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By Dave barry and Ridley Pearson, narrated by Jim Dale

So this is the sequel to Peter and the Star Catchers but this time I was aware of what was going on. Hooray for me. This is an excellent example of young adult fiction that lends itself well to the adult genre. The story starts with Peter and the Lost Boys on Mollusk Island (Never Never Land). Peter has taken to taunting Black Stash, now dubbed Captain Hook by Peter (for the hook that replaced his right hand after Mr. Grin ate it) Peter is a bit cocky and terribly risky when the story starts out but soon enough learns his lesson.

When the bad men show up on the island looking for the Star Stuff (featured in the first book) Peter learns that they are planning to kidnap and ransom his friend (and love interest?) Molly at her home in London. So he decides to save the day. He hitches a ride back to London with the bad guys (and Tink in tow) whereupon many evils befall him. Oh poor Peter, he’s an idiot, but a well meaning idiot so we love him all the more.

Barry and Pearson do an excellent job spinning this tale. The characters are developed act within their own character and Tinkerbelle has a fouler mouth than any of us had suspected, although really we only hear bells. Jim Dale’s talent lends the story excitement and suspense, keeping the listener on the edge of thier seat. Not a great thing when you’re in traffic, but so much more preferable to Classic Rock (IS that Freedom Rock? Well, turn it up!) I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a Harry Potter fan.

By Francis Dick, Narrated by Simon Prebble

There is a Horse and jockey on the front cover of this audio book so I guess I thought this book would be about…well… horse racing. And it was, sort of. But mainly it was about a boy, Benedict Julliard and his father who is running for MP of Hoopwestern (England – we yanks don’t have MP’s outside the military, donchano) Now, I am not particularly interested in A) Horse racing or B) Politics and I was surprised at myself that I had picked this book off the shelf. What led me to do that? I have no idea.

So it was pleasant to realize that this book had me in it’s grip from the first cd. I really enjoyed the character study throughout and was impressed with the author’s ability to weave a mystery where no mystery is really involved. People don’t like people and that’s about the sum of it but Dick makes all those little interactions between people interesting.

Of course it helps if you have Simon Prebble reading your story for you. Prebble is an incredible narrator and this is just another example of why you should be listening to audio books.

By Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, narrated by Jim Dale

It took me almost three full disks before I realized what this book was. It is such an inventive and roundabout way of telling this same old story that I didn’t pick up on it even though the main character’s name Peter traveling on a ship named the “Neverlander” It wasn’t until they introduced the bad guy’s sidekick that it dawned on me – “Smee? Isn’t that the First Mate from Peter Pan?” OH DAMN! I Get it NOW! So, with that out of the way I was looking for more and more points that fit with the only Peter Pan story I know from childhood. I speak, of course, of the Disney animated motion picture. You know the one with the goofy pirates and the terribly racist savages on the island. Well, guess what? This isn’t just a retelling of any old Peter Pan, Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson took that very same Disney version and wove it into something more sinister and wonderful and with an explanation for everything from how the Savages came to the island to the origin of Tinkerbell. Then they had Jim Dale (of Harry Potter fame) narrate it.

Since Barry is a coauthor on this book and it’s interesting to note where his humor pops up throughout. I think my favorite line is during a fight on the beach where one of the bad guys is getting licking. And the thinks to himself:

“Children are beating me senseless with coconuts.”

Dale delivers this line so well that I almost missed a green light for laughing so hard. If you like Harry Potter than I whole-heartedly suggest you listen to, or read this book. Jim Dale does such an excellent job with Smee that I would choose the audio version over print, but either way, I think you’ll like the story.

November 27, 2006

Actually, it all started on Sunday, November 26, 2006. Brian and I were reveling in our child-free Sunday morning sleep-in. Catfish was over on the peninsula visiting grandparents for a few days and, legally, we were required to sleep until at least 9 am. This was no problem for me, I like to sleep in. We woke up slowly and read for a bit. As I was climbing into the shower we were talking over our plans for the day. Mid-sentence Brian exclaimed “Hold on a minute. I’ll be right back!”

Two seconds later I hear a “Nu-uh! COME QUICK AND LOOK AT THIS!” I raced back into my housecoat and ran out into the living room. All over the yard, the street, the neighbor’s yard, hell – all over everything was a lovely thick blanket snow. And it was still coming down fast in big fat flakes. I yelled in surprise. We never get snow in November here. Currently, Seattle is angling for the wettest November in recorded history but no one said anything about snow. Or maybe they had. I don’t watch TV or listen to news radio. This is helpful if you want to stay sane but figuring out the weather is always a bit of a bitch.

(more…)

When I was a kid I it troubled me that people would work on Christmas. I thought about it and thought about it and I decided that Christian people didn’t work on Christmas because it was a holiday. So, the only people left to work on Christmas were Jewish people (I didn’t know of any other religions) So I assumed that only Jewish people could/would work on Christmas because they didn’t celebrate the holiday. 

I also used to think that spiders lived inside dandelions. But only because Stacy Chirdesky told me they did.

By Quinn Fawcett, narrated by Simon Prebble

This is a Mycroft Holmes novel. That means that Quinn Fawcett decided to take the character of Sherlock Holme’s older brother and develop some history, a persona and a bit of a rogueish nature around the elder Holmes boy and run with it. The result is quite a fun little read (or narrative). Whereas Sherlock is always running around telling Watson how all the clues point to how the Butler did it because he had stone ground mustard on his sandwich at dinnertime, Mycroft Holmes send his assistant, Guthrie, out into the world to be deviled by something called “The Brotherhood”, a secret society based on the Kabala and bent on no less than the total annihilation of government as we know it. And they are mean. They even perform a human sacrifice (I told you they were mean)

This was a pretty fast paced book and relatively easy to follow. The bad guys were truly B-A-D bad and the good guys were kinda bad too. All except Holmes and Guthrie that is, those guys are golden. If you are looking for a little diversion from the weather around this time of year, settle in front of a nice fire with a cup of spiked cocoa and this book. It promises to be an enjoyable evening.

By William Peter Blatty

William Peter Blatty wrote the Exorcist. After reading that novel and finding it more interesting than creepy I chose to read the Ninth Configuration thinking that it was a sequel to the Exorcist. It is not. It is, however, very intregueing though a bit too short for the premise of the story. Apparently, TNC is a retelling of an earlier work by the same author. He wrote a book titled “Twinkle, Twinkle, Killer Kane” but was unsatisfied with the result. When he had the time and inclination, he revised and rewrote and produced this book.

The Ninth Configuration is a confusion of a tale about a Marine Psychiatrist named Kane. He is assigned to a mental hospital in the Pacific Northwest (Yay! Yay! Washington State! – we get ALL the crazies up here!) and sets about trying to sure all the inmates of their peculiar obsessions. I can’t really go into much more detail than that because there are a lot of twists and turns and everything is different in the end. I wish this book had been about twice again as long because I would have enjoyed more character development. Blatty also does something that I appreciate in any author: He gives his characters distinct and memorable names. This story line almost demands such a device as the characters are all involved in complicated situations (I had to reread a few chapters after putting the book down for only 24 hours)

The Ninth Configuration is not a a scary story, although I can see how it would make a very scary movie (kind of like the Exorcist!) An interesting look at the human psyche though I wish it were fleshed out quite a bit more.