A Medicine For Melancholy

A medicine for melancholy, an excellent theme for a book and a magical short story as well.  This collection is stunning because of the emotions it evokes.  One moment you are transformed by awe, romance, or beauty and the next moment/story you are jolted out of complacency by a story that impacts you to your very soul.  Amongst the beauty and the romance is cruelty, ignorance, and evil,  it’s a very potent cocktail, that needs to be drunk off fast, and then slowly digested, savouring all of the effects each flavour evokes (corny I know, but you can excuse me can’t you?  I have been reading Ray Bradbury after all!). 

Verily, A New Hope...

Okay, I will admit it.  I am a hopeless fan of the fiction sections of Quirk Publishing.  So when they come out with something as crazy as this, I am a sucker for it and will grab it off the shelf with an ‘Ooh’ of appreciation and a twinkle in my eye.  I never suspected this of myself, it was a surprise to me when I first spotted Pride and Prejudice and Zombies in the book store, and I admit that I did resist for a while, until Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters showed up under my Christmas tree, and that was it, I was hooked.
So this new book is not only something different again from the usual but has the usual quirky spin to it.  The inclusion of certain familiar dialogues had me falling out of my chair with laughter, because it was so unexpectedly surprising.  I have always enjoyed the use of those lines and passages that are so familiar to me in an interesting and often funny way, I don’t view this as disrespect of the original work but as a loving homage to what has come before, and also an opportunity to introduce such old works to a new audience, because after all, why would someone want to stop at just the one thing when there is so much more out there to enjoy?
I love the asides, so beloved of the original Shakespeare, and used to maximum comedic effect here.
So if you love Star Wars and Shakespeare this is a lot of fun, and if you are a high school English teacher I heartily encourage you to get the gratis study guide online at quirkbooks.com/ShakespeareStarWars  your students will love it!

Kid Lit #2

My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher.

The story begins in a most intriguing way…“My sister Rose lives on the mantelpiece.  Well, some of her does”.  It is quite the hook.  I just had to know what went on from there, and, as you can tell from the first two sentences it was mostly bad.  This is not a feel good story.  I have to say that by the end of chapter nine I was ready to put the book down because it just hurt too much.  I take issue with some solutions found to deal with serious problems for the main protagonist and his friend, and I am concerned with the impression they leave.  I wouldn’t want someone to think that this is the way to behave, especially after working so hard to promote the message of tolerance.

2. A Greyhound of a Girl by Roddy Doyle.

After the raw emotions of the last book,  reading A Greyhound of a Girl by Roddy Doyle was like a soothing balm.  Before I even read the first page I was already feeling better.  The book is beautiful inside and out. I have always thought it is great when the book is physically lovely, the illustrations, and the paper had a warp and weft to it that was just nice to the touch.  It adds to the over-all experience, and makes you think that you have treasure in your hands
The subject matter was beautiful as well.  I loved how these four generations of women interacted together, I loved their language (Irish vernacular),  their sense of humour (also very Irish), and how it was all so soft and gentle.  After I was done I wanted to rush out and buy whatever else Doyle has written, because I was so moved by this wonderful book.

 3. Skinny by Donna Cooner.

I have to admit that I did not want to read this book.  It is obviously an ‘issue book’ and I am not too keen about this particular issue, self image.  Eventually though, after the initial angst and misery, I was interested in Ever’s story.
I guess my biggest fear with books like these is the way that the issue is resolved.  I am always worried that the means to the end are not the healthiest, and will perhaps be the popular, idealized norm… overweight girl is miserable, loses weight , gets a makeover, is now the most popular girl in school and trips off into the sunset with the football captain, tra la shallow la.   I am very happy to report that this doesn’t happen in this book (the idealized norm part!  What… did you think I would give you spoilers?).   This is a really good book!  One, I think, that should be in high school libraries, not just because of the issues, but because the author shows that everyone has feelings and has their own problems, and that there are more important things in life than being like everyone else.   The author did this very well, and in a way that I think a teenage girl would be able to understand and empathise.

  4. Infinity Ring: The Trap Door by Lisa McMann

Since it is the third book in a series the story didn’t make too much sense up front, but since you are dumped right into the story it keeps you distracted from the fact that you don’t really know what is going on.  There are little pieces of information through out the book so you get a bit of back story, while you are zipping along each page (it’s fast paced and full of stress so you want to rip on through), there’s a little history, some science fiction, and some references to things that kids might want to look up if they are interested, plus I believe there is a website and online games, so there is lots to keep a kid interested.

5. The Candy Shop War: Arcade Catastrophe by Brett Hull

This book puts me in mind of a saga, in it’s breadth and scope.  It’s a lot to begin with, especially if you don’t have the background from the first book to carry you forward, but fortunately  Hull catches you up throughout the book, so you understand what is going on, and above all makes you want to reads the first one just so you don’t miss anything.  There is a lot more to think about in this story, and there are messages here that aren’t obvious, it’s the thinking kids story, packed full of action and deeds and a little magic, perfect for a saga length tale.

