The Glass Spare & The Cursed Sea by Lauren DeStefano This duology intrigued me simply because the magical power of the protagonist, Wil, was turning alive objects -- humans, plants, animals, etc. -- into gemstones. Kind of a bizarre concept, except DeStefano makes it work. That is what fascinated me. Unfortunately, that's the only thing which fascinated me. Sure, the plot is a bit predictable, but there's enough differences the reader stays entertained long enough to finish the books. ...
Musings
WOMS: Grishaverse
Let me start by explaining I'm going to begin referring to my "What's on my Shelf" posts as WOMS. Makes sense, right? And now your mouth isn't too full. As I catch up on these posts, I'm going to work backwards through what I've most recently read before recommitting to build my consistency, but this post is going to be the odd ball out. While I have recently read some of the books within Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse, I read the first installment trilogy last summer. Here's hoping I ...
For the Love of Reading
How many times have you ever heard that to be a good writer you need to first be a good [avid] reader? I've lost count myself; I think it was this cliche which I gritted my teeth or rolled my eyes at the most. My annoyance or anyone else's, however, does not negate the truth behind this advice. It's a cliche for a reason. The greatest problem I had overcoming my agitation any time someone mentioned this to me was first admitting to myself I did not read anymore. Shocking, I know, but a ...
New Beginnings
I know I'm guilty of starting these off by saying how difficult life has been, distracting me from my musings and thus writing. However, when I say difficult this time around, it is no mere wolf-cry. Life has been uncharacteristically extraneous. If it were myself alone feeling this constriction, then I would not categorise it as such. It's the plethora of others whom are struggling, too, which support my claims that life has just been down right stressful beyond any explanation other ...
Gather the Sparks
There is a Jewish fairy tale about how Hashem gathered Himself [Ein Sof] into ten jars or vessels before He created the world. As He spoke those first words, "Let there be light," the ten vessels broke scattering the light of the Ein Sof throughout the physical world. It is now our role to find this light, to find it within ourselves and others, and let it shine to bring glory back to Hashem. I have written before about how I feel and know that it is my role on this Earth to write, ...
