So, for the first time in my participation in Seasons of Reading’s Sci-Fi Summer readathon, all of my books were science fiction (I’m more of a fantasy fan) and it was quite the rocket ship ride indeed.
First up was a Star Wars novel by Dave Wolverton, The Courtship of Princess Leia. Set in the aftermath of the original trilogy, Leia is an ambassador seeking allies to help fight off the last remaining enemies from the former Empire and a very powerful star system ruled by a Queen is willing to make a deal.
Trouble is, one of the conditions is for Leia to marry her son, Prince Isolder, and eventually become queen herself as this is a matriarchal society. While it’s a tempting offer in more ways than one, Han Solo naturally has his own ideas about that arrangement.
This all leads to Han grabbing Leia and flying off to a remote planet that he just won in a poker game. As luck would have it, Luke Skywalker is also interested in this particular planet due to reports of “Jedi witches” living there and he joins Prince Isolder in going after them.
Now, I have to say that since this book was written in the mid 1990s, it’s not considered part of the official Star Wars literary canon , which doesn’t mean that it’s not entertaining. On the contrary, if you don’t take SW lore too seriously, that will increase your enjoyment all the more.
It’s more like a “What if” kind of story, which allows for some wild moments as Luke getting captured by one of the Jedi witches (who develops a serious crush on him) and C-3PO being the wingman for Han in his pursuit of Leia(who is rightly annoyed at him for most of the book).
C-3PO even goes so far as to compose a love song extolling Han’s good points and actually sings it, with the backup chorus sounding an awful lot like Leia!! Too funny for words, I swear!
If you ever come across this book and just need some sweet sci-fi relief, The Courtship of Princess Leia is funky fine old school fun that you should treat yourself to:
For something completely different, I joined in the Juneteenth event for Sci-Fi Summer that highlighted Black authors.
Since I had recently bought a copy of Octavia Butler’s modern classic, Parable of the Sower, this seemed to be perfect timing.
Published in 1993, the future America that our lead character is in stretches from 2024 to 2027. Lauren lives in a closely protected community that struggles with just as much anxiety over the limited resources of their world as those living outside of the surrounding wall do.
Facing food shortages, the high prices for water and dwindling utilities, Lauren wants to help her neighbors out and keep their homes safe but she can also see ahead and begin to prepare for the worst to come.
When the walls of her gated community do come tumbling down, Lauren has to strike out on her own and join the many others taking to the road in search of a better life. The one thing that helps her keep on going is the faith that she created, Earthseed.
Those beliefs are small enough, words in a journal that she keeps but perhaps they’re strong enough to start a new chapter in the book of life for her and other folks that she’s met along the way.
This is one of those books that has you saying “Why did I wait so long to read this?!” It’s a captivating look at finding hope in a hopeless world and Butler certainly had some serious insights into what our country would become if certain things were left unchecked (truly eerily accurate at times).
I do plan to read the follow-up book, Parable of the Talents, at some point and it’s a shame that the planned third book, Parable of the Trickster, wasn’t completed due to Butler’s passing in 2006. Nevertheless, this novel was one of the best reads I’ve had this year and will no doubt be more appreciated as time goes on:
And finally, my third read was a debut novel by Sierra Branham called Love Galaxy.
The title refers to an intergalactic dating show broadcast through the Expan Empire that marries off royalty. Artemis aka Temmi, has no interest in this show as she’s too busy struggling to keep her family from being tossed out into the streets. Her homeworld is literally toxic and her job as trash collector barely covers what essentials they have.
On her route, she runs into a regal couple stealing a smoke near the bins she’s supposed to collect and that less than friendly encounter leads Temmi to being a contender on Love Galaxy. The couple in question are this year’s main players, the twin siblings of the Emperor with one of them set to inherit the throne.
At first, she refuses but a secret offer of money and aid for her family has Temmi reluctantly signing on for the show. While she is meant to be courting the prince, her attraction to his feisty sister is becoming hard to ignore but are those feelings mutual and even so, a good strategy for the ultimate win?
There’s more than romantic intrigue going on as a string of strange deaths among the other contestants is being kept under wraps and some political secrets and plots to boot. Branham intends for this book to be the first in a series and it’s certainly an excellent start.
