Sunday Synopsis: October 31, 2010

It's been a while since I really checked in and I have a lot to share with you!!!  The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind, but sooooo much fun!

Let's first start with a couple of posts that I have shared around the blogosphere!  If you have not already taken a gander at these and are interested in learning more about Tif of Tif Talks Books, I highly recommend it.

• On October 13th, I wrote a special little post for Jenn's Bookshelves on The Evolution of Horror Films.  Much of the material featured in this fun little post came from a class I used to teach a few years ago for university students!
• On October 26th, I was interviewed by Carina of Reading Through Life for her Reading Roots feature.  This is such a great weekly post highlighting the roots of reader's love for books.  If you don't already follow Carina, I highly recommend it!  Besides her great posts, her site is just plain fun to look at, particularly for Scrabble fans!

I also thought I would give a quick summary of the latest posts here as well since I have not done that in a couple of weeks.  I have had a number of great guest posts and I highly recommend that you check them out!!

• Fairy Tale Fridays:  The Old Gravestone
• Guest Post:  The Familiars Take Us On A Tour!
• Sunday Synopsis:  October 24, 2010 . . . With a REALLY creepy picture!!
• Guest Post:  Danielle (There's A Book) Hearts Vampires!
• Fairy Tale Fridays:  The Juniper Tree
• Guest Post:  Carrie (West Virginia Red Reads) Goes Gorey

Phew!!  That's a lot of synopsis-ing!!! Now, let's get to the real fun stuff . . . my trip to San Francisco!!  I am limiting the number of pictures that I took, but if you are interested in seeing more, just let me know!  I can always do another post later this week with more pics if you so desire!!

I flew out on a Friday evening and lucky me, got delayed for a few hours in Milwaukee!  I got some great reading time in though with The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson!

I ended up getting in to San Francisco really late, had a meeting most of Saturday, but then my most anticipated part of the trip came . . . A night tour of Alcatraz!!!!!

Here is the library at Alcatraz!  It really only had three of the bookshelves like the one pictured above.  It was so neat to see and one of my favorite parts of the tour!  My first favorite . . . the isolation cells!!!  Don't ask me why I'm so morbid!!  :)

The night we toured the prison and the area, it was dark, dreary, and raining . . . perfect to set the mood!!!  Here is a picture of a walkway outside of the Warden's Chambers.  Doesn't it just look daunting?!?

Another picture of Alcatraz . . . this time the lighthouse that is on the island.  You can see the rain in the picture and I just love it, even if it is a tad dark!

I then had a large number of meetings and presentations, only getting to see bits and pieces of the city until Tuesday.  Tuesday afternoon, I took a city tour on a double-decker bus and then hit the trolleys and the streets to do a bit of exploring on my own with some friends.

On the tour, we passed the San Francisco Public Library.  I just loved the look of this building and only wish that I could have stopped to see the inside!

The old library is actually an Asian Heritage Museum today, but you can tell determine its origins by looking at the names carved into the stone.  You may have to click on this one to enlarge it.  Do any of my fellow readers recognize a few names?  Can you guess who's name intrigued me enough to take a picture of this group of names?

How can I not post a picture of the city skyline?!?  Isn't it just beautiful?!?

And, of course, the Golden Gate Bridge!

After the tour, I rode a trolley and we passed the Chinatown Branch of the Public Library.  I am really wishing that I had walked into this one, too!

One of my biggest accomplishments of the trip . . . walking Lombard Street, or the Crookedest Street in the World!  Let me tell you . . . this baby is steep!!!  And, I walked at least three blocks of steepness before this! I was sore after this trip!!!

I could not leave the city without visiting the wharf!!

And, of course, having a good bowl of clam chowder!!  What a way to end a great trip!!!

As I was delayed in San Francisco on my way home, I got a bit more reading in with The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson.  I was hoping to get more read, but alas . . . I was having fun!!

Now, I am going to leave you with another freaky picture in honor of Halloween!!  I don't post pictures of myself too often, but my freaky face in Alcatraz prison was just so weird and macabre that I could not pass up the chance!!

Now, I will leave you with one big apology!!  I hope that you do not have nightmares tonight featuring the freak above!!  

Sweet dreams!!!!

Guest Post: Carrie (West Virginia Red Reads) Goes Gorey

Let us give a warm welcome to Carrie of West Virginia Red Reads.  She is here to share a bit of Gorey with us . . . Edward Gorey that is!  Are you familiar who this is and how he fits into the season of scary and spooky?  Read on to find out!!

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When one is asked to contribute to a book blog in October, there is only one obvious subject choice, Edward Gorey. Thanks to Tif I have the opportunity to spread the word about the man who was obviously integral in shaping Tim Burton.

