From One Book Lover

With a new kitten in the house, little has been done to anticipate the upcoming books. I will rectify that. But first, a picture of the kitten. Now we may continue. Many of the books I am looking forward to reading are sequels, including: Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness, the sequel to the delightful and suspenseful A Discovery of Witches (due out in the summer). (I apologize for not offering a review of the first novel, but I urge you to read it right away.) The Return of Shandar , the third in Jasper Fforde's Dragonslayer series , is due out in November. (I have been remiss in the second installment published in 2011. Please don't tell Mr. Fforde. The Last Dragonslayer , the first in the series, was amazing.) The as-yet untitled sequel to Miss Peregrin's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (publication date yet to be announced) Other novels I anticipate that are not sequels include: Gold by Chris Cleave, author of Little Bee , who...

Jasper Fforde could not disappoint any of his devoted readers, not even in the bleakest of circumstances. I wasn't in the mood for One of Our Thursdays is Missing , the latest installment of the Thursday Next series. That, of course, is when it's needed most — so I soldiered on. I am glad I did. As the novel opens, we find ourselves in Book World with Thursday. Well, it's Thursday, but the Written Thursday. Important distinction, and one that the Written Thursday never forgets. She's in charge of her series, keeping the characters ready for the next reader. Characters perform only when there's a reader; otherwise, they keep their own personal lives rather busy (and, in some cases, steeped in tawdry.)  The Written Pickwick is played by a very snooty Dodo and Thursday has an understudy who, rumor has it, enacted the "snooze" button once, in a panic. (If you read this book for only one reason, you must read it to learn about Book World's snooze...

Jasper Fforde creates new worlds in a rather matter-of-fact way.  His England either has color castes, living literature, cloned dodos or dragons on the best real estate.  In The Last Dragonslayer , it is the latter. Jennifer Strange is in a bit of a pickle.  Her claravoyant has predicted that she will kill the last dragon in the kingdom.  It's unlikely that the impoverished orphan, indentured to Kazam by the Blessed Lady of the Lobster, will do more than keep their doors open for as long as the magic lasts.  Only with a strange surge, a new assistant, a persistent king, this young woman with fiercely loyal Quarkbeast may have no choice. The Welsh writer will not disappoint with his first young adult novel. Readers outside the UK may have to rely on their British sources for their copies (thanks, Jo!), or purchase a copy from someone on the Internet.  (I haven't found it in U.S. bookstores.) Maybe some gentle nudging (no bricks!) will encourage Houton ...

More than half the year has passed, which gives us an opportunity to review our favorite reads of the year to date.  Here are mine, in no particular order. Shades of Grey — But you knew that.  If Jasper Fforde isn't on my fave list, check the backyard for pods.  Then chat up some Fforde ffans to console yourself at my demise (and to protect yourself against other Pod People, who cannot in any way be confused with Fforde ffans). Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie — Lovely characters, interesting storyline.  Seldom do adults, let alone male adults, manage to create a good child.  Of the opposite sex, no less.  Rumor has it that this is the first of many, and I will be glad when the rumor is proven true. The Best of H.P. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre — H.P. Lovecraft rocks. Cthulu scares me.  'Nuff said. The Gates — I found John Connolly's writing  a treat before, but this book about opening the gates of Hell — ...

"I like to take a very improbable situation and make it real, " Jasper Fforde said recently, in way of introduction to Shades of Grey , his latest novel.  And truly, what can be more improbable than a word devoid of color? Well, after listening to the author , it's not totally out of the realm of explanation.  "Visual color," he explained patiently, "doesn't exist.  It is a product of the mind alone.  When you see a spectacular sunset.... reserve part of the praise for yourself." So he imagined a world half a millenia in the future that was very tightly structured in which human beings saw only one color — and that ability alone determined their role and position in the world.  It's a world very much like English boarding school, complete with the early bird getting the bacon and bullying on the cricket field. "It's a bizarre world, but highly practical," he noted.  And based on his literary vision, I must agree. Fforde is...