The Magicians and Mrs Quent, by Galen Beckett

isbn: 9780553589825

This book was tons of fun. Part Jane Eyre, part Sense and Sensibility, part The Turning of the Screw, part soft core fantasy, all fabulous. The world created is fabulous, with bustling cities, superstitious little villages, feral woods older than time, magicians who can lock and unlock dangerous puzzles, illusionist who run theaters of ill repute, and to top it all off, the days are not always the same length. Sometimes longer, sometimes shorter, the rhythm of the book is rushed or slowed as the days go by. I really enjoyed the device, which made for extra spooky bits and a world where taking a nap and then having a second supper is okay.

My only complaint is that the title totally gives away that she is marrying Mr Quent and not the dashing young man from the beginning of the novel. Oh well. I am ridiculously looking forward to the next one, which is still unannounced as far as I know.

5/5

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan Bradley

isbn: 9780385665827

I managed to nab an advanced copy of this mystery (you will have to wait til February 10th to read it!) and am so glad I did! Flavia is one of my favourite characters ever, an adorable 11 year old chemist who poisons her sister's lipstick with poison ivy in order to make serious observations (alright, a bit of revenge in there too) and who just happens to find a body in her house's cucumber patch. Like you do. She is clever and fun and different. She is the kind of character I want to take out to coffee - although I would keep a close eye on my cup at all times. I devoured this book and cannot wait to sell it to people!

5/5

We Have Always Lived in the Castle, by Shirley Jackson

isbn: 978-0143039976

Shirley Jackson is the woman who wrote "The Lottery" and The Haunting of Hill House (which was bastardized in the movie version by adding little weeping children and a supernatural plot where the only thing we should have been watching was her declining mental health). This book is ridiculously well written, repetitive in all the right ways, claustrophobic and spooky, nerve wracking even though nothing truly terrifying happens. Not directly, not exactly. Constance and Merricat (Mary Katherine) are both sweet and terrifying and you never know when they will cry or laugh. This book was incredible. Truly fantastic.

5/5

Fancies and Goodnights, by John Collier

isbn: 9781590170519


I wrenched this book out of Mike's hands as soon as I found out it was being compared to Roald Dahl. If you have read and enjoyed "Lamb to the Slaughter", the short story by Dahl, you will adore this book. A collection of short stories (3-12 pages each, ish), it is a fun ride through Hollywood, hell, suburbia and downtown. It has fleas in love, myriad murders, strange and unusual destinations and tons of fun. It is comparable to Roald Dahl for darkness and to Stephen Leacock for social satire. It was a super fun read that I cannot wait to shove into the hands of unsuspecting customers.

5/5

The Curse of Mousebeard, by Alex Milway

isbn: 9780571234349

Wee, the second book. Short story: I bought the first one during a trip to London and ate it on the train ride back to Nottingham. I wanted the second one, but oh no! They didn't have it in Nott! Could I get it in Canada when I got back? Curses, not till next month! I couldn't wait that long! So I searched left, then right, and finally found it in a WH Smith! Hurah! And the second one I kept carefully till the plane ride home, to distract me from the screaming baby sitting in the seat next to me. Worked, too! End of short story.

This one was even more epic than the first one, with huge hidden temples and uber baddies. God I hate Miserly, the horrible evil Mousehunter girl. Arg! Had tons of fun with the mice again, and I cannot wait till we get the second one in Canada so I can sell it to kids. Wee!

On another note, Alex Milway commented on the blog which led me to his blog. Anyway, he has a rather clever little bit about the trend of overweight, extra long kids' books. Harry, I am looking at you, you little bastard. Click through for the full text.

5/5

The Mousehunter by Alex Milway

isbn: 9780571234332

An epic tale of pirates, mousehunting, giants, sea monsters, golden mice, hangings, stabbings, dung mice, elephant mice, nosferatu mice, messenger mice, moon howl mice, mice mice mice! Despite my bias in favour of rodents, this was an excellent book. It is suitably dark and spooky but silly at the same time. It has steampunk elements, pirate elements, fantasy elements... The whole package has a nice end, if a bit cliffhangery. The second book, The Curse of Mousebeard, looks even more fun.

5/5

Dogfish, by Dan Taylor and Gillian Shields

isbn: 9781416910435

Absolutely the cutes book about a fish I have ever read. Blurb from the book:
"Everyone has a dog, except me. So I say to my mum, "I need a dog." But my mum says, "Why do you need a dog when you have such a nice goldfish?" The little boy in this book is desperate to have a dog as a pet. After all, what's the use in having a goldfish when they don't catch sticks, they don't wag their tail and they don't go for walks? Can a goldfish EVER be the perfect pet?"
The illustrations are the sweetest thing ever and this little goldfish grins!!

5/5

Sharp Teeth, by Toby Barlow

ISBN: 978-0061430220

This may be one of the best books I have ever read and I am pleased to have bought it instead of having taken it out at the library. It is a story about werewolves. It is a poem about werewolves. In LA. Who pick up strays. And destroy meth labs, if someone will pay them to do it.

Because it is a poem, the sex is not romance novel sex, and the gore is not horror novel gore. In a poem you can describe dogs sleeping in a pile, chasing after something in their dreams. You can explain hunger. You can write about cute moments where someone does dishes and is hugged from behind, without it seeming dumb.

