The Fireside

  A new Tolkien book has been announced for publication in the fall: The Bovadium Fragments . It's certainly one that I haven't heard of before, and as such, was not expecting. Off the bat, it is not  Middle-earth related. I know there's some readers that only care for the Middle-earth material, so I wanted to make that distinction. It would fit more in line with material such as Mr. Bliss  and Tales From the Perilous Realm . It has been announced as both hardback and eBook, from both publishers. As such, ISBNs won't be needed, as finding it should be simple enough at this stage. I'm undecided as to which format I'd want: hardback (I understand the appeal of a new Tolkien book in hardback, though I'm looking forward to unboxing/'look inside' type videos), eBook (to have  and read, without taking up physical space) or to wait for the paperback edition. As time draws near and I see  more of the book....I'll reach a decision. But I will get it!  To ...

Early Dickens Christmas story describes a Christmas dinner at the home of Uncle and Aunt George. Originally published in Bell's Life in London in 1835 under the name Scenes and Characters No. 10 Christmas Festivities. A Christmas Dinner Charles Dickens 1835 C hristmas time! That man must be a misanthrope indeed, in whose breast something like a jovial feeling is not roused - in whose mind some pleasant associations are not awakened - by the recurrence of Christmas. There are people who will tell you that Christmas is not to them what it used to be; that each succeeding Christmas has found some cherished hope, or happy prospect, of the year before, dimmed or passed away; that the present only serves to remind them of reduced circumstances and straitened incomes - of the feasts they once bestowed on hollow friends, and of the cold looks that meet them now, in adversity and misfortune. Never heed such dismal reminiscences. There are few men who have lived long enough in the ...

There is something I have noticed lately - some big (as in famous, high profile) authors that I follow have been writing smaller works lately. No, this is not a complaint but a trend I have noticed recently, which is most likely coincidence. I am most likely (literally) reading too much into it.  Some of these works are a part of the world of their more famous writings, other times it is unrelated. Here are some examples. The Ocean at the End of the Lane  by Neil Gaiman Great book. My paperback copy clocks in at...178 pages of story, and it begins on page 3. The Wind Through the Keyhole  by Stephen King This is basically The Dark Tower  Book 4.5, but it was written after the seventh book, which is where the story ends. Making this book the 8th one published. my paperback begins on page 3, and is 384 pages. This title is longer than The Gunslinger , though that one is the first book in the series. The rest of the  Dark Tower  books have are longe...

It seems a couple months late with this, but luckily, still the same year.  This year, John Steinbeck's masterpiece classic, The Grapes of Wrath , turns 75. First published in 1939, Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize–winning epic of the Great Depression chronicles the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s and tells the story of one Oklahoma farm family, the Joads, driven from their homestead and forced to travel west to the promised land of California. Out of their trials and their repeated collisions against the hard realities of an America divided into haves and have-nots evolves a drama that is intensely human yet majestic in its scale and moral vision, elemental yet plainspoken, tragic but ultimately stirring in its human dignity. A portrait of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless, of one man’s fierce reaction to injustice, and of one woman’s stoical strength, the novel captures the horrors of the Great Depression and probes the very nature of equality and jus...

As you may well know by following this blog, I adore reading and books. Yup, the actual printed, physical book. I love my ereader and have even purchased ebooks on it, but the vast majority of my personal library is printed books.  Not only that, I've opted to get specific editions of books in my library. Most ordinary or average reader will most likely get a book to just have it - "Oh I feel like getting Narnia by CS Lewis...ah, there it is!" in the book store.  Now, I only own a few books as 'collector's items' (not to be read but to 'kept', and I do read the books I own, but I still like to take care of them as best as I can. When it comes to getting a series of books (Harry Potter, A Song of Ice and Fire , etc..) to me, they all have to 'match'. I can't switch between hardback and paperback within a series - it just odd on the shelf to me. Also, preferably to have matching cover art. There are a number of factors th...

The problem with being a reader, and one who visits bookstores often, is that you constantly discover new books and authors. When your reading pile is large, that can be a problem. However, the obvious benefit is that you get exposure to lets of (hopefully) good books.       That being said, one author who I've heard of in passing a few times over the years but haven't read yet, is Guy Gavriel Kay. Tolkien fans may recognize the name, as he worked with Christopher Tolkien on a little book called The Silmarillion . Wiki p edia states: When Christopher Tolkien needed an assistant to edit his father J. R. R. Tolkien 's unpublished work, he chose Kay, then a student of philosophy at the University of Manitoba , whose parents were friends of Baillie Tolkien's parents. Kay moved to Oxford in 1974 to assist Tolkien in the editing of The Silmarillion . There he learnt a lot about writing and editing, and later admitted of Tolkien's influ...

As you may know by reading this blog, I am a fantasy books. However, I'm not all that familiar with the genre. I know of the big names by fame mostly, or if a book (series) got adapted as a film. This post will focus on some un-sung (to me, anyways) fantasy books which may be worth your time. Please note, I haven't mentioned these before on this blog.

I just finished reading Catching Fire  (what an ending! good thing I have the set so I don't have to wait for the finale) and will start Mockingjay  as my next book when it's time to read next. As kind of a recap post, here are some books I recommend. They're somewhat lesser known in comparision to say, Harry Potter, Ice and Fire, Hunger Games,  for example.    His Dark Materials  omnibus by Philip Pullman Way of Kings  by Brandon Sanderson, first in the Stormlight series Pillars of the Earth  by Ken Follett Its sequel, W orld Without End Last Kingdom  by Bernard Cornwell, first in his 'Saxon Stories' series Divergent  by Veronica Roth, first in her trilogy Dragon's Path  by Daniel Abraham, first in the Dagger and Coin  series Hope you look into some of these. No matter what you are reading, or will read, enjoy!

I imagine many of you will be setting out to see The Hunger Games film at some point. Some before you’ve read the book, some after. I first heard of the series upon launch of the final book in the series, Mockingjay . I had never heard of the series nor the author before that point, so the fact that it was the finale to something I hadn’t heard of put me off slightly from checking it out at that time.I know they say not to judge a book by the cover, but Mockingjay has a sweet cover. (ed note: I love it when good books that covers that look nice too. Not that it matters, really, it's all about the text..but who wants to hold something ugly?) I’ll be honest and say that it’s because of Harry Potter that led to my interest for The Hunger Games Trilogy . I’d heard of its quality through Potter fans on message boards etc. And with Deathly Hallows: Part 2 coming out, Harry’s end was in sight. No more Potter novels (though I wouldn’t be surprised if we get more ...

Well, it's Christmas time/ holiday season, so that means gift cards! And buying gifts for others, of course. So I'm dedicating this post to some gift ideas, whether it's buying for others or yourself. Not for me, but I am a bit biased in that they are things I like....Price range varies.