Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
This Week’s Prompt: Favorite Book Quotes (these could be quotes from books you love, or bookish quotes in general)
I did a list like this of some of favourite quotes from books before, so this time around I am going to do a list of my favourite quotes about books!
“A room without books is like a body without a soul.” -Marcus Tullius Cicero
“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” -Neil Gaiman
“Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.” -Lemony Snicket
“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” -C.S. Lewis
“Books so special and rare and yours that advertising your affection feels like a betrayal.” -John Green
“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” -Cicero
“What I say is, a town isn’t a town without a bookstore. It may call itself a town, but unless it’s got a bookstore, it knows it’s not foolin’ a soul.” -Neil Gaiman
“A book, too, can be a star, a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe.” -Madeleine L’Engle
“You know you’ve read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend.” -Paul Sweeny
“Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Welcome back to another Music Monday post! Continuing on with the next playlist in this series, we come to a playlist for Keithia and her best friend: the tiefling sorceress, Whisper.
Keithia and Whisper are two characters that probably could not have been more different, but by the end of the campaign they were closer to each other than they were possibly to their own siblings. Possibly closer to her than even her eventual husband, this duo has remained strong in every AU that has ended up being created for these characters.
Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, that is hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion, where we discuss certain topics, share our opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts.
This Week’s Topic: Reading Seasonally
I am very much a mood reader and this does sometimes correspond with a lot of seasonal reading. I find this is always especially true as the Holidays approach. Starting later in November and then particularly in December, I love to read Christmas books and have built up a bit of a collection of ones that I read every single year and still have not gotten tired of. Jeff Guinn’s The Christmas Chronicles series is one of my favourites.
I also sometimes do a little bit of seasonal reading around Halloween. It’s not nearly so much as I do in the lead up to Christmas, but I do have some creepy comic books and collections of ghost stories that I enjoy breaking out when this season rolls around.
#FaeFriday was created to help fill the hole in Kristy’s life after #FridayFavorites was discontinued. The idea behind this weekly blog prompt is that each Friday will have a bit of magic sparkled on it with a bookish prompt inspired by the Fair Folk! #FaeFriday is the creation of Kristy from Caffeinated Fae!
September 25, 2020: Music is something that faeries are known to enjoy. That is why this week’s prompt is: what kind of music do you listen to when reading?
Honestly, this varies a lot by my mood. I don’t often listen to music while I’m reading, but when I do it is probably somehow thematic. It could be a soundtrack for something similar to the book I’m currently reading, or something specifically made for that book (I do this with reading Keiron Gillen comics a lot, since he makes playlists for a lot of them).
More often, I either just have youtube or some streaming service up in the background, or I listen to asmr videos or ambient sounds.
I saw this tag around a little while ago and have been meaning to do it for a while, especially as I was (until we wrapped up this past Tuesday) playing in a campaign of a She-Ra inspired tabletop rpg called For The Honor and am currently re-watching the series. This tag was originally created by Dani from metamorphoreader and Evalyn from heretherebemagic.
She-Ra: Share a Favourite Fantasy Book
The Princess Bride is both my favourite book and my favourite movie of all time. I know a lot of people think this is a rare case of the movie being better than the book, but honestly I disagree. I think they are both almost equally amazing (though I may prefer the book just by a tiny bit).
Adora: Share A Character With Great Character Development
I love the development of Jane, the main character of Dread Nation. I started off the book thinking I was going to hate her and that she was going to embody some of my least favourite tropes, but I ended up loving her and cheering for her so much by the end.
Catra: Share A Book With An Anti-Hero or Villain POV
Magneto as a character has always interested me, especially when he’s written well. I loved this origin story for him and it’s truly a powerful reminder of the very real point in history he comes from.
Glimmer: Share A Fictional World You Would Transport To
Does it count if it’s technically set in our world? I love the way magic interacts with non-magical society in the Dresden Files series and it’s definitely a world I would to live in.
Bow: Share A Sweet Male Character
Peter Kavinsky from To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before and it’s sequels fits this description in my mind. He’s not perfect (which I appreciate) but he really is a sweet guy.
Best Friend Squad: Share You Favourite Fictional Friendship
Anne Shirley and Diana Barry from the Anne of Green Gables series will always be up there as one of my favourites.
Perfuma: Share a Comfort Read
Honestly, almost any comic could fit this prompt for me, but this one was my first and I have read it so many times that it is very easy to sink back into.
Mermista: Share a Book with Mythological Creatures
The Hobbit was one of the first fantasy books I ever read and I still love the scene in which Bilbo meets Smaug so much.
Frosta: Share a Middle Grade Book
I haven’t read much of Rick Riordin’s books yet, but I really want to. I seem to always hear so many good things about them and I did really enjoy the one that I have read so far!
Entrapta: Share a Book with Neurodivergent Rep
As someone that struggles with a lot of anxiety, reading this book nearly brought me to tears because I saw so much of myself in Eliza. I wish I’d had this book when I was younger. I think I could have gotten even more out of it then.
Double Trouble: Share Your Favourite Queer Character
There’s a lot of queer and/or queer coded characters in X-Men comics that I love, but Illyana Rasputin is definitely up there as one of my favourites.
Scorpia: Share a Character who must be Protected
I would do anything for Auri from the Kingkiller Chronicles and nothing bad had ever happen to her.
Princesses of Power: Share Your Favourite Book with LGBT+ Rep
I absolutely love The Wicked + The Divine! Gillen is a masterful writer and all of the characters, though horrible in their own ways, are engaging and interesting and there’s so much diversity in their relationships. This was one of my first ventures into indie comics and it remains one of my favourite series.
Welcome to another Top 10 Tuesday post! This week the prompt is Books on my Fall TBR. Now, to be completely honest, I am very bad at TBRs in general. I am very much a mood reader. However, having just moved recently and realizing I own more books than I have space for, I am attempting to read a bunch of things I haven’t read before so that I can either donate them or move them to my parents’ place at some point, so here is a list of a few books near the top of the multiple piles I have going at the moment!
Causeway: A Passage From Innocence. I already know I will be keeping this one, as it is not only a book about the island I grew up on, but also a book that I got from an author reading and has been signed and personalized for me. However, it is one I have not read yet and have wanted to get to for a while, so I’m reading it now!
2. Revival Volume 1 by Tim Seeley and Mike Norton. This one is currently at the top of my graphic novels pile and I have had it for ages and not read it yet.
3. The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert. I’ve heard some mixed things about this book, but I’ve had it for a while and am still interested in giving it a read and seeing what I think for myself.
4. The Waking Forest by Alyssa Wees. This one I am also sure I will be keeping since it is also signed and was a gift from a friend of mine, but it’s one I’ve been wanting to read for a while so hopefully I will be getting to it soon!
5. Afterlife With Archie by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Francesco Francavilla. This just seems like a great book to read with Halloween coming up.
6. Atlantia by Ally Condie. I loved the Matched series in high school and have had this book sitting in my collection for ages now and would really like to get around to reading it.
7. Welcome Home: Travels in Smalltown Canada by Stuart McLean. I don’t think I’ll ever be over Stuart McLean’s death. He was, as my brother put it once, the voice of our childhoods. The lack of his radio show, The Vinyl Cafe, always hits me hardest as we come into fall and winter, which means it’s a perfect time to read some of his books and bring that back for myself.
8. Sage Volume 2 by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples. I keep meaning to read through this whole series and never get to it, so I’d like to try to keep going soon.
9. Redwall by Brian Jaques. I took this book from my parents house because I’ve been really wanting to read it, especially considering that I used to love the cartoon based on this series as a kid.
10. The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston. This is another signed book that I don’t intend on getting rid of, but still haven’t gotten around to. It’s also another maritime book and I love reading stories from my part of the world.
Happy Monday, everyone! I am back to share another one of my playlists once again. We’re still continuing through the series of playlists I made for my D&D character Keithia over the course of a two year campaign. This week’s playlist is for Keithia and her adopted father/surprise actual bilogical parents, Aasim.
This relationship is complicated, but I’ll try to somehow keep it brief.
Keithia was raised by a somewhat eccentric old man by the name of Aasim, living much of her life on the run without any actual explanation as to why. When he “died” when Keithia was 16, she was left alone and with many questions and no direction. This sense of abandonment and desire to make sense of why she raised this way and who she was became something of an obsession for her, and was a driving force for her throughout the campaign, never fully fading even as she began to find more of a place with her found family among her party members.
There were many hints throughout the latter half of the campaign pointing towards Keithia’s heritage being something beyond the mortal plane, but the whole truth wasn’t revealed until the final session. At that point, Baz’d, the world’s trickster god, revealed themselves to have been orchestrating many of the party’s adventures as well as being the biological parent of Keithia, her half sister Chealyn, and (in a different way) her friend Oriana. They had also disguised themselves as Aasim to raise Keithia up until a certain point, making her the only one of their children they directly brought up, even if it was cloaked in lies. They also revealed that Keithia’s mother had been the nature goddess, Coille, who had been killed by Baz’d after Keithia was born as she had been corrupted by her power and would have killed her daughter and destroyed much of civilization, according to Baz’d. This is something Keithia still isn’t sure how much she believes.
Keithia’s reaction to all of this was not very positive, to say the least. She had a lot of anger towards Baz’d for all the lies they had told her and the way they had abandoned her. Even after she became a Goddess herself, their relationship would remain tense for centuries. As of the campaign’s epilogue, she hasn’t fully forgiven them and likely never will, but her anger does subside a little, particularly after her daughter is born.
A lot of this playlist was built before I even knew who Aasim really was, as I basically gave my DM full power over what the secrets he was hiding actually were, so there’s a bit of a shift here and there between Keithia’s love for the man that raised her and her anger towards the being that lied and manipulated and abandoned her. I think that mix works though, as both those states of mind have existed simultaneously in her for a while. Despite all her anger, she also still loves the only parent she ever knew.
Welcome to another Music Monday post! This week, we are continuing with all the playlists that I made for my first D&D character, Keithia.
This week’s playlist is a relationship based one for Keithia and Isao Ito, the Society’s resident monk. Thia was initially a little bit unsure of this man, but he came to her rescue enough times in some bad situations that she started to trust to him. After he assassinated her in the alternate timeline the party was sent to, that almost fell apart. However, the two managed to make amends and honestly may have become even closer after that incident. Keithia ultimately developed a huge crush on him that was completely obvious to everyone, though she had a lot of doubt that he felt the same way. There was a lot of awkwardness between the two of them for a while, made even worse by Isao dodging the subject when someone else broached it, but the two of them eventually got together after the death of another party member and stayed together through the end of the campaign. As of the campaign epilogue, after the party became Gods of the new version of the world, the two of them are married and have a daughter.
Let’s Talk Bookish is a tag I just came across recently hosted by Eternity Books and Literary Lion. Each Friday brings a different bookish topic to discuss. This week’s topic is How To Encourage Others to Read.
I’m not sure I really have a good how to guide for this, since it definitely varies a lot based on who it is I’m trying to encourage. I don’t like to be too pushy and there’s always going to be people that just aren’t interested in reading in general. As hard as that is for me to understand, I accept it.
So, rather than attempt to give a universal How To for this topic, I’m going to break it down to one specific niche that I end up having this conversation with people about a lot: comic books.
I have been a big comic book fan since I was probably around 8 years old and a question I get a lot from people that are newer to comics is “where do I start?” Considering just how many comics are out there, especially from the Big Two (Marvel and DC), it can definitely be an intimidating medium to venture into. I don’t claim to be an expert in all things comics, but I do have a long enough history here that I’ve developed something of a standard approach.
First, ask them if there’s a specific character or group they are interested in. If they are someone coming to comics from one of the many comic book movies and shows out there, chances are the answer to this question will be yes. From there, if it’s a character I know well enough, I can recommend some series that I know and have personally enjoyed that may be good jumping off points.
If there isn’t a specific character or team they’re looking for, I will go towards subject matter. What sort of books does this person like and what sort of comics do I know of that seem to fall into the same genres that I think they will enjoy?
My last point of encouragement will usually be to direct them to various websites and subscription services for digital comics or to recommend some local comic book shops to them, depending on what they are looking for. If I happen to already own something I think they’ll like myself, I’ll sometimes let them borrow it to see what they think as well.
And those are my best tips for encouraging someone to read comic books! I hope they seem helpful or interesting to some people out there and I will be back with another discussion like this next week!
I saw The Biblioghast post this tag a while back and have been meaning to complete it myself (especially as I’m hoping to try and get back on track with posting things here). So, here we go!
RULES:
☆ Thank the person who tagged you and link back to their post ☆ Link to the creator’s blog (thebookwormdreamer) in your post ☆ Answer the prompts below – all fantasy books! ☆ Tag 5 others to take part ☆ Enjoy!
Five Star Book
The Princess Bride, always.
Always Going to Recommend
The Hobbit has been one of my favourite books since I was a kid and is one I’m quick to recommend to people that like fantasy or are looking for books to read with their kids.
Own But Haven’t Read Yet
A friend got me a signed copy of this book and I haven’t gotten around to it yet. I really hope to soon.
Would Read Again
This book was so different than I expected it to be, but I loved every second of it!
In Another World
I really love the world of the Kingkiller Chronicles. It’s so easy to get lost in.
Back on Earth
I’m still slowly making my way through the Dresden Files series, but I really do love them and the way the magic mixes with the real world.
And that’s it! Let me know if you’ve read any of the books mentioned here and what you thought of them and feel free to consider yourself tagged if you think this looks fun!
Islander's Caper 