>Sent: Thursday, May 06, 1999 5:30 PM > Subject: Creative editing >> >> >> Merge-matic books from the Washington Post Invitational: Report from >> Week >> 312, in which readers were asked to combine the works of two authors and >> provide a suitable blurb. >> >> Back to the books. The overall winner is also the Rookie of the Week: >> >> Second Runner-Up: "Machiavelli's The Little Prince" -- Antoine de >> Saint-Exupery's classic children's tale as presented by Machiavelli. The >> whimsy of human nature is embodied in many delightful and intriguing >> characters, all of whom are executed. (Erik Anderson, Tempe, Ariz.) >> >> First Runner-Up: "Green Eggs and Hamlet" -- Would you kill him in his bed? >> / >> Thrust a dagger through his head? / I would not, could not, kill the King. >> / >> I could not do that evil thing. / I would not wed this girl, you see. / >> Now >> get her to a nunnery. (Robin Parry, Arlington) >> >> And the Winner of the Dancing Critter: >> >> "Fahrenheit 451 of the Vanities" -- An '80s yuppie is denied books. He >> does >> not object, or even notice. (Mike Long, Burke) >> >> Honorable Mentions: >> >> "2001: A Space Iliad" -- The Hal 9000 computer wages an insane 10-year war >> >> against the Greeks after falling victim to the Y2K bug. (Joseph Romm, >> Washington) >> >> "Curious Georgefather" -- The monkey finally sticks his nose where it >> don't >> belong. (Chuck Smith, Woodbridge) >> >> "The Hunchback Also Rises" -- Hideously deformed fellow is cloistered in >> bell >> tower by despicable clergymen. And that's the good news ... (John Verba, >> >> Washington) >> >> "The Maltese Faulkner" -- Is the black bird a tortured symbol of Sam's >> struggles with race and family? Does it signify his decay of soul along >> with >> the soul of the Old South? Is it merely a crow, mocking his attempts to >> understand? Or is it worth a cool mil? (Thad Humphries, Warrenton) >> >> "The Silence of the Hams" -- In this endearing update of the Seuss >> classic, >> young Sam-I-Am presses unconventional foodstuffs on his friend, Hannibal, >> who >> turns the tables. (Mark Eckenwiler, Washington) >> >> "Portnoy's Choice": A man is forced to choose between his right and left >> hand. (Tom Witte, Gaithersburg) >> >> "Jane Eyre Jordan": Plucky English orphan girl survives hardships to lead >> >> the Chicago Bulls to the NBA championship. (Dave Pickering, Bowie) >> >> "Nicholas and Alexandra Nickleby" -- Having narrowly escaped a Bolshevik >> firing squad, the former czar and czarina join a troupe of actors only to >> find that playing the Palace isn't as grand as living in it. (Sandra >> Hull, >> Arlington) >> >> "Catch-22 in the Rye" -- Holden learns that if you're insane, you'll >> probably >> flunk out of prep school, but if you're flunking out of prep school, >> you're >> probably not insane. (Brendan Beary, Great Mills) >> >> "Tarzan of the Grapes" -- The beleaguered Okies of the dust bowl are saved >> by >> a strong and brave savage who swings from grapevine to grapevine. (Joseph >> >> Romm, Washington) >> >> "Where's Walden?" -- Alas, the challenge of locating Henry David Thoreau >> in >> each richly detailed drawing loses its appeal when it quickly becomes >> clear >> that he is always in the woods. (Sandra Hull, Arlington) >> >> "Looking for Mr. Godot" -- A young woman waits for Mr. Right to enter her >> life. She has a looong wait. (Jonathan Paul, Garrett Park) >> >> "Rikki-Kon-Tiki-Tavi" -- Thor Heyerdahl recounts his attempt to prove >> Rudyard >> Kipling's theory that the mongoose first came to India on a raft from >> Polynesia. (David Laughton, Washington) >> >> "As I Lay Winesburg, Ohio" -- William Faulkner and Sherwood Anderson tell >> >> the unforgettable story of one man's ambitious quest to nail every woman >> in >> his home town. (Grady Norris, New Bern, N.C.) >> >