Happy October.

This image has nothing to do with books, really. Just happy that Halloween is on the way! These colorful pumpkins inspired much creativity with a black Sharpee.

Beware The Jabberwock!

I think I've mentioned that Jabberwocky is among my favorite tell-aloud poems/stories of all time. I wouldn't be my father's child if I hadn't memorized this infamous verse at a very young age, and it's always there...lurking in the background of my consciousness, drooling on my dendrites and breathing heavily down my brain stem. It seems to be much the same for the many artists who have depicted the eponymous monster. (By the way - check this keen post from a like-minded blogger: http://www.murmur.com/literature/the_many_faces_of_the_jabberwock.html)

The original Jabberwock was drawn by John Tenniel, and is adorably menacing (like a lot of his illustrations). I must admit, my favorite features of this design are those rodential incisors and the waistcoat.


Artists have used this as the inspiration for later designs, including those involved with the PC horror game American McGee's Alice - a GREAT game if you like darker stuff - geek moment: and the sequel just came ooooouuuuutttt! Squee!
Images from: wikia.com

Here are a couple of other versions. These two books are in my collection.
This one was bequeathed to me by my parents, and was the first printing of Jabberwocky to which I was introduced. I always got a little scared by the picture of the hero snicker-snacking the Jabberwock's head off, but otherwise it is quite tame and I love the color scheme of predominantly faded blues and greens. Illus: Jane Breskin Zalben

This next one (below right) was picked up for my mother's classroom collection by someone, but turned out to be a much gorier, scarier, more darkly surreal version than deemed appropriate for 8/9 year olds. We liked it, but it also came to yours truly in the end. Cause I'm messed up like that and my family knows it.

Illus: Stephane Jorisch

I responded to this Jabberwock in part because as in any good horror film, you don't ever SEE all of the monster. You get impressions of enormous size, sharp teeth, and general bad temper...but nothing distinct. I also like the scratchy-sketchy, red-spattery backgrounds in this one. They seem fragile and uncomfortable, sort of the way the language might make one feel reading it for the first time - like you are entering a world with rules you don't understand but that you might just need to learn fast if you want to survive to the last stanza.

This might be a good time to mention that I read the Alice stories as being very much about growing up in general. Rules rules rules...and none of them really make much sense or are adequately explained to you. You just sort of have to go with the flow to survive. And let's not start with all the Now-You're-Too-Big and Now-You're-Too-Small motifs...oh wait, I just did.

So far, as a favorite illustration, I simply must go for the original, but now let me tell you about my least favorite version.
Image from: wikia.com
This was the Jabberwock from a 1980's made-for-TV version of Alice in Wonderland that included elements from Through the Looking Glass (which featured Roddy MacDowell and other big names). Seriously. Yup it's a suit with a giant headpiece, and those little nubby arms flail around comically the whole time it's on screen. In this light, I think it looks like a gooey, sentient booger with wings, but maybe that's just me. The best movie depiction by far in my humble opinion is in the latest Tim Burton film - voiced by Christopher Lee, who will never admit that he is the reincarnated and heavily disguised Jabberwock himself. (I'm on to you, Mr. Lee!)

Snarky and mucus-related comments aside, do any of you have favorite versions of the Jabberwock, or those mimsy borogoves, or perhaps the frumious bandersnatch to share? This poem is in the public domain, and is such a ripe ground for creativity that many artists around the world have tackled illustrating it. I haven't even begun to really delve into all the visions of this strange world I have seen just with an image search on Google. If you have a favorite, please cite it in the comments!

Light Summer Reading - Agatha Christie and the Uncanny Valley

Just a quick post regarding some light reading over the last few weeks.

Agatha Christie - Sleeping Murder, A Caribbean Mystery
Stephen King - The Gunslinger, Dark Tower Book 1

Yet again I come to Ms. Christie for my light reading. She's a genius at messing with my mind. I can devour one of her mysteries in a few hours, and still want more. Both of the above titles are Miss Marple mysteries, and once again I am struck by how much Christie seemed to love the uncanny wrapped in the mundane.