Clever writing and engaging character development are key ingredients in this sci-fi stew but the slow burn of the central romance is the fire that simmers this story towards perfection:
My thanks to Michelle Miller for hosting another great readathon and I look forward to High Summer reading later this season.
I’m taking a week or two off from blogging since things will be pretty calm on the bookish front. I do plan to return before the end of July so please watch this space!
Before I take my mini-break, I have a few words to say about the new Supergirl movie. Yes, I saw it on opening weekend and despite what you may have heard, it’s not a bad film at all.
Rather, it’s part rollicking space adventure and part emotional journey into grief and rage. The basic plot line here is as Kara copes with the loss of her world in a reckless pub crawl manner, she encounters Ruthye, whose family was murdered by vicious Brigands and is seeking revenge.
Kara defends Ruthye at a local bar but declines on taking up a revenge quest. Only when her beloved dog and fellow survivor Krypto(and as a cat person, I adore this pupper!)is poisoned by one of the worst of the Brigands, is she willing to hunt them down.
I didn’t read the graphic novel series that this was based on but while some of the adaptation changes are causing some grumbling, that’s not the main cause for complaint here.
Many find fault with the script and some insist that the main villain, Krem, is not dynamic enough. Without getting into spoilers, I think the script and the style of the movie is a lot like Kara herself; brash, funny, emotionally intelligent and kickass when needed to be.
Not every single motivation needs to be trotted out and over explained; even a sci-fi superhero story can allow for an element of mystery towards the characters there.
As for Krem, he’s mainly a catalyst for the plot and a rather nasty piece of work that you want to see defeated, so his job was well done as far as I’m concerned. There’s direct parallels to human trafficking that might make some look to recent headlines and squirm but art often times is a reflection of our shared reality and it’s not always a pretty picture.
An impactful message that this movie delivers to women and girls is that being good is far more important than being nice. You can be tough when you need to and rude if necessary but being a good person is the best. That’s something too many people don’t want to hear or others to learn but it’s the right message for these times and beyond.
Also, Lobo was fun(Jason Momoa was a great casting choice) and Milly Alcock gives an excellent performance as does Eve Ridley(Ruthye). A great standalone film that deserves more praise than censure, in my opinion.
This movie does have a different vibe than last year’s Superman and it’s supposed to! Kara’s life experiences are very much different than Clark’s and that makes for more interesting storytelling not less. Kara says it herself; “Clark sees the good in everyone and I see the truth.”
If you get the opportunity to see this in theaters, it’s very much worth your time and hard earned money. I suspect that even with the low numbers at the box office on opening weekend, Supergirl will slowly yet surely gain a wider audience from positive word of mouth and fans going back for more viewings. Give it a fair chance, that’s all I ask and you might be pleasantly surprised indeed:
As we approach the end of June and the beginning of July, the mid seasonal phenomenon known as Summerween is now upon us.
Granted, this concept is still rather new to me yet, I figure why not? The whole Christmas in July deal is so widely accepted that even the Hallmark channel makes TV movies for it, so why not have the perfect excuse to dive into horror during heatwave season?
With that in mind, I have a few reading suggestions for those seeking a good scary book in their trick or treat beach bags-first up is the newest offering from Chuck Tingle, Fabulous Bodies.
Our leading lady is Poppy, fashion influencer by day, grave robber by night (more of a Door Dash for the recently deceased, if you will).
While she’s less than thrilled about that particular side hustle and is looking to get out of that situation as quickly as can be, there’s one last job that Poppy thinks might be the one to cash out on.
That gig has her snatching the body of flashy rock star Eddie Michaels, one of her favorite singers. All goes well until Eddie rises up and insists that Poppy help him finalize a certain supernatural deal before dawn. They always say, don’t meet your heroes but Poppy is about to discover just how horribly true that can be!
The novel is due out in early July but since Summerween can extend into that month, it should definitely be worth the wait:
If you’re seeking something more readily available, Marion by Leah Rowan is out and about now.
This reimagining of the classic Psycho book and film has Marion Crane staying at the Billings Motel in upstate New York when her bus breaks down on the highway.
