BW44: Nonfiction November

 

Time to climb aboard Pum Deg Dau o Lygrau and set sail for the unknown as we explore the land of nonfiction.  Such a wide variety to choose from -  Psychology, cookbooks, history, art, religion, memoirs, craft of writing, sports, essays, poetry, crime, philosophy, and culture --- the wide vast world of how and what and why.  

Given that it's also National Novel Writing Month and you want to spread your writing wings,  dip your toes in writing nonfiction with Telling True Stories, Flash Non Fiction, or poetry.  Learn about the writing life from Annie Dillard or Anne Lamott. 

Dive into the world of true crime or real life detectives.  

Try out a new recipe, or go Down the Garden Path or Taste with Stanley Tucci

Be Zen, be cool, be funny, be logical or be positive.

Delve into the past with Erik Larson or Nathaniel Philbrick and many more. 

Have fun following rabbit trails.

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Count of Monte Cristo

Chapter 106. Dividing the Proceeds

Chapter 107. The Lions’ Den

Chapter 108. The Judge

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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.

BW43: At Seven a Son by Elaine Feinstein

 

Elaine Feinstein

In celebration of the late Elaine Feinstein, born October 24, 1930 and died at the age of 88 on September 23, 2019.  Multifaceted writer of novels, short stories, poetry, teleplays and biographies.

At Seven a Son

In cold weather on a

garden swing, his legs

in wellingtons rising over

the winter rose trees

he sits serenely

smiling like a Thai

his coat open, his gloves

sewn to the flapping sleeves

his thin knees working

with his arms

folded about the

metal struts

as he flies up

(his hair like long

black leaves) he

lies back freely

astonished in

sunshine as serious

as a stranger he is

a bird in his own thought.

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Count of Monte Cristo 

Chapter 103. Maximilian

Chapter 104. Danglars’ Signature

Chapter 105. The Cemetery of Père-Lachaise

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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.

BW42: 52 Books Bingo - Dystopian and Utopian

Courtesy of Barnes and Noble

Dystopian novels are on my mind today.  Particularly since my son recently read Ready Player Two and has been waiting for me to read it.  We've both watched and read Ready Player One and thoroughly enjoyed them.  So on to the second novel which fits in perfectly with our next two 52 Books Bingo categories -Dystopian and Utopian   There are books set in a perfect Utopian  world which may or may not be a good thing,  The imaginary perfect world which can easily slide into the imperfect Dystopian world. So, one of your missions for our October Spooktacular is to read a dystopian or utopia story. 

100 Great Works OF Dystopian Fiction: Tales about a world gone wrong 

Best Dystopian Science Fiction Books

Kazuo Ishiguro: A Dystopian Book in Dystopian Times

10 Strangest Sci-Fi Dystopias

8 Vital Utopian Novels That Envision a Perfect World:  Imagine all the people, living life in peace...

19 Best Utopian Science Fiction Books

Have fun following rabbit trails! 

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Count of Monte Cristo - 17 chapters left

Chapter 100. The Apparition
Chapter 101. Locusta
Chapter 102. Valentine

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BW41: Fictional Librarian - Hanna Casey

 

Happy Sunday!  It's time to jump back on board our airship, the Pum Deg Dau o Lygrau. We are setting sail for the west coast of Ireland to visit the fictional town of Finfarran.   We will be joining Hanna Casey, our fictional librarian of the month. The series, created by Felicity Hayes-McCoy, begins with The Library at the Edge of the World and is about Hanna, who is fifty five and recently divorced, has to start all over again and moves back home to live with her mother and ends up leading the campaign to save the town library. 

Read a book with one or more of the following (but not limited to) and have fun exploring:

• Spell out the first and/or last name of the character's name - one book per letter from the title on the cover.
• Spell out the first and/or last name of the author - one book per letter.
• Read one or more books in the series.
• Follow in a character's footsteps and read a book set in the country or time period of the story.
• Follow in the author's footsteps and read a book set in their place or time of birth.
• Read a book with the first or last name of the character or author in the title.

Have fun as there are a variety of ways to complete this challenge with plenty of rabbit trails.

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Count of Monte Cristo 

Chapter 97. The Departure for Belgium

Chapter 98. The Bell and Bottle Tavern

Chapter 99. The Law

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BW40: October Spooktacular

 

Welcome to our October Spooktacular reading month. I have the music of The Addams family theme song running through my head today:

Their creepy and their kooky

Mysterious and spooky

Their all together ooky

The Adams family

Their house is a museum

When people come to see 'em

They really are a screaming

The Adams family.

Neat.

Sweet

Petite

So put a witch's shawl on

A broomstick you can crawl on

We're gonna play a call on

The Adams family

Their creepy and their kooky

Mysterious and spooky

Their all together ooky

The Adams family

Strange

Deranged

The Adams family

Does it put you in the mood for some spooky or kooky, spine-chilling or thrilling, creepy or cozy, scary or mysterious?  Yes, me too. 

Spooky to me doesn't necessarily equal horror. I detest blood and guts horror books or movies. Give me emotion, give me pee in your pants scary moments.  Give me tense moments that make you laugh or cry. Give me mind bending stories with devious and conniving characters and lots of twists and turns.  Give me stories that make me think and go whoa, I didn't see that coming.  Entertain me, thrill me, shock me. 

If you haven't read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein or Bram Stoker's Dracula, now would be the perfect time.  Put away all your preconceived notions as the books are very different from the movies and will shock and amaze you.  If you have read it, dip your toes into retellings of the story as well as the reimagining's of  Bram Stoker's Dracula. 

If you are slightly on the squeamish side and can only handle a little bit scary or a little bit spooky, read a cozy supernatural mystery  or what the Austin Public Library considers a cozy horror which includes 

Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None or Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles.  

For those who like psychological thrillers, like me, read Female Psychological Thrillers/Suspense Written by Women.

From historical thrillers to psychological page turners, check out Pan MacMillian's list of the Best Thriller books of 2021. 

What is one of the spookiest or thrilling books you ever read?

Have fun following rabbit trails!

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Count of Monte Cristo

Chapter 94. Maximilian’s Avowal

Chapter 95. Father and Daughter

Chapter 96. The Contract

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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.

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.