Welcome to Litsy!

The Latin phrase E Pluribus Unum — Out of Many, One — is our de facto national motto. It was a rallying cry of our founders as they built a single unified nation from a collection of states. It‘s a good reminder of where we need to go.
-Steve Blank

#EPluribusUnum

#JulyJazz

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

This book struck a decent balance between “plot” and “random punny adventures.” Some of the things that irk me about other Oz books were definitely present here (are Glinda and Ozma *really* all that great?). But I just loved Trot, Cap‘n Bill, and the Orks so much that I can‘t downgrade the rating. #BeyondtheYellowBrickRoad

When Toto & his human Dorothy are swept away in a tornado, he was not expecting a land of magic, political feuds, & revolution. Being a Good Dog was going to get him taken away by Animal Control, so it‘s time to see what a Bad Dog can do.

I laughed out loud so much. A modernized retelling, poking fun @ a lot of tech bro culture & far right wing masculinity, while also providing loving references to the wide spread cultural impact of Oz.🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗

I liked that this had more of a storyline and less randomness than previous Oz books. Betsy Bobbin and the Shaggy Man are delightful. However, I was constantly frustrated that the horrible Love Magnet works differently than it did in the past (presumably so it can be defended against), and the nomes‘ personality changes didn‘t stick, other than the king inexplicably getting a new name.

Doctor‘s appointment: Boo!

Toto‘s Point of View: Yay!

When Betsy & Hank the mule fall overboard in a storm, they have no idea they‘ll join up w/ the Shaggy Man rescuing his brother, a lost daughter of the Rainbow, & a small army intent on conquering Oz.

I had forgotten a lot of this 1! The army of Oogaboo is just ridiculous, Polychrome & Betsy are a joy, we get to meet a dragon, & the Nome king makes a dastardly reappearance. So does the Love Magnet, & I really wish they would lose that. 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑

The young Munchkin Ojo is on a quest to save his beloved uncle. With friends like Scraps the Patchwork Girl, the Glass Cat, & the Shaggy Man, he will travel across Oz to save his family.

I feel so weird about this. I love Ojo, Scraps, & the Glass Cat. But reading this now, I don‘t like Ozma‘s banning of magic except for Glinda & the Wizard, & I really don‘t like the final treatment of the Glass Cat or the Wizard Ex Machina at the end.🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑

The Patchwork Girl herself is pretty fun, but most of the other characters are annoying. I‘m getting kind of sick of Baum‘s formula of “some characters get together and travel around Oz, encountering all kinds of weird people and things that have never before been mentioned existing, and the problem is solved in a way that could have been done all along.” I did enjoy the bits of romance between Scraps and the Scarecrow.

It‘s here! 💚🩷💚🩷💚

Part two of a movie musical based on a stage musical based on a book based on a movie musical based on a book. Phew!

#BookAdaptations

Semi serious question. I‘ve been going through my books trying to get rid of some (none so far 😅) and I found my copy of Wicked I tried to read back in high school. Should I give it another go?

https://youtu.be/BRt-qexTWy4?si=riPJksD-LycwtNTp

Haven't a clue what's going on in that picture, but I had to use it.

I saw the #BeyondTheYellowBrickRoad group reading this & was surprised I couldn't place it in my memory. I've definitely read it multiple times but I think it must be one I didn't go back to as an adult. Not hard to see why... Dorothy and Ozma are both kind of obnoxious in this one and I feel bad for Uncle Henry and Aunt Em. Still lot of fun to be had though.