Recently, I reviewed Diane Setterfield’s novel The Thirteenth Tale. As I relived my experience reading and pondering her story, I remembered a particularly poignant conversation Miss Winters had with the main character Margaret. Miss Winters asked Margaret if she would kill someone, about to destroy the last copies of her favorite books. When with the author asked this question, Margaret responded she wouldn’t. However, later when she was alone, Margaret recanted her answer, stating,
Of course I loved books more than people. Of course I valued “Jane Eyre” over the anonymous stranger…Of course all of Shakespeare was worth more than a human life.
When I read this excerpt the first time I felt so conflicted. The question, “Is knowledge more valuable than human life?” was a unsettling one for me to consider. I argued back and forth in my brain how I couldn’t possible decide between one or the other.
Picture of Notre Dame Chapel in Paris France
It is the same as deciding between preserving ancient architecture and history over preserving human life. It’s the same as choosing to rebuild the recently damaged Notre Dame Chapel or donating to people starving around the world. Which do we choose? Which is the moral choice?
There is no right answer to any of these questions. I hate absolutism. I always wonder if there couldn’t be an option 3 or 4 to any of these paradigms. Both books and people are important. What if the person about to destroy the last books we love will become one of the greatest authors or scientists of our time?
We could wrap our heads around these type of philosophical questions and get nowhere.
Not every book is equal in value.
Not every person has lived a virtuous life.
People have burnt books to smother minorities or degenerates.
People often praise ideologies that are damaging and dangerous to individuals and families.
There have been moments in history when people have had to kill in order to obtain a book or record of great value for future generations.
Though there is no perfect answer for every possible circumstance, it is important to learn the value of books, the knowledge they contain, the authors who write them, and the people they may reach.
An original Book tag by Elaine Howlin, I found this tag on library looter‘s blog. Since I have limited time on my hands currently, I’ve been doing more book tags. This particular tag is quick, easy, and fun! I always put links for the authors and books so feel free to click on the provided links if any seem interesting.
Funny story! Percy and his friends go to Cloudcroft, New Mexico. People probably would recognize it as the sad village in the mountains. Percy buys a plastic rat from someone because he feels sorry for them. So I lived there at the time I read this book! I still think its hilarious.
A book that represents a destination that you’d love to travel to?
I would love to travel to Ireland like Moira Doherty in this book! I have an extensive Irish ancestry. It is on my bucket list of places I want to see in my lifetime.
I’ve read this book multiple times throughout my life, and each reading is special to me. No matter how many times I experience this story it remains memorable and heartwarming.
Which book did you have the most difficulty reading?
I’ve picked my way through several Russian novels but Crime and Punishment is by far the hardest I’ve attempted. I have yet to finish this book completely.
Which book on your TBR will give you the most satisfaction to finish?
Ever since my European tour in 2013, I’ve wanted to read this book. I finished it once upon a time as a teenager and hated it. However, I learned the history behind this classic collection and realized I had read it with the wrong mindset. I would love to dive back into this novel to understand the archetypes Chaucer tried to depict.
Thank you for reading! Spread this tag around! See you tomorrow.
Here I am again filling out a book tag. With how busy I am lately, they are a good way for me to finish writing fast and have fun. Todays Tag I found from Suzy’s Cozy World. Since I love Lord of the Rings, this seemed like the perfect Tag prompt.
I learned so much about automatons, mechanics, medicines, old Southern folktales, and the culture during the early 20th century. It was simply fascinating to read this book. Her other book Greenglass House is just like that as well. Milford really paints history in beautiful, fascinating colors.
I knew about the German holocaust, the billion people killed in China, and Russia’s internment camps. I did not know about the Slavic people’s from Lithuania and other neighboring countries mistreated, killed off, and imprisoned in Russia. This book opened my eyes to parts of history I did not know. It is one of my favorite books from these past few years. I highly recommend it to anyone who has not read it.
This is the one book I know for sure I read in one sitting. I probably did the same with the 5th and 6th books in this series, but this felt like my most impressive accomplishment.
Gimli – A book that features an unlikely friendship
For this question, I immediately thought about the sweet friendship between Jena and her frog Gogu, who she could understand and talk to. Their relationship is the heart of this beautiful fairytale book.
I honestly didn’t expect Furthermore to be as interesting a read. The cover is beautiful, but the premise seemed too predictable. However, when I sat down and started reading, this book had its hooks in me. The story and writing style are just as colorful as the cover.
A House Called Awful End is the funnier version of A Series of Unfortunate Events. I laughed so hard reading this story. the stuffed weasel, the house and people who smelled like old hot water bottles, and even the silly old man with his fake gun stole my little heart as a teenager.
Boromir – A book/series that you think ended too soon
This book unfolds like a dream. It’s beautiful artwork, writing, and conclusion stole my heart the first moment I read it. My one grievance against it was it ended so fast. Because it is so beautiful I wanted more.
Sam – A book with memorable side characters who stole the show
I am not sure who constitutes as a main character in this story, but I love all the quirky side characters scattered throughout the book. Ibbotson always has such amusing side characters and this book is no exception.
My friend Erica really likes this book and gave it to me to read. I didn’t want to because its cover wasn’t very appealing to me. In fact, I think it is kind of ugly. But as I read it, I actually enjoyed it. It’s a good story, and a fun look into Revolutionary History in the United States.
Gollum – A book that had great potential but disappointed you in the end
I read this book fairly often because I love the IDEA of it. I have a soft spot for Halloween-esque stories in forested towns. I love who the characters are, especially Jack with his Pumpkin who carries his soul. But, Houck’s execution just fell so flat. This felt more like a third or fourth draft rather than a well-polished finished novel. In fact, if she took her story and fixed it up I think it would do it a lot of good. I still love reading despite these flaws because it sparks my imagination.
Candy Quackenbush’s adventures in the Abarat are getting stranger by the hour. Why has the Lord of Midnight sent his henchman after her? Why can she suddenly speak words of magic? Why is this world familiar?
Candy and her companions must solve the mystery of her past before the forces of Night and Day clash and Absolute Midnight descends upon the islands.
U- Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption (2010) by Laura Hillenbrand (TBR)
I saw the movie but would like to watch the movie for a deeper perspective.
On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane’s bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard. So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War.
The lieutenant’s name was Louis Zamperini. In boyhood, he’d been a cunning and incorrigible delinquent, breaking into houses, brawling, and fleeing his home to ride the rails. As a teenager, he had channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics and within sight of the four-minute mile. But when war had come, the athlete had become an airman, embarking on a journey that led to his doomed flight, a tiny raft, and a drift into the unknown.
Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will.
An interesting mystery, but I didn’t like the main character AT ALL.
Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid….He is the hero; he is everything. He must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man.
This is the Code of the Private Eye as defined by Raymond Chandler in his 1944 essay ‘The Simple Act of Murder.’ Such a man was Philip Marlowe, private eye, an educated, heroic, streetwise, rugged individualist and the hero of Chandler’s first novel, The Big Sleep. This work established Chandler as the master of the ‘hard-boiled’ detective novel, and his articulate and literary style of writing won him a large audience, which ranged from the man in the street to the most sophisticated intellectual.
A fascinating testimony on what it means to be a truly successful and virtuous man.
Val Darrant was just four years old the snowy night his mother abandoned him. But instead of meeting a lonely death, he met Will Reilly-a gentleman, a gambler, and a worldly, self-taught scholar. For ten years the each were all the family the other had, traveling from dusty American boomtowns to the cities of Europe-until the day Reilly’s luck ran out in a roar of gunfire.
But it wasn’t a gambling brawl or a pack of thieves that sealed Will’s fate. It was a far more complex story that Val would uncover, one that touched upon Val’s nearly forgotten childhood, the woman who was Will Reilly’s lost love, and the future of a growing country. In the meantime, Val would make sure no one forgot Will-least of all the men who killed him. But he need not have worried, for Will’s enemies were now his own….
A fantastic romance that kept me at the edge of my seat.
Marianne Daventry will do anything to escape the boredom of Bath and the amorous attentions of an unwanted suitor. So when an invitation arrives from her twin sister, Cecily, to join her at a sprawling country estate, she jumps at the chance. Thinking she’ll be able to relax and enjoy her beloved English countryside while her sister snags the handsome heir of Edenbrooke, Marianne finds that even the best laid plans can go awry.
From a terrifying run-in with a highwayman to a seemingly harmless flirtation, Marianne finds herself embroiled in an unexpected adventure filled with enough romance and intrigue to keep her mind racing. Will Marianne be able to rein in her traitorous heart, or will a mysterious stranger sweep her off her feet? Fate had something other than a relaxing summer in mind when it sent Marianne to Edenbrooke.
A charming picture book on loving yourself and creating a personal relationship with God.
Max was interested in helping children understand their value – not from the world’s perspective, but from God’s. Wemmicksville is a land created by Eli, the “God” figure of the story. He creates each Wemmick in Wemmicksville uniquely, each with its own look and personality. Each story and video is a new adventure with the citizens of Wemmicksville. Punchinello is the central character, along with his friends Lucia, Splint, and Chip. When Punchinello strays from Eli, he begins to have problems. Only when Punchinello stays close to Eli does he clearly see how to walk through his life in Wemmicksville.
In this heartwarming tale, Eli helps Punchinello understand how special he is-no matter what other Wemmicks may think. Children will learn a vital lesson-regardless of how the world sees them, God loves each of them just as they are.
Since I am super busy with other personal projects and moving, here is another fun book tag I found via KRISTIN @ KRISTIN KRAVES BOOKS. Let us begin the cleaning!
The struggle of getting started: a book/book series that you have struggled to begin because of its size.
Last December, I started listening to David Copperfield‘s audiobook on Kindle. Though I found the story really interesting, I realized anew I can’t listen to Charles Dickens novels. He adds so much detail and redirects his story so much I get lost in it. I prefer to read the book the old fashioned way.
Cleaning out the closet: a book and/or book series you want to unhaul.
No words can describe the torment and confusing tug of war I went through when reading Clare The Mortal Instruments series. I loved certain parts of her writing and story and hated other parts of it. I kept going through her books wondering if this dissatisfied feeling would go away but . . . it didn’t. I am not her biggest fan but I like seeing her book covers in the the store.
Opening windows and letting fresh air in: a book that was refreshing.
So many male figures in books are domineering and aggressive. The main character Corbin was shy and struggled to express himself, the exact opposite of many abusive male leads I’ve come across. It’s always refreshing finding stories whose characters don’t have disturbing or questionable behaviors.
Washing out sheet stains: a book you wish you could rewrite a certain scene in.
Throwing out unnecessary knick-knacks: a book in a series that you didn’t feel was necessary.
I would still have this book today if not for the off-putting sex scene and rape vision Marillier wrote into the story. the writing and premise is gorgeous and I like the romance up to that point. Taking the sex scene out in particular would not detract from the story or character development whatsoever.
Polishing the doorknobs: a book that had a clean finish.
If the theme song for The Lego Movie (2014) is “Everything is Awesome” than the theme for Bellman and Black is “Everything is Hopeless.” The main character’s life is devoid of any semblance of love and hope because of an obscure choice he made as a child. Lesson he learns. . . there is no redemption for anyone who kills a rook.
The tiring yet satisfying finish of spring cleaning: a book series that was tiring yet satisfying to get through.
In high school, I remember checking out all the books for this series. It took me almost a year to read all of them but at the end, I was so happy I did. It’s since remained one of my favorite series.
I found this book tag from Marc Nash, and A Little But A Lot while reading The Corner of Laura‘s post. Since I’ve had the most fun filling out lists this past month, I thought I would give this a go! (I would love if anyone tags me for any future book tags.)
Though it isn’t the most gloriously written romance, I enjoy going back and reading this book. It has a sweet love story and is a Regency romance so I still find it enjoyable.
Though I have re-read the first three books in the Fairyland series, I still haven’t read this one. I will get to it, but for now I kind of pretend I’ve read it to avoid unnecessary questions.
Since I read a few pages of this book daily, I write in the margins all the time. Once I finish reading it, I get another copy and start all over again. I do write and mark all my favorite books. It’s a habit I developed in college.
Fun story, I actual lent my copy of this book to a sibling and it disappeared for years. So, I bought a new one and low and behold a few months ago it popped up again! That’s why it doesn’t count for the previous question really.