Her encounter with the current manager, Norm, who also takes care of his ailing mother, seems pleasant enough yet when surprised in the shower later that night, it’s Norm who winds up with his life swirling down the bathroom drain instead.
As Marion is already in enough trouble after stealing money from her boss in Manhattan in hopes of rescuing her sister from a toxic marriage, this unexpected mess is another obstacle to clean up. However, that turning of the tables gives her a sinister spark to the fuse of her inner fury that goes off in quite a deadly direction.
This just sounds great, even if you haven’t seen Psycho,as this particular twist of the genre knife to such an iconic template of terror can be fearfully refreshing indeed:
For something a little more on the gothic side of scary, there’s plenty of good word about Melissa Albert’s The Children .
Guin and her brother Ennis are best known as the inspiration for their late mother Edith’s popular fantasy novels, ironically the very work that she neglected them for.
Their response to the ongoing fandom is Guin writing a glowing memoir about her childhood but when Ennis creates an art piece that hits a little too close to home, the ghosts of their mutual past come forth to haunt them, perhaps in more ways than one.
Readers and critics alike do seem to agree that Albert’s take on the emotional impact of art in good ways and bad does make for a compelling story here. It’s already a book club favorite and who knows, it could be a chilling movie someday but for now, this certainly should do well in the theater of the mind:
Well, happy Summerween to all who celebrate and may you frolic in the fear factor you have chosen!
As for me, I’m still working on my science fiction reading challenge but perhaps next month, I can treat myself to a couple of vampire novels on my TBR that I have been meaning to get to. Vampires are perfect for summer fun after all, with the whole “Up all night/Sleep all day “ deal and very popcorn friendly…with fangs of course!:
This past weekend was quite the wild ride even for those of us who are not into sports (that said, YES, Knicks in Five!!!!!) yet there were milder pleasures to be had as well.
For example, a church in my neighborhood usually has a big tag/rummage/etc. sale twice a year-fall, then spring-but this year, their second sale was this June(due to roadwork in the area). It’s a great chance to get some great deals and when it came to books, I found a nice trio of reads to add to my eternally growing pile.
Now, I have read Nick Hornsby before yet it’s been awhile so finding a nice British paperback edition of Funny Girl was hard to resist. Set in England during the 1960s, newly crowned beauty queen Barbara Parker decides to move from her hometown in Blackpool to London in order to achieve her dream of becoming the next Lucille Ball.
Through a series of rather fortunate events, Barbara remakes herself as Stella Straw, the rising young star on a hit sitcom. But will her ambitions allow for anyone else to matter in her life?
This novel was adapted into a British TV series called Funny Woman and received at least two seasons, both of which are available to watch in the US via PBS Passport(that I thankfully have)-should be a fun read along experience to be sure!:
Then, I came across Three Days in June by Anne Tyler, another author that I haven’t read for some time. Seems a good enough time to get reacquainted here.
The three days in the title are centered around the wedding of Gail Barnes’ daughter Debbie and Gail has plenty of her own troubles without dealing with all of that.
She just lost her position at the fancy private school she worked at for thankless years, her ex-husband Max has shown up with a rescue cat that their soon-to-be son-in-law is allergic to and if that’s not enough, Debbie has dropped a major bombshell of a revelation that could change the course of everyone’s life.
Tyler is best known for low key drama with strong emotional high points when necessary and this certainly sounds like a prime example of her smartly elegant work. This ought to be a good way to get to know her again indeed:
For something completely different, Ten Restaurants That Changed America was the final course on my book buying menu that day.
Culinary historian Paul Freedman highlights this top ten of groundbreaking dining establishments from the classic Delmonico’s in New York to Antoine’s in New Orleans, more commercial venues like Howard Johnson’s and modern day icons such as Sylvia’s in Harlem, New York.
The cultural changes that each place brought to American society when it came to fine dining are showcased in loving detail along with gorgeous photos, menus and even recipes! I was so lucky to find such a nice hardcover edition like this!
