The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings #4

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

A quest to recover a legendary lost weapon by bumbling young apprentice monk, mouse Matthias. 

Redwall Abbey, tranquil home to a community of peace-loving mice, is threatened by Cluny the Scourge savage bilge rat warlord and his battle-hardened horde. But the Redwall mice and their loyal woodland friends combine their courage and strength.

Book Beginnings: Matthias cut a comical figure as he wobbled his way along the cloisters, with his large sandals flip-flopping and his tail peeping from beneath the baggy folds of an oversized novice's habit.

The Friday 56: "Maybe not," the badger replied. "But you must remember that we are here to defend, not to attack or kill."

What are you reading currently? Have you ever read the Redwall books? 

On books for fans of "Warehouse 13"

Ohh Warehouse 13. This show is equal parts campy and hilarious and it's a brilliant twist on the typical crime drama. Instead of looking for murderers, Warehouse 13 agents spend their time retrieving artifacts - dangerous magical items that can wreck havoc to the people around them. Here are a few books if you're not sure what to do after the series finale.

• The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde - Another fun twist on the classical crime drama, The Eyre Affair is all about a world where books are top priority - with a full police force dedicated to protecting literature. This series has ridiculous psuedo-police problems and situations to laugh and marvel at and also name drops tons of famous people (and characters) - just like W13. 

• Asteroid Made of Dragons by G. Derek Adams - This book is a hilarious mix of science fiction and fantasy - and full of weird contraptions that straddle that line. Like W13, it is difficult to categorize perfectly and makes a delightful use of twisting typical SFF features and tropes.

• The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare - The steampunk flair of this book reminded me a bit of W13 - plus the melodrama and quirks and romance and ridiculousness of some of the characters from W13. 

• The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson - This steampunk-y book about lawkeepers in a fantasy wild-west world doesn't feel much like W13, but certainly has so many similar elements. The characters here are just as quirky and funny as W13 characters - and the romance is just as wonderfully ridiculous and surprising.

• Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz - While the feeling and genre elements of this book certainly are unlike W13, the capacity to deal with difficult topics in an upbeat and uplifting way makes these two more similar than different. Also, they both have hilarious leads with some unique talents.

What books would you add to this list? What do you miss about Warehouse 13? What other reads remind you of TV shows?

On just-released books that are worth a look

Thanks in part to Avalinah's Books' State of the ARC meme, I've been slowly working through my Netgalley backlist and have been uncovering some interesting (and bizarre) books. With that in mind, here are some of the books I've recently been blessed to read that I recommend you take a look at:

• Stranger No More: A Muslim Refugee’s Story of Harrowing Escape, Miraculous Rescue, and the Quiet Call of Jesus by Annahita Parsan (November 14, 2017)- Tell-all biographies aren't always my cup of tea, but this one was refreshing and intriguing as it exposed me to a lot of aspects of Middle Eastern culture that I had not previously been aware of. It's fairly well written and is pretty incredible. 

• Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emmie Lang (November 14, 2017)- A tale of magical realism, this book follows the adventures of Weylyn Grey as he discovers his powers and comes to terms with what it means to be true to them. Told from the perspectives of the people who love and receive assistance from Weylyn, this is a powerful story for fantasy readers.
  
  
  
  
  
• Queen of the Struggle by Nik Korpon (March 1, 2018) - Book #2 in the Memory Thief series doesn't quite live up to the wonder of the first, but it still wonderful as it continues the story of the revolution and shows the potential problems with starting a new regime.

What books have you read recently? What just-released or upcoming releases are you most excited about? Have you read any of these recently-released books?

Music Monday #4

Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE

I'm so excited to introduce some new music I'm loving - and that I hope you'll love, too (and also, it's nice to take a quick break from writing about books now and then, so thanks again Lauren!)

My first song today is one that I've been really enjoying the past few weeks. Young Fathers have been getting some attention recently and their new album is fantastic and definitely worth checking out. Here is my favorite of their songs:

Talking Heads fans - pay attention. David Byrne just released his new solo album and it's pretty fun - especially the first single off the album. This song has been my jam since it was released. It's the kind of tune you just want to move to. 

What have you been listening to? What music recommendations do you have for me based on these songs? Do you listen to either of these artists?

Book Club Discussion: The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber

Unsure of what your next book club read should be? Not sure how to get a good discussion started during book club? Don't want to waste time finding "inspirational" quotes to share with your club? You've come to the right place. We've got you covered. Today's Book Club Discussion is centered around The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber.

