A Slight Delay In My Return

photo by k

I apologize that my absence will be extended by about a week but life has been a bit, well, bananas lately. The Book Fair went fairly well. We participated for the first time in Scholastic's All For Books program and were able to buy 53 books for a local aid charity. We also got a bunch of great books for Z's school library and I managed to pick up some fun ones for our home and as gifts too. And I survived it all with just sore feet and a small financial reporting mess but nothing that time and some fancy math can't fix.
But the big news is that my sister had her baby two weeks early on Friday night (mother and baby are healthy and back home) and so I'm busy once again as I'll be heading down to help her for a few days right after Thanksgiving. When I get back I'll tell you all about my newfound love for Shaun Tan (better late than never, right?), about some fantastic book options for holiday gift giving and also my thoughts on the newest Kate Morton novel, The Secret Keeper. I'll also have a giveaway for some special books that I'm ready to pass on to a new home (hint: it's just for Twin Peaks fans).

Thank you all for your patience and, to my American readers, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Celebrating the joy of new life,
K

Looking For The Secret Garden

photo by k

What I wouldn't give for a secret garden right now. It would have to be a tropical garden full of wonderful scents and some tasty fruit. I would go and hide from the rest of the book fair this week ... just kidding ... sort of. But it's totally kicking my butt. I was at Z's school from 8:45 this morning until 3pm and came home exhausted and with a screaming headache. I'm feeling better now but there are two more days left!

Anyway, I'm discussing The Secret Garden today over at The Estella Society. Come share your thoughts on this classic and help me forget my tired feet.

Looking to sneak away,
K

Heads Up: Busy Life Ahead

photo by k

I'm going to use these pretty pictures of fall leaves in my yard to pre-apologize for my upcoming absence from the blog. I have a couple of books here that I need to review but my reading and writing time will be seriously lacking over the next two weeks or so. Like last year, I'm the chairperson for our school's Scholastic Book Fair and it starts on Weds and goes through the following Friday. And if that wasn't enough, right in the middle of it, my dad is coming into town for a four day visit. It's going to be a lot of fun but I don't see myself having much free time!

I'll try and get some reviews pre-scheduled this weekend but, if I don't, you might not hear from me until after Nov. 16th. Wait, that's not entirely true. I'll be posting about The Secret Garden on Nov. 15 at The Estella Society so you should join me for that. I'm reading the annotated edition so I'm learning a lot of interesting things. This is one of my favorite books and even after the first few pages, I'm already loving it yet again.

photo by k

photo by k

Turning in my excuse note,
K

How DWJ Saved the Day

I meant this book--The Ogre Downstairs--to be an RIP read but it just didn't fit in the category well enough. What it did end up being though was a sanity saver. I got the call around noon on September 13th that my younger sister's husband had been killed in a motorcycle accident, my sister that was seven months pregnant with her 4th child (and is now due in four weeks). I had to take an immediate flight down to California and I needed the right read to take with me -- something to keep me from bursting into tears on the plane, something to distract me from worrying about my own family that I was leaving behind. I ended up reading two thirds of this book on the way down and finished it on the way back. Diana Wynne Jones was, as expected, the perfect companion during a rough time.

The ogre in this book is one of the most terrifying creatures in the world -- a stepdad. And apparently step-brothers aren't the best either, at least that's what Caspar, Johnny and Gwinny think. Mr. McIntyre likes to bark orders up the stairs and is constantly yelling at the kids to be quiet, hence the nickname "The Ogre". But one day, he brings home chemistry sets for his son Malcolm and for Johnny that turn out to be anything but standard. Is the magic that's unleashed the kind that will destroy everything or could it possibly be the kind that could bring this blended family together?

I loved this book and I don't think it was just the timing. This isn't your typical DWJ fantasy and the magic is secondary to the family dynamics. But the book just felt so honest and real that I couldn't help becoming completely invested in the lives of these kids. I felt their elation at discovering magic, their exasperation at being constantly scolded, their slow changes of opinion as their step-family's true natures were revealed. But most of all, this story got me through a terrible weekend and I'll always be thankful for that.

Feeling the magic of DWJ,
K

RIP VII Wrap-Up

Oh, I hate this day. It's the end of RIP VII! This was a really fun season of reading (as always). I read 15 books and watched a couple of flicks. Here are the highlights in award form --

Most Likely to Cause You to Reconsider Time Travel to Victorian Times

The Yard by Alex Grecian

Children's Book That I'm Not Ashamed to Read Year After Year

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Best At Stretching the Imagination With Crazy Creatures

Charlotte Markham and the House of Darkling by Michael Boccacino

Best Use of Science and Footnotes in a Single Book

The Infernals by John Connolly

Most Likely to Keep You Up Late At Night (From Fright)

The Sandman, Volumes 1 & 2 by Neil Gaiman

Just Awesome

The Woman Who Died A Lot by Jasper Fforde

What was your favorite read this season?

Sadly looking forward to ten months of non-RIP reads,

K