I may be just a Food Network watcher (and Top Chef fan) but it is interesting to learn more about the everyday art of cooking and especially, cooking for the delight of others. No doubt that this book will be a banquet of delicious insights to savor with each turn of the page:
Books weren’t the only good buys I made that day; my haul also included some fresh bed linens, a lovely tablecloth and a pair of damaged yet repairable Disney villain figures (with help from my mom!).
Whether it’s a tag, rummage, yard or flea market sale, these secondhand shopping events are great opportunities to not only get a good buy(particularly in our harsh economic environment right now) but to connect a little with your fellow buyers and sellers in friendly commerce. I know those last two words sound like an oxymoron but it is possible, folks, truly!
Anyway, it was an extra nice way to enjoy the weekend with some bargain hunting fun outside of watching reruns of Flea Market Flip.
However, the host of FMF now has a new show on Hulu called That Thrifting Show, where teams of two compete to design living spaces with secondhand items found online and off . The winning team gets to keep everything they bought, plus the other team’s purchases as well!
It’s definitely a good time to be had if thrift shopping is your thing and yes, there is a second season n the works. For some creative comfort viewing, this show is truly a bargain to behold(plus, you can read during the commercials!):
Like everyone else, my book buying budget does have its limits(especially these days) yet I still consider it a necessity to get new reads whenever I can.
To that end, I was happy to get a June box from Book of the Month Club and to finally get one of their Centennial editions-celebrating the 100th anniversary of BOTM-which was Catcher in the Rye, a book that I haven’t read in a long time and should be an interesting cultural experience to go through again.
In addition to These Summer Storms(which I mentioned last time), my third pick was The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee. The title character here is a samurai swordswoman for an intergalactic corporation whose final ties to the company have now been severed, leading her to follow her former employer into eternal retirement.
However, the current powers that be insist that she take on one last mission which, due to personal connections, she really can’t refuse. Also, this gives Isako a shot at revenge as her former apprentice, Matim, is behind the corporate scheme that set all of this into motion.
Fonda Lee is best known for her Green Bone Saga trilogy, which I’ve wanted to get into but haven’t been successful on that front. Since this novel is a standalone, my chances of clicking with her work might be better.
With strong yet sensitive leading ladies and creative world building that Lee’s books have been highly praised for, it would be totally remiss of me not to give this story a serious try:
This past weekend, I went to my local library and after returning three books(two of them I actually finished), I only borrowed two, one of which is a cozy fantasy and the other a more ferocious one.
Julie Leong’s The Keeper of Magical Things is definitely on the milder side as we are introduced to Certainty Bulrush, whose minor magical abilities are not enough to be considered fledged mage in the guild that accepted her but potent enough for a special assignment.
She must work along side Mage Aurelia, whose off putting manner makes her difficult to say the least, in transporting a set of slightly magical items for storage in the remote village of Shpelling. They are to set up a warehouse to properly sort out the objects from counter spelling each other as well as keep an eye on the little cat dragon that followed them and maintain as low a profile as possible.
After awhile, Certainty and Aurelia not only find a way towards a friendship, they also grow to believe that some of the packed away items might be more useful out in the regular world. Can they discover a path to truly make that happen or will they bring down more trouble on their heads?
Leong’s earlier novel, The Teller of Small Fortunes, is on my BOTM reading challenge list(that I hope to get to very soon!) and I was going to wait until I read that one first but with both books being standalone stories(set in the same universe)it didn’t make sense to wait that long. Besides, these novels sound like total delights and why should I deny myself the joys of such an enchanting world:
The other library loan is quite the massive volume but having read Joe Hill before, it ought to be relatively fast paced.
King Sorrow begins with college student Arthur who is being blackmailed into stealing rare books from the university library and the only solution that he and his friends can think of is to summon the title dragon demon to rid them of their enemies.
Trouble is, King Sorrow demands an annual tribute for his services and as the years go by, the price becomes more difficult to pay. Can Arthur and company rally again to end this ongoing nightmare or are their real problems just getting started?
I’ve heard nothing but elaborate praise from critics and readers alike about this book and even if I completely exhaust my renewal options here, there is no doubt in my mind that this will totally be worth it. Plus, given the state of things right now, conjuring up a dragon doesn’t sound that bad:
Speaking of libraries, I must say a few words about the recent passing of a favorite fictional librarian who helped a certain Slayer save the world a lot.