The Last Book I Argued Over
Funny thing, I don’t argue over books. I’m pretty respectful of other people’s opinions and feelings about books, movies, and television. To each his own. I do argue about manga quite a bit but that doesn’t apply right now.
I don’t pre-order books because too many times I pre-ordered a book and hated, and regretted wasting money. So sad. However! The one time I can think of where I preordered and loved a book was Absolute Midnight. I waited six years for it and it didn’t disappoint!
Though it may not be Tuesday, this Tag comes from Meeghan @ Meeghan Reads! I’m super excited for this post. I always like talking about my book past because I can relive magical childhood memories. So, without further ado, here are my five childhood reading catalysts!
This comic needs no introduction. When I was in Middle School, I re-read collections of Peanuts cartoons for months. Finally, my mother and librarian said enough was enough and told me to find some thing else to read. Though I found new books to love, there will always be a special place in my heart for Charlie Brown and his world.
Why do I love Frog and Toad? I’m not really sure. Not much really happens in these stories. The illustrations are beautiful but rather small. The eponymous friends carry on their friendship through mild misunderstandings and misadventures, always ready to forgive each other and forget. These gentle stories are among my favorite kids’ books. I have fond memories of Frog and Toad from my childhood, and I never tire of re-reading them to my 4-year-old daughter. She seems to like them, too.
My mother used to read these stories to me when I was in elementary school. I’ve always had a special love for nature, so the green landscapes were relaxing for the childhood me. Overall, I think Frog and Toad is charming and unforgettable.
Written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes, the nationally bestselling and celebrated creator of Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, Owen, and Kitten’s First Full Moon, Chrysanthemum is a funny and honest school story about teasing, self-esteem, and acceptance to share all year round.
Chrysanthemum thinks her name is absolutely perfect—until her first day of school. “You’re named after a flower!” teases Victoria. “Let’s smell her,” says Jo.
Chrysanthemum wilts. What will it take to make her blossom again?
I have so many good memories of this picture book! My mom gave it to me as a present when I started kindergarten. Since I was so shy, I identified with how sad Chrysanthemum felt when leaving home for the first time. As I grew older, I struggled loving myself. When I felt especially sad, I would open this book and remember. Because of this book, I devoured so many other picture books throughout elementary school.
Harry Potter’s life is miserable. His parents are dead and he’s stuck with his heartless relatives, who force him to live in a tiny closet under the stairs. But his fortune changes when he receives a letter that tells him the truth about himself: he’s a wizard. A mysterious visitor rescues him from his relatives and takes him to his new home, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
After a lifetime of bottling up his magical powers, Harry finally feels like a normal kid. But even within the Wizarding community, he is special. He is the boy who lived: the only person to have ever survived a killing curse inflicted by the evil Lord Voldemort, who launched a brutal takeover of the Wizarding world, only to vanish after failing to kill Harry.
Though Harry’s first year at Hogwarts is the best of his life, not everything is perfect. There is a dangerous secret object hidden within the castle walls, and Harry believes it’s his responsibility to prevent it from falling into evil hands. But doing so will bring him into contact with forces more terrifying than he ever could have imagined.
Behold my penultimate favorite childhood book series! When I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s stone for the first time, I was 10. I always felt Harry and I were on the same life path. We even graduated high school together. (The last book came out my senior year.) I must have re-read the first four Harry Potter books at least 10 times each. They helped me cope with bullying, face hard family situations, and carried me onto a path of never ending reading!
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkeness bind them
In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, The Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell into the hands of Bilbo Baggins, as told in The Hobbit.
In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.
I was one of those kids who started reading The Lord of the Rings because of the movies. Though it took me a long time, I finished it by my 7th grade year. To fill the hole it left in my schedule, I started reading every epic fantasy I could find. You could say this is the book series that broke me from middle grade reading. It opened me up to so many other series and books I wouldn’t have tried before then.
There you have it! Thank you for reading! See you tomorrow.
I found this book tag via Elaine Howlin‘s blog! Because of my extensive Irish ancestry, I got super excited when I saw this tag! Here we go.
Green– a book with a green cover
Sally Gardner‘s Historical Fiction novel I’ Coriander. One of my favorite young adult fantasy novels!
In this exceptionally well-crafted tale, Coriander tells the story of her childhood in seventeenth-century London, and of her discovery that she has inherited magical powers from her mother, who was a fairy princess. But her mother’s sudden death brings on a dark time for Coriander, and after mourning her beloved mother and dealing with the disappearance of her father and the wrath of her evil stepmother, Coriander finds herself locked in a chest with no hope of escape and no will to survive. But when a bright light beckons to her, it is then that Coriander’s journey truly begins. Beautifully written, this magical and luminous story is destined to become a children’s classic.
Blarney – a book that deceived you into either liking it or was overhyped and you ended up disliking it
Naomi Novik‘s Young Adult Fantasy Uprooted. So many people gushed about this book but once I read it I hated it. (Check out my review to learn more.)
Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”
Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.
Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.
The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.
But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.
Brogue – (dialect) a book where one of the characters has an accent
Sarah M. Eden‘s Historical Romance Ashes on the Moor. One of the main characters Dermot has an Irish dialect, plus many of the children and adults have Yorkshire Accents.
When Evangeline is sent to live in a small mill town in Northern England as a schoolteacher in 1871, she finds herself struggling to fit in with an unfamiliar culture. Raised with the high-class Victorian values and ideals of a sophisticated upbringing, she is unprepared for the poverty she finds in the gritty factory town of Smeatley, where the locals speak with a hard-to-understand Yorkshire accent and struggle to thrive with few resources or opportunities.
Though she has no training as a teacher, she must prove herself successful before her grandfather will release her substantial inheritance to her and allow her to be reunited with her younger sister, the last remaining member of her family after a fever claimed the lives of her parents and brothers.
Evangeline’s sudden change in circumstances is complicated when her aunt—a woman who values class distinctions more than her family relationships—forbids her from acknowledging any connection to her or to her grandfather, Mr. Farr—the man who owns nearly the entire town. For the first time in her life, Evangeline is truly alone.
Heartbroken, she turns to the one person in town who has shown her kindness—an Irish brick mason, Dermot, and his son, Ronan. Despite the difference in their classes and backgrounds, Evangeline and Dermot become friends, due in part to her ability to connect with Ronan, whose behavior requires special attention. The boy is uncomfortable around strangers and rarely even speaks to the other children in town. He often fixates on details other people ignore, and he adheres to specific, self-made rules that give his life order and structure; for example, Dermot’s coat must be hung on a specific peg next to the door.
Evangeline attempts to prove herself a worthy teacher and earn the respect of her hard-to-understand students. Determined to find a way to introduce them to “proper English” while still honoring their unique language and culture, she enlists the help of a local family to write down familiar stories in the Yorkshire vernacular. Because of her efforts, the students and their families warm to Evangeline and she continues to look for ways to give the children a chance to become more than factory workers in the local cotton mill.
When the town learns of her upper-class status, Evangeline must work twice as hard to win back their trust–especially Dermot’s. In the end, Evangeline and Dermot discover that, even though they come from different social spheres, together they can overcome social prejudices, make a positive difference in the lives of even the humblest people, and enjoy the strength that comes when two hearts find each other.
Leprechaun – a book you enjoyed when you were a little person
David Wiseman‘s Children’s Mystery Jeremy Visick. I read this a lot throughout my teens. Whenever I think about the mines and graveyards part of me likes to picture it happening in Ireland.
When Matthew Clemens ventured into the churchyard to gather information about the Cornish miners buried there, one gravestone in particular seemed to call his attention. The inscription was to Reuben Visick and his two eldest sons, all three killed in a mining accident more than a hundred years before. But below the inscription were the words that echoed again and again in Matthew’s head: “And to Jeremy Visick, His Son, Age 12, Whose Body Still Lies in Wheal Maid.” The lines were as clear to Matthew as if he’d heard them spoken. Night after night they drew him to the churchyard, or to the outbuilding behind the Clemens home, where Jeremy Visick had lived, until Matthew began to sense that somehow his destiny and Jeremy Visick’s were inexorably intertwined.
In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king’s long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner’s motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword’s point—he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. But Sage’s rivals have their own agendas as well.
As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner’s sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of treachery and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that, in the end, may very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken together.
Magic – a book that you found magical or a book where you enjoyed a magic element that was found in the storyline
Kate DiCamillo‘s Children’s Fantasy The Tale of Despereaux. When I was thirteen, I must have re-read this book twenty times. I thought Despereaux’s beautiful story was written magic.
Kiss – Your current favorite book pairing or you’re all time favorite book pairing
Megan Whalen Turner‘s Young Adult Fantasy The King of Attolia. Eugenedes and the Queen of Attolia have such a beautiful marriage and relationship in this book. When I picked up this book last year, I read it twice because I loved it so much.
By scheming and theft, the Thief of Eddis has become King of Attolia. Eugenides wanted the queen, not the crown, but he finds himself trapped in a web of his own making.
Then he drags a naive young guard into the center of the political maelstrom. Poor Costis knows he is the victim of the king’s caprice, but his contempt for Eugenides slowly turns to grudging respect. Though struggling against his fate, the newly crowned king is much more than he appears. Soon the corrupt Attolian court will learn that its subtle and dangerous intrigue is no match for Eugenides.
Luck – a book on your shelf that you will luckily get to…someday
Brandon Sanderson‘s Epic Fantasy The Way of Kings. I know I need to read this book. I know I will love this book. But I am never in the mood. Hopefully soon that will change.
Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.
It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them.
One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable.
Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity.
Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar’s niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan’s motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war.
Jig – a book that if you don’t currently own but if could get a hold of it-it would make you dance with joy. (Can be a book that isn’t released yet or a book you’d really like to own)
Clive Barker‘s Young Adult Fantasy Kry Rising. I have been waiting for Barker to release this book for his Abarat series for nine years. Still nothing. But, I know its coming eventually!
For future reference, I would love to be tagged in any book initiatives! For this post, I am doing a Tag Tuesday post from Meeghan @ Meeghan Reads. Today I will list the top 5 books I wish I could have read as a child.
Book Details
Once, in a cottage above the cliffs on the Dark Sea of Darkness, there lived three children and their trusty dog Nugget. Janner Igiby, his brother Tink, their crippled sister Leeli are gifted children as all children are, loved well by a noble mother and ex-pirate grandfather. But they will need all their gifts and all that love to survive the evil pursuit of the venomous Fangs of Dang who have crossed the dark sea to rule the land with malice and pursue the Igibys who hold the secret to the lost legend and jewels of good King Wingfeather of the Shining Isle of Anniera.
Andrew Peterson spins a quirky and riveting tale of the Igibys’ extraordinary journey from Glipwood’s Dragon Day Festival and a secret hidden in the Books and Crannies Bookstore, past the terrifying Black Carriage, clutches of the horned hounds and loathsome toothy cows surrounding AnkleJelly Manor, through the Glipwood Forest and mysterious treehouse of Peet the Sock Man (known for a little softshoe and wearing tattered socks on his hands and arms), to the very edge of the Ice Prairies.
Full of characters rich in heart, smarts, and courage, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness presents a world of wonder and a tale children of all ages will cherish, families can read aloud, and readers’ groups are sure to discuss for its layers of meaning about life’s true treasure and tangle of the beautiful and horrible, temporal and eternal, and good and bad.
Since childhood, I’ve loved stories that depict the battle between good and evil. I started reading this book last summer, and I marveled at Andrew Petersen’s quirky sense of humor, magical prose, and emphasis on childhood’s place in depicting good people standing up to evil in their life. I love the characters, setting, and beautiful messages scattered throughout this and the other Wingsfeather sequels. If I could travel back in time and give my childhood self this book, I would!
Favorite Quote
So this is a story about light and goodness and Truth with a capital T. It’s about beauty, and resurrection, and redemption. But for those things to ring true in a child’s heart, the storyteller has to be honest. He has to acknowledge that sometimes when the hall light goes out and the bedroom goes dark, the world is a scary place. He has to nod his head to the presence of all the sadness in the world; children know it’s there from a very young age, and I wonder sometimes if that’s why babies cry. He has to admit that sometimes characters make bad choices, because every child has seen their parent angry or irritable or deceitful–even the best people in our lives are capable of evil.
But of course the storyteller can’t stop there. He has to show in the end there is a Great Good in the world (and beyond it). Sometimes it is necessary to paint the sky black in order to show how beautiful is the prick of light. Gather all the wickedness in the universe into its loudest shriek and God hears it as a squeak at best. And that is a comforting thought. When a child reads the last sentence of my stories, I hope he or she drifts to sleep with a glow in their hearts and a warmth in their bones, believing that all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.
Andrew Peterson
Book Details
Out of this wild night, a strange visitor comes to the Murry house and beckons Meg, her brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin O’Keefe on a most dangerous and extraordinary adventure—one that will threaten their lives and our universe.
I might be one of the few people in The United States who did not read this book in Middle School. I knew it existed, but didn’t think it would interest me. (I was REALLY into fantasy books back then.) I read A Wrinkle In Time when I was 26 and instantly regretted I didn’t take the time to read it as a child. I struggled knowing my self worth for much of my childhood. Meg and I could have been best friends facing these uncertainties together. Alas, it never was.
Favorite Quote
You mean you’re comparing our lives to a sonnet? A strict form, but freedom within it? Yes. Mrs. Whatsit said. You’re given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself. What you say is completely up to you.
Madeleine L’Engle
Book Details
For Milo, everything’s a bore. When a tollbooth mysteriously appears in his room, he drives through only because he’s got nothing better to do. But on the other side, things seem different. Milo visits the Island of Conclusions (you get there by jumping), learns about time from a ticking watchdog named Tock, and even embarks on a quest to rescue Rhyme and Reason! Somewhere along the way, Milo realizes something astonishing. Life is far from dull. In fact, it’s exciting beyond his wildest dreams.
Sad story of my youth, I never read this book till I was in college. Norton Juster did a marvelous job taking all the quirky Colloquialisms and rules in the English language and putting them to story. It feels like Alice in Wonderland but with proper grammar rules. I really liked Eva Ibbotson‘s books as a kid, and The Phantom Tollbooth feels like it could fit into one of her stories!
Favorite Quote
You must never feel badly about making mistakes … as long as you take the trouble to learn from them. For you often learn more by being wrong for the right reasons than you do by being right for the wrong reasons.
Norton Juster
Book Details
A sci-fi drama of a high school aged girl who belongs in a different time, a boy possessed by emptiness as deep as space, an alien artifact, mysterious murder, and a love that crosses light years.
To Amy, everyone has a flavor. Her mom is the flavor of mint–sharp and bright. Her dad is like hot chocolate–sweet and full of gentle warmth.
Amy lives on a mining colony in out in deep space, but when her dad loses his job the entire family is forced to move back to Earth. Amy says goodbye to her best friend Jemmah and climbs into a cryotube where she will spend the next 30 years frozen in a state of suspended animation, hurtling in a rocket toward her new home. Her life will never be the same, but all she can think about is how when she gets to Earth, Jemmah will have grown up without her.
When Amy arrives on Earth, she feels like an alien in a strange land. The sky is beautiful but gravity is heavy and the people are weird. Stranger still is the boy she meets at her new school–a boy who has no flavor.
I. Love. This. Series! I went parousing through Webtoons and came across Stephen McCranie’s series in a featured spotlight. I had read several other webtoons and not been impressed, but I liked the art so I gave it a try. I am so glad I did. I love everything about this series and look forward to new chapters every week. Though I am glad I read this as an adult, I really think my younger self would have ate up this story’s beautiful art and depictions of school life. I also think I would have understood and identified with the character Oliver.
Favorite Quote
Oliver, men like you and I don’t make promises unless we can keep them.
Oliver’s Father, Episode 140
Book Details
The story of the new kid in town – little Yotsuba, a green-haired and wide-eyed girl who doesn’t have a clue… about anything! With no knowledge of the world around her, and an unnatural fear of air conditioners, Yotsuba has her new neighbors’ heads spinning.
Yotusbato is one of the most relaxing manga I’ve ever read. Yotsuba is such a cute little girl, and the author Azuma Kiyohiko is so funny! When I read it for the first time, I had so many times I laughed so hard I cried. I didn’t read manga as a kid, but if I could give myself a headstart into the Japanese reading world, I would give myself Yotsubato and smile.
Yotsuba: I’ll get revenge! … I’m going!
Jumbo (in a suffering manner): Yotsuba… please, come back alive…
Yotsuba (heroic): Alright. Even if I die… I’ll come back alive.
So Many Thoughts 