I just want to post something new (since someone suggested it in a comment) before Monday's discussion of "Watch Your Mouth" gets underway.

You know it?s not really the Holiday Season without Vampires, Demons and Dragons (oh my!). Wait? maybe that?s just my household. Here are three books that might give you a Christmas gift idea for that weird friend of yours.

Eragon, by 19-year-old Christopher Paolini, was a wonderful, if a little rough around the edges, fantasy tale. It?s definitely Tolkien-esque (some would say TOO Tolkien-esque) in the sense that that there are Dwarves, Elves and a ?Middle Earth? feel to the story. The main character is a boy named Eragon who happens upon a dragon egg. The egg hatches for him, he learns to become a dragon rider, builds a remarkable bond with his dragon and meets interesting characters while quest for revenge. This is the first in a trilogy (the Inheritance Trilogy) and although I didn?t love this book, I will be checking out the second installment.

The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud was fantastic. This is the first in yet another trilogy (the Bartimaeus Trilogy) and maybe you?re rolling your eyes, thinking, ?Not ANOTHER trilogy. Man, look at what Lord of the Rings started.? But this one is completely original, highly entertaining and wicked funny. Whereas I would pick up Eragon now and then, read a bit and then go do something else, I couldn?t put this one down. It?s about a small boy magician (I know who you?re thinking of!) named Nathaniel and a demon he conjures named Bartimaeus. You can just knock those Harry Potter thoughts right out of your head because where H.P. always wants to do the good/right thing, doesn?t really know much about anything and whines all the time, Nathaniel is an 11-year-old brat hell-bent on revenge against one magician who humiliated him. He gets in way over his head and Bartumeaus is along for the ride (against his will). This book is great and you should buy it as a Christmas gift for a young (or young at heart) family member/friend.

[Aside: Has anyone else noticed that lots of new hardcover fantasy children?s chapter books tend have blue covers after The Order of the Phoenix came out? I noticed this about Eragon and Bartimaeus. It makes me wonder if the publishers are hoping children will say, ?Gran, for Christmas all I want is harrypotterandtheorderofthephonix! Okay? {Granny looks unsure.} Um, it?s a blue hardcover book in the children?s section.? Then, whoops, Granny purchases Eragon by mistake and the child hates his grandmother for the rest of his life. But, maybe this isn?t the case because The Eternity Code and The Thief Lord had blue covers way before The Order of the Phoenix? And why would a kid not have a copy a Harry Potter by now, anyway?]

Sunshine by Robin McKinley was good. It?s scary and all about vampires. It took me a while to get used to the stream of conscious style of writing, but it?s one of the best vampire books I?ve read. Neil Gaiman highly praised this book and you can read what he said here. You can read what I wrote about it (today) here.