Lari's Bookshelf

  Gnomes by Rien Poortvliet My rating: 5 of 5 stars I can’t believe I had gone through so many years, working in libraries, without discovering this gem until this past week. Since gnomes make up a big part of this year’s summer reading theme, I have a gnome display on the bulletin board in the children’s area. One of my coworkers and I started talking about the nature of gnomes, and she showed me this deluxe edition of “Gnomes” by Wil Huygen. Admittedly, I haven’t read many books about gnomes, but I would bet that this book is the ultimate and definitive guide to gnomes. It was easy to see why this book would and apparently does appeal to so many. The author was a physician, and this is reflected in his observant, scientific writing style. Gnomes become so fascinating, so interesting, and the world they live in is huge and magical and even real thanks to the author’s “field notes” about gnomes, their behaviors, and their environments. Rien Poortvelt’s illustrati...

If I was a hipster, I'd be having major second thoughts towards my affinity of steampunk. The fact is, it's popping up EVERYWHERE. I still like it a lot, and find the detail and imagination that comes with victorian science fiction beautiful. Here are some videos that incorporate this fantasy element. The first is my favorite. It's modern with a traditional celtic flare. Magical to the very core. The next is more "pop."  The only thing I see about this one is that it is basically a regular modern pop song wearing steampunk clothes (if you don't include the 'mystical' sounding beginning and the mystical story in the video). Still cool, but not as cool as "The Islander." When it comes to films. There are quite a few that are also laden with steampunk-i-ness. There's a trailer for an upcoming Holme's inspired film here . And then, there's that dark, dramatic, subtle science fiction, The Prestige (based on the book ): ...

It is no secret that J. R. R. Tolkien was very much influenced by old Anglo Saxon literature. When contemplating the connections in between his work and Old English literature, I remembered learning about an elegy titled, "The Wanderer." In it a man, known as the "earth-walker," laments losing his lord, companions, and (how could you forget) his mead hall. The sense of loss that pervades this poem is iconic of much archaic Anglo-Saxon literature. Here is the text in its original language . (Check out the use of thorn , I love that letter. Let's bring back þorn !) [Stop giggling that is NOT a "p."] In the poem, the method of mourning the loss of what the "earth-walker" holds dear is done by the use of the word "where" and "what." Here is an excerpt from the translation of " The Wanderer " by E. T. Donaldson: So the Maker of mankind laid waste this dwelling-place until the old works of giants stood idle, d...

PRODUCTION PICTURES Check out these visually awesome production pictures of the dwarves in Peter Jackson's new movie , based on the Tolkien classic, The Hobbit . Balin and Dwalin Dori, Nori and Ori Plus! Big news. All production pictures lately have consisted of just a few dwarves, as seen above. But TheOneRing.net recently shared a production picture of a dwarf composite picture brought to you by Peter Jackson! Thorin and His Band of Merry Dwarves PRODUCTION VIDEO #3 I really like the latest production video because it talks about filming 13 dwarven heroes. Think of the challenge it would be to portray 13 unique protagonists that audiences will become acquainted with during the course of the film. This is actually something I wondered about when I first heard they were making the film. How will they do it? But after watching this I have great confidence that they have done an amazing adaptation by creating 13 interesting characters. Here is the blog post fo...

I filled out another Harry Potter trivia quiz as I glanced ever so frequently at the clock at Borders. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was about to be released. I, and a few other of my Potter-smitten friends, looked forward to being one of the first to buy the much anticipated book on the stroke of midnight on the release date. It was the summer of 2000, I was 15, Y2K had come and gone without major incident, and a few weeks before I had discovered the Potter books for the first time. I fell completely and utterly in love with the world Rowling had built. I relished every chapter illustration, every backstory, every page, every new spell . Those books were the first in which I truly became emotionally invested. I sobbed when Harry lost Sirius in Order of the Phoenix . It has been 11 years since the summer of Goblet of Fire , and while my enthusiasm for Potter has waned and crested like a wave, I still love it. I plan on reading it to my daughter when she is o...

Ward Against Death by Melanie Card Scheduled for Release in August 2011 by Entangled Publishing , LLC 292 pgs ISBNs: 978-1-937044-08-4 (epub); 978-1-937044-09-1 (print) Genres: Romance, Fantasy, YA/Adult Crossover Here's a young necromancer who can't catch a break. Coming from a long line of necromancers, Ward de'Ath is still young and trying to make a name for himself. The story begins with Ward performing a "wake." This means Ward has been hired by nobility to bring a young woman back from the dead for fifteen minutes to say a final "goodbye" before burial. What Ward doesn't expect is the dead Celia Carlyle to awaken and enlist Ward on a quest to find out who murdered her. The plot picks up early on. Ward risks everything, his life and career, to aid Ms. Carlyle and solve the mystery of her death. Ward quickly realizes he can't trust Celia, and it becomes obvious that Celia views him as a means to an end. The reader immediately gets...

I know it's cheesy. I know the special effects can sometimes look cheap. I know that dragons, fairies, and wizards don't really exist, but I don't care. I also don't care if you think it's stupid. Fantasy rules. 1. Legend of the Seeker     (2008) 2 Seasons No. It doesn't follow Terry Goodkind's books to the letter, but I kind of liked it that way because the plot took a different direction and told a new story. Richard Cypher is named the Seeker by a skinny, tall, odd looking wizard named Zeddicus Zul Zorander and his mission is to kick the tyrannical Lord Rahl's ass all the while fighting the urge to make out with Kalan, his beautiful partner and a confessor whose touch could kill his soul. Will he succeed? Dun. Dun. Dun! Of course he will. This is a show made for American audiences afterall... Look how they look heroically off into the distance. LOOK AT THEM. Pros: Legend of the Seeker shows off the beautiful New Zealand landscape. The magic ...

Here is a recent steampunk scene I wrote for a writing challenge: The ocean swelled and coughed up a small figure onto a rocky beach. At first, he just laid there, seemingly as dead as the beached man o’ wars nearby. A few hours later, however, a quiet low cough, and a twitch of the limbs, startled a tropical finch, which had briefly landed on his head to peck on a few strands of his golden, sun-bleached hair. The boy’s freckled visage, covered in sand, squinted at the sun as he turned over. Eyes burned and watered at the brightness, reflecting a sea-like combination of blue and green. Carefully, he stood up, and became aware of a weight around his neck. Placing a hand inside his torn shirt, and feeling the cool, hard object suspended against his salt stretched skin, he remembered the submarine. The captain was humoring him by showing him the different functions of the levers on the control panel. Then there were shouts, and chaos consumed them all. Shaking his head, it was all...