Welcome to Zamonia

There isn't a lot you can do on a cold and wet Sunday afternoon except read the latest Facebook gossip (check), do dishes (check), watch a movie (check), blog (almost check) or read a book. I personally love curling up on the couch on a rainy day with a cup of cocoa and an exciting book full of fantastical tales and unique characters that take you to the outer limits of your imagination. No, I'm not talking about His Dark Materials, The Chronicles of Narnia or even the latest addition to the Inheritance Cycle but of the astounding creative talents of Walter Moers.

Moers is a German writer and illustrator who already has quite a reputation in his homeland for his not only fantastical but utterly compelling novels in which he combines ingenious drawings with eloquently told tales. He started his career drawing comics with an ironic and politically incorrect world view, an example is the now infamous Adolf, die Nazisau (watch the video, you won't regret it). His characters especially, are responsible for his success. Never before were such uniquely colorful and oddly lovable creatures created, examples are Captain Blue Bear (a blue bear (duh) and professional liar escaping from the world's largest ship) Little Asshole (a nasty but nice boy who always outsmarts the adults), The Old Curmudgeon (an old, sarcastic and very funny dying fella) and Optimus Yarnspinner (dragon, dinosaur, who knows)

My personal favorite is The City of Dreaming Books which is basically a dazzling ode to literature. It is the fourth part of the Zamonia series, a fictional land that Moers has created and where most of his characters reside. He shows the wacky yet influential nature of books as they can not only entertain and move but also kill you... Moers is not only able to create immensely entertaining and engrossing worlds but also characters and stories accompanied by exactly the right amount of illustrations and inside jokes like his beloved anagrams (Aliesha Wimperslake = William Shakespeare). Children will love his novels but my guess is that it'll be the adults who will truly cherish them.

The City of Dreaming Books, a whimsical roller coaster ride of a novel that combines adventure, horror, romance, larger than life characters with Moers' love for literature making it the perfect Sunday afternoon delight.