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these were pretty good books too. the looking glass wars, frank beddor. these are the 'real' stories of alice in wonderland.

lewis carroll twisted the stories princess alyss of wonderland (user of white imagination) told him. he turned them into the fanciful drivel that sold millions of copies and she never forgave him for it. there is no white rabbit, there is alyss's tutor, bibwit harte. there is no mad hatter, there is the royal bodyguard, hatter madigan. the queen of hearts is actually alyss's black imagination using, insane aunt who tries to usurp the thrown and forces alyss to flee wonderland and take refuge in our world.

these books are not particularily well written but they are an interesting and fun read. they can drag a little bit and don't attempt them if you really love the lewis carroll stories as they'll probably make you mad. apparently this is a trilogy but the third book isn't out or i haven't looked hard enough for it. start with the looking glass wars and then move onto seeing red.

taking a page out of lydia's book

i recently found a book at the library and i loved it. i consumed it in a week. the book of lost things, john connolly.


it's about a young boy during wartime london who looses his mother. he's angry, sad, a little obsessive compulsive and starts to take comfort in the fairytales that he and his mother shared. through an accident, the boy finds himself in an alternate world where the 7 dwarves are communists, little red riding hood helped to breed a new brand of scary wolf and a valient knight is on a quest to find out the fate of his 'good friend'.

the story is a tad predictable but it's a very enjoyable read. i highly recommend it, if you enjoy grimm-esque fairytales.

the tales of beedle the bard

you only need to read this post if you enjoy harry potter.



amazon uk has just purchased (for nearly 2 million pounds) one of the seven, un-published, hand written, hand illustrated copies of 'the tales of beedle the bard' - translated from the original runes - by j.k. rowling. this is the book dumbledore bequeathed to hermione; it contains 'the tale of the three brothers' which is the only beedle bard tale retold in the deathly hallows. there are 4 other tales and now amazon is trying to figure out how to let the world at large hear them. they've given a review of 'the wizard and the hopping pot' on their website.

i enjoy the photography of the book on display.

so you want to become a fossil?

have you ever wondered...?

how long can i live on beer alone?
how fat would you need to be to become bullet proof?
why did pineapples evolve a fearsome array of spiny leaves that make the large, sweet and juicy fruit almost impregnable?
is it possible for a ground-observer to calculate how much water is in a particular cloud?

i am reading a thoroughly enjoyable book at the minute that answers all this and much, much more! 'does anything eat wasps? and 101 other questions', by newscientist magazine. the book is a compliation from the last word section of the mag...random questions and answers to life's mysteries composed by the readers.

i suggest you go out and get it! or i'll lend you my copy when i've finished.