Somewhere Over the Rainbow

There's nothing like an empty piece of paper or a computer screen with its accusatory cursor blinking away to make your mind go blank. It seemed like such a cool idea to begin an "opinions" blog about books I've read. But, when suddenly do the math and realize that you read about ten books a week and you've been alive a few decades...well, that quickly becomes a pretty daunting task. So, to get my groove going I'm going to start with my all-time favorite(s). And mix in a few of my current reads.

Of course, any list of my favorites has to not only include but start off with....can you hear the drum roll in background....The Wizard of Oz series.

Most people aren't even aware that there is indeed a series and for them the story stopped when the credits rolled at the end of the movie. But...Frank Baum's imagination was far too great to stop there. Prequels, sequels and stand-alones abounded over the years from the familiar Wonderful Wizard of Oz to the final page of Glinda of Oz. Glinda, in fact, was published after Mr. Baum died, and I think some of the wistfulness and darkness of this last book was likely due to a sudden glimpse of his own mortality. Along with the realization that there wasn't really an Oz after all and he wasn't going to get the chance to share the rest of his dreams and imaginings with more generations of children. For a complete list of his works (staggering in number as well as quality) and a biography of the man who created this delightful world to which children and adults can escape as easily in 2012 as in 1900 when they were first published, click here.

Other titles in the series include:

The Marvelous Land of Oz
Ozma of Oz
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
The Road to Oz
The Emerald City of Oz
The Patchwork Girl of Oz
Tik-Tok of Oz
The Scarecrow of Oz
Rinkitink in Oz
The Lost Princess of Oz
The Tin Woodman of Oz
The Magic of Oz

In my opinion, every lesson to be learned, every dream to be dreamed and ever fantasy to be fullfilled was within the pages of these books. I have the entire set (far from first edition, but just as valuable to me) of Oz books, and I consider them one of my greatest assets. Not worth much on the open market, but whenever the real world gets a little TOO real, I know I can go where bluebirds fly over rainbows and troubles melt like lemondrops.

Available now for the Kindle, the entire Oz collection can be purchased for ninety five cents. Certainly the bargain of a lifetime. Click Here to purchase from Amazon.