BW7: 52 Books Bingo - Earth also known as Gaia

 

Happy Sunday.  Our next 52 Books Bingo category is another element of nature - Earth. 

The Anglo Saxons named her Erda and the German named her Erde which was changed to Old English Ertha, meaning the ground upon which we walk. The Greek's named her Gaia, the mother of all life. The Roman's named her Tellus Mater, the goddess and physical personification of earth. Chi or Tsuchi in Japanese or dìqiú in Chinese.  The planet has many names.  Share unique names you have discovered or read about for the planet Earth. 

The synonyms for earth, the celestial body on which we live include globe, planet, sphere, microcosm. Earth can also mean the surface which include the synonyms land, ground, soil, dust, and landmass to name a few.  

The spiritual element of earth relates to the Chakra that relates to feelings of safety and security. The phrase 'what on earth' relates to surprise and questions of why. 

Read a book set on the planet earth or the discovery of earth. Read a book about foreign lands or wanderlust.

Read a book about the natural world or the element of nature. 

Read a book with Earth or related synonym in the title. 

Read mythological retellings or environmental books. 

As you can see, Earth is a really broad subject in which we can go many different ways or narrow it down to the tiniest grain of sand.   

Our post is sponsored by the letter G and Gaia, globe, ground, and genius. 

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BW6: February Author of the month - Ben Aaronovitch

 

Welcome to February and Creative Romance Month, An Affair to Remember Month based on the 1957 film, Black History Month, American Heart Month, and as well as Valentine's Day, Ash Wednesday, Chinese New Year and the Year of the Dragon. 

Our author of the month is Ben Aaronovitch who was born on February 22, 1964. Once upon a time, he was a writer for Dr. Who, Casualty, and the soap opera Jupiter Moon.  While working at Waterstones in the Crime and Fiction sections at Covent Gardens, the Rivers of London series was born.  

The series involves Peter Grant, a mixed race detective, for the London Metropolitan Police who works for Detective Chief Inspector Nightingale, the head of a magical and supernatural Special Operations Unit.  A combination mystery, fantasy, and police procedural, the series is both serious and hilarious. 

There are nine primary books in the series, as well as comic books/graphic novels, and numerous short stories.  I fell in like with Peter Grant in the first book Rivers of London in which the rivers are ruled by water Gods and Goddesses, Peter is trying to solve a murder with a ghost as an eyewitness, and learn magic at the same time.  I'm currently reading the second book, Moon over Soho, in which something or someone is killing jazz musicians.  The stories are creative and entertaining and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series. 

Happy February! 

Please share your book reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week. 

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BW5: E is for Epic

Courtesy of NTP012419

Happy Sunday!  I have an affection for long novels, probably because I read so fast.  Books of 200 to 300 pages go by in a flash leaving me wanting more.  And for some strange reason, I tend to read books of 500 pages and up much slower.  Maybe there is more to savor, to absorb, to ponder.  Maybe it's the world building or the ensemble cast of characters, or the scale and detail of the story itself.  

What makes a novel epic versus just being a chunky book full of story? A story is full of narrative, generally focusing on a single event.  An epic is a quest, or a series of quests, a mingling of stories and characters, told on a grand scale, encompassing years and years of history, mythology, or fantasy. 

My favorite epic stories have been a variety of historical fiction, to fantasy to westerns with Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, Stephen King's Gunslinger series, Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove,  Marian Zimmer Bradley's Mists of Aragon, J.K. Rowling Harry Potter Series, to J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy.   

From the ancient epics to modern epics, there is a wide variety to tickle your reading palate. 

What books would you consider epic? Share the most epic story you have ever read.  What stories set in the modern day, besides fantasy or paranormal, would you consider epic? 

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BW4: D is for Dystopian

 

Happy Sunday! I'm in a dystopian frame of mind this week. I just finished Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang and once I started reading, couldn't put it down. The etymology discussions, how the characters related to the world around them, how the characters grew in knowledge, the choices they made, some good, some bad, the heart wrenching decisions. The themes of colonialism, the empire, racism, friendship, and power all combined to create a story that made me think and how it related to today's world and why people do the things they do.  

I segued from Babel to two different stories that I couldn't make up my mind which I wanted to read more.  Samuel R. Delaney's Babel-17 about the power of language which is very weird with it's strange characters to Samantha Shannon's The Bone Season which is another dystopian set in Oxford with it's themes of magic, aliens, and oppression.  Maybe I'll alternate for a while because both are tickling my fancy.  

Out of 45 Dystopian Books That’ll Change Your Worldview I've read 15 so far.  How many have you read? 

Share the most terrifying dystopian story you've ever read or one that made you think.

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Please share your book reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week. 

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BW3: Cliffhangers

 

Happy Sunday! I hate cliffhangers. I adore cliffhangers. The clock is counting down, someone is left in a perilous position, or  died, reality is not what it seems, or a character is psychologically or literally dangling from a cliff.   

Cliffhangers get our imagination pumping and sometimes leave us exasperated and frustrated when the next book isn't readily available. You'll be reading along and realize you are almost to the end of the book. Wait! This is happening too fast. How is the story going to wrap up? Is the story going to wrap it up?  Then with bated breath, you come to the last page and the story ends in a cliffhanger.  Grumble, grumble roar.  

I remember reading Michelle Gagnon's Kelly Jones murder mystery series in which I became deeply invested in the characters and the story. The Tunnels, segued into Boneyard, then supposedly ended with The Gatekeeper. The Gatekeeper ended in a cliffhanger which had me gasping, and going back a few pages to make sure I didn't miss something, then rereading the last chapter three more times. No, she didn't. The author did not just leaving me hanging like that?  And the next book wasn't available yet. for another year.  Sigh! 

Of course, there is the thrill, when a trilogy or series has been completely released, of rereading the stories again, from start to finish.  And usually by that time, I've forgotten most of the story line so it feels like reading them again for the first time. 

Kudos to the authors who pull you into the story, make you care about the characters and know how to craft an excellent cliffhanger, leaving you breathless, waiting in anticipation for the continuation of the story. 

Share authors who have written stories ending in a cliffhanger that have left you wanting more. 

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BW2: 52 Books Bingo - Fire

Mageman Courtesy of Gerhard Santos

Temper us in fire, and we grow stronger. 

When we suffer, we survive.

~Cassandra Clare

Happy Sunday!  We are going to have so much fun with our 52 Books Bingo this year as we begin with our first category which is one of the elements of nature - FIRE.   Fire, literal and symbolic, represents different things to different cultures- mythology, religion, ritual, destruction and purification, enlightenment, sexuality, birth and resurrection, heat, energy, metabolism, creativity, cooking, and more. 

There are so many ways we can go with the aspect of fire.  What comes to my mind is sweat lodges, phoenix, fire fighters, smoke jumpers, arson, sparks, flame, heat, the divine, passion. 

Stories involving a Phoenix 

The history of Fire 

Stories about Arson Investigation

Stories with Female Smoke Jumpers

Books with four elements in the title

Big b, little b, what begins with B - blaze, bonfires, and boldness, as well as bards, ballads, and Bildungsroman all begin with b. 

Have fun finding stories that play with fire! 

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Please share your book reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week. 

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BW1: Welcome to our Wild and Whimsical Reading Quest

 

"If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, 

you can only think what everyone else is thinking."

— Haruki Murakami (Norwegian Wood)

Happy New Year! Welcome to another year of Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.  Welcome back to all our regulars and our newbies. If you haven't participated in years past, the goal is to read 52 Books. How you get there is up to you. And if you prefer to set your own goal, you are welcome to do so. We don't have a set reading list so you can choose to play along or chart your own path in your quest to read.  All that matters is the reading. 

To aid in the journey, there are a number of weekly, monthly, annual, and perpetual quests along with an updated quirky 52 Books Bingo and our author of the month Bookish Bookology to explore.  

We traditionally start out the year in the weird and wonderful world of Haruki Murakami, our January author of the month. While we wait for his newest book, The City and It's Uncertain Walls to be released in the United States some time this year, I'll be exploring his non fiction conversations with Seiji Ozawa in Absolutely on Music, and dive into the fiction world of Sputnik Sweetheart.

Although Penguin suggests starting with some of Murakami's slimmer novels, my first introduction to Murakami was his chunky fantasy novel 1Q84, filled with magical realism, music, cats, weird characters, choices, and the meaning of life.  Which lead to reading most of his bibliography. 

Discover more about Murakami in his non fiction memoir, Novelist as a Vocation in which the man seriously doesn’t think he is a good writer, but shares his stories, his process, and so much more.

Plus, we are traveling through the alphabet again with A to Z and Back Again. There are a variety of ways to complete the project and you don't have to stick with authors or titles only. The choices are unlimited, including:

• Choose an author whose first or last name begin with the letter. 
• Pick a book starting with the letter in the title of the book. Except for those pesky articles or prepositions. 
• Read a book with a character whose name starts with the letter. 
• Choose a book in which the setting of the story starts with the letter. 
• Choose a genre that starts with the letter.
• Read a book with a literary term or plot device starting with the letter. 

Big A, little A, what begins with A -  Allusion, Angels, Agatha, Adams, Adventure, and Action all begin with A. 

Are you ready to go? Great! Put on your hat and walking shoes, strap on your backpack, grab your walking stick as we follow rabbit trails of thought throughout the world on a wild and whimsical reading quest.

Happy Reading! 

Please share your book reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.

BW52: 2023 Year End Extravaganza!

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  Are you having a merry Jolabokaflod! It's time to retire this year's walking shoes, curl up by the fire or under a cozy comforter and figure out where you've been and where you would like to go next year.   Buy a new pair of shoes or wings if you dare, and maybe buy a bigger backpack to stow all those new and old books you want to read in 2024.  

Although I love exploring and reading new authors, genres, spaces and places, I like to revisit old friends along the way.  While I may map out a plan for the new year, I always build in plenty of time for side trips along the way.  I like spontaneity, delving here, there, and every where, following rabbit trails full of whimsy.  In fact, I'm looking forward to a whimsical new year full of reading adventures. 

So tell me...how was your reading year?  

Did you follow a plan or go with the flow?  

Did you stick to tried and true authors or genres or explore outside your comfort zone?

Where did your adventures take you?  Outside of time or into space? A different country, state, or city? 

Which stories made your heart sing or cry or laugh or fly? Made you want to hug the author or characters?   

Which story  made you want to throw it across the room in disgust? 

Which authors did you add to your  "I want to read more or again pile."

Share quotes, covers, stats, and ideas for next year such as new or different authors or genres or stories to explore. 

Our post is sponsored by the letter A for autodidactic, autotelic, anti hero, archetypes, and annotation. 

Thank you for sharing your reading year with me! 

Hugs, loves, and kisses!

BW51: Winter Solstice

 

Happy Sunday!  Christmas is a week away and if you haven't started your Christmas shopping, like me, you'd better hop to it.  Our Christmas tree is decorated and waiting for gifts to fill the tree skirt beneath it. How about you. Winter is also upon us as of December 22nd and heralded by the brisk cold, hot toddies, warm fires, and curling up with a wintery read.  

The Best Winter Books to Snuggle up with in 2023

Winter 2023 Books Preview: 16 titles not to miss

A Wintry Reading List: 15 Books With Immaculate Winter Vibes

25 Classic Winter Books to Read by the Fire

Our post is sponsored by the letter B for ballad, bards, and beats, musical beats, that is. 

Please Join us for another round of Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks in 2024

 

Join us for our 16th annual Read 52 books in 52 weeks reading adventure. 

The goal is easy - Read 52 Books.  We don't have any set reading lists so how you get there is up to you. However, we do have a variety of challenges including weekly, monthly mini challenges, annual and perpetual challenges to entice your reading taste buds   If you aren't up to 52 but want to join in, you can set your own goal.  

2024 52 Books Bingo - 25 new categories which will take us on a exploration around the world. 

2024 Bookish Bookology - Our author of the month in which you can read one or more books by the author, or spell out their first or last name. 

2024 A to Z and Back Again - All the way from A to Z and back again as we play with words.  

Participate in one or more of our perpetual challenges:  

Agatha Christie  -- Read her books in chronological order as listed, group by detective or collection, or randomly if you choose. Read at least three per year.

Mind Voyages - A science fiction / fantasy challenge through the decades, exploring the Hugo and Nebula winners and nominees, Philip K. Dick, and Robert Heinlein. 

Well Educated Mind --  Continue to explore the classics in 6 categories: Fiction, Autobiography, History/Politics, Drama, Poetry and Science. 

or dip into past challenges such as  Brit Tripping, Dusty and Chunky, Feed Your Muse, Inspiration, Nobel Prize Winners and Sounds of Silence.

There is a little bit of something for everyone. Follow your muse and read widely or wildly, follow rabbit trails, read outside your comfort zone or stick with the tried and true. Choose whatever path is right for you. 

The mini and perpetual challenges are all optional, Mix them up anyway you like and follow your own path in the quest to read.  

The challenge runs January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024

Our book weeks begin on Sunday,.

Participants may join at any time. 

All forms of books are acceptable including e-books, audio books, etc. 

Re-reads are acceptable as long as they are read after January 1, 2024

Books may overlap other challenges. 

Create an entry post linking to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks and sign up in the link below.  

If you don't have a blog or social media account, post about your reads in the comments section of each weekly post. 

The link widget is  added to the bottom of each weekly post to link to your book reviews, and closes at the end of each book week. 

BW50: 52 Books Bingo - Book to Movie

Happy Sunday!  Our next 52 Books Bingo category is Book to Movie.  I totally enjoy watching movies that are based on books to see what the writer or director will do with the subject matter. Will they stay true to the book or will they veer far to left or right field.   I've always wanted to read the book before seeing a movie based on the book whereas my son likes to see the movie first before he reads the book. 

I can see his point as there was one movie that veered so far to the left from the book that preconceived notions about the movie were shot to heck and I was disappointed.    John Grisham's The Runaway Jury was about cancer, how someone could get to the jurors and influence the trail, and making the tobacco industry pay.  The story was excellent. The movie was about a mass shooting, guns, jury tampering, and the gun industry.  Totally different subject matter, except for the jury tampering.  I had wanted to see the book as as written because the story was so intriguing, and was disappointed with the rewritten movie.   

But none the less, I enjoy watching books turned into movies from Philip Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep which the movie Blade Runner was based off of to the Harry Potter films to Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code to Schindler's List.  Join me in reading and watching Books to Movies or Television shows

43 of Our All-Time Favorite Book-to-Movie Adaptations

60 New Page-to-Screen Adaptations to Add to Your 2022 Reading List

All the Books With 2023 Screen Adaptations to Add to Your Reading List

The 20 Best TV Shows Based on Books From the Past Decade

15 Amazing TV Series Inspired by Books

This post sponsored by the letter C for colorful, characters, and contradiction.

BW49: Welcome December

 

Happy Sunday!  December is upon us which means this month will be full of celebrations beginning with Hanukkah, Advent, St. Nicholas Day, St. Lucia Day, Christmas and Boxing Day, the arrival of Winter as well as Festivus for the rest of us.  And we can't forget the wonderful reading tradition in Iceland - Jólabókaflóð.  

This year is, as they say,

winding down.

It’s not a race to the finish,

it’s not a victory lap,

it’s not anything but a slow

staggering stumble

across a line

that we simply hope

means

we can try again next time.

~Jenny Justice 

December is the time to evaluate, and think about all the stories, people, adventures, tests and trials we've read this year.  The authors and stories we'd liked to leave behind and the ones we'd like to read more of.  As I add more books to my tbr list, both physical and electronic, taking into account that by the time I get around to reading them, I may not be in the mood for that particular book, I remind myself, there's plenty of time  as reading is an never ending journey.  I'll be in the mood eventually.   So enjoy the process and fill up your shelves, because whether we race or stumble across the finish line, remember there's always next year. 

Announcing the Translation Prizes 2023 shortlists

World Fantasy 2023 Winners announced

End of the Year Sleuthing: 10 New Mystery Thriller Books for December 2023

40 New Christmas Romance Books Releasing in 2023 Bringing Holiday Cheer

Our post is sponsored by the letter d which stands for delightful, delicious, and demanding.