Tying up the end of the year

Alice in Sunderland: An Entertainment, by Bryan Talbot. 2007, Dark Horse. 319 pp Graphic Novel

A theatrical presentation of the history of the North and East of England, centering in Sunderland and its Empire Theatre. Sounds simple. Ha! Faces, places, dates, stories, stories of stories, all are thrown at the reader out of sequence, out of place, out of breath. Yes, think Alice in Wonderland, which has a very prominent place in this book from beginning to end. Also includes Harry Potter, William Shakespeare, Dracula, George Formby, cholera epidemics, several nasty murderers, and the Lambton Wyrm. This is the kind of thing that graphic novels do so well.

Dear American Airlines by Jonathan Miles. 2008, Houghton, Mifflin. 180 pp Fiction

Bennie Ford is travelling across country to his daughter's wedding, when his flight is cancelled. So he whips out his computer and starts a whiny message to American Airlines that gets out of hand. There has been a certain amount of hype about this little book, so I checked it out. I'm sorry! It is not the greatest thing since sliced bread. It's an okay read if there is absolutely nothing else in the house to read and you don't want to start on the cereal boxes, but I don't advise going out and buying multiple copies to give to all your friends.

The Heartsong of Charging Elk by James Welch. 2000, Doubleday. 440 pp Fiction

Inspired by the true story of the Oglala Sioux who travelled with the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show when he became ill in France and was left behind. I will be frank here and tell you I didn't finish the book. The parts I read went on and on and on to the point I was forced to say "I can't take any more." The premise was great, the writing was boring.

Remarkable Reads, edited by J. Peder Zane. 2004, W, W. Norton 258 pp Nonfiction

Given the premise that they must each chose a book to write about--and pick one word to describe it, the thirty-four authors here have presented a remarkable variety of books. From Dr Seuss' Cat in the Hat to Stick and Rudder: An Explanation of the Art of Flying by Wolfgang Langewiesche, there are thoughtful essays on reading, on writing, on life, and on death. I picked up some good ideas for my own reading here, although I'll give some of these a pass. This is a good book for dipping into and savoring a little at a time.

A Time for Treason by Anne Newton Walther. 2000, Tapestries. 451 pp Historical fiction

The American colonies are on the brink of revolution and Eugenie de Beaumont is acting as an agent for the French to see what those colonists are up to. Not only do we get a lot of history thrown at us, but there's a lot of horse and ship stuff, too. Oh, and a little romance and politics. This is a nice, old fashioned (in a good way) straight forward historical fiction. There may be a few places where the historical elements are over explained, but it's a good read.