Book Reviews by Today, I Read…

When I was younger, I caught the tail end of a movie called Tuck Everlasting. It looked beautiful. And when I found out it was based on a book, I knew I wanted to read that book.

Years drifted by and despite wanting to watch the movie from the beginning and read the book, it slipped my mind. Now I’m making up for it…it seems, in spades. But something tells me I’ll enjoy Babbitt’s style, so I’m going out on a limb and stockpiling.

Tuck Everlasting: Is eternal life a blessing or a curse? That is what young Winnie Foster must decide when she discovers a spring on her family’s property whose waters grant immortality. Members of the Tuck family, having drunk from the spring, tell Winnie of their experiences watching life go by and never growing older.

But then Winnie must decide whether or not to keep Tuck’s secret—and whether or not to join them on their never-ending journey.

The Eyes of the Amaryllis: When the brig Amaryllis was swallowed in a hurricane, the captain and the crew were swallowed, too. For thirty years the captain’s widow, Geneva Reade, has waited, certain that her husband will send her a message from the bottom of the sea. But someone else is waiting, too, and watching her, a man called Seward. Into this haunted situation comes Jenny, the widow’s granddaughter. The three of them, Gran, Jenny, and Seward, are drawn into a kind of deadly game with one another and with the sea, a game that only the sea knows how to win.

Goody Hall: An out of work actor, Hercules Feltwright, stumbles into a job tutoring Willet Goody, the only child of a widow living in a large, lonely house. Willet quickly involves his tutor in the search to discover the truth surrounding his father. The mystery unfolds with the discovery of hidden treasure, a gypsy séance, and the frightening exploration of a tomb of Midas Goody.

The Search for Delicious: Twelve-year-old Gaylen, the king’s messenger, is off to poll the kingdom, traveling from town to farmstead to town on his horse, Marrow. At first, it is merely a question of disagreement at the royal castle over which food should stand for Delicious in the new dictionary.

Then Gaylen’s quest leads him to unusual characters, including a minstrel who sings about a mermaid child, and Ardis, who might save the kingdom from havoc. And soon it seems that the search for Delicious had better succeed if civil war is to be avoided.

One of my favorite of the Greek myths is the story of Apollo and Daphne and having just re-acquainted myself with it, I thought it was only fitting it should be the subject of my Sunday Sketch.

Before Daphne is turned into a laurel, Apollo pursues her. His heart is consumed with love and her heart is consumed with fear of love itself.

“More would he say; but lo, the timid maid/ Fled from his side and left the words unsaid/ Yet even then she seemed surpassing fair/ As the soft breeze showed all her body bare,/ With garments fluttering in the wanton wind,/ Her hair unbound and streaming loose behind.” (pg. 5 Metamorphoses Selected Stories in Verse)

Recent Arrivals chronicles the books that have made their way onto the Today, I Read… bookshelf. Here’s the latest arrival: The Metamorphoses by Ovid

First line: Apollo, fresh from slaying the Python with [...]

Initial thoughts: A lover of Greek and Roman mythology I am. It’s been a while since I’ve read some classic mythologies and I figured it was time.

Although I’ve studied a few different texts on the subject, I wasn’t properly acquainted with the works of Ovid.

For the price ($3US @ Amazon) and selection (I have an especially weak spot for the stories of Apollo & Daphne, Pygmalion, and Orpheus & Eurydice), I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to read some of his verses and compare and contrast them with my other collections.

The Metamorphoses (in entirety), along with many other classics, is available for download from Project Gutenberg, however, I decided to get a bound copy because I wanted to compare the various translations. Plus, I loved the cover.

Book description:

One of ancient Rome’s most celebrated poets, Ovid (43 B.C.–A.D. 18) wrote during the reign of Augustus. His works reflect a sentiment of art for pleasure’s sake, without ethical or moral overtones, which perhaps accounts for his enduring popularity. For more than two thousand years, readers have delighted in Ovid’s playful eloquence; his influence on other writers has ranged from Dante and Chaucer to Shakespeare and Milton, and scenes from his stories have inspired many great works by Western artists.

This selection of thirty stories from the verse translation by F. A. Wright of Ovid’s famous work, The Metamorphoses, does full justice to the poet’s elegance and wit. All of the tales involve a form of metamorphosis, or transformation, and are peopled by mythological gods, demigods, and mortals: Venus and Adonis, Pygmalion, Apollo and Daphne, Narcissus, Perseus and Andromeda, Orpheus and Eurydice, the Cyclops, and Circe, among others.

