Friday 18 September 2009

Friday Finds

Friday Finds is hosted by MizB at You Should Be Reading and you can find it here.

1) Homer & Langley by E. L Doctorow
I found this really unusual book over at Diane's site Bibliophile by the Sea.
Diane wasn't sure about this book, but the story had me really intrigued. I think I will let Diane explain this book as her explanation will be better than mine.

This is a work of fiction based on the lives of the infamous Collyer brothers. The decaying bodies of these eccentric bachelors were found beneath mounds of rubble in their upper west side, Manhattan home in 1947. It was reported that some 100 tons of junk had to be removed.

Diane has written a really good review of this book, so do click on her blog title above and check out what she has to say about this interesting and unusual work of fiction.


2) Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler

I found this book over at Eva's blog A Striped Armchair. Eva had picked this book up as part of her library loot. Now I know this is another vampire book, but I feel the occasional one won't hurt.

Here is the blurb on this book from Amazon.
Octavia Butler's first new novel in seven years, is the story of an apparently young, amnesiac girl whose alarmingly unhuman needs and abilities lead her to a startling conclusion: She is in fact a genetically modified, 53-year-old vampire. Forced to discover what she can about her stolen former life, she must at the same time learn who wanted-and still wants-to destroy her and those she cares for and how she can save herself. Fledgling is a captivating novel that tests the limits of "otherness" and questions what it means to be truly human.


3) The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo

These last two books were both found over at Carl's site Stainless Steel Droppings.

Here is the blurb from Amazon.

Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo--author of The Tale of Despereaux and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane-- has crafted another exquisite novel for young readers. The Magician's Elephant tells the tale of Peter Augustus Duchene, a ten-year-old orphan who receives an unbelievable piece of information from the local fortuneteller. Peter learns that his fate is tied to an elephant that has inexplicably fallen from the sky when a magician's trick goes terribly wrong. Why did it happen? And, how can an elephant possibly change the course of Peter's life? This darkly atmospheric, yet hopeful tale, demonstrates that when the answers to life’s big questions are opaque or unforthcoming, all is not lost. DiCamillo's rhythmic writing, combined with Yoko Tanaka's mysterious black-and-white illustrations, enchants and calls out to our sincerest wishes and dreams (recommended for readers ages 8-13).


4)Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror by Chris Priestly

Here is the blurb from Amazon.

Uncle Montague lives alone in a big house and his regular visits from his nephew give him the opportunity to relive some of the most frightening stories he knows. But as the stories unfold, a newer and more surprising narrative emerges, one that is perhaps the most frightening of all. "Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror", it transpires, are not so much works of imagination as dreadful lurking memories. Memories of an earlier time in which Uncle Montague lived a very different life to his present solitary existence.

To find out how good it is, do visit Carl's blog to read his review.

So there are my finds this week. What good books did you find?




25 comments:

  1. I have book 4 - Uncle Montague's tales of terror - on order. A good read by all accounts, I'll have to see what Paul has to say about it. Thanks for that Vivienne.

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  2. Did I just write Paul? Apologies for that - it is of course Carl.

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  3. Hi Viv, I'm very interested in Fledgling and the last book. Great finds!

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  4. I love the look of the books Carl found. :-D They were added to my wishlist when I read his reviews.

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  5. I came across the Magician's Elephant too but somewhere else (I really need to write these things down!). Looks like a great read, can't wait to get it.

    Uncle Montague's tales of terror is intriguing, heading over to read Carl's review!

    Thanks for sharing :)

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  6. I heard about the Homer and Langley book somewhere else recently. Sounds a very odd book.

    Hopefully I will be doing Friday Finds from next week. I'm tired of missing out on all this fun :)

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  7. ViV, I totally know how you feel when you said: "I know I have a book by Valerie Martin", but that you did not have the energy to look for it. (i feel like that all the time, when I know I have a certain book, but looking for it seems overwhelming often...:)

    You really profiled some great Friday Finds: Uncle M's Tales of Terroe and the Magician's Elephant are appealing to me.

    Have a great weekend.

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  8. They all look interesting and good (in their own way).

    There's an award waiting for you at my blog. Come pick it up!

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  9. I want all those books too! They all sound awesome.

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  10. Ooooh, I'm going to come away from your Friday Finds relatively unscathed for once, since I have one of those already and two were already on the wish list. Sheesh, you know things are bad when you're happy NOT to be finding new books to add to the wish list. ;)

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  11. This review of Homer & Langley made me put it on the list of stuff I'm looking for at the library:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/books/review/Schillinger-t.html

    Good finds.

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  12. I really want to read Homer & Langley too. The cover of Uncle Montague's Tales calls my name!

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  13. Great finds! I heard of Homer & Langley and I think it does sound interesting. The Magician's Elephant and Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror both sound great! Now I want to read them:)

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  14. Wasn't Carl's review of Uncle Montague's book awesome? I really want to read that one. And, Fledgling is also on my radar. I've read one book by Butler and that was wonderful so really would like to read more.

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  15. I love the name of your blog-I just finished The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel. 5 stars


    chocolateandcroissants at yahoo dot com

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  16. Hi Vivienne, a bit off topic I know but I thought I'd let you know you have been tagged - don't worry it's not as painful as it sounds. If you pop over to me at Pen And Paper yo'll see the details.

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  17. Great books! I think Homer & Langley sounds fascinating! I'm looking forward to reading it. I like Doctorow's writing.

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  18. I love the cover of The Magician's Elephant!

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  19. You always find such great books!
    Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror looks like fun.
    http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/

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  20. How did I miss this post? Fledging and Uncle M call to me the most from this post but they ALL sound good. Good finds again Viv.

    Went to Hastings yesterday to see inlaws2be and have come to the conclusion I neeeeed to move to Sussex. I'm in love with the junk shops and the fact I came home with 5 books for £2 from a book sale!! They would be that EACH round my way. Not to mention the fact we would be nearer Craigs parents of course. Ahem.

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  21. LOL I want that Tales of Terror book. Looks really good.

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  22. Thanks for the intersting reading choices. I'm watching something on CBS Sunday Morning about E.L. Doctorow this morning.

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  23. The Magician's Elephant just looks so interesting and I love the cover art, too!

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  24. I probably wouldn't enjoy the first one too much but I think I'd like the other three!

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