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I though Findus made fast food

areanor wrote:

Sharkey. Have you seen the Findus movies? The Muckla are these tiny creatures that carry the king's letter to Findus away. Or the ones that hijack his rocket. I think only Findus can see them...

...

Is that the movie only? I've not seen it, and never read anything like that. Letter from the king? Rocket?

Dindraug wrote:

I though Findus made fast food

Typical adult answer... My father said that, too.

:mrgreen:

Sharkey.

Findus is supposed to clean up some mess. And like any other child he doesn't want to. So he decides to write the King and ask if he really MUST clean up the house. The King writes back that he's going to visit and this letter is lost...

might be in the movies only. Did you check the links I gave?

awwwwww Areanor, thank you for the offer I do fear my german isn't good enough to read the books if only i could find them in dutch (might check my library again) or english.

ohhhhh his rocket! i remember that can't remember the king's letter though.

areanor wrote:

Findus is supposed to clean up some mess. And like any other child he doesn't want to. So he decides to write the King and ask if he really MUST clean up the house. The King writes back that he's going to visit and this letter is lost...

might be in the movies only. Did you check the links I gave?

:mrgreen:

Yeah, I saw the links. Perhaps they're named in the movies only. After all, the books are full of those little creatures, though I've never heard them named.

For Sharkey and Jae:
I hope this link works

There are comic magazins around for kids. In there the Muckla are quite often named. I will check out the books next time I read them to Jana in search for them.

Back to topic:

Alandriel, what about Letters from Felix?

After Felix, Sophie's stuffed rabbit toy, disappears at the airport,
Sophie starts receiving letters from him as he travels around the world.
rather charming. Movie to come in February.... :mrgreen:

Man! I've neglected this thread but it's great to catch up in here again. Thanks folks for contributing :mrgreen:

Sharkey those cartoon links to Findus and Petterson are fab!! :mrgreen: Sadly, amazon uk does not bring up much. Did a search on the authors name and they have entries that don't make much sense to me, e.g.
Festus and Mercury Go camping – Sven Nordqvist (hardcover) used and new from £58.27
Interestingly 'The Wonderful Adventures Of Nils' by Selma Lagerlof is available as an e-book (through amazon). Will check that ou :mrgreen: Can't beat £2.29

Leoba the Mrs Pepperpot books by Alf Proysen is a total unknown. Joyce Lankester Brisley's Milly-Molly-Mandy books – I checked that link. 1928 :mrgreen: they sound very interesting and I really laughed at the 'comment' some of it may be offensive to those with rose-coloured views of the good old days when children behaved themselves Guess I'm still old-fashioned There is a compilation book (40 stories) available and that was added along with 'The Story of Holly and Ivy' to my amazon wish-list :mrgreen:
Yo is not that much into doll's (don't ask me why for otherwise she's really a girly girl ) so I think I'll leave 'Tottie: the story of a doll's house,' out for now.
thanks!

Areanor Laura's star is available in English. Actually, there seems to be a series of these books (e.g. 'The new teacher', Laura's secret). I've added the first on my wishlist :mrgreen:
And those further links you gave to Findus make me want to get it asap – Some more German stuff will be good for Yo :mrgreen:
Letters from Felix is only available as hardcover here at a price of either £15.- or £40.- Guess that one will have to wait a bit (till I get a chance to scan around in Swiss bookstores)

thanks people!

the comic books look fab Areanor :mrgreen: still determind to go see if my library hasn't done away with them. sometimes they sell old books. it's worth a shot.

Alandriel... you could try amazon.de ....

Findus

As Amazon.Uk ships over to me, Amazon.de should ship over to you.
same login, if you're registered....

Another book fell into my hands... well, as I'm making an Excel list of my books at the moment, it was doomed to come up..

Erich Kästner: The 35th of May.

Though roaming through Amazon.UK (they list him under Kastner) I only found The Little Man and The little Man and the little Miss on sale.

The Animals' conference
comes to my mind, too, but not listed on Amazon

the others:
Emil and the Detectives, Emil and the Three Twins, The flying Classroom Punktchen and Anton, Louise and Lotti (Das doppelte Lottchen) would be for older kids, IMHO.

Just another 2 cents of mine.......

areanor wrote:

For Sharkey and Jae:
I hope this link works

Awww! :mrgreen:

Alandriel wrote:

Sharkey those cartoon links to Findus and Petterson are fab!! :mrgreen: Sadly, amazon uk does not bring up much. Did a search on the authors name and they have entries that don't make much sense to me, e.g.
Festus and Mercury Go camping ? Sven Nordqvist (hardcover) used and new from £58.27
Interestingly 'The Wonderful Adventures Of Nils' by Selma Lagerlof is available as an e-book (through amazon). Will check that ou :mrgreen: Can't beat £2.29

Leoba the Mrs Pepperpot books by Alf Proysen is a total unknown.

£58.27?! But 'Festus and Mercury'... The book where they go camping is very funny. My first Findus book.

Mrs Pepperpot is an important part of Norwegian child literature tradition. Alf Prøysen's books are simply charming. Wonderful reading.

But why they called Teskjekjerringa 'Mrs Pepperpot' in English, I'll never understand...

Get's a glazed over look in her eyes upon reading long 'lost' names
Erich Kaestner, Puenktchen und Anton, Emil and...., The flying classroom

sigh it's like suddenly a sidedoor to my childhood has opened I've totally forgotten about. Smooches Areanor :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
And yes of course I do Amazon.de .. but, gotta tread easy a bit till the month is out...

Tes
Tes-kje
Tes-kje-k
Tes-kje-k-jerr
Tes-kje-k-jerr-inga

wipes sweat from brow and stretches tongue to disentangle

I sure know why they call it Mrs. Pepperpot in english :mrgreen:


__________________
Resident witch

Teskjekjerringa

Even I know Emil and the Detectives. I had a copy of that in translation - I think it was my Mum's. Those books must have been around for eons!

Written mostly in the twenties and some in the thirties... by an author whose books got burned by the Nazis....

Alandriel wrote:

Tes
Tes-kje
Tes-kje-k
Tes-kje-k-jerr
Tes-kje-k-jerr-inga

wipes sweat from brow and stretches tongue to disentangle

I sure know why they call it Mrs. Pepperpot in english :mrgreen:

Te-skje-kjerringa.
(Tea-spoon-crone)

I must second Alandriel here. I didn't even try to pronounce that name....


Sharkey!

I stole a book from my daughter - have to put it back before she wakes in the morning.... I'll get a if she finds out I have taken it.

It's the first Findus book, in which Findus comes to live with Petterson ("När Findus var liten och försvann" is the swedish title - if that helps). The Muckla are there talking to Findus and they are named Muckla. Right in the middle of the book where Findus is hiding in a wooden box and the Muckla find him. Maybe you can have a look when you stumble over that book somewhere?

Alandriel, it's amazing how fast Amazon delievers. I ordered the Sharpe-DVD's on Amazon.UK on Friday night and they arrived yesterday.

:mrgreen: Oh my goodness!!!! All you mentioning Astrid Lindgren's books and Neverending Story....
I love those books... staple of my childhood... Brothers Lionheart is SUCH a beautiful (albeit dark and intense) novel...

Ronja is availiable on DVD??? Where? In Poland???? I want.

Ahem... my apologies... now that I got that over with...

On to the thread topic...

I am very picky in my fantasy reading... given that a lot of the genre is pure drivel, Ive grown reluctant to pick up things besides on detailed and trusted recommendations.
My favourite currently living author is Guy Gavriel Kay... Im astounded that he has not been mentioned here more, though Aglanor did I fine job of bringing him up!! :mrgreen: Yet he is not well known enough at all...

He is a Canadian writer... a lawyer by profession... who quit the nassssty business and began writing fantasy some years ago. He helped Chris Tolkien edit the Silmarilion... he is a friend of the Tolkien family.
His true and most powerful credentials, however, come in the experience of reading his prose...

He writes, mostly, a curious historical-fantasy genre... painstakingly researching times and places in real history and transforming them into something even more powerful than history itself; a sort of magical myth.

Eru, you have asked about Tigana, and that is one of his books... not sure if you saw Aggie's post about it...
You should DEFINITELY, definitely give it a try.

I could write volumes on this man and his books... but I will abstain for now...
(for anyone still at torc, there is a thread for everyone of his books in the other authors books forum... most started by me... if you are interested please do pop in... )

If anyone's interest is remotely piqued by what I said do check out his official website.

I will leave you with the titles of all his novels and brief descriptions...

"Fionavar Tapestry" (trilogy)
individual books:
1. The Summer Tree
2. The Wandering Fire
3. The Darkest Road

-this is high fantasy... very Tolkien-ian in vein. Beautiful.

"Tigana"
-a story set in a land roughly inspired by Italy in the times of the warring city states. A beautiful tale about love, memory, identity, loyalty, nationhood and patriotism...

"Lions of Al-Rassan"
-Based on Al-Andalus during its golden age... Spain under the Moors where Christians, Muslims and Jews created a thriving civilization together... while it lasted...
-This is currently in the works of being made into a film (still few years)
-Very appropriate to today's world events and sentiments...
-an engaging meditation on relationships... identity... love... heck..., all of Kay's books are deep down about ONE thing... humanity.

"The Sarantine Mosaic" (duology)
individual books:
1. "Sailing to Sarantium"
2. "Lord of Emperors"
-Based on the Byzantine Empire during the time of Justinian and Theodora...
-Beautiful, intricate, spiritual, highly political and strategic...

"A Song for Arbonne"
-based on the culture of Courtly Love in France at the time of the Troubadours...

"Last Light of the Sun"
-his newest book... a "Northern" novel... based on early medieval interactions between Anglo-Saxons, the Welsh, and the Vikings...

Kay also wrote an anthology of poetry titled "Beyond This Dark House"... a wonderful read...especially for those familliar with his prose.

Kay's books strike a very deep chord inside me...the way he writes is beautiful and sensuous. His themes and ideas resonate within me eternally. I have yet to have had a genuinely disappointed "recomendee"... of course, there are personal tastes, but I have never gotten a response from someone professing that Kay is not a good author...and frankly, all those who have tried on my urging thus far were hooked

Estel started a thread long ago in the torc other books forum titled "Reading a Book as a Sensual Experience", (and the thread has come to be subtitled the Guy Gavriel Kay sw00ning thread )... she has recently brought this discussion over here with transplanting some of the original posts from the torc thread... do take a look at the b77 version if you would like more of a feel for this author....

Happy readings everyone... :cheers

~enchantress

Enchie Hi! Good to see you around the new board.

Funny Guy Gavriel Kay is advertised in the back of my ed. of LotR, yet I never took the hint...

Even so from what you've said his latest book sounds like an interesting read. I'll look out for it.

Hey Enchi, good to see you again

I have read much by GG Kay, and whilst I do admit some of his stuff is excellent reading (Tigana and Song for Abonne), I found some of the other missed the point a bit.

It took me ages to read Lions of Al-Rassan because I just did not believe in the plot or the characters. I still don't know why, but I think it was that they did not gell sucessfully.

Kay also uses historical events and overplays his plots, which I think is another thing that grates. In Song for Abonne, which is basically the supression of the Cathers, the bad guys were based on Goths or Norse and it just grated. They just did not work, but the rest of the book was nice.

His is worth a read, but I would really reccomend Tigana as a start point for him. Although its renissance Italy, it is no real event and enough of the rest is not Italy to make it not a psudo-history.

Hey Edain! :mrgreen:
Good to see you here as well!

Definitely pick up some Kay... mhmm.
That newest book (Its already out for a while... its just his newest one... came out last year) is a little bit different in style from the others I think...the writing is a bit more economical and objective, he tries to push for growth in his manner of writing I think... its not bad, but I think Im more partial to the older style.
If the time period and topic interests you, though, by all means do read it...

I would start out with something like... Tigana... or Lions of Al-Rassan...

Din, pffffft, what are we going to do with you...

Its a matter of personal taste I think...I loved Lions...and I think Tigana or Lions are the best starting grounds for beginning to read Kay...or actually, for a tolkien fanatic, starting with Fionavar might not be so bad either (thats what I did... but I know its somewhat unusual)...

Lions has a cult following among Kay readers... most usually describe themselves as FT-ers or Lions lovers .. those two seem to hold sway as the most popular favourite ones in his repertoire...I used to be a hard core FT-er until I read lions... and now having read most of the novels at least twice... I am really reluctant with picking favourites... each time I delve in I emerge with a richer and deeper understanding...and choosing one as "better" just doesnt make sense to me anymore.

I actually regarded "Song for Arbonne" as Kay's weakest book after I finished all his novels... on the second re-read I grew to love it though.

As for not being entirely true to history...Kay never claims to write pure historical fiction... I adore his style of basing the stories in history but morphing them into more fantastical tales.

Did you read The Sarantine Mosaic, Din?... or the new one, Last Light of the Sun?

~enchantress

Lions and FT - pfffft. Tigana and StS all the way bebe!!

Kidding, kidding - all of his books are incredible.











Tigana is still the best though