strange and random happenstance

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

More Clare, more steampunk, go enjoy!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alexander McCall Smith, Ann Purser, Cassandra Clare, Daphne Du Maurier, Dorothy Parker, Downton Abbey, J.J. Murphy, Jane Austen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, P.D. James, Philip Pullman

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

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

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

I leave you with the finale of that episode.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments  

Labels: Alexander Woollcott, Dorothy Parker, Ernest Hemingway, George Gershwin, George Lucas, Indiana Jones, Robert Benchley, The Algonquin Round Tabel, The Man I Love, The Portable Dorothy Parker

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

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

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

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

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

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

5. And for those addicted to getting extra entries:

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

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 11 comments  

Labels: 1920s, Algonquin Round Table, Dorothy December, Dorothy Parker, J.J. Murphy, Murder Your Darlings, You Might as Well Die

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

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

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A Wonderful Welcome to Oz, Flying Monkey, L. Frank Baum, Oz, Ozzy, Queen Victoria

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Chrismas at Cold Comfort Farm, Cold Comfort Farm, Conferance at Cold Comfort Farm, Georgette Heyer, Sprig Muslin, Stella Gibbons, Steve Heller, Vintage Type and Graphics

The Road to Oz (Oz Book 5) by L. Frank Baum
Published by: Books of Wonder
Publication Date: 1909
Format: Hardcover, 267 Pages
Rating: ★★
To Buy

One day Dorothy is sitting with Toto on her farm in Kansas, when a Shaggy Man appears and asks the way to Butterfield. Dorothy agrees to help, despite the fact he is very unkempt and shaggy. The Shaggy Man insists that she is helping him due to the fact he has the "Love Magnet" and all who meet him must therefore love him and do his bidding. Yet on the way to the road to Butterfield a strange thing happens, where once there was one road there are now many. Dorothy knows the signs of the start of adventure, she has been on four previous ones. She informs the Shaggy Man that they must just go along for the ride, because an adventure they must have.

Along the way they pick up several travelling companions, Button-Bright, the boy who doesn't know where he's from, and Polychrome, the daughter of the rainbow, who accidentally fell off. They also meet some odd people as well. The Fox-King is so certain that foxes are superior, he turns Button-Bright into a fox, while the Donkey king is so convinced donkeys are superior, he turns the Shaggy Man into a man with the head of a Donkey. They also meet the Musicker, the man who makes music which each breath and annoys them all beyond measure. They also encounter an entire race of people who purposefully live their lives invisible to avoid the danger of the Scoodlers and being eaten by them. Luckily they finally reach the border of the great desert that Oz is bounded by. Because of course all fairy lands lead to Oz. With the help of Johnny Dooit, they cross the vast desert, return to themselves via a pond of truth and make it in time for Ozma's birthday party in the Emerald City. It was Ozma after all who started Dorothy on the road to yet another journey.

This is easily the book of Oz I dislike the most. I mean, all Oz has something to offer, being Oz... but here there is nothing. First, let's look at the way the book is bound. It is gimmickly printed on many different colored paper stocks, changing to green once we're in Oz. Also it references their journey, each task or event being a different color and the fact that the rainbow's daughter is their dew drinking travelling companion. Blurg is what I say. It seems it was a gimmick that was thought up and then the book was written around it.

Yet, the gimmickry that is used to package the book, that of which I'm sure that humbug of a wizard would approve, isn't my main problem. My main problem isn't even the fact that we have yet another book that ends in a party. Because parties ending books can be fun, the party just can't be the purpose of the book, which it is here. Also, I don't take undue measures to point out how creepy the "Love Magnet" is... really it's just a way to take away free will, and the fact it's used on a child... hmmm and ewwww and no. My main problem is Dorothy's superiority complex. I know I have mentioned before how annoying all the characters going on about how wonderful they are is, but here it's not just self contained. It's not just one person bragging, it's Dorothy actually being mean to the Shaggy Man. She's insulting to almost everyone she comes across and it really made me want to slap her. Just because she's been on all these adventures and is the especial friend of Ozma doesn't mean everyone else is dirt. Her "friends" got turned into a fox and a donkey because they where a little too sure of their awesomeness. I wish somehow Dorothy could be smacked down a peg. I think I realize every time I read these books that more and more the world needed Gregory Maguire to smack some sense into Oz and show what a ruby slippered tyrant that little Dorothy was.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Dorothy Gale, Gregory Maguire, Kansas, L Frank Baum, Oz, Ozma, Superiority Complex, The Road to Oz

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

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

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

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

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

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 3 comments  

Labels: Cats, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, Eureka, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Kansas, L. Frank Baum, Mangaboos, Oz, Pigs, Pork, Roald Dahl, The Wizard of Oz

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Adele Blac-Sec, Agatha Christie, Autobiography, Daphne Du Maurier, Ian Rankin, Jacques Tardi, Lady Gaga, Michael Crichton, Micro, Paperdolls, The Doll, The Impossible Dead