People I'm Going to Miss

I'm sorry to say that one of the ways I deal with loss is denial and avoidance. Some of my all time favorite authors passed away last year and I have been furiously burying my head in the sand in an attempt to make the whole issue go away. However, as most people know, this method doesn't work forever. It is with a heavy heart that I finally acknowledge that Russell Hoban, Diana Wynne Jones and Anne McCaffrey passed away in 2011. Here, to honor their memories, are some of their books that I loved.

Russell Hoban is best known (to me) for his children's picture books featuring Frances, a precocious little girl badger. Frances is a wonderful character - one with all sorts of human characteristics, from stubbornness to creativity. Over the course of several books, Frances has all sorts of common childhood adventures. I adored Frances because I recognized in her some of the same characteristics I saw in myself. In particular, I loved the little songs Frances made up and sang whenever she was struggling to understand a particular issue - be it a new baby sister or friendships. I received my first Frances book when I became a big sister (just like Frances!) and I can't tell you how much it comforted me to know that other people (and badgers) went through the same thing. I often recommend Frances books for beginning readers or kids who enjoy reading along to a picture book. Another wonderful aspect to these picture books was that Hoban's wife illustrated them - what a wonderful partnership. Whenever I leaf through one of Hoban's picture books, Frances still charms my socks off all these years later. Russell Hoban, thank you for your lovely 'every-girl' character - you will be missed.

If there was one author I was genuinely devastated about, it was Diana Wynne Jones. Jones was an incredibly prolific children's fantasy author and one of my all time favorite writers. She wrote with a deft hand and produced fantasies that were not only lyrical and creative, but also smart. Jones never fell into the trap of assuming that children would be satisfied with (or wouldn't notice) lazy writing. Although the books were geared towards children, they appealed to readers of all ages. Just look at the book "Howl's Moving Castle", which inspired Hayao Miyazaki to make a gorgeous film adaptation. Jones wrote fantasies that were unique and spoke to issues we have all faced, including prejudice and finding one's own place in the world. Long before I read Harry Potter, I read about Jones' Chrestomanci - a powerful enchanter who could move between realities and had nine lives. If you want to start from the beginning, Jones' Chrestomanci stories have been collected in volumes. Begin with "The Chronicles of Chrestomanci Volume I", although I will have to admit that two of my favorite stories in the Chrestomanci universe come much later.

The first is "The Pinhoe Egg", in which a young student of the Chrestomanci finds that a small village has been suppressing good magic and snarling up the balance of nearly everything. This young student (Cat) and a girl from the village must work together to bring things back into balance again. This is another one of those stories where the seemingly smallest and least important people become the most important (I love stories like these). The eventual, triumphant wild breaking out of magical beings is all thanks to Cat and his friend from the village. My other favorite book is "Enchanted Glass", where a young orphan seeks shelter with a magician. This orphan discovers family, friends and his own strength - and he also finds out about the curious nature of a magical stained-glass window. Diana Wynne Jones was one of the first fantasy authors to awaken my imagination. Indeed, she is one of the reasons that I love fantasy - world building, hidden truths and all. So, Diana, thank you - from the bottom of my heart - for writing furiously and keeping me in wonderful, complex fantastical stories.

My final farewell goes to Anne McCaffrey, dragon-lady and creator of the wonderful world of Pern. I owe all of my youthful dragon riding fantasies to Anne McCaffrey (although, really, who wouldn't love a friendly dragon who adores you and flies you about?). As famous as that world was, Anne McCaffrey was not just about dragons. She also wrote about Acorna the unicorn girl, a group of people called Talents who flew ships and had amazing mental powers, survivors on alien worlds, miners with powerful connections to their gemstones and many other wonders. McCaffrey's books were my bridges, both to the genre of science-fiction and a little bit more mature reading. Her books are also what we in the library world call "stretches". I had never enjoyed science-fiction until I read one of her books - thereafter, I knew that science-fiction could be enjoyed (and even loved). I tend to be a huge fan of world-building and McCaffrey builds wonderful places by the score. Although I'm only going to list two books that I loved, I must stress that I loved most of her other books as well.

"Freedom's Landing" is the first book in a quartet and a fairly recent discovery by yours truly. Kristin Bjornsen lived a normal life in Denver, Colorado until a hostile alien race called the Catteni moved in and conquered planet earth. Being a resourceful woman, Kristin escapes slavery and flees into the woods. Her bare existence is threatened when she runs into a rogue Catteni. The two are captured and then abandoned with hundreds of other slaves on a new planet. The Catteni wish to see if the planet is fit for colonization. The slaves all work together to make this strange place into a survivable home. However, soon it becomes apparent that Kristin, her Catteni ally and the rest of the slaves must be prepared to defend their home from more than just the Catteni overlords.

I am a mighty revamped cover. Fear me.

"The Rowan" is the other book that I absolutely adored. This book is the first in a series where people called Talents are among the most valued citizens in the universe. The Talents are able to transport everything from cargo to people between planets with their mental powers. The Rowan is a young orphan with an incredibly powerful Talent who is discovered in the ruins of a settlement. She grows up isolated because of the incredible strength of her Talent. It isn't until The Rowan is a young woman that she makes a connection with another similarly strong Talent on a distant star that she escapes from her self-imposed isolation and decides to trust in the love of another person. **Side note: Don't judge the book by the cover on the right. Had I seen that cover, I may never have picked up the book in the first place. The cover girl has crazy eyes.

Book Review - Infinite Kung Fu

Infinite Kung Fu written and illustrated by Kagan McLeod

This past year has marked the beginning of my love affair with graphic novels. I have always had an issue sticking with series that seemed to stretch into eternity, so when I discovered this book (through a recommendation from the Unshelved team) I was thrilled. This is an entire series that has been condensed into one volume and I am so glad. I can easily see tearing my hair out while waiting for another installment. "Infinite Kung Fu" takes place in a world known as 'The Martial World'. We are told that planet Earth has gone through some catastrophic changes and has reverted back to what looks like the ancient Far East (for the most part - there's also a section that looks like a psychedelic city, but I digress).There is no technology - black magic and kung fu reign supreme.

In this world there are Eight Immortal beings who have discovered the deepest secrets of kung fu. They are not allowed to help the human race directly, so they each have chosen a single disciple to aid humanity and represent them on Earth. These disciples went out into the world with their teachers to fight off...wait for it...the hordes of zombies plaguing mankind (yes, there are hordes of zombies and kung fu - fully awesome). However, partway through their studies the disciples all gave in to the temptation of studying the forbidden arts of poison kung fu. The Immortal beings cast aside these disciples and feel they have failed the human race. Now the disgraced disciples fight for the corrupt Emperor as his sadistic generals.

Lei Kung, kung fu hero

Enter into this world weary soldier Lei Kung who was once a conscript in the Emperor's army, but deserted when he saw the atrocities committed by the generals. He encounters the leader of the Eight Immortals on a mountaintop. The Immortal informs Lei Kung that he is now a disciple and the last remaining hope for his world. Lei Kung is tasked with mastering kung fu and taking down the evil Emperor, who has ruled for time immemorial through supernatural means. Lei Kung is aided in his quest by his Immortal master as well as former disciple Moog Joogular. Although initially skeptical, Lei Kung slowly turns into the hero he was always meant to be. This book is a strange and wonderful combination of zombie-apocalypse, "Kill Bill" and love poem to old school kung fu culture. The pictures are dynamic and mesmerizing - and the awesome kung fu battles are practically a work of art. The one thing I will mention is that the violence is quite graphic. However, if readers enjoyed "Kill Bill" or "300", the epic splatters and disintegration scenes shouldn't be bothersome. If you're in the mood for a frankly fantastic kung fu adventure, check out this complete volume of "Infinite Kung Fu".     

Mysteries and Crime Solving - in Two Flavors

I am not a mystery buff. However, the mystery love is strong in both my family and my library acquaintance, so I'm not sure exactly where I missed the boat. Over a lengthy (ish) reading life, I have definitely found a few mysteries that have kept me interested and/or on the edge of my seat. I've compiled a list of my very favorite fictional (not-true) and non-fiction (true) items for your perusal.

Fiction

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
If you haven't picked up the first book in this extensive series, you are in for a treat. Precious Ramotswe lives in Botswana and has just come into an inheritance from her beloved father. With the money she decides to start a detective agency (the first women's detective agency in Botswana and perhaps in all of Africa - thus the No. 1). The ensuing series follows the mysteries and adventures that Precious encounters as a tenacious female detective. While this series is very gentle and full of humor, it does not shy away from serious obstacles modern Africans face. Also, if you end up liking this book series, HBO did an excellent television series adaptation of the first couple of books.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan C. Bradley
Flavia de Luce is the youngest of three sisters growing up in 1950s England. Her passions are chemistry and poisons and she spends most of her time tinkering in her inherited laboratory. One morning Flavia hears a strange noise coming from the family garden. Going out to investigate, Flavia discovers a dying man, who manages to gasp out a single word before he expires in the cabbages. Flavia could not be more delighted by this interesting event and immediately sets out to solve the mystery of the murdered stranger. Flavia is a spunky, interesting and very well written heroine. It's a pleasure to follow her further adventures in this continuing series.

The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King
I have read many adaptations of the "Sherlock Holmes" mythology and to my mind author Laurie King does one of the best jobs of keeping the original character intact and recognizable, while introducing new characters and circumstances into his well known story. In 1915 England, fifteen-year-old Mary Russell has an extraordinary encounter with an elderly beekeeper. It turns out that the beekeeper is in fact the semi-retired Sherlock Holmes and he sees something of himself in the fiercely intelligent, standoffish Mary. Soon, Holmes takes Mary on as an apprentice and the two are swept up in a mystery that will take them into the darkest recesses of British Intelligence in WWI England.

The Chalk Circle Man by Fred Vargas
With the soaring popularity of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" series, the American public has suddenly become much more aware of some of the fantastic international mystery writers - and not a moment too soon in my book. One of my absolute favorites is french writer Fred Vargas (a pseudonym for historian, archeologist and writer Frédérique Audoin-Rouzeau). She writes police thrillers, all centered around Parisian detective Chief Inspector (Commissaire ) Adamsberg. Adamsberg follows intuition as much as he does evidence, which is frustrating to his colleagues (even more so when his hunches prove to be true). Paris has been baffled when a series of chalk circles are drawn around the city. Each circle contains an object, seemingly at random. Adamsberg knows that it is only a matter of time before a body appears in one of these circles and, as usual, he is correct. Adamsberg must use his unique perspective to catch an intelligent and ruthless killer.


Non-Fiction

Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of the Mona Lisa by R. A. Scotti
Here, I have to admit my own embarrassing amount of ignorance. I had no idea that the Mona Lisa was ever stolen and remained missing for over two years. No idea. None (somehow this was never covered in the history classes I took). On a sultry day in August, 1911 the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre. Famous detectives from all over Europe were called in a desperate attempt to recover the famous painting. Everyone from the famous (Pablo Picasso) to the common was accused of stealing the painting and still it was not discovered. This was the era of the telegraph, and what might have been a local drama turned into a media fueled international sensation. The world followed breathlessly as the investigation continued. Strangely, over two years after the painting disappeared, it was discovered when a man attempted to sell it to an Italian antique store. How had the Mona Lisa gotten to Italy? Why (and how) was it stolen in the first place? Author Scotti pens this excellent exploration of these questions as well as a riveting play-be-play of the event itself.     

The Man Who Loved Books too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective and a World of Literary Obsession by Allison Hoover Bartlett
The degree to which the individuals in this book are obsessed with books is staggering, even for a bibliophile like myself. John Charles Gilkey is an extreme book lover turned international book thief. As of this books publishing, Gilkey had stolen a king's fortune worth of rare books. However, Gilkey did not steal these books to be sold. Gilkey kept them for his private collection. Facing off against Gilkey was another book obsessed man, Ken Sanders. However, Ken was determined to catch Gilkey and find the many volumes that had been disappearing into his extensive collections. What follows is a riveting chase between criminal and detective across the country, from book show to book exhibition. Bartlett chronicles this chase and supplements her materials with extensive interviews with both men.

The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum Sometimes we forget that there was a time before modern discoveries that we take for granted. Forensic medicine is one such discovery. Once upon a time, long before CSI or Bones, investigators couldn't tell whether someone had been poisoned or died peacefully in their sleep. This is the true story of two scientists who pioneered forensic medicine and chased murderers during the prohibition years. The author organizes the book by the type of poison and the case that contributed to its discovery. This book is very well written and completely engrossing, with all the details and twists of a fictional crime novel. I highly recommend this book for dedicated mystery readers and watchers.

The Murder Room: The Heirs of Sherlock Holmes Gather to Solve the World's Most Perplexing Cold Cases by Michael Capuzzo 
 If you thought that detectives with seemingly otherworldly abilities to solve mysteries existed only in the realm of fiction, then "The Murder Room" is the book for you. Ever since 1990, a group of extraordinary individuals gather once a month to have lunch and discuss the world's most puzzling cold cases. They call themselves the Vidocq Society, after a famous detective that was said to be the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes. They come from everywhere, from every level and aspect of law enforcement. The only requirement is that each person must have an unmatched brilliance at solving crime. Although Capuzzo's narrative does occasionally get bogged down when he switches from the cases to the personal lives of three awe-inspiring detectives, the overall story of the Vidocq Society is entirely fascinating.