Top Ten Tuesday: Fantastic Opening Lines

Since it is May, I have chosen my first lines from fantasy novels for Wyrd & Wonder. Some years ago there was in the city of York a society of magicians. They met upon the third Wednesday of every month and read each other long, dull papers upon the history of English magic.They were gentleman-magicians,

Book Beginnings #20 & Friday 56 #20: The Fifth Season

Book Beginnings is hosted by Rose City Reader. The weekly post goes up every Thursday and bloggers can add their links all week. I am rereading The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin the first book in the Broken Earth trilogy. I wanted to read a book for the SFBC Book Club (we have a yearly challenge reading

Six Degrees of Fantasy Separation: The Lord of the Rings to Lavinia

I still have at least one review to write, but I had hoped to do at least one non-review post for Wyrd & Wonder, so here it is! I read Imyril’s Six Degrees of Separation post (inspired by Kate’s meme at Books Are My Favourite and Best) and I decided to join in! The idea

Review: Chocolat

Chocolat by Joanne HarrisMy rating: 5 of 5 stars Chocolat is a contemporary novel with a few fantasy elements. I really liked the setting, which is one of most beautiful and immersive settings I’ve read about lately. This is the second time I have read the book. It was worth rereading, but not amazing enough

Review: Midnight’s Children

Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie My rating: 5 of 5 stars I first read Midnight’s Children in 2012, but that was my second attempt to read the book. The first time was the previous year, I think. I couldn’t get through it the first time, even though I really liked the beginning. But once I

Book Beginnings #19 and Friday 56 #19: Chocolat by Joanne Harris

Book Beginnings is hosted by Rose City Reader. The weekly post goes up every Thursday and bloggers can add their links all week. My book this week is Chocolat by Joanne Harris. This is a reread for me. The beginning:   February 11 Shrove Tuesday We came on the wind of the carnival. A warm wind for February, laden with the hot

Read It Again, Sam Challenge 2020

So far this year I have joined the Deal Me In Challenge (which I need to update; I’m almost on track with that one, but I have been checking them off on paper, not online) and the Back to the Classics challenge (which I will catch up with soon, I think). Now I am joining one

Bout of Books 28 Master Post

I’m participating in Bout of Books 28! What is Bout of Books? The Bout of Books readathon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It’s a weeklong readathon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 11th and runs through Sunday, May 17th in YOUR time zone. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are daily challenges,

Review: The Owl Service (repost from GoodReads, 2018)

The Owl Service by Alan Garner My rating: 5 of 5 stars “She wants to be flowers, but you make her owls. You must not complain, then, if she goes hunting.” I listened to this as an OverDrive audiobook. It’s a retelling of the legend of Blodeuwedd, set in modern Wales. Blodeuwedd was a woman

Review: To Say Nothing of the Dog (repost from GoodReads, 2016)

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis My rating: 4 of 5 stars I really enjoyed this. To Say Nothing of the Dog is a funny, meandering journey through Victorian England from the point of view of Ned Henry, an Oxford historian from the 21st century. The laws of the “time continuum” prevent