The Paradox of Vertical Flght by Emil Ostrovski

"What happens when you put a suicidal eighteen-year-old philosophy student, his ex-girlfriend, his best friend, and his newborn baby in a truck and send them to Grandma's house? This debut novel by Emil Ostrovski will appeal to fans of John Green, Chris Crutcher, and Jay Asher.

On the morning of his eighteenth birthday, philosophy student and high school senior Jack Polovsky is somewhat seriously thinking of suicide when his cell phone rings. Jack's ex-girlfriend, Jess, has given birth, and Jack is the father. Jack hasn't spoken with Jess in about nine months—and she wants him to see the baby before he is adopted. The new teenage father kidnaps the baby, names him Socrates, stocks up on baby supplies at Wal-Mart, and hits the road with his best friend, Tommy, and the ex-girlfriend. As they head to Grandma's house (eluding the police at every turn), Jack tells baby Socrates about Homer, Troy, Aristotle, the real Socrates, and the Greek myths—because all stories spring from those stories, really. Even this one. Funny, heart-wrenching, and wholly original, this debut novel by Emil Ostrovski explores the nature of family, love, friendship, fate, fatherhood, and myth."

So, this was an advance copy that I read recently. I think this is a book that definitely can't be pigeonholed, but in spite of that (or because of it) I really liked it. A lot. And it's really hard to say why. Undoubtedly, this book is kind of screwed up at times. That's kind of what added to its charm, though, for me. It's shockingly, weirdly, different from anything else out there (yet the John Green/Chris Crutcher references were closest, which might explain why I liked it). The book manages, in its messed-up situations, to bring intense hilarity and almost surrealism, and it gets grounded by irrational sweetness from Jack and his motivations and musings. It's strangely charismatic, and I really recommend you read this when you get the chance. It came out in September, so maybe keep an eye out for it in the library sometime soon-ish!

Lola by Elbert Or

"Jesse sees dead people, monsters, demons, and lots of other things that go bump in the night that no one else can see. No one except his ailing grandmother - a woman who used her visions to help those living in her small town... the same rural community in all the scary stories Jesse's heard as a child. Man-eating ogres in trees. Farmhouses haunted by wraiths. Even pigs possessed by the devil. Upon his grandmother's passing, Jesse has no choice but to face his demons and whatever else might be awaiting him at grandma's house."

This author's actually coming soon to Sitka, just so you know, and I believe this is the book he's exhibiting most. Just for that reason, it'd probably be nice to pick up a copy and get to know it. Being a graphic novel, it's an incredibly quick read--I finished it in about fifteen to twenty minutes. The design was really quite good; it wasn't manga style, it was more simplistic and clean, which made for really nice reading. The actual time period and the events of the story were short, but it was definitely enjoyable to read. Not a bad use of twenty minutes, and the story, while not exactly managing to creep me out, made a pretty interesting ghost story. You could check it out soon at Kettleson or maybe Blatchley; they're being ordered.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

"What happens when the most beautiful girl in the world marries the handsomest prince of all time and he turns out to be...well...a lot less than the man of her dreams?

As a boy, William Goldman claims, he loved to hear his father read the S. Morgenstern classic, The Princess Bride. But as a grown-up he discovered that the boring parts were left out of good old Dad's recitation, and only the "good parts" reached his ears.

Now Goldman does Dad one better. He's reconstructed the "Good Parts Version" to delight wise kids and wide-eyed grownups everywhere.

What's it about? Fencing. Fighting. True Love. Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A Few Giants. Lots of Bad Men. Lots of Good Men. Five or Six Beautiful Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures. Death, Lies, Truth, Miracles, and a Little Sex.

In short, it's about everything."

If you're a decent human being, I hope you've seen the Princess Bride. It'd concern me if you haven't. Anyway, the existence of a respective book wasn't ever really on the forefront of my mind or my to-read list, but when I picked this up to occupy me for a 14-hour plane ride, I wasn't disappointed. There's a complete new layer added with the book that I knew little about: Goldman gives this elaborate (and extremely convincing) background of just abridging an old classic. He mentions growing up with it, and gives footnotes during the story like, "And now, Morgenstern goes into a seventeen-page musing on hats, which I've cut out..." and things like that. It's enormously amusing, if not a little brain-twisting. I had to stop halfway through the intro just to make sure there wasn't an original book. And the actual book and dialogue was amazing, unsurprisingly. This is one of the few movies that is basically on par with the book; the dialogue is verbatim about 90% of the time, and the story was insanely accurate. The extra element in the book of character backgrounds (especially Fezzik and Inigo) was an added treat. So, the book's a tiny bit long, but it doesn't feel like it at all. It feels exactly like the movie. Huge approval and thumbs up! There's copies at Blatchley, Sitka High, MEHS, and Kettleson.

