Joie de Vivre! (Two from Susie Morgenstern)

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I’d never heard of Susie Morgenstern before I picked up a hardbound copy of  A Book of Coupons (#109 for 2009) from the Book Sale bargain bin. It was P15, in pristine condition, and I initially thought it was one of those booklets that had tear-out coupons for little good deeds that you could give out to friends and family members.

When I got home, I realized it was a chapter book and read it in one sitting. A few weeks later, I found a copy of Susie Morgenstern’s Secret Letters from 0 to 10 (#110 for 2009) for P10 at a roving book sale and I ended up reading it in one sitting too!

Reading the back flap of one of the books, I found out that Susie Morgenstern is one of the most popular children’s  book writers in France, with over forty books for children. Interestingly, while she writes primarily in French, she is an American who moved to the south of France over thirty years ago! Her recent books, however, have been translated in English, so now more readers have been enjoying her books.

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Giving His Dark Materials one more try

While I’m an avid Philip Pullman reader, I have to admit that I never warmed up to The Golden Compass, which is why I wasn’t eager to finish the His Dark Materials trilogy. I have a tolerance point for fantasy books — I usually draw the line at unpronounceable names, epic quests, made-up languages, and maps of imaginary lands unless the author can find a way to reel me in. The Golden Compass isn’t really hardcore fantasy, but I found it too serious for a young adult novel, and religious (whether for or anti) propaganda isn’t really my thing, so the book didn’t appeal to me. I preferred Pullman’s singular works outside of His Dark Materials, such as Clockwork, I Was A Rat, The Scarecrow and His Servant, The Firework Maker’s Daughter, The Gas-fitter’s Ball, Spring-heeled Jack, and The Butterfly Tattoo.

While I didn’t take a liking to The Golden Compass, I did manage to read it twice. About a year after reading the first book, the party-planning outfit I put up with my cousin Dianne, Silverdoe Productions (hahaha, let’s see who can figure out why) got our first real assignment (outside of our own birthday parties) — Sophie’s 7th birthday party! It was a birthday party for Sophie, who’s the niece of our high school classmate Elena, held at the Powerplant Cinema with a special screening of The Golden Compass movie!

IAt Sophie's birthday party - that's me with the wool scarf!
At Sophie's birthday party - that's me with the wool scarf!

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Peter Pan flies again

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Growing up, Peter Pan was one of my favorite fairy tale classics. I remember having a well-thumbed Little Golden Book of the Disney cartoon, which was also a great favorite of mine. I  also remember playing Peter Pan with my younger brother  — he was Michael, I was Wendy, and we had an imaginary Peter Pan. I would sprinkle some baby powder around us then we would romp about pretending to fly, chorusing, “second star to the right and straight on ’til morning!”

When I was in second grade, I also faithfully watched Saban’s The Adventures of Peter Pan (Peter Pan No Boken), which came on every morning at ten-thirty.  It was a great series with lots of little stories, but I really loved the character of Luna, the princess of darkness and the scary elements her story added to the cartoon. I was so obsessed with the cartoon that my mom bought me the Peter Pan book by Apple Classics, and I read it from cover to cover in one sitting.

Steven Spielberg’s “Hook” is also another favorite from childhood. I really loved Tinkerbell in this movie, especially when she says to Peter, “You know that place between sleep and awake? That place where you still remember dreaming? That’s where I’ll always love you, Peter Pan. That’s where I’ll be waiting.” Aww…

Anyway, this love for Peter Pan drew me to Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson’s retelling of  the classic story of the boy who never grows old, starting with Peter and the Starcatchers (book #107 for 2009).

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Another book I’d probably have no earthly use for

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Sometimes when I’m bored I go on a mooching spree with my BookMooch points and end up with all sorts of books. This is how I came to get ahold of a copy of Farts: A Spotter’s Guide (book #106 for 2009).

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I didn’t remember mooching it, and then the mail came and there it was!

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The Venetian’s Wife

venetianPardon the sporadic posts. I’m still not feeling quite up to scratch but I know need to whack away at the growing pile of books I have to review or else I’ll never catch up.

I’ve always been in awe of Nick Bantock’s Griffin and Sabine series, and I’ve wanted to read Nick Bantock’s The Venetian’s Wife (book #105 for 2009) for some time now, just to see how he fares outside of Griffin and Sabine.

The Venetian’s Wife, subtitled “A Strangely Sensual Tale of a Renaissance Explorer, a Computer, and a Metamorphosis,” is another epistolary tale from Nick Bantock, tracing the email correspondence between a museum researcher, Sara Wolfe, and N. Conti, a centuries-old ghost trapped within the confines of modern technology. Conti hires Sara to track down the pieces of a peculiar art collection, and Sara discovers more of herself — and her destiny — in the process.

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