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The Attitudes Toward Fiction Writing

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  There are probably as many attitudes about fiction writing as there are people, each with their own nuances. My perception, however, is that there are two main attitudes towards fiction as a genre. On one hand, we have those who love fiction and read it willingly. Then there are the others who for a variety of reasons have deemed fiction superfluous.  I can certainly understand some of the reasoning people may have to reach these conclusions. There are those who feel that with our limited time on Earth, we might as well spend it learning everything possible to achieve our goals and aspirations.  It's certainly a very lofty goal, and on the surface seems quite admirable. We can read about any subject from Math to how to be better business managers or partners. We can improve our sales skills, conversation skills, and even parenting skills to name a few.  We have much to gain and appreciate from non-fiction. There are also the many inspirational tales of people's ver...
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Talking About the Book "Matched" by Ally Connie

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I just finished reading Matched a little while ago. I immediately had to get the next book Crossed on my iPad with my library card. Libraries are awesome, use their services and support them! K, random library support aside, you can imagine that I enjoyed this book.  Just to give you some context, this book has been around a while, since 2011 to be exact. It was one I've always meant to read but kept choosing other titles first. I finally decided this was the year I would read it, and I'm so glad I did.  ******SPOILERS***** The story of Matched is about a seemingly utopian society. Everyone's needs are provided, they are told what jobs they will do based on assessments of each person's likes and capabilities, and even their partners are chosen for them based on correlating data for the best possible outcome. Overall, people's lives are pretty good.  The main character, Cassia has had a good life, good friends, and not much reason to question the system that exists....
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Beauty, 'The School for Good and Evil' (Book One), and the Netflix Adaptation

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There's a lot to unpack with both the written version of The School for Good and Evil , as well as the Netflix adaptation. If you watched it on Netflix, but haven't yet read the book I strongly encourage you to get the book as soon as humanly possible.  I'll be transparent about the fact that I may write multiple posts about this, just because there's so much worth discussing. It's not so much that I could just talk about the book forever--though I'm quickly learning that is a possibility--but rather that the book is full of fun concepts, interesting characters and messages worth contemplating.  One of the things that is interesting in the book, is that the author uses common tropes or stereotypes and weaves them into the characters. For instance, as humans we are drawn to aesthetically-pleasing things. Beauty has inspired music, poems, art, and action. It is a part of the universe, but the author of The School for Good and Evil takes this blind love of beauty ...
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The Magic of Storytelling

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 I bet each of us has a favorite story, whether it was a fairy tale, or one that was told to us. We tell each other stories of our personal history, the moments we remember for certain reasons and want to pass on to others.  Good storytelling makes us feel. We laugh, cry, sometimes even grieve through the stories we experience. The magic of storytelling helps us learn, grow, process life, and helps us see life through a different set of lenses than we usually do.  There's nothing quite as cool as stories that help us see our surroundings in whole new ways. A flower isn't just a flower, it's a possible source of life for someone like Thumbelina. There could be giants living in the mountains, and a fallen-over hollow log could be a portal to another dimension for small things to scurry through.  It's difficult to hold onto imagination as we grow older. The world grates it right off us, just scraping away the bits of childhood that got us where we are today. When we los...
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Why Fiction Is Important

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  I love fiction, obviously, which is why I started this blog. I have to say, it pains me when I see attitudes practically condemning fiction as "entertainment", as if entertainment itself is a thing to scoff at and ridicule. It's even more telling that the same people who scoff at the mention of entertainment are also often people who themselves partake in entertainment. Everyone does. Some people read, watch TV, ride horses, have pets, or work on hobbies. What they're really saying is that only certain types of entertainment are acceptable: Non-fiction reading, golf, or other similar hobbies.  This kind of attitude is detrimental. There are plenty of people who don't really enjoy fiction that much, which is fine. To each their own, but judging an entire genre as inconsequential drivel is a little much. In my opinion, we all have things we can learn and gain from reading fiction, so I'm going to share a few reasons why I believe fiction is important.  1.  Fi...
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Fiction Book Titles I'm Really Excited About Reading

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There's nothing quite like taking an extended break from a hobby you like, and then going back to it later. It's a sort of homecoming, and it makes you really appreciate the hobby all over again. My break from reading was necessary, my brain had other things to work through, but coming back to the world of reading and jumping right back into it has been amazing!  I'll assemble another post about my newest books that I've read, but for this post I just wanted to talk about some upcoming books that I'm excited about. I'm not sure if/when I'll get to read them anytime soon, but I definitely will try to read them at some point in the future.  So, without further ado, here are the books I'm looking forward to reading:  1. Amari and the Great Game   by B. B. Alston - This is the second installment in the Amari series. If you haven't read Amari and the Night Brothers yet, you should get on it. It's such a wonderful book, and I'm really looking forw...
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Two More Books to Review for Fiction Lovers

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 I've managed to finish another couple of new books (and re-read a few others), so I'll give a generic opinion about the two I finished reading recently. I'm sleep-deprived at the moment, so I'm just going to jump right into the post. What was the last book you read, and what did you think of it?  The Color of Magic , by Terry Pratchett     If you have read Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy , and enjoyed it, then this book may be perfect for you. The tone is satirical and overly-dramatic in appropriate space opera fashion. This book was originally published in the 80's apparently, so there are some sexist attitudes about women, but it seems as if it's meant to poke fun of people who don't think women are capable. It's not prevalent in the book, just a few bold over-the-top statements that I believe are meant to point out how stupid those stereotypes sound.  Overall, it's a very interesting book. It's a playful tone, whic...
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