The Chronicles of Narnia

Seeing that the first movie in the hoped for "franchise" based on the tales of C.S. Lewis is coming this December, I decided to re-read The Chronicles of Narnia for the first time since the 1970's.

The Magician's Nephew: The "first" of the Chronicles of Narnia chronologically but one of the last to be written. It gives you the backstory on how Narnia was formed, and why, for example, there's lampost standing in the middle of a wood. Probably the weakest of the set. I'm reading them to Young Miss Laura, so we'll see how far we get before she gets bored with them.

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe: Second installment in the Chronicles of Narnia and the one currently on the big screen. The book is bogged down on occasion by the "cuteness" of the writing (Lewis manages to outsilly H.P. Lovecraft's various names in The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath) and the "writing down to a child's level" that I find annoying in a lot of children's literature. However, certain scenes (a lampost in the woods, the first meeting with Mr. Tumnus, dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Beaver) make up for the groaners.