Joining Up: Once Upon A Time VIII

Now that DWJ March is over, I am moving on to my next highly-anticipated reading event ...

Once Upon A Time Challenge VIII!

Though this event kicked off at the start of spring, March 20th, and I've just spent a month reading nothing but fantasy, I'm quite excited to join this well-loved event again this year. I will be choosing books that fall under any of four categories--Fairy Tale, Folklore, Fantasy and Mythology--to enjoy between now and June 21st.

As I usually do, I'll be mostly reading books from my own shelves. Here are some of my possibilities:

The Emerald Atlas (reread) and The Fire Chronicle by John Stephens

The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

The Apothecary by Maile Meloy
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Time Cat by Lloyd Alexander

and the ones I'll be reading for sure for the Top 100 Chapter Books project ...

The Black Cauldron, The Castle of Llyr, Taran Wanderer, and The High King by Lloyd Alexander

The Children of Green Knowe (reread) by L.M. Boston

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Half Magic (reread) by Edward Eager

Have you signed up for this event? What is the first book you have chosen to read?

With magic and adventure,

K

DWJ March: Review of Spellbound

It turns out that the first book I finished for Diana Wynne Jones Month wasn't even written by her except for one short story at the end. It was Spellbound, a selection of fantasy tales "chosen by Diana" that I picked up at Half Price Books a couple of years ago simply because her name was on it. With eighteen short stories or excerpts of books from Rudyard Kipling, Eva Ibbotson, L. Frank Baum, E. Nesbit, Tove Janssen, Patricia C. Wrede, Joan Aiken and more, these stories were apparently chosen by Diana as the best of fantasy (in her opinion, of course). Unfortunately, there is no foreword or afterword talking about why she chose these particular stories, although one gets the gist of it after a while. As you read, you start seeing echoes of Howl's Moving Castle and Castle in the Sky and The Ogre Downstairs and Witch's Business and so many more of her stories and you realize that Diana's broad selection of fantasy tales were all written because they were subjects and ideas that she loved. Diana's story in this collection, "What the Cat Told Me" seems to bear the seeds of Earwig and the Witch and I loved it.

I didn't think there was a dud in the bunch (well, maybe that one based on Spenser's The Faerie Queene) except for the poor production quality of the book. It has a gorgeous cover and nice paper and, well, extra sentences and also some missing ones. For some reason, in more than one place in the book, one or two sentences are repeated. It's confusing the first time it happens and annoying the next few times. As for the missing paragraph or possibly page, that was really unfortunate. If this book had better editing and an informative foreword, I would recommend it unreservedly. My TBR has once again grown by leaps and bounds. I finally found out who the Moomins are, I immediately wanted to re-read The Silver Chair, I decided on Which Witch? for Z and my RIP read-aloud this year and I've lamented never reading Five Children and It.

There is one personal statement from Diana at the start of the excerpt from The Seven Towers by Patricia C. Wrede --

I know it is annoying to be given only the start of a story, but it is a long book and I did want to introduce you to my favorite sorceress. Here she is at her most typical.

If that isn't reason enough to pick up Wrede's book immediately, I don't know what is.

So, if you want an insight into Diana's taste in fantasy (though you likely already know it from her own work) and don't mind some wonky editing, see if you can find a copy of this book.

Learning more from my favorite witch,
K

The Girl Who ...

Last December, I journeyed into Fairyland with September. Then in February, I followed her again into Fairyland-Below on a search for Halloween. If this doesn't make any sense to you, then you haven't read Catherynne M. Valente's pair of YA fantasy novels, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In a Ship of Her Own Making and The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There. These stories are part Wonderland, part Oz and all heart-warming and fantastic.

I won't go into the plots of these stories because you're likely already familiar with them if you're at all interested. I'll just tell you that it took me a little bit of time in the beginning to get used to Valente's unique narrating voice and to stop seeing the seams between the various stories she has stitched together, a little time before I could see the beauty of the tapestry that she has woven that brings together stories both new and old. She has created something that manages to be timeless and original at once. If you need an escape into a world of strange fruits, shape-shifters and matters both urgent and festive, these are the books for you.

Wishing for a ship of my own,
K

Spring Challenge: Once Upon A Time VI

Hooray! It's officially Spring which means it's time again for the Once Upon A Time Challenge!

From the intro post --

Wednesday, March 21st begins the sixth annual Once Upon a Time Challenge. This is a reading and viewing event that encompasses four broad categories: Fairy Tale, Folklore, Fantasy and Mythology, including the seemingly countless sub-genres and blending of genres that fall within this spectrum. The challenge continues through Tuesday, June 19th and allows for very minor (1 book only) participation as well as more immersion depending on your reading/viewing whims.

As I'm still knee-deep in Diana Wynne Jones month, I have a couple more reads that will qualify for both so I'll be signing up for

Read at least 5 books that fit somewhere within the Once Upon a Time categories. They might all be fantasy, or folklore, or fairy tales, or mythology…or your five books might be a combination from the four genres.

My potential reads include, but are not limited to --

*Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones
*The Game by Diana Wynne Jones
*Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones (read-along to begin in April -- stay tuned for a post!)
The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
The Princess Bride by William Goldman (no, I've never read it!)
*Wicked by Gregory Maguire
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (Carl is hosting a read-along in April)
*Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (Carl is hosting a read-along in May)

*Starred titles are rereads. All of these books are on my shelves except for Mistborn and The Princess Bride.

I will also surely be reading some eligible books with Z so I'll definitely count those too. I'm assuming that this will be another over-achieving challenge for me but that's just part of why I love it so. ::grin::

Are you joining the challenge this year? What book(s) are you looking forward to reading this spring?

Planning another fantastic spring,
K

"Once upon a time, in a faraway country, there was a woman who lived by herself in the middle of a great forest."

The Witch's Boy by Michael Gruber is in a rare set of books for me -- ones that I buy having heard absolutely nothing about them before hand. I happened upon it during an online search and it just caught my eye and was at a very reasonable price. But then, because I didn't know if it would be good or really even what it was about, it languished on my shelves for the last couple of years. Thankfully, the Once Upon a Time challenge seemed to be a good time to get to it and, in fact, it turned out to be a perfect read for the event.

The titular boy is named Lump and he is left as an infant on the doorstep of a witch with a note that reads "The devil's child for the devil's wife". He's ugly and hairy with a piggy nose, stumpy teeth and droopy ears. But the witch suddenly sprouts maternal feelings and decides to raise the boy. She employs a local bear to act as a nursemaid and nanny and has her captive afreet create a nursery for Lump. However, having not spent much time around regular people, she doesn't realize that there is more to raising a child than just providing material needs. And so Lump grows up to be an impetuous and surly child who doesn't appreciate the gravity of many of the rules that his mother has set for him. The result is a rough life for all who cross his path.

This story weaves alternate versions of many famous fairy tales into the narrative, including Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella and others. It's a very engaging story and the witch is quite an amazing woman. Lump is an awful brat and yet you can't help but feel for him, growing up in such unusual circumstances with a face that only a witch mother could love. I really enjoyed this story and am glad to have taken a chance on it.

Seeing the magic in everything,
K


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