Un Lun Dun (Turtleback School & Library) | 
I‘m still trying to teach Scully cat not to chew on my books.
#CatsOfLitsy
pickI was able to finish in the last week 2 more books: White Nights by Ann Cleeves (another excellent book in the Shetland series) and the tagged one that I simply loved.
Everything I ever read by China Mieville was great but this time he really amazed me with his imagination. The UnLunDun world is simply awesome, the characters are so great and “alive“. One of those books that one really hopes it will have a sequel.
Both books are picks for me!
I'm revisiting this gem with my nieces in our book club (online now, due to covid)
Technically Un Lun Dun been on my tbr for 10+ years, but I think in tbr years it adds up to forever.
@MrBook #ReadWithMrBook #OnTBRForever
#readingcompanion #catsoflitsy
Got these at my latest bookfest run. Going again tomorrow, but was happiest to find a couple China Mieville and Jeanette Winterson books.
Good reading month in Oct. My faves were Un Lun Dun (so creative, such amazing wordplay) and All Systems Red (Snarky A.I. with social anxiety disorder). Not a disappointment in the bunch!
pickAmazingly clever 5 âï¸ read. As one reviewer wrote, if Alice in Wonderland and Neil Gaiman‘s Neverwhere had a baby, this book would be the result. An “unchosen†girl hero travels to UnLondon where she outsmarts dangerous beings like Black Windows in Webminster Abbey and, with a group of new friends, fights to protect the quirky residents of UnLondon, an upside down version of London, from a vicious sentient smog that destroys all in its path.
panToo fantastical. I felt like the author was trying to one-up himself constantly, challenging himself to make the next event/character more over-the-top than the last. It was almost as if he had a thousand ideas for different books that he rolled together into one hot mess. Despite my negative feelings while reading, I found myself wishing it had been around when I was 10/11. I would have loved it and the entire crazy world the author created.
pickYou don't need to be the Chosen One. You can be the Hero just because you want it )
“Tell me something I don't know,“ said Deeba. “You're talking to the Unchosen One.“
“Yeah, but where's the skill in being a hero if you were always destined to do it?“ said Hemi.
pickI‘ve been reading this book during my lunch breaks at work. A YA fantasy set in an alternate London. This is a very imaginative fantasy adventure. Two teenage girls stumble from London into UnLondon , meeting a very eclectic mix of characters. I‘m not the target audience so the beginning was slow for me, but the adventure really picked up in the middle. I‘m wavering between a pick and a so-so. Its cool glossary and great imagery convinced mðŸ‘ðŸ‘
so-soThe first book I finished in 2019. Loved the world building and the drawings, but the story was so-so.
pickContinuing my catch-up reviews. This book was fantastic! It took me a little while to get into it - I kept feeling like it was just a little too impressed with its own cleverness - but once the story hooked me, I really enjoyed it. A very original take on the “chosen one/fish out of water†genre. Some have complained about it having a heavy-handed message, but I just didn‘t see it — and I‘m highly averse to that sort of thing. Fun and engaging.
#AprilBookishMadness #ChildProtagonist
@maich
A modern Alice in Wonderland like story that I liked very much. So much whimsy and charm with a darkness lurking just below the surface. 🤘
pickI'm continuing my run of brilliant children's/YA lit. This was a re-read of a witty, exuberant story about the abcity of UnLondon. Miéville revels in twisting tropes and he can find a pun in almost everything. His world manages to be silly and charming without losing the darkness and the plain weirdness that are his hallmarks. Carnivorous giraffes, Parisn't, smoglodytes, Bookaneers, Manifest Station, it's all glorious.
Made a little pit stop while out buying apartment things yesterday.
My book shopping buddy. She naps, mama shops for all the books. #usedbooks #bookishbabies
Maybe not #LondonCalling but how about UnLondon? A fun YA urban fantasy about what it means to NOT be the Chosen One. Plus some crazy illustrations from the man himself #rockinmay
#LondonCalling
This is a dark and fun book with a very Alice in Wonderland feel. A quest through another dimension of London- Un Lun Dun! #recommendsday. #rockinmay
pick#35BookParty 1
The #eBook that convinced me that the format need not stop me from reading. This title was not available at the library and then #overdrive came to my rescue (once again! ;))
What an adventure this was! #unlundun #london
When it's sunny and warm (ish) and you live in #madison, you go to the Terrace for beer and books. Love this weather! #amreading
pickJust finished reading Un Lun Dun, and I loved a lot about it. The concept of the "Unchosen One" and twisting so many fantasy tropes makes it refreshing. I just wish it had been a little shorter. By the time it hit the three-quarters mark, I was ready for it to be over. Deeba is a great hero, though. Loved her!
My Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1842354359
#UnLunDun #ChinaMieville #London #fantasy
Um... I can't decide if China is being overly clever with the name for the "car boats." I mean, even the main character can't pronounce it. Part of me thinks it's China poking fun at unpronounceable names in fantasy, given how much of this book is a big twist on the fantasy cliches of "Chosen One" stories, but still... #UnLunDun #ChinaMieville #fantasy #SayWhut???
If I have a mild gripe, it would be how China will sometimes end a chapter in mid-sentence and then finish the sentence at the start of the next chapter. It felt clever and creative the first time, but I think he's overused it. Perhaps it wouldn't be as big a deal if I was reading a hardback or paperback, but in the ebook, it's frustrating since I can't see the pages side-by-side. #Tricksy #UnLunDun #ChinaMieville #fantasy #London #UnLondon
About halfway through Un Lun Dun, I don't know that I ever want to go near a broken umbrella (aka "unbrella") again. It's like Steven Moffat's Weeping Angels and the Vashta Nerada. Thanks, China. Thanks a lot. #fantasy #UnLunDun #ChinaMieville #unbrella #umbrella #London #DoctorWho #StevenMoffat #WeepingAngels #VashtaNerada #creepyshyte
I'm a fifth of the way through Un Lun Dun, and one of my favorite characters so far hasn't a single line of dialogue. China makes the milk carton Curdle as cute as a puppy (but even Curdle can't match my dog Wicket for cuteness...just sayin').
#MilkCartonsOfLitsy #DogsOfLitsy #fantasy #ChinaMiéville #UnLunDun #London #WicketsWorld #GotMilk
As a dog person, I love China Miéville's blatant dis of the cat kingdom. Of course, my nickname is Wildcat, so...hmmmm... #cats #catsoflitsy #dogsrule #disinformation #UnLunDun #ChinaMieville #fantasy
Hmm, this really gives nothing away, but is intriguing. #firstlineofcurrentread #aprilbookshowers @RealLifeReading
Having finished Overturned by Lamar Giles, I'm ahead of schedule for the Eclectic Readers Podcast MadLibs Reading Challenge. Up next for me is going to be Un Lun Dun by China Miéville. This will be the first time I've read anything by Miéville, so I'm excited to see how this turns out.
#fantasy #chinamieville #chinamiéville #UnLunDun #ERMadLibs
The perk to being jet lagged is that I've​ been waking up before my alarm, which makes for a leisurely morning. And I'm not a morning person, so it's kind of nice. Has anyone read this children's book by Miéville? It's so bizarre. Reminds me very much of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, but WAY creepier.
This book is interesting from the very beginning.. ðŸ˜
pickPictured: Deeba Resham
Whimsically dark, delightfully subversive, and utterly clever. I tore through this book with the kind of rapt wonder that one seldom feels reading as an adult... Which, I believe, is probably the highest complement that anyone can afford a "children's" book.
A fantastic romp of a gloriously off kilter YAish urban fantasy and obviously CM is bae R squared.
Here are a few of my other worldly favourites! #booktober #outofthisworld @RealLifeReading
My pick for #fullofadventure London through the looking glass. Everything is alive and carniverous giraffes stalk the streets. And you'll never look at umbrellas the same again 😠#booktober
Did you know that China Miéville wrote a middle-grade novel that has been compared to THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH and ALICE IN WONDERLAND?! I didn't! I'm really excited to start this one.
