Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908) – L. Frank Baum

  The fourth Oz tale sees Dorothy in more adventures, once again caused by a natural disaster (I’m not sure how this kid keeps surviving these things). On her way to California to visit her uncle, Uncle Henry is already there, she meets up with Zeb, a young boy, who is her second cousin who…

Broken Monsters (2014) – Lauren Beukes

  My sister got me this book for Xmas, and I was quite intrigued by the blurb and finally had a chance to dig into it. I was intrigued by the premise, a murdered boy is found in the ruins of what is modern-day Detroit, his lower half is missing, however, and has been replaced…

Mr. Mercedes (2014) – Stephen King

  King released two new novels last year, Mr. Mercedes, and Revival (which is currently awaiting its turn on my bedside table), and I was starting to itch for some King material, so I figured it was time to dive into Mr. Mercedes. I’ll be honest, the blurb on the cover just made it sound…

Still Life with Crows (2003) – Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

  FBI Special Agent Pendergast is back, and this time, he’s in the middle of nowhere, a tiny, small town, Medicine Creek, set amongst the cornfields of Kansas, where someone (something) has committed a terrible murder. Leaving the body, in a strange tableaux surrounded by crows pierced by arrowheads, the crime scene is unusual, and as…

Ozma of Oz (1907) – L. Frank Baum

    Baum’s third novel in the Oz saga, sees the return of Dorothy Gale, lost at sea, after being swept overboard. She and a talking, yellow hen, the feisty Billina, arrive in the land of Ev. Here on the shores of a large ocean they come across a warning to beware the wheelers, and encounter and befriend…

The Princess Bride (1973) – William Goldman

  William Goldman’s ‘abridged version of S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure” has been long overdue for a read. It should come as no surprise that the movie follows the book very closely, as Goldman adapted his own book to the screen, but it was still fun to dive into the…

Smoke and Mirrors (1998) – Neil Gaiman

  This collection of short stories by Neil Gaiman was just what I needed. All the tales deal with magic or illusion, whether in the form of creatures, sex, drugs, or life, the power of each is examined under the eye of this brilliant author in this wonderful collection of stories, some of which I…

The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904) – L. Frank Baum

  The second Oz adventure came along four year’s after the original novel, as Mr. Baum was swamped with letters asking for more tales of Oz and to learn what had happened to the Lion (sadly, missing from this book), the Tin Woodman, whose real name is revealed to be Nick Chopper, and the Scarecrow….