Tag Archives: fantasy

Book Challenges, reading challenges, TBR

(Belatedly Joining) Once Upon a Time Reading Challenge!

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out10ishere300

 

I found out about this reading challenge, which lasts from March 21st until June 21st, from reading other book blogs. And I decided (very belatedly) that I really want to join! To participate, all you need is a loose commitment to read at least one book from the genres of fantasy, folklore, fairy tales, or mythology; it’s a very low-pressure challenge, and there are several different options depending on how far you want to immerse yourself. You can find all about the challenge here: http://www.stainlesssteeldroppings.com/once-upon-a-time-x

 

out10first

 

I decided that I’ll be participating in Quest the First: to read five books that fit within any of the four different categories. I’ve been in such a fantasy-reading mood lately that I think it’s a very doable challenge, and I’ll expand on it for myself to read as many books as I can within those genres. Maybe 10? I think I can get to 10 🙂 especially if I count retroactively.

 

Every Heart a Doorway

 

I just started a book that fits in perfectly with this challenge: Seanan McGuire’s Every Heart a Doorway. It takes place at a “home for wayward children” that actually houses children who have recently returned to reality from time spent in fantasy realms and are having difficulty adjusting to the loss of associated with that. I’m only at the beginning, but I absolutely love the concept.

Here are some of my TBR book options for the challenge:

A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2)The Girl Wakes: StoriesA History of Glitter and BloodFables, Vol. 1: Legends in Exile

Through the WoodsCity of Dark Magic (City of Dark Magic, #1)Leo@Fergusrules.Com: A NovelGet in Trouble: Stories

Gods Behaving BadlyLittle, BigMr. SplitfootRoses and Rot

 

 

Are any of you participating? Any book recommendations in fantasy/folklore/mythology/fairy tales? Let me know!

 

Book Challenges, reading challenges, TBR

March #Weirdathon TBR

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Am I actually going to be able to finish all of these books in March? No. But I’m going to have a really good time trying…

 

 

I had a really hard time with my March TBR, because I’m trying to balance the #weirdathon with my vacation reading options (I’ll be at the beach for a week this month! Bringing back the “beaches” in Beaches and Books! With the winter the way it’s been I should have considered changing the name of this blog to Snow and Books…) and I’m way too excited about what to read for both. I love to read weirdly, and I realized that I have a ridiculous number of very weird books on my TBR shelves right now. Since there is no possible way I could read them all this month, I picked the ones I’m most anxious to get to. So here’s the breakdown:

 

Mr. SplitfootTrigger Warning: Short Fictions and DisturbancesThe End of Mr. YGrave Visions (Alex Craft, #4)Bad FeministThe Rook (The Checquy Files, #1)KindredThe Gone-Away World

 

The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway – I just started this one and it is already SO WEIRD. It’s great. There was a mysterious war called the “Go-Away War,” and in order to keep out something scary (monsters? zombies? It’s not clear yet) a giant, seemingly indestructible structure called the Jorgmund Pipe was built. When the book starts, it’s inexplicably on fire and the fate of the world is now in question.

The Rook by Daniel O’Malley – I can’t wait to start this!!!

Mr. Splitfoot by Samantha Hunt – I can’t wait to start this either!!!

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay – I wouldn’t call this one “weird,” but I like the irony of a feminist book being called Bad Feminist. And I feel like I’ll be in the mood for some engrossing nonfiction on the beach.

Grave Visions by Kalayna Price – necromancy, fae, grim reapers, and deadly magical hallucinogens? Perfect for my urban fantasy fix this month.

The End of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas – this is the book on my list I know the least about. Well, I know that, according to the blurb on Goodreads, it deals with “A cursed book. A missing professor. Some nefarious men in gray suits. And a dreamworld called the Troposphere?” Sounds just weird enough to work.

Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman – I love how Neil Gaiman blends fantasy, science fiction, and horror in his short story collections. I’m getting into a very short story-ish mood right now and this will work perfectly. I was debating reading Kelly Link’s new book this month…but I think I’ll save some weirdness for April 😉

Kindred by Octavia Butler – as I’ve mentioned before, one of my reading goals is to read every book by Octavia Butler. This book deals with time travel and slavery, and like all of her books I’m anticipating it to be a brilliant fusion of science fiction and social commentary.

Not pictured, possible alternate TBR titles depending on the library:

BossypantsThe Book of Lost ThingsMarked in Flesh (The Others, #4)

Bossypants by Tina Fey (this is not a #weirdathon read, it’s the audiobook I’m currently in the middle of and will probably finish this week)

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly (I’m thinking of listening to this audiobook after I finish Bossypants)

Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop

 

What is everybody reading this month? If you want to read weirdly, here’s the link to the signup: http://outlandishlit.blogspot.com/2016/02/month-long-weirdathon-sign-up.html

Book Challenges, reading challenges, Reading Goals, Uncategorized

Reading the Weird in March

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Earlier this week, I was in the middle of five different books and realized I wasn’t completely happy with any of them. I was enjoying them, but nothing was consuming my interest and inspiring me to reach for it obsessively. And then I figured out why: for the first time in probably years, not one of the books I was reading had any kind of fantastical or science fiction-related element.

I like to mix up my reading and read a mixture of genres, but science fiction and fantasy (along with their offshoots, magical realism, speculative fiction, etc) have always been my favorites. I love the feeling of reading something that is completely unlike anything else I’ve ever read, encountering new ideas and creative ways to tell a story. And by accidentally finding myself in a place without any of those books, I had strayed away from that. And I hated it!

That’s why the Month-Long #Weirdathon, held by Outlandish Lit (http://outlandishlit.blogspot.com/2016/02/month-long-weirdathon-sign-up.html) is coming at the perfect time for me. I’ve already realized that in order to get back into the reading zone, I need to immediately jump into some scifi/fantasy reads, and making those books as weird as possible sounds like the perfect antidote to too much realistic fiction.

Are  you reading anything weird in March? My TBR post will be up soon!