5/5

Monster Planet, by David Wellington

ISBN: 978-1560258674

The final book of the trilogy brings all the characters together, which is excellent. It actually makes all the characters figure all the right things out, and makes me super happy. I found out that the whole series is available online, at http://www.brokentype.com/monster/ . If you don't mind reading things online, get in there right now. Now.

5/5

The Zombie Survival Guide, by Max Brooks

ISBN: 071563318x

I typically keep this book by my bedside, since reading and re-reading it relaxes me. Something about being prepared, studying the land and learning which vehicle to use to escape an infested area (bicycle is always best!) just makes me happy. The book is funny and scary at the same time, entertaining and educative, and is a great companion read to World War Z.

5/5

Ella Minnow Pea, by Mark Dunn

ISBN: 978-0385722438

I read this in under 12 hours, including sleeping a night-full in there. It is very short (only 200 pages) but it is also so incredibly excellent that I woke up early to finish it (then went back to bed). This book is written in the form of letters, whose vocabulary and word usage gets more and more constricted as letters fall of the statue devoted to Nollop (the guy who wrote: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog) and they get axed from the island's vocabulary. The penalty for using these letters is eventually death. This book is hilarious and still scary, a literary 1984 if you will.

5/5

Lizard, by Banana Yoshimoto

ISBN: 978-0671532765

This collection of short stories is one of the best I have ever read. Sophie from work said I should pick this author up, and she was right. The title story is especially moving, because it wraps you up, then it's over, and you never see it coming. You just feel it should keep going, but it doesn't. Crazy.

5/5

The Fourth Bear, by Jasper Fforde

ISBN: 978-0340835722

This book was just as awesome as The Big Over Easy, if not better. They develop the characters a bit more and they twist and turn the story so many times that by the time you get to the last little bit, you STILL have no answers. Love how he sums up what happened to all the characters after the book in a short little blurb. The next one will be about the hare and tortoise.

5/5

Fat, by Rob Grant

ISBN: 978-0575078208

I'm sorry to have to say it, but I ate this novel up. It follows the story of one girl with anorexia, one overweight, anger-driven chef and one publicity spinner in charge of making a Well Farm (fat-nazi camp), skipping to each one each chapter, and mixing up the narratives by the end. It is really excellent, a study of how being "fat" is now illegal. The book starts by talking about the fat tax that planes are charging people based on their BMI, to account for the extra fuel needed to carry extra-sized people around.

5/5

The Big Over Easy, by Jasper Fforde

ISBN: 978-0340835685

Jasper Fforde is the author of The Eyre Affair (The Thursday Next novels) and this is his Nursery Crime Division novels, Staring Jack Spratt and Mary Mary. This novel had an awesome buildup, tons of twists and seriously funny characters. It follows the veins of The Eyre Affair, where the world Fforde presents is more concerned with literature than anything else (such as right and wrong). Interesting factoid: The Eyre Affair is mentioned as a fictitious book in the novel. That was a nice little wink in the right direction.

There is a second book staring these characters called The Fourth Bear. Look for it soon.

5/5

A Dirty Job, by Christopher Moore

ISBN: 978-0060590284

I usually like about half of Christopher Moore's books. As in, I will like half of each book and be bored to death by the other half. This is the exception. The story really pushes you through, the span is perfect, the details are pretty much all hilarious and touching at the same time... The personification of death has always been interesting to me, but this book really raises the bar. Will definitely read this again.

5/5

Monster Island and Monster Nation, by David Wellington

ISBNs: 978-0307346605 and 978-1560258667

Books one and two in the series, these horror novels work more from the point of view of the zombies than anything else. You actually feel for the zombies way more than for some of the other people in the book (although his survivors tend to be quite smart and charismatic). Monster Nation is actually a prequel to Monster Island, but they definitely need to be read in the order they were published. Monster Planet is the last book in the series, and I still have to read it.

Monster Island 5/5
Monster Nation 4/5

World War Z, by Max Brooks

ISBN: 978-0307346605

One of the most awesome books I have read in my life. I have read this about 4-5 times since receiving it at christmas time. Part slasher flick, part War of the Worlds, and part Day of the Triffids, this is the perfect social commentary of our time. Through dozens of characters we can see how a world deals with the impossible, and how some people cannot deal with it at all. Funny at times, sad at others, this is the ultimate read for any sci-fi, fantasy or horror fan.

5/5

Soon I Will Be Invincible, by Austin Grossman

ISBN: 0375424865

Hilarious and touching at the same time, the chapters rock back and forth between the super villains and the super heroes, dealing with the tough stuff such as keeping your secret identity to getting your costume right and maybe even taking over the world a few times.

5/5

Uglies, Pretties and Specials, all by Scott Westerfield

ISBNs: 978-0689865381, 978-0689865398, 978-0689865404

This series of books is based in a world where when you turn 16, you get plastic surgery to make you into a Pretty, a perfect, cookie-cutter person who does not ask questions and who does not make a fuss. The three books folow Tally Youngblood, who, thank god, makes a huge fuss and gets things moving. Great book for young girls.

5/5 for all three.