Evil Queen Book Club: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

I find it very difficult to talk about books I really loved because all I want to do is give you all copies and make you read it yourselves. The Ocean at the End of the Lane was one of those books - read it now, you won't regret it.

I love Neil Gaiman. I cannot express enough how much I love him. He is, for me, a perfect writer - he is smart, eloquent, and fantastically talented. He writes books that feel like they were meant for me, that feel like home to me. It seems to be really difficult to find books that have fantasy or science fiction elements without feeling like genre pieces or YA (You either get Twilight or Game of Thrones) - not to discredit those, but that's not always what I want. I like literary fiction that is still fantastical - and Neil is able to hit that mark for me every time. His books have become cherished favourites. Stardust was my first, and to me, as a lover of fairy tales and magic, Stardust is a perfect story. American Gods is perhaps his most well known story, which is on the opposite end of the spectrum - its gritty, bloody, dirty, and an epic story.

Ocean at the End of the Lane is more on the Stardust end of the spectrum - it reads like a fairy tale and sits gently on the fence between children's literature and adult literature (there's a little bit of sex in it, just a hint); it feels like a fairy tale but is a sophisticated, prosiac read that leaves you with a massive book hangover - you know, that feeling you get after you finish a book and are still existing in it's world? It doesn't happen every time, but it definitely felt it with The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

Without giving any spoilers away, I can tell you it's told from the perspective of a grown man remembering his childhood - a childhood that just so happened to be touched by a magical new friend and a terrifying nanny. It's a nightmare we all know so well, where the adults are terrifying and controlling, and they don't realize the evil around them. The children in this story hold the power, and it's a reaffirmation of the power of imagination and strength in friendship.

I really thought this one from Neil was so beautiful, and I want everyone to have a copy in their library. Go. Go get it. Go sink into a fairy tale.

Evil Queen Book Club: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire

Wicked is one of my favorite novels of all time. It's expertly written with dramatic prose, well fleshed-out characters, and a beautiful weaving story. It's intelligent, and is the perfect balance between realism and fantasy.

Wicked tells the story of the character we know as The Wicked Witch of the West, from the classic Wizard of Oz story. Here, she is re-imagined as Elphaba (the name comes from the original author's name, L. Frank Baum) - the green girl born to Munchkinlander parents. At university she meets Glinda (then Galinda, eventual Good Witch of the North) and the two become friends. At school, Elphaba also meets the influential Dr. Dillamond - a talking goat who is conducting scientific research that the Wizard of Oz doesn't want to get out. The murder of Dr. Dillamond leads Elphaba on a crusade against the Wizard and his injustices against Oz and it's inhabitants.

For me, what makes this book is Elphaba as a character - she is intelligent, strong-willed, and fights for what she believes in no matter how that alienates her from her friends and from society. She does not let the color of her skin define her (and there is a lot of prejudice against her because of her green-ness), and grows into a smart and able woman. Elphaba's sass and wit is evident throughout the novel, and she makes a strong case for the term "Wicked" being applied to someone who is just simply different and refuses to fit in. I think we can learn a lot of lessons from her.

I also really love that this book isn't a fantasy the same way the original story is. Of course, the original story is meant for children and Wicked is definitely an adult novel, but Maguire does a superb job of making Oz seem so real and accessible - everything from descriptions of it's landscape and it's people to the truthfulness of how the Emerald City operates (it's neglect of the poor and needy, the gaudiness simply to please an inept ruler, the inner workings of elite society). Oz no longer seems the technicolor dream of Judy Garland's film, but instead a gritty, corrupt country with problems that reflect real life.

Discussion Questions:

1) What did you like about this book, what did you dislike? What do you think are the major differences between Wicked and the original Wizard of Oz story? For those of you who are fans of the musical version of Wicked, what are the major differences you see there? How do you think the similarities/differences effect the story and your impressions of it?

2) How do you think Elphaba and Glinda (and the other women of this novel) stand as strong female characters? What makes them interesting or likable? What makes them unlikable? What do you think are their strongest qualities?

3) What do you think this novel has to say about those who are different in society? How do you think the characters are marginalized, and how do they deal with prejudices against them?

4) What do you think makes Elphaba "wicked"? What do you think this novel has to say about the nature of wickedness, or it's perception?

5) What other classic stories would you like to see re-imagined in the same way, with more background, etc? What other classic villains would you like to learn more about?

Evil Queen Book Club: June

This Month's Selection: Wicked by Gregory Maguire

Post due by July 6

I know a few of you have read Wicked already, but I think it's the perfect choice to start off with. It's a great read - a great story told with wonderfully sophisticated prose, it's a fresh take on a story we all know and love. I think everyone will really enjoy it.

Members: Please take a look at this page - I've listed all our current members and contact information so you can all add each other (you've all been added to a twitter list too so you can find each other there!). This will also be where I post all links and discussions for you to reference. In addition, please make sure to follow me on twitter (@christinaostyle) and bloglovin so we can all keep in contact. 

At the end of the month, I'll post a few discussion questions for everyone to respond to in their individual posts. 

Where to find it: Barnes and Noble, Amazon (if anyone finds an e-book download, let me know!)

Let the reading begin! 

Introducing: The Evil Queen Book Club

I have always been a huge bibliophile. I love books. I love reading, I love getting lost in a good story, I love collecting books and shopping for books and it never feels right when I don't have books around. I'm one of those weird people that collects old books and multiple copies of my favourites. I studied English in college, I've always been a creative writer, and books are my life.

As I've gotten older, it's been a bit more difficult to read as much as I'd like to, so I've always really liked the idea of a book club. So I've decided to try a blogger book club, and there's been some interest in this idea, so I've teamed up with my friend Kay from The Desert Bibliophile to get this going.

Introducing The Evil Queen Book Club

Here is the plan:

• We read a book a month. Each book will be by a female author, or will feature a strong female character.
• Each blogger will be in charge of selecting a book for the whole club to read for the month. This book can be classic or contemporary fiction, YA, poetry, or nonfiction/biography. That blogger will also be in charge of posting 3-5 discussion questions for the rest of the group to answer which will kick off a discussion.
•  At the end of the month, each Book Club Member will make a post in their blog with a summary, their thoughts, and the answers to the discussion questions. Once posted, links will be submitted to me so that I can keep a masterpost.
• I'll keep a masterpost of everyone's posts so that we can comment back and forth, talking about what we've read! 

If you're interested in participating, please leave the following information in a comment below:

1. Name
2. URL of your blog
3. Twitter handle (if you don't have twitter, please leave another way to contact you)

Once I've got all this information collected, we can start reading!