RIP Wrap-up Post

This is one of the saddest days of the year for me -- the end of the RIP Challenge! Not that it ever stops me from continuing to read the books that are so fitting for our gloomy (and extremely short!) Seattle fall and winter days. In fact, I have something special planned for next month that will keep the peril going for a while longer. I'm a bit of a cheat, I guess!

So what did I get through this year? Not as much as I planned but some great books nevertheless!

I started in September with The Mysteries of Udolpho. When the middle of the month rolled around and I was only about 250 pages in, I decided to set it aside. It wasn't bad but it just wasn't grabbing me the way I thought it would. I haven't abandoned it forever, I promise.

Also, as I'm sure you noticed, I spent all of September and October with the prolific Neil Gaiman and a group read of Fragile Things. It was my second time through this collection but the first time that I read every single piece. There were some definite favorites and some that really didn't work for me. But it's a volume that I will keep on my shelves and revisit every so often.

I didn't post my first RIP review until the end of September and it was the thoroughly enjoyable The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. But all through September, Z and I were reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone at bedtime and so we posted about that (and about watching the movie together) soon after.

My third RIP post was about the short story collection The Penguin Book of Gaslight Crime, edited by Michael Sims. There wasn't a dud in the bunch which made it a quick and fun read! I hope to explore a few of the authors and characters a bit more in the future.

My fourth book was the middle grade new release Sally's Bones by MacKenzie Cadenhead. I started reading it with Z but soon realized that it was meant for an older audience.

When October began, I also started a second group read -- The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson. It was strange to stretch out the reading of a novel to three weeks when I probably would have read it in a day or two if left on my own!

The fifth review we posted was Z's next bedtime story, Ghosthunters and the Incredibly Revolting Ghost! by Cornelia Funke. It was a fun spooky read (but not too spooky for bedtime!). When I asked Z about his thoughts on the book, he decided he would like to try writing them down himself and so you got his first full post on the blog. I hope that it wasn't his last!

Then I tried another classic and was much more successful with Wilkie Collins' The Dead Secret. It reminded me how much I enjoy his writing and I plan to pull another of his books off my shelves soon.

And then there was the Read-a-Thon and I got through two middle grade books in a series -- Spellbinder (a re-read) and The Midnight Gate by Helen Stringer. They were the perfect choice!

But, of course, our RIP reading didn't stop there. I'm hoping to finish my current read today, The Poisoner's Handbook by Deborah Blum. It's probably going to rank higher for me than The Devil in the White City which is saying a lot! And we are also coming to the end of Z's bedtime book -- The Great Ghost Rescue by Eva Ibbotson. It's scarier than our last read but it doesn't seem to bother Z to read books like that right before bed.

So, I got through two non-fiction titles, one classic (and about a third of another) and a volume of short stories that were in my original RIP stacks. I also read three middle grade books, two group reads and Z's three bedtime books. That's a lot less than I planned but it's been a much busier two months than I anticipated too! But come back tomorrow and see how I plan to keep the chills alive through November. You might even want to join in!

Closing the books on another great RIP challenge,
K

Fragile Things Group Read: Four Stories and Wrap-up

After two months of time spent in the twisted but sometimes glorious imagination of Neil Gaiman, our time together is coming to an end. This was the last week of readings. It will be strange to finally put this book away for a time. I've loved reading it in small doses and I didn't skip any stories like I did the first time I read it. I think I understood so many of them in a different way now that I know Gaiman's writing better. This has actually put me in the mood to re-read Coraline soon! Thank you again to Carl for hosting this read along and keeping us all on task each week.

THE DAY THE SAUCERS CAME

This is probably my favorite piece of the entire collection and I was patiently waiting for its time to come. It is creative and funny and light-hearted in an incredibly nerdy way. Not only all of that, but it reminds me of my teen years, sitting by the phone, oblivious to anything that was happening around me because I was so self-absorbed and I thought the world revolved around boys and friends. I missed out on so much during those years in the world and even in my own family -- but nothing as dramatic as "the saucer day, the zombie day The Ragnarok and fairies day, the day the great winds came ..."

SUNBIRD

This is one of the few stories that I remembered vividly from my first reading of this book. There are so many ways to look at it -- as an exploration of myth, a study of eternal life and even as a story from father to daughter. The phoenix is always an interesting idea but to pair it with the idea of living eternally through your children--as they pick up in life where you left off--I think it's interesting. It's a much less literal interpretation of the phoenix and that's something that I like about Gaiman's writing. Sometimes he presents things in their most basic form but other times he gives a story or a myth a little twist that takes it somewhere that it has never been before.

INVENTING ALADDIN

And I really enjoyed this story as well! It's just a brief look into the mind of Scheherazade and what she goes through each day, her life dependent on the ability to imagine one more tale or to satisfactorily continue the current one. She's not just a storyteller. She's a sister and a mother and a housekeeper. And yet, only her stories keep her alive. It's sad and hopeful at the same time.

THE MONARCH OF THE GLEN

I can honestly say this collection ended on a high note for me because I breezed through this novella -- enjoying the chance to follow Shadow again through Scotland. Smith was more likable in this story and Mr. Alice, well, let's just say he was tolerable. And it made all the difference in the world (obviously) to have finally read American Gods this year. I might not have even read this story the first time (I couldn't remember it at all which means I probably didn't) but this time I was happy to revisit one of Gaiman's best characters. Now I just need to visit Scotland (and hope that Grendel isn't still hanging around).

Putting it on the shelf,
K

RIP Reads 7 & 8: Spellbinder and Midnight Gate

Helen Stringer's Spellbinder was an RIP read for me in 2009. I loved the middle grade novel of magic and suspense (read my review) and, though it was a fairly self-contained story, there were enough loose ends to suggest that Stringer hoped to make it a series. This year, the second book to feature Belladonna Johnson, The Midnight Gate, was published. Because I enjoyed the first book so much, I decided to re-read it before starting the second book. I even bought a hardcover copy of the book (my original copy was an ARC) to have in my permanent library. I chose the books for the read-a-thon and ended up spending an enjoyable (but suspense-filled) day with this amazingly resilient young lady.

Belladonna is anything but a typical twelve-year-old -- not because she is an orphan (sadly, that happens regularly to children) but because she still lives with her parents though they are now ghosts. She had started to see ghosts even before her parents died but it became an unexpected blessing when she faced the prospect of living without them. But along with this ability come other responsibilities that Belladonna soon realizes are hers as all of the ghosts of the world start disappearing. With the unexpected help of a classmate and a single remaining ghost girl, Belladonna must restore order to both the worlds of the living and the dead.

The Midnight Gate picks up two months later. Everything seems to be back to normal but soon the mean girl in school seeks revenge on Belladonna by exposing the fact that she appears to be living alone (as her parents are not visible to anyone else). Her new foster parents are suspiciously mild-mannered and it is soon obvious that they aren't all they seem. Again, Belladonna must take a break from her school work to save the world.

Though I spent almost an entire day in these stories, I didn't tire of them at all. In fact, I was sad again when the story ended. The characters are interesting and believable (even the ghostly ones), the villains are terrifying and the worlds are vivid and well-written. There is real peril in the story and true bravery and self-sacrifice.

I can only hope again that Feiwel and Friends continue to support Helen Stringer and the story of Belladonna Johnson! It probably won't hurt that MTV bought the rights to a pilot script for Spellbinder earlier this month (though right now I can only think of all of the ways that they could possibly ruin this empowering and ultimately positive story).

Under the spell,
K

RIP Read 6: The Dead Secret

I'm falling behind in reviews so this is going to be more of a mention instead.

The RIP read that I finished right before the read-a-thon was The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins. If you are a fan of Collins or even of Dickens, you will probably like this one. It's one of his earlier novels, published serially three years before The Woman in White. It can be very sentimental in parts and, as you will find in many other Collins novels, it includes an examination of social issues -- in this case, the opinions of the era on birth and position. It also has a couple of really stellar characters worthy of Dickens -- the vicar Doctor Chennery and Uncle Joseph really stand out but most of the characters are interesting for one reason or another.

The "secret" will probably seem obvious to a modern reader fairly early on even though it isn't actually revealed until right near the end. And, as has happened many times before, Oxford manages to give it away right on the back of the book. So if you have this version, try and avoid looking at the back before you start or while you're reading. For me, this means always setting the book down face-up. Luckily, this version has a really beautiful cover!

What makes this an RIP read? A gloomy, derelict "castle" (complete with ghost) and a woman driven mad by a secret that she is forced to keep for years.

Loving this view of a different era,
K

The Lantern Group Read: Part 5 & Wrap-up

It's the end of our group read of The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson. I actually finished reading it over a week ago so I'm glad to finally be wrapping this up. Heather of Capricious Reader wrote up our questions for this week.

(End of book questions mean, obviously, SPOILERS. Don't read if this is a book you're interested in. Just read the book!)

1. Now that it's all said and done; what did you think of the book? Did you see the ending coming?

The story line with Dom and Eve pretty much wrapped up the way I thought it would. It was kind of anti-climactic. Although I was surprised that they had a kid and stayed in the house. I actually liked that bit. The Benedicte story line was more interesting with the medical condition and her having lived with Sabine's family. I liked too that they eventually found the recordings of Benedicte's story and found out the truth about everything.

2. What do you think of the characters? Lawrenson took us on a twisty little ride there, I had trouble deciding who was good and who wasn't for a while there! What do you think of Dom? Of Sabine? Rachel?

I think the only one who turned out to be better than I thought was Sabine. She had a reason behind what she was doing though I'm not quite sure why she was so sneaky and mean about it. Maybe she was just French. I saw everything coming with Rachel and Dom because of the parallels to Rebecca.

3. Pierre was such a conflicted character. In the end, do you think he killed Marthe and Annette, or did the fall to their deaths because of their blindness?

Well, they both ended up with trauma to the back of the skull. I don't think they both happened to do that falling. Plus, he lied about Marthe going back to Paris and eventually faked his own death and disappeared. If he wasn't guilty about something, he would definitely have still tried to get his portion of the estate. He was just a bad man.

4. The book is being compared to Rebecca and Daphne du Maurier's writing. Do you think the book lives up to that description?

I think the connections to Rebecca were obvious but I think that the book suffered a bit from that. The writing was not of the same level as du Maurier's and the story wasn't quite as tight and compelling as Rebecca. I just think it's really hard to emulate a true classic. I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I wasn't such a big fan of Rebecca already.

5. Did you have any problems with the book? Narration? Plot? The back and forth between two different characters and times?

Any problems I had at the beginning seemed to work themselves out by the end.

6. Do you think Lawrenson tied both stories together well in the end? Is there anything she could/should have done differently?

I think the stories never really tied together. Rather, they both happened around the same house and so it's the house's history but I don't think the Benedicte/Marthe/Pierre story truly affected Eve and Dom's life at all.

7. One problem I had with the novel is the reliability of the narrators. Do you think any of them were telling the truth? Which ones?

I think that Eve was the only one who was telling us things that weren't true and that was just because she was stupid and weak. Benedicte was telling things in a round-about way and from her own point of view but she never told us anything that wasn't, from her perspective, the truth. But there were a lot of lies of omission and mistaken ideas in the story.

This was a really fun group read! Thanks to Carl, Kailana and Heather for the thought-provoking questions and the idea to run this in the first place.

Closing the book,

K

Fragile Things Group Read: Four Stories

I almost forgot to do my Fragile Things reading for this week! Life got in the way, as it sometimes does. But luckily I remembered to grab my book and here we are. My responses are pretty short this week. I don't know if it's because we've been doing this for so long or just because there wasn't much to say.

(By the way, if you don't know about Gaiman's All Hallow's Read initiative--gifting scary books on Halloween--check out this video about it. I still haven't quite decided what I'm going to do but I want to participate.)

IN THE END

Well, I'll admit that I don't have a clear idea what this single page story ultimately means. It's a backwards take on the Adam and Eve story. I've read it a couple of times and, really, I just don't know. He says in the introduction that he "was trying to imagine the very last book of the Bible". I guess it's just a re-winding of everything -- like a yo-yo returning to God's hand.

GOLIATH

This is a rare science-fiction story in this volume and I loved it. It's bleak and Matrix-y (as it should be because it was inspired by the script for the film The Matrix) but it's also beautiful in a weird way. It's about humanity and disposability and uniqueness and homogeneity. I really can't explain it but this is one story that I can always go back to for a thought-provoking read. The main character, "Goliath", is no Neo. He's something else all-together -- someone who is meant to be a savior but not of mankind. Rather, he is a savior for the machines. Crazy.

PAGES FROM A JOURNAL FOUND IN A SHOEBOX LEFT IN A GREYHOUND BUS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN TULSA, OKLAHOMA, AND LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY

And here is another piece inspired by Tori Amos and I just don't like it. It seems like it's trying too hard to be etherial and mysterious. Gaiman says it's in the American Gods world but I didn't see that so much. A mysterious identity-shifting narrator, an unrealistic driving journey around the United States, impossible dates -- they just didn't come together to make anything that worked for me.

HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS AT PARTIES

This is a strange story. It's fantastical but also somehow bland. I guess I'm just kind of neutral about it. I can't even think of anything really to say because, though it is rather vague, I also feel that it is fairly straight-forward.

With my eyes on the finish line,
K

Good Night, Sweet Read-a-Thon!

Alright, I'm calling it a night. After only six and a half hours of sleep last night, it seems that I've hit the wall of no return or something like that. I've only managed 30 pages in the last hour and am spending most of my time wandering around the house trying to stay awake.


Local time: 3:00am
Books/Stories Finished: Spellbinder by Helen Stringer, The Midnight Gate by Helen Stringer, three Gaiman stories, one DWJ story
Started Reading: Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
Pages Read: 796
Time Spent Read-a-Thoning: 18.5 hours

Eight hundred pages in one day isn't bad. I think it might be as much as I've read all month! I'm going to take old Scott up to bed with me but I probably won't get more than a dozen more pages in. Too sleepy!

Thank you so much to everyone who stopped by to comment today. The cheerleaders were awesome as were all of the other readers! I'm so glad I participated again this year, especially since the weather was completely miserable today. It was nice to feel no obligation to go out into the wind and rain.

Buenas noches,
K

Hour Twenty-Two Read-a-Thon Update

Well, I've given the toughest task of the Read-a-Thon to Scott Westerfeld. He's got to keep me awake and engaged for the next three hours. Can he do it? Time will tell!

Local time: 2:00am
Books/Stories Finished: Spellbinder by Helen Stringer, The Midnight Gate by Helen Stringer, three Gaiman stories, one DWJ story
Currently Reading: Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
Other Books Being Read in the House: none -- Z is fast asleep and the husband is still on the computer and watching tv (he stays up really late on the weekends)
Pages Read: 766
Goodies Consumed: a couple of chocolate orange wafers and that's it -- it's kind of late to still be eating! I'm not above sneaking a bit more caffeine though.

Putting on my steampunk goggles,
K

Hour Nineteen Read-a-Thon Update

I'm still here and still reading!


Local time: 11:15pm
Books/Stories Finished: Spellbinder by Helen Stringer, two Gaiman stories, one DWJ story
Currently Reading: The Midnight Gate by Helen Stringer
Other Books Being Read in the House: none -- Z is asleep and the husband is on the computer and watching tv
Pages Read: 626
Goodies Consumed: Haribo Gold-Bears (apparently there's a hyphen in there ... who knew?!)

I have 125 pages left of my current read so I'm going to just finish it and then read my last Gaiman story and finish that post up for tomorrow/today/whatever, it's late.

Thinking about some nice caffeinated green tea,
K

Hour Sixteen Read-a-Thon Update

This day is totally flying by! I'm sure it will start dragging in a few hours but I'll be good for a while more. I've almost been reading for twelve hours now which is quite a lot! We're finally having dinner soon so I thought I would get my update written before that --


Local time: 8:05pm
Books/Stories Finished: Spellbinder by Helen Stringer, two Gaiman stories, one DWJ story
Currently Reading: The Midnight Gate by Helen Stringer
Other Books Being Read in the House: none -- they've finally lost interest and gone to the other room to play on the computer
Pages Read: 529
Goodies Consumed: None! I'm barely done digesting lunch and we need to have dinner before too late. I'll snack later. :)

I hope everyone is having a great time. Nine hours left? Easy. Maybe.

Waiting for the rice cooker to finish,
K

Hour Thirteen Read-a-Thon Update

I'm kind of on an odd update schedule here! Hour thirteen? Oh well!


Local time: 5:35pm
Books/Stories Finished: Spellbinder by Helen Stringer, two Gaiman stories, one DWJ story
Currently Reading: The Midnight Gate by Helen Stringer
Other Books Being Read in the House: A Cheese Related Mishap AND Piranha Pancakes by Ray Friesen (Z)
Pages Read: 394
Goodies Consumed: Belgian mint chocolate crisps, lunch (omelette, hash browns and toast) and iced tea

Things slowed down there with familial interruptions and writing up my thoughts on the Gaiman stories for our group read post for tomorrow. I hope to make some good time now through The Midnight Gate. It picks up two months after Spellbinder ends so I feel like I'm still enjoying the same story. I also won't be breaking for snacks any time soon because I am stuffed from lunch -- maybe just some tea in a bit.

As you can see, Z is still reading the same two graphic novels but now he's alternating between them. Whatever ... he's doing a great job of reading today!

Back in my yoga pants,
K

Hour Ten Read-a-Thon Update

I just finished Spellbinder and it was just as good as I remembered the first time. Luckily I have the next book in the series here--The Midnight Gate--and I'll be reading that today too! First though, I have only read one of the four pieces for the Fragile Things group tomorrow so I'll read one or two of those and maybe a short story or two from Diana Wynne Jones from Unexpected Magic before I start in on The Midnight Gate.


Local time: 2:05pm
Books Finished: Spellbinder by Helen Stringer
Currently Reading: Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman and Unexpected Magic by Diana Wynne Jones
Other Books Being Read in the House: A Cheese Related Mishap by Ray Friesen (Z) and Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond (husband)
Pages Read: 331
Goodies Consumed: Sea salt flavored Popchips and Lipton Diet Green Tea, Berry flavored

I still need that shower so I suppose I will do that now, get into some different comfy clothes and then sit back down with Neil and Diana (and some candy)!

