Awaiting with bated breath- Five of the best new books this year

There is a veritable smorgasbord ( fun word- right?) of highly anticipated books awaiting release over the next twelve months (and some a little bit after that). What with a very very famous author releasing what will has certainly been  a highly anticipated novel in the next TWO days, I compiled a list of some of the fiction (alot of which has been mentioned here) I can’t wait to arrive on my bookshelf.

Steampunk! Bells and whistles!

Steampunk, a melding of the old and the new is among the hot new trends in speculative fiction. To be different is the norm and the more substitute body parts you have the better. Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grants anthology Steampunk! is a stand out new volume just waiting to be explored.

“Maison tournante aérienne”: drawing shows a dwelling structure elevated above rooftops and designed to revolve and adjust in various directions. by Albert Robida

Steampunk is an adventure just waiting to be begun, see my video overview:

Image courtesy Wikipedia Commons

Fairy tales, Fairy tales, everywhere

The humble bedtime story has undergone a make-over of late. Fairy tales seem to be the ‘nom du jour’ among those with any interest in literature, fashion and entertainment.

What with the Grimm Brother’s 200th anniversary coming up this September, the discovery of 500 new fairy tales in Germany and the plethora of fairy tale films flying out of hollywood, its difficult not to think that fairy tales may be undergoing a revival.

Beauty and the Beast