The Mickey Mouse Reader edited by Garry Apgar

I love Mickey Mouse, which I don't think is a wildly unconventional position. In fact, liking Disney is basically a way to bond with random strangers. So obviously, I wanted to read this reader.

The Mickey Mouse Reader is basically a collection of news stories and articles about Mickey Mouse and Disney. It starts off with the birth of Disney, and people catching on to the fact that a star was born, and ends with a series of analysis articles about the famous mouse, and musings about its future. Occasionally, there are notes about the articles at the end, and in the appendix are the original versions of certain translated pieces.

For me, the first part was a bit boring at times. Some of the articles were basically announcements about events, which I didn't find interesting. Others, like Nazi Germany's reaction to Disney was interesting. I basically preferred the Op-Ed pieces and interviews to things that were simply announcing facts. Trivia fans may find that interesting though.

Overall, though, you get an idea of how Mickey Mouse came to be. He grew from a lovable scamp to an icon of the twentieth century, at the same time, growing from a mischievous mouse to the embodiment of respectability, which makes it difficult to play pranks. Hence, the development of Donald Duck, who can get away with things that Mickey can't. While Walt Disney was alive, this seemed to be a good thing, but now, some people think that it's holding the company back. The last few essays think about the future of The Mouse - how can the company reinvent the mouse while keeping to tradition?

Although a bit repetitive at times, this book gives you a good feel of how Mickey Mouse (and by extension, Disney as it is) came to be.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.

Dark Sun, Bright Moon by Oliver Sparrow

Once in a blue moon, an author/publisher is kind enough to send me an actual print book. So, imagine that I'm doing a happy dance, and that is totally my reaction to this book coming.

And for once, I was really glad that I had the print book to review. This book is a huge epic, and I needed to flip to the appendix first to get an overview of this world halfway through the book.

Wait, is the book that confusing?

Yes. You see, the book uses the belief system of the Andes as a core element in the book, and it's so different from what I know. I was thoroughly confused by it at first, and the appendix was a huge help in understanding it. If you're not a history student, or you're just like me and don't know anything, it's worth starting this book at the end, to find out what this worldview is going on, then start reading the story. It'll help a lot.

As for story, it's basically the life story of Q'ilyasisa. The first part is like a prologue, which talks about the significant events before Q'ilyasisa's story even starts. And because of reasons (in the first part), Q'ilyasisa has a very significant part to play in the Andes, as she's tasked to fight with what they call a contagion that affects the fabric of the empire.

There are two things in this book that make it quite different from the others. The first is that it's very lavishly illustrated with black and white photos. I liked it, but I know that's a personal preference. The second is that the dialogue looks like this:

- "I'm talking right now" says I, typing away on my keyboard
- "Oh, yes you are." Says you. 

It's a bit weird, but I figure that since the worldview is so strange, perhaps this is also something that the author does intentionally. And I quickly got over it.

My only "major" complaint is that I can't help but feel that this would be awesome as a trilogy. There is so much that I'd like to see more off, and a lot more minor characters that I'd like to get to know. If they were given a book or two to develop, I could see this work being even richer and detailed than it already is.

Apart from this, I see a few grammatical errors (Like "But. However." as two one word sentence fragments in a row), but it only appeared occasionally; certainly not enough for me to put the book down. (But enough that I made a mental note of it)

Overall: This is a really interesting book. There are a few small things, like the occasional grammar mistake, that pulled me out of the story, but overall, I enjoyed it. It showed me a group of people that I've never even thought about before, and made them real to me.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author in return for a free and honest review.

This Little Piggy by Bea Davenport

I almost didn't get to read this book. Before I downloaded it, it got (mistakenly) archived on NetGalley. Thankfully, that was fixed and I managed to read it!

This Little Piggy, well, I wouldn't call it a mystery, even though at the centre is the unexplained death of little baby Jamie. Instead, it's about Clare and her journey. Clare isn't related to the poor baby that died, instead, she's a journalist that covers this case. As the murder happened to the baby of a strike breaker, tensions around the estate are high, and this has the potential to be one explosive story. So of course, the "head reporter" tries to muscle in on the story (although he never got really far). And as you read, you wonder, if Clare is so competent, why didn't she get the top job? What happened that prevented her from going to the interview? That is the real mystery of the book.

The other character that plays a significant role is Amy, a nine year old girl living near baby Jamie. She used to babysit baby Jamie, which is how she meets Clare. Amy quickly latches on to Clare, who cannot bear to shake her off because she seems neglected. And of course, Amy's propensity to tell tales is because of her upbringing - right?

And then there's Finn, the newly appointed head of the miner's union. I'm just going to say that I didn't like Finn from the start, and I didn't like the way his relationship developed with Clare. In fact, I thought that the romance aspect of the book was... strange. I was never convinced by any relationship, and I wonder why it's even in there. If we're talking in terms of stars, this aspect would be what keeps the book at four stars for me, not five.

But, overall, this is an excellent read. Even though this isn't really a mystery, I must admit that I was wrong about who the killer is. Still, don't read this for the mystery. Read this for the characters and for the portrayal of a town rocked in half over a strike - and the poor victims of it.

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.

Teaser Tuesday - The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Exams ended today! I can finally go on a reading binge, so right now, I'm reading The Night Circus! I've heard good things about it, but I never really thought to read it until I found a copy in Rainbow Plaza.

Teaser:

"My father calls it debauched juxtaposition, he must have worked for days to come up with a worthy insult. He sees something tawdry in the combining of skills, I have never understood why."(page 283)

Have you read The Night Circus? Did you like it? And what is your teaser today? ^_^