Wednesday, January 23, 2013

January Book #2

Book: The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Book in a sentence: The first in the series of adventures of Thursday Next, a LiteraTec with SpecOps. Set in an alternate United Kingdom.

The best thing about this book: My friend Jenel put it best when she said this book could never be made into a movie. It's a book that celebrates it's bookliness by doing things that can't be done in any other media. Jasper Fforde's writing is entertaining, witty, and there are so many inside jokes for English Literature lovers that it will keep you on your toes. The tongue-in-cheek names will make you smirk, and Thursday's adventures will intrigue you so much that you'll run out and grab the next book in the series!

Happy reading!

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

January Book #1

Book: Godmother by Carolyn Turgeon

Book in a sentence: A banished fairy deals with old age, guilt, and trying to survive in a world that is not her own.

The best thing about this book: It was completely unique and unexpected. The premise is so far-fetched and yet the author made it believable, sometimes painfully so. Though there was a repetition of phrases and she has a serious crush on New York City, the writing was beautiful. It had the feel of a literary novel while still being engrossing and easy to read.

Happy reading!

Monday, January 7, 2013

The 100 Book List

I have been in a reading funk, as you can see by the fact that I haven't finished a book since November. As I was reading a fabulous book I just bought on writing, the author suggested making a list of 100 books you plan to read over the year. Books that have to do, in some way or other, with the book you're working on. So that I won't lose this list (and to perhaps give other people ideas) I am posting it here on my blog. I'm starting with books I own and moving on to ones that I hope to read. They are in no real order. Enjoy!

Pam's 100 Book List for 2013

  1. The Arabian Knights translated by Sir Richard Burton
  2. Fairest by Gail Carson Levine
  3. A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine
  4. The Witch's Boy by Michael Gruber
  5. The Complete Fairy Tales and Stories of Hans Christian Andersen
  6. The Tales of Guy de Maupassant
  7. Everneath by Brodi Ashton
  8. The Uncrowned King by Harold Bell Wright
  9. Wildwood by Colin Meloy
  10. Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
  11. The Princess Tales Vol. I & II by Gail Carson Levine
  12. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
  13. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
  14. The Fairy Book by Dinah Maria Mulock
  15. Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
  16. Treasury of Fairy Tales retold by Geraldine McCaughrean and Sophy Williams
  17. Ever by Gail Carson Levine
  18. Fairest of All by Serena Valentino
  19. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
  20. Enna Burning by Shannon Hale
  21. River Secrets by Shannon Hale
  22. Forest Born by Shannon Hale
  23. Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge
  24. Toads and Diamonds by Heather Tomlinson
  25. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
  26. Ophelia by Lisa Klein
  27. The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo
  28. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
  29. A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz
  30. The Folk Keeper by Franny Billingsley
  31. Water Song by Suzanne Weyn
  32. Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George
  33. Chocolat by Joanne Harris
  34. Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris
  35. Twice Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris
  36. Rapunzel: and Other Maiden in the Tower Tales From Around the World by Heidi Anne Heiner
  37. Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George
  38. The Night Dance by Suzanne Weyn
  39. Sunlight and Shadow by Cameron Dokey
  40. Scarlet Moon by Debbie Viguie
  41. The Swan Kingdom by Zoe Marriott
  42. Zel by Donna Jo Napoli
  43. The Storyteller's Daughter by Cameron Dokey
  44. Midnight Pearls by Debbie Viguie
  45. The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy
  46. The Magic Three of Solatia by Jane Yolen
  47. The Rumpelstiltskin Problem by Vivian Vande Velde
  48. Bound by Donna Jo Napoli
  49. Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
  50. My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me by Kate Bernheimer
  51. Mirror Mirror by Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple
  52. The Amaranth Enchantment by Julie Berry
  53. Fairy Tales and After by Roger Sale
  54. Breaking the Magic Spell by Jack Zipes
  55. Fairy Tales for Writers by Lawrence Shimel
  56. Why Fairy Tales Stick by Jack Zipes
  57. Off With Their Heads! by Maria Tatar
  58. The Magic Circle by Donna Jo Napoli
  59. Unenchanted by Chanda Hahn
  60. Cloaked in Red by Vivian Vande Velde
  61. Cloaked by Alex Flinn
  62. Entwined by Heather Dixon
  63. The Extra-Ordinary Princess by Carolyn Ebbit
  64. The Fairy Tale Fiction of Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie
  65. Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know by Hamilton Wright Mable
  66. The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson
  67. Never After by Rebecca Lickiss
  68. The Twelve Dancing Princesses: Tales From Around the World by Heidi Anne Heiner
  69. The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
  70. The Pink Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
  71. Darkwood by M.E. Breen
  72. Can You Guess My Name by Sierra Judy
  73. The Fairy-Tale Princess by Su Blackwell
  74. Mermaid by Carolyn Turgeon
  75. Fairest Beauty by Melanie Dickerson
  76. From the Beast to the Blonde by Maria Tatar
  77. From the Forest by Sara Maitland
  78. Godmother by Carolyn Turgeon
  79. Haunted Legends by Ellen Datlow
  80. The Next Full Moon by Carolyn Turgeon
  81. Heart's Blood by Juliet Marillier
  82. Birdie's Book by Jan Bozarth
  83. Aesop's Mirror by Maryalice Huggins
  84. Grey Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
  85. A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True by Brigid Pasulka
  86. The Unhandsome Prince by John Moore
  87. Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble
  88. The Beautiful Between by Alyssa B. Sheinmel
  89. The Poison Eaters by Holly Black
  90. Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart
  91. Thornyhold by Mary Stewart
  92. The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines
  93. Troll's-Eye View by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
  94. Fortune's Folly by Deva Fagan
  95. The Complete Tales of Ketzia Gold by Kate Bernheimer
  96. Elementals by A.S. Byatt
  97. The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye by A.S. Byatt
  98. Grimm's Last Fairytale by Haydn Middleton
  99. Swan Sister by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
  100. Sometimes the Soul by Gioia Timpanelli
  101. Rowan Hood by Nancy Springer
  102. Storyteller by Edward Myers
  103. Enchanted Hunters by Maria Tatar
  104. Whirl by Emma Raveling
  105. How to Spin Gold by Elizabeth Cunningham
  106. The Snow Queen by Eileen Kernaghan
  107. The Godmother by Elizabeth Anne Scarborough
  108. Shadow by Jenny Moss
  109. Fairy Tales and Feminism by Donald Haase
  110. Sirena by Donna Jo Napoli
  111. The Complete Tales of Merry Gold by Kate Bernheimer
  112. Hannah's Garden by Midori Snyder
  113. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
  114. The Fox Woman by Kij Johnson
  115. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
  116. Shapeshifter by Holly Bennett

Wow! I thought 100 would be hard, but it wasn't. In fact, I'll probably keep adding to this all year.

Any that you think I've missed?