HP and the Deathly Hallows Premiere Night

So, it was epic, no?  Painfully epic, heart-breakingly epic, wonderfully epic.  The general epic-ness of the entire film, paired with the huge anticipation for the movie's release and the mad-house feel of the event itself-- SO many people attended, and so many of them had donned Hogwarts uniforms and wizarding hats-- has me rather at a loss for words.  A certain cliche tells us a picture is worth much more than a couple paragraphs of my babbling, so...

These pictures are very pixel-y, so they're worth maybe 6 or 7 hundred words each.  That's me with the goofy hat, and that's my sister Pinky (she of the infamous guest reviews).  This is just before the premiere-- we didn't actually get to take any at the theaters because, well, it was dark.

These are my nails in Hogwarts colors after Pinky finished with them... you can't tell in this horrible picture, but the letters spell out HOGWARTS.  Pinky tried to do Hallows symbols on my thumbs, but they came out more like very smudged triangles. ;)  Ah, well, she gets ten points to her house for effort.

As for the movie itself, I was impressed by how closely the first half stuck to the original material-- some of it was almost word-for-word dialogue from the seventh book.  Towards the final fight scenes and the duel between Harry and Voldemort, the movie veered away from the book a good bit (what was with HP and Voldy flinging themselves out the castle window to the pointy spires below??)  But overall, this was definitely the most action-paced Harry Potter movie ever, and the most... wait for it... epic!  It's incredibly sad to think that there will never be another Harry Potter midnight premiere, or another late-night Books-A-Million party in anticipation of the next book.  (Though you'd think I would have come to terms with that by now.)  But really, I just can't wait to watch all the movies and reread all the books again!

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in A Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M Valente

Genre: children's fantasy-- illustrated
Pages: 247 (hardcover)
Published: May 2011 by Feiwel & Friends
Recommended for: just about anyone up for a whimsical and fantastical tale, beautifully illustrated and marvelously told

Synopsis:
Twelve-year-old September lives in Omaha, and used to have an ordinary life, until her father went to war and her mother went to work. One day, September is met at her kitchen window by a Green Wind (taking the form of a gentleman in a green jacket), who invites her on an adventure, implying that her help is needed in Fairyland. The new Marquess is unpredictable and fickle, and also not much older than September. 


Only September can retrieve a talisman the Marquess wants from the enchanted woods, and if she doesn’t . . . then the Marquess will make life impossible for the inhabitants of Fairyland. September is already making new friends, including a book-loving Wyvern and a mysterious boy named Saturday.  With exquisite illustrations by acclaimed artist Ana Juan, Fairyland lives up to the sensation it created when the author first posted it online. For readers of all ages who love the charm of Alice in Wonderland and the soul of The Golden Compass, here is a reading experience unto itself: unforgettable, and so very beautiful.

My Take:

This is the first book I've ever bought solely because the book trailer was so darn catchy!  I found myself watching the pencil animations and humming that little song over and over again.  (Click here for the trailer, if you want to get it stuck in your head, too.)  I was expecting The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland to be a modern Alice in Wonderland-esque adventure, and in many ways it was.  There was a little less of the sheer, merry madness of Lewis Carroll's classic, and a bit more colorful quirkiness.  The illustrations and the packaging of the book are just superb.  I can't imagine any child-- or any adult, for that matter-- not wanting to immediately pick up this book and flip through its pages on sight.

Valente's Fairyland is a very different one from the one visited in urban fantasies, even though September's journey begins in Omaha, Nebraska.  It is kind of reminiscent of Never-land: a place where Longitude and Latitude tower over a Fairyland city and autumn reigns eternal over a mythic forest where alchemists dwell and dance.  The most lovable character is A-Through-L (or simply L) is a Wyvernary, a young wyvern (not a dragon) and September's dear companion, who spent his childhood soaring around a library, whom he is certain is his father.  Little bits of wisdom and cleverness shimmer on every page, and the magical goings-on are never what you expect they might be.  September is wonderful: a combination of Narnia's adventurous and curious Lucy and the more headstrong, fierce Lyra from The Golden Compass.  For a twelve year old girl from Omaha, she definitely has a lot of mettle... and as it turns out, it does not hurt that she was born on a Tuesday and manages to befriend a certain devoted key. The villain of the piece is the Marquess of Fairyland: an all-powerful and terrible young lady, albeit with a really superb hat, who sends September on a seemingly impossible quest.  In September's Fairyland there are horrors as well as bizarre wonders.  The book tells of an orchestra of stolen children in glittering shoes, a mysterious caged boy who sees the future and the past and can grant you a wish only if his life is in grave danger, a suspicious shadow, the charitable, capricious Green Wind and his leopard... everything is as entrancing as it is strange, and certainly memorable.

I really have no complaints or pet peeves about this book what so ever.  It is sweet, adorable, clever, surprising, satisfying, and altogether marvelous.  I most certainly recommend it, and cannot wait to see if Catherynne Valente will continue September's adventures in a forthcoming volume.

All-around Rating: 5/5  

Anno Dracula by Kim Newman

Genre: fantasy/ alternate history
Pages: 547 (paperback)
Published: first published 1992; republished 2011 by Titan
Recommended for: fans of steampunk and those familiar with the original Dracula


Synopsis: 
It is 1888; Dracula has married Queen Victoria and turned a large percentage of the population into the undead.

Following vampire Geneviève Dieudonné and explorer Charles Beauregard on the trail of the Ripper murders, this panoramic novel of altered history brilliantly reinvents the world of late Victorian melodrama.

Familiar and sinister figures from literature and history emerge from the fog, along with some shocking truths.

My Take: 

So... I'm kind of a Dracula fanatic.  As a kid who didn't typically like those "classic" books, Dracula was one I fell in love with at a young age.  Bram Stoker's tale is spectacularly chilling, and there really is no book which can quite compare to it.  Anno Dracula had been on my to-read list for years, but it was out of print until recently.  I rejoice, as all fans of horror, steampunk, fantasy, and vampires should, that it is back and emblazoned with this sweet newsprint cover!  

Until recently, I was positive that The Historian by Elizabeth Kostava was the last word in Dracula 'fanfiction' novels.  This book rather blew The Historian out of the water, though, as far as the fun factor goes.  This novel is a long one, but it is far from slow and literary.  Anno Dracula is a caper of Jack the Ripper, set in an alternate past where Dracula escaped the stakes of Van Helsing and his associates to marry Queen Victoria and become prince and overlord of all England.  He and his force of undead loyalists have transformed half of London into vampires, creating a diseased, mad bloodline of newborn vampires.  Dracula himself does not make an appearance until the book's grand, long-awaited finale, but when he does... Wow, has Newman written a heck of a Dracula!  

The story is fast-paced with short cliff-hangers of chapters, and this London is one where famous figures of history and literature run amok (and undead) over the pages.  I particularly loved the Jekyll and Hyde references.  Perhaps the best part is that, though our hero and heroine spend the book searching for the Ripper in between dodging malevolent vamps and unsavory fiances, we the readers know exactly who the Ripper is and we get an insider's perspective as to his righteous motives... and madness.  Genevieve, an ancient, yet youthful-in-appearance vampire of a line older than even Dracula's, is a fantastic heroine-- definitely my favorite character. 

 There is a fair amount of gore in the book, I guess, but none of it is very bothersome unless you're just really not into that sort of thing.  Overall, I thought Anno Dracula was a fantastic read: brilliant, hilarious, bloody, oddly historical, and utterly engaging.  Just make sure you know the basic story of the original Dracula first.  This is a book I most certainly will be rereading within a year, no matter how my tbr pile threatens to topple over.  

Overall Rating: 5/5    

Cover VS Cover: Harry Potter Edition

I had decided to do a special edition of Cover VS Cover featuring the various covers and international editions of the Harry Potter series, in honor of the premiere of the final HP film.  However, the task at hand immediately proved to be intimidating to say the least!  The Harry Potter books have of course been translated into not dozens, but hundreds of languages, and published extensively around the world.  So instead I'm highlighting two very different, but very beautiful, sets of the seven books for your comparison and appreciation.  Both editions are published by Bloomsbury in the UK-- the adult set is also sold in the US and other English-speaking countries.

The Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone

Hey, I could have taken the pic of the quartz for the cover shot of the adult edition!  Kidding.  Seriously, there's something mystical in its simplicity, which is exactly how I always imagined the Philosopher's Stone.  The sword-wielding chess piece is simply enchanting on the children's cover. 

The Chamber of Secrets

The lettering for the Harry Potter logo on both of these sets is so different from the blocky US logo I'm used to seeing.  I do like the new fonts, though.  The entwined snakes on the adult-marketed edition of the Chamber of Secrets is really entrancing... like a knocker on the Gaunt House's front door.


The Prisoner of Azkaban

Azkaban looks somewhat like Alcatraz on the second cover-- very atmospheric and eerie.  I love the bright colors and the glow surrounding Harry's stag Patronus on the children's edition cover-- it might be my favorite of the set.


The Goblet of Fire

LOVE the Dark Mark!  It looks a bit like a Day of the Dead skull, and it's brightness prevents it from being as sinister as the real thing.  Again, I like the simplicity of the magic object featured on the adult edition, here the Goblet of Fire.


