Yesterday I cleaned out a week’s worth of mail from the back seat of my car. The sole purpose of this exercise was to open the more than 15 galley boxes and envelopes. Sometimes this many galleys can yield surprisingly few books that truly excite me.
I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, I love getting galleys, but lately I’ve been getting not one, but two copies of the same metaphysical, business or other kind of book we just don’t really sell. So, it was with great excitement that I discovered two great books in the back of my very messy car.
The first was Son, the sequel to The Giver. The book itself is very compelling with a cover that really works, and pulls you right in. I loved The Giver when it came out and it has continued to remain one of my all-time favorite books. I never thought there’d be a sequel. I always loved the ambiguity of the ending and the guessing as to the fate of Jonas. But, I’m also dying to see what Lois Lowry has done in this book.
The next envelope I opened contained a total surprise. (Maybe I should pay more attention to upcoming releases, but ignorance can make for happy mail days.)
Jasper Fforde’s first foray into the young adult realm, The Last Dragonslayer, fell out of the envelope. I hadn’t heard about this, nor did I know it was the first in the Chronicles of Kazam series.
I’m faced now with a very hard decision: which book do I read first? I’m not sure, I’m leaning toward Son, but part of me knows I should probably reread The Giver first, so that’s putting a slight crimp in my plans, as I can’t find my copy of The Giver. Part of my hesitation is reading the follow-up to a much loved book. There is the inevitable worry that it won’t live up to the first book. Right now, I can’t handle that, so, I will start with The Dragonslayer. I’m very curious to see how Jasper Fforde writes for a younger audience on a theme of an employment agency for magicians. It already sounds good.
I will report back next week to fill folks in on the books.
Wow! Have you not had the Fforde yet. We’ve had book 2 in the UK as well!
I’ve been a Jasper Fforde Ffanatic ever since I pulled “The Eyre Affair” off my library shelf some years ago and fell hook-line-and-sinker for Thursday Next and his Ffabulous off-the-wall approach to the World of Books. Bought my own copy, of course, plus even ponying up trans-Atlantic postage for copies of subsequent books in the series because I couldn’t wait for US publication. His “Nursery Crimes” series didn’t work for me…I’ve been ambiguous about some of his other subsequent works, but apparently “Dragonslyer” has been out in the UK for some time to pretty good press with a sequel either out or pending. DYING to get YOUR ‘take’ on it! Please DO follow-up…thanks!
Son is beyond wonderful, you won’t be disappointed.
I love Jasper Fforde! (Well, I’ve only read the Thursday Next novels, but they’re great!) I didn’t know about this YA novel, thanks for cluing me in.
Well I just finished The Last Dragonslayer this morning, wrote it up for NECBA, and then “decided” to check your blog. Lingering effects of Maltcassion’s work? Hmmmn.
There are actually two earlier sister/sequel books to “The Giver” that you should read first: “Gathering Blue” and “The Messenger.”
I read both The Last Dragonslayer and Song of the Quarkbeast for the readathon last month. Living in the US, I had to order both from the UK, because they’ve both been out there for quite a while now. Go with the Fforde. It’s hilarious.