Olympos by Aki

Manga is such a large section of the book store that I work at, I felt unread to have never sampled some. After briefly flipping through several books I came back to Olympos by Aki - which was my first choice, due to the beautifully illustrated cover, and final choice due to the color and the lovely artwork within.

Let me restate that the illustrations are absolutely gorgeous. I was constantly marveling at the beauty of the characters. Also, the story told was most intriguing, poignant, and sad.

As the title implies, this is a story about the gods of Greek mythology. Apollo is depicted as a beautiful female (though she is referred to as a he, because I believe all individuals of authority are referred to as hes in Japanese) who is terribly bored and mischievous. Not unlike Poseidon, and Hades. Immortality seems to be a bit too unending for them all.

In a beautiful garden, Zeus created in an unknown space, Apollo drops a beautiful young princess (called a prince in the story due, again, to Japanese translation of authority figures) Ganymede who is granted immortality. She becomes quite a piece of entertainment to the gods as they enjoy watching her endure eternity with them.

Ganymede discovers the true nature of the gods is in stark contrast to the way they are portrayed in human fables. Mocking her at one point, Apollo asks what it is mortals thought she did.

What surprises me is the strong philosophical/symbolic undertones. Aki seems to want to show readers the allusiveness of the idolized, truth, good and bad, and immortality.

For instance, in a discussion Apollo and Hades have with Ganymede, she explains that the existence of darkness (Hades) is necessary for the light (Zeus). Hades "is the god of the shadows that are created by the light."

Will the gods end everything for amusement? ...

Click here to see a copy of Olympos by Aki.

Scarlet - by Marissa Meyer

I just finished reading Scarlet (book 2 in the Lunar Chronicles) moments ago, and I instantly felt the need to go onto Goodreads and give it five stars. It was a surprisingly action-packed page-turner, and I read it all in one big wolf-licking gulp (forgive the pun). I have to admire a book that compels me to do that. I rarely give books my figurative five stars of approval unless they have some deeply intellectual underlying thoughts, or quotable life-altering messages, which this book doesn't.

However, it transported me into another world. - I was no longer just in my room reading a book, I was in France jumping-off a speeding train with some huge muscular Wolf-man, or on a huge spaceship navigating my way around radars, hiding like a fugitive. I was in this book, wrapped around its characters. - Eager to see them succeed and be true to themselves throughout their moral dilemmas.

The intricacies, all the character's seamlessly melding together, still blows me away. Its a very detailed story, with fairy-tales intersecting at all angles.

Scarlet is a feisty young lady with fiery red hair (couldn't help love her just for that) who lives in the south of France. She is extremely upset about her Grand-mere's disappearance, and convinced its fowl play. Most of the towns people think she's a little off-her-rocker. - Which reminded me a great deal of Beauty and the Beast. Interesting, too, they both have large "beasts" in them. - Scarlet can be extremely irrational, at times, its enough to make one want to ring-her-neck, and she goes on about her Grand-mere inexhaustibly. By the same token, she endears readers to her by this irrational passion. Especially, our dear Mr Wolf.

Enters Wolf. A strong dark street-fighter with an insatiable hunger, and an ominous tattoo. Before reading Scarlet, do read The Queen's Army, it will heighten your appreciation for Wolf, a deeply troubled and daunting character whom you shall come to love. I feel Meyer really did her homework on Wolves in this retelling of Red Riding Hood.

Most mesmerizing is how the above story is simultaneously told with Cinder's story. Where we get all the juicy details on how Cinder escapes from Royal Guard and continues to grow in her powers of Lunar glamour. Quickly the question of the love between Cinder and Kai enters, and one hopes its real and still alive. Kai, who is, in my opinion, a character most to be pitied, just days into his Emperor-ship he has to choose between true-love and saving his Empire and the world. - Both of which seem to lead to his eminent death. Poor Kai gets no sleep at all.

A character I've never addressed in my review of Cinder is Iko, and its a shame because she adds such life and humor to the stories. Iko is a lovable android with a defective personality chip (which basically means she's fun, dramatic, gets scared, and has crushes like a teenage girl) who Cinder had to rebuild, and save on several occasions. Cinder loves Iko like she's family, and, come to think of it, Emperor Kai feels the same way about one of his droids. The story just wouldn't be the same without Iko.

To digest further subtleties of this story, be sure to read My Friends are Fiction's Interview with Marissa Meyer. The following is an excerpt from this interview where Meyer explains setting choice for Scarlet:

"When trying to choose a setting for Scarlet, I wanted a place that had a history of werewolves and werewolf stories-although the people in my futuristic world aren't superstitious about such monsters, I liked the idea of a very old fear being replaced by a new, very real fear. So when I saw a documentary about a series of killings that happened in 18th-century France, and at the time were believed to be the act of a real werewolf, I felt that worked perfectly for a way to tie the mythology together with my own werewolf-like characters."

I couldn't suppress the constant thought that, done right, this series would make a fantastic movie. Especially with all the high-intensity action scenes in Scarlet. Which isn't as far fetched as it seems after a recent conversation I had with Marissa Meyer on twitter. - it appears movie rights are being discussed. I found myself creating a dream cast for the roles, like:

To quote Marissa Meyer "Lunars are kind of their own ethnicity. Her ancestry is very mixed, and she has tan skin, brown hair, and brown eyes."

- Kristin Kreuk (would be my 1st choice for Cinder, b/c she is Dutch/Chinese but its hard to place her. Also, she can easily be dolled-up and made to look like she's glamouring everyone.)

Jennifer Lawrence as Cinder - might be fun, she has a real intelligent seriousness about her. - 

- Tim Kang as Prince Kai

Or Daniel Henney as Prince Kai -

I know both my Prince Kai picks are Korean, however they could maybe pull-off a Northern Chinese look? No?

- Emma Stone as Scarlet (probably my 1st choice).

Or Brittany Snow as Scarlet.  - 

- Or Rachel McAdams as Scarlet, would be good too, very passionate.

Joe Manganiello is the only actor coming to mind for Wolf -

(To be honest, he was the guy I really imagined Wolf to be while I was reading. - I know, I've got one sexy imagination.)

Can't think of anyone for Captin Thorn at the moment... any suggestions?

You can buy a copy of Scarlet online at: Chapter's Specials

For my review of Cinder (book 1 in the Lunar Chronicles) click on the following link: My Review on Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Books in my Soul

One of my favorite Bloggers wrote an article about how the movies, music, paintings, and, of course most especially, books that we grew up with become apart of us. I love this theory, and completely believe it.

Do read her beautifully written blog on this subject: Books in my Soul and the further inspired What art is in your soul?

To follow her on twitter @A_K_Anderson

Also C.J. Sullivan has a lovely vlog posted on her blog of her favorite childhood book. Favorite Childhood Book

And now I attempt to peer into my own soul... What has molded me? What were the books of my childhood that have now became apart of my soul? ...

- Island of the Blue Dolphins - It was b/c of her that I had all sorts of wilderness adventures as a child. I even decorated my room with fur pelts (i.e. my mom's minks - she loved that), rocks, and hanging sticks. Not to mention the yarn spider maze trap I turned my entire room into for a time.

Island of the Blue Dolphins - Chapters Specials

- Miss Rumphius - Its actually based on a the real life of a lady that lived in Maine. Miss Rumphius is a librarian who decides to travel the world. And then fulfill a quest her grandfather gave to her to do something to make the world more beautiful. It  was a quest that always inspired me as a child. And strangely enough my life is truly following a similar path. This is a book I feel compelled to pick-up/buy every time I pass by it.

Miss Rumphius - Chapters Specials

- Little Women - I was Jo. Tom-boy. Writer. Philosopher. Not content with settling down. Little Women - Chapters Specials

- Pride and Prejudice - I was a little bit of all of the girls, but I greatly related to the sarcasm and independent thinking of Elizabeth.

Pride and Prejudice - Chapters Specials

- Anne of Green Gables - Stubborn redhead with a ridiculous imagination that always got her in and out of trouble. - Yup that's me.

Anne of Green Gables - Chapters Specials

- Cinderella/Sleeping Beauty/Beauty & the Beast - grew up singing my way through everything. Also believed Prince Charming might actually exist in all his perfection. - not such a healthy belief, that one.

The Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales - Chapters Specials

- Archie Comics - I've read more Archie comic books then I've read of all other books combined. I just adore Betty. She is Superwomen! She can fix cars. Play any sport like a pro. Bake cake to perfection. She's a straight 'A' student. She is totally sexy, and doesn't really know it. If there was only one character of all literature (yes, I said literature) I could choose to make an impression on my soul, it would be Betty.

She deserves to get Archie, but he doesn't deserve her. Still, I hope she gets him, just because she loves him so completely.

She gets 4 pics in this blog, because she's that awesome.

Archie Comics - Chapters Special

Do the characters of these various books belong in the same room? Let alone altogether affecting one soul? - curious indeed.  Still, I would hope, had they all known each other, they might have been great friends.

What about you? What books have become apart of your soul?

The Little Prince By Antoine de Saint-Exupery

The Little Prince was actually introduced to me by James Dean. It sounds strange, I know, but its true. Years ago, I went through a bit of a James Dean obsession phase. - And it was mentioned, more then once, how he loved this story, and insisted upon reading it to most of his friends. Etched on a sculpture by his memorial tomb is his favorite quote, from this book, "What is essential is invisible to the eyes." Based on this heavy recommendation I had to read it for myself.  If you haven't read this book, let it be James Dean's praise of it, and not mine, that truly motivates you. - It's more fun that way.

Though I was predisposed to love this book, long before I read it, I found it really was/is a masterpiece. Written for children yet laced with philosophical profoundness for sages. I have personally bought five copies of the book, and I periodically give them out to inspire the particularly enlightened.

Saint-Exupery takes the subject of love with all its complexities, and he concisely explains it to a child. "It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important." "You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose..." "If you love a flower that lives on a star, it is sweet to look at the sky at night. All the stars are a-bloom with flowers..." He further awakens the reader to the sad reality that adults tend to forget what is actually important, and become buried in superciliousness.

It is no wonder over 80 million copies of the book have been sold in over 180 languages. Yet, it still amazes me to see how The Little Prince has become such a culture-craze. Quotes, from this book, can be found anywhere from jewelry to tattoos. Artist's depictions of many of the book's scenes are constantly being drawn. People of all backgrounds seem to be very touched by the universal truths found in this beautiful story about a Little Prince's love for his rose.

Copies of this book are available for purchase here: Chapters

Post Review Notes:

Since writing the above review, I have read some very conflicting reviews on GoodReads, though by far the majority still do love it, I would like to state my thoughts on some of the objections raised.

Obviously I loved this book. It spoke to me (and 80 million+ others), and is the kind of philosophical book I enjoy. Certainly I appreciate that not everyone enjoys that type of story. And quite often when a book is so overwhelmingly loved it is met with an equally passionate wall of hate.

However, I think as far as the accusation of it " trying too hard to be profound..." goes, the year it was published should be taken into consideration. And I would like to explain why I feel this way. Today, we may have thousands of books that are packed with profoundness, but this book was the grandfather of those, published in 1943, right in the middle of world war II. There was not much like it at the time.

Pointed statements were made about racism/xenophobia, the fallibility of leaders, the lack of humanity in the commercial world, and in general the foolishness of the human condition. Granted it does have a depressing tone which reflects the author's disillusionment and perhaps bitterness with his own life. Nevertheless, it was a powerful message at a time when the world was falling apart at the seams, and I believe it deserves some respect for that alone.

In the end, at the heart of this story, the message is fairly simple: all the distractions and garbage in the world mean nothing... Love is what gives life importance. - And I think that's a message worth sharing.

The Vicar of Nibbleswicke by Roald Dahl

"Dear lady," cried the Vicar, "You must never Plug it!... What you must do is pis. Pis gently. All of you all the way along the rail must pis, pis, pis." "Dog Almighty!" So said a dear sweet innocent Reverend Lee.

The Reverend Lee is suffering from a rare and acutely embarrassing condition: Back-to-Front Dyslexia. It affects only his speech, and he doesn't realize he's doing it, but the parishioners of Nibbleswicke are shocked and confused by his seemingly outrageous comments.

I loved this book as a child, and still hold it among my favorites. And, for the life of me, I can't read it without tearing-up from laughing so hard.

Roald Dahl wrote this book in the last months of his life, and donated all the proceeds to the Dyslexia Institute. "A landmark of both his concern for people and his passionate belief in the importance of reading." - Quentin Blake (illustrator).

If you love to laugh, you must add this to your library!

Buy The Vicar of Nibbleswicke today: Chapters