There is a phenomenon in psychology and computer programming called the Uncanny Valley, in which an artificial representation of a human (like a robot or a CG character) is charming when it is very obviously not human, disturbing when it is a close but imperfect facsimile, and becomes more acceptable again as it closes in on perfect imitation. The "Valley" in the uncanny valley refers to the sudden decline and following rise in positive response from a human observer as the artificial human approaches perfection. Psychologists have wondered whether this is related to a deep-seated human fear of the unknown, or of replacement by an artificial doppelganger.

Hypotheses also exist regarding the evolutionary value of having a negative reaction to someone who is human and by all appearances upstanding but something seems "not quite right". I think Christie's works, in particular Miss Marple, are a perfect example of this. Sensitivity to minutiae in human behavior that seem "not quite right" is what infallibly leads Christie's detectives to uncovering evil. This sensitivity saves lives.

The well-bred gentleman sitting next to you at a party might just that morning have murdered his niece. The young woman combing her hair might be hiding her lover's dead body in the closet. The sweet old lady knitting in the corner might be watching you much more closely than you think.

Happy Birthday Jules Verne!

A big ol' Happy Birthday to Mr. Jules Verne: 8 Feb 1828 - 24 March 1905. To the man who brought us a strange and wonderful vision of technological progress, thanks and way to anticipate!

Guilty Pleasures - Interim Post

I was thinking about guilty pleasures this week. You know, reading and loving reading IS actually becoming a rare and fairly highbrow pleasure in general these days, so it's funny that any reader should have ``guilty'' reading pleasures, but I certianly do. Here are the ones I'm willing to admit:

Comic books - Yes a lot of what I read could be classified as a slightly more high-falutin' ``graphic novel''...but really? I like comic books.

Mystery novels - What is it about a good bloody murder and socially inept detective that attracts so many otherwise sensitive readers? I've read some pretty gruesome stuff, but the consistently popular murder mystery novel doesn't seem to fall under this category for some reason. For example, no one has thought to ban Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie on the grounds of explicit content. I'm not complaining, it's just weird is all.

Fanfiction - Poorly written, completely out of character, and occasionally very entertaining! This pleasure is more guilty and less frequent, but I've done my share of searching on fanfiction.net.

Any guilty pleasures to share? Leave a comment below!
Something more pithy will follow, but this has been on my mind for a while now.

Amazon Kindle: Dusty Shelves Joins the Information Age

Dusty Shelves got a Kindle for Christmas!!! Yes, I know it's a little late to be posting about Christmas presents, but hey, it took a while to get used to it. As my screen name may imply, I do like the feel and experience of cracking a REAL book with pages and all. Being aware of and agonizing over pulp-related tree deaths, I am an avid used book shopper and am firmly convinced that when civilization comes to an end, all that will truly remain to entertain and sustain us will be the old-fashioned printed word. (I also write letters. Yeah I mean like REAL letters with a pen and everything. Despite my budding technophilia, I do like to stage my own gentle version of resistance to over-internetization.)

Not that I wasn't excited to receive the Kindle. Benies include 4G capability and electronic books without those pesky printing costs. This can add up to serious savings for the savvy bibliophile. Have you any idea how many books are in the public domain and thus available to download for FREE?? Neither do I, but it's more than a lot! Also, the unlighted display and large fonts available really do reduce eyestrain, and I would much rather buy books than new glasses. Oh, and if you really want to geek out, keep turning the Kindle on and off to see the screensaver displays. The one in the picture above is a favorite author of mine.

What I haven't figured out how to do on it yet is how to find particular passages in much-loved books that do not include tables of contents. Many of the books I have downloaded so far don't seem to have that feature, and the ``search'' function does not actually appear all that searchable or functional.

Some experimental features are available as well, including access to the internet. Not exactly what you'd call user-friendly yet, but it's nice to be able to pull out this slim little thing for a quick look at email. You know what would help, Amazon? A touch screen.

Great for travel too. It's lightweight, doesn't tear when stuffed in a carry-on, and can hold charge for many days. Just no reading for the user before your plane reaches 10,000 feet. Nevermind, though, that's what SkyMall is for. Anyone need a 7' statue of Anubis for $2,000? I didn't think so, but if I had a mansion with a three-story library, I might consider it. After, of course, a few choice first printings, and a special little nook for the Kindle.

So what do you guys think? Is the printed word on it's way out, and if so, where is it leading us as an information-dependent society? Already, newspapers are converting more and more of their printing expenses into making material available online. Leave comments, and don't forget to click the ``follow'' button if you like this blog! --->