Author information (taken from the author's website): Michel Faber has written seven other books, including the highly acclaimed The Crimson Petal and the White, The Fahrenheit Twins and the Whitbread-shortlisted novel Under the Skin. The Apple, based on characters in The Crimson Petal and the White, was published in 2006. He has also written two novellas, The Hundred and Ninety-Nine Steps and The Courage Consort, and has won several short-story awards, including the Neil Gunn, Ian St James and Macallan. Born in Holland, brought up in Australia, he lives in the Scottish Highlands.

Book inspiration: (Taken from The Guardian) The Book of Strange New Things, begun before Eva’s [Faber's wife] diagnosis, also underwent a radical shift. Faber started it in the wake of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, when “I was so fed up with the almost invincible idiocy of the human race that I fantasised about writing a book that had no humans in it. So I was going to write a novel entirely set on another planet.” Then he hit on the idea of a man and woman “separated by an unimaginably vast distance. I thought of one of them going to another planet and the other one staying behind”. Peter, who travels to the Planet Oasis to preach to the Oasans, began life as a stand-in for the writer, who every day vanishes into his study and the unpassable distances of his own mind. Eva “lived on Planet Earth, and dealt with all the messy shit of daily life, and I was on Planet Art, creating my books in my sanctum sanctorum”.

When Eva got sick, the novel changed again: “It became much more about loss and the miracle of the body and also the tragic fragility of it, all in one.” One of the many unbridgeable differences between human and Oasan is that the aliens’ bodies lack the ability to repair themselves – if damaged in any way, they simply rot, like fruit. “Eva had one of the few cancers remaining that can’t be fixed. Which is horrifying, but shines a spotlight on the fact that almost everything that goes wrong with us can be fixed. We are immensely privileged to inhabit these little fleshy vehicles.”

Discussion questions

• “Being apart was wrong. Simply lying side by side did more for a relationship than words. A warm bed, a nest of animal intimacy. Words could be misunderstood, whereas loving companionship bred trust.” - Who is at fault as Bea and Peter's relationship begins to suffer? What factors play a part in driving them apart? Are these common relationship problems or are they unique to their situation? How could this quote apply to various relationships?
• How does Faber juxtapose Bea’s hand injury (and Peter’s reaction to it) with Jesus Lover Five's hand injury (and the community’s reaction to it)? Do the differences in reactions tell us more about the differences in biology or the differences in societies?
• How does the USIC "community" differ from the Oasan village? How do each of these differ from society on Earth?
• Is it appropriate for Peter to give the Osans new names as they convert? Is it respectful of their cultural to introduce Earth religions and cultures to the Oasans?
• “How strange it was to be inside a machine again! All his life he’d been inside machines, whether he realised it or not. Modern houses were machines. Shopping centres were machines. Schools. Cars. Trains. Cities. They were all sophisticated technological constructs, wired up with lights and motors. You switched them on, and didn’t spare them a thought while they pampered you with unnatural services.”  - How do Peter's opinions towards machinery and human society change through his interactions with the Oasans? Is he correct in feeling that modern machinery is "unnatural"? 
• Does Peter make the correct decision in the end? Where do his duties lie? Is Earth a lost cause?
• What are your opinions on "aliens" being adopted into Earth religions? If religion is universal, should it be opened to all beings in the universe, or should Earth religions be left on Earth?
• Faber has expressed that writing this book helped him deal with the passing of his wife. What parts of the book do you think helped Faber grieve? Does the fact that Faber lost his wife while he wrote this book change your thoughts on it?

What parts of a book club meeting are important to you? What do you like to discuss during meetings? Did you enjoy The Book of Strange New Things?

Do-over: On TBR Books that Intimidate Me #1

This is the beginning of The Bibliotaph's first blog meme and link-up: Do-over. To participate, go through your blog posts from the past years (post must be at least a year old) and do the post over - either update it to fit your current perspectives or add new material to make it more application currently. Our next Do-over linkup will be on May 15th.

You can read the original blog post here.

The TBR Books that Intimidate Me was a recurring post that I ran for the first several months of blogging. After awhile, it became apparent that I would eventually run out of books on my TBR and that I wasn't as terrified by these books and I'd originally though I was, so I stopped posting about it. Also, the format of my original post was terrible - there were no pictures (not even of book covers) and all the text was blocked together in a very dull way. I've come a long way since then. Right now, I'd like to revisit the books I first posted about and see if I've read them, or if they still intimidate me (and I'll even include pictures this time).

• Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns - I still haven't read this! My mum recommended it years ago and I've never been able to bring myself to read it. What if I hate my mum's favorite book? Also, the subject matter honestly doesn't interest me enough to hunt it down and get through it. I'm sure I'll love it once I start it, but it isn't high on my priority list.

• Treasure Island!!!! by Sara Levine - I actually have read this book now and I LOVED IT. It was beautiful and marvelous and such a unique story. So glad I overcame my initial trepidation!

• A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson - Honestly, my interest in this book has waned and I took it off my TBR a few weeks ago. It no longer seems interesting enough to keep on a constantly-growing list and I feel like I'll remember it enough to pick it up when I have a chance (or time) to read it. In the meantime, I don't feel like I'm missing out on much.

What blog posts would you do-over if you had the chance? Which books on your TBR are freaking you out right now?

The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings #4

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

 A modern classic in which John le Carré expertly creates a total vision of a secret world, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy begins George Smiley's chess match of wills and wits with Karla, his Soviet counterpart. 

It is now beyond a doubt that a mole, implanted decades ago by Moscow Centre, has burrowed his way into the highest echelons of British Intelligence. His treachery has already blown some of its most vital operations and its best networks. It is clear that the double agent is one of its own kind. But which one? George Smiley is assigned to identify him. And once identified, the traitor must be destroyed. 


Book Beginnings: The truth is, if old Major Dover hadn't dropped dead at Taunton races Jim would never have come to Thursgood's at all.

The Friday 56: Irina was a member of the delegation in her own right. She was a trained textile buyer: "Come to think of it, she was a sight better qualified than her old man, if I can call him that."


What are you reading this week? Have you read anything by John le Carre? How do you feel about spy novels?

On my failed (and now successful) book clubs

Every dedicated reader that I know is (or has been) part of a book club. The clubs are always structured differently and always focus on different sorts of books, but one common thread is that these clubs bring people together because of their love of books.
Confession: Until this year, I’ve never been part of a dedicated book group. But I’ve had several groups that didn’t work out for various reasons.

1. High School Summer - During my junior year of high school, a group of us attempted to start a book club. We read exactly two books before everyone got busy and we threw in the towel. It was also problematic because everyone had vastly different tastes in books - we went together to see a movie of one of the books we’d read and half the group was sobbing and loving the film while the other half slept through it. Definitely not a good start to a good book club.
2. College Roommates - My sophomore year of college, I moved in with some girls who I was delighted to learn were readers. We decided that we’d each take turns forcing our favorite books on each other. It was a mess. One roommate loved paranormal romances, the other loved contemporary YA, and I primarily read SFF. We couldn’t find common ground (and one roommate refused to read my SFF pick for her). We didn’t even make it past the first month.
3. Writing Group - For about a year, a group of college friends and I stayed caught up by starting a writing group. We’d skype weekly to discuss our writing projects and occasionally talk about books we’d read. I started getting excited that this could be an excellent way for me to connect with people about books, but after a few months, our meetings became more and more sporadic until they ceased entirely. We still text about books now and again, but the long distance model simply wasn’t sustainable for us.
4. Elderly Women - When I moved to a new town after college, I was excited to learn that my church had a long-term book club. I expressed an interest, but unfortunately, the book club met during my work hours. I still read a couple months worth of their books and was not at all interested in the poorly written, self-published autobiographies they tended to read. When I learned that the youngest woman in the group was in her mid-50’s, I realized it probably wasn’t a good book group for me at this time in my life and that they wouldn’t be interested in reading anything I’d like.
5. Church Book Group Round 2- When I moved to a new city for graduate school, I was again excited (though somewhat wary) to learn that there was a well-established book group run by a woman at church. Within a couple meetings, I knew this was the book club for me and I’ve been attending ever since. It’s a unique group - the same woman has been running it since the early 1990’s and she has kept a spreadsheet of every book that’s been read as part of the club. You are never allowed to choose a book that’s already been read, so it forces you to be a bit more creative. It’s also a very well-attended group (averaging 12-15 people each meeting) and everyone has such diverse tastes in books that you’re certain to read something you like on a regular basis. It’s been my best book club experience ever - and one that I’m confident will continue for years to come.

What experiences have you had with book clubs? What different structures have you experienced in book clubs? What are your favorite books you’ve read because of a book club?

On tips and tricks for better blogging

Someday, I'll write my own guide to being a new blogger (which we already talked about a bit for The Bibliotaph's birthday). Right now, though, I need a little more experience to be superhelpful to bloggers everywhere. In the meantime, here are some helpful guides to being a new blogger and how to start on the right foot.

• Avalinah's Book #NewBloggers 101 Guide - This series of posts on various aspects of being a blogger (and how to do things right) is being worked on by a handful of very experienced book bloggers. Covering topics from the importance of scheduling posts to getting more comments, from knowing where to request books from to writing a review policy for your blog, their goal is to cover every aspect of blogging in order to help book bloggers everywhere. It's in-depth, it's immensely helpful, and the bloggers working on this series are so kind and sweet. This is the first place I would recommend reading when you're starting a book blog.
• PaperFury- Cait from PaperFury is a blogging with LOTS of experience. She's got a lot of good stuff to say. Her posts with tips are a little harder to track down since she does it infrequently. To start, here is her post on getting people to read your blog. She also has two (yes, two) lovely posts on getting more comments (see here and here). And here is another post on thinking of good discussion posts! PaperFury has a depth of experience (and HUNDRED of posts), so dig a little deeper for even more blog tips.
• Book blogging ideas - There are so many places to get blogging post ideas, but this post by the PJV is a helpful start. Here on the Bibliotaph, I also have a list of A-Z blogging topics that are a good jumping off point.

These are the resources that I most recommend for starting bloggers. What other posts would you recommend new bloggers check out? What helped you when you were starting?

Music Monday #3

Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE


I found this song a couple months ago and it has been my go-to chill jam ever since. It's beautiful and sweet and very VERY calming. I found out that Gordon Downie actually passed away a few months ago, so that made this song even more bittersweet.

Phoebe Bridgers is one of my new favorites. Her album is so melancholy and so wonderful and it's exactly what I've needed lately. She was actually kind of discovered by Ryan Adams (a lot of the album is about their relationship) and she's now BFFs with Conor Oberst (from Bright Eyes). Plus, this music video is just great.

What have you been listening to lately? Have you heard of either of these artists already?

Dear You: Besties

Dear You,
I've always appreciated what good friends we've been and I'm so grateful for you in my life. I was thinking the other day about the kinds of best friends in books that makes me think of you and my first thought was obviously The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants by Ann Brashares. That's the kind of friend you are and reading those books makes me laugh a bit because I can relate to that group in a lot of ways. It also got me thinking about Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson, another book about a group of friends who learn how to stick together. And these are all the kind of books I think you'd actually read, so I'm glad we have some books in common:)
Well, here's the mix I promised I'd make. I hope you like it. Like those books, I've tried to find music you'll like (since our artistic tastes differ so greatly). Good luck and thanks for everything.
Love,
Anna





What books make you think of great friendships? What music do you want to share with your best friend?

Happy 1st Birthday, The Bibliotaph!

This month marks one year since The Bibliotaph began and what an exciting year it's been! I've learned so much about books, the blogging community, and my own tastes since starting (and I'm so excited that I've followed through on a project for this long). In honor of this one year anniversary, I'd like to share a few lessons I've learned this year:

• Be mindful about how many books you request on Netgalley - This has been one of the biggest and most painful lessons this year. I requested WAY too many books and got approved for far more of them than I thought a new blogger could be. It was intimidating and I still have a ton of books to catch up on. But I've learned my lesson - I currently have 5 books approved that are coming up in the next few months and I refuse to request any more until I finish most of those. 
• Taking a hiatus is a okay - Over the holidays in December, I simply forgot that I didn't have very many posts queued up. Once I came back at the end of the year, I was horrified to learn that I'd had two weeks without any posts - how had I let this happen? Had finals and holidays occupied my time so much that I couldn't even post something about taking a hiatus? But it was okay - I got back into the groove of posting and missing those two weeks didn't kill my blog. It turned out alright. Learning this means I'll be more mindful about taking breaks in the future - especially during times when I know I won't be able to give the blog my full attention.
• Don't worry about posting every day - When I originally started, I felt like I was bursting with post ideas and I was excited to post as often as possible. I had months of material queued up when I realized that I was starting to run out of ideas and that blogging might be more difficult than I'd thought. It also took me some time to realize that posting several times a week was fun, but so much work - way too much work for a student. I started this year with posting twice a week (and occasionally throwing in blogging meme posts) and it's been so much easier to keep up with.
• Blogging memes are lifesavers - I didn't fully understand this until a couple months ago. When I started (and when I was full of ideas), I felt like blogging memes were kind of lazy - it was just bloggers working off of each other's ideas. Now, I feel differently. Blogging memes help me to connect with other bloggers and get an extra post or two in when I haven't had time to work on a full post. Also, it's fun to have short posts about what I'm currently reading and the music I'm into lately - they're easier for casual blog readers to connect with and comment on. And they're so much fun to think about.

I'm so excited that I get to apply these lessons in my next year of blogging! As part of this next year, I'm going to be testing out redoing past blog posts by discussing how my opinions differ after a year and what new books I would add to various book lists. I'm looking forward to this new part of my blogging adventures and thank you for taking part in them!

What blogging lessons have you learned in your time as a blogger? What's been the biggest lesson you'd want to pass on to less-experienced bloggers? How long have you been blogging?

The Friday 56 and Book Beginnings #3

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

In his blistering new novel, Cormac McCarthy returns to the Texas-Mexico border, setting of his famed Border Trilogy. The time is our own, when rustlers have given way to drug-runners and small towns have become free-fire zones. 

One day, Llewellyn Moss finds a pickup truck surrounded by a bodyguard of dead men. A load of heroin and two million dollars in cash are still in the back. When Moss takes the money, he sets off a chain reaction of catastrophic violence that not even the law–in the person of aging, disillusioned Sheriff Bell–can contain.

As Moss tries to evade his pursuers–in particular a mysterious mastermind who flips coins for human lives–McCarthy simultaneously strips down the American crime novel and broadens its concerns to encompass themes as ancient as the Bible and as bloodily contemporary as this morning’s headlines. 
No Country for Old Men is a triumph.


Book Beginnings: I sent one boy to the gaschamber at Huntsville. One and only one. My arrest and my testimony. I went up there and visited with him two or three times. Three times. The last time
was the day of his execution.

The Friday 56: I need another room.

You want to change rooms or you want another one besides the one you've got?

I want to keep the one I got and get another one.

All right.



What are you reading this week? Have you read anything by Cormac McCarthy? What are the most ridiculous quotes you've seen from these memes so far this week?

Author Spotlight: Robin Hobb

Today, I'm spotlighting an author that I've been getting into recently, but haven't read much of. I'm eventually planning on reading everything Robin Hobb (aka Megan Lindholm) has written (because the little I've read has been absolutely brilliant), but in the meantime, here's a little more information on this fantastic fantasy writer.

(About the Author taken from Robin Hobb's website)

Robin Hobb is a fantasy novelist working from Tacoma, Washington. Best known for The Farseer Trilogy, she has been actively writing and published since she was eighteen years old. Born in California, she moved to Fairbanks, Alaska with her family in the early 1960’s. In 1970 at the age of 18, she married Fred Ogden and moved to Kodiak Island where he quickly infected her with his love of all things maritime. Over the course of the next forty years, as they followed the needs of his career. Her writing career began under the name Megan Lindholm. She wrote for local newspapers as well as children’s magazines such as Highlights for Children and Jack and Jill, as well as creating short fiction for children to be used in the SRA programmed reading material. In the 1980’s, she began to write short fantasy. Other works under the Lindholm name include The Reindeer People, Wizard of the Pigeons and Cloven Hooves. In 1995, Assassin’s Apprentice, her first work under the name Robin Hobb, was published by Bantam Books. She has since written The Liveship Traders Trilogy, The Tawny Man Trilogy, The Soldier Son Trilogy and the four volume tale, The Rain Wilds Chronicles. Her current work in progress, tentatively titled The Fitz and the Fool Trilogy, returns to the world of the Farseers and the realm of the Elderlings. Her works have been translated into over twenty languages, winning multiple awards globally.

MEGAN LINDHOLM BOOKS

ROBIN HOBB BOOKS

From what I understand, all books written under the Robin Hobb psuedonym take place in the same world and come together in really satisfying ways. So far, I've only read part of the Liveship Traders series, but I can already see how it would connect to the other series Hobb has written. They're masterfully written and compelling fantasy stories - definitely worth the time to read.

What Robin Hobb/Megan Lindholm books have you read? What is your favorite Robin Hobb book? What other fantasy authors do you enjoy?