Just to make sure there are cross-references from one fun thing to another, here’s a reminder that my book list of titles to be read (or reread) in 2012 is over at Pinterest >>
And, on occasion, I contribute to the wonderful writing community over at Scribbler’s Cove >> so be sure to check them out if you have an inclination toward the art of the written lie. 
This is the first book in a new series by Orson Scott Card (author of Ender’s Game). It is (I think) his first book that they’ve actively marketed as YA, although Ender’s Game is admittedly loved by all ages and stages.
Pathfinder is a bit of a genre blend, with some mystical/fantastic elements like (more-or-less) magical talents and some sci-fi tropes like space and time travel.
Main character Rigg has always had a unique ability to see living things with a path trailing behind them. Initially, this is only helpful in tracking animals with his father, but soon he finds that the luminous trails are echos of where that person (or animal) has been in the past.
Once he teams up with another boy who has the ability to manipulate time, things get pretty interesting.
The scope grows with the story, becoming heroic – epic, but in the hands of such a seasoned storyteller I didn’t get lost, nor did I stop caring what happened to the individuals I started the journey with.
If you are familiar with sci-fi / fantasy, I think you’ll enjoy Pathfinder. If you’re used to mainstream YA, you may struggle with the pacing. He explains the background of civilizations, though not in as thick a way as old sci-fi. It does feel like modern sci-fi, but I have to argue with the designation of YA.
It isn’t paced as YA. The jacket and dimensions definitely don’t feel YA. It doesn’t contain any R-rated content so it works nicely as a crossover, but if I were a sixteen-year-old sci-fi lover, I would be looking for this book on the regular adult sci-fi shelf, not among the girly vampire romances that still plague the young adult section.
I picked Pathfinder up off a center display table at Barnes & Noble that featured discounted big-name books… so I fear Pathfinder has not been selling well. I feel sure this is because of the jacket treatment, et al. Also, I didn’t find a word count on this tome, but it feels to be well over 100k, thickness akin to Harry Potter 7, which also may dissuade readers.
Which is too bad. It’s a well-handled story that you can sink into and enjoy for a week of evening reading. None of those false, tricky hooks that make you blaze through it at lightening speed (like Hunger Games) while neglecting house and home — those types of books are starting to really annoy me. I do have a life, after all.
My only complaint was that after the satisfying “end”, Card has a final reveal and sets us up for book 2 in a sort-of tacked on way. This is something that always makes me want to wait until a series is all written before I begin. But oh, well. I’ll be reading book 2 to see how Rigg and his cohorts meet their next big battles.
I was first introduced to Neil Gaiman — or perhaps I should say, Neil Gaiman’s works — when a full-size cardboard cutout of Claire Danes stared glossily down at me at the movie theater. I hadn’t seen her in a few years, and never satisfyingly since her brilliant role in short-lived TV series My So-Called Life*.
So here she was, dressed head-to-toe in a silver gown with long, silver-blonde hair, obviously starring in a magical story of some sort. Well, I was more than right, as she was playing a LITERAL star, in a quirky fantasy based on the novel Stardust by Neil Gaiman. Check out the movie if you haven’t, you’ll be treated to Robert De Niro in a corset and Michelle Pfieffer with one sagging breast.
I later picked up my first Neil novel of the same title and enjoyed it very much. Technically, I listened to it, and he is an excellent reader of his works, as well. I went on to sample a few more of his works for children, but didn’t get into much of his adult fiction.
Until this past week.
I needed more audio for my trip to Yellowstone, and on the library shelf was Anansi Boys. I was hoping for the flashier, much-talked-about American Gods, but I grabbed Anansi Boys anyway.
I was disappointed when I put in the first CD and realized Neil was not reading this audiobook, but in time I realized that it was perfect having it read by Lenny Henry. His voicing of the Carribean accents was wonderful.
But on the story itself — I get the feeling that this book is not people’s favorite Gaiman story. It’s strange, it’s quirky, it deals with the gods of African tales and ghosts and sweet old-lady witches. I get the feeling there’s been some confusion about where to shelve this book, though it is clearly adult fiction with an adult main character, Fat Charlie. Fat Charlie is leading a kind of ho-hum life, but he loves and wants to marry a sweet girl who insists on him reconnecting with his father for the upcoming wedding. He soon finds out that his father has died, and when he goes to Florida for the funeral he finds out that the father he was always so embarrassed by was actually the trickster god Anansi — the spider.
From there, a major can of spiders is opened when Fat Charlie invites the “brother”** he never knew he had to come visit him. Interspersed in the narrative is the occasional story about Anansi the spider and the other gods, and I have to say, the first one left me and my family roaring… gales of laughter, I tell you. It was then we knew this was a specially-woven fabric of story. It’s not just about one man — though you do cheer for this poor guy by the end — it’s about a bunch of ordinary people experiencing extraordinary things. It ties up neater than a professional gift-wrap at the end, too. I loved it.***
* Note that I don’t usually link you to some boring summary of media I reference in my reviews… I usually hand-pick a youtube clip that I feel represents it… and so it is, here. So follow them, often! (they open in new windows)
** You’ll see why I quoted “brother” when you read (or hear) the book.
*** I’d say this is a 14 and up read for language and some sexual inferences. Didn’t bother my kids, though.
I came across this post at the Seattle Library blog, about how cover (and interior) art has changed over time for some tried-and-true favorites. The blog-writer lays in to such drastic changes as Arthur, who had a very long nose in the ’70′s but is not even discernible as an aardvark on today’s covers:
Extreme Makeover: Picture Book Characters Edition | Shelf Talk >>
‘Tis sad, for those of us who pair a memory of lilting prose with the mood of particular illustrations. I was elated a few years ago to find that one of my childhood favorites was still in print, and I ordered several copies (online, not noticing the pictures much). When the box came, I was surprised to learn that my favorite little witch (and her ghost friend) looked nothing like I remembered. Here she is, then and now, The Witch Who Was Afraid of Witches:
This is an awesome little picture book, in either form. Get it now for Halloween reading!
This one gets five nods from me!
Fortunately, Ira Sleeps Over has remained true. Interestingly, my favorite illustration in this book turned out to be the same one my daughter loves. There’s nothing special about the page, just Ira and his sister setting the table for dinner. The power of great images… and paired with great words, nothing better!
This one also gets five nods from me!
Sometimes, the changes are fun, though. My sister bought me, for Christmas, my number one favorite (early) childhood story, which had traditionally been one of the “other stories” in The Sneeches. It is now a standalone with glow-in-the-dark ink, no less: What was I Scared of? which is perhaps better known as “Pale Green Pants with Nobody Inside Them”. I can still recite this from memory. Thankfully, no well-meaning moneyperson has decided that the strange Dr. Seuss animals need a makeover for modern readers!
Five nods from me!
What are your childhood favorites?? Are they still around?
Is this the future of magazine publishing? Of books?
What is that? E-reader on steroids?