So, I totally spaced on doing this last week, but the reason I haven't updated and won't in the next week or two is because I'm currently in the Bangkok airport and finding wifi has been like finding unicorns. Ahem. Okay, just wanted to put that out there so nobody thinks I suddenly died or anything. 

King of the Mild Frontier by Chris Crutcher

"Do You Know:

• A good reason to be phobic about oysters and olives?
• That you can step inside a roaring coal furnace and feet cool?
• That Jesus had an older brother?
• How shutting your mouth can help you avoid brain surgery?
• How to avoid cow-pies during your baptism?
• How to survive in the winter wilderness with only a fishing pole and a sausage?
• 
  
• Chris Crutcher knows the answers to these things and more.

And once you have read about Chris Crutcher's life as a dateless, broken-toothed, scabbed-over, God-fearing dweeb, and once you have contemplated his ascension to the buckskin-upholstered throne of the King of the Mild Frontier, you will close this book, close your eyes and hold it to your chest, and say, 'I, too, can be an author.'

Hell, anyone can."

Ugh. I know, I didn't post last week. My brain, and everything else for that matter, was completely fried by Sunday and I had no energy or time to read, due to nonstop rehearsals and performances of the Nutcracker. I calculated that I spent 28 hours at the performing arts center last week, so I think I deserved a break. Anyway, here's this week's book: an autobiography. Normally, those aren't the type I go for, but since the author of this one was Chris Crutcher (see Whale Talk from a couple weeks back), I wanted to give it a try. I would say no disappointment was had overall--Chris never failed to keep me entertained with his signature sense of humor. Even though he basically led a normal life, he recounted it all in the exact way that the events felt at the time of their happening--i.e, as heroic and genius endeavors. And even though he ended up failing at basically everything, often spectacularly, the way he tells it makes it deeply entertaining. A side warning, though: secondhand embarrassment is very likely. Very. The way the book was written was very episodic, less of a chronological timeline. While this made for more entertainment while reading, it could also prompt a second reading to fully get the big picture. The end, as well, was amazing. It lost some lightness, tackling those deep topics that Chris tends to deviate toward. There were some amazing concepts and quotes involved, and I'd definitely recommend reading this for those at the very least. There are copies at Kettleson and Sitka High, in the nonfiction section.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

"Moral allegory and spiritual autobiography, The Little Prince is the most translated book in the French language. With a timeless charm it tells the story of a little boy who leaves the safety of his own tiny planet to travel the universe, learning the vagaries of adult behaviour through a series of extraordinary encounters. His personal odyssey culminates in a voyage to Earth and further adventures."

This book has been on my to-read list for a ridiculously long amount of time. Given that, once procured, it took me roughly an hour to get through it, I figure I could have gotten to this one a while ago (in my defense, I've been on a small brink of insanity for the last month or so). Anyway, I'm aware this is a children's book, but seeing as it made a heck of a lot more excellent points, and sense, than most adult books, I don't care a bit. This was only 90 pages or so, very short and very concise, and presented a brilliantly simple look at humanity and philosophy and value. I could probably find a quote of deep and deceptively simple meaning on every page. The book was enjoyable to read, easy to read again, and interesting to think about; I have no complaints whatsoever. Everyone should take the time to read this; it's ridiculously short and extremely powerful. It's at Kettleson, Sitka High, Blatchley, and Keet.

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

"Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life."

This is a good, traditional, old-fashioned, book. It has fantasy, a royal court, no excessively silly romances (though select quality ones), and a pretty awesome protagonist. It's nice and thick, too. A perfectly wonderful book to take a good chunk of time reading; it's not frivolous, it addresses good issues, and is incredibly smart. I kinda loved all the character interactions too. They're all different, very three-dimensional and believable, and interact in all these really interesting little ways that could be totally true to life. Seraphina is curious, meddlesome, intellectual, sassy, awkward, and direct. She's a refreshing heroine. There's really not much that I have to say critically about this one--I loved it. I have to go now because I have homework, but I bet you'll love it too: go find a copy at Mt. Edgecumbe or Blatchley. Adios!