Greatest Novel within a Novel

The Neverending Story – Michael Ende

Evan’s ESS = 9 out of 10

Erin’s ESS = out of 10

Content = PG (Mild Violence, Auspicious Dragon, Wicked Scary Storms)

“Every real story is a never ending story.”

Why: What a great movie!  What an even better young adult novel!  You just can’t beat a magical story with reader participation.  Seriously, you can’t – so don’t even try.  Prepare to journey into Fantasia alongside Atreyu and help him save the Childlike Empress and her kingdom from something called the Nothing.  Then prepare to save yourself…  Only those of “noble heart and steely sinew” dare venture forth.

Unfortunately for us, and probably many of you, we watched The Neverending Story before reading it.  Don’t get discouraged though, because the entire second half of the novel is left out of the movie.  Also, the cover art on the 1997 Dutton edition is quite impressive, and even the text itself adds a certain amount of intrigue.  Red and green font is utilized throughout to designate the two storylines taking place in each parallel world.  We enjoyed novel immensely and were even more surprise to see just how similar the movie dialogue was to the book. 

Lastly, The Neverending Story will teach you the importance of loving yourself as you are.  Pardon us for channeling Dr. Phil, but it’s always a bonus when a novel is able to learn you something.  What a great novel to read with your children and then break out the 1984 film.  It won’t be long before they’re begging you to go to the pet store and buy a luckdragon!

Editor’s note: Contrary to what the title would have you believe, the story does actually end.

Greatest Historical Fiction Novels

In our latest installment of the “Greatest Of” lists, we submit for your viewing pleasure: Greatest Historical Fiction Novels of all time (that we’ve read).

Nothing new to report other than the same challenges we previously confronted when consolidating our two independent lists into one.  Same groveling.  Same gnashing of teeth.  Same spirited finale with Evan left weeping in the fetal position.  Chin up… off to the list!

Greatest Historical Fiction Novels

1. Gone with the Wind – Margaret Mitchell
2. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
3. The Pillars of the Earth – Ken Follett
4. The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
5. The Other Boleyn Girl – Philippa Gregory
6. The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
7. A Fine Balance – Mistry Rohinton
8. Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden
9. The Great Gatsby – Scott F. Fitzgerald
10. War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy

   

As always, we encourage your recommendations and mention of our omissions!

Greatest Use of Letters in a Novel

84, Charing Cross Road – Helene Hanff

Evan’s ESS = 8.75 out of 10

Erin’s ESS = 8 out of 10

Content = PG (Very, Very Mild Adult Content, Book Passion)

Why:  Dear reader,

Due to the sincere impact 84, Charing Cross Road left on us, we’ve decided to write this entire review in the form of a letter (as it turns out this really doesn’t change things as much as we originally thought. Oh well).

What a charming read.  Rarely on this blog will you find the word delightful used to describe a novel, but in the case of 84, Charing Cross Road we can think of no better adjective.  The novel follows an actual 20 year correspondence between a New Yorker searching for rare literature and an antique bookseller in London, England.  What we found amazing was that after only 4 or 5 letters you have a thorough grasp on each character’s life.  By the end, genuine relationships have been established, which makes the climax all the more touching.  Touching in a good way or touching in a bad way, you’ll have to decide for yourself.      

                                                                                       Sincerely,

           

                                                                                       Two Bibliomaniacs

P.S.  We really don’t have anything significant to add here, but we thought the usage of the PS would further validate the whole letter format thing.  Anyway, hope you’re having a good day.  We’d love to hear back from you in the comments section.

P.P.S.  Never mind, once was probably enough….

The World of Book Blogging - Part 1

We’ve been very upfront about the fact that we here at Two Bibliomaniacs are new to the world of blogging and more specifically, the fabulous world of book blogging.  This new world of ours is filled with many unfamiliar happenings, like Challenges, Read-a-longs, and Hops.  Today, we would like to spend just a few moments talking about Hops.  Initially, we were put off by this most vulgar display of physical exertion (doesn’t the mere fact that we’ve created a book blog show that we’d rather be curled up in a comfortable chair?). 

Anyway, after further review, we found that a book hop is something entirely different and requires very little sweating.  In fact, the event is nothing more than an opportunity to connect with other book bloggers and only requires participants to answer a weekly question.  As we are always looking for a way to climb out of our current blogging hole of obscurity, we decided to participate.  Thank you Crazy-for-Books.

“If you find a book that looks interesting but is part of a series, do you always start with the first title?”

At first we thought this question was a joke.  Nothing more than a muse to stir emotions, but then to our horror we realize that there must be some legitimate truth to the question.  Now that our multiple fainting spells have ceased we must respond with a resounding, “YES, we always start with the first in the series.”  This is fundamental book etiquette, people.  Starting a series in the middle will do all kinds of horrible things to the delicate balance between our two worlds.  There’s really nothing more to say about this topic and if you happen to be one of those people who plot jump...  shame on you.

Greatest Military Satire

Catch-22 – Joseph Heller

Evan’s ESS = 8 out of 10

Erin’s ESS = out of 10

Content = PG (Adult Content, Violence, Language, Brief Nudity, Circular Logic)

"Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them."

Why: In case you didn’t know, the word stressed spelled backwards is desserts.  Similarly, the words taco salad spelled backwards is dalas ocat, which to the astute mind, makes absolutely no sense.  We highlight this important point to foreshadow the fact that much of Catch-22 doesn’t make any sense either.  That being said, don’t think for a second that Joseph Heller’s most popular novel isn’t one of the funniest ever written.

Who in their right mind doesn’t yearn for a little dysfunctional military comedy every once and while?  We do, we do!  You’ve got to be alert (and slightly insane) to keep pace with Captain John Joseph Yossarian and the rest of his bombardiers.  The reward however, is a hilarious account of military Bureaucracy and a few other things that go well beyond our humble comprehension, but are enjoyable nonetheless.    

Catch-22 has climbed to the top of several lists, including The Modern Library, Time, and The Observer.  Furthermore, it came in at a respectable 11^th place in the UK’s Big Read campaign.  We loved the book for its unique voice and fast pace.  The novel will make you cry, laugh, and then wonder what you were so emotional about in the first place.  No catch, just a good story.  

Greatest Fantasy Novels

Throughout our “Greatest Of” series we will be sharing a variety of lists representing our favorite novels within a certain genre.  Today, we submit our first list: greatest fantasy novels of all time (that we’ve read). 

But first, before we reveal anything (resist the temptation to scroll down) we would like to highlight a few of the difficulties encountered during the list creation process.  In order to minimize the total number of lists, the editorial staff here at Two Bibliomaniacs decided to consolidate the many candidates into one master list for each genre.  Considering the overlap found in Evan and Erin’s top 25 lists we naively thought this would be a fun and enjoyable process with only negligible dissention.  Rarely have we been so wrong.  We found out the hard way just how much passion went into defending each choice.  In the end, while we did find the necessary middle ground, there is plenty of truth to the rumor that Evan’s sleeping arrangements are temporarily located on the back patio.

Finally, we would like to remind everyone that all our “Greatest Of” lists are limited to only those novels that we have read, sooooo we would love to hear other recommendations that you deem worthy.       

Greatest Fantasy Novels

1. The Hobbit – J.R.R Tolkien
2. The Harry Potter series – J.K. Rowling
3. The Lord of the Rings – J.R.R Tolkien
4. Peter Pan – J.M. Barrie
5. The Chronicles of Narnia – C.S. Lewis
6. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl
7. The Color of Magic – Terry Pratchett
8. Sabriel – Garth Nix
9. The Neverending Story – Michael Ende
10. Inkheart – Cornelia Funke

Editor’s Note:  Okay, we lied about the whole sleeping on the patio thing.  Actually, it’s the smallest couch in the basement.

Greatest Insomnia Curing Novel

Moby Dick – Herman Melville

Evan’s ESS = 4 out of 10

Erin’s ESS = out of 10

Content = PG (Adult Content, Maritime Violence, Temperamental Sea Creatures)

“There she blows!–there she blows!  A hump like a snow-hill!  It is Moby Dick!”

Why: Rarely does a novel come along that has medicinal powers far beyond the narrative captured within the pages.  Since the onset of children we have experimented with countless sleep aids, but we’ve found nothing as effective in curing our nighttime insomnia than reading Moby Dick.  The rapidity at which we fell asleep after only a few paragraphs was wonderful if not a little startling.  Thank you Herman Melville, thank you.

Moby Dick is the classic seafaring tale depicting the hunt for literature’s most infamous white sperm whale.  Ishmael, Queequeg, Captain Ahab and the rest of the crew aboard the Pequod set sail towards the South Pacific and Indian Oceans in search of adventure, riches, and revenge.  Similar to the hardships faced on the whaling expedition, you too will encounter momentous challenges as you fight your way all the way to the last page (remember what we said about not completing a book once you start…).    

Melville certainly possesses a thorough command of the English language; however, his ability to keep the reader awake is of great concern.  The only part we found interesting was the commentary on the biblical story of Jonah and the Whale.  Reviews for this novel are mixed, ranging from “irrelevant” to “masterful”.  In fact, the Massachusetts legislature recently voted Moby Dick as the state’s official epic novel.  Frankly, we believe a motion for impeachment is in order.  One final note: If you haven’t picked up on this already, this novel should not be read while driving, operating machinery, or supervising young children as narcoleptic induced stupors are common.