so-soI read another Oz book today. Gathering these stories into collections like this one makes sense because they're so fast-paced (and sort of...pointless?). There was an especially fun cameo appearance by a non-Baum magical being, and the book ends with Dorothy still in Oz, which is different. #beyondtheyellowbrickroad
so-soDorothy again finds herself traveling through fairy lands & meets a variety of characters on her way to Princess Ozma‘s birthday party.
Baum has such a way with creating unique, beautifully absurd characters. We get to meet Polychrome, Button Bright, & the Shaggy Man! & one of my favorites Johnny Dooit. Button Bright may be silly, but it strikes me that if more people were willing to admit they didn‘t know something, we‘d be better off.🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑
so-soAnother adventure through strange and random lands. Another thing that is pretty dark if you think too hard about it, which Baum clearly didn‘t intend the reader to do. The characters were fun, and while I‘m getting pretty sick of the way Baum correlates beauty with goodness/friendship, at least he subverts that a little in this book.
pickBook #6 of 2025: “The “Wonderful” Wizard of Futher-Mucking Oz” by Matt Youngmark
About as good and wholesome as the original, just with more swearing 😂 It‘s a cute and quick read. Bonus: the author is a Seattleite!
bailedI‘m just disappointed.
so-soI‘ll start by saying that I‘ve always loved the story of the Wizard of Oz.Wicked strayed from the original story a bit, but not enough to bother me. This book strayed a bit too far away for my liking. I hardly recognized any of the original characters or storyline. Maybe that is what the author intended.There are many questions left unanswered, but there are two more books in this series. I may or may not read them.
so-soMy favorite part of this one was Eureka the kitten, but she did make me wonder why Toto didn't talk. I thought it was hilarious that Dorothy meets up with the wizard and they don't catch up on what's happened since they last saw each other until they've escaped death, what? 3 times? #BeyondtheYellowBrickRoad
so-soDorothy‘s visit to San Francisco is interrupted by an earthquake, where she falls into the earth. There, with her cousin Zeb, she meets up w/ the Wizard again through many adventures.
The way Baum writes animals suddenly realizing they can talk is always so funny to me. This 1 is very disjointed, w/ almost every chapter being a separate, contained adventure. I did love the fantastical elements of the lands under the Earth. 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑
