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 ...
fantasy
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 ...
What’s on My Shelf: The Sisters of the Winter Wood
I promised to gush, and so I finally shall... Though I haven't updated "What's on My Shelf" recently, implying I have far more books to review than the title indicates, there is one book in particular which I have been needing to discuss for quite some time. As the Gregorian year comes to its close, I find myself looking back at all the books I have read in the past year, and even further to whenever I began this blog, asking myself which were my favourites. While there are a few which ...
Writing Jewish: Modern Day Fantasy Literature
Friendship...is born at the moment when one man says to another, 'What! You too? I thought that no one but myself...' C.S. Lewis You know that moment when after thinking for so long you were alone in your pursuits, dreams, and ideals you must be crazy, only to realise you're not the only one; that there are others like you who desire to see the same ideals actualised into reality? That happened to me this past weekend. Two months ago, I sat in on a class about modern Jewish Literature, ...
What’s on my Shelf: May-June
As promised last week, since June has ended, here are my latest book reviews. The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker I’ll begin with this delightful beauty since I’ve literally just finished it. My first thoughts are of gratitude to Wecker for embracing two cultures which are so intimate to myself, I felt I was reading a personal, alternate history of familiar lives long parted from me. It made me proud to read a story about these two cultures I cherish. The way she captured ...
