Get Lost in Literature

"Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow." Robert Walton failed writer turned sailor, opens the story by writing to his sister Margaret. He is sailing far north, when the crew rescue Victor Frankenstein who is lost upon an ice flow. Victor is a broken man with a story to tell. Even if you haven't seen the movies, even if you haven't read the book, you're probably familiar with the concept of Frankenstein: a mad scientist sews a body together and restores life to dead limbs, creating a hideous monster. This book wasn't at all what I was expecting. After Victor's mother dies he sent away to university where he studies science and discovers how to reanimate the dead. He becomes obsessed with his science experiment shunning all social contact ...

"You and me, everybody, we’re a set of stories..."  This was a very smart story written in a very silly way. The narrator is telling a story about a homeless Native American man, who goes by many names, but refers to himself as Coyote. He left his home a long time ago and lost himself. Coyote likes to scam and drink, but mostly Coyote likes to tell stories... This is a story about the importance of stories. Stories help us avoid painful truths and bring us comfort when there's nothing else. Stories speak to our heritage and remind us who we are, where we come from, and why we're living. They remind us that no matter what other people think of you, you are your own story, and it can't be summed up in one sitting or one hurtful word, it will take a lifetime to tell. Stories have the capability of unifying us, and a person's story lives on in the minds of those who witnessed that first story, to be retold and incorporated into other stories. Maybe w...

I had a surprising amount of fun with my first A-Z Challenge ! It made me remember why I started a book blog in the first place: so I could give my opinion on bookish subjects, to people whether they wanted my opinion or not! My blog had grown a bit stagnant lately, I was growing bored with memes and there was a lot of time lapse between reviews. I felt unsure of myself. The A-Z Challenge made me realize that I don't need to wait for a book to review or meme to schedule; if I have something on my mind, post it and someone will read it. It also got me a little more exposure as my follower count has doubled, and I'm hoping they will continue to follow (and interact with me) now that the challenge is over. I've also found some great blogs that I otherwise never would have seen, and added to the list of blogs I want to read more from. With that let me take a moment to share the love and list my newest reading material: The Quintessentially Questionable Query Experimen...

"We live in a consensual reality where things exist because we want them to exist." A wizard named Bramley Dapple entertains Jilly Coppercorn's questions; she wants to know why she can see things other people can't. Things like Goon, Bramley's goblin butler who is serving tea... This is a story about belief. It's important for anyone who's ever felt different or out of place. It's important for anyone who's ever wanted a little more magic in life. And whether you're a devout Catholic looking for the hand of God or just a dreamer looking for the extraordinary in an ordinary place, your belief and strength of conviction is paramount. Because what you believe in life matters, regardless of what other people think. Short Story Sunday

Z is for Zombie! I want to end A-Z Challenge with a look at a popular modern day obsession: the reanimated corpse! It's really bizarre. At least with vampires you can point and say: thats a metaphor for something.  But more often than not zombies are rooted deeply in science fiction than entities of fantasy; they were once human, then by disease or scientific hubris, (occasionally by miracle and magic) they died, and then tried to eat someone. It's impossible. It can't happen. But we can't stop asking: What if? What if the dead rose up to wage war against the living?  In Max Brooks's World War Z, he examines the zombie apocalypse from a pessimistic but eerily realistic viewpoint. You see the confusion in the initial stages of the outbreak, the fear of citizens and the people who will try to profit from that fear. You see government reactions across the globe, as they struggle to contain the outbreak and later, their people.  The Newsflesh Trilogy by Mira Gra...

Young Adult Fiction, is fiction written and/or marketed to adolescent readers, between the ages of 12-18 -- although advanced readers may have been reading these well before 12. For me, Young Adult maybe the most important literary category; while picture books introduce us to words, introduce us to morals, its not until YA that we really start to understand how powerful words are and what you can do with them. And what we read in that formative, angst-filled, and confusing time period can shape how we view the world.  The Sight by David Clement-Davies, is probably the first book I put my hands on after I ventured bravely from the children's section at my local library. I couldn't have been 10 yet. It was a shock to my system, this fantasy world where wolves waged a war of good versus evil, nurture and nature. Where an evil she-wolf wants to enslave her species to create an army to overthrow man...and the wolf pack that will fight for freedom. I just enjoyed the ride, b...

Xan·a·du (noun) used to convey an impression of a place as almost unattainably luxurious or beautiful I'm rather pleased with myself for finding a X word and figuring out a literary tie in. Given the definition of Xanadu, I wanted to pay tribute to stories with impossibly beautiful settings described in extraordinary detail. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is at the top of the list. Welcome to a circus, each room uniquely enchanted with the magic of warring magicians. You can smell the carmel popcorn, taste the excitement in the air...Erin Morgenstern left no sense deprived of fantasy experience, in her debut novel. Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin is a story of good and evil, true love, and miracles, passing down through the generations in an unforgettable snow-covered New York. You can feel the cold on your cheeks, feel the burn of grief in your heart in this story of love and redemption.  Palimpsest by Catherynne M Valente; a seductive and imaginative story o...