The Order of the Phoenix

Initially I was very puzzled by the orb on the first cover... then I smacked myself in the forehead.  It's the prophecy!  It's just that many people have probably come to think of it as being among shelves and shelves of others identical to it in the Department of Mysteries.  The adult cover reminds me a little of the Hunger Games, but I like it overall.


The Half-Blood Prince

Love the illustration of Harry and Dumbledore-- Dumby's looking very wizard-like indeed here.  The waves below the cliffs remind of that famous Japanese painting of the ocean.  Love the tattered quality of the Prince's textbook, too.  


The Deathly Hallows

Headstones on the front cover of a book, well that's kind of ominous to say the least!  I would've picked the dragon the trio ride to represent the last book, but I know another UK edition already used a similar illustration.  The amulet on the adult cover is very eerie and, again, perfect in its simplicity.


Both of these new editions were designed to attract new audiences to Harry Potter.  The illustrated editions are supposed to be for a new generation of young HP readers, and the adult editions are, duh, supposed to convince adults to find out what the Pottermania is all about.  In the end, I like each of the sets equally.  They are polar opposites as far as marketing goes, so it is impossible to really pit them against each other in Cover VS Cover fashion.  Hope you guys enjoyed seeing these covers, if you hadn't already.  :)

Giveaway: Two Fantastic Books

There's a pretty awesome event going down right now at Rabid Reads (as well as at fellow host blogs Mission to Read and Deranged Book Lovers).  It's called the Midnight Summer Festival, and it's basically a celebration of all things mythological in books and stories.  Our hosts and all the blogs participating-- you can check out the full list HERE-- will be posting about all sorts of mythological goodness.  We're talking author interviews, reviews, guest posts... and of course, there will be giveaways.

As for my contribution, I'm going to be parting with a copy of TROY by Adele Geras.

The siege of Troy has lasted almost ten years. Inside the walled city, food is becoming scarce and the death toll is rising. From the heights of Mount Olympus, the Gods keep watch.

But Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, is bored with the endless, dreary war, and so she turns her attention to two sisters: Marpessa, who is gifted with God-sight and serves as handmaiden to Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world; and Xanthe, who is kind and loving and tends the wounded soldiers in the Blood Room. When Eros fits an arrow to his silver-lit bow and lets it fly, neither sister will escape its power.  With vitality and grace, Adèle Geras breathes personality, heartbreak, and humor into this classic story. This is truly an inspired novel, told through the eyes of the women of Troy, in which the Gods move among mortals and an ancient city is brought to life. 

Or, if treacherous kelpies and twisted fairy tales are more your style than scheming goddesses of love and men in togas, you're welcome to pick THE FAIR FOLK: Six Tales of the Fey as your prize instead.   It's a book of six short stories and novellas.

Winner of the World Fantasy Award.

Patricia McKillip, Jane Yolen and Midori Snyder, Tanith Lee, Megan Lindholm, Kim Newman, and Craig Shaw Gardner contribute stories of the fey to this award-winning collection. Some are frightful. Some are funny. Some are fair. Some are foul. All are fantastic.



Both of these books are somewhat lesser-known, which is unusual for me-- I'm very guilty of giving away the newest book that I think the most people would want to read the most.  But these two are old favorites, both featuring their own very unique blends of Greek and faerie mythology, respectively.  They're both pretty much wicked cool.  

TO ENTER: 


-- You must have a mailing address in the US or Canada and be at least 13 years old.  

-- Leave a comment with your email address and tell me one thing you like about mythology.  It can be 'Brad Pitt as Achilles in the movie Troy', or 'Pegasi R cool', or whatever floats your boat.

-- Following is not required this time around, but is always much appreciated.  :D  

--Giveaway closes July 20th at midnight Eastern Time.  I'll announce the winner on my blog and said winner will have 48 hours to reply to my email and claim their prize.  Good luck, and thanks for entering! 

In My Mailbox (#21)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at the Story Siren and inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie.  The idea behind IMM is not only to put new books on our radars but to encourage blogger interaction.  IMM explores the weekly contents of our mailboxes: books bought, received, won, and borrowed, along with other goodies and swag.

Confession time: I lost control this week when it came to book-buying.  Major splurge issues.  I turned ravenous, showing up at various cash registers with an armload of books and hitting an indie book store with ridiculously good deals while out of town.  But, hey, I have little remorse.  Now I have tons of fantastic (and giant) books to read by the pool this summer!  

Here's what I got:

Bought: 

                                                                            

For Review: 

                   

-- Anno Dracula by Kim Newman

-- Linger by Maggie Stiefvater (Wolves of Mercy Falls #2)

-- Poison Study by Maria V Snyder

-- Cybele's Secret by Juliet Marillier

-- The Magicians by Lev Grossman

-- Eona by Alison Goodman (Eon #2)

-- Pandora by Anne Rice (Vampire Chronicles)

-- Clean by Amy Reed

-- The Witchlanders by Lena Coakley

-- Endangered Memories by David N Alderman (Expired Reality series)

Thanks to: 

-- David N Alderman

-- Simon & Schuster

Recent Reviews: 

Shine by Lauren Myracle

Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

Merciful by Casey Adolffson

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

So, what's in your mailbox this week?

The Dust of 100 Dogs by AS King

Genre: YA fantasy
Pages: 320 (paperback)
Published: February 2009 by Flux
Recommended for: readers looking for a wacky thrill ride with a dark, simultaneously contemporary and historical feel

My Take: 

Saffron is a far cry from your average trailer-park dwelling teenage girl.  She was born with the memories of 100 dogs-- and one rebellious, half-crazy teenage pirate-- vested within her, along with knowledge of the hidden location of  the glorious treasure she in her past life as Emer the pirate buried centuries ago on a remote Jamaican beach.  After high school graduation, Saffron forgoes her parents' firm wishes for her to attend college and takes off on an unexpected 'gap year' adventure.  It's a gap year that will last her the rest of her life, if Emer has her way-- and her pirate booty (yep, I just went there) which will make her rich beyond her wildest dreams.  

Saffron's narrative is threaded through with the story of Emer Morrisey, the Irish girl she once was, who was sold by her own uncle following the massacre of her village by Cromwell's Roundheads and who soon escaped to the Caribbean to lead the life of a pirate.  Saffron has learned a lot from Emer's loss of her true love and first mate, not to mention the lessons taught via the lives of 100 dogs, and she's determined not to make the same mistakes again... even if the dastardly, mad villains who cursed Emer the first time around have been reincarnated into human form again, as well. 

All of that is a lot less confusing and baffling than I make it sound like, trust me.  AS King has taken a rather bizarre premise and turned it into a fantastically fast-paced, adventurous romp of a novel.  I liked Saffron, but I loved Emer and her history.  She truly has the pirate heart: reckless, ambitious, proud, passionate, and maybe a wee bit mad.  The climaxes of both storylines come together in a shocking and utterly unpredictable grand finale showdown between Emer and an obsessed Frenchman, and Saffron and his reincarnation, a madman whom is determined to keep her from regaining her treasure and her life.  I loved this book-- though dark in humor and tone, it's truly a fun and thought-provoking read.  The cover, I must say, is also one of my all time favorites.

All-around Rating: 5/5

Friday Following & Hopping #28

Happy Friday!!!  Hello to everyone stopping by my blog via Follow Friday (hosted by paranormal blogging queen Parajunkee).  I'd also like to welcome any of my old followers just dropping in to say hi. 


The good news is: I'm going to be in town and in Wi-Fi range all this weekend!  Serious rambling around the Internet and especially around the blogosphere will ensue. Leave me your links when you comment, and I'll be sure to return the visit and follow! :)


This week's featured FF blogger is:  Lisa @ Read. Breathe. Relax.  
(Sounds like great summertime advice to me!) 


This week's question is:

Let's step away from besties...What is the worst book that you've ever read and actually finished?

My answer: Wow, that's a tough one!  I don't have a very high level of tolerance when it comes to reading books I'm not enjoying-- there are just too many great books waiting to be read out there.  Luckily I have a handy and much-dreaded Goodreads shelf: wish-i-hadn't-read ready to help me out on occasions like this.  Scanning the list, I'm going to have to go with Feed by MT Anderson.  It's a YA book, a futuristic sci-fi involving hyper-advanced technology and a conspiracy.  The plot itself had plenty of merit... it was the horrible writing style which had me beating my head against my desk as I attempted to finish it.   It's purposely intended to echo the random, chaotic thoughts of the teen protagonist, complete with crazy run-on sentences and tiny, fragmented ones.  The grammer stickler in me nearly had a tiny little heart attack on every page.  I know a lot of people really enjoyed that book, but it wasn't at all for me.  


Usually, my biggest peeves with books are obviously contrived love triangles and annoying writing styles.  A close runner-up for this answer, I will add, was Fallen by Lauren Kate.  Again, I know it's popular and everyone says the series gets better... but that book and I really didn't click.  What about you guys-- what's the worst book you've ever read? 


I hope you all have a great weekend and a fantastic time blog hopping!