Tag: Books: Fantasy

Tolkien Reading Day!

Posted 25 March, 2018 by Lianne in Books / 2 Comments


(image source)

Launched in 2003 Tolkien Reading Day event has sparked interest in reading and reading groups across several nations and ages, from primary schoolchildren to university students and library users of all ages. 25th March has significance to Tolkien’s readers, as it is the day of the Downfall of Sauron at the conclusion of the ‘War of the Ring’ in The Lord of the Rings.

– more information about the event here

According to the Tolkien Society, the theme this year is ‘Home and Hearth: the many ways of being a Hobbit.

Lovely topic for this year’s Tolkien Reading Day! Of course reading the book or watching the movie for the first time you’re immediately drawn to the actions surrounding the world of Men, the Elves, the Dwarves, etc. But as the years go by I find myself more and more appreciative of hobbits and their life and their appreciation and love of home and food and family and friends and all in all the quiet life.

I’m just going to leave this video here because it pretty much embodies what I mean about hobbits:

What do you think about hobbits, lol? How will you be celebrating Tolkien Reading Day? If you’re a regular follower of my blog you know that I’ve been just so busy lately. But I’ve been meaning to re-read LOTR so despite of everything that’s going on, I’ve settled in and started re-reading The Fellowship of the Ring. Good times 😀

Review: Edgedancer

Posted 5 March, 2018 by Lianne in Books / 0 Comments

Edgedancer (The Stormlight Archive #2.5)
By: Brandon Sanderson
Format/Source: Hardback; my purchase

Three years ago, Lift asked a goddess to stop her from growing older–a wish she believed was granted. Now, in Edgedancer, the barely teenage nascent Knight Radiant finds that time stands still for no one. Although the young Azish emperor granted her safe haven from an executioner she knows only as Darkness, court life is suffocating the free-spirited Lift, who can’t help heading to Yeddaw when she hears the relentless Darkness is there hunting people like her with budding powers. The downtrodden in Yeddaw have no champion, and Lift knows she must seize this awesome responsibility.

I picked this book up because it was pretty cool that the novella got its own hardback. On the other hand I am woefully behind in The Stormlight Archives and still have the second book sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be read. But eh, I figured I can go ahead and read it, should be enough of a standalone to read.

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Books: A Batch of Mini-Reviews

Posted 9 February, 2018 by Lianne in Books / 0 Comments

First batch of mini book reviews for the new year! The following are books that I read recently or from last year that I never got around to writing full book reviews for. Included in this batch are:


Luminae
By: Allison Marie Conway
Format/Source: Paperback; my purchase

A seductive mix of poetry and prose, Luminae is about soul-searching, longing, finding your truth, and feeling comfortable with an inner being who is both tender and strong.

Luminae will resonate with intuitive souls, those who yearn to explore the wild depths of their true nature, and who believe they must hold sacred both the darkness and the light, without turning their backs on love. It speaks to those who embrace the totality of the human experience—even the difficult, ugly, and messy parts.

Our chaotic world is starved for wholehearted, compassionate words like these. Now, more than ever, is the time to quiet the outside noise and come home to the splendor, power, and magic of yourself.

Now is the time to experience Luminae.

I actually read this collection late last year after having followed her poetry IG for some time. The book blurb is pretty apt in that her works are a bit about soul searching, of what is and what can be. On a personal note, and I don’t think I mentioned it previously, but I’ve come to the conclusion that I prefer just straight up short–not necessarily micro–format poetry over poetic prose (I don’t know the actual term for them but they’re like mini essays). Nonetheless I like her poetry, some of them resonated with me and I enjoyed reading her collection.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

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Review: Beren and Luthien

Posted 6 November, 2017 by Lianne in Books / 3 Comments

Beren & Luthien
By: J.R.R. Tolkien
Format/Source: Hardback; my purchase

Painstakingly restored from Tolkien’s manuscripts and presented for the first time as a fully continuous and standalone story, the epic tale of Beren and LĂșthien will reunite fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Men, Dwarves and Orcs and the rich landscape and creatures unique to Tolkien’s Middle-earth. The tale of Beren and LĂșthien was, or became, an essential element in the evolution of The Silmarillion, the myths and legends of the First Age of the World conceived by J.R.R. Tolkien. Returning from France and the battle of the Somme at the end of 1916, he wrote the tale in the following year.

Essential to the story, and never changed, is the fate that shadowed the love of Beren and LĂșthien: for Beren was a mortal man, but LĂșthien was an immortal Elf. Her father, a great Elvish lord, in deep opposition to Beren, imposed on him an impossible task that he must perform before he might wed LĂșthien. This is the kernel of the legend; and it leads to the supremely heroic attempt of Beren and LĂșthien together to rob the greatest of all evil beings, Melkor, called Morgoth, the Black Enemy, of a Silmaril.

In this book Christopher Tolkien has attempted to extract the story of Beren and LĂșthien from the comprehensive work in which it was embedded; but that story was itself changing as it developed new associations within the larger history. To show something of the process whereby this legend of Middle-earth evolved over the years, he has told the story in his father’s own words by giving, first, its original form, and then passages in prose and verse from later texts that illustrate the narrative as it changed. Presented together for the first time, they reveal aspects of the story, both in event and in narrative immediacy, that were afterwards lost.

Don’t get me wrong, I love that we’re still getting Tolkien material at an almost yearly basis, but LMAO that he’s getting more stuff out whereas George R.R. Martin is nowhere (supposedly) near releasing The Winds of Winter *shrugs* But anyway, I was very excited to get my hands ont his book since hearing about it as every Tolkienite knows of the story of Beren and Luthien.

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So You Want to Read… (Robert Shearman)

Posted 25 October, 2017 by Lianne in Lists / 0 Comments

So You Want to Read… is a monthly feature here on eclectictales.com in which I recommend books by particular authors to readers who have never read a book from certain authors and would like to start. I’m always happy to recommend books and certain authors to my fellow readers and bloggers! 🙂

Happy October! For this edition of So You Want to Read…, I decided to feature Robert Shearman (see author tag). Seemed fitting as Hallowe’en is around the corner and his short stories can be pretty strange and eerie, just perfect for the season. Think Neil Gaiman but even more out there. But at the same time his stories really touch on some deeper human conditions and reactions to situations. I’m always excited when I learn that there’s a new collection of short stories out there by him because I know I’m in for a treat.

First time reading Robert Shearman’s works? Here’s my recommendations on where to start:

  • Remember Why You Fear Me (review) — This was the first book I read by him, it still remains a favourite by him and the first I’d recommend. Perhaps especially perfect for the Hallowe’en season as some of the scenarios sound especially macabre, the collection is quite solid and thematically it’s quite rich.

  • They Do The Same Things Different There (review) — I described this collection as quite eclectic in that I found myself wondering a lot of the times what’s so different about the setting of the story or what’s the odd feature about this story and that. There’s still the eerie/creepy factor to them but again they’re thought-provoking and quite clever.

  • Tiny Deaths (review) — This collection was pretty interesting in that the overarching theme of death and its various manifestations and impact really bound the stories together (well, except one, IMO; might’ve missed the linking detail there). Sure, some of the stories were familiar as they reappeared in the above two volumes, but nonetheless it’s a great collection on the whole.



And that’s my list! If you’ve read Robert Shearman’s books, which one is your favourite? Which would you recommend for first-time readers? Or which books have you been meaning to get around to reading? Let me know, I’d love to hear from you! 🙂