Tag Archive | J. R. R. Tolkien

Tolkien Blog Party Tag

Sep27

I’m hopping on the delightful Tolkien Blog Party going on here and answering a fun tag!

You can find the tag HERE if you’d like to do it yourself! 🙂

Would You Rather…

1.  …join Thorin’s Company or the Fellowship?

The Fellowship! I do enjoy Thorin and Co. and Bilbo, but I’d love to hang out with all the Fellowship members. 😀

2.  …ride Shadowfax or an eagle?

An eagle! That would be super cool. I’d have to make sure to make friends with one first since they don’t just carry anyone around. 😉

3.  …travel through Moria or Mirkwood?

Oh boy. They’re both an equal mix of terrifying and really cool. 😛 I think I would go with Mirkwood. It’s kind of dark in there and, I mean, there are spiders, and I’m not saying it’s not creepy — because it is! But also, I mean, it’s an enormous wood, and at least it’s not UNDERGROUND and infested with Balrogs. And there’s always the chance you might run into the wood elves which would be totally cool, unless you’re Thorin and co. XD

4.  …learn to make elvish rope or mithril chainmail?

Mithril chainmail! Elvish rope is cool and all, but mithril is the best. So gorgeous, so lightweight, and sooo useful. 😀

5.  …try to outwit Smaug or Saruman?

Help. I think I would be in major trouble either way. XD Um. Wow. This one is super hard. I feel like I’d be in bigger trouble if I didn’t SUCCEED with outwitting Smaug, but . . . I’ll go with him anyway. As long as I could do it like Bilbo and have a quick escape if things weren’t going well!

6.  …spend an hour with Grima Wormtongue or Denethor?

Denethor. I mean, he’s kind of the worst but Grima’s totally creepy, let’s be real.

7.  …attend Faramir’s wedding or Samwise’s wedding?

Faramir’s! Because Faramir is my number-one-favorite character in The Lord of the Rings (the books; we don’t discuss what they did to his character in the films. I still love him, but… just no). And Eowyn is ALSO the best. So yes, hands-down!

8.  …have to care for the One Ring or the Arkenstone for a day?

Definitely the Arkenstone! It’s prettier and less prone to take over my mind. XD

9.  …have tea with Bilbo or Frodo?

Bilbo! I feel like that would be super fun! 😀 I just wrote a post (more like a short story) featuring Bilbo and it was a blast.

10.  …fight alongside Boromir or Eomer?

Eomerrr! He’s another of my top-favorites and a seriously underrated character. (I think Eomer and Faramir and Aragorn are my favorite characters in LOTR. And Eowyn. And Merry. And Legolas. OKAY, I have a lot of favorite characters. XD)

How about you? Share your answers in a comment or go join the party yourself!

Also, talking of Lord of the Rings fun . . .

If you missed it, be sure to go check out my post about the winner of the Silmaril Awards ceremony for Most Silver Tongue — which is set at Rivendell and features Bilbo, Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle, and several characters from various beloved fantasy books including Narnia, Goldstone Wood, and Prydain. There are many shenanigans.

It’s basically a fanfiction crossover short story post and I had WAY too much fun writing it. XD

Thanks for reading!

Advertisement

Mini Book-News Roundup (Giveaway! Vote! Sale!)

Sep13

Hey! This is just a quick post because I want to share three pieces of info in case you haven’t heard them yet! 🙂

1: Giveaway / Blogiversary

It’s the 5-year anniversary of when I started blogging, and I’m celebrating over on my other blog with a giveaway of 5 books and some character trading card bookmarks! Check it out if you haven’t. ^_^ (Giveaway runs through 9/15, so there’s only a couple days left to enter!)

2: Vote!

There’s still time to vote in the Silmaril Awards for your favorite characters! Just drop by the voting form. 😀 Let your voice be heard for your favorite fantasy characters in ten categories! Voting ends tomorrow (9/14), so hurry!

3: Sale for a delightful steampunk novel!

The Electrical Menagerie (which I flailed about awhile back and absolutely LOVE!) by Mollie E. Reeder is 99 cents until 9/24, so be sure to check it out! It’s an AMAZING book!

It even got a starred review on Publishers Weekly a few days ago! :O

And, of course, you can enter a giveaway for a paperback copy at the link above… 😉

But 99 cents! Why not? It’s SUCH an amazing, funny book, and you will absolutely not regret it. ❤

I’m moderately fond of this picture I took… *cough*

Okay, that’s the news for today! Apologies if you’ve seen it all over my social media or on my other blog already, but I had to make sure to share in case anyone’s missed these exciting things! ^_^

Thanks for reading! ❤

February Fantasy Month 2018/Nightstand!

