30 Days of Books - Day 4
Day 04 - Your favorite book or series ever
Wow. This a tough one. I have read so many great books over the years, I honestly don't know if I can narrow it down to only one novel or series.
So I'm not going to :P
I'm going to choose two - the first is Garth Nix's Old Kingdom Trilogy because as I wrote earlier I love that world so deeply and it has been with me since I first discovered Fantasy as a young girl. It's equal parts fear and exhilaration, love and despair, loss and life and I recommend that ANYONE who hasn't read the books already to do so immediately or in the near future because in my opinion, it is the culmination of the best elements that Fantasy has to offer.
My second, equally favourite is another series, this one by Anne Bishop. Bishop is best know for her Dark Jewels Trilogy and the subsequent sequels and don't get me wrong, I love, love LOVE ALL of the Jewels books. Honestly, never has Fantasy been rendered in such darkling glory as with Janelle and Daemon Sadi and their family of light and dark; and so far, in my opinion no Fantasy author has equalled her for the ecstatic pain that she can invoke with her words.
But getting back do the damn series I was supposed to be talking about - Bishop has also written the Tir Alainn Trilogy and a more powerful, feminist, environmental, spiritual, awe inspiring series has never been written, especially in the realms of Fantasy, where the trope of woman-as-second-class-citizens can go un-contested - just another part of the well-trodden medieval world-building that many run of the mill Fantasy books are guilty of.
In Tir Alainn, Bishop actually uses this trope and turns it on its head. The women of the land, thanks to the insidious influence of their neighbouring province become hideously abused and badly treated but there is a stronger, far more powerful history than runs through the women and the very land that they live on that fights back with a vengeance, one that is completely female in its devastating glory. Through this, Bishop's women wield all the power and rage of Mother Nature at her most merciless. They also hold the deepest love and mercy that can be found in the human soul and this fantastic juxtaposition creates a tragic, beautiful story that engaged with me and with my passions in a way that has never happened before or since with a book. And I mean passion - it's the only book that has actually got me talking at or cajoling or even yelling at the book because of what was going on in the story. And if Garth Nix is the best entry into Fantasy for a non-reader, Anne Bishop is the best way to walk through the dark mirror and experience the intensity of feeling and the sweet sorrow of Dark Fantasy.
Read them. Read all of them. As Your Master I Command You...
Day 01 - A book series you wish had gone on longer OR a book series you wish would just freaking end already (or both!)
Day 02 - A book or series you wish more people were reading and talking about
Day 03 - The best book you’ve read in the last 12 months
Day 04 - Your favorite book or series ever
Day 05 - A book or series you hate
Day 06 - Favorite book of your favorite series OR your favorite book of all time
Day 07 - Least favorite plot device employed by way too many books you actually enjoyed otherwise
Day 08 - A book everyone should read at least once
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A book that disappointed you
Day 12 - A book or series of books you’ve read more than five times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood book OR current favorite YA book (or both!)
Day 14 - Favorite character in a book (of any sex or gender)
Day 15 - Your “comfort” book
Day 16 - Favorite poem or collection of poetry
Day 17 - Favorite story or collection of stories (short stories, novellas, novelettes, etc.)
Day 18 - Favorite beginning scene in a book
Day 19 - Favorite book cover (bonus points for posting an image!)
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite romantic/sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 22 - Favorite non-sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 23 - Most annoying character ever
Day 24 - Best quote from a novel
Day 25 - Any five books from your “to be read” stack
Day 26 - OMG WTF? OR most irritating/awful/annoying book ending
Day 27 - If a book contains ______, you will always read it (and a book or books that contain it)!
Day 28 - First favorite book or series obsession
Day 29 - Saddest character death OR best/most satisfying character death (or both!)
Day 30 - What book are you reading right now?
Wow. This a tough one. I have read so many great books over the years, I honestly don't know if I can narrow it down to only one novel or series.
So I'm not going to :P
I'm going to choose two - the first is Garth Nix's Old Kingdom Trilogy because as I wrote earlier I love that world so deeply and it has been with me since I first discovered Fantasy as a young girl. It's equal parts fear and exhilaration, love and despair, loss and life and I recommend that ANYONE who hasn't read the books already to do so immediately or in the near future because in my opinion, it is the culmination of the best elements that Fantasy has to offer.
My second, equally favourite is another series, this one by Anne Bishop. Bishop is best know for her Dark Jewels Trilogy and the subsequent sequels and don't get me wrong, I love, love LOVE ALL of the Jewels books. Honestly, never has Fantasy been rendered in such darkling glory as with Janelle and Daemon Sadi and their family of light and dark; and so far, in my opinion no Fantasy author has equalled her for the ecstatic pain that she can invoke with her words.
But getting back do the damn series I was supposed to be talking about - Bishop has also written the Tir Alainn Trilogy and a more powerful, feminist, environmental, spiritual, awe inspiring series has never been written, especially in the realms of Fantasy, where the trope of woman-as-second-class-citizens can go un-contested - just another part of the well-trodden medieval world-building that many run of the mill Fantasy books are guilty of.
In Tir Alainn, Bishop actually uses this trope and turns it on its head. The women of the land, thanks to the insidious influence of their neighbouring province become hideously abused and badly treated but there is a stronger, far more powerful history than runs through the women and the very land that they live on that fights back with a vengeance, one that is completely female in its devastating glory. Through this, Bishop's women wield all the power and rage of Mother Nature at her most merciless. They also hold the deepest love and mercy that can be found in the human soul and this fantastic juxtaposition creates a tragic, beautiful story that engaged with me and with my passions in a way that has never happened before or since with a book. And I mean passion - it's the only book that has actually got me talking at or cajoling or even yelling at the book because of what was going on in the story. And if Garth Nix is the best entry into Fantasy for a non-reader, Anne Bishop is the best way to walk through the dark mirror and experience the intensity of feeling and the sweet sorrow of Dark Fantasy.
Read them. Read all of them. As Your Master I Command You...
Day 01 - A book series you wish had gone on longer OR a book series you wish would just freaking end already (or both!)
Day 02 - A book or series you wish more people were reading and talking about
Day 03 - The best book you’ve read in the last 12 months
Day 04 - Your favorite book or series ever
Day 05 - A book or series you hate
Day 06 - Favorite book of your favorite series OR your favorite book of all time
Day 07 - Least favorite plot device employed by way too many books you actually enjoyed otherwise
Day 08 - A book everyone should read at least once
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A book that disappointed you
Day 12 - A book or series of books you’ve read more than five times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood book OR current favorite YA book (or both!)
Day 14 - Favorite character in a book (of any sex or gender)
Day 15 - Your “comfort” book
Day 16 - Favorite poem or collection of poetry
Day 17 - Favorite story or collection of stories (short stories, novellas, novelettes, etc.)
Day 18 - Favorite beginning scene in a book
Day 19 - Favorite book cover (bonus points for posting an image!)
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite romