Elsa+L



﻿WARNING

﻿These selections were selected by Elsa L. A known lover of the enchanting and the charming stories, filled with delightful people. But who also admits to be fascinated by tragedy, violence, raw humanity and twisted tales.

To begin, a few of the books I see as worthy candidates for the 2011 literature canon. My first being one I’m sure you will be sick of me mentioning…

**__﻿The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain __**
I know the old, dead and dusty white men recommend this book. But I do too, this book is far too scrumptious to be overlooked.

Tale of the blameless youth, Huck Finn, escapes his drunken father only to be adopted and shaped into gentleman. This not being comfortable for Huck. (very compressed summery, you must read the book to understand) Huck, with his escaped negro friend, Jim, create a raft and set off on a quest for a better life for them both. But, alas, they meet with the slimy tricksters the Duke and the Dauphin. Each time I re-read I find myself laughing at things I missed before. Witty, hidden and subtle things, such as how Huck describes the cooking in his fancy house; //'In a barrel..things get mixed up..the juice kind of swaps around, and the things go better.'// And here are a few reasons why I adore this booka few quotes, for those who have not read it yet. "**You don't know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain't no matter. That book was made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth, mainly. There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth."**  "What's the use you learning to do right, when it's troublesome to do right and ain't no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is just the same?" For more delicious quotes: http://www.allgreatquotes.com/adventures_of_huckleberry_finn_quotes.shtml

==== __**﻿J.M. Barrie's 'Peter Pan' (originally known as 'Peter and Wendy') **__  Peter Pan, an ignorant, stubborn, selfish boy who entrances children with his wit and joy. He is portrayed as the essence of childhood. Rightfully so, he is a fairies child and has been for hundreds of years. His occupation, stealing the young from their nurseries and taking them away to forget their parents. I strongly suggest this book as it fits all the criteria for the Literature Canon splendidly. It was written for children, making it for aesthetic reading. It has terribly good themes, such as age, revenge, motherhood and the role of women (and portrayal) of that time. ==== ** ﻿ "Fairies have to be one thing or the other, because being so small they unfortunately have room for one ****feeling only at a time. " ** "Stars are beautiful, but they may not take part in anything, they must just look on forever.  **"To die will be an awfully big adventure." ** "Our life is a book to which we add daily, until suddenly we are finished, and then the manuscript is burned."  **"Peter was no more to her than a little dust in the box in which she had kept her toys, Wendy was grown up."** "When people grow up they forget the way...It is only the gay and innocent and heartless who can fly." ==== **__﻿THE RAVEN __** (the most famous of the many great poems by Edgar Allen Poe) ====

Listen to it read with only the best atmosphere by James Earl Jones Eloquent. Affective. Spine tingling good. If one believed poetry could never scare you, this proved you wrong. Being a loyal lover of the gothic genre, this is one of my favorites. It is a burger with the lot. Edgar builds up the suspense, gripping you with the common fear oft he unknown, the strange. The most hellish, disturbing things about this poem are found in the subtle words. The rapping at the door. The single word from the raven. It is not obvious. There is no monster chasing him with chainsaws, no detailed descriptions of the zombies mangled face. Simplicity to let ones mind spin wild is special horror. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXU3RfB7308&feature=related

A reminder how infecting anger can be, and how satisfying revenge is for one so sick with rage. I'm sure it's human to all feel anger, and even if we like to admit revenge is not worth it. This is as truthful as it can get. Also. Who doesn't love William Blake? So I admire him for his truth. I suppose many poets are truthful, possibly why I like them so much. But I find William Blake the most honest with his words and feelings.

__**THE ADVENTURES OF ALICE IN WONDERLAND - Lewis Carroll**__ With a very Victorian British air, Alice, a child armed with words but a stranger in her new, unpredictable world. You have all seen the movies, the countless adoptions of the story, there is even a xbox game on its way to release. Possibly my opinion of the book is higher than most because I only saw the disney version last year, right after viewing it the Tim Burton way. But I had a shortened children's book version as a younging. Reading the full book a few years back, which i could not put down. This book not only displays fine words, quotes, rhymes and poems, but it is a charming, yet sometimes puzzling book. With several lovable poems. **The Bat**  //Lewis Carroll//   //Twinkle, twinkle, little bat//   //How I wonder what you’re at!//   //Up above the world you fly//  // Like a tea-tray in the sky. // And many, many memorable characters- This is a timeless novel, for children and adults alike. Though in honesty, even if it was intended for children, it is grisly at times, such as the Queen of Hearts demanding heads to roll, or the cheshire cat, grinning incessantly. __**THE TIME TRAVELERS WIFE (thank you to Abbey for lending to me)**__ ...I have prepared myself for some controversy here..this book can be compared to 'Twilight', not in the sense of hollow morels, and poor writing, (sorry twilight fans, but I find it too shallow) but in the way how it is a coin flip to if you love it, or if you loathe it. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">So, I will tread carefully, or I will lose precious friends. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Personally (very personally) I am one who loves this book. I fell in love with Henry, who, coupled with the writing elegance, may have been the only reason I love this book so dearly. Because I have death wishes for a characters or two.. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">But, if this book captures me so tightly only with its Henry and its writing, then I believe it to be worthy to be mentioned here. I doubt it will be seen as literature by others. But I am hopeful! <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Themes are of love, dedication, and loss. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">"Don't you think it's better to be extremely happy for a short while, even if you lose it, than to be just okay for your whole life?"

**B**__**eatrix Potter-The Tale of Peter Rabbit (and other such tales)**__ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">One of the most classical nursery stories. But this book is as thoroughly enjoyed by children as it is adults. The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter was her first book, and a classic, written over a century ago. It's popularity only growing as time goes by. It's charm derives from the water coloured pictures and the simple, and affective language. Beatrix has added in allure with the small details being addressed. Such as Peters brass buttoned jacket. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Many others of the series deserve credit also. 'The Tale of Jemima Puddleduck' <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">" She set off on a fine spring afternoon along the cart road that leads over the hill.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> She was wearing a shawl and a poke bonnet " <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Peter lost one shoe among the cabbages, and the other amongst the potatoes. So after losing them, he ran on four legs and went faster. So that i think he might have gotten away altogether if he had not unfortunately run into a gooseberry net."

__**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">﻿THE CHILD THEIF-BROM **__ Review Written by Chris on http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6308379-the-child-thief <span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px;">﻿"'Peter glanced up at the stars and a wicked smile lit his face. "Time to play," he whispered to the stars and winked. And the stars winked back, f <span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">or Peter's smile is a most contagious thing.'  <span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">This phrase sums up a lot about Peter. Charismatic, not even meaning for people to follow him, but knowing exactly what he is doing. Wanting to play, but not many people survive playing with him. In Brom's The Child Thief, the classic story of Peter Pan and Neverland is turned on its head and given a dark makeover. This book retains several elements of the original story of Peter Pan, but I can almost guarantee that you will never look at it the same way again." BROM is a well established and accomplished artist. Explaining himself as 'obsessed with the creation of the weird, the monstrous, and the beautiful.' since he was young. Brom is skilled in taking innocent classics, and translating them with his own twists of horror and brutal reality. This book is highlighted because of it's modern take on an old story, and how well it does this.

See more of his works at- http://www.bromart.com/ A note. This is not a story for children, even if based on Peter Pan.

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: x-large; line-height: 36px;">﻿Disney vs. Brom =  =

__** ﻿THE ARRIVAL-Shaun Tan **__ A story that on sight, will resemble a children's book. A wordless, short novel that only uses pictures as a means of conveying story to the reader.

Do not be deceived. Do not put it down. You must look, it will be hard to put down just three pages in. Shaun tan is an acclaimed artist,and is seen as a poetic writer. In this story, nothing can be read, there is no script, text, or dialog, letters are replaced with unfamiliar symbols and pictures. The story is of a beautiful land, a haven, safe for immigrants with traumatic stories of their past home. there is much stain and trouble for the man who is new to arrive in this haven, unable to speak the language and an alien in his new home. A book that is hard to forget.



**__ ﻿WIND AND THE WILLOWS __** Wind in the Willows is the tale of a luxury loving rat, a timid and worrisome mole, a badger who knows what's best and a completely outrageous and uncontrolled Toad. Even if badger is sour, Toad is indulgent, Mole is terrified and Rat is far too polite, each character emphasizes sweet nature and kindness in their humanized forms. Each character easy to fall in love with, laugh lightly at their jokes and their thoughts. They seem to leap out of the book as believable, truthful people. Something which we find delightful to embrace. From beginning to end, the writing is classic 1900's with spice. "The Wild Wood is pretty well populated by now; with all the usual lot, good, bad, and indifferent--I name no names. It takes all sorts to make a world." - Kenneth Grahame, //The Wind in the Willows//,

This one isn't really literature canon exactly, but they do pass SOME of the criteria. So I will mention them anyway. They are well worth a read.

**<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 120%; line-height: 19px;">﻿THE BIRD KING and other sketches SHAUN TAN **

By the title, you would guess that it has pictures. Yes, indeed it does. It is mostly pictures. Pictures that Shaun tan has collected over the years of brain storming, writing, learning, testing, trying, stressing and thinking. Each picture is a snippet of a thought, an idea for a story. But, sadly, it only fills some of the criteria for the Literature Canon, so does not pass as a candidate... __**THE OMEN-David Seltzer**__ Seltzer has done his homework, and with this book, peels away the Bible and the horror of hellish creations too close to comfort. A couple finally are gifted with the child they have been wishing for for years. But it is not their child. It is not a child by definition. It's destiny, fulfill the end. Gripping, disturbing, this book will haunt you. Again, it is not obvious evil-scare-you-by-screaming-in-your-face. It's fantastically portioned. It sucks you in, builds suspense, drags this on with subtle teasing and mystery until putting it down is not longer and option. Not to be read aesthetically. Too brutal for that. But is well written and does spike thought to religion, humanity, and death. THE REST OF THE LITERATURE CANON LIST A FEW MORE LINKS AND MANY MORE TREATS COMING SOON