Feb1

Some books I want to read this month. And oh! It’s Benedict Pendragon, my little dragon, popping in for a look! ^_^

Hello, dear page dreamers!

It’s February, and that means it’s time to celebrate . . . FANTASY MONTH!

Yes, indeed, one of my favorite times of year! 😉

Jenelle Schmidt is once again hosting February is Fantasy Month, and she has all sorts of fun things planned, so be sure to check out her blog!

Also, this time she has a splendid daily hashtag game/meme, so I’m hoping to do that on my Twitter each day. Check out the prompts and feel free to join in the fun on the social media of your choice with the hashtag #FantasyMonth!

Today I figured I’d share my Nightstand Books for February (which is another meme created by Jenelle Schmidt, and DJ Edwardson, where we share our currently-reading books each month)!

I have QUITE the ambitions for reading this month; whether or not I’ll get to them all is another matter. XD There always seems to be something else to read that pops up in the middle of the month and takes over from my previously scheduled plans. But it’s all for fun, and talking about books is everyone’s (or at least MY) favorite thing to do other than reading them, so, ONWARD!

Nearly all of these are Fantasy, in honor of the month. 😀 (Titles are linked and lead to Goodreads.)

Daily Readings

  • Hall of Heroes — (anthology) 27 fantasy short stories by members of the Fellowship of Fantasy should be just right for February Fantasy Month… 😉 I won this lovely copy in a giveaway and I’m excited to dive in! 🙂 (The ebook version is available for free on Amazon!)
  • Tolkien and The Silmarillion – Clyde S. Kilby [and] Finding God in The Lord of the Rings – Kurt Bruner & Jim Ware — (non-fiction) These two together have just the right number of chapters for daily reading in February, if I can manage it. I really enjoyed my daily readings of Mere Christianity and Tolkien: A Celebration, during January, so we’ll see if I can keep it up!

Nightstand

  • A Matter of Magic – Patricia C. Wrede — I’ve been meaning to read this ever since Christmas and I can’t wait! 😀 (Someday I will allow myself to read for fun. And when that day comes, I will read this. XD)
  • Adela’s Curse – Claire M. Banschbach — I got this during NaNo and somehow have been too busy to read it… but I’m determined to because it’s tiny and sounds fantastic! Because faeriiiies!
  • Lady Moon – Rachel Starr Thomson — I actually got this for my birthday LAST year (because it was highly recommended by my friend Mary Horton) and I’ve been putting it off because I want to love it SO BADLY that I’m afraid to start reading it. XD But I really ought to read it before my next birthday, AND it’s currently Fantasy Month, so of course it needs to go on this list.
  • The Children of Hurin – J.R.R. Tolkien — (re-read) Last year I re-read The Silmarillion and read the new Beren and Luthien book, so this is next on my Tolkien list, if I can get to it! Looking forward to it. ^_^

Ebooks

  • Minstrel’s Call – Jenelle Leanne Schmidt — (for review) This is coming out February 28 and I’m an ARC reader and it’s the LAST book in the series and alksdjfljd I’M EXCITED. (Also petrified; but… y’know. XD) Cover reveal coming soon!
  • Dissemble – Sarah Addison-Fox — (for review) After enjoying Disowned last month, I’m excited to be reading this sequel, releasing February 22! It’s starting off a bit choppy but I’m otherwise intrigued so far. 🙂
  • The Lady and the Frog – L. Palmer — (bookclub) This is the Fellowship of Fantasy book of the month for February and it sounds absolutely delightful. ^_^
  • Presumption and Partiality – Rebekah Jones — What is a non-fantasy book doing on this list? *gasp* Juuuust kidding! But this is the final Vintage Jane Austen book and I’ve been meaning to read it since it released (because Pride and Prejudice retelling!) so I’m hoping to get to it soon! (Also there’s going to be a great Kindle Countdown sale for the whole series, the week of Valentine’s Day, so watch for that!)
  • Battle for the Throne – E. J. Willis — (for review) Another review book, I don’t know much about this one but it’s fantasy and sounds intriguing! I’m looking forward to it. 🙂

How about you? Are you excited for Fantasy Month? Planning to do the hashtag game? (It would work as a great tag on a blog, too!) What’s on your bookish “nightstand”?

Thanks for reading! 🙂

Dream away in those pages . . .

~ The Page Dreamer / Deborah O’Carroll

Random News + Nightstand Books {September 2017}

Sep14

Hey, my Pagelings! Time for some random news and September’s Nightstand Books! 🙂

RANDOM NEWS

It’s my Blogoversary + A Giveaway!

Yes indeed, I’m celebrating the 4th blogoversary of my other blog, The Road of a Writer, with an epic giveaway of a few fantasy books, so check it out if you haven’t! ^_^

Interviewed + Testing the Freelance Waters

I’m stepping into freelance copy-editing and web-designing, and was interviewed by Emily Ann Benedict! 🙂

Other News

So, you know those random news-bits that aren’t enough to actually POST about but you want people to know? I usually post such things on my Twitter so follow me there because I’m fun or sometimes my Goodreads… But a couple of fun things I wanted share here today…

Remember when I reviewed that modern fantasy book Masters and Beginners by Daley Downing? Well it has a shiny new cover by Kyle Shultz, and is now available on Barnes & Noble.

Also, I’d like to mention that one of the books listed below as next-to-read, is a collection of novellas, and you can get one of those as well as a novelette prequel, for free. 🙂

Free thing…

Rose of the Night by Hope Ann is a novelette prequel, available for free for signing up for her newsletter, here.

And another…

Rose of the Oath is a Beauty and the Beast retelling by Hope Ann, available for free download on Amazon and elsewhere.

NIGHTSTAND BOOKS

Aaand on to Nightstand Books, a blogging meme created by Jenelle Schmidt and DJ Edwardson — to share and be excited about the books we’re reading each month!

It’s usually the first Wednesday of the month, but sometimes I’m late never late, Frodo Baggins, nor am I early; I arrive precisely when I mean to. *cough*

(Join in here if you want!)

The titles below link to Goodreads.

September Nightstand

Most of the books this month are digital ones, but here’s a few on the physical nightstand…

  • The Twelve Dancing Princesses by Ellen Miles — I picked this up at a library sale recently and couldn’t resist reading it right away! Super short and cute read, an enjoyable mostly-traditional version of my favorite fairytale. I did like the couple of tweaks though! 🙂 And it was just generally… fun. *shrug* 4 stars
  • Wanted: A Superhero to Save the World by Bryan Davis — Look for a review of this one next week as part of the blog tour! I’ve only read one other superhero novel, and I don’t read Middle-Grade too often, so I’m excited for this because it’s different for me and fun, plus Bryan Davis. 😀
  • Mind Writer by Mike Lynch and Lisa Godfrees — I was given a copy of this and am trying to catch up on things I should review, so I’d like to read it soon. ^_^ It looks more sci-fi-y than my usual reading-zone, so that’s going to be interesting. Sometimes that’s enjoyable though, to try new things! 🙂

Digital Nightstand

Not pictured:

  • And a couple of beta-read projects for friends, which I hope to finish this month, or next month at latest…

Don’t know if some of these will be moving to next month, as usual… But I do have a lofty goal to finish all my review and beta books before NaNo hits. So. Yes. Either way, hopefully I’ll have these all done eventually!

I do have another stack of books off to one side that I really, really want to read, if I catch up on review books… but I didn’t share those since I have no idea when I’ll get to them. XD

August Nightstand: Take 2

On that subject, August’s nightstand looked less like I thought it would be in my last Nightstand post, and more like this:

(Find them on Goodreads here.)

  • The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien — LOVED this re-read! ❤
  • Beren and Luthien by J.R.R. Tolkien — So enjoyable and awesome! ❤
  • The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge — I adored this to BITS. ❤ Everyone needs to read it.

  • Perception by Emily Ann Benedict — My Review. Now I need the next Vintage Jane Austen book! 🙂
  • An Earthly King by Hazel B. West — This re-read was a delight! 😀 [Last year’s review.]
  • Magicians’ Trial by H.L. Burke — My Review. Aaand now I need more Spellsmith & Carver…
  • Yorien’s Hand by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt — I absolutely LOVED re-reading this, so I’m finally caught up on the series AND NEED THE NEXT BOOK NOW. ❤ [Last year’s review.]

