I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle

Publication Date: May 14, 2024

Gaius Aurelius Constantine Heliogabalus Thrax (just call him Robert) is a dragon exterminator who hates his job. His dream is to work for a prince as his valet and he’s burdened with the incredible guilt of killing dragons which, in his home kingdom of Bellemontagne, infest homes like vermin. He trained with his father and now 18-year-old Robert has his own apprentice. When Robert is called by the King to exterminate the dragons in the walls of the castle, Robert is thrust into an adventure which will either be the end of him or the beginning of a new life.

 

 Back in July, I stopped in at River Bookshop, my local indie bookstore, and asked the young person working the till for a book recommendation telling them that I am a big fan of Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett and am always looking for authors like them. They recommended I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle. While technically falling into the YA category, this book is spot on to the whimsical spirit of Pratchett. This is why you patronize your local Indie booksellers’ folks; I never would have picked up this book without the recommendation.  

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The Principal Chronicles by David Garlick

Publication Date: December 19, 2021

The Principal Chronicles is a collection of humorous stories of one man’s childhood and career in Windsor and Essex County, Ontario.

 

 

 

Full disclosure: I am acquainted with David Garlick and his lovely wife, Linda, by way of the heritage advocacy scene in Windsor, Ontario. Though I think they’re delightful people, this will in no way color my review of The Principal Chronicles or the opinion that this book would make an excellent holiday gift for anyone in your life that enjoys an afternoon with a cup of tea, cozy blanket, and a good book.

When I started this blog in 2012, my intent was to review books with my dad. We never really synced our reading schedules and my dad, who will read 3 or 4 books at a time, often remembered books but not really specifics other than that he liked the book or didn’t. Sometimes I would catch him at a good time and include his input in the reviews. He was recently diagnosed with dementia and his memory has gotten hazy regarding what he reads if not discussed in the moment. I recently visited and we read The Principal Chronicles together laughing at the varied stories and talking about those anecdotes we found especially relatable. I usually call him “Dave” in my reviews but will refer to him as Dad in this review to avoid confusion.

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Serious Moonlight (How to be Dead) by Dave Turner

CORRECTION: I said in an earlier version of this review that this book was last in the series. I am overjoyed to learn that it’s not.

 

Publication Date: December 31, 2018

 

Dave Marwood and his girlfriend, Melanie, are due for a bit of a break in the country after saving the City of London from destruction. It’s a bit of a worry that Death, the last standing Horseman of the Apocalypse and Dave’s employer, is having a bit of an existential crisis and Dave has been acting as his flip-flopped toy scythed stand-in, but a relationship needs tending. The break, however; is not the peaceful time away the couple anticipates when they find themselves beset by ghosts and the people seeking them.

Serious Moonlight by Dave Turner is the fifth book in the How to be Dead series.

 

Part of my life’s work is finding books that give me the feeling I got when I first read the works of Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, and Jasper Fforde. The beautiful humor and massive creativity of the aforementioned authors are qualities shared by the great Dave Turner. Continue reading Serious Moonlight (How to be Dead) by Dave Turner

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Publication Date: May 1, 2009

 

In The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, it’s 1985 in the fictional world that is parallel to our own. Someone is kidnapping literary characters. It’s the job of Thursday Next, the occupant of our world but the detective in the Literary Detective Division, to find the culprit and stop them before it’s too late.

 

Every book claims to be like the work of a bestselling author. They’ll up the ante saying that the work is by an author who is the modern version of the author to whom they’re likened. Usually, they could not be less like the author whose name they use to promote themselves. In the case of Fforde, it would be in no way inaccurate to liken him to Douglas Adams. It would also not be inaccurate to say that they are nothing alike. Fforde and Adams share a well-defined imagination with a lightness of being. Their worlds are intricate. Fforde is extremely well-read. The characters created by others in his story are wholly within character. The description of the fictional world is beautiful and complete. Continue reading The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson

Publication Date: May 27, 2010

 

At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill BrysonAt Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson is a collection of stories that deal with everyday historical aspects. Bill Bryson, who lives in a historic parish in Norfolk, tours his house with his readers and talks about the life of the previous owner. Let At Home: A Short History of Private Life take you on a journey into the past. 

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The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)

Movie Released: 1960 in b/w | DVD Release Date: July 1, 2008

 

The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)The Little Shop of Horrors was produced in 1960 on $28,000 budget (according to my research the budget ranged between $24,000 and $30,000 — so your guess is as good as mine.) Directed by the legendary Roger Corman, this movie was produced within two days. Corman decided to use an earlier film setting that was due to be torn down in the next two days.

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The Martian (2016)

DVD Release Date: January 12, 2016

 

DVD_MartianThe crew of the Ares III is forced by a dust storm to evacuate from Mars. In the rush to leave, Astronaut Mark Watley is hit by debris and his suit isn’t showing signs of life, so his fellow astronauts presume him dead and leave him stranded on Mars. Watley must do what he can to survive until the next mission arrives. Earth Control receives satellite photos showing that Watley has survived which they decide to suppress. Will Watley make his way home against the odds?

 

 

 

 

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Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life (1983)

Released: April 1, 1983 | DVD Release Date: December 24, 2002

 

DVD_The_Meaning_of_LifeThe Meaning of Life is a 1983 musical sketch comedy that chronicles phases of life in seven parts. There is a bonus “middle of the film” segment in which viewers are invited to play “find the fish.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Prostitute in the Family Tree by Douglas Adams

Publication Date: August 1, 1997

 

DA_The_Prostitute_Family_Tree

Douglas Adams (not THAT Douglas Adams) believes most readers of the Bible miss the humor and irony. If you’re missing the humor are you also missing the meaning behind Biblical stories?

 

 

 

 

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