Get Lost in Literature

  "Here the vast bed of waters, seamed and scarred into a thousand different channels, burst suddenly into frenzied convulsion - heaving, boiling, hissing - gyrating in gigantic and innumerable vortices, and all whirling and plunging on to the eastward with a rapidity which water elsewhere never assumes, except in precipitous descents." Edgar Allan Poe, A Descent into the Maelstrom Because saying, "The waves below us were rough," just won't do. I'm plucking my way through a collection of short stories by Edgar Allan Poe and just started A Descent into the Maelstrom . What are you reading this week? Thursday Quotables  invented/hosted by  Bookshelf Fantasies . 

  "Funny, the way a secret fights to get free. You think you've got them locked up with threats and promises and careful planning, but they'll find their way." Kate Alice Marshall, A Killing Cold A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall  is set to be released February 4, 2025. Quotable Thursday invented/hosted by  Bookshelf Fantasies . On Thursday, share a line or passage from whatever you are reading right now. (Feel free to share in my comments section!) 

  "But the figure of Martin the Warrior did not stir. He stood steadfastly, guarding his beloved Abbey throughout the winter, as he had through time immemorial." Rakkety Tam by Brian Jacques I used to love these books, The Novels of Redwall , when I was a kid, and I was curious if they still hold up. And the answer is yes, I still think they're charming. Do you have books from your childhood that you still like today? * Thursday Quotables  invented by  Bookshelf Fantasies . On Thursdays share a line or passage from whatever you are reading right now.

  "Worrying about another man's motives was a sure way to drive yourself crazy in this business. All you could complete your own mission." Jess Lourey, Salem's Cipher. Thursday Quotables invented/hosted by  Bookshelf Fantasies .

  "No one cares about the past anymore," he whispered. "They don't see that you can't have a future without a past." -- The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie Thursday Quotables  invented/hosted by  Bookshelf Fantasies . Have you read any good quotes lately?

' "The world changes, Glokta, the world changes. The old order crumbles. Loyalty, duty, pride, honour. Notions that have fallen far from fashion. What has replaced them?" He glanced over his shoulder for a moment, and his lip curled. "Greed..." ' --  Joe Abercrombie, The Blade Itself So far this has been slow to get into, but dark as advertised. I'm not sure yet, if Glokta is evil or just morally corrupt. I guess I'll find out. What are you reading this week? Thursday Quotables  invented/hosted by  Bookshelf Fantasies .

  "The moments that define lives aren't always obvious. They don't always scream, LEDGE, and nine times out of ten there's no rope to duck under, no line to cross, no blood pact, no official letter on fancy paper. They aren't always protracted, heavy with meaning." I am really enjoying this, but I've got a thing for anti-heros...  * Thursday Quotables  invented by  Bookshelf Fantasies . 

  "I left the police force in Norfolk so I wouldn't have to deal with this sort of crap," Williams began. "My ex-wife got me to move here for the peace and quiet. Damn, was that woman wrong! No wonder we got divorced."  - Hour Game by David Baldacci I'm trying a mystery on for size this week. I'm early on in it, it's a little cliche, kind of funny, and I'm hoping full of suspense. Thursday Quotables hosted by   Bookshelf Fantasies

  "We were like gods at the dawning of the world, and our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other." The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller Finally made time to read this one. I'm halfway through and I can't understand why I waited so long. It's a beautiful dream. Thursday Quotables @  Bookshelf Fantasies

  "It isn't selfish to protect yourself from abusive people." No Gods No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull No, it's really not. Thursday Quotables @  Bookshelf Fantasies

  "It showed me him–a miserable little piss-ant trying to make himself feel bigger by hurting people who couldn’t fight back. He wasn’t small in stature, but he was small inside, where it counted. His very soul was shriveled as a raisin and about the same size."- That Which is Hidden , by Julie Frost That Which is Hidden  by Julie Frost, is kind of an unusual story. I liked the idea: a werewolf seeks justice for a murdered loved one. It was a little bit of a cheesefest here and there; in the end, I appreciated the moral of the story. What are you reading this week? * Thursday Quotables  hosted by  Bookshelf Fantasies . 

 "Sometimes, guilt and loss push a person into becoming more than singular. They split in two to resurrect what they’ve lost or live in service to what was lost. A lover will take up the mission of the dead partner. A mother might take up a dead daughter’s hobby to feel close to her. A sister might flirt with the notion of becoming a monster, to fill in the parts of her brother she doesn’t know." -  No Gods, No Monsters   by Cadwell Turnbull I'm reading No Gods, No Monsters   by Cadwell Turnbull this week. It's a wierd little paranormal mystery. A case of police brutality against a monster spurs an uprising of protests, hate crimes, and suicides...The monsters don't want to hide anymore. Parts of this story flow like river water in a hurricane, other parts like a tipped Dixie cup in a desert drought. We'll see how it goes. What are you reading this week? Thursday Quotables brought to you by  Bookshelf Fantasies

  "He closed his eyes as she began to rotate the key in a clockwise direction. He wondered if the cylindrical metal box inside his chest felt cold the way metal usually did, or was it warm from his body? From her nearness...He sensed her fingers brushing his chest. He could feel the clicking of the small wheels and gears deep within his chest and imagined the mainspring tightening."   Wind-Up Hearts , by Stan Swanson Chronology produced by Curiosity Quills Press is an anthology of short stories, some better than others, as these things go...  Wind-Up Hearts by Stan Swanson is proving to be one of the better stories. Steampunk and star-crossed, it's a lovely idea. Thursday Quotables brought to you by  Bookshelf Fantasies

  "It's her fever,"Hanna said quickly as an apology. "She doesn't know what she's saying." "Yes, I do!" Adelaide said. And then, as if giving a formal recitation, she clasmed her hands to her chest and spoke brightly:  "There is the element of Badness in me. I long to cultivate my element of Badness. Badness compared to Nothingness is beautiful."--Emily M. Danforth, Plain Bad Heroines Thursday Quotables brought to you by  Bookshelf Fantasies

  "The world outside the window was white with snow--the trees caked in it, the garden killed by it--its plants stiff and gray, frozen, the tilled ground mounded white, and footprints, from the garden to house, showing the path the mother had walked with her screaming child. Though somehow the tomatoes remained bright red, now almost like shiny Christmas tree ornaments--much too red against the snow." --Emily M. Danforth, Plain Bad Heroines I was under the misguided notion that this book was a horror novel, a notion partially fueled by my local bookstore displaying it in the "Horror" section of the store. To date, the scariest thing about this novel is the author's overuse of the words "celesbian" and "wunderkind" to describe her characters. But the story is not bad... Thursday Quotables @  Bookshelf Fantasies

I was in the mood to read a classic, so this week's quote comes from Frankenstein; Or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley. "The untaught peasant beheld the elements around him and was acquainted with their practical uses. The most learned philosopher knew little more. He had partially unveiled the face of Nature, but her immortal lineaments were still a wonder and a mystery."   Quotable Thursday originally brought to you by  Bookshelf Fantasies .

Reading Nick Harkaway's Angelmaker. So far I'm loving it. "Metal like soft cotton, not linked but threaded; warming in his hand: Woven Gold. The trick is whispered from time to time in kasbahs and jewellers' shops and conventions and gatherings and markets, almost revealing itself and then vanishing so thoroughly that many consider it a fiction." Although it does raise the question: Is a story Steampunk if it takes place in Modern day instead of Victorian era? Quotable Thursday originally brought to you by  Bookshelf Fantasies .

I just finished Hollow City and it made me invent a new word: creepadore: (adj)--when a thing is creepy and adorable at the same time. Here's a snippet: "Do all the animals here talk?" I asked. "Just Deirdre and I," Addison said, "and a good thing too. The chickens won't shut up as it is, and they can't say a word!" Right on cue, a flock of chickens bobbled toward us from a burned and blackened coop... ..."What happened to their coop?" Emma asked. "Every time we repair it, they burn it down again," he said. I'm hoping to have the review finished today and posted tomorrow! Quotable Thursday  originally brought to you by  Bookshelf Fantasies .

I just finished reading Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin after breaking free of a reading drought. Beautiful story if you're looking for something that will add a little bit of magic to your life. While I type up a review, here's a long overdue couple of quotes. "The city was like war--battles raged all around, and desperate men were on the street in crawling legions. He had heard the Baymen tell of war, but they had never said it could be harnessed, its head held down, and made to run in place." And later: "Lonely people have enthusiasms which cannot always be explained. When something strikes them as funny, the intensity and length of their laughter mirrors the depth of their loneliness, and they are capable of laughing like hyenas. When something touches their emotions, it runs through them like Paul Revere, awakening feelings that gather into great armies..." Check back soon for the full review! Quotable Thursday  originally brought to yo...

Dropping in with a late quote from a book I've just marked finished, but haven't gotten the review live yet. This passage was too good not to share...Although I wonder, if it still reads the same when taken out of context. "The ghosts are watching. The ghosts are watching. They watch me stroll alone. corpses are laughing. The corpses are laughing. They go quiet when I step over them. parents are missing. My parents are missing. They are waiting for me to come home." Quotable Thursday  originally brought to you by  Bookshelf Fantasies .