City of Dreaming Books

The City of Dreaming Books
by Walter Moers
Published by Overlook Press
September 2007
(hits paperback in August)

The City of Dreaming Books is my pick for "Best All-around Book of 2007." My usual description of it reads like something from William Goldman's The Princess Bride: "Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passions. Miracles." Ok, there aren't beautiful ladies, and fencing is generally left out, but the rest stands true.

Don't be fooled, this is not a story for children. This is a book for people who love books. It is a fantasy set in the land of Zamonia and told to us by a young writer named Optimus Yarnspinner, a dinosaur who travels to Bookholm in search of the author of a manuscript left to him by his godfather. Bookholm is a city built on the book industry with thousands of bookstores and coffee shops, publishers everywhere, people reading on the streets and an underground labyrinth full of hidden libraries and the dangerous Shadow King.

Oh, and this books is beautiful. Walter Moers is a brilliant cartoonist as well as a fabulous writer. The words dance off the pages. This book is comparable to flourless chocolate cake: rich, smooth and goes wonderfully with strawberries. I have no higher praise.

Truck: a love story

Truck: a love story
By Micheal Perry
Published by Harper Perennial
July 2007

Ever had a project you wanted to accomplish but lacked the tools or ability? Want to read a love story that has none of that gushy stuff? Read Truck: a love story by Michael Perry and you'll be more than satiated, not to mention laughing out loud every couple pages.

Perry is a journalist who has simple wants: to fix his truck, to not kill his garden and, though he may not have known it, to find a good woman. He is a man who takes pride in inventing the Unified Laundry System (just buy gray socks and wash everything together) and gets teary eyed at Funeral Blues by Auden (but then, who doesn't).

"Feel-good, laugh-out-loud read" and "A lovable love story"

Rabid: a Novel

Rabid: a Novel
By T. K. Kenyon
Published by Kunati Inc
April 2007

Fiction ripped from the headlines: child-molesting priests plus lethal viruses equals a creative thriller. T. K. Kenyon is a product of the University of Iowa's Writers Workshop with background in Biology; both of which came in useful in her first novel. She doesn't shy from graphic details of lab experiments combined with power gone wrong, nor does she hesitate to push the Catholic sex-scandal to its imaginative limits.

"Good writing" and "I'll have to pick this up again in six months" with a bonus "I look forward to her next project"

House of Leaves

House of Leaves
By Mark Z. Danielewski
Published by Pantheon Books
2000

Call it an experimental novel, call it a graphic post-postmodern attempt to recreate fiction, just be sure to call it good storytelling. In House of Leaves the story follows four story-lines in a delicate weaving of 1. a non-existing documentary 2. a criticism of said documentary 3. commentary on the criticism of the documentary and 4. edits on the commentary on the crit.. you get the idea. The book is fragmented yet whole because the stories, though they never really come together, manage to affect each other in a trickle down pattern.

Here is enough of the story to get you hooked: 1. There is a house owned by a photographer and his family that inexplicably changes in proportions (entirely on the inside without reflecting the changes on the outside). A door appears with a hallway that the photographer wants to explore. This hallway turns into a frightening series of shifting tunnels and rooms and crazy things happen. 2. This film is being criticized by an old blind man. BLIND MAN who thinks his apartment is shifting as well. He dies (naturally? creepily?) and his writings are found and put in order by 3. Johnny, a twenty-something loser who parties a lot. He comments both on the old man's work as well as his own doings (i.e. his crush on a stripper). Johnny starts going a little crazy. 4. There is a sweet index.

Do you really need to know anymore?

"Beautiful product" and "Dynamite storytelling" and "Sublime reading experience"

Devils in the Sugar Shop

Devils in the Sugar Shop
By Tim Schaffert
Published by Unbridled Books
May 2007

Though the author was entertaining at his signing event in Des Moines, the book's content made it difficult to hand-sell. I'm not a huge fan of books that try to put "fun" back into "dysfunctional." Comical at times, depressing at others, Devils in the Sugar Shop would be for a reader looking for an experience outside of mainstream-fiction.

"Different" and "Interesting"

Messages

Messages
By Jennifer Luing-Schafer
Published by iUniverse.com
March (?) 2008

For about $600 and a little time anyone can publish a manuscript and receive a set of books featuring a genuine ISBN. For some people this is a great opportunity to do a small printing for family and friends. It also allows an author to skip the publishing world drama and try for success outside of the mainstream book distributors.

When it comes to Messages however, I wonder if the world of self-publishing shouldn't have a gate-keeper. I'm not suggesting anything too severe, perhaps an editor to make sure the first sentence is grammatically correct before bestowing "book-ship" upon a piece of work.

Messages is a story of two teenage girls who come across a Ouija board and become involved with an evil spirit. The rest is a jumble of poor grammar with an incoherent storyline. It's told as if a child was asked to describe her worst nightmares and then the book was translated from some foreign language. I feel sorry for the English teachers the author thanks in the dedication.

I rarely write negative reviews, but the story didn't scare me nearly as much as the writing. This book is a warning to would-be authors: be careful what you publish. Someone might read it.

I've missed me too

This is not a figment of your imagination. I have a year's worth of books to review! Time to start losing sleep again!