Spending time with the fragile and unexpected,
K

Hour Seven Read-a-Thon Update

Well, it's hour seven of the Read-a-Thon but I'm really only coming up on hour four because of my late start. Here's an update --

Local time: 11:15am
Currently Reading: Spellbinder by Helen Stringer
Other Books Being Read in the House: Piranha Pancakes by Ray Friesen (Z)
Pages Read: 125
Goodies Consumed: One mug of Awake tea (sweetened, no milk) and two freshly-baked blueberry scones (Sticky Fingers brand)

I would be reading much faster but Z is reading his graphic novel out loud and it's a bit distracting. We also had to break for a bit of fighting after Z told me to "bring it on".  I brought it and he got karate chopped until he could stand it no longer.

I'll check back in after I finish this book (and take a shower). Snack updates and other random photos will be on twitter (@webereading).

Off to look for an amulet,
K

Real Read-a-Thon Start

Hey there, fellow read-a-thoners! It's 8:30am and I'm only 3 1/2 hours late to this party! I ended up staying up until about 2am last night so I'll probably be ducking out for a nap sometime today.

I started Spellbinder by Helen Stringer last night and got through the first two chapters (41 pages) so that's what I'm starting with today. It's a re-read but I don't remember a whole lot about it so I'm excited to revisit it.

I'll be making those blueberry scones in about half an hour but I want to get a bit of reading done right off so I'm starting NOW! I'll do small updates on Twitter (along with some food pics, I'm sure) and be back here on the blog in a bit.

20 1/2 hours of reading ahead (more or less),
K

Read-a-Thon!

Okay, fellow readers and most awesome cheerleaders ... I'm ready for the Read-a-Thon! There's just one problem. There's a 99.9% chance that, as you read this, I'm not awake yet and won't be for at least a couple more hours. I'm so incredibly not a morning person. This means that I'm going to miss out on the opening questions. I'm sad to miss that part so I'll answer last year's while I sit here on Friday night and watch Pearl Jam 20.

1)Where are you reading from today?

The suburbs outside of Seattle, with my bum firmly planted on the couch for most of it. I'll turn on the gas fire if it's as rainy and dark as it's supposed to be.

2)Three random facts about me…

I am a 5th generation Californian, I have a degree in zoology and my favorite ice cream is rocky road (but only with almonds in it, not that gross walnut kind).

3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?

Well, I changed my pile just a little since I lasted posted about it. I've decided to stick to the Westerfeld steampunk trilogy and the two Springer books, interspersed with short pieces from Mister Gaiman and Madame Wynne Jones. If by some ridiculous miracle I get through all of these before 5am tomorrow, I'll decide on more then!

4)Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?

No goals. I just want to get through my TBR a bit and have some fun! I also want to get both the husband and Z reading for part of the day. I bought some bribe snacks so I'm sure they'll sit down until the gummy clown fish and cotton candy run out!

Speaking of snacks, I know you're all curious --

Two kinds of Popcorners, gummy bears, chocolate orange wafers, Belgian mint chocolates and lots of green tea and peppermint hot chocolate. And I'll be starting the day with blueberry scones and some Awake tea. We'll probably head out for lunch but I'll take my book along!

5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?

I've only done one Read-a-Thon so far but here's my meager advice. If you need a break from reading, go visit some other participants' posts. Their enthusiasm will get you going again! And there's no rule against naps.

See you soon,

K

RIP Read 5: Ghosthunters and the Incredibly Revolting Ghost

Z has decided he wants to write the review about our last bedtime book, so without further ado (and with only a little parental prompting) --

This book is called Ghosthunters and the Incredibly Revolting Ghost! The author is Cornelia Funke. She's the author of The Thief Lord.

It's Book 1 of Ghosthunters series. It's German in 1993 and English in 2006. The main character is Tom and his sister Lola. Lola treats Tom like a joke. One day an Asg (Averagely Spooky Ghost) named Hugo moves to Tom's cellar. Tom has to bring Hugo home and avoid a huge Irg (Incredibly Revolting Ghost). Tom gets help from his grandmother's friend Hetty Hyssop because she is a ghost specialist.

I really like this book because it's really funny. I'll read the next book. That book is called Ghosthunters and the Totally Moldy Baroness! It's about a Tomob (Totally Moldy Baroness).

BOO!
Z

The Lantern Group Read: Parts 3 & 4

This week we read parts 3 and 4 of Deborah Lawrenson's The Lantern and they were gripping! I had to really force myself not to read the last part immediately. But I wanted to be able to answer the questions for this week properly so I resisted. I also admittedly checked my inbox frequently to be ready when the questions came in so that I could answer them and finish the book! (They came in an hour ago and here I am already.)

So, here are this week's questions from Kailana of The Written World -- as you can guess, these are questions for the middle of the story so they are quite SPOILERY. Please don't read this post if you plan on reading this book!

1. The title of this book is The Lantern, and a lantern makes an appearance in both of the stories. In Benedicte’s past, it had a meaning, but what do you think the lantern signifies in her future and in Eve’s story?

I'm guessing it's the same lantern that was left behind by Andre? If Benedicte was haunted (and her ghost seems to be there now as the lady in the grey dress, right?), then I'm not sure the lantern is linked to Eve but just to the property. After all, it never leads her anywhere -- it just shows up.

2. Carl mentioned scents in last week's questions, but they have been addressed even more in these sections. What significance do you think scents have in this story overall?


I'm still not entirely sure why the scents are included to the degree that they are. It might turn out to all just be for atmosphere. I do think it's interesting though that Marthe's haunting scent is interpreted by Eve as being Rachel's. It's a property with a long history (and even a perfumer that she knows about) so I'm not sure why she doesn't make that connection at all. If she's willing to accept that there is a scented ghost, why wouldn't it be the perfume maker? Why would it be the ex-wife that supposedly died of cancer and never lived in the house? Why would it haunt her when she wouldn't recognize the scent? That would be a stupid ghost. ;)

3. What do you think of the combining storyline of Marthe? She connects Benedicte, Eve, and Rachel. What do you think will be revealed about this connection in the next sections?


I haven't thought about this at all while reading. There are a load of current novels that have a past narrative and a present one that are strongly linked by research but this doesn't feel like one of those. We are finding out much more about Marthe than Eve or Rachel ever did and their research is not a real part of the story (except for making Dom upset). If it wasn't for Benedicte, we wouldn't know much about Marthe at all. So I guess I've just kept the stories separate for the most part and have seen them as just coincidentally intersecting. I wonder if in the fifth part they will really collide.

4. Now that things are beginning to move along, what do you think of the characters? Are any standing out for you? Do you particularly like any? Dislike any?


Well, Andre turned out to be a real piece, didn't he? I totally didn't see that coming. I thought he was going to be outed for flirting, not for having a wife and two kids! That was probably the first time I really had to do an about-face on how I felt about a character. The others all seem to be consistent for the most part. I still don't really especially like any of them. Benedicte was the closest but she kind of messed everything up in that whole situation with Pierre and Marthe. Marthe's not bad but I just don't feel a lot for her except sympathy that she basically got ambushed. Eve is driving me up the wall and Dom is still an enigma. And Sabine's "Mrs. Danvers move" was somewhat amusing even though I saw it coming -- getting Eve to research Marthe. Evil! (Don't want to spoil Rebecca for those who haven't read it.)

5. What do you think really happened to Marthe and Annette? What do you think the significance of the bones in the pool are to the story? Especially now that it has been revealed that Rachel is also dead.


I thought it was obvious that Pierre killed them while Benedicte was away. The first bones found were a woman in her fifties and then there was a younger woman. It sounds like Marthe and Annette to me especially since we know from Eve's research that Marthe disappeared "at the height of her success" (page 159). Plus the pool was going in when Pierre showed up (although one skeleton was found in the bordering soil, not under the pool). I just don't see how/why Dom could have buried his wife on someone else's property. Why would you bury someone and then buy the property later and forge a tangible link with it? Then again, that sounds just like something that would happen in a novel. :)

6. Do you have any other things you think are significant to talk about? Are there any other predictions to be made for the last two sections of the book?


I have no idea what will happen next! Will we find out about Rachel? I think there's a good chance that she really just died of cancer and is buried in a normal way somewhere and Eve is just exaggerating and sabotaging her relationship. But Dom's a "man who has done a terrible thing" (page 5) -- I'm just not sure if it's emotional or physical. And why wasn't there an obituary when Eve did the web search for Rachel? And, of course, there are the missing local girls ... hmm. Although killing your annoying (possibly cheating) wife is much different than ambushing random young local girls.

Benedicte's story seems to be mostly over except for whatever happens to Pierre (which I hope is especially gruesome). If anything else exceptional happens to her, it will be a real shocker.

7. Lastly, what do you think of this book overall? Other than for the read-along, why are you reading it? Is it meeting your expectations?


This book had already caught my interest before the read-along was announced so this just got me to read the book sooner than I intended. I put it on my library list and then, as I still had 40 names ahead of me, I ended up buying it instead! I guess that worked out well for Harper. ;) I'm really liking this book. I wouldn't say loving it but yes, it's definitely meeting my expectations. I was hoping for a fun, creepy read and it's certainly turning out to be just that. I'll finish the last part in the next hour (only 76 pages) and know for sure!

Off to (hopefully) witness Pierre's untimely death,
K

Fragile Things Group Read: Four Stories (Starting with a Poem)

Last week's reading had some real gems in it and a lot of discussion which was fun! Let's just get into this week's "things" --

(As always, these are short stories and poems so there are bound to be SPOILERS ahead ...)

MY LIFE

Okay, this might be the first time I have found anything really funny in this volume.  This free-form piece was just like a country song -- "my dad was blind but then he could see so he divorced my mom who became my dad after my dad died from being hit by alien debris from outer space". And that's just the first verse! The drunk on a barstool is always good for a story or two, right? And the thought of that drunk being a sock monkey just pushes this all over the edge into pure hilarity.

FIFTEEN PAINTED CARDS FROM A VAMPIRE TAROT

Unlike my feelings about the "Strange Little Girls", I loved these vampire studies! It's strange to think of them paired with the art of Rick Berry though because they are so much more vivid than Berry's blurred art. I can't find why it's called "Fifteen Painted Cards" when there are twenty-two. Did anyone find that out? Anyway, I don't think there was a bad one in the bunch here.

FEEDERS AND EATERS

This story is gross and gory but still a good read. It's interesting that it came to Gaiman as a dream (or as he says, a nightmare) because, if I had dreams like this, I would never sleep again. I'm happy that I read this while it was still light outside and not right before bed because I would be afraid to sleep. Is the woman a vampire or a cannibal? I don't know but she sure ain't right.

DISEASEMAKER'S CROUP

This piece is indeed "...a netherworld of pseudo-medical nonsense." It takes one a little while to realize that the problem is not in the reading of this piece but in the writing. The brain tries to make sense but it is really nothing but nonsense. I think if one admitted to liking this, one's mental condition would be questioned. And yet, how can one not enjoy a bit of tongue-in-cheek nonsense every once in a while?

Living a normal life,
K

One Week 'Til Read-a-Thon Time!

We're one week away from the 24 Hour Read-a-Thon, a.k.a. Dewey's Read-a-Thon and I've signed up to participate again this year as a reader. I never know what my schedule will be or how many hours I'll actually end up reading but I will try my hardest to read as much as possible with a husband and kid around. One of these times, I'll do the whole hotel room getaway thing!

So, I'll see you at 5am Pacific (though more likely a bit later as I'm not a morning person) on Saturday, October 22nd! I will probably write a couple of blog posts during the day but will be mostly on Twitter. You can see my tweets in the sidebar if you're not a Tweeter.

I'm going to use the Read-a-Thon as a chance to take a one-day break from my RIP classics and non-fiction so my potentials list looks like this right now --

Eight Days of Luke by Diana Wynne Jones
Island of the Aunts, Secret of Platform 13 and The Beasts of Clawstone Castle by Eva Ibbotson
Spellbinder (re-read) and The Midnight Gate by Helen Stringer
Affinity by Sarah Waters
Leviathan, Behemoth and Goliath by Scott Westerfeld
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
The Technologists by Matthew Pearl

Thinking about snacks (... Popcorners ...),
K

A Huge Ego and A Huge Mistake

We're sadly getting near the end of our picture book days in this house. Z is more and more interested in longer and more complex stories. He's also really into graphic novels these days. So now we have to keep an eye out for those rare picture books that have a little something special, something that can still grab a seven year old's attention and make him laugh. Candlewick happens to have two fun new picture books this fall that do just that.

King Hugo's Huge Ego, written and illustrated by Chris Van Dusen, is a book in verse -- the tale of a king whose diminutive size is greatly eclipsed by his large ego. When he finally angers a sorceress, she secretly curses his head so that each time he brags about himself, his head inflates. Pretty soon, he can barely move because of his huge noggin. When he reencounters the witch, can she get him to realize just why he now has a head the size of a hot air balloon?

The brilliant colors of the detailed and sometimes hilarious illustrations in this book are really fun. This one also works well for slightly older children because it introduces a lot of great vocabulary words including enormous, cocky, adoration, crimson, arrogance and ermine! And, of course, the lesson that is taught is a great one these days in a world of rampant overpraise and quite a few bratty kids. Plus, the king's pug is just the cutest little guy ever!

The other picture book that we enjoyed recently is I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen. It's a book of simple words and simple illustrations but it's got real personality.

A bear has lost his favorite hat and so he goes from animal neighbor to neighbor, asking if anyone has seen his hat. After he talks to a few animals, he realizes that he might have actually seen his hat on a shifty rabbit a few pages back. When he finally gets his hat back, the rabbit is soon nowhere to be found.

Z cracked me up when we sat down and read these books together. One of the words we learned in King Hugo was "buffoon". He asked what it meant and I told him it was someone who acts foolishly. Then, after we read this second book, we had the following exchange --

Z: That rabbit is a buffoon.
K: What happens to rabbits who are buffoons?
Z: They get eaten.

Holding on to picture books for just a bit longer,
K and Z

The Lantern Group Read: Parts 1 & 2

The first week of the group read of The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson has just ended. This book is conveniently broken up into parts and so we read Part 1 and Part 2 this week (only 130 quick-reading pages if you still want to catch up and join in). Carl of Stainless Steel Droppings is the host for the week and these are his questions --

(NOTE: The first few answers are spoiler-free. I'll let you know when potential spoilers creep in later.)

1. This may seem like an obvious opening question, but what do you think of The Lantern thus far?

I think this is a great opening question because I wasn't immediately drawn into the book. As mentioned in the next question, the story alternates back and forth between two women in the same place but in different eras and it took some time to understand either story line and become invested in them. Once I got used to the switching narratives though and figured out the time frames, I started enjoying the story much more. I'm still not sure exactly where it's going but I'm more interested in finding out than I was in the first 40 pages.

2. The book appears to be following the experiences of two different women, alternating back and forth between their stories. Are you more fond of our main protagonist's story or of Benedicte's or are you enjoying them both equally?

Right now I'm enjoying both equally. They are very different stories--one of an old woman remembering her childhood and the other of a young woman at the beginning of an adult relationship--and so, though I see no real intersection yet between the stories, I am interested in where they are going.

3. The Lantern is a book filled with descriptions of scents. How are you liking (or disliking) that aspect of the book? How do you feel about the lavish description of scents? How are the short chapters working for you?

I'll answer the second part first and say that I'm really liking the short chapters for some reason. It's almost like a soap opera where you experience a scene and then move on to a different story. Not that I like soap operas at all, but it's working in this book for me. And it makes the book just fly by, doesn't it?

The scents, on the other hand, are confusing me. I knew they would be a big part of the story when the prologue began with a heavily descriptive bit about scents but, because they are a much harder thing to conjure up in the mind (as opposed to images), I wasn't sure if it would work so well. At one point, I was able to imagine a warm breeze over a field of lavender because I have an established brain pathway for the scent of lavender. But then, elsewhere in the novel, another scent or combination of odors will be mentioned and I have no reference for it in my mind and that section will just fall completely flat for me. It reminds me of when someone begins talking about the composition of a wine (I'm not really a wine drinker because the fermented grapes just taste like death and decomposition to me), the notes of this and hints of that, and I have no idea what they are talking about. Sometimes I don't believe that they are really getting all of that out of a sip and sometimes I just don't care. And that's how I feel about some of the scent descriptions in the book. I have no frame of reference and so I am either skeptical that someone was paying that much attention to individual scents or I just don't care because it's not conjuring anything up for me. And yet, some of them still somehow grab me and draw me a bit more into the atmosphere of the story. So, yeah ... I'm torn.

4. How would you describe the atmosphere of Parts 1 and 2 of The Lantern?

(This answer is really SPOILERY. Move along to the next question if you don't want to know plot details!)

I think the atmosphere of Benedicte's story is truly menacing because her brother Pierre is actually evil and bad. I don't know if I'm so afraid of his ghost but I'm terrified of the real boy. I'm worried about what actually ends up happening to Benedicte and those around her.

The unnamed protagonist's storyline, however, is much more ambiguous. I would describe it as invoking a sense of nervousness and doubt. I believe Benedicte's reminiscences are true (and even kind of believe that she is seeing real ghosts) but I am not sure if I believe in this woman's feelings or not. Part of me thinks Dom could be shady but part thinks that she is just overreacting to things. Even with her "he's done a bad thing" speech at the beginning, I still don't trust her entirely.

5. Has anything surprised you to this point? Anything stand out?

I'm not sure that anything has surprised me or really stood out yet. There's certainly a sense of building tension in both stories but it's pretty evenly paced. I'm hoping that the next two parts will have some shockers in them.

6. What are your feelings about Dom in these first two sections of the story?

(Very SPOILERY again. Move along.)

I still kind of like Dom and I feel sorry that his girlfriend is constantly badgering him to give up info about his ex-wife that he obviously doesn't want to talk about! I think it's because I've always liked Max de Winter despite everything and I'm kind of banking on Rachel being a bit of a Rebecca. I mean, Dom did save the girlfriend from the collapsing roof, right? Yes, he might have actually caused the cave-in and just saved her at the last minute for some reason but there's no proof of that! And hey, he's a musician so there's ample reason for him to be moody and brooding. Not to mention the fact that his girlfriend is a mooch. ;) Just kidding!

Bonus question: Did anyone else hear "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again" ringing in their ears through the first sections of the book?

(Sorta SPOILERY.)

This is a tough one for me because, being a big fan of Rebecca, I notice when things are similar to that classic story (like the protagonist with no name) but I also notice when things are pointedly different. Then it feels a little heavy-handed, like Lawrenson is writing "see, my narrator has a new house with her man and new sheets and new trinkets and she doesn't have to step into another woman's house like the girl who went to Manderley did!" But then we find out that maybe not all of those trinkets are new and maybe the stories are more alike after all and ...

On to parts three and four,

K

Fragile Things Group Read: Four Stories (Includes Poem-ish Things)

And we come back around to this Fragile Things cover, the beautiful one I get to enjoy during these two months. Though you can't tell from the image, the cover is actually vellum with the text and eggshell printed on it and the butterfly and snowflake are printed on the white book cover underneath. That's what gives them the faded appearance. They look different in real life than in this image -- less like pictures and more like actual specimens.

We're halfway through the group read and it's interesting to spend this much time thinking about a set of stories and poems. For days I thought about the comments on last week's post including those about Tori Amos and then, with fantastic timing, my iPod decided to play "Little Earthquakes" the other day when it hasn't "randomly" chosen Tori Amos in months. Carl was right -- her songs are still hauntingly beautiful and I think I will spend a little more time with her earlier albums this fall. And yet, maybe I'm spending a little too much time with Mr. Gaiman. Recently I had a dream that I woke up and Neil was waking up at the same time -- in my bed. There's wasn't anything going on, we had just, literally, become bedfellows. Anyway ...

(remember, there might be some SPOILERS ahead ...)

LOCKS

This is a beautiful little free-form piece about parenthood and story-telling that was written for Neil's daughter when she was two. You can read it here and there are plenty of videos out there of him reading it. It's about a father telling his two-year-old daughter the story of Goldilocks and also contemplating his own role as a Father Bear. He says in the introduction that stories are "the currency that we share with those who walked the world before ever we were here. (Telling stories to my children that I was, in my turn, told by my parents and grandparents makes me feel part of something special and odd, part of the continuous stream of life itself.)" I wasn't told many stories when I was a kid (although my dad would make up the most hilarious songs sometimes), but I know that my time reading with Z is a special time where we share a story. We may not experience it in exactly the same way or be looking to get the same things out of it, but the moment is there for us to remember, each in our own way.

THE PROBLEM OF SUSAN

I don't have any real connection to The Chronicles of Narnia. I read them when I was a kid (or most of them at least -- I can't really remember) and thought they were fine but I didn't love Narnia the way I loved Oz. So, I didn't recall what had happened to Susan and the others. But I do remember that Aslan and the White Witch never had dirty s.e.x. and Aslan never ate children. I have yet to be comfortable when Gaiman writes explicitly dirty things. It kind of ruins everything else around it for me because it rarely seems super relevant. I mean, Aslan could have still eaten Susan and Lucy without stopping for nookie in the middle, right? This story could have been okay (and was really thoughtful about the elderly Susan in parts) but really lost me toward the end there. I just searched for "gaiman susan" in the Googles and the second thing there after the Wikipedia entry on Susan Pevensie was the wonderful Jenny and her thoughts on this story from January 2009. You should go read what she says. It's smart and stuff and the comments go on for ages. It seems this story is thought-provoking for a lot of readers (who don't all have the same interpretations of it).

INSTRUCTIONS

Here is another free form poem that you can read online. It has the unique distinction of also having been turned into a picture book last year, illustrated by Charles Vess. Here is the book trailer that also includes the whole piece, read by Neil himself --

While I was embedding this, Z sat down and watched and listened with me. He seemed to like it quite a bit. This was strange because when I read it from my book just moments before, I thought it felt old and dark and my imagination took me to slightly frightening places that I didn't think were quite appropriate for children. But when Z was presented with these pictures along with the story, these ones with muted colors and only hints of danger, it was okay for him. And I think that's kind of the point of this piece. The instructions are for a journey through fantasy worlds -- whether it be the literal journey that Z still believes in (especially when he sees it right before his eyes) or the mental one that I took when I was reading. The instructions are a bit vague because the journey isn't the same for everyone. But the basic ways of getting through trials, both in fantasy and in life, are similar for most --

"Remember your name.

Do not lose hope--what you seek will be found.

...

Trust dreams.

Trust your heart, and trust your story."

HOW DO YOU THINK IT FEELS?

And then again with the s.e.x. I'm a bit perplexed by the order of the pieces this week. How can a poem, fit to be turned into a children's picture book, be nestled between two stories that are so incredibly adult? And this one isn't only very adult but it's very male. I got more and more annoyed as I read the story. Years later they meet up and she's still beautiful and trim but he's overweight and balding and she wants him more than ever? Of course. Although, I think this did finally clarify some of my thoughts on Gaiman and his writing of sex. At the start of the story, when the man and woman are young and in love, it's glossed over and barely mentioned, just a small part of all the things the couple does together and what their relationship is about. But later, it turns explicit when it's connected to sadness and anger and is the last remaining connection between them -- when it's no longer really love. Not my favorite story of the week (obviously) but I kind of get it.

Not thinking about how it feels,

K

RIP Read 4: Sally's Bones

Sally Simplesmith is a kid who just doesn't fit in. Her mom is dead, her dad is an absent-minded professor and she's the only one in the 6th grade that is into "death rock". She doesn't fit in and she's pretty much accepted it until a new girl comes to town and decides that Sally doesn't belong anywhere near her -- or any of the other kids at school. Sally is so distraught that she throws herself on her mother's grave and wishes for death. Her wish isn't interpreted quite the way she expects, though, and what she receives instead is a skeletal pup who loves her from almost the first moment they meet. Should Sally keep him secret? What does a dead dog eat? Is Bones the key to Sally's fitting in at school? Sally's Bones is written by MacKenzie Cadenhead and illustrated by the aptly-named T.S. Spookytooth.

Z and I started this book together as an RIP read but, after a few chapters, I ended up making a parental decision to choose something else for him and just finish reading this one on my own. The book is full of mellifluous alliterations and Sally and Bones' friendship is truly heartwarming. Cadenhead has also discovered a way to write different dog barks so that they come out perfectly believable when reading aloud! But there are also some rather bleak and disturbing descriptions of Sally's mother dying in a hospital bed after a lingering illness. There are some shockingly mean girls and Sally's depression is, well, depressing. This wasn't the book for my little second grader but I can absolutely see it being the right book for an older child (middle grade) who is dealing with some of the issues that Sally is. For a kid who has lost a parent, is a victim of bullies at school or maybe just feels like they don't fit in for whatever reason, Sally's story will be familiar and, hopefully, a ray of hope as it does have a happy ending. I'll be donating the book we received for review to Z's school in the hope that the right kid will pick it up at the right time.

Looking for friends in unexpected places,
K and Z

RIP Read 3: The Penguin Book of Gaslight Crime

Besides having the most amusing cover of almost any book I've ever owned, The Penguin Book of Gaslight Crime is a fantastic little collection of late Victorian crime stories. The editor, Michael Sims, deserves credit for a wonderful collection that doesn't include a single dud. Every story in this book was enjoyable and a few were unforgettable.

Though we are all fairly familiar with a famous Victorian detective or two, Sims decided, after working on a collection of stories about the famed gentleman thief Arséne Lupin, that the era's thieves weren't getting the attention they deserved. After reading this collection, I heartily agree.

I hadn't read any of the authors in this volume except for O. Henry and his classic Christmas heartstring-puller "The Gift of the Magi" -- which couldn't be more different from his tale of frontier town trickery, "The Chair of Philanthromathematics". I also read Sinclair Lewis for the first time in this book with his RIP-worthy "The Willow Walk". Though this group of stories turned out to be more witty than terrifying, I'm still going to include it in the challenge because there's many a mystery in the volume -- even if we are viewing them from a more prosecutable angle!

"The difference between you and me is this," Cecil was saying. "You exhaust yourself by making money among men who are all bent on making money, in a place specially set apart for the purpose. I amuse myself by making money among men who, having made or inherited money, are bent on spending it, in places specially set apart for the purpose. I take people off their guard. They don't precisely see me coming. I don't rent an office and put up a sign which is equivalent to announcing that the rest of the world had better look out for itself. Our codes are the same, but is not my way more original and more diverting?" -- Arnold Bennett, "A Comedy on the Gold Coast"

Keeping my hand over my purse,
K

Fragile Things Group Read: Four Stories (No Poems)

It's another week and we seem to have earned a respite from poetry this week in our Fragile Reads schedule. Not that Mr. Neil is not a competent poet but it really does take a lot for me to love a poem (as you will see toward the end of October where I will finally gush over a poem).

Standard warning: mild SPOILERS ahead.

GOOD BOYS DESERVE FAVORS

I might have recognized the title of this piece if I had been a bass clef musician but, alas, I am mainly a treble clef one and I only know FACE (the notes between the lines of the staff) and EGBDF (the notes on the lines -- did I ever know an acronym for them? I don't recall). Well, apparently the notes between the bass clef staff are ACEG and the ones on the staff lines are GBDFA -- Good Boys Deserve Favors Always. As you can probably guess by now, this is a story about imaginary "young Neil" and his experience with the double bass. I would assume that the "real Neil" was never so fortunate as to escape an embarrassing situation with a celebrity by being possessed by his double bass and playing an amazing piece that saved the day. This is a simple story and might be one of my favorites. It's so matter of fact and then the little "haunting" is slipped in as if it was no big deal. The ending is sad but fitting and I think this is a very satisfying piece.

THE FACTS IN THE CASE OF THE DEPARTURE OF MISS FINCH

The thing with this story is that I'm not sure if it's a good weird or a bad weird. I have really mixed feelings when I finish reading it. Was it too over-the-top, too strange without that certain something that gives it heft and cohesion? Maybe. I did like, however, the way that Gaiman played with the sentence transitions between sections to change the mood, lend a sense of movement and urgency to the story. I don't think this one will ever be a favorite but I don't really mind reading it.

STRANGE LITTLE GIRLS

I used to like Tori Amos more than I do now. I think I just became too content, too satisfied in life to connect with her particular brand of angst and sadness. The music is still beautiful but the lyrics break my heart. And I think I once would have found these "twelve very short stories, written to accompany Tori Amos's CD Strange Little Girls" interesting but now I find them dreary and depressing.

HARLEQUIN VALENTINE

And, to finish the week, I was rather meh on this one as well. I could see how the story was inspired by the artist Lisa Snellings-Clark's brilliant little Poppets but it didn't grab my heart (haha!). Maybe like the previous piece, it was just too sad and bleak. I'll admit that Neil's descriptions of February made me shiver though!

So, one favorite this week and three neutrals. That's still better than the revulsion of last week!

Sticking to the simply supernatural,

K

RIP Read 2: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Z and I have started bedtime reading together in earnest again after a few off-and-on episodes and we finished our third book on Wednesday night -- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. He had seen the movie a few times but I didn't feel like he ever really paid attention. He certainly wasn't very interested in the story or the characters. But, after our first two reads (book one and two of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series), I needed something that I would also enjoy reading and that had a good message and a strong story. I asked Z if we could read HP and he said sure.

He was excited about the book every night. We read about half a chapter at a time so we always had a bit of a cliffhanger or something to look forward to because of the chapter title. Every time I mentioned Harry's scar, Z leaned over and traced a lightning bolt on my forehead. When I said "muggle" he smiled and said "muggle, muggle, muggle". Once I had mentioned Nicholas Flamel, he asked me every night when we sat down "who is Nicholas Flamel anyway?" and I had to remind him again that we wouldn't find out until later. When the chapter called "Nicholas Flamel" finally arrived, he was ecstatic! He also thought Neville's toad, Trevor, was a hoot. Although, he won't believe me that Rubeus is Hagrid's first name. Z wants him to just be Hagrid. And Z also insists that Voldemort is a professor -- I think because he was attached to Professor Quirrell.

So, now we are sitting together, watching the film together again (along with the necessities, namely popcorn and gummy worms) and he is loving it. He remembers the book quite well and is noticing things that have been changed, like when McGonagall is calling names for the sorting hat. In the film, she calls them first name first. But in the book, they are called last name first. So when she says "Susan Bones", Z is over here saying "Bones, Susan". It's cute! He knows all the characters and even waits for certain things to happen -- like Harry seeing Quirrell in the Leaky Cauldron for the first time.

This was an awesome RIP read for both of us. I was a bit worried about spooky things like Nearly Headless Nick, Voldemort and the Forbidden Forest and scenes like the unicorn hunt and Harry finding out about his parents' death but Z did alright with them. His favorite holiday is Halloween after all! We'll definitely be reading more RIP-eligible books together through October. I pulled out our Halloween picture books but I really think he's craving something more substantial now so I bought a copy of Bunnicula and have some other choices from Eva Ibbotson and others to get us through.

Sharing the peril,
K and Z