Riddles

 

     This week I finished The Riddle Master of Hed Trilogy by Patricia Mckillip.  It's been around for a while, but it was one of the books I picked up at the book sale, and it came highly recommended by my mom so I had a feeling I was going to like it, and I did.  My copy had all three books bound together in one edition which made it easy to plow through and they are each relatively short.  I liked the first one the best.  It seemed to have more of a plot line than the last one which was called Harpist in the Wind and was much more cerebral than the first two.  After a while that started to wear on my patience, but overall I liked the books.  Riddles seem to be a theme in my house right now.  The current book I am reading is also about riddles.  It's called Gabriel Finley and the Raven's Riddle by George Hagen.  It's a middle grade fantasy, my very favorite genre.  I'm not too far into it, but so far so good.  There are some very original ideas, though the orphaned child searching for a lost parent has definitely been done more than a few times.  In this one the boy Gabriel is linked to a young raven, also orphaned and both enjoy riddles.  People have enjoyed riddles for eons.  They certainly are popular in my house.  We've spent many a car ride taking turns trying to stump each other.  They tend to range all over the map with classic favorites repeated again and again, to ones that only make sense to my 4 year old, to some pretty tricky ones from my middle schooler.  The one I recently came up with that even stumped my husband was: When it starts getting warm I put more clothes on.  When it gets cold again I take them off.  What am I?  Well?  Wanna try your hand?  Or do you have a good one for me that I can use for the next car ride?

Whooooo's Ready for Halloween?

     I love owls.  I know they're trendy and tons of people are into owls but who can blame them.  They're amazing birds.  One of my favorite birding experiences ever was the time we saw an owl behind our house on my son's birthday.  A few days later we were able to call it and it called back and forth to my laptop from our oak tree before it swooped over our roof.  But owls are elusive and not easy to spot.  For some great examples of owls in hiding click here.  This time of year owl images are everywhere because they're spooky.  I've spent a good bit of my week getting ready for Halloween.  Making costumes, buying costumes and giant bags of candy, baking classroom treats and digging out decorations and trick-or-treat bags.  I'm sure I have plenty of company.  I haven't had much time for reading but I've managed to squeeze in a few minutes here and there.  In the spirit of the season of owls I'm reading a book of short stories by my friend Vonnie Winslow Crist called Owl Light.  The tales I've tackled so far are not too scary, which is good because I'm a bit of a wimp, but they have a slightly creepy vibe for sure.  Just right for Halloween.  Poems and charming illustrations by the author are interspersed throughout. I love short stories and these have yet to disappoint.  From the ghostly romance to the touching story of a grief stricken pair of sisters each narrative is beautifully told.  If you'd like to read an excerpt you can here and be sure to check out Vonnie's blog for all kinds of cool owl info .
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Book Sale Gold

    

     What bibliophile doesn't love a good used book sale?  I know I sure do.  I recently came back from a local one with 2 bags full of books to fill up our new built in bookcases.  Most of them were for the kids but I managed to find a few gems for myself.  One of the ones that made it into the bag was Watership Down by Richard Adams.  I knew it was one of my mom's favorite books but somehow I had never read it. We usually have quite similar reading tastes, so when I saw it on the table I grabbed it.  I finished it this weekend.  My mom wasn't wrong.  It was wonderful, but unlike anything else I've ever read before.  I enjoy fantasy and have read books with anthropomorphized animals characters, such as Redwall by Brian Jacques, but this one was different.  Adams managed to make me feel just what it was like to be a rabbit. He ingeniously created an entire Lapine culture complete with it's own unique language and mythology.  I don't think I'll ever look at a rabbit the same way again.  It's definitely one I would recommend if you haven't read it.  Especially if like me you're a sucker for a well told story with a happy ending.
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Bravo

   

      This morning I finished Egg and Spoon and it was so good I thought it deserved a second post.  I'll do my best not to spoil anything, but I will say it had one of the best endings I've ever read.  It was as if Gregory Maguire somehow channeled Mother Teresa and wrapped the whole beautiful message of caring for the wants of those around you in Russian Folklore.  I can't imagine it getting much better.  When I finished the last page I wiped the tears from my eyes and felt like giving it a standing ovation.  It could easily be the best book I've read this year, and there were many.  And for those, like me, who crave happy endings I think I can safely say without giving too much away, you won't be disappointed.  Bravo Mr. Maguire. Bravo.  You have outdone yourself and I thank you for such a delightfully told story.  I never thought I would wish Baba Yaga as my grandmother, but the way she was written in this story I can't picture a better one.

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A Love Letter to Gregory Maguire

  
   

Right now I'm reading Gregory Maguire's latest book, Egg and Spoon and I just want to say it's AMAZING!  He's hit it out of the park yet again. This might be my favorite of his yet, and that's saying a lot because I read Wicked twice and loved almost everything of his I've ever read.  What I love about Gregory Maguire's writing is the way he writes his characters and his wry sense of humor.  In Egg and Spoon of course my favorite character is Baba Yaga.  He sure does write a good witch.  I've always loved the character Baba Yaga, going back to when I took a course on Russian fairy tales in college.  I think that was my favorite class.  Maguire's Baba Yaga is a little scary, which she should be, very sarcastic, and slightly insane, but you end up routing for her anyway.  I haven't finished the book yet so I don't know how it will end, but a Russian story can never have a truly happy ending. If you liked his other books run out and get yourself a copy of Egg and Spoon today!  If you haven't read anything he's written I highly recommend you do, if you like fantasy on the dark and gritty side.  I'm crazy about Wicked the musical but the books are definitely more grown up and even a little raunchy.

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Groupie Alert

    

     Well, I was finally able to tear myself away from the woods long enough to finish a book!  I tend to binge read, reading one author or genre till I reach the saturation point and switch to something else.  This time I was on a T.A. Barron kick and just finished The Ancient One.  For those of you not familiar with T.A. Barron he is most well known for his best selling The Lost Years of Merlin Saga.  I read the 12 books in that series in 4 weeks!  Yes, they're that good. They're middle grade fantasy, one of my very favorite genres.  The book I just finished was one of his earlier novels. The second in the Heartlight trilogy.  I liked it a lot, especially the Native American mythology and nuances that permeated the story.
     I met T.A. Barron once at a writer's conference, shortly after reading all the Merlin books and I gushed like a groupie.  I tend to do that when I meet favorite authors. The time I met Jane Yolen I practically fell at the poor woman's feet. T.A. Barron was a truly lovely man. He was warm and charming and an inspiration to other writer's. It was such a pleasure to meet him and I highly recommend his books. There is a positive, love fueled message in all of them that children need to hear and characters that are easy to fall in love with.
     Now I've changed tracks slightly and I'm reading one of the Pink Carnation books by Lauren Willig, a Regency, spy romance, that is mostly fluff and completely over the top and I'm enjoying it thoroughly.

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