I recently reread Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, by Gregory Maguire, because I wanted to see if it was appropriate for my soon to be 11 year old daughter. She has recently become a fan of the Wicked musical score, and really wants to see the show when it comes to town next year. While the musical is suitable for audiences of all ages, I knew about 4 pages into my reread that the book is NOT appropriate for my 10 year old. I'll let her read it when is about 18. However, that did not stop me from enjoying this story of an "emerald in the rough" a second time.

This is the story and back story of The Wizard of Oz as told from the perspective of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. If you think about it, until now, we have only been told Dorothy's, Glinda's, and the Wizard's side of the tale. As that telling goes, those three are the side of good, and the Witch is on the side of evil. But is she really?

This creative and fascinating novel gives us in v...

It's around US$32.97 in Amazon.com

In Canada, it costs about CDN$38.61 in Amazon.ca

The Dark Lord guy stirs the pot a bit.

Rand also gets fed up with the sexist sorceresses and says, hey, you blokes can do magic too if you can, and establishes his own band of magic wielders with Mazrim Taim to lead them.

The females get upset at this threat to their power, and come after Rand.

Yet another power base, that of the army of religious fanatics also comes more into play.

It's around US$56.67 in Amazon.com

In Canada, it costs about CDN$83.13 in Amazon.ca

I loved this book. I couldn't finish the series. It got so convoluted and ridiculous by the fifth book you couldn't keep track of what was going on. HE DESCRIBES WHAT EVERY SECONDARY CHARACTER DOES ALL THE TIME ! Which ruins the story. Stick with your main characters and finish a story. That way it will be a good story ! Don't get me wrong, he's created an amazing world, with incredibly cool and new ideas. But overall later in the series he just goes off on tangents and his characters become like gods with their abilities! You lose track of what's going on because he feels he has to delve into every secondary character's plots and story arcs. Ridiculous! The first three to five books are great. He could have ended it there but he made another 6 books of pure boredom and fluff to make money. Sad. If he would have finished the story on the fifth book, he could have had new characters and really interesting new series. All of you fantasy writers out there -LISTEN, write a story and finish it. We don't want t...

It's around US$37.77 in Amazon.com

In Canada, it costs about CDN$55.41 in Amazon.ca

And it's available in Amazon UK, but I'm not sure about the price.

My husband doesn't get alot of time to read, the audiobooks are perfect and they keep him awake while driving...HUGE BONUS!!! Perfect for road trips or just your general busy life. You always have time for a CD, in the car, while cleaning the house or even on the treadmill.
I really don't have much to say about this one in particular, (Who hasn't seen the movie)except it is better than the movie. No need to say more.

Listen to it for your self....no excuses.

It's around US$31.49 in Amazon.com

This book will be thoroughly enjoyed by any fan of fantasy writing. However, I would strongly recommend that readers should start from the beginning with book 1 "The Eye of the World". This book is a fast-paced fun read that will keep you immersed in a vivid and detailed world of fantasy. Robert Jordan writes so well as to make you feel that you are part of the story. Once you pick up the book you will not want to put it down. This book builds on the story of three boyhood friends who find themselves at the center of the struggle to save the world from the Dark one. Rand, Matt, and Perrin each have a significant portion of the book. After reading this, you will just want to get the next book as soon as you can.

It's around US$37.77 in Amazon.com

In Canada, it costs about CDN$55.41 in Amazon.ca

"Son of a Witch" is Gregory Maguire's sequel to his wildly popular novel "Wicked". It picks up immediately where the last book left off; the witch is dead, and Dorothy and her gang are on their way back to see the wizard, where they pick up a new companion, Liir. Eventually Liir finds Elphaba's cape and magic broom, and sets off on his own rather revolutionary adventure through Oz. All the while he is looking for his lost playmate, Nor. This is really only the tip of the iceberg, there is a lot more to the story; you'll just have to read it and find out the rest your self.

"Son of a Witch continues with story threads and themes began in "Wicked", such as evil being a relative concept, as well as the motivations involved in revolution and rebellion. The Wizards persecution of Animals (that is animals that can think and reason; a la the Cowardly Lion), and then the new Wizard's rather zealous grasp of Unionism (a kind of Christian religion in Oz). Liir also faces severe identity crises becau...

It's around US$26.37 in Amazon.com

In Canada, it costs about CDN$31.35 in Amazon.ca

This unabridged version is packed with exciting details. Some that were not even in the movie. It gets into the mind of Anakin Skywalker and how the internal struggle is so powerful. 14 hours, 11 cd's. Great!

It's around US$32.97 in Amazon.com

In Canada, it costs about CDN$46.17 in Amazon.ca

I have bought the lord of the rings in all it's form since becoming interested in all things tolkien 25 years ago and the trilogy in this form is absolutely superb. Rob inglis's voice and narration really complement the book brilliantly. Excellent stuff.

It's around US$31.49 in Amazon.com

You can also buy this in Canada, but I don't know the price.

The Hobbit is a fairly good book. It has an interesting storyline an grabs the reader throughout the whole novel. I for one read it when I was in 5th grade at school. I found it interesting and usually was a chapter or two ahead of the class. The Hobbit is a beginning book. What I mean by this is that it takes a lot of time explaining the story. This takes up a couple of chapters and I think it would have been a better book if it had built some more suspense in the end scene and extrapolated it a bit more. But otherwise, this book has few shortcomings. Other than the fact that they spent a lot of time in Mirkwood forest, I liked the book. Beorn was portrayed well. The plot line is nice, although there is a kill stealing at the end. All-in-all, I recommend this book

It's around US$26.39 in Amazon.com