Not pictured:

  • Plus the picture books listed in the original post. ^_^
  • And beta-reading the sequel to Masters and Beginners by Daley Downing. I need it to be finished/published please… 😀

So sometimes I’m totally wrong about what I’ll be reading, but hey, all of those were awesome, so. 😉

ANYWAY. There’s some stuff that’s been up lately, an update on my August nightstand (whoops), and my projected September nightstand. So now you know ALL the bookish things in my life. XD

What are you reading these days? 🙂

Thanks for reading! ^_^

Dream away in those pages . . .

~ The Page Dreamer / Deborah O’Carroll

Bookworm Confessions: Reading Just One Story in Anthologies

Aug29

So, fellow bookworms! Here’s a very important life question:

Is it okay to just read the one book in a short story anthology that you want to read?

Because, confession:

Sometimes I only read one short story in a collection. O_O

I KNOW.

THE SHOCK. THE HORROR. THE STARES OF DOUBT.

I can feel your surprise and worrying at my living-on-the-edge actions from here.

Ahem.

You know what I’m talking about, don’t you? (Or is it just me??)

There’s some collection of short stories that you have, and you got it SPECIFICALLY for ONE PARTICULAR STORY OR AUTHOR in the collection. And you’re excited to read it — that particular one! So excited!

So… do you:

  1. Read the whole collection?
  2. Put off reading the whole collection because you really only want to read that one so you procrastinate the others…?
  3. Just devour that particular story right away and be happy you read it, and then… proceed to never get around to reading the others, even if you mean to? *cough* (This is usually me…)

But what do you do in that case? Because I can’t say I’ve read the book… since I haven’t! Just one tiny portion of it! But that also means I can’t, like, rate it or review it or anything… and it also bugs my poor perfectionist mind because I know I have to finish reading the entire collection SOMEDAY because I read something in there, but… I don’t feel like it right now. *collapses*

Also, short story collections are NOTORIOUSLY hit-or-miss. There’s usually one or two I really like and sometimes a whole handful that I… really don’t care for.

It’s very risky! Sort of like a blind date with a book, but it’s a whole bunch of small stories so you have SEVERAL blind dates and sometimes it doesn’t go well. XD

So is it better to read just the one you want to? Or to go all-in and brave the possibly of lots of mediocre or creepy stories?

Even if I do vaguely want to read the others, I usually don’t get around to them…

Which brings us to the list part of my confession.

Some anthologies I’ve read a story or two in but shamefully haven’t gotten around to reading the rest:

1. Firebirds

I got this so I could read a Lloyd Alexander short story and a Diana Wynne Jones short story. The Lloyd one was actually sad and creepy. o.o But the DWJ one was awesome! (It was called Little Dot and was from the POV of a cat and I loved it. XD) The rest of the stories… have sadly gone unread so far.

2. The Dragon Book

I got this partly because DRAGONS and partly because of a DWJ story. I read the DWJ story, which incidentally turned out to be THE ONLY THING I’VE READ BY HER THAT I DISLIKED. (It’s called JoBoy and I read it at a bad time because I was ill and it’s NOT sometime to read when you’re ill… Ahem.) So. Yeah. That was a disappointment… I’ve now been avoiding it because I don’t like to think about it and so I haven’t read the others yet because I don’t really know those authors… But someday…

3. Maps in a Mirror by Orson Scott Card

I got this solely to read the original novella version of Ender’s Game (which was a really interesting comparison). And promptly didn’t read any of the others. I don’t even feel like I really necessarily want to read them at this point? But it’s just sitting there, mostly unread, and I don’t know what to do with it. XD (Confession: I probably will never get around to reading the others.)

4. A Wolf at the Door

This is a collection of short story fairytale retellings, so I WILL read the rest someday, I just… haven’t yet. I mostly got it so I could read the Twelve Dancing Princesses retelling in it by Patricia A. McKillip, which I did and I seem to remember enjoying it… But I still haven’t read the others yet.

5. Tolkien: A Celebration

This one is actually essays about Tolkien by several different authors, so it’s not exactly short stories. I specifically got it so I could read the one Stephen Lawhead wrote, and I LOVED it — one of my favorite things of all time — but… I haven’t read the rest of the essays yet, so I can’t really review it or recommend it and I’m just like WHY. Because it was an amazing essay about writing and fantasy and it was by a favorite author about another favorite author, which is always DELIGHTFUL, but I haven’t read the rest so I can’t talk about it yet. I will read the others… someday…

6. Tales Before Narnia

I found an uncorrected-proofs version of this at a library sale? And I read the poem in it that Tolkien wrote (which I hadn’t ever found in anything else) and haven’t read the rest yet… They do look interesting, I just haven’t started yet. (The lack of an actual official cover, due to it being an uncorrected proof, may be slightly involved. Whoops.)

