Sunday, June 10, 2012

Book Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

You know how you're not supposed to choose a book based on it's cover? Yeah, I know that is metaphorical for not judging people based on their physical appearance. BUT, it had to come from somewhere, right?

Yeah, well, the only reason I selected this book is because of its cover. It drew me in. Kudos to the person who was in charge of that whole thing.

I went over to see the photograph, picked up the book, scanned the back cover, read the description and then flips through the pages. Holy fuck! I need to get this book. There are old, bizarre photographs throughout the pages. The photos, while some occasionally manipulated, are mostly found photographs (list of the owners/contributors in the back of the book). Seriously, how could I not get it?

It is a quick, easy read, but still very good. I don't want really want to give anything away, but this book has a lot of what I long for when I read these sorts of fantasy stories: mystery, secret places, and time travel. So cool. The book's ending is left open for another tale, and, based on my reading about the book, another book is in the works, as is a movie... apparently Tim Burton is eyeballing it up! Perfect match, really.

Also, I'm looking forward to October's release of Talking Pictures. It is a book with a collection of found photographs. The description of the book is exactly why I love photographs: " ...Ransom Riggs's Talking Pictures is a haunting collection of antique found photographs—with evocative inscriptions that bring these lost personal moments to life...Each image in Talking Pictures reveals a singular, frozen moment in a person’s life, be it joyful, quiet, or steeped in sorrow. Yet the book’s unique depth comes from the writing accompanying each photo: as with the caption revealing how one seemingly random snapshot of a dancing couple captured the first dance of their 40-year marriage, each successive inscription shines like a flashbulb illuminating a photograph’s particular context and lighting up our connection to the past."

Good shit.

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