Hmm…

Category: Bookish Thoughts

  • How to Find the Next Fantasy Novel to Read

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    harmamae
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    I’ve blogged before about fantasy novels, and the trouble I’ve had to find more fantasy novels that I enjoy. Which was why I was so excited to see this chart of fantasy (and sci-fi) novels on Slate! It’s easy to follow the options – “Wizard and Barbarians?” “Looking for and Old-fashioned Trilogy?” and even “I’d…

  • The Lost Art of Reading Dictionaries

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    harmamae
    in

    I admit I used to read dictionaries. Not for fun, but as a method of procrastination. You know in school, how they used to make you look up meanings of words and write them down on your worksheet? Well, the words that weren’t on the worksheet were far more interesting than the words that were.…

  • The Pleasures of Re-Reading

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    harmamae
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    Or, Surprise! I Actually Like This Book Some novels can stand up to the pressures of being re-read over and over – Lord of the Rings, Howl’s Moving Castle, Pride and Prejudice – and get better and better each time I read them. To come back to them is like finding a comfortable old friend,…

  • The Trouble With Modern Romance

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    harmamae
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    The trouble with modern romance novels is that our culture sees no reason for two people who are in love not to be together. This significantly cuts down on the potential for conflict in the novel. In comparison, Jane Austen had it easy. I’m going to use Jane Austen as an example for a second,…

  • A Meaningful Universe?–Defining Fantasy

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    harmamae
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    Fantasy, according to Crawford Kilian, takes place in a morally meaningful universe, and that is why readers like it so much. “In fantasy, meaning is not something we slap on from the outside, it’s built right into everything from the rocks and trees to the political system.” I do love fantasy, possibly because I believe…

  • It’s the Readers’ Fault! Why Bad Writing is Called Good

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    harmamae
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    OR: Don’t Blame Them, They Didn’t Notice the Difference Anyway Authors agonize over metaphors. They might spend ages debating word choice. They careful revise their sentence structure. What would you say if someone told you readers rarely notice this kind of thing anyway? I’m a poor student, and like many a poor student I participate…

  • Luck of the First-Time Novelist

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    harmamae
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    Conventional wisdom in the writing world says that it takes at least three published novels to establish your name in the public eye. Don’t even think about quitting your day-job until then. But then, while leisurely reading the morning newspaper, I come across the name of Shilpi Somaya Gowda, whose first novel sold 300,000 copies…

  • Woman-Haters and the Challenge of Unconquerable Males

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    harmamae
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    An Unrepentant Old Bachelor? Never!  A romantic subplot is a necessity for almost every book/film/play whatever, but every once in a while you come across a character that just doesn’t get one. You can’t figure out it when he (I’m going to look at male characters for this post) has a magnetizing personality and women…

  • Sci-Fi and Me: The Uneasy Truce

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    harmamae
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    After discussing Fantasy last week, I decided to examine its sister-genre, Science Fiction, next. I used to swear I hated science fiction. And I had good reason to – every sci-fi forced on me in school was invariably depressing (I’ve never been a fan of depressing stories, I usually read to escape to a happier…

  • Fantasy Round-up

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    harmamae
    in

    Lately I’ve had people ask how I get inspiration when writing, and one big part of it is – reading other books! Good books show what works, what techniques are out there, and what tropes exist (obviously not for the purpose of blatant copying, that would be pointless). Bad books show what fails horribly, and…