But right after you get done with #44, something really bizarre happens. 45-47 are all books by L. Frank Baum that, for whatever reason, weren't placed near the beginning of the list. This may have been because of an error made long ago before the canon was being given an official order. One might also argue that these books were never considered canon until just recently (as in the 1980's.) Either way, this is where we are at now.
Although I have read these three books, it has been nearly 10 years since I have, so my memory is a little fuzzy. I'll do what I can to, at the very least, give you a brief record of them.
#45: "Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz"
This is a story where the fairy characters of Oz such as the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodsman come to the USA and cause a bit of confusion. The idea of it is how strange fairy people are when compared to normal people. I don't particularly remember liking this one very much. I can't tell you why though. It's just been too long.
#46 "The Woggle-Bug Book"
I literally had to look information up on this one just to jog my memory. This is a weird story where the Woggle-Bug shows up in our world and falls in love with a dress in a shop window. Apparently it's filled with racial stereotypes and isn't much liked today. I think I vaguely recall that. Not sure why this one slipped my memory so bad. This book also seems to be the only canon Oz book that doesn't have the word "Oz" in the title. Weird.
#47 "Little Wizard Stories of Oz"
One of my absolute favorites! I was, for the longest time, wondering why this didn't end up in the early list of Oz books. Why is it #47?! It should be #9 based on the publication date, right after "Tik-Tok of Oz." This is basically Baum's Oz short story collection and it is a blast. My favorite will always be "The Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger." If you only read one of them, pick that one, but I believe I enjoyed all of them. Of the three books mentioned here, this is really the only one I recommend.
Whelp, that's all there is for this blog. Everything after that are new canonizations, and I can continue on reading them as I always have. Thanks for reading. I hope you found this little side-step interesting.
This blog was written on June 26, 2023.
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Very interesting. I create imaginary universes by writing them as stories. Other people have written their own fiction based on these universes. Continuity is an issue. Not only does it make the series of stories make sense as a series, but it establishes precedent. The "reality" is made clear and a consistent reality is necessary for immersion. The readers can explore these lands of make believe rather than simply read and forget from one fairyland to another.
ReplyDeleteIn this case I am not sure if Continuity means the same thing is timeline. It makes me scratch my head sometimes.
DeleteOdd that they didn't add these books to the early list, but it's kinda cool to have Baum in the homestretch. Fascinating that only one book doesn't have Oz in the title. It's cool there is a short story collection, it's fun to go through a collection of stories.
ReplyDeleteOh good point. It's like he is still alive somehow.
DeleteWithout order, there is chaos. Still, it is interesting how they determined the order of the books. Did it have to do with a progression of the story, or were there other concerns?
ReplyDeleteYeah, even fiction can crumble into an incoherent mess. Funny that even make-believe must be somehow believable or else it is sheer gibberish. It must make sense for us to make sense of what we are reading, in a real sense.
DeleteI still think that these extra books were not considered canon until much later. That's all that happened.
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