April 2018: Best and Strangest

Guys - it's been a crazy month. The semester is wrapping up, I've been working an insane amount, and yet, I've read more this month than I did during any other month so far this year. 26 books - can you believe that?! Partly, this is due to Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon, which I participated in for the first time (and had so much fun). I have no hope of reading this much next month, but I'm so glad I got this much done. As always, we'll talk briefly about what the best and strangest books I read this month are, and then move on to the rest of everything I read. So hang in there - there's a lot.

BEST

★★★★★

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien is a book that I've long told myself I'd finally get around to reading and this month I actually did it. I'd heard it was slow and long and a lot to take in and in some ways, it was all those things, but I mostly found it to be a delightful and thoroughly enjoyable read - especially when you take into account that all of modern fantasy has built on this series. If you're one of the few fantasy readers who hasn't gotten around to LOTR, the time to start is now.

STRANGEST

★★★★

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke is one of the more original books I've read in a long time. The heroes are unlikable and often blind to anything outside themselves, the magic system is unlike any I've ever read before, and the supporting characters are some of the more delightful characters I've ever read. Plus, the whole book sounds like it walked out of the Napoleonic era and it's utterly bizarre and wonderful. For a unique fantasy story, you need look no further than this (and it's about 1000 pages, so it'll take you awhile to get through).

THE REST OF APRIL'S BOOKS

★★★★

★★

★★★

★★★

★★

★★

★★

★★★★

★★★

★★★

★★★

★★★

★★★

★★★★

★★★

★★★

★★

★★★

    

★★★ each

★★

★★★

★★★

This month, the most visited blog post on The Bibliotaph was my Dewey's Readathon updates post. I had so much fun writing that post over the course of the day and it was wonderful to be so productive on a Saturday! I also loved interacting with the bookish Twitter community. All in all, it was a great day and I'm glad we had so many new visitors to the blog!

What books did you read this month? Have you read any of the books listed here? What are you looking forward to reading next month?

On books students would read if they took Fantasy 101 from me

This post was inspired by the Broke and the Bookish.

Welcome to Fantasy 101. Today, we’ll be talking about which books every fantasy reader and writer needs to study and investigate in-depth. Some of these, I have yet to work through (and I’m ashamed), but I’m also a student today. Let’s get started:

• Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede and the rest of this series- These children’s books are an excellent way to start kids on fantasy young. They also give us an excellent view of what a typical fantasy can be - princesses hanging out with dragons and solving problems. They’re clean, they’re safe, and they’re so much fun without being overly complicated. Also, DRAGONS.
• The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien - This should be an obvious choice. As an enduring fantasy classic, everyone who is even slightly interested in the fantasy genre needs to devour this immediately. It also displays a well-written hero’s quest and does an excellent job of starting seemingly small and growing to epic proportions.
• The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks - The Shannara books are somewhat similar to LOTR in some ways, but we see much more of the world in these books than we do in LOTR. There are SO MANY of these books, so this series can give you fantastic idea of what a well-built world looks like and how to continue writing in the same world for a ridiculous amount of time.
• Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson - I HAD to include a Sanderson book (of course). Sanderson rocks at world building, character development, magic systems, moving the story along at a good pace, and just basically everything. READ THESE BOOKS. Also, he’s a very good fantasy author who’s still writing and who’s still widely read, so pay attention to Sanderson to see the direction of fantasy writing.

What books would you include in a Fantasy 101 course?

On "The Lord of the Rings" as Christian Literature

My father recently sent me this article on The Lord of the Rings and the Christian symbolism and analogies present in Tolkien’s work. This prompted some binge-reading of any article I could find about Tolkien and religion. A lot of the articles aren’t fantastic, but a few really informed me and expanded my view of Tolkien as a writer. Also, they motivated me to finally read more Tolkien than The Hobbit (I know, I know - I’m way behind the times), so if all goes according to plan, I’ll make it through LotR sooner rather than later.

Here are a few articles on both sides:

For: Tolkien lit as Christian lit

-This article by SDG from Decentfilms.com is an in-depth look at the Christian (and specifically Catholic) elements displayed in the LoTR Triology.

-In this interview, Devin Brown (author of The Christian World of The Hobbit) speaks about his work and some elements of Christianity that are evident in The Hobbit.

-In this more condensed article, Stan Williams of the Catholic Education Resource Center lists Christian elements found in Tolkien’s work and separates general Christian beliefs from specific Catholic practices and beliefs.

Against:Tolkien lit as anti-Christian

-Here, Minister Eric Barger discusses why the magic found in LoTR is anti-Christian and should be avoided by practicing Christians.

-In this article, a former witch identifies some aspects of the magic in LoTR that are similar to the witchcraft this individual experienced in the 1960’s and why these practices are anti-Christian.

And BONUS!: An article on Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.

Note: Please keep in mind that this can be a very sensitive topic. Any unkind or insensitive comments will be promptly deleted.