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.

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

Recent Arrivals chronicles the books that have made their way onto the Today, I Read… bookshelf. Here’s the latest arrival: If I Am Missing or Dead by Janine Latus

First line: Two months ago I left my husband, and now, for the first time in years, [...]

Initial thoughts: I remember standing in Target and the title of this book caught my eye. At first, I thought it might be some sort of thriller, but as I read the back cover and the blurb, I realized it was more a memoir.

What snagged me was the first paragraph of the blurb: “In April 2002, Janine Latus’s youngest sister, Amy, wrote a note and taped it to the inside of her desk drawer. Today Ron Ball and I are romantically involved, it read, but I fear I have placed myself at risk in a variety of ways. Based on his criminal past, writing this out just seems the smart thing to do. If I am missing or dead this obviously has not protected me….”

From that moment, I was intrigued. I knew I wanted to read this book.

Book description (from the back cover):

Hey, I finally say, he hit me.

He what?

She is quiet. Then she says, Are you okay?

I don’t think so, I say. I think my nose is broken. And maybe my ribs.

She gasps.

He hit you in the face?

Yeah.

That son of a bitch, she says. What are you going to do?

I don’t know.

You broke up with him, didn’t you?

No, I say. I mean, it wasn’t all his fault.

Janine, she says, there is nothing you could have done to deserve this. Repeat after me, nothing.

She is my baby sister and I am ashamed that she is the wise one, the one who is witness to my failure. I don’t say anything. We are both quiet. Then she speaks.

Are you going to wait until he kills you?

Book Details: 336 pages; Simon & Schuster; Pub. April 15, 2008

Recent Arrivals chronicles the books that have made their way onto the Today, I Read… bookshelf. Here’s the latest arrival: Scarlett Fever by Maureen Johnson

First line: So let’s set the scene, shall we? Hamlet. In a hotel. But not one of the [...]

Initial thoughts:

When I saw the back cover of this book I laughed. It was adorable, but unfortunately, it cannot be properly rendered in words. Here’s the next best thing: a photo! (Click it for larger, more legible image.)

Now I have to admit something…I haven’t read the first book, Suite Scarlett, but I want to. I want to because I’m eager to read Scarlett Fever and don’t want to interrupt the flow by reading the books out of order. I’ve already purchased Suite Scarlett and now am waiting patiently…or not so.

Anyhoo, this book looks like it’s going to be a hoot!

Book description:

Faced with her family’s financial woes, Scarlett has taken on the job of assistant/indentured servant to a newly minted theatrical agent, professional eccentric Mrs. Amy Amberson. Scarlett ends up at the back and call of a Broadway star (her own age!), dealing with territorial doormen, and walking a small dog with insecurity issues–all while starting her sophomore year at one of New York’s most rigorous high schools.

It doesn’t help that Scarlett’s brain is clouded with thoughts of Eric, her former sort-of boyfriend. She has thousands of things to say to him, if only he would call. And then there’s her new lab partner, the impossible Max, who’s on a quest to destroy what little mind she has left.

Meanwhile, her older brother, Spencer, has become New York City’s most controversial TV villain; her ever-reliable older sister, Lola, is sliding off the rails; and her younger sister, Marlene, most worryingly, has suddenly become…nice

But somehow Scarlett will prevail…right?

Book Details: 352 pages; Point; Pub. February 1, 2010

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

First line: There are places kids like me go. Sad kids, bad kids, [...]

Initial thoughts:  I can’t remember the name of the blog, but I remember reading a synopsis of the book and thinking to myself, I want to read that book.

Then lo and behold, the book fairy delivered a copy to me (OK, it was really the publisher via the postal lady) and I did a little happy dance.

It’s about a girl who can look into someone’s eyes and see the date of their death. There’s a bit more to it, but that’s the gist.

The premise just sounds intriguing, no? Right up my alley.

Book description:

By the Numbers…

"Listen, Jem." The words came spitting out of her face. "I don’t need this today, so just…shut…up." Syllables stinging like angry wasps, her venom fizzing all around me. And all the time, as we sat eye-to-eye, her number was there, stamped on the inside of my skull: 10102001.

Four years later, I watched a man in a scruffy suit write it down on a piece of paper:

Date of Death: 10/10/2001

Book Details: 336 pages; Chicken House; Pub. February 2010