The bookseller is out...of her mind

Well I finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, enjoyed it so much that I decided I would re-read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

After a few days in immersed in Rowling's fantasy world I was not ready to give up fantasy for reality yet so I decided to read Patricia Brigg's Raven Shadow and Raven Strike (which I enjoyed) and then re-read her Dragon Bones and Dragon Blood, (which are still two of my favorite of her books. I'm hoping someday the author will write a third in this series but she is currently writing a series of modern werewolf books.) Then I finished off my 5 day book binge with a re-read of Bujold's Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls.

I tend to do this type of binge reading any time I'm stressed; I guess it is healthier than over-eating or drinking but boy do I have a lot of work to catch up on. I wonder if there is a 12 step program for fantasy addiction....

Other than Harry Potter

Like many, many people I'm anxiously waiting for the July 21st and the publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. But either pre or post Harry these fantasy authors also deserve to be read:

Diana Wynne Jones (my favorites; Howl's Moving Castle and it's sequel Castle in the Air, there are rumors of a third book but I've not seen anything definite).

Megan Whalen Turner (I loved all three books The Thief, Queen of Attolia and King of Attolia and I will be crushed if there is not another book telling Sophos's story).

David Almond (My favorite is Kit's Wilderness, definitely a young adult title, dark, layered and complex).

Markus Zusak (I'm more partial to The Messenger, than The Book Thief, both young adult titles and both well worth reading.)

Harry Potter Mania

From the publication of the first Harry Potter I have continuously underestimated the market for all things Harry. The hype surrounding the publication of the last book in the series Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows only seems to be gaining momentum, and as a result I'm selling a surprising number of the earlier books. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in particular. (I thought that every one who wanted a first edition would have purchased them long before now).

Favorite themes- Juvenile Fairy Tales Retold

Fairy Tales, whether they are familiar or obscure, have always been a staple of children's picture books, but more rarely are addressed by writers of children's juvenile or young adult titles. Three of my favorite juvenile "rewrites" all collectible as fine first editions and worth reading and rereading in any edition are:

Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted. (A Cinderella variation which finally has a logical explanation for why Cinderella was such a wimp. DO NOT watch the movie, read the book!)*

Robin McKinley, Robin. Beauty. (Absolutely the best retelling of this fairy tale, and pretty darn impressive for an author's first book.)

Elizabeth Marie Pope's The Perilous Gard. (Based on Tam Lin, a folksong I was only vaguely aware of before reading the book, even though I've always love stories of fairy folk under the hill.)

Ella Enchanted and Perilous Gard were both Newbery Honor titles and all three books were written in first person, a writing style I'm not usually fond of but one that really works for these stories.

(*as always I'm at my most opinionated when I'm in italics.)

More Dream Collection- Fantasy & Science Fiction

I can't believe I forgot to list Louis Sachar's HOLES on my original dream collection list or for that matter HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE.

even as x-libris

Another title that I'm always looking for at library sales is:

MR. WICKER'S WINDOW by Carley Dawson. Illustrated by Lynd Ward. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1952.

This was a very well written time-slip fantasy as were the sequels THE SIGN of THE SEVEN SEAS and DRAGON RUN. All three were well written, very collectible, and well worth picking up even as a library discard.

even as x-libris

Another title I would buy at a library sale even if it were a library discard:

THE CITY UNDER THE BACK STEPS by Evelyn Sibley Lampman. Garden City: Doubleday, 1962. ( This is a classic fantasy which should have gone on my dream book list.) Very difficult to find in any condition.

My Dream Collection- Fantasy & Science Fiction

I've decided since sports fans can have fantasy sports teams I can have a fantasy collection of juvenile Fantasy and Science Fiction books. All would be First Editions, Fine in Fine dust jackets of course! These are some of my dream books, very collectible and VERY hard to find as firsts in any condition.

• MR. WICKER'S WINDOW by Carley Dawson (wouldn't say no to THE SIGN OF THE SEVEN SEAS or DRAGON RUN either)
  
• A WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeliene L'Engle
• CAT'S EYE by Andre Norton
• BEASTMASTER by Andre Norton
• StAR MAN'S SON 2250 AD
  
• HALF MAGIC by Edgar Eager
• THE GIVER by Lois Lowry
• THE FORGOTTEN BEASTS OF ELD by Patricia McKillip
• TOM'S MIDNIGHT GARDEN by Philippa Pearce
• TARZAN OF THE APES by Edgar Rice Burroughs (is too a fantasy!)
• HAVE SPACE SUIT, WILL TRAVEL by Robert Heinlein
• CHILDHOOD'S END by Arthur C. Clarke
  
• BEAUTY by Robin McKinley
• ELLA ENCHANTED by Gail Carson Levine
• PERILOUS GARD by Elizabeth Marie Pope
• THE SHERWOOD RING by Elizabeth Marie Pope (so sue me, I like revolutionary war-romance-ghost stories)
  

and to atone for my very plebeian taste:

• THE INVISIBLE MAN by H.G. WELLS
• THE LION, THE WITCH & THE WARDROBE by C.S. Lewis (British first, what the heck throw in the whole set)
• LORD OF THE RINGS by J.R.R. Tolkien (British first)