Mini-Review: Thursday Next: First Among Sequels

Jasper Fforde's novels are what I like to refer to as "English major porn." First Among Sequels carries on in this tradition, but it also has plenty of meta-humor, time-travel conundrums, and just plan fun. Thursday has a job working as the celebrity spokeswoman/installer for a carpet and flooring company, which is really a cover for the disbanded-but-still-going-strong SpecOps, which is yet another cover for her clandestined Book World jaunts. She's busy dealing with a national Stupidity Surplus (leading to a decline in reading and an increase in crappy reality shows), an apathetic 16-year-old son who SHOULD be rocketing up the career ladder as a ChronoGuard, and two other versions of herself: the fictionalized Thursday1-4 (from the first four sex- and violence-heavy Thursday Next book series) and a hippie-dippy Thursday5 (from the universally panned The Great Samuel Pepys Fiasco). Sound confusing? It is, a bit. It's also quite enjoyable. Fforde clearly has a love of language and literature. He character name-drops quite a bit: Harry Potter is rumored to make an appearance at a Book World meeting, and Tempe Brennan shows up, asking Thursday for advice on a real attempted murder within her own book. Plus there's appearances by the Hades family (Thursday's long-time nemises), the Goliath corporation (ditto), Pickwick, Uncle Mycroft, and others. It's a fun read set in a complex, interesting alternate universe. There are several different story lines, but they all come together in the end. There's even a bit of a cliffhanger, making me eager for the next book in the series.

Summer Reading Extravaganza Day 5: Oh, the Places You’ll Go (With a Book)!

Our final topic is books that transport you. It’s hard to take a trip with rising gas prices so thank God we can travel through reading! What are some of your favorite books that transport you to a new place?

I mentioned some of my favorite literary travel destinations in yesterday's post, so today I'm going to write about places that you can only travel to inside the pages of a book. Namely, other books.

I love a good sci-fi/fantasy novel, and Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series is one of the best examples, especially if you love books and reading - my friend DeAnna and I describe them as "English major porn." If you haven't read them, you are seriously missing out. The titles include: The Eyre Affair, Lost in a Good Book, The Well of Lost Plots, Something Rotten, and First Among Sequels. The series takes place in 1980's Swindon, and the protagonist is Thursday Next, a Jurisfiction detective who works inside books to help "maintain narrative stability." This includes finding a kidnapped Jane Eyre, living within the narrative of obscure books, talking on a "footnoter-phone," and other silly, book-related adventures. The stories can get confusing at times, but they are always fun. I would also recommend checking out Fforde Grand Central, which has information about the books, "Special Features," and a Dodo Emporium (re-engineered extinct species being a popular pet, naturally).

Visit The Friendly Book Nook for more fun places to visit with a book!