Sunday, March 17, 2024

BW12: Happy St. Patrick's Day

 




St. Patrick’s Day

by

Jean Blewett


There’s an Isle, a green Isle, set in the sea,

     Here’s to the Saint that blessed it!

And here’s to the billows wild and free

     That for centuries have caressed it!


Here’s to the day when the men that roam

     Send longing eyes o’er the water!

Here’s to the land that still spells home

     To each loyal son and daughter!


Here’s to old Ireland—fair, I ween,

     With the blue skies stretched above her!

Here’s to her shamrock warm and green,

     And here’s to the hearts that love her!


L is for luck of the irish, love, and laughter!


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Sunday, March 10, 2024

BW11: Knowledge versus Wisdom


 

Happy Sunday!   Are knowledge and wisdom the same thing?  Not exactly. Knowledge comes from education, learning about different subjects, getting the facts, acquiring the skills, an understanding of how things work.  Wisdom is knowing what to do with those facts, skills, and information.

"Knowledge is love and light and vision." ~- Helen Keller

"Wisdom is knowing what to do next. Skill is knowing how to do it. Virtue is doing it." - Thomas Jefferson.

Which brings us to our next 52 Books Bingo category -  Wisdom. - and our letter of the week - K - which brings us to Knowledge. 

Inspiring books such as the Tao of Pooh to the thoughtful wisdom books of the bible to the fictional tales of inspiration and thought, Wisdom and Knowledge presents us with a very broad category from which to choose. 

28 Books that Will Open Your Mind, Expand Your Knowledge & Transform the Way You Live

Novels for thought

What Books Would You Recommend Someone Read to Improve their General Knowledge of the World?

50 Short Books Packed with Wisdom


Don't forget to change your clocks tonight - We are springing forward. 

Happy reading! 

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Sunday, March 3, 2024

BW10: March Author of the Month - Rebecca Yarros


“I am the sky and the power of every storm that has ever been. I am infinite.” ~ Fourth Wing

Happy Sunday! Welcome to March and National Irish Heritage month as well as Women's History Month. Today is also Namesake Day in celebration on the history of our names.  Years ago, when we were thinking of names before our son was born,  our relatives managed to turn every name into a nick name, prompting us to change our minds several times. We settled on the name that meant to most to us historically, musically, and personally.  Remind me to tell you the story one of these days.  

Our author of the month is Rebecca Yarros, a military mom with six kids who writes stand alone contemporary romance, military romance, as well as has a new fantasy series.  Her stories will make you laugh and cry and cheer and give you all the feels.  Yarros was a new to me author when I read The Last Letter and her writing and the roller coaster of emotions experienced while reading the story made me want to read all her books. Which leads me to the first two books in her  young adult fantasy series Fourth Wing and Iron Flame all about dragon riders. 

"Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom's protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die."

It is the year of the dragon after all. Join me in reading Fourth Wing. 

Our post is sponsored by the letter J for justice, juggernaut, juxtaposition, and journaling. 

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Sunday, February 25, 2024

BW9: I is for imagery

 



Happy Sunday!  I am in the midst of reading In Sunlight and In Shadow by Mark Helprin who uses a great deal of imagery in his books.   From Winter's Tale to A Soldier of the Great War to In Sunlight and In Shadow, Helprin's use of imagery tickles your senses - what you see, hear, taste, touch, and smell, as well as emotion, and even employ the use of metaphors or similes.  All chunky books, Helprin brings not only the stories of the characters to life, but the settings as well.  

Winter's Tale is an historical, magical realism, romance story about a middle aged burglar and a young girl dying of consumption and how their paths crossed in a city consumed by an arctic winter.  The imagery in the story took my breath away. 

“Winter then in its early and clear stages, was a purifying engine that ran unhindered over city and country, alerting the stars to sparkle violently and shower their silver light into the arms of bare upreaching trees. It was a mad and beautiful thing that scoured raw the souls of animals and man, driving them before it until they loved to run. And what it did to Northern forests can hardly be described, considering that it iced the branches of the sycamores on Chrystie Street and swept them back and forth until they rang like ranks of bells.” ~ Winter's Tale

A Soldier of the Great War is one of those books that once finished, you have to let yourself ponder what it is you've just read, let it sit with you for a time, while you formulate your thoughts. After being immersed in Alessandro's world for three weeks, took me a while to surface. It's epic, poetic, heart wrenching, funny, scary, breathtaking, maddening, and leaves you with much to ponder.

