to give a special shout out to all stores who've catered to my crazy over the years, it hasn't gone unnoticed and I thank you greatly. I was at an event with two of my friends and I noticed my copy of the book wasn't a true first. I've had it happen when even on release day you're not going to get a true first with that number line intact. But one of my two friends DID have a true first, so I took my copy back to their little stall in front of the auditorium and not only did they understand, they helped me look through the books to find what I was looking for AND made sure that it was in good enough condition to live up to a true book collector's standard. Seriously, thank you for that. When I finally went to their store for a stop on the Fierce Reads tour (Marissa Meyer, Ann Aguirre, Lish McBride, and Elizabeth Fama if you must know and I hope your curiosity has made you jealous) I really liked the store. It's not that big, but Oconomowoc isn't that big a town. With the carpeted floors and big upholstered furniture it reminded me of the kind of bookstore you'd stumble on when on holiday up north and then go back to repeatedly just to be surrounded by books and get away from your family.    

Best Buy: Not only does my best buy qualify as a best buy, it qualifies as the cherry on top of one of those perfect days you hope to but never can recapture. Erin Morgenstern was on tour promoting her book The Night Circus. It was a beautiful day with a crisp early fall blue sky and the trees were just starting to change color. I picked my two friends (yes the two friends from above) up from their respective workplaces and we drove to Oconomowoc. We had dinner on the back deck of this restaurant that was right on the water. There was brie and honey and so much goodness. But then there was Erin Morgenstern. She read from the very beginning of The Night Circus, a daring second person narration, and I was instantly hooked. Sitting in the rehearsal space for the local high school all I wanted to do was have this day, this reading, go on forever. I was first in line for the signing and eagerly drove home through the night, waiting for the moment that I could sink into bed and begin the book. First there was much news that night, Steve Jobs had died, but the book transported me away. I went to a place where you could sit with your friends and enjoy the crisp fall beauty all year long. Now I will be the first to admit that The Night Circus is a polarizing book. You either love it or you loath it, a fact born out when I re-read it with my book club. But for me it will always be a perfect book, a perfect day, brought to me by a perfect bookstore. Thank you Books and Company for this memory, it totally makes me forgive you for the time I broke out in hives in your store (which had nothing to do with you.)  

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Ann Aguirre, Book Clubs, Books and Company, Elizabeth Fama, Erin Morgenstern, Fall, Fierce Reads, Lish McBride, Marissa Meyer, Oconomowoc, Perfection, Support Your Brick and Mortar, The Night Circus

The Man in the Queue (Inspector Alan Grant Book 1) by Josephine Tey
Published by: Touchstone
Publication Date: 1929
Format: Paperback, 256 Pages
Rating: ★
To Buy

Inspector Alan Grant has been given the infamous Queue case. A man with no identification was stabbed in a busy queue outside the Woffington Theatre as fans waited to see the final hurrah of Ray Marcable in the smash hit Didn't You Know? With just a knife and a handful of witnesses that didn't see anything, Inspector Grant is able to quickly build a case against the mysterious man he nicknames the Levantine, because of his swarthy appearance and the passionate and daring way the crime was committed. Yet what if all this evidence pointing at the unknown Levantine is just circumstantial? What if, while Grant builds a solid case against this one man, the killer walks free? Because even after hunting down the apparent killer through London and the Highlands, Grant still thinks that maybe, just maybe, there is a different interpretation of the evidence that he hasn't quite yet grasped.

Dear lord, Josephine Tey sure loved to avoid paragraph breaks, sheesh. Sometimes there would be pages upon pages of just dense, heavy text that I would slog through. This is easily the most overly written book I have read in recent memory which caused my experience with the book to be a very labored one. The writing style lent nothing to the story, unless a lead weight around your neck is a plus with books. Now, I'm not slamming writers who others might consider as overly written, like Erin Morgenstern and The Night Circus... but there's overwritten and then there's a rich tapestry of words that are evocative and make a world vibrant and alive. This is not Josephine Tey. I have a feeling that to Robert Barnard, the Tey scholar and writer I've never heard of that wrote this book's introduction which has more paragraph breaks then the book's first chapter, that "them be fighting words." Because apparently, to denigrate Tey is outre, but to pile on the harsh criticism to Agatha Christie is perfectly acceptable. Now I've only read one Tey and many Christie... but if this book is a testament to Tey, then we are through.

The aspect of this book that just baffled me is that it was a given that people in a queue would ignore each other and not be able to even slightly identify those around them after several hours in each others company. Is this a British thing that I just don't get despite my desire to be as British as can be while still being in Wisconsin? Because, let's put it this way; I have spent many an hour in a queue. I don't think I could even add it up, nor would I want to, because, let's put it this way, if I did, it would probably depress me to learn how much of my life has been spent waiting. From queues at conventions waiting for entrance and autographs, to queues at book signings, to just lining up for a movie, I have been in every kind of queue you could imagine, and you know what? In every instance I have talked to the people around me. I wasn't in an insular little bubble ignoring everyone and just playing on my phone, oh no. A chance comment from someone near me would spark a conversation, in fact the most recent that I remember clearly was when I went to see The Hobbit. The friend I was with, well, the conversation was lacking, so I took to talking to the picture of Martin Freeman on the movie poster, and I was lambasting him for the crap fest his tv show The Robinsons was, the people behind us spoke up saying how much they agreed on this fact and we got to talking about Martin Freeman and his mostly genius career (The Robinsons excluded).

At first I was thinking that maybe the people in this book's queue just didn't have anything in common... like one does at a convention or book signing, but then I thought, uh, no. These people are Ray Marcable fanatics (yes, I did audibly groan at her name)... of course they have a common link. So unless someone can come out and offer me 100% proof that Britain is not at all like America in it's queues then I'm calling Josephine Tey out as saying the crux of her book plays false. J'accuse! 

Though the superfluous writing combined with an illogical premise isn't what made this book fail me in every way, it's the fact that it was boring. Alan Grant bored me to tears. He just toddles through life looking nothing like a police officer and always being complimented on this. He sits in tubs and at fancy restaurants where he is fawned over while he pushes the case to the back of his mind, because not thinking about it too much helps him solve it. He goes to the race track, he goes fishing, he goes and resigns and we never hear from him again, I wish! As for the rest of the characters... no one is really painted in a bad light. They're all just people going about their lives. Boring dull people with boring dull lives. If you think about it, if there was a murder and you were accused, I'd bet only a handful of us would have an alibi, because, let's face it, our lives are rather dull and unvaried and go along as they always have. Therefore, by extension, in Tey's book, while no one really has an alibi, they are just as dull as we are on the whole. Who wants to read about people like us? A good book is an escape, not a dulled mirror of our day to day lives. Give me something to whet my appetite, make me want to read late into the night, not hope to misplace the book and never find it again.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Agatha Christie, Alan Grant, Erin Morgenstern, Golden Age of Detection, Golden Summer, Josephine Tey, Martin Freeman, The Hobbit, The Man in the Queue, The Night Circus, The Robinsons