I Sing the Body Electric

In true Bradbury style an homage is paid to Papa Hemingway in The Kilimanjaro Device.  A birthing procedure gone wrong, delivering up a baby from another dimension in Tomorrows Child?  A bizarre fight for a man in The Women. An artistic chicken in the Inspired Chicken Hotel, and what every assassin and attention seeker needs in Downwind From Gettysburg.
Yes, We’ll Gather at the River is a testament to change, and a lyrical Irish tale written to amaze and astonish (what on earth did I just read?) in The Cold Wind and the Warm.  Self-aware telephones in Night Call, Collect (Ray had an uncanny sense of how things would be in the future).
I Sing the Body Electric, a story so impassioned and bittersweet.  Any Friend of Nicholas Nickleby’s is a Friend of Mine is a very special homage to the great Charles Dickens and to the love of writing.  Heavy Set is just downright creepy (how did he do it?  I imagine him chuckling with impish glee whenever he wrote such stuff).  And in Henry the Ninth an unwillingness to let go of what is most important.
It’s a collection of stories about love, the many ways we love, the many things we love and in true Bradbury fashion, some alternatives to love.  It’s beautiful, it’s magic, it’s pure Ray Bradbury at his most loving.

A Sound of Thunder & Other Stories

This is a wonderful selection of Bradbury’s greatest short stories.  If you ever wanted to just buy the one book (though I personally would not be able to stop at just one book!) this would be a good contender because it has a broad spectrum of his many years of storytelling, covering his many periods or phases of literature.
While I began with The Martian Chronicles, and progressed from there to the rest of his space themed collections…and everything else he has ever written, this book would be a really good introduction for the novice Bradbury reader.  

Pushing the Edge: Irregular Non Fiction

I have been trying to extend myself by reading non fiction, and also reading non fiction that I would ordinarily avoid.

Naked Pictures of Famous People by Jon Stewart

I will say right off that this book annoyed me.  I found it to be for the most part really petty and immature.  What I can tolerate in small amounts every now and again with my husband (The Daily Show), I have discovered is my limit.  I like Jon Stewart.  I like how he pokes holes in so many of today’s crazy things happening in the States, and how he stands up for what he believes in.  He’s 'good folks'.  I just couldn't  handle such a concentrated dose of his comedy.

 

The Book of Useless Information by Noel Botham

I gained something from reading this, I just can’t tell you what it is because as soon as I had read it, my brain automatically erased it from my memory.

 Let’s Explore Diabetes With Owls by David Sedaris

This one I picked up because I had seen him on the Daily Show and thought he was pretty funny.  I think maybe that this kind of book really doesn’t do anything for me.  Either I get annoyed, or frustrated, and I do not benefit from the experience (Bossypants anyone?), or it is a learning experience for me.  This wasn’t it.  I was curious what he had to say about Australia, but I’m not sure what he actually said… I’m not sure what points he made about anything.  It was an interesting read, the parts about his father where hilarious.  I just don’t know what he meant over-all to say.

So I think that I have discovered that non fiction by comedians is not my kind of reading.  I suspected this last year after reading Bossypants, but now I know it for certain. 

Beautiful Books for Kids

1. Beyond The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Nixie’s Song, A Giant Problem and The Wyrm King by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
These books were such a pleasure to read.  I have always found that whatever book I come across by Tony DiTerlizzi it is always a beautiful book.  Not only are they physically beautiful, with an unusual size, heavily embossed and illustrated hard covers,  but the illustrations inside are of a class of their own, making an already wonderful story into an amazing piece of art.  If you’ve read The Spiderwick Chronicles (another stunningly beautiful collection by this super duo), you will want to follow up with this trilogy as well.

2. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate.
This year’s Newbery Award winner, The One and Only Ivan is a wonderful, beautiful example of animal compassion.  While it tip-toed around the animal rights issues (because, after all, it is a book for kids, so we don’t really want to upset them with the full extent of  how cruelly circus and performing animals can be treated), it wasn’t completely ignored but dealt with in a plausible manner showing the plight of imprisoned animals without dwelling on the suffering, and showing how positive change can be affected. 
I especially liked how animal feelings were portrayed and I would love it if all kids could read this book, because I want them to consider animal rights and emotions, instead of just assuming that it’s okay because their parents don’t protest or take issue about this subject.

3. The Popularity Papers by Amy Ignatow.
What a lovely  book!  Friendship has always been one of those popular topics in a girl’s book, and this one is full of  great things that will have girls thinking about socialisation, getting crafty, finding out more about themselves, and last but not least discovering the ever important value of friendship.  I loved the illustrations, and it had me wanting to get up and either start knitting something or writing something in my own journal.  I wish all girls could be like these ones, full of energy, enthusiasm, talent and understanding about their own worth.  It’s not mentioned but, you can plainly see the conclusions both girls came to at the end of their project, and it would be great if young girls reading this would benefit from that wisdom (and get crafty too!).