Tag: Books
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Top 10 Reads of 2022
I read about 75 books this year, and here are my favorites (in no particular order). The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah Genre: Historical Fiction This novel is about the dust bowl in the US in the 1930s, and a family who becomes “Oakies” trying to survive by going west to California. Kristin Hannah always…
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Top 10 Reads of 2017
Hi all! As this is the last day of 2017, here is a highlight of my favorite reads this year. My reading goal on Goodreads for 2017 was 80 books, and I managed to read 91. Of those 91 books, all but two were in my five favorite genres: fantasy (42%), historical fiction (16%), classic literature…
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Book Review: A Million Junes
I read A Million Junes through Penguin Publishing’s First to Read program. The book comes out on May 16. Imagine a Sarah Dessen novel—filled with serious questions and teenage vulnerabilities—paired with a collection of American tall tales. Now mix it all up into the Romeo and Juliet story, and the result is A Million Junes by Emily Henry. Synopsis…
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The Wanderers: Introspective People Who Don’t Go to Mars
I recently joined Penguin Publishing’s program called First To Read, which allows reviewers and bloggers to read books before they come out. The first book I’ve read through the program is The Wanderers, a literary fiction novel by Meg Howrey that comes out on March 14. Here’s my review. Synopsis: The book is about three astronauts…
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February Bookstagram Challenge!
Welcome to the #booklovefebruary challenge! If you’re coming over from Instagram or Simona’s blog, welcome! We’re super excited to be co-hosting this February challenge together. Here are the daily prompts, along with a few ideas: February TBR: Your To Be Read list for this month—what books do you want to get through in February? Book…
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5 Contemporary Fiction Books to Read
This is the last installment of the 5×5 series, where I’m exploring five of my favorite books in five different genres. If you missed them, check out my posts on fantasy, literature, historical fiction, and nonfiction. I don’t read contemporary fiction as often as several other genres, but I should. Contemporary fiction deals with real-world…
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5 Books to Expand Your Mind This Year
In this 5×5 series, I’m sharing five of my favorite books in five different genres. Revisit the posts on Fantasy, Literature, and Historical Fiction if you missed them. I’ve always loved stories, so when it comes to books, most of what I read is fiction. However, I’ve read quite a bit of nonfiction too—mostly philosophy and theology…
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5 Classic Books to Read in 2017
In this 5×5 series, I’m exploring 5 books in 5 different genres, over 5 posts. If you missed the first post on fantasy books, you can check it out here. The first literary classic I read was Heidi in second grade. I found it in my school library, and while my friends were reading The…
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5 Fantasy Books You Should Read
Welcome to the 5×5 post series—five posts that explore five books in five different genres. Over half of the 80 books I’ve read this year have been fantasy, so we’ll start there. I’m going to skip over some of my favorite series such as Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings because most people already know about…
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Writing News
My apologies for the long silence. Am I still writing? Yep. Just not blog posts—for the moment. Here’s why: Just about a month ago, I finished writing the first draft of my fantasy novel! It clocked in at 122,000 words, which is a little longer than Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, to give you a…
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Crime and Punishment: What’s the Crime, and What’s the Punishment?
Crime and Punishment: What’s the crime, and what’s the punishment?
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How to Decipher Russian Names
I’m currently on a Russian literature kick—I finished Crime and Punishment this weekend and just started War and Peace via audiobook. There’s so much about classic Russian literature I love, but the names drive me crazy. Each character seems to have five different names, and the narrator changes which name he uses depending on the situation. Multiply…
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Hermione’s Homework: The Basilisk
Hermione Granger’s History of Magic essay on recordings of the Basilisk in ancient history.
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World Building: How to Bring a Reader Down the Rabbit Hole
I both read and write fantasy fiction, and one of the aspects I love the most about the genre is the world-building. The author gets to create his or her own world—come up with everything from biology and astronomy to scientific laws and the government system. There are a few different ways to introduce a…
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5 Patriotic Reads for July
Happy 4th of July! In honor of our country’s birth, I’ve put together a list of my five favorite American literature works. I’m not typically an American lit. person—I like European literature better—but there are definitely some American books I’ve read and loved. If you’re looking for ways to think about our country this July, here…
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Is Character Development Necessary?
When we talk about a good story—whether book, movie or TV show—one of the quality criteria we often put forward is character development. What we mean by this is that the characters should grow to become better people over the course of the story arc. This makes sense. We want our heroes to learn something,…
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Odysseus Goes to Mordor
I recently read a blog post over at Fantasy Faction in which Max Freeman argues that the classic literature students have to read in school is boring and often has no character development. He suggests that schools might be better off reading newer, more interesting books such as fantasy and scifi. I like Max’s idea of introducing “new blood” into…
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Eat Through Narnia: Earl Gray Turkish Delight
Turkish Delight is the quintessential food for The Chronicles of Narnia. Learn how to make this classic treat with a British flavor twist.
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Why Can’t Adults Enter Narnia?
Why is the magical world in The Chronicles of Narnia only accessible to children?
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Monthly Reads: July
August already—that means the 4th of July was almost a month ago. Time is racing away. As for the reading I did in July, there were some major highs and lows. Thankfully, the highs outweighed the lows, which made the whole experience worthwhile. Written in Red by Anne Bishop Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult My favorite part…
Victoria Van Vlear 