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The Hobbit
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien Published: 1937 With the movie coming out, I figured I should give The Hobbit another read. It’s my favourite book, more for sentimental reasons than technical, and this is my fourth or fifth time through it. The book has its flaws, but I find them easy to overlook. Some of my earliest memories are of my dad reading this to me as a child. I remember lying in bed every night excited to get back to the adventure. He’d even do the voices and terrify me with Gollum’s riddles. I found out recently that my mom used to stand and listen to him read from…
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The Lost World
The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle Published: 1912 Narrated by: Glen McCready I’ve really enjoyed Arthur Conan Doyle’s writing in the Sherlock novels, and I love a good old-fashioned adventure story, so I’m surprised it took me this long to end up at The Lost World. The story begins with Edward Malone, a young reporter, being friend-zoned by his love interest Gladys Hungerton. In order to win her heart, he must do something great with his life. So when the opportunity presents itself to join an expedition to a hidden land in South America, he doesn’t hesitate. Gladys is mainly a framing device and isn’t much part of the…
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Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy
Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy by Isaac Asimov Published: 1993 Every now and then I get a hankering to write some fiction, but writing is hard, so I usually just read a book about writing instead. I have a whole shelf of them, and this time I came across Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy while thumbing through. I bought and read this over ten years ago, but I couldn’t remember a damn thing about it. This is a collection of essays on different aspects of writing, from the fundamentals of plotting and dialogue right up to submitting manuscripts and dealing with editors. Isaac Asimov is listed as the author, but…
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Truth in Fiction
Salman Rushdie on why we shouldn’t write off science fiction and fantasy when looking for stories with an insight into human nature.
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The Book Thief
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Published: 2005 Narrated by: Allan Corduner Liesel Meminger’s mother left her to foster parents in an attempt to separate her from any Communist ties. We hear the story of her life, narrated by Death, as she grows up in the fictional German town of Molching amidst the Second World War. It’s a story about war and the Holocaust, about growing up bewildered in a world gone mad, but it’s also a story about a young girl finding solace and hope in books while learning to read. I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right. I…