Anthony Stewart Head had many featured acting roles in his life and career, starting with a series of coffee commercials that inspired a novel to roles in fantasy shows like Merlin, comedies such as Ted Lasso and even a Jane Austen adaptation (2007’s Persuasion).
However, he is and will be best remembered as Watcher Rupert Giles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, who began as the hapless school librarian at Sunnydale High and then later an owner of the local magic shop( which as one character noted had the longevity potential of a Spinal Tap drummer).
His blend of extensive knowledge, sharp movements of sarcasm and fatherly love for his charges made him a key player in this often changing yet steadfast supernatural drama that more than one generation calls their emotional home.
During these past few days, I have seen numerous fans and contemporaries give him nothing but absolute praise for his generous nature on and off screen and so many people crediting Giles with the reason they become librarians and that’s quite the legacy indeed.
It is beyond sad to see good folks leave us for worlds unknown yet it can be comforting to discover the positive impact they left for us, no matter how small it might seem.
Anthony Stewart Head was a fine figure of a person who used his artistic talents to breathe life into what could’ve easily been a stock character and made him someone worth living up to, flaws and all. Plus, instilling a love of literary based knowledge in the bargain is a great bonus, even if it’s a bit smelly:
Glad to be back in the blogging game again and hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend there!
Well, June is bursting out all over with great books and bookish plans for the summer season, some of my own literary online projects I would like to share here today.
One of my big seasonal blog events is Autumn in August, where I watch and discuss movies/TV shows that have that fall feeling, especially during those overheated dog days at the end of summer.
This year, I thought that this was the perfect time for me to watch the latest adaptation of John Galsworthy’s The Forsyte Saga that aired on PBS a few months ago.
Simply titled The Forsytes , this series has a stellar cast with the likes of Francesca Annis, Stephen Moyer and Eleanor Tomlinson on board and unlike other versions, is not a one and done deal. This is only Season one, with season two already being filmed and a third season in the works.
I’ve read the massive book(it’s several books and short stories collected in one volume) that this generational tale of a Victorian family dealing with their particular set of secrets and lies is based upon and no, not doing a reread of that right now-my TBR is overflowing as it is!-mainly to enjoy this take on that story on its own terms.
I suspect that the success of The Gilded Age (so excited for Season Four!) helped to bring this fresh look at the Forsytes along and that’s just wonderful, if you ask me. Nothing like a little historical fiction friction to liven up those warm weather days to come:
Speaking of English high drama, I’m also planning to revisit Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park as a duet reading with a similarly themed book(more on that in a moment).
Before I started my book buying break last month, I did treat myself to a new edition of MP, a Penguin Classic Deluxe, to be precise. Since I only have Emma in this particular edition series (a very nice review copy from the publisher) and really like the cover art done for this one, it’s as good an excuse as any for a reread.
Of course, that’s not the only reason for taking another another stroll through Mansfield; Fanny Price is a rather misunderstood heroine in the Austen cannon and while she might not be as lively as Lizzie Bennet or Emma Woodhouse, her quiet strength and steadfast demeanor puts her in good company with such ladies as Elinor Dashwood and my absolute favorite, Anne Eliot.
It is a shame that Fanny doesn’t get many good options when it comes to love(Edmund Bertram is the weakest tea when it comes to Austen leading men).
Sometimes, I wonder if Fanny could’ve made a go of it with Mr. Rushworth-they did spend time together during that play debacle and while he’s a bit of a doofus, Mr. Rushworth was certainly not a mean guy. Well, perhaps my mind will change in that regard although one thing is for certain here and that is Aunt Norris is the WORST!:
Part of the reason for my MP revisit is that I am catching up on Claudia Gray’s Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney mystery series with my next read being The Rushworth Family Plot.
If you’re not familiar with this series, it takes place in a reality where all of Austen’s characters interact with each other and our amateur sleuths are the eldest son of Darcy and Elizabeth(Jonathan) and the daughter of Henry Tilney and Catherine Morland (Juliet). The young couple do have romantic feelings for each other yet the nature of their investigations does keep them from getting too involved in that quarter, for the moment…
This time out, Jonathan and Juliet are paying a call on Edmund and Fanny when news of an alarming nature concerning Mr. Rushworth reaches them, not to mention a certain family member coming back into the Bertram’s lives with equally shocking information. Can our detective duo assist in righting these matters or will this family scandal simply never end?
