Happy St Patrick's Week, fellow bibliophiles! I've not been able to post to my blog before today because I've been struggling with a massive Crohn's disease flare up, but I am determined to get things done today, so here goes on the latest news and reviews.
There used to be a great news stand in the Pike Place Market that had newspapers from all over the world, as well as magazines from far and wide. It has been sold and closed down, but this new place sounds like it will take up the mantle just fine.
Big Little News: New Seattle Shop Co-Owned by Elliott Bay GM
Big Little News http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz47714918, a newsstand and bottle shop, has opened in the Pike/Pine section of Seattle, Wash., Capitol Hill Seattle reported. Big Little News is owned by Tracy Taylor, longtime general manager of Elliott Bay Book Company, and Joey Burgess, an area LGBTQ nightlife entrepreneur.
The two worked together in particular "representing the neighborhood as Pike/Pine pushes and pulls on Seattle City Hall for attention and resources the busy but challenged neighborhood has faced over the past months and recent years of explosive growth," Capitol Hill Seattle wrote. Taylor added: "We've worked together on this neighborhood-y, city stuff for a while, but we've looked for a project and this just opened up."
Big Little News carries more than 250 foreign and domestic magazines, newspapers and zines, as well as beer, wine, champagne and other sundries.
Capitol Hill Seattle said that Taylor "provided an eclectic mix of recommendations" and commented, "This year I've read fewer books. I've listened to more books. For me, it's been an attention span thing. Magazines kind of fill that niche that's not a tweet."
I used to read the Runaway Bunny to my son Nick when he was little, and it always made me misty-eyed, because it's such a beautiful story of a mom asserting that she will always love her baby. It's great that this classic children's tale will become a TV special.
TV: The Runaway Bunny
HBO Max released a trailer and key art for The Runaway Bunny http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz47714963, an animated special based on the classic children's book by Margaret Wise Brown, Deadline reported. Tracee Ellis Ross narrates and performs an original lullaby by Brown in the special, with songs also performed by Mariah Carey, Kelly Rowland, Rosanne Cash, Ziggy Marley, Kimya Dawson, Rufus Wainwright and Michael Kiwanuka. Premiering March 25, The Runaway Bunny is produced and directed by Amy Schatz (Goodnight Moon & Other Sleepytime Tales, the Classical Baby series).
I really enjoyed The Queens Gambit, though I don't play chess and never plan to learn how. The show had such a dynamic script and such great actors, it was riveting viewing. I imagine the musical will be just as exciting.
On Stage: Queen's Gambit: the Musical
Level Forward will adapt The Queen's Gambit http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz47716752, the 1983 novel by Walter Tevis that last year became an award-winning hit Netflix series, for the stage as a musical. The Guardian reported that it is unclear where the company, "which has produced films on sexual harassment and assault including the feature and documentary On the Record, will adapt the musical. But given its recent history of Broadway productions, including a musical based on Alanis Morissette's album Jagged Little Pill and the provocative Slave Play, by Jeremy O Harris, all signs point to New York."
"It is a privilege for Level Forward to lead the charge of bringing The Queen's Gambit to the stage through the beloved and enduring craft of musical theater," said Level Forward CEO Adrienne Becker and producer Julia Dunetz in a statement. "Audiences are already sharing in the friendship and fortitude of the story's inspiring women who energize and sustain Beth Harmon's journey and ultimate triumph. The story is a siren call amidst our contemporary struggles for gender and racial equity, and we're looking forward to moving the project forward."
Seems like every single post this past year has had at least one author obituary in it, which is a shame. COVID has taken 534,000 lives in the US so far, and there are still millions infected, though the numbers are starting to turn now that people are being vaccinated, myself included. At any rate, I read the Phantom Tollbooth when I was 5 years old...it was one of the first books that I checked out of our local library's children's section.
Obituary Note: Norton Juster
Norton Juster http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz47747517, "who wrote one of children's literature's most beloved and enduring books, The Phantom Tollbooth," died March 8, the New York Times reported. He was 91. First published in 1961, The Phantom Tollbooth was illustrated by the man Juster shared a duplex with at the time, Jules Feiffer, who was early in his career as a cartoonist and author. The book has sold almost four million copies, been reissued multiple times and was adapted into an animated film and a stage musical.
In a statement, Feiffer reflected on the qualities Juster brought to the book and the impact his story has had on generations of readers: "His singular quality was being mischievous. He saw humor as turning everything on its head. It's incredible the effect he had on millions of readers who turned The Phantom Tollbooth into something of a cult or a religion."
An architect, Juster described himself as an "accidental writer," and despite his success as a children's author he "would continue to work in architecture for three more decades, co-founding an architectural firm and working as a professor of architecture at Hampshire College until his retirement in 1992," the Guardian wrote.
Among the projects his company Juster Pope Frazier, designed was the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz47747520 in Amherst, Mass., the Washington Post noted.
In addition to reuniting with Feiffer in 2010 on The Odious Ogre, Juster's other children's titles include The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics, which was adapted into a 1965 Oscar-winning animated short; Alberic the Wise and Other Journeys, illustrated by Domenico Gnoli; As Silly as Knees, as Busy as Bees: An Astounding Assortment of Similes, illustrated by David Small; and The Hello, Goodbye Window with Chris Raschka, who received a Caldecott Medal for his illustrations of the magical window at a little girl's grandparents' house. He also wrote a book for adults, A Women's Place: Yesterday's Women in Rural America.
In a 2012 CNN interview, Juster talked about the key to writing for young readers: "You have to retain, I guess, a good piece of the way you thought as a child. I think if you lose all of that, that's where the deadliness comes from. The idea of children looking at things differently is a precious thing. The most important thing you can do is notice."
An Unexpected Peril by Deanna Raybourn is the 6th book in the Veronica Speedwell mystery series. I've read and enjoyed them all, particularly the developing relationship between Stoker and Veronica. Here's the blurb: A princess is missing and a peace treaty is on the verge of collapse in this new Veronica Speedwell adventure from the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated author Deanna Raybourn.
January 1889. As
the newest member of the Curiosity Club--an elite society of brilliant,
intrepid women--Veronica Speedwell is excited to put her many skills to
good use. As she assembles a memorial exhibition for pioneering
mountain climber Alice Baker-Greene, Veronica discovers evidence that
the recent death was not a tragic climbing accident but murder. Veronica
and her natural historian beau, Stoker, tell the patron of the exhibit,
Princess Gisela of Alpenwald, of their findings. With Europe on the
verge of war, Gisela's chancellor, Count von Rechstein, does not want to
make waves--and before Veronica and Stoker can figure out their next
move, the princess disappears.
Having noted Veronica's
resemblance to the princess, von Rechstein begs her to pose as Gisela
for the sake of the peace treaty that brought the princess to England.
Veronica reluctantly agrees to the scheme. She and Stoker must work
together to keep the treaty intact while navigating unwelcome advances,
assassination attempts, and Veronica's own family--the royalty who has
never claimed her.
While there were some really bizarre moments in this installment of the VS mysteries, especially the forced "prince and pauper" switch where Veronica is made to disguise herself as the German Princess, I still loved the central mystery and it's solution.
It seems to me that the visiting royalty took advantage of her good nature and desire to do the right thing one too many times. Still, the dynamic between Stoker and Veronica heated up nicely, and was interesting to watch/read about because it's obvious that while Veronica doesn't want to marry and scuttle her career aspirations as an independent woman, she and Stoker are in love, and eventually will be forced by the mores of society of that time or pregnancy or some other happenstance to make it "official" and marry one another. I also liked that Veronica was able to meet some of her royal relatives, though because she's considered illegitimate, she can never be recognized as a member of the British royal family. Raybourn's prose is deliciously descriptive, and her plots fly along on swift wings. I'd give this book an A, and recommend it to anyone who has read the previous books in the series.
Full of Briars by Seanan McGuire is a novella set in her October Day paranormal urban fantasy series. I managed to get this novella for a very low price for my Kindle, and I read it over an afternoon. Here's the blurb: Meet Quentin Sollys. Squire. Hockey fan. Canadian. And Crown Prince to
the entire continent of North America, known as “the Westlands” to the
fae, currently ruled by his parents, High King Aethlin and High Queen
Maida. Not that most people know that, since he’s a blind foster squired
to a changeling—not exactly something that screams “hidden royalty.”
But
with a new Queen on the throne in the Mists, his parents have finally
come to town to see how he’s doing…and to take him home with them.
That’s going to be a problem, since Quentin doesn’t particularly want to
leave, and his knight, Sir October Daye, doesn’t particularly want to
let him go.
Set after Chimes at Midnight and before The Winter Long, it’s finally time to meet the parents in our first-ever story narrated by Quentin himself.
I loved that they put an illustration of a strapping blond teenage boy on the cover of this novella, however, I'd never imagined Quentin as looking like every football jock at a Midwestern high school, all of whom were committed to bullying everyone who wasn't a jock or a cheerleader, so that was a bit jarring. Quentin is described early on as being more long limbed, skinny and geeky looking, plus he's gay, so my image of him is different, if not stereotypical. But this particular novella has more to do with seeing Toby as a proper foster mom for Quentin and less about the boy himself. His parents are the stereotypical disapproving, snobbish people who are horrified that their son has been in danger during his fosterage, and they've also made the assumption that they can control him enough to have him give up his knighthood and adventures and come back to their realm because it is convenient for them and because they want to keep him "safe."
