"I'm Alan Partridge";
"Firefly";
"Arrested Development";
"Twin Peaks"
Books
"Diary of a Nobody" (George and Weedon Grossmith);
"The Man Who Was Thursday" (G. K. Chesterton);
"The Last Hurrah" (Edwin O'Connor);
"A Rebours" (J. K. Huysmans);
"Ulysses" (James Joyce);
The Narnia books and "The Dark Tower" (C.S. Lewis);
"Morte D'Urban" (J.F. Powers);
"A Wind in the Door" (Madeleine L'Engle);
"The Wind in the Willows" (Kenneth Grahame);
"The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea" and the "Sea of Fertility" tetralogy (Yukio Mishima);
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series (Douglas Adams);
"My Idea of Fun" (Will Self);
"Keep the Aspidistra Flying" and "Down and Out in Paris and London" (George Orwell);
"A Confederacy of Dunces" (John Kennedy Toole);
"I Capture the Castle" (Dodie Smith);
"Alice in Wonderland" (Lewis Carroll);
"The Magic Pudding" (Norman Lindsay);
"Remembrance of Things Past" (Marcel Proust);
"A Voyage to Arcturus" (David Lindsay);
"Seven Men" and "Zuleika Dobson" (Max Beerbohm);
"August Carp Esq. By Himself" (Henry Howarth Bashford);
"Fahrenheit 451" and "The Martian Chronicles" (Ray Bradbury);
"Foundation Trilogy" (Isaac Asimov);
"The Silent Cry" (Kenzaburo Oe);
"The Glass Bees" (Ernst Junger);
Almost anything by Roald Dahl, especially "The Witches" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory";
Almost anything by Evelyn Waugh, especially "Decline and Fall", "Brideshead Revisited", and "Work Suspended"
James Kennedy's Details
Status:
Married
Zodiac Sign:
Pisces
Occupation:
Author
James Kennedy's Schools
University Of Notre Dame
Notre Dame,IN
Graduated: 1995
Student status: Alumni
Degree: Bachelor's Degree
Major: Physics and Philososphy
About me: I am the author of "The Order of Odd-Fish" available now from Delacorte Press!
About the book:
Jo Larouche has lived her thirteen years in the California desert with her Aunt Lily, a faded Hollywood starlet, ever since she found in Lily’s laundry room with this note pinned to her blankets:
This is Jo. Please take care of her.
But beware.
This is a DANGEROUS baby.
Up until this point, Jo has been, as Aunt Lily puts it, “as dangerous as a glass of milk.” But all that’s about to change. At Lily’s annual Christmas costume party, several strange things happen: a boy in a hedgehog shoots an elderly Russian colonel; a talking cockroach is found tied up in the basement, moaning about how this will play in the tabloid press; and a box falls from the sky, addressed to Jo from “The Order of Odd-Fish.”
Soon, worsening circumstances lead Jo and Lily out of California forever–and into the mysterious, strange, fantastical world of Eldritch City. There, Jo learns the scandalous truth about who she is, and she and Lily join the Order of Odd-Fish, a colorful collection of knights who research useless information. Glamorous cockroach butlers, impossible quests, obsolete weapons and bizarre festivals fill their days, but two villains–one quite pointless, and one more demonic than you can possibly imagine–are controlling their fate. Jo is inching closer and closer to the day when her destiny is fulfilled, and no one in Eldritch City will ever be the same.
A Smithsonian.com "Notable Children's Book for 2008"
"Hilarious . . . Readers with a finely tuned sense of the absurd are going to adore the Technicolor ride."--Booklist
"An adventurous romp with singular characters. Fans of humorous chaos will find plenty of stimulation here."--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"A carnival of odd . . . The imagination, whimsy, and humor aren't like anything else you've read before. . . The whole time I was reading this I wished I was reading it with someone, so I could elbow them at particularly bizarre moments, or chortle, or read passages aloud and savor them."--Laini Taylor, author of Blackbringer
"A work of mischievous imagination and outrageous invention."--Time Out Chicago
"Over the top? Yes . . . fantasy done to a clever, grotesque, nonsensical turn."--Chicago Sun-Times
"Clever plot, rich and fully realized setting, and often witty dialogue."--School Library Journal
"Twist a slice of the Wizard of Oz around a sprinkle of Alice in Wonderland. Add in a spoonful of Salvador Dali's brains, a smidgen of Dr. Seuss and roll it all together with a heaping dose of whatever makes the Cheshire cat grin and you have the beginnings of The Order of Odd-Fish."--Bookfetish.org
"It reminded me a lot of the books of Roald Dahl . . . If you're looking for a wonderful fantasy-filled book full of zany characters and situations, you can't go wrong checking out The Order of Odd-Fish. Highly recommended."--Curled Up With A Good Book
"Delightfully absurd and witty. His characters are lively and engaging, and every new plot twist is hilariously surreal . . . The Order of Odd-Fish is one of the most interesting books I've read in a long time, and it's definitely enjoyable even for those who don't consider themselves fantasy readers. Get ready for a crazy ride, and read it. Seriously."--Spartanburg County Public Library
"Straight out mysterious, exciting, and hilarious! I'm not sure there has ever been a book like it. The characters are fresh and with no doubt they will make you laugh, wonder, and may give you the chills."--Watermark Books
"Weirdness on top of weirdness . . . A grand epic with real peril and devastating consequences."--Popthought.com
"The Order of Odd-Fish is hard to describe but it's a whole lot of fun to read. I laughed out loud many times. Kennedy's word choice is smart and witty. I love that Kennedy appreciates the sophistication of a teenage reader."--The Happy Nappy Bookseller
"Crazy. Zany. Wacky . . . I really enjoyed The Order of Odd-Fish . . . I don't think there is anything that can compare to this book!"--Bookworm 4 Life
"A rollicking adventure for all ages, The Order of Odd-Fish has something for every lover of all things ridiculous. . . James Kennedy piles on oddities so fast that you can't help but dive in, and enjoy the stay."--Teens Read Too
"The book rocks . . . a book that both adult and teen can enjoy for the fantasy and for its devilishly clever humor."--Doin' Time in Erie, PA
Also, check out Ed Koziarski's great article about The Order of Odd-Fish in the Chicago Reader!
Check out this interview I did with the fabulous teens of the Evanston Public Library:
Your book sounds utterly fantastic, James!!! And the cover art's phenomenal-- you lucked out! I can't wait to read it. Who's your ed at Delacorte? Mine's Stephanie. Hope our paths cross! (And thanks for reading Red Glass!)
Even writers as great as Shakespeare often "skimped" on their endings. However, your book was an interesting read from start to finish. The world of Eldrich City was enthralling as well as original. Many of the ideas, such a talking digestive track, or the inconvenience, were all the more interesting for their originality as well as their oddity. It was an enjoyable fantasy that pushed that which is "normal" out the window. A fantastic read. "5*"
James! We met at least a year ago at Halfway Down the Stairs Bookshop in Rochester, MI. (Bonus points if you remember.) Alas, the shop has retired, but I have an ARC of your book on my TBR pile, courtesy of a Random House rep. :)