Although most of the stories did not originate with Ovid, it is quite possible that had he not written them down, these oral traditions would have been forever lost–and with them, a vast and valuable amount of Greco-Roman culture. This collection of the poet’s best and most beloved narrative verses reflect the vitality of classical mythology.

Book Details: 126 pages; Dover; Pub. May 2003

I’d like to start by thanking everyone who participated in the Wish giveaway. I also thank Alexandra Bullen for writing the book and Sheila for making this giveaway possible.

And without further ado…

Here’s the group story that the contest generated (and I have to admit, I’d love to see what becomes of it):

I never believed in fairy godmothers until one showed up on my doorstep with a broken wand.

With a purple frilly dress and hair all done up in wringlets, she truly looked like something out of a children’s fairy tale book.

Sparkles even covered her entire body, making her shimmer as she shifted her weight from foot to foot.

I stood in shock, not sure what to do or I was supposed to invite her inside or not.

I let her in, unsure of what to say, I offered her some honey tea and crackers.

The fairy godmother kindly refused my offer, she asked me to come with her, it was a matter of great urgency.

She reached for my hand and pulled me into the dark and icy night.

As my feet flew out the door, the most amazing thing happened, I never touched the ground, we were flying!

“Just enjoy the flight, you’ll find out soon enough,” she smiled.

Ever since I was a child I had dreams of flying over the New York skyline, but nothing compares to the real thing.

The lights below, shining in the buildings, sparkled like a million stars.

All of a sudden, the wind beneath me started to calm and I realized we were coming to a stop.

I panicked a bit, as I feared for the landing.

To my surprise it was a very soft landing in a strange place I’ve never seen before.

So, I asked my fairy godmother, “Where are we?”

Her answer was one I was definitely not expecting.

She told me that although our surroundings might look familiar, we were actually in an alternate realm known as Magictasia. (Congratulations, Emily!)

She also told me to get ready to expect the unexpected within this realm.

Because beneath the breathtaking appearance of Magictasia lies the truth and history of what she really is.

With that said, we departed deep into the realm of Magictasia.

We knew we had many grand adventures yet to come perhaps many important lessons yet to learn.

I was ready to take on whatever was in store for us because I had a gut feeling that here, in Magictasia, something extraordinary was going to happen.

And I knew I was bound to find out sooner than later.

We stepped through a giant door I had not seen until now.

A warm golden light washed over us and for the first time in my entire life, it felt like I was at home.

Which after the year I had had, I didn’t realize how much I craved that until now.

Using the power that is Random.org, I popped in the total number of approved comments on the giveaway post and asked it to show me the winner—not including my own summary comments. (I’ve made the winning sentence bold.)

I’ve sent an email to the winner. If I don’t receive a response within 72 hours, I’ll select another entry.

That’s all for now. Thank you again for participating and keep an eye open for upcoming giveaways!

This is a very exciting day, indeed. This is my first official author guest post here at Today, I Read… and I’m happy to say that it’s Alexandra Bullen, author of Wish, which is available now.

(By the way, if you haven’t yet entered the giveaway to win an autographed copy–I suggest you do so soon!)

Anyhoo, without any further ado, here’s Alexandra’s guest post…

(I asked if she’d be willing to discuss the fairy godmother aspect)

When I first starting playing around with the idea for Wish, the character of Posey played a much bigger role. In fact, there was a time I thought that the chapters would alternate being told from Posey’s and Olivia’s perspectives, and that the story would be about how the two girls helped each other overcome their losses in meaningful ways.

Over time, Olivia’s story really stole the show, and while I think that this was definitely what had to happen for the book, I do miss Posey once in a while. I love the idea of a fairy godmother who has a mysterious back-story of her own, and who is just as confused and overwhelmed by her own magical powers as are those she is able to help.

Posey is not your typical fairy godmother, in the sense that she’s kind of a brat, and she has a lot of her own opinions on things. She’s not there for everyone—only people who really need her—and she is serious about the rules she sets for wishing.

But in many ways, Posey is similar to traditional, Cinderella-type fairy godmothers, in that she truly wants what’s best for her “clients” and does whatever she can to help them get to where she thinks they need to be.

Even though we don’t spend that much time with Posey in the book, I hope that readers will find her intriguing. And I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more of her and her mysterious shop, someday soon.

Thanks Alexandra! If you want more of her, then be sure to drop by Sharon Loves Books and Cats (so do I, Sharon!) which is the next stop on her tour and in the meantime, you can visit the official Wish website, follow her on Twitter, or check out her blog.