But safety is not what knights are made for, so Quentin and Toby push back, as do all the motley crew who make up Toby's adoptive family of cat-people and fae creatures. Tehre are some great moments of tenderness and humor in this short book, which I loved reading. McGuire is a master storyteller, and her prose, though no-frills, is sturdy enough to carry whatever weird or twisty plot she assigns to it. I'd give this novella an A, and recommend it to anyone who wonders about the inner life of Toby's faithful squire.
Magical Midlife Madness by K.F. Breene is a delightful paranormal romance/urban fantasy series about a middle-aged woman setting out to redefine herself after years of marriage and raising a family. Here's the blurb: A woman starting over. A new house with an unexpected twist. A cape wearing butler acting as the world's worst life coach.
"Happily
Ever After" wasn't supposed to come with a do-over option. But when my
husband of twenty years packs up and heads for greener pastures and my
son leaves for college, that's exactly what my life becomes.
Do-over.
This
time, though, I plan to do things differently. Age is just a number,
after all, and at forty I'm ready to carve my own path.
Eager for
a fresh start, I make a somewhat unorthodox decision and move to a tiny
town in the Sierra foothills. I'll be taking care of a centuries old
house that called to me when I was a kid. It's just temporary, I tell
myself. It'll just be for a while.
That is, until I learn what the house really is, something I never could've imagined.
Thankfully
forty isn't too old to start an adventure, because that's exactly what I
do. A very dangerous adventure that will change my life forever. I have
a chance to start again, and this time, I make the rules.
I was thrilled to read, for once, about a female protagonist who wasn't a young, perky petite blonde with the perfect breasts and ass and a "fiery" temperment that leads the huge, tall and sexy male protagonist (and every other male creature in the book) to find her irresistible in and out of bed. That trope is so over-used it's ridiculous. This time, the protagonist is in her 40s and wants to take back her power, her sense of self and her life on her own terms. She doesn't have the perfect body, (because no one does after having children), she doesn't dress in the perfect clothes and she's smart, witty and wise. I will say that she
gets drunk and is clumsy and in need of rescue a few too many times,
however...but she always tries to get things done herself first, even if
those are fumbled attempts that lead to being embarrassed. I liked Jessie, and I found the were-bear Austin Steele (yeah, that name is a bit much) to be tolerable, though he was overprotective and controlling even while he was rescuing her from her poor choices. Still, the prose was fizzy and funny and fun, and the plot moved so fast that it seemed almost magical! I'd give this delightful ebook an A, and recommend it to any paranormal romance fan who is tired of the "perfect woman meets drool-worthy guy with six pack abs" trope and wants to GET REAL for a change. Here's a great quote from the book "Money might not buy happiness, but it sure helps with an escape route." LOL.
Monster by Carmen Caine is yet another ebook that I got on the cheap from Amazon, due to the publisher sending around a daily discount in their e-newsletter. Here's the blurb: Monster, Book one of the Cassidy Edwards series!
Revenge.
It’s all I've lived for. Revenge against those who stacked the cards
against me from the start. But I’m changing the deck now. I’m getting
even. Born to a vampire, I wasn’t supposed to survive—but I did.
My name is Cassidy. Cassidy Edwards. And I’m the first of my kind.
The Job
Trapping a sixteenth-century Scottish Highlander of a vampire who just might be seduction itself.
The Team
A firedrake with an attitude, a werewolf with a problem, and an imp in dire need of rehab.
The Boss
A dangerously powerful warlock as handsome as sin.
My Problem:
Bluffing my way into a job, my first mission into the Charmed world
opens a Pandora’s box of betrayal and secrets ... along with attractions
of the most lethal kind.
This labyrinthine tale begins with a young woman who sees herself as a monster due to an accident of birth, and who seeks revenge against her biological father for her very existence. Cassidy, it seems, dislikes sucking bits of lifeforce, or manna, from a variety of people as her only means of sustenance. If she takes too much from any one person, she drains their soul and they die. So she inadvertently tries to take some manna from a Warlock, who assumes she knows all about her powers and the war that has been raging between himself and other magical creatures, and what follows is one cruel revelation after another, as Cassidy is thrust into danger because she doesn't know anything about the magical world or the power of the creatures around her. Her own mother, it appears, willingly throws her daughter under the bus time and again, though Cassidy keeps falling for her BS. I didn't really like most of the characters we meet in this tale, from the drunken and generally worthless imp to the mean and controlling warlock and the equally controlling dead Highlander. No one seemed to have Cassidy's back.There's also not really a happy ending here. Still, it was an interesting book, so I will give it a B, and recommend it to anyone who is interested in vampires and warlocks and other evil creatures.
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