Steampunk Gypsy

Microhistory (the first nonfiction genre we're exploring this year) is a special branch of history, looking intensively at a very small area of study - on a single subject, for instance, or a single social movement. Rather than a general, inclusive look at the past, then, microhistories tend to be narrowly focused - giving the author (and the reader) the opportunity to dive deep into minutia that would bog down a work on a broader scale. Microhistories are also an excellent way for fiction readers to branch into nonfiction, as they tend to have more of a narrative feel to them. The "hero" of the story might be an inanimate object, an abstract idea, or even a revolution - but it is a single thing, with a steady thread weaving throughout the work. Our Main Read this month was chosen by our third Readers Advisor Sherlock Holmes, so the topic won't be much of a surprise to those familiar with his retirement years activities. Check it out: Robbing the Bees: A Biogra...

Defining high fantasy as opposed to low fantasy has nothing at all to do with quality. High fantasy is set in an entirely other world, one full of magic, so it works differently than our own, non-magical world. (Think Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy.) Low fantasy, by comparison, is set either in our own world or a world that works like ours, only with a bit of magic breaking through.  High fantasy often features a protagonist who begins as an innocent or even a child, and is aided by a mystical figure in order to grow into a legendary hero, battling a Dark Lord and the forces of evil (usually orcs, wraiths, dragons, and whatnot). The great struggle between good and evil tends to be front and center, with the fate of the world (or perhaps only the protagonist's part of it) at stake. Because high fantasy covers a protagonist's growth into heroic stature and a sweeping epic of good versus evil, it's difficult to fit into one book - so high fantasy ends up usually bei...

Before we get to New Weird, we should take a look at Old Weird! The best - or, at least, best known - examples of Weird literature were written by H.P. Lovecraft, who gave us the darkly disturbing yet strangely beautiful world of Cthulhu, the Old Ones, and the Necronomicon. Lovecraft used his macabre world to explore themes of forbidden knowledge, supernatural influences on humankind, fate, religion, and the dangers of unrestrained science. New Weird tends to explore similar themes in worlds two steps removed from our own. Alongside mankind dwells entities entirely unlike us, who may mean us harm - or may cause us harm incidentally as they pursue their own agendas. Unlike most horror, the Other is entirely inimical to us - the Monster confronting us is not a reflection of our own darkness but something incomprehensible that drives us to madness. Our Main Read for the month was chosen just for you by Cthulhu himself! (I tried to tell him that it wasn't one book but a trilogy; h...

The blog is two years old, now! I know I've taken a pretty long break, but now I'm back, and doing things a bit differently. First things first - how'd I do with my 2015 resolutions? Read books. Yep! I met my goal of 100 books (and a couple more, just for fun). I also read quite a few mysteries, but I didn't quite finish all of P.D. James's Adam Dalgliesh series.  Spend time with my family . Yep! Totally did that. I even got to spend time with my parents and my in-laws! Play some D&D. Yeah, some - and then our group broke up a bit. Those of us left in the area still get together to play games, talk, watch movies, etc.  Crochet some stuff. Yeah, I got some of that done, too. I did scarves for the kiddos, and a scarf and hat for myself, as well as a stuffed octopus toy for the cat. That sort of ended it for me.  Once again, I met all my goals! I think I'll continue the tradition of setting easily accomplished goals for myself. Here we go: Rea...

[Source:  The Book Connections ] [Source:  IFLA Call to Action: International Literacy Day ] [Source:  International Literacy Association ]

No worries! I have a big project I need to be working on for the next little bit - there's no exact deadline, so I can't tell you when exactly I'll be back. I might drop a few lines now and then, especially if something happens with CISA/CISPA or net neutrality, or book banning, or...well, all that stuff I care about a lot. I will also be writing some for Banned Books Week, for sure, so there's that!

Links! Libraries, Books, Writers, & Suchlike Bodleian Library Launches New Digital.Bodleian Site   Indianapolis launches literacy-promoting "Big Free Libraries"   Read before you speak  "I have a suggestion: If you want to complain about curriculum, you need to read the books. Twice in the last week, undergraduates in North Carolina — first at Duke University and then at the University of North Carolina — have objected to assigned books they haven’t read." Sound advice. Making Maps for Books: Two Cartographers Tell Us How It’s Done   Learning to Read: A Survival Guide for Parents   Dear Mom, Dad, and Teacher: This Is Why I Read  "On the last day of our ten-week Bookopolis Book Club session, I asked a group of fourth and fifth graders a simple question: Why do you read? Here are some of their sincere and unprompted answers..." ‘Dune’ at 50: Why the Groundbreaking Eco-Conscious Novel Is More Relevant Than Ever   Health, Science, Net, ...