Children’s & YA Literature
J.R.R. Tolkien: The Hobbit – Performed by Andy Serkis
Like its magnificent sequel, The Hobbit is, I think, many things to many people: the first exposition of the universe that would become Middle-earth; prelude to The Lord of the Rings; a bite-sized visit to Middle-earth whenever you don’t feel up to the full blow of the War of the Ring(s); one of the most […]
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Holiday Movies
Festive Tasks Master Update Post HERE Festive Tasks, Door 24 — Cherished Memories, Task 4: What’s your favorite Christmas/holiday movie that you can watch again and again? (This can be any movie that takes place during the holiday season, whether or not it’s in the ‘spirit’ of the season (i.e. Die Hard or Lethal Weapon). […]
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Festive Tasks: Door 12, Task 2 – Snow Covers
Festive Tasks Master Update Post HERE Task 2: Make us a collage or display of your favorite snowy book covers. Prepare to be snowed in …
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June 2021 and Mid-Year Reading Recap
Sigh. Well, I think posting a monthly (and even half-year) reading recap a full three weeks into the next month has to be some sort of record, even for me, but here we are. And I admit that at this point I’d even been contemplating holding off another week so as to combine this with […]
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Ursula K. Le Guin: A Wizard of Earthsea
While my first two Le Guin reads for the (Dead) Authors in Residence challenge were both taken from Le Guin’s final years, for my last book I went back to her very beginning and picked the first book of her Earthsea Cycle. And, while I know that this is an awardwinning milestone of (YA) fantasy […]
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2020 in Facts and Figures
I already posted my main 2020 in Review and Looking Ahead to 2021 posts a while ago — only on my new blog (separate post to come) –, but I held back on my 2020 reading statistics until the year was well and truly over. And for all my good intentions when posting my mid-year […]
Read MoreThe Halloween Creatures Book Tag
Rules: Answer all prompts. Answer honestly. Tag 1-13 people. Link back to this post. ( For me it was SnoopyDoo!) Remember to credit the creator. (Anthony @ Keep Reading Forward)< Have fun! Witch A Magical Character or Book Terry Pratchett’s witches, particularly Granny Weatherwax. And DEATH (preferably in his Hogfather incarnation). No contest. […]
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Free David Williams audiobook
Reblogged from: XOX Source: www.worldofdavidwalliams.com/elevenses David Williams free audio book for all who have to stay home. Original post: ThemisAthena.booklikes.com/post/2112524/free-david-williams-audiobook
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This is good to see – please pass it on to anyone who might find it useful
Reblogged from: Mike Finn Original post: ThemisAthena.booklikes.com/post/2091994/this-is-good-to-see-please-pass-it-on-to-anyone-who-might-find-it-useful
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January 2020 Reading
January turned out a bit of a roller coaster in RL, continuing the course things had already taken in December: not quite whiplash-inducing, but with several sickness-prone twists and turns (for however much I’d expected them to materialize) surrounding one major glorious event (which was, however, truly glorious; even if this, too, was something I’d […]
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Tamora Pierce: Song of the Lioness Quartet
After the disappointment that virtually every bit of YA fantasy I read last year had turned out to be, a somewhat unexpected highlight of my January reading was Tamora Pierce’s Song of the Lioness Quartet. But I was won over by Alanna (the main character)’s personality and by the fact that Pierce’s approach to creating […]
Read MoreRichard Armitage reads Winnie in Winter
Reblogged from: XOX Richard Armitage reading this bedtime story about a witch in winter. He did a good job telling this story. Original post: ThemisAthena.booklikes.com/post/2035182/post
Read MoreRichard Armitage reads Trouble at the Dinosaur Café
Reblogged from: XOX Richard Armitage read The Trouble at the Dinosaur Cafe. Lovely read. The dinosaurs are having a good time at the cafe but the bully Rex comes in. Luckily, Rex is defeated with tickles. Original post: ThemisAthena.booklikes.com/post/2035176/post
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Storytelling
24 Festive Tasks: Door 17 – Winter Solstice, Task 4 (Soyal – Zuñi & Hopi / Native American): While systems of written symbols and communication already existed with the Pre-Columbian Native American cultures, to many tribes even today (including the Zuñi and Hopi) the oral tradition is still important. Have you ever had stories told […]
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Favorite Trolls and Gnomes
24 Festive Tasks: Door 16 – St. Lucia’s Day, Task 3: Trolls, gnomes, dwarves and similar beings (some evil, some less so, almost all of them mischievous) are a staple of Scandinavian mythology and folklore, as well as other folklores and mythologies around the world and, of course, fantasy and speculative fiction. Who is your […]
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Favorite Dragons from Fiction and Mythology
24 Festive Tasks: Door 5 – Bon Om Touk, Task 3: Dragons and dragon-like serpents (imugi) are important to Korean mythology (as they are to that of other Asian peoples). So – which are your favorite literary dragons (fictional, mythological, whatever)? First things first: shout-out to the resident Fierce and Friendly Dragon! And speaking […]
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E.T.A. Hoffmann / Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker – as arranged by Septura
E.T.A. Hoffmann’s Nutcracker, narrated by Derek Jacobi; with excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s ballet, arranged for brass septet and performed by Septura (= seven members of the brass sections of Britain’s leading orchestras): One of my Christmas gifts for my mom this year: it got here just in time and since she opened the package not realizing […]
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Books Published Under Two or More Different Titles
24 Festive Tasks: Door 14 – St. Nicholas’ Day / Sinterklaas, Task 3 St. Nicholas is a man of many names in English alone – Santa Claus, Saint Nick, Father Christmas … although in the English speaking world he only comes once (at Christmas, not also on December 6 – whereas in Germany and the […]
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Agatha Christie: Star Over Bethlehem
24 Festive Tasks: Door 24 – Epiphany, Book: Read a book featuring three main characters, about traveling on a journey to a faraway place, a book that’s part of a trilogy, with a star on the cover, with the word “twelve” or “night” in the title, or concerning kings or spices. Well, most of […]
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Festivus Feat of Strength: Leo Tolstoy: Anna Karenina vs. Astrid Lindgren: Pippi Longstocking
24 Festive Tasks: Door 19 – Festivus, Task 2: Battle of the Books: pick two books off your shelf (randomly or with purpose); in a fair fight, which book would come out on top? The fight can be based on the merits of the book itself, its writing, or full-on mano a mano between two […]
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