Also: Fairytales

And there are a few fairytale collections which I surreptitiously read the Twelve Dancing Princesses ones, or a couple others, and haven’t read the others yet… but I will!

…Someday.

Let’s discuss!

What about you, readers? Do you ever read short stories? And do you read entire collections or… do you live on the edge and sometimes just read one? Any reader confessions about short stories or otherwise? Tell all in the comments!

Thanks for reading! 🙂

Dream away in those pages . . .

~ The Page Dreamer

By the Book Tag

Jul15

I was tagged by the lovely Shantelle @ A Writer’s Heart for the By The Book Tag! Thanks Shantelle! ^_^ I’m not tagging anyone specific, but if the questions look fun, feel free to snag ’em and let me know if you do it so I can see your answers! 😀

1. What book is on your nightstand now?

Ashburn by Julia Erickson. It’s fun so far! I don’t usually read contemporaries or thriller/suspense books, but I’m enjoying it. 🙂

2. What was the last truly great book you read?

I just reread Archer’s Goon by Diana Wynne Jones, which was BRILLIANT. I love it to smithereens. ❤

3. If you could meet any writer – dead or alive – who would it be? And what would you want to know?

Off the top of my head… J.R.R. Tolkien, Diana Wynne Jones, Lloyd Alexander, Stephen R. Lawhead, and Mirriam Neal. And so so SO many writer friends I know online, because that would be INCREDIBLE. Time would fail me to list them all here. ❤ And I’d want to know everything. XD And/or just chat. Because that would be fantastic.

4. What books might we be surprised to find on your shelves?

Um… nonfiction books? XD *surprise!* I don’t really know, though. I have a weird collection of books because my taste is odd and varied. 🙂 Lots of people would probably be surprised at different books I own but it would depend on the person, probably. *shrug*

5. How do you organize your personal library?

The books I’ve read are (usually) organized alphabetically by author. But that changes if I feel like rearranging them by genre. My unread books are usually organized by which I want to read next and by genre.

6. What book have you always meant to read and haven’t gotten around yet?

OH SO MANY. So, so many. *points to ginormous TBR list*

A few off the top of my head: The Healer’s Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson, The Moorchild by Eloise Jarvis McGraw, and The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen.

toread1

7. Anything you feel embarrassed never to have read?

Hum. Not… really? Mostly I don’t feel like I HAVE to read books, or if I do, I’m not really embarrassed that I haven’t, because it just means I haven’t gotten around to them or don’t want to read them? I guess it’s a little sad that I haven’t read Emma by Jane Austen yet, Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, or The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle.

toread2

8. Disappointing, overrated, just not good: what book did you feel you are supposed to like but didn’t?

Off the top of my head… The Little Prince, some of Hans Christian Anderson’s stories, and some of the stories in Five Enchanted Roses.

9. Do you remember the last book you put down without finishing?

Ummm. I hardly ever don’t finish books. I can only remember like… 2. So I guess the last one was A Mighty Fortress by Faith Blum. It just wasn’t for me. *shrug*

10. What kind of stories are you drawn to? Any you stay clear of?

SO MANY! But mostly fantasy books, fairytale retellings, and I’m increasingly drawn to odder things like steampunk or heist books, just because they’re fun. Really though, I’m drawn to any kind of book that sounds interesting. 🙂 IF IT’S GOOD, I’LL READ IT. (I know that’s vague. Shush. Don’t judge me. XD)

Stay clear of… Well, I try to avoid dystopians. They are not enjoyed by me… I also don’t like icky content in my books either, so I prefer clean books. I also don’t like really creepy stories, so thus far I mainly steer clear of paranormal or horror books, and I don’t do zombies in any form. XD

11. If you could require the president to read one book, what would it be?

Hmm. Previous answers were the Bible, which is a good choice. I’d say the American Constitution would be a good start too. 😉

12. What do you plan to read next?

The Rose and the Balloon by Kirstin Fichter (a.k.a. KiriLiz), which is a steampunk Beauty and the Beast retelling novella, coming out August 1st! I’m very excited. 😀 I’d share the cover but it’s not out yet… however I hear that there may be a cover reveal next week, so I can’t wait for that! ^_^ Here’s a collage the author made from pinterest pictures instead:

How about you? What would your answers be to any of these questions?

Thanks for reading! 🙂

Dream away in those pages . . .

~ The Page Dreamer