The Great Gatsby : a graphic adaptation

Author: A graphic adaptation by Nicki Greenberg of the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald Publication Date: 2007 Category: Graphic novel Who'll want to read it? Someone who wants to read F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel in a hurry, someone who enjoys graphic novels, or someone who enjoys the Great Gatsby. Point of no return: Page 4, when you find out Gatsby is a seahorse. Classic line: "Reserving judgements is a matter of infinite hope." What's it all about? The mysterious Jay Gatsby who lives next door and throws lavish parties, but seems desperately unhappy and uninvolved in all the frivolities, has an underlying motive... Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Lord Vishnu's Love Handles: A Spy Novel (sort of)

Author: Will Clarke Publication Date: 2005 Category: Humour Who'll want to read it? Anyone with a sense of humour and sense of the absurd. Point of no return: I rather liked the title to begin with, but page 1 definitely dragged me in. Classic line: "A therapist once told me I might be crazy. Well, he didn't exactly say that, but I knew what he meant. That's when I stopped talking about what "I know". And I stopped seeing that asshole. Now, I keep what goes on inside my head in my head." Pg 4 What's it all about? Dallas yuppie Travis Anderson thinks he's psychic, but is he? The resulting pages are hilarious as Travis's upper-middle-class lifestyle crumbles around him. It's a fast paced 'spy novel, sort of' in which the IRS, the CIA, Lord Vishnu and Disneyland bring the whole story to a sort of happy ending. Publisher: Simon & Schuster

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Author: Brian Selznick

Publication Date: 2007

What's it all about? This book -at first glance- appears to be a children's book and in fact the children's section is where you would find it in most libraries and bookstores. However it is a book that will appeal to adults as well. It is a combination of pictures, still shots from film and text that each take an equal part in telling the story of Hugo Cabret.

Hugo Cabret is a young boy who secretly lives at the Paris train station, he invents things, he fixes things, he steals things. Hugo has a secret nobody can know. This is his life until one day he is caught by the owner of the train station toy shop. There is an interesting cast of characters from Isabelle, a strange girl with an insatiable appetite for books, to Etienne the young man with a eye patch who sneaks children into the local cinema, to the mysterious and grumpy old man Papa Georges who owns the train station toy shop.

This story is so beautiful and whimsical, I read it in one night with each word or picture spurring me on, wanting me to find out more. It is a lovely story that not only captures your imagination but gives you some interesting information about the history of French cinema. The format was very sucessful in keeping a natural flow, once I got into the book I hardly noticed the changes from picture to text.

I would recommend this book to children, adults, aliens and animals, it is fantastic!

Publisher: Scholastic Press