Creepy Schoolgirl Edition

Were you frightened by Picnic at Hanging Rock?

 

(You bloody well should have been. That shiz was craaaaaaazy)

But wished that it had more caves and happened in the 1960s?

The Golden Day by Ursula Dubosarsky

Then this Australian melancholy school-girl disappearing act is for you.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

The Ocean at The End of the Lane isn't quite like any other Neil Gaiman book I've read, and I've read them all.

It's spooky, but not about the dead, like The Graveyard Book. It occasionally fills you with existential dread, like American Gods, but on a much smaller, homelier scale. And it puts you in mind of secret worlds, but much earthier ones than Neverwhere. Also there's a lot more in the way of baked goods.

Your Morning Peruse

Queen of Canada, Margaret Atwood's MaddAddam has dropped and is ready to traumatize your eyes.

Maggie "I Am the Danger" Atwood

If you haven't picked up an Atwood since high school, Book Riot has this handy dandy flowchart to meet all your Momma Maggie needs.

(But totally start with The Blind Assassin. It's so good)

Bookslingers in Brief #3

Fantastic Mr. Fox: Theft is totally okay if you are stealing from terrible people. Notably alcoholics, short people and individuals who subsist on a diet of chicken are fair game.

Saga: Damn. It really is that good. It's been ages since something has not only deserved the hype but deserves more hype.

Also, that is one seriously naked space troll.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO NAKED.

Your Morning Peruse

BEST NEWS EVERYBODY!

Tony Cliff is doing a second Deliah Dirk book.

If you haven't read Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant you need to get thineself to a book emporium. Because it is the prettiest, flashiest, funniest adventure comic that ever was.

Tintin can only dream of being as bad-ass as Deliah Dirk. Indiana Jones wishes he was a cool as her.  Flashman's mustache droops in shame compared to the flip-off-to-gravity that her is hairdo.

You can check out the first few chapters on the Deliah Dirk website but really, you shouldn't be cheating yourself by not acquiring the entire book.

Also, FLYING SHIPS!

Review: We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo

Every year when the Man Booker Prize longlist is announced, I think to myself: "I should read all those book and be an intellectual person that people see on the street and think: 'My goodness! There goes a well-read intellectual person.'"

This has never happened. The reading bit or the stranger admiration.

But, it's that time of year again and so I am here to talk about We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo.

Your Morning Peruse

Possibly the most brilliant literary interpretation you will see this morning (NSFW language):


SparkNotes can suck it.

Your Morning Peruse

Three Panel Book Review is my new favourite thing. You should check it out.

Lizzie agrees.

What has Miss Corene Been Up To While Waiting for the Doctor Who Announcement?

Mostly reading cozy mysteries with the MOST RIDICULOUS TITLES:

Buried in a Bog by Sheila Connolly

In which someone is indeed someone is buried. In a bog.

Clobbered by Camembert by Avery Aames

Which contains within it the most absurd murder method ever written. Worth reading just to get to the reveal and the hysterical fit that follows.

A Spoonful of Murder by Connie Archer

Sounds like a prescription from an evil doctor: "Take one spoonful of murder and have your grief-stricken relatives call the funeral director in the morning."

But the All-Time Most Ludicrous Cozy Mystery Title has a clear winner:

Assaulted Pretzel by Laura Bradford

When my hold came in at the library for this book, my coworkers and I laughed so hard. So hard.

I love you, cozy mysteries. Never change.

Game of Thrones: Vampiric Edition

Looks like Keanu Reeves isn't the only immortal walking among us.

Michelle Fairley - CONFIRMED VAMPIRE