As I said, I do pity Mr. Rushworth a little despite his silliness and simple nature. Of course he would be the target of another sorry scheme but hopefully, some justice will be done for him here.
I do enjoy this series-a new entry entitled The Fatal Unpleasantness at Netherfield is due out soon-and happy to see Mansfield Park get some more recognition in the reimagining genre:
In the meantime, I have made a good start in Seasons of Reading’s Sci-Fi Summer readathon (The Courtship of Princess Leia is a fun ride so far) yet I am already setting up shop for the next readathon on the schedule.
In August, SOR has the High Summer readathon and my big idea for thst one is to read books that have the word Summer in the title. Yeah, a bit on the nose to be sure but there are two books on my waiting to be read pile that meet that requirement and I just added a new one to my June Book of the Month Club box.
These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean actually deals with a family named Storm and yes, their relationships are rocky indeed. We meet Alice first, a school teacher heading back to her family’s island home after the sudden death of her father.
On her way there, she has a brief hookup with a rather handsome stranger named Jack who turns out to be the manager of her late father’s business affairs. Alice, along with her mother and other siblings, have certain tasks to accomplish in order to receive their inheritance and Alice’s main assignment is to stay at the house for one week.
That is truly easier said than done and oddly enough, Jack also being there does make it somewhat more bearable. Can more than one broken bond be mended here or should Alice make the choice that’s really right for her and her alone?
Word of mouth for this book has been great and it does sound like an excellent beach read that should burn down the metaphorical house indeed:
Whatever your summer plans are, do allow yourself to have a little fun. With all of the chaos surrounding us these days, recharging your emotional batteries is important to maintain your spirits. Do what you can reasonably do that is safe, affordable and entertaining but refuse to let others force you into their misery.
That being said, I’m probably going to watch the Tony Awards this weekend, despite their being on a certain negative network. My big reason for is to see the big musical number for The Lost Boys, which is up for several awards including Best Musical.
Yes, THAT Lost Boys, the 1987 summer vampire film featuring the Coreys and Richard Gilmore as a vampire king is a big Broadway show with original songs(guess it was too expensive to get the movie soundtrack rights) and flying vampires on stage!
I just have to see that live on TV and then avoid that channel like Dracula dodges the sun ! Please forgive me in advance but sometimes, you gotta dive into some whimsy when and where you can:
With the fast approach of our first big hot weather holiday weekend, the time has come for Seasons of Reading’s Sci-Fi Summer readathon sign-ups to begin!
As hosted by Michelle Miller, this readathon is meant to be science fiction centric with fantasy also included in the mix. Usually, my TBR for this event is mostly fantasy forward but this year, all of my books for this challenge are definitely Category: Science Fiction!
My first pick was a rummage sale find that instantly caught my eye; a Star Wars novel by Dave Wolverton entitled The Courtship of Princess Leia.
This story is set in the aftermath of the original film trilogy where despite achieving a major victory against the Empire, the rebels are still fighting some of the last remnants of the former regime.
Leia has the opportunity to bring a major power player to their side but the Queen Mother of that realm insists that Leia marry her son Prince Isoldar as the price for that bargain.
Before she makes her decision on that, Han talks Leia into a mission on distant planet Dathomir, which is just an excuse for him to win her over romantically. Luke winds up forming an alliance with Isoldar to track them down in the interest of peace and all of this leads to trouble and chaos in more ways than one.
As a Star Wars fan, this just looks like fun and I’ve heard that it’s very entertaining to say the least. I really haven’t gotten into the Star Wars novels(quite the vast universe there) but Princess Leia is my all time favorite character from SW and her romance with scruffy nerf herder Han Solo is one for the ages, so how could I resist?:
Next up is one of my recent Aardvark selections that I decided to save for this occasion. Love Galaxy is a debut novel by Sierra Branham that takes reality romance shows to new intergalactic heights.
Artemis is struggling to keep her mother alive on the trash haul planet they reside on when a chance encounter with royalty gets her an invitation to participate in the title competition to win the heart of Prince Nix.
The money she can receive for taking part in this contest would be more than enough to help her mother and improve their lives yet it’s not the only reason that Artemis is willing to say yes. The prince’s sister Spielan is another serious inducement as well.
As the competition goes on, things become more complicated as the mysterious death of another contestant may have political implications that threatens to endanger all involved. Can Artemis keep her focus on what’s going on or should she get out before her time is prematurely up?
This book is the first in a series that does sound great and I love the genre blending that should make for a tasty sci-fi cocktail with a splash of strawberry storytelling flavor:
To round this reading pile out, I went with another Aardvark book that may require me to do a classic reread for my own personal refresher needs.
K.M. Farjado’s Local Heavens takes The Great Gatsby and sets that table at a cyberpunk party in New York of 2075.
Here, Nick Caraway takes on a corporate espionage job that brings him into the path of his unhappily married cousin Daisy who happens to be the former love interest of his target, mysterious billionaire Jay Gatsby.
Using his skills in cyberspace, Nick becomes heavily invested in reuniting Jay and Daisy, especially with the encouragement given by their new friend Jordan whose interest in body modification goes beyond his professional athlete status. However, the price for such high tech matchmaking is higher than any being ever imagined.
While I’m not the biggest F. Scott Fitzgerald fan, this new spin on his iconic tale of ambition and class is inspiring me to not only to read this book but to take the original novel out for a spin again.
It may not be necessary to do a Gatsby reread(only read it the once a long time ago)to enjoy Farjado’s debut here yet it just might be a nice background soundtrack for this reimagining indeed:
The Sci-Fi Summer readathon starts on June 1 and there’s a special three day reading event for Juneteenth scheduled (for more details, I have a link to the SOR sign-up section in the first paragraph of this post ) and there’s plenty of time to join in the bookish fun this summer season.
Next week, I’m taking a mini blog break due to Memorial Day weekend so I will see you all in June. Until then, it’s good to remember that despite the increasing chaos out in the wider world-as well as too close for comfort at home-that we do need to take some time out to enjoy a little bit of life as much as we can.
You don’t have to make elaborate plans either; my big holiday expectations are to watch a new comedy special by Josh Johnson and to finally get to watch Maggie Gyllenhaal’s wild ride with Mary Shelley in The Bride!
This Frankenstein meets Bonnie & Clyde movie is probably going to be a mixed bag of media delights at best but I suspect there is plenty of freaky fun to be had here. Plus, this mad science romp should be a nice way to get my Sci-Fi Summer off to a roaring start:
While I am taking a break from book buying this month, that doesn’t mean I can’t do a little borrowing from my local library to help me curb any new book cravings there!
My latest library visit lead to a nice trio of novels that should liven up my spring reading and I’m already in the midst of one of them here; Beth is Dead by Katie Bernet, a debut YA novel that reimagines the Louisa May Alcott classic.
Yes, Beth March has died at the beginning of this story set in our present day and even before her untimely demise was rather famous as a character in the book written by her father( entitled Little Women, of course) which strangely enough, had Beth dying as well.
Since the book became controversial due to their father openly basing it on the real lives of his four daughters , he left town for awhile yet might be a suspect although most folks are hard pressed to believe that gentle, shy Beth had any enemies.
Determined to find answers and not trusting the police, particularly a certain detective, Jo decides to seek the truth out herself.
While plenty of their friends and relatives do have something to hide(especially her younger sister Amy, who took Beth to a party that night and Meg, whose college career is more complicated than anyone in her family knows)the secrets and lies that are revealed could either lead to mending hearts or destroying many other lives in the process.
As a longtime fan of the Alcott original, I’ve wanted to dive into this book as soon as I heard about it . Based on what I have read so far, Berber clearly knows the source material by heart and has crafted an engaging narrative that mixes Little Women with a CW style teen drama and yes, that is intended to be a compliment!
The smart and savvy storytelling doesn’t hesitate to keep the strong emotional notes held by the characters in tune while arranging them into her own operatic composition. I am trying not to rush through the book as such a modern blend with old fashioned flavor deserves to be slowly sipped as any storyteller’s brew ought to be:
Meanwhile, during that last library visit, I came a new Jane Austen themed novel from Gil Hornby(who wrote the lovely Miss Austen, a recent BBC/PBS adaptation) that was another must have for me.
The Elopement has as it’s leading lady Mary Dorothea Knatchbull, who becomes the stepdaughter of Jane Austen’s niece Fanny Knight once her father marries into the family.
At first, Mary is less than thrilled about this new extension of her family line but as time goes on , she begins to make friends with some of her new cousins and even Aunt Cassandra, who has some helpful hints to share about life and love.
When Mary becomes of age, those hints prove to be more useful than she ever imagined and like many an Austen heroine, she must make a choice between listening to sensible advice or following the sensibilities of her heart.
As I did greatly enjoy the Miss Austen miniseries and wound up reading one of Hornby’s other Austen family books (Godmersham Park), this new look at classic romance felt like the perfect page turning party to attend this season:
Speaking of romance, my last pick was Say You‘ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez.
When Samantha meets Xavier, it’s not a magic moment at first due to his diagnosis of a wounded kitten at his veterinary clinic.
However, they do find some common ground (yes, the cat gets better) and after one wild time in an escape room, the possibility of love is definitely in the air.
Unfortunately, Samantha must move back home to help her mother out(she has Alzheimer’s disease) and forces herself to break things off with Xavier before they get too serious about each other.
That doesn’t deter Xavier from trying to make a long distance relationship work, down to sharing musical playlists and providing emotional support when needed. Can their love really hold up under such pressure or should they truly go their separate ways?
Jimenez knows how to create realistic romantic couples that you can’t help but root for despite their situation and this sounds like a bittersweet joy to behold here:
Well, my bookish needs certainly feel met for the moment but rest assured, I will be back in buying mode for summer reads all too soon.
To wrap this post up, I just wanted to share my thoughts about the new movie version of Wuthering Heights that I watched on HBO Max the other week.
Let me start off by saying that I am NOT a big fan of the original Emily Bronte novel-read it once and once was enough-more of a Jane Eyre person( and yes, I need to read more Charlotte Bronte).
However, that doesn’t mean that I can’t appreciate a good film adaptation of WH such as the iconic 1939 movie with Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon and the 1992 rendition starring Ralph Finnes and Juliette Binoche. Those films made changes from the source material yet still managed to invoke the spirit of the original work successfully enough to inspire viewers and readers alike for generations.
This current movie has it’s fans, no doubt, yet this fever dream take on the doomed love story and the traumatic consequences of that relationship is more fever than dream and not in a good way.
Setting aside the casting controversy, many of the changes made by writer/director Emerald Fennell(whose original film Promising Young Woman, I did like) just seem to be nonsensical; the wallpaper meant to look exactly like Cathy’s skin, a reoccurring bit between Cathy and Heathcliff to hide eggs under the bedcovers as a gag, the costumes that would be over the top even at the Met Gala?
I don’t even want to get into how Heathcliff turns into some BookTok Shadow Daddy(I know his character is supposed to be disturbing but this was repulsive in more ways than one) or how Nelly Dean seemed to be most sympathetic character out of the bunch.
If this was meant to be some sort of satire or twisted homage to old school Hollywood adaptations of classic books, I could be onboard with that yet Fennell insists that was her teenage fantasy take on the novel, one that I hope no one uses as a source for a book report there!
It’s a shame that such an immature overblown version like this got a green light in the first place. Look, I’m all for adding a new creative touch to classic material but when I’m reading a great updated take like Beth Is Dead and then seeing what a hot mess this version of WH is, the disappointment is great indeed.
On the positive side, the original songs created by Charli xcx for the movie are awesome and could’ve been a better blueprint for what this Wuthering Heights could have been; a gothic chiller with haunting flair.
Perhaps this take on Emily Brontë ‘s work will inspire a more thoughtful and innovative film in the future. My best recommendation is to just stick with the soundtrack and watch an earlier WH movie or play this music along with your favorite adaptation instead-now, that’s imaginative meta mixing there!:
