The Alethiometer Says...

So, I just finished reading Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass, the first book in his award-winning trilogy, His Dark Materials. I know, what took me so long, right? After the adventures of some hairy-toed hobbits and a certain scarf-wearing wizard, this is as cool as a fantasy series gets (Narnia, you say? Keep on saying.)

Anyway, I'm in for the long haul now. I won't get into the story here...but you can here. Needless to say, it's hard to go wrong with flame-throwing armored polar bears fighting bow and arrow wielding witches. Good stuff.

And you might want to get started right away so you can be ready for when (surprise, surprise) the movie opens this December (with Nicole Kidman as the child-stealing villainess ). Like I said, good stuff.

(FYI: The book was originally published in the UK with the title Northern Lights, which is far more fitting, though apparently somehow un-American. Good thing you don't need to understand how publishing works in order to enjoy books.)