“And then one morning the soldiers grew suddenly still as the heavy latches were lifted and turned. Just before the doors slid apart, a man from Pisa took the opportunity to say, "The air is thin. We're in the mountains." Alessandro straightened his back and raised his head. The mountains, unpredictable in their power, were the heart of his recollection, and he knew that the Pisano was right. He had known it all along from the way the train took the many grades, from the metallic thunder of bridges over which they had run in the middle of the night, and from the white sound of streams falling and flowing in velocities that could have been imparted only by awesome mountainsides.”  A Soldier of the Great War

Which brings me to In Sunlight and In Shadow, a novel set just after WWII, is a romance set in New York between Harry who has just returned from the war and Catherina, a wealthy aspiring actress. 

I had to stop and read my husband a passage when the narrator of the story was describing the female character as he watched her rehearsing on stage. 

"The lenses, plumb-set and perpendicular to the plane of the floor, were a foil to the sharp assertiveness of her nose, which was small, perfectly formed, gracefully projecting.  Her upper lip was larger than her lower, which suggested imminent speech protected nonetheless by careful reticence.  Her teeth, unnaturally white in the glare of the spotlights, were even straight, and large, in alluring palisades that cried out to be kissed."

And his thoughts as he sat across from her at a restaurant: 

"He wondered if women understood that their apparently insignificant attributes often have a power greater than that of armies. It was what he had meant when he had said that the war had been fought for her. Like the atom, which in its internal bonds contains the essence of matter and energy, in her glance, the sparkle of her eye, the grasp of her hand, the elasticity of her hair in motion, the way she stands, the blush of her cheek, sweep of her shoulder, tone of her voice, and snap of her locket, a woman is the spur and essence of existence." 

Helprin's imagery makes me slow down and read the story slowly,  makes me stop and think, takes my breath away, and yes, makes me laugh at what one could consider absurd but also beautiful.  These stories aren't full of purple prose, but descriptive imagery which is very much part of the over arching story.   

What authors or stories come to your mind that are full of imagery that tickles your senses and adds to the story? 

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Sunday, February 18, 2024

BW8: Hubert Horatio Hornblower


Happy Sunday! Some of you may be too young to remember when in 1980 President Jimmy Carter during a speech, in an effort to laud political champions of the past, said "a great man who should have been president, who would have been one of the greatest presidents in history: Hubert Horatio Hornblower,"  then quickly added "Humphrey" when he realized his mistake.  Hornblower was a fictional naval officer in a series of novels by C.S. Forster.  It must an amazing gaffe to say the least.  

Which brings us to Monday February 19th which is President's day in the United States honoring George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, who were both born in February. 

Tuesday, February 20th is a little know holiday called Hoodie Hoo day in which you must put on a hat, go out at noon, wave your hands all around and yell Hoodie Hoo. If it's too cold, call your family and friends and yell Hoodie Hoo.  

Thursday, February 22nd is Be Humble day in which you must have a piece of humble pie, as they are all humble. 

If you haven't guessed by now, our letter of the week is H and full of hyperbole, history, haiku, handwaving, and hedgehogs. 

Read about a fictional or real president.

Read about a seagoing character.  

Read a book with a character named Humphrey, George, Abraham, or any president's first name. 

Read a book with Hoodie in the title. 

Read a book with Humble in the title or about humility. 

Read any author whose name begins with H. 

Have fun! 


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Sunday, February 11, 2024

BW7: 52 Books Bingo - Earth also known as Gaia

 


Happy Sunday.  Our next 52 Books Bingo category is another element of nature - Earth. 

The Anglo Saxons named her Erda and the German named her Erde which was changed to Old English Ertha, meaning the ground upon which we walk. The Greek's named her Gaia, the mother of all life. The Roman's named her Tellus Mater, the goddess and physical personification of earth. Chi or Tsuchi in Japanese or dìqiú in Chinese.  The planet has many names.  Share unique names you have discovered or read about for the planet Earth. 

The synonyms for earth, the celestial body on which we live include globe, planet, sphere, microcosm. Earth can also mean the surface which include the synonyms land, ground, soil, dust, and landmass to name a few.  

The spiritual element of earth relates to the Chakra that relates to feelings of safety and security. The phrase 'what on earth' relates to surprise and questions of why. 

Read a book set on the planet earth or the discovery of earth. Read a book about foreign lands or wanderlust.

Read a book about the natural world or the element of nature. 

Read a book with Earth or related synonym in the title. 

Read mythological retellings or environmental books. 

As you can see, Earth is a really broad subject in which we can go many different ways or narrow it down to the tiniest grain of sand.   

Our post is sponsored by the letter G and Gaia, globe, ground, and genius. 


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Sunday, February 4, 2024

BW6: February Author of the month - Ben Aaronovitch

 


Welcome to February and Creative Romance Month, An Affair to Remember Month based on the 1957 film, Black History Month, American Heart Month, and as well as Valentine's Day, Ash Wednesday, Chinese New Year and the Year of the Dragon. 

Our author of the month is Ben Aaronovitch who was born on February 22, 1964. Once upon a time, he was a writer for Dr. Who, Casualty, and the soap opera Jupiter Moon.  While working at Waterstones in the Crime and Fiction sections at Covent Gardens, the Rivers of London series was born.  

The series involves Peter Grant, a mixed race detective, for the London Metropolitan Police who works for Detective Chief Inspector Nightingale, the head of a magical and supernatural Special Operations Unit.  A combination mystery, fantasy, and police procedural, the series is both serious and hilarious. 

There are nine primary books in the series, as well as comic books/graphic novels, and numerous short stories.  I fell in like with Peter Grant in the first book Rivers of London in which the rivers are ruled by water Gods and Goddesses, Peter is trying to solve a murder with a ghost as an eyewitness, and learn magic at the same time.  I'm currently reading the second book, Moon over Soho, in which something or someone is killing jazz musicians.  The stories are creative and entertaining and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series. 


Happy February! 

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Sunday, January 28, 2024

BW5: E is for Epic

Courtesy of NTP012419


Happy Sunday!  I have an affection for long novels, probably because I read so fast.  Books of 200 to 300 pages go by in a flash leaving me wanting more.  And for some strange reason, I tend to read books of 500 pages and up much slower.  Maybe there is more to savor, to absorb, to ponder.  Maybe it's the world building or the ensemble cast of characters, or the scale and detail of the story itself.  

What makes a novel epic versus just being a chunky book full of story? A story is full of narrative, generally focusing on a single event.  An epic is a quest, or a series of quests, a mingling of stories and characters, told on a grand scale, encompassing years and years of history, mythology, or fantasy. 

My favorite epic stories have been a variety of historical fiction, to fantasy to westerns with Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, Stephen King's Gunslinger series, Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove,  Marian Zimmer Bradley's Mists of Aragon, J.K. Rowling Harry Potter Series, to J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy.   

From the ancient epics to modern epics, there is a wide variety to tickle your reading palate. 

What books would you consider epic? Share the most epic story you have ever read.  What stories set in the modern day, besides fantasy or paranormal, would you consider epic? 


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Sunday, January 21, 2024

BW4: D is for Dystopian

 



Happy Sunday! I'm in a dystopian frame of mind this week. I just finished Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang and once I started reading, couldn't put it down. The etymology discussions, how the characters related to the world around them, how the characters grew in knowledge, the choices they made, some good, some bad, the heart wrenching decisions. The themes of colonialism, the empire, racism, friendship, and power all combined to create a story that made me think and how it related to today's world and why people do the things they do.  

I segued from Babel to two different stories that I couldn't make up my mind which I wanted to read more.  Samuel R. Delaney's Babel-17 about the power of language which is very weird with it's strange characters to Samantha Shannon's The Bone Season which is another dystopian set in Oxford with it's themes of magic, aliens, and oppression.  Maybe I'll alternate for a while because both are tickling my fancy.  

Out of 45 Dystopian Books That’ll Change Your Worldview I've read 15 so far.  How many have you read? 

Share the most terrifying dystopian story you've ever read or one that made you think.

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Sunday, January 14, 2024

BW3: Cliffhangers

 



Happy Sunday! I hate cliffhangers. I adore cliffhangers. The clock is counting down, someone is left in a perilous position, or  died, reality is not what it seems, or a character is psychologically or literally dangling from a cliff.   

Cliffhangers get our imagination pumping and sometimes leave us exasperated and frustrated when the next book isn't readily available. You'll be reading along and realize you are almost to the end of the book. Wait! This is happening too fast. How is the story going to wrap up? Is the story going to wrap it up?  Then with bated breath, you come to the last page and the story ends in a cliffhanger.  Grumble, grumble roar.  

I remember reading Michelle Gagnon's Kelly Jones murder mystery series in which I became deeply invested in the characters and the story. The Tunnels, segued into Boneyard, then supposedly ended with The Gatekeeper. The Gatekeeper ended in a cliffhanger which had me gasping, and going back a few pages to make sure I didn't miss something, then rereading the last chapter three more times. No, she didn't. The author did not just leaving me hanging like that?  And the next book wasn't available yet. for another year.  Sigh! 

Of course, there is the thrill, when a trilogy or series has been completely released, of rereading the stories again, from start to finish.  And usually by that time, I've forgotten most of the story line so it feels like reading them again for the first time. 

Kudos to the authors who pull you into the story, make you care about the characters and know how to craft an excellent cliffhanger, leaving you breathless, waiting in anticipation for the continuation of the story. 

Share authors who have written stories ending in a cliffhanger that have left you wanting more. 

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Sunday, January 7, 2024

BW2: 52 Books Bingo - Fire

Mageman Courtesy of Gerhard Santos

Temper us in fire, and we grow stronger. 

When we suffer, we survive.

~Cassandra Clare


Happy Sunday!  We are going to have so much fun with our 52 Books Bingo this year as we begin with our first category which is one of the elements of nature - FIRE.   Fire, literal and symbolic, represents different things to different cultures- mythology, religion, ritual, destruction and purification, enlightenment, sexuality, birth and resurrection, heat, energy, metabolism, creativity, cooking, and more. 

There are so many ways we can go with the aspect of fire.  What comes to my mind is sweat lodges, phoenix, fire fighters, smoke jumpers, arson, sparks, flame, heat, the divine, passion. 








Big b, little b, what begins with B - blaze, bonfires, and boldness, as well as bards, ballads, and Bildungsroman all begin with b. 

Have fun finding stories that play with fire! 


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Monday, January 1, 2024

BW1: Welcome to our Wild and Whimsical Reading Quest

 



"If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, 
you can only think what everyone else is thinking."
— Haruki Murakami (Norwegian Wood)

Happy New Year! Welcome to another year of Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.  Welcome back to all our regulars and our newbies. If you haven't participated in years past, the goal is to read 52 Books. How you get there is up to you. And if you prefer to set your own goal, you are welcome to do so. We don't have a set reading list so you can choose to play along or chart your own path in your quest to read.  All that matters is the reading. 

To aid in the journey, there are a number of weekly, monthly, annual, and perpetual quests along with an updated quirky 52 Books Bingo and our author of the month Bookish Bookology to explore.  

We traditionally start out the year in the weird and wonderful world of Haruki Murakami, our January author of the month. While we wait for his newest book, The City and It's Uncertain Walls to be released in the United States some time this year, I'll be exploring his non fiction conversations with Seiji Ozawa in Absolutely on Music, and dive into the fiction world of Sputnik Sweetheart.

Although Penguin suggests starting with some of Murakami's slimmer novels, my first introduction to Murakami was his chunky fantasy novel 1Q84, filled with magical realism, music, cats, weird characters, choices, and the meaning of life.  Which lead to reading most of his bibliography. 

Discover more about Murakami in his non fiction memoir, Novelist as a Vocation in which the man seriously doesn’t think he is a good writer, but shares his stories, his process, and so much more.

Plus, we are traveling through the alphabet again with A to Z and Back Again. There are a variety of ways to complete the project and you don't have to stick with authors or titles only. The choices are unlimited, including:

  • Choose an author whose first or last name begin with the letter. 
  • Pick a book starting with the letter in the title of the book. Except for those pesky articles or prepositions. 
  • Read a book with a character whose name starts with the letter. 
  • Choose a book in which the setting of the story starts with the letter. 
  • Choose a genre that starts with the letter.
  • Read a book with a literary term or plot device starting with the letter. 
Big A, little A, what begins with A -  Allusion, Angels, Agatha, Adams, Adventure, and Action all begin with A. 

Are you ready to go? Great! Put on your hat and walking shoes, strap on your backpack, grab your walking stick as we follow rabbit trails of thought throughout the world on a wild and whimsical reading quest.

Happy Reading! 



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