- Tuesday, April 24, 2018
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This is going to be one of my weirder fantasy book reviews. When I first thought to alternate between classics and fantasy, I assumed that the fantasy stories would have shorter, less academic-sounding reviews than the classics. Now I realize it all depends on the book. The Three Musketeers is a fun high-adventure story, so it got a fun review showcasing its best features. This week we're diving into one of J.R.R. Tolkien’s dense, not-so-popular works. I’ll reflect on my own experience with the book and give helpful tips and strategies for those who want to read it.
Why I Read The Silmarillion:
A little over a year ago, I nagged a friend into giving me a book recommendation. He chose Dies the Fire, the first in S.M. Stirling’s Emberverse series.So what does that have to do with The Silmarillion?
The series has tons of winks for Tolkien nerds, but my favorite is an eccentric girl named Astrid Larson. At age thirteen, she was already an archer and spoke fluent Sindarin. Traumatic events in the story drive her mind deeper into Middle-earth as a coping mechanism. Basically, everything goes to hell, and she goes bonkers. When they're rebuilding society after the Change, Astrid creates her own mercenary mini-country, the Dúnedain Rangers, where new recruits must learn both Sindarin and sign language. Throughout most of the books I read, Astrid is an entertaining major side character with a religious fanaticism for all things Middle-Earth. To a certain extent, I read The Silmarillion because I wanted to hang out with her just a little longer.
Also, my brother has read The Silmarillion—and he doesn’t read! That’s kind of embarrassing for me as a person who writes high fantasy novels.
- Tuesday, April 17, 2018
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I started reading classics because school teachers, published authors, and various other pedagogical authority figures told me I should. In the last few years, I’ve read a number of them, ranging from The Importance of Being Earnest to Crime and Punishment. Some I’ve loved, some I’ve hated, and some I kept hoping would get better later in the story (they usually didn’t). The Three Musketeers isn't one of those classics. It’s a classic for a long list of reasons, most of which would spoil the story or make this post way too long. You should read The Three Musketeers, not because it’s a “classic,” but because it is a great freaking book.
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- Tuesday, April 10, 2018
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Before I get into today's topic, a quick announcement:
I'm actually going to start posting every week.
It seems like forever that I’ve wanted to blog regularly, but it's been a challenge to find a focus that is both relevant and broad enough that I don’t get bored. I finally found that focus: books.
I study, er, read tons of books every year; I want to write books for a living. I feel kind of stupid for not realizing this sooner.
I plan to focus as much as possible on classic and speculative fiction, but I will also write reviews of books on writing, health, music, and my various other hobbies. Sometimes I even read other fiction genres. Basically, whatever I read, I'm going to write about.
But not all of my posts will be book reviews. I often take longer than a week to read and reflect on a book, so there will also be posts with writing exercises, updates on my goals, and various other things I think you might like. I may even get around to those recipe posts I hinted at in my last post.
For now, I plan to publish new posts early on Tuesday mornings. So grab yourself a cup of caffeinated beverage and come join me whenever you wake up. I'll be waiting.
Three Month Goals Update
About three months ago, I published this post on my goals for 2018. Since then, my life and my goals have changed a bit. The rest of this post is all about my progress in the goals I set, as well as the ways I’ve tweaked those goals to fit my schedule when I’ve added things like blogging to my proverbial plate.
Family/Romantic:
I’m still having date time with my husband on Sunday afternoons, at least most of the time. The weather hasn’t been quite good enough for hiking yet, but we’ve taken a few walks in the park by our apartment.
- Tuesday, April 03, 2018
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