Music Monday #8

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 love this blog meme. It's so much fun to work on and gives me a nice break from talking about books. Thanks, Lauren!

I'm going to a wedding in a couple weeks and I was asked to help make the wedding playlist. Since that's coming up soon, all those songs have been fluttering around in my head and I thought I'd pick a couple of my favorites from the playlist to post here!


I think this is a hilarious song for wedding receptions - it's great to dance to, but the lyrics are also pretty hilariously complimentary to the bride. And it's a fairly well-known song, so people at the wedding will love it.

This one is a slower tune, but I think it's an excellent cover of the classic Police song. Plus, it's great for a wedding - a classic that everyone knows, but also romantic and adorable and wonderful for dancing to if the couple wants to.

What songs have you been listening to lately? What songs do you like to hear played at weddings? Had you heard either of these songs before?

Book Club Discussion: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin

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 A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin.


Why should this be your next book club pick? Well, for a few simple reasons:

1. This is classic fantasy and you need to recommend it to everyone who didn't read it as a child.
2. It's incredibly well-written and has such an intricate world and plot.
3. Le Guin is an early author who valued diversity in her writing and world-building, so the characters in this book are quite diverse (especially when you take into account when Le Guin was writing). 
4. There are life lessons to be learned from this book and they aren't too heavy-handed.
5. It's a fairly simple and accessible read, so you should be able to recommend it to anyone who is able to read chapter books and they should understand and will probably enjoy it.

If you want to run a book discussion centered around Le Guin's work, look no further than her website - it's a treasure trove of information about the author, her life, and her work. There are interview and speech transcripts, documentaries, links to her blog, lists of awards she won (and she won A LOT of awards) and endless amounts of things to parse through. Here, I've gone through some of what I think will be most fruitful to a book club discussion and linked it in here.

Author information: (taken from the author's website) Ursula Kroeber was born in 1929 in Berkeley, California, where she grew up. Her parents were the anthropologist Alfred Kroeber and the writer Theodora Kroeber, author of Ishi. She went to Radcliffe College and did graduate work at Columbia University. She married Charles A. Le Guin, a historian, in Paris in 1953; they have lived in Portland, Oregon, since 1958, and have three children and four grandchildren.

Ursula K. Le Guin writes both poetry and prose, and in various modes including realistic fiction, science fiction, fantasy, young children’s books, books for young adults, screenplays, essays, verbal texts for musicians, and voicetexts. She has published seven books of poetry, twenty-two novels, over a hundred short stories (collected in eleven volumes), four collections of essays, twelve books for children, and four volumes of translation. Few American writers have done work of such high quality in so many forms.

Most of Le Guin’s major titles have remained continuously in print, some for over forty years. Her best known fantasy works, the six Books of Earthsea, have sold millions of copies in America and England, and have been translated into sixteen languages. Her first major work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness, is considered epoch-making in the field for its radical investigation of gender roles and its moral and literary complexity. Her novels The Dispossessed and Always Coming Home redefine the scope and style of utopian fiction, while the realistic stories of a small Oregon beach town in Searoad show her permanent sympathy with the ordinary griefs of ordinary people. Among her books for children, the Catwings series has become a particular favorite. Her version of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching, a translation she worked on for forty years, has received high praise. Her poetry has drawn increasing critical interest; Finding My Elegy, published in 2012, contains poems selected from previous volumes and new work.

Three of Le Guin’s books have been finalists for the American Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, and among the many honors her writing has received are a National Book Award, five Hugo Awards, five Nebula Awards, SFWA’s Grand Master, the Kafka Award, a Pushcart Prize, the Howard Vursell Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the L.A. Times Robert Kirsch Award, the PEN/Malamud Award, the Margaret A. Edwards Award, and in 2014 the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.

Le Guin has taken the risk of writing seriously and with rigorous artistic control in forms some consider sub-literary. Critical reception of her work has rewarded her courage with considerable generosity. Harold Bloom includes her among his list of classic American writers. Grace Paley, Carolyn Kizer, Gary Snyder, and John Updike have praised her work. Many critical and academic studies of Le Guin’s work have been written, including books by Elisabeth Cummins, James Bittner, B.J. Bucknall, J. De Bolt, B. Selinger, K.R. Wayne, D.R. White, an early bibliography by Elizabeth Cummins Cogell and a continuation of the bibliography by David S. Bratman.

Le Guin leads an intensely private life, with sporadic forays into political activism and steady participation in the literary community of her city. Having taught writing workshops from Vermont to Australia, she is now retired from teaching. She limits her public appearances mostly to the West Coast.

As of 2015, Le Guin’s most recent publications include The Unreal and the Real, 2012, and Steering the Craft: A 21st-Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story, 2015. Forthcoming in December 2015 is a new volume of poetry, Late in the Day. For the full list of the major publications see this website: About Ursula K. Le Guin



Book inspiration: (from Ursula LeGuin's Magical World of Earthsea by Jan M. Griffin) LeGuin began the trilogy when a publisher invited her to write a fantasy for children. She developed the novels from stories she had written earlier about the world of Earthsea, a place similar to the United States in climate, and much like the fifteenth century in its lack of industrialization.

(from Schmoop) To understand A Wizard of Earthsea, we have to start by imagining what the world was like before the Harry Potter books (we know, tough to imagine). Before the first Harry Potter books came out, if someone said "wizard," your mind probably didn't pull up the image of a teen at a boarding school. Back then, when someone said "wizard," instead you likely pictured an old man with a long white beard and immense wisdom – you know, someone like Gandalf from Lord of the Rings.

Now imagine this: it's 1968, practically eons before Harry Potter, and Ursula K. Le Guin wants to know where all these old men with long white beards and immense wisdom come from. Are they born like that? Or do they start out as regular kids who have to learn how to be wise and grow beards? This curiosity on her part turned into the inspiration for A Wizard of Earthsea.

In Earthsea, Le Guin takes a wizard who will one day be immensely powerful, and she shows us what he's like as a teen and a young man. In her story, this wizard childhood isn't terribly pretty: Ged will one day be wise and kind (and bearded), but when he's young, he's reckless and proud and gets into some terrible trouble that follows him and nearly kills him.

That's a pretty serious change to the fantasy story, but Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea makes several other interesting changes to the old fantasy standards too. Take this example: you know how in many fantasy stories, we have good and evil fighting, and (hopefully) good wins in the end? Gandalf (and team) fights Sauron, Aslan defeats the White Witch, and Harry Potter takes care of Voldemort – all great. But in A Wizard of Earthsea, it's not so easy to defeat evil. In fact, it's sometimes hard to even know what's good and what's evil in the first place. In that way, it's a lot like Le Guin's other works, which tend to avoid simple moral victories. At the end, it turns out that what we thought was evil was really a part of the hero himself.



Discussion questions:

• Le Guin is known for choosing not to write about the conflict between good and evil, but about inner conflicts. In A Wizard of Earthsea, do you feel as though the inner conflict of Ged outweighs the outer conflict against the being he's summoned? (This interview may provide more clarification on her views of Good vs. Evil)
• How do you think this book has influenced changes in children's literature and the fantasy genre in general?
• When this book was published in 1968, diversity in fictional characters was not nearly as discussed as it is today. As an American author, Le Guin was writing during a time of change regarding racial acceptance (the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, just a few years earlier). Why do you think Le Guin chose to include characters of color in her books at this time?
• Ultimately, Ged is forced to deal with the demons inside and to confront the consequences of his actions. As a reader, how did learning the true nature of the being Ged summoned change your perceptions of the story and of Ged?
• In the book, names are of huge importance. “Who knows a man's name, holds that man's life in his keeping. Thus to Ged, who had lost faith in himself, Vetch had given him that gift that only a friend can give, the proof of unshaken, unshakeable trust.” Do names in reality hold power? Does giving your name to someone show some level of trust in them?
• How do the various communities and lands differ from each other? Which land and culture did you connect most with? Which land and culture was most shocking to you?
• Why do you think this became a fantasy/children's classic?
• Have you read this book before? How was this reading different from previous readings?
• “The truth is that as a man's real power grows and his knowledge widens, ever the way he can follow grows narrower: until at last he chooses nothing but does only and wholly what he must do.” How does this quote apply to Ged? Does it apply to Vetch or Ogion?
• (quote taken from Jan M. Griffin's work, as mentioned earlier) Earthsea revolves around the principles of Taoism. As a self-proclaimed Taoist, LeGuin manufactures a world based on two of the main principles of Taoism: 1) the theory of inactivity in which one acts only when absolutely necessary, and 2) the relativity of opposites which is the belief that opposites are interdependent, and their interdependence results in the equilibrium. Where do you see these principles of Taoism in this book? Are there any characters who you see as opposites, and therefore interdependent?
• Le Guin is also known for her love of Native American legends, as well as Norse Mythology. How have these influenced her work in this novel?

What did you think of this book? What kinds of things do you like to talk about during book discussions? What is your book club reading next?

Do-over #2: On books for a calm summer evening

This is the beginning of The Bibliotaph's 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 July 10th.

You can read the original blog post here.

When I first started blogging, I was so excited to get started - so I quickly queued up several months of quickly written posts and didn't include pictures or even much information about my thoughts on each book. In this post, I was really good at summing up each book, but didn't include any commentary on my opinions or experiences with the book - or even why I chose to include it on this list. I also was great at making longer lists of books - these days, I often only add a few books to lists, but this is a pretty sizeable one. Today, I'm going to alter things a bit by adding the pictures and adding in some thoughts on why each book made it onto the list. I'll also be adding real bullet points and adding questions to the end.

There’s a park behind my apartment with a set of perfect hammock trees. On warm (but not too warm) evenings, it’s the perfect place to enjoy nature. Or ignore nature and escape into a book.

Here are some slow, thoughtful books to compliment that calm moment.

• The Muse by Jessie Burton - Odelle Bastien lives in 1960’s London and has just been employed at the Skeleton Art Gallery. Odelle strives to uncover the secrets of her employer while balancing the changes in her personal life. Olive Schloss is a refugee living in 1930’s Spain. While the story bounces between these two heroines, the leader slowly learns how they connect. This book is somewhat slow-paced, but a lot of fun and you spend most of the time getting to know the characters instead of being in the midst of insane action.

• Strands of Bronze and Gold by Jane Nickerson - Newly-orphaned Sophie Petheram has just moved to Wyndriven Abbey and begins piecing together the past of her mysterious guardian. This Bluebeard retelling isn't entirely slow, but what little action it includes happens quickly and has a slow build-up. It's at the more exciting end of books on this list, but it's still a somewhat calming book most of the time.

• Remembering Isaac: The Wise and Joyful Potter of Niederbipp by Ben Behunin - Niederbipp needs a new potter. But Jake Kimball didn’t know what he was signing up for when he agreed to take the position. His predecessor, Isaac, left some big shoes to fill, but maybe with some peppermint tea and a good listening ear, Jake can adjust to his new surroundings. Everything about this book is slow and sweet. Most of the story is filled with people talking about their lives over cups of tea.

• Breakfast At Tiffany’s by Truman Capote - Holly Golightly is anything but quiet - on the surface. Underneath, complex feelings and deep hurt and a distorted sense of wanderlust live and guide her strange decision making. This slow (and strange) book tell of the people who love her - and how she struggles to love them back. Most of the drama happens in small spurts between people.

• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer - Shortly after WWII, acclaimed author Juliet Ashton begins corresponding with the residents of Guernsey, a small island she’s never visited. Through Juliet’s letters, the reader sees how the events in Guernsey have changed the lives of all who live there, and how Juliet’s life is changed by meeting these people. Since this story is told through letters, you only hear about the conflict - there's very little of it that you see directly. This book is also great at making you fall in love with characters - they're so fun and wonderful.

• Trains and Lovers by Alexander McCall Smith - Four people meet on a train ride and share their stories - often being reminded of their own heartaches by their companions. The entire book takes place on a train and every story that is shared is about love and loss. It's a very quiet (and quick) book to read.

• Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card - Pastwatch is a futuristic company that observes the past. But after many years of study, the question arises - what if Pastwatch researchers are affecting the past much more than they realize? This book takes awhile to get into the real action, and even when it gets exciting, it's still slow and thoughtful and philosophical. Definitely a great read when you need some quiet time to think.

What books would you add to this list? What genres of books do you read on quiet summer evenings? Have you read anything on this list? What blog posts would you like to do-over?

The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings #7

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.

Skyscraper of a Man is a truly American story. Rooted in the homogenous suburbs of the 1970s, the novel explores the American propensity to pursue great ambitions, regardless of upbringing, that can result in lives that are larger than life. The four main characters meet at college and forge such lives, each achieving remarkable success in their chosen pursuits while condoning the choices that enable their success. The main character, Benjamin Franklin Matthews, the son of a printer and avid Revolutionary War buff, believes deeply in America, its founding principles, and “by the people, for the people” government. Inspired by the grand ideals of the Founding Fathers, Ben starts a newspaper and runs for political office, efforts aimed at righting a nation he perceives as falling short of its potential and promise. His three college friends, a writer who is also his business partner, a television news anchorwoman who was his lover, and a former college football star, play contributing roles in his rise to national prominence. In the end, Ben learns that grand ideals are elusive, difficult to maintain, and better left to the perfect among us. 

Book Beginnings: Few can truly relate, but most would judge my circumstances during the fifteen years as quite fortunate. I know I do.

The Friday 56:  After a short silence, I observed, "The vote was nine to one. Who do you think voted against us?"

Both sure of the nay vote, Ben and I looked at one another, smiled and simultaneously declared, "Sweeney," before breaking into gut-busting laughter.

What are you reading this week? What do you think of this book?

On reading Shakespeare with my sister

My family is big on reading. Like, BIG on reading. Dad would read us Dr. Seuss every night before bed, the parents would take us to the library at least once a week, Mum tried to read us The Hobbit (but gave up after a few chapters because some of the kids were way too young to care or appreciate it), and Mum was always reading in her free time (even enforcing a “quiet time” in our rooms a couple times a week so she could have some peace to read). As we grew up more, introducing each other to new books was an important part of my life and my siblings’ lives.
There was one period of time that was especially interesting. I took a Shakespeare class in high school and fell in love. Wanting to expand my knowledge and read more, I decided to start reading Shakespeare at home. But reading to myself made it difficult to follow along (it can be tough to know what exactly he’s saying if you accidentally skim parts of it). So I enlisted the help of my then twelve-year-old sister. We’d assign characters and spend hours reading Shakespeare plays out loud in the front room. We made it through Much Ado About Nothing and Twelfth Night and a few others before I moved away to college.
It’s been a few years (obviously), but last year, my sister called me up and asked to read Shakespeare with me again. SInce we live in different states, we opened Skype, assigned characters to read, and got down to business with Shakespeare Henry V. She’s now the age I was when we started this, so it was interesting to see how her love of Shakespeare has changed over time and how much more she understood this time around.
And I realized that reading Shakespeare is so different when you’re experiencing it with someone. Often, we’d stop and talk about parts that interested us or wording that was confusing or the reasons good ole Will would include certain pieces of dialogue. And in doing this with my sister, we got to connected over something we both love and share that experience together - Henry V will now always remind me of my little sister stumbling through very long speeches about war and patriotism.
It took a few days, but we powered through and were able to discuss the famous speeches, the significance of the play, the confusing parts, the inspirational parts, the parts that made us laugh. We couldn’t do that a few years ago, but both of us are much smarter, better read, and more knowledgeable than we were when we first did this. And I think this ultimately brought us a lot closer.


How do you read plays? Do you like to read Shakespeare aloud or is it easy enough for you to understand while reading to yourself?

On my mystery picks

Mystery is a genre I honestly haven't read a lot of. My mum is a hardcore mystery reader - when I was a kid, she read little else. I didn't take after her. While I read mysteries now and then, it definitely isn't my bread-and-butter. Which is one reason I was kind of excited to write this post - it was a great opportunity to take a good look at the mysteries that I've loved and what makes a good mystery. Writing this post made it even clearer that I'm not a mystery reader - it took a lot of digging through my "read" shelf to find a bunch that I liked. But it was fun to remember why some of these books were wonderful. And if you're looking for a good mystery, now you have a few suggestions:

• Six Stories by Matt Wesolowski - I haven't blogged about this book enough. It's one of the better mysteries I've ever read, but I don't get many chances to talk about it. It was so unlike anything else I've read that it's hard to blog about it without specifically thinking about this book. An old cold case is brought to public attention again when the death of Tom Jeffries becomes the focus of a new podcast - and everyone involved is suddenly thrust back into the events of many years ago. This was one of the better books I read in 2017 and it needs more attention than it's getting.

• The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin - As a kid, this book rocked my world - and the ending shocked me beyond anything else I'd read up to that point. This story about solving clues to win a bunch of money is hilarious and perfect for any middle grade reader.

• Who Could That Be at This Hour? by Lemony Snicket - I've read few authors that make me chuckle as much as Lemony Snicket. This is another delightful children's mystery - though it may end up leaving you with more questions than answers.

• Crooked House by Agatha Christie - It wouldn't be a mystery list without Agatha Christie and I hadn't read this mystery story of hers until recently. As always, Agatha Christie leaves you guessing who the murderer is until the very end and makes you suspect everyone. This story is no different and she does a better job than usual of ensuring that you feel you can't trust a single character.

What mystery books would add to this list? Are there any good mystery book blogs you can recommend to me (so I can expand my mystery book collection)? Have you read anything from this list?

Music Monday #7

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.

Guys! It's so nice out! It actually feels like spring and life is so happy. Plus, there are great books and good music to enjoy, so what more could one want?

In all seriousness, though, life has been chaotic these past few weeks and I've needed some upbeat and inspiring music to belt out. Here are a couple songs I've been rocking to lately.

I've long enjoyed Belle & Sebastian, but I hadn't heard this song until recently. I was looking through a bookstore and they were playing B&S non-stop and this track came on and I immediately added it to one of my playlists. And it's hardly been out of my head since. 

The Mountain Goats are another band that I've enjoyed for a long time. Their newest album is odd and a much different sound for them, but I've liked it more than I thought I would. This is one of the songs that's been stuck in my head quite a bit and it chugs along in a way that encourages me to keep moving forward.

Do you listen to either of these bands? What have you been listening to lately? What music has caught your ear from this meme this week?