Welcome to the Maribyrnong Library Book Club

Love to read? Love sharing your ideas about books and writing? Then you've come to the right place.

This blog is an extension of our book groups which we welcome you to attend on the first Tuesday of each month.

Contact Maureen on 9688 0290 for more information.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Quirk Classics – Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

The Quirk Classics are a series of books created by Quirk Books that take literary classics (now in the public domain) and with the help of talented authors blend them with aspects of pop culture phenomena.
“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.”
‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ is tagged as ‘The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!’ and is a reworking of Jane Austen’s classic ‘Pride and Prejudice’ by author Seth Grahame-Smith. Grahame-Smith is also the author of ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’ of which a film adaptation is currently in production.
‘How does this concept work?’ I can hear you asking. The novel contains the original text by Jane Austen with added scenes and sub plots turning the inhabitants of the quiet English village Meryton into highly trained ninja zombie slayers or unfortunate victims of the plague. 
The story follows Elizabeth Bennett to the defeat of the zombie threat menacing Meryton and the inevitable conclusion of her romance with Mr Darcy.
A brilliant concept, extremely well written and highly entertaining!
‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ was followed by ‘Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters’, ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls’ (the prequel), ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dreadfully Ever After’ (the sequel), my personal favourite ‘Android Karenina’ and most recently ‘The Meowmorphosis’.
Emma J. James

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Yotsuba&! – Kiyohiko Azuma

Comics and the Japanese equivalent, manga, have a history of being dismissed by adults as “just for kids.”  While these days there are plenty of examples to the contrary, Yotsuba&! appears at first glance to be very much a kids manga.  And in some ways it is, but it’s equally enjoyable for adults.

Yotsuba&! is a very light-hearted novel about the adventures and misadventures of the titular character, Yotsuba, a 5-year old girl who is simply bursting with energy.  Azuma’s writing and illustrative style capture the joy of his youthful character perfectly and the comedy will have you laughing out loud.  This is “slice of life” storytelling, no overriding plotline really connects the chapters and, although there are plenty of references to previous installments, the volumes can easily be read in any order.  If you’re curious about the manga craze, and are looking for a lite read, pick this up!  I’ve found one volume can easily be read in a lunch break.

Michael L.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Author Spotlight: China Miéville

At age 38, China Miéville, accomplished fantasy fiction/sci fi/horror author, teacher and political activist, is still one of the foremost experts on ‘weird fiction’, a new literary genre that blurs the boundaries and smashes preconceptions and stereotypes typically associated with the traditional fantasy, horror and science fiction genres.

China Miéville has won a number of Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult and Horror writing awards over the years and his stories are written to a very high and intelligent standard making him an author that I would recommend very highly to anyone seeking something a little different.

The first story of his I read was ‘Un Lun Dun’. When I first bought the book I was unsure which age group it was aimed at, but it sounded quite good and the cover looked great (I know, I know, don't judge a book by its cover, but seriously, it's awesome!). I read the first couple of pages and straight away thought that it was childish and ridiculous, but for some reason kept reading (And I've since found out that it -is- in fact a children's book). I found the book to be the most illogical story I have ever read, but it was extremely well written and absolutely brilliant! Though I'm not sure that I would recommend it to or for children as I found some of the imagery quite disturbing and I'm, well, you know, not a child anymore.

I then got my hands on ‘Looking for Jake’ which is a collection of short stories by China Miéville published in 2005 and spanning all fiction genres. I am completely in awe of this man’s imagination.

His other novels include ‘The Scar’, ‘The City & the City’, ‘Kraken’ and ‘Embassytown’. He also co-authored a ‘Pathfinder’ book, which is a reworking of Dungeons and Dragons 3rd edition rules (table top roleplaying games featuring the d20 dice system). Geektastic!

Emma J. James

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Northern Lights – Phillip Pullman

I read Philip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy (of which ‘Northern Lights’ is the first book) as the books were published which was over 10 years ago now.  I remember loving the series for its intriguing multiple world setting, great characters and mostly, for the way the third novel in the trilogy brought together so many disparate plot elements in an extremely satisfying conclusion. 

However, these days, the trilogy is almost as well known for its negative portrayal of religion.  ‘His Dark Materials’ is often compared to C. S. Lewis’s ‘Chronicles of Narnia,’ a comparison Pullman does little to discourage as he has described the ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ as “religious propaganda.”

A film based on the book has been released under the title “The Golden Compass” but differs significantly from the book.  The film was criticized for downplaying the religious nature of the governing body in the world of ‘Northern Lights’ and did not include the final three chapters of the book.

‘Northern Lights’ is available as a Book Club Set.

Michael L.