While best known as an illustrator, classics such as The Gashlycrumb Tinies: or, After the Outing and The Iron Tonic: Or, A Winter Afternoon in Lonely Valley show that Mr Gorey is also an accomplished writer. Baleful, dire, foreboding, menacing, portentous, sinister, and threatening, Gorey’s work stands out in the Victorian and Edwardian influenced genre.

Mr Gorey who published under a number of pen names such as Ogdred Weary, Dogear Wryde, and Ms Regera Dowdy, is also known for his animated introduction to Public Broadcasting System's Mystery! and also his designs for Broadway's 1977 Dracula. Often Mr Gorey is relegated to the world of adult reading and many of the books that he illustrated are indeed meant for adults, books like Dicken's Bleak House and Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling/The Sickness Unto Death to name a few. However, it is his work in children's and juvenile fiction which draws my attention. Mr Gorey said most of his material was aimed at "reasonably small children," whom he did not believe were scared by the sinister subject matter.

One of our favorite books that he illustrated was Edward Lear's The Jumbies. Mr Lear, perhaps best known for his poem "The Owl and The Pussycat," was famous for the limerick form as well as verbal invention. A favorite verse from The Jumbies reads:

And they brought a Pig, and some green Jack-daws,  
And a lovely monkey with lollipop paws,
And forty bottles of Ring-Bo-Ree, And no End of Stilton Cheese.

Additionally, he is well known for his work on John Bellairs and Brad Strickland’s books. Belliars' first young adult novel The House With a Clock in its Walls, was a supernatural thriller starring the Lewis Barnavelt, Uncle Jonathan Barnavelt, and their neighbor Florence Zimmermann. There were 2 sequels, The Figure in the Shadows and The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring. Bellairs wrote nine books, including ones which focused on fan-favorite Johnny Dixon and Professor Roderick Childermass as well as Anthony Monday and Miss Myra Eells who fought supernatural battles against wizards and warlocks in The Dark Secret of Weatherend and The Lamp from the Warlock's Tomb. After Bellairs' death Brad Strickland completed the unfinished works of Bellairs as well as going on to write using these characters.

But mostly I love the works that Mr Gorey himself wrote and illustrated. And the best of these is The Gashlycrumb Tinies. A seemly simple concept book, The Gashlycrumb Tinies presents the alphabet in a whole new light.

One of my favorite couplets is:

This is the classic children's learning book which belongs in any dark and dreary library.

And here are more Mr Gorey recommendations:

Cautionary Tales for Children by Hilaire Belloc and Edward Gorey:  One of Hilaire Belloc's most famous works, "Cautionary Tales for Children" satirizes a genre of admonitory children's literature popular in England in the late 18th and 19th centuries. The seven stories contained in this work are macabre parodies of childhood lessons, and will entertain more sophisticated readers who can appreciate these tales of disproportionate punishment. Presented in a classic picture book style, illustrators have captured the foibles of children like Jim, who let go of his nurse's hand and was eaten by a lion; Matilda, who told lies, and was burned to death; and Henry King who swallowed string. The consequences range from naughty children being whimsically eaten by lions, to stern reprimands for a boy who fires a loaded gun at his sister. Originally written nearly a century ago, Belloc's sprightly verses are a quick and cathartic read for teenagers, and reflect a trend of literature that is still popular today. (1)

The Doubtful Guest by Edward Gorey:  An unexpected guest appears one night and perplexes the family with its strange habits. (2)

The Twelve Terrors of Christmas by John Updike and Edward Gorey:  Edward Gorey's off-kilter depictions of Yuletide mayhem and John Updike's wryly jaundiced text examine a dozen Christmas traditions with a decidedly wheezy ho-ho-ho. This long out-of-print classic is the perfect stocking-stuffer for any bah humbug. (3)

Amphigorey Again by Edward Gorey:  This latest collection displays in glorious abundance the offbeat characters and droll humor of Edward Gorey. Figbash is acrobatic, topiaries are tragic, hippopotami are admonitory, and galoshes are remorseful in this celebration of a unique talent that never fails to delight, amuse, and confound readers.  Amphigorey Again contains previously uncollected work and two unpublished stories-"The Izzard Book," a quirky riff on the letter Z, and "La Malle Saignante," a bilingual homage to early French silent serial movies.  Rough sketches and unfinished panels show an ironic and singular mind at work and serve as a fitting celebration of Edward Gorey's unusual genius. (1)

The Epiplectic Bicycle by Edward Gorey:  A charming burlesque concerning an intrepid voyage of epic proportions by the “incredibly sophisticated...stylish and inventive” Edward Gorey (New York Observer). (1)

The Other Statue by Edward Gorey:  The annual charity fete at Backwater Hall in Mortshire is disrupted by the mysterious death of Lord Wherewithal and the theft of the Lisping Elbow.  Confusion and misgivings abound. And, alas, the Earl of Thump's stuffed thisby is found disemboweled by the edge of the lake. Dr. Belgravius and his nephew, Luke Touchpaper, attempt to tie the loose ends together and wonder why Miss Underfold was seen wearing a hat decorated with black lilies. And why was Victoria Scone dancing the tango with Horace Gollop in The Soiled Dove? (1)

The Gilded Bat by Edward Gorey:  With his typically dark, droll humor, Edward Gorey presents the transformation of Maudie Splaytoe, a girl prone to staring at dead birds, into Mirella Splatova, a chic and mysterious prima ballerina. This woeful tale chronicles an ascent to the peak of fame, followed by an unexpected and dreadful demise. Gorey's exquisitely crafted illustrations of magical ballets, elegant drawing rooms, and stark apartments set the stage for this melodrama starring a slightly peculiar heroine. (1)

References:
(1)  From the Publisher
(2)  From Google Books
(3)  From Amazon.com 

Fairy Tale Fridays: The Juniper Tree

Special Thanks to my Personal Faery Friend for the Button Art: Ye Olde Faery Shoppe 

This week's selection for Fairy Tale Fridays is The Juniper Tree by The Brothers Grimm . . . a tale that may just be perfect for the season of spook!

The tale begins with a plot that we have heard before . . . a happy couple that is unable to have children.  Thanks to a juniper tree and a cut to the finger, the much wanted blessing arrives.  Unfortunately, the new mother dies a "delighted" death.  The father eventually remarries, the new wife bears another child, now resulting in two children . . . an elder son and a younger daughter.  As time goes by, the wife finds that she detests the boy and in an act of rage, decapitates the step-child.  She covers up her crime by making her daughter feel the blame . . .  and from there, I encourage you to read the remainder of the story to discover the ending on your own!

The Juniper Tree is a tale that starts out with a bit of blood, moves almost immediately to violence and gore, and ends with a bang . . . or crash, to be more exact!  I can't really tell you if I enjoyed it or hated it.  It's a tale that is disturbing and leaves me thinking violent crimes against children have sadly been around for a long time.  Justice may have been served, but I am still left saddened and feeling uncomfortable by the final word.  Since I simply cannot think of anything else, I guess I will just leave you with two final words . . .

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Do you have any other thoughts to add about this tale?  Any recommendations on additional spooky tales to celebrate the weekend?

UPCOMING TALES:
Friday, November 5th:  Fairy Tale Food & Fun (more details to come!)
Friday, November 12th:  "The Tale of the Three Brothers" from The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling
Friday, November 19th:  The Ear of Corn by The Brothers Grimm
Friday, November 26th:  FTF Thanksgiving Break!

Guest Post: Danielle (There's A Book) Hearts Vampires!

I am honored to welcome Danielle of There's a Book today with a guest post about all things vampires!  I was so excited to see that I am not alone in my interest in vampires, and that it started at a young age, but Danielle is much more well-versed and I have added many books from what she has to say!  What books will you be adding?!?

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From Count Vlad to Bela Lugosi Dracula, vampires in all their various forms have been the center of all that goes bump in the night for ages. Yes, the newer vampires sparkle and can tolerate the daylight with fancy rings charmed by witches, but what about the originals or the kid-friendly versions? This was the first topic that came to mind when Tif asked if I would guest post for her near Halloween. I've long loved vampires and when better to talk about vampires than during Halloween?

If I'm being honest my very first venture into the world of vampires came via the classic Bela Lugosi Dracula and The Lost Boys movies. It's possible I was as young as ten or eleven when I first saw these and they only sparked a deeper interest into this sometimes creepy but always fascinating mythology. After viewing these movies I began to dig; I read anything I could get my hands on that related to vampires. Bram Stoker's Dracula, which also had a wonderful movie rendition starring the actor better known now for his role as Sirius in Harry Potter, Gary Oldman, was one of my favorite books. Beyond this I moved to the actual history behind Dracula, also known as "Count Vlad", and read as many books as I could get on the famous Count.

There came a point though when my research brought me to all the same destinations and because of this, I turned back to my love of fictional based vampire stories. Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice (and the subsequent novels in the series) became one of my absolute favorite novels from my youth. Yes, I know, youth? In fact it was my father who loaned me his copy and I think I read it at least a dozen times. The characters were written in the classic style, glamorous but dangerous and terrifying - they drew me in and never let go. From there I've devoured nearly every vampire book you can imagine; Vampireology, The True Blood series by Charlaine Harris, The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, The Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer, The House of Night series by the Casts, The Blue Bloods series by Melissa de la Cruz, Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith and so many more.

Now, as a parent, I'm excited to share the more enjoyable and funny side of vampires with my little ones. They're obviously too young to really understand the more scary aspects of vampires, but there are still quite a few books available that they enjoy. One of my favorite new "old" releases is Dick and Jane and Vampires by Laura Marchesani, it's a favorite series of my mom's and it's fun to share it with my own children in this funny way. There's also, A Vampire Is Coming to Dinner by Pamela Jane, Scream Street: Fang of the Vampire by Tommy Donbavand, and Lisa Brown's newest Vampire Boy's Good Night.

So many fantastic books and movies for this ancient mythology! From my youth until now I've always found something intriguing in the lives of vampires, be it the possibility of eternal life or the mysterious nature of the origins of vampires. These stories have been around for ages and Halloween is the perfect time to celebrate these ancient creatures.

Thank you so much to Tif for allowing me to ramble on about my love for vampires and this fantastic Halloween season!

Sunday Synopsis: October 24, 2010

Since I am currently at a convention in San Francisco, I am going to just leave you with a picture that I took about one year ago.  I think it is a bit freaky and perfect for this time of year!  I may be traveling, but I am still keeping my eye on all my readers!!!!

Guest Post: The Familiars Takes Us On A Tour!

I am so excited to introduce a special guest post from Andrew Jacobson, co-author of the recently released, The Familiars.  I have bought my copy and it is traveling across the country with me right now as you read this!  Have you?!?  If you have not, just give yourself a few minutes to watch this fun haunted tour from Andrew and then you know what you will be adding to your list of things to do this week! 

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With Halloween fast approaching, we thought it was only appropriate for "The Familiars" to celebrate their favorite holiday with a blog tour!  We will be trick or treating through the blogosphere, and are so excited to be stopping by your neighborhood.

Message from Andrew Jacobson:




We are also having a special Familiars-themed Halloween Scavenger Hunt! At each stop along the blog tour, we will be asking a trivia question from our book. After you fill in your answer, the letter that falls in the place of the * can be placed in the corresponding number of the larger puzzle. So for example, since this is question number 17, the letter that lands in the space where the * is can be filled in where the 17 is in the larger puzzle. The larger puzzle will form yet another clue, and anyone who answers it correctly will be entered into a drawing for an autographed book as well as a few other Halloween treats! 

Be sure to visit The Familiars blog at thefamiliars.blogspot.com to find links to all other blog stops and find out where to send in your answers! All entries must be entered by November 15.

17. Skylar conjures this during the familiars' night in the cave in the Kailasa Mountains to keep them warm.

___     ___ ___ ___ ___      _*_ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

Hint:  Chapter Twelve, Page 232

11    5    18    8    15    1       9            7    19    14    23    2    25    16    10    12    20

__  __  __  __  __  __  '  __        __  __  __   __   __   __   __   __   __   __

17    3    22    6          21     4   24   13

__  __  __   __       __  __  __  __

www.thefamiliars.com (official website)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0djEE4OzdQ (book trailer)

Happy Halloween everyone!

Andrew & Adam 

Fairy Tale Fridays: The Old Gravestone

Special Thanks to my Personal Faery Friend for the Button Art: Ye Olde Faery Shoppe 

This week's selection for Fairy Tale Fridays takes us to another tale in Hans Christian Andersen's collection, The Old Gravestone.  This short tale has so much potential to go on the spooky side, just in time for a spooky holiday, but it does not!  Andersen's way with words leaves us with actually a sweet story with an ending to live by!

Just as in last week's tale, The Little Mermaid, Andersen's opening paragraph is catching, wanting me to read more . . .

In one of the smaller towns of Denmark, one evening in August, the whole family was gathered in the living room of the home of one of the wealthier citizens.  The weather outside was still summer-mild, but the evenings had begun to grow darker; the lamp had been lighted and the curtains drawn, so only the flowers on the window sill enjoyed the moonlight.  The conversation was about an old stone that lay out in the yard.  The children liked to play upon it, and the maids, when the sun shone, put the newly polished copper pots and pans out to dry on it.  It had once been a gravestone.

Eerie!!!  Does a little Twilight Zone music run through your mind at that last sentence?!?

From there, Andersen then takes us on a little journey to the past, remembering this beautiful married couple that fell in love and lived happily ever after until the death of the wife.  The husband is devastated and dies a short time afterwards.  However, the story doesn't end there.  It goes on to then look at the gravestone from a young boy's perspective and leaves us with an ending that just leaves you with . . . "Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh."

The seed planted in your soul this night shall grow and produce poetry.  For all that is truly good and all that is truly beautiful on this earth is not forgotten, it lives in songs and legends.

What reactions did you have to this tale?  Was it what you were expecting?

UPCOMING TALES:
Friday, October 29th:  The Juniper Tree by The Brothers Grimm
Friday, November 5th:  Fairy Tale Food & Fun (more details to come!)
Friday, November 12th:  "The Tale of the Three Brothers" from The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling

Sunday Synopsis: October 17, 2010

Another week passed and another week closer to my upcoming trip out West!  In fact, this is the week for the trip!!  I leave later this week and am so excited!!  I still have a number of tasks to complete before I can get too excited, but I am getting closer!!  One such task is trying to decide which books to take with me!  How many and which ones should I take?  What happens if I end up reading through them all and I have to buy another one to get by?  Would that really be such a bad thing?!?  There are really probably much more important decisions to be debating at this point in time, but I do have a different set of priorities in mind right now!!  :)

What can YOU expect while I'm traveling and having fun?  I have some amazing guest posts lined up from fellow bloggers, authors, and book lovers!  All are perfect for the season of Halloween and I cannot wait to share them with you.  I am working on getting them all scheduled and I will be keeping my fingers crossed that they all get posted on time.  If not, I think that I will probably still have a chance to go in and post if the worst case scenario results!

Once I get back from this trip, I will be so excited to share some photos of my trip with you.  A few things that I have planned at this time (besides the meetings!) is a trip to Alcatraz, a tour of the city, and hopefully, the discovery of some little independent bookstores!  And, when I return, I'm also hoping for some rejuvenation and much more time on my hands to devote to my blogging and writing in general.  I have been doing some brainstorming on what needs to change this upcoming year, and though I have not yet found the answer, I do believe that I am getting closer and a little breather may just get me where I need to go.

Before signing off for the evening, here is a quick peek at the couple of posts that actually got published this last week . . .

• Reading Log Roundup:  October 12, 2010
• Fairy Tale Fridays:  The Little Mermaid

How was your week?  Do you have any big plans this week?

Fairy Tale Fridays: The Little Mermaid

Special Thanks to my Personal Faery Friend for the Button Art: Ye Olde Faery Shoppe 

For this week's selection, we return to another one of the classic tales . . . The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen.  Though many of us are familiar with the basic story, probably thanks to Disney, I realized as I read that I had never read the original tale before.  One of Andersen's most-loved tales is one that opens with beautiful writing . . .

"Far, far from land, where the waters are as blue as the petals of the cornflower and as clear as glass, there, where no anchor can reach the bottom, live the mer-people.  So deep is this part of the sea that you would have to pile many church towers on top of each other before one of them emerged above the surface."

The imagery from the very beginning is so vivid and I was immediately lost in the story of young (and may I say forbidden?!?) love that the youngest and most beautiful of the mer-daughters has for a mere mortal human.  She longed to visit the surface, particularly after those years that all five of her elder sisters had the opportunity to experience on their fifteenth birthday . . . each reporting back what they found to be the most memorable.  The day finally came for the youngest, and of course, she finds the love of her life, rescues him, and pines for him, resulting in a trip to the sea witch's lair to become a human herself to win the young prince's heart.

This is where the story veers from the tale that I grew up with!  Instead of the happily ever after where the dear little mermaid wins over the prince and lives to the end of her days with legs, she instead is bumped from her position of close friend by the prince's true love, resulting in her ending on the land and the sea.

I have quite a mixed feeling of this tale that I honestly do not even know what to say!  The beginning of the story is so beautifully written and the premise is one that is strong and hopeful.  The middle even is noteworthy to mention because it remains strong.  It is the ending that leaves me baffled!  I am not sure what I think about the little mermaid being transformed into a "daughter of air," living in limbo for hundreds of years.  That simply just sounds depressing to me!  But then again, I have to wonder if there is some religious undertones and meanings to this one that I simply do not understand because of my lack of knowledge on the subject.

What did you think of The Little Mermaid's final role?

UPCOMING TALES:
Friday, October 22nd:  The Old Gravestone by Hans Christian Andersen
Friday, October 29th:  The Juniper Tree by The Brothers Grimm
Friday, November 5th:  Fairy Tale Food & Fun (more details to come!)
Friday, November 12th:  "The Tale of the Three Brothers" from The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling