Today’s Book Blogger Hop question is: Who is your favorite children’s books author and why?

Oh, so many, many, many authors!  I have three large bookcases, and one of them is all my children’s books.  But who comes to mind first?

My favorite picture book author is James Stevenson, especially for his delightful Grandpa and Uncle Wainey books, though not exclusively.  A series of tall tales, they’re over the top and very funny even for an older reader.

My favorite author when I was a kid was Gordon Korman, a simply hilarious writer.  The slot Terry Pratchett fills in my adult life, Korman occupied in my childhood.  His books from the 70s and 80s are best, when he was practically a child himself (my favorite of his series he wrote while in high school!)

And I have so many favorite classic British children’s fantasy authors.

Who are your favorite children’s authors?  I’m always up for a new recommendation!

Today’s Book Blogger Hop question is: Do you enjoy reading retellings of, or ‘sequels’ to, classic novels? Why or why not?

 

Oh, now that is a very, VERY tricky question.  Retellings are both my favorite and least favorite books to read.  When they are good, they are very good, and when they are bad, they are maddening.  So let’s parse this out.

Retellings and sequels are not the same thing, to begin with.  Sequels are a harder sell, because they are generally an adding-on rather than a reinvention, and that is much harder to do successfully.

On at least one occasion I opened a “sequel” to a classic novel written by a new author, read a paragraph or two, said, “Nope” and put it back on the shelf.  It is very, very hard to convincingly duplicate a classic author’s style in a way that works for me.  I don’t care what anyone says, there are only 14 Oz books–if it wasn’t by Baum, it doesn’t count.  On the other hand, Peter Pan in Scarlet by Geraldine McCaughrean is an absolute delight of a sequel.  She knew her source intimately and she pulled it off masterfully.  That is hard and rare.

So with regards to sequels, the answer is no, I don’t like them–with an occasional, exceptional exception.

Now, retellings.  Here we’re in my home territory because that’s what I write.  Retellings of classic stories, folklore or fairy tales are easier than retellings of novels.  There may be significant versions of, say, Cinderella, but there are ALSO many, many valid versions that exist in the literary canon.  Since there isn’t one definitive one, the field is open for any writer to bring their own style and their own twist to the story.  I love retellings of fairy tales, and what I love most is seeing all the differences that can be woven out of the same foundational story.

Retellings of novels, where there IS one original source…that’s a challenge.  I live here too, since one of my major works is a retelling (although I sort of like “reinterpretation”) of The Phantom the Opera, which did begin life as one novel by Gaston Leroux.  Phantom is an unusual one, though, in that the last century has seen so many retellings that it’s almost entered a folklore-like state, where I actually love seeing the many different approaches.  It may, in an odd way, help that the Leroux novel is, well, not my favorite.  So I don’t get into a righteous indignation about changes to Leroux’s work.

Which brings me to retellings that don’t work.  When the original is delightful and beloved and wonderful, it then becomes very hard to retell it.  It can be done, and I think there are more successful retellings than successful sequels, but it’s still tough.  It’s easy to stir up my knee-jerk “but that’s not how it IS” reaction.  A successful retelling requires a deft touch and a great respect, knowledge and affection for the original version from the writer.  Prove to me that you know your source material and I will ride along with changes; get it wrong because you don’t actually know?  That’s a hard stop.  And start your book with an explanation about how the original got it wrong and this is the corrected version?  No no no no no!

So the answer to the original question is an emphatic yes.  And an equally emphatic no!  🙂 Where do you stand on retellings or sequels to classic works?

Today’s Book Blogger Hop question is: Off the book topic…do you use a mouse pad? If so, what is on it?

Not only do I not use a mousepad, I don’t use a mouse!  I’ve been on a laptop since I started college, and while I think I probably had a mouse at first (maybe…?) I’ve done so much typing on my lap that I’m all about the trackpad now.

I do have a mouse at my job…that was a very secondary reflection, as I tend to think about my private life when I blog!  I don’t have a mousepad there either though.  People who have tried to use my computer say that the mouse moves pretty wildly…though it always looks to me like they’re swinging it about quite a lot.  My guess is the mousepad/no mousepad piece really makes a difference in how people move the mouse.

If I was going to have a mousepad, I’d probably go for something geeky, maybe Star Trek or Doctor Who-themed.

Where do you stand (or scroll)?  Mouse or no mouse?  Pad or no pad?

Today’s Book Blogger Hop question is: Do you read hardcovers with the dust jacket on or off? Why or why not?

I feel like this question comes up for me on a strangely rare basis…but maybe it isn’t strange!  Most of my books come from the library, and if they’re hardback, they’re all taped and laminated and…well, those dust jackets are not coming off easily.  Of my own books, I mostly buy paperback so–no dust jacket.  Or I buy very old hardcovers that either never had a dust jacket or don’t anymore (and I tend to like how those look without jackets anyway).

If I buy a hardcover with a dust jacket I usually leave it on–because otherwise, what would I do with it?  I have no need for added clutter!  I will make an exception, however, if I really hate a cover image.  I recover paperbacks if I don’t like the cover, and I have at least one hardback that came with a since-discarded dust jacket.  I didn’t like the cover image, and it looks much better without it!

Do you prefer not to have dust jackets on your hardbacks when you read, or do you just leave them where they are?

Today’s Book Blogger Hop question is: Have you ever found yourself acting like a favorite character in a novel? If so, which one?

There are certainly some favorite characters in novels (and movies) that I think I have a resemblance too, or share some traits with.  Practically every woman I know feels an affinity with Belle from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, which really just tells you that I know a lot of readers!  I think most of us, including me, relate to Hermione a lot too.

One book character I am particularly fond of and feel more like as I get older is Morwen from The Enchanted Forest Chronicles.  She likes order and neatness, loves cats, and spends an entire scene of one book packing practical things along for a quest, like sandwiches and blankets.  That would definitely be me.  I don’t care if the wizards stole an enchanted sword and we have to find them to save the magic kingdom, I’m not going without plans for regular meals!

Of the heroines in my novels, I’m certainly the most like Lyra (or should I say she’s the one most like me?) as she loves stories and storytelling.  I’m least like Karina, a fierce fighter who trusts no one…which is probably just as well for me!  Book and travel-loving Julie, and decisive, managing Catherine share a few traits with me as well.

Do you find yourself having things in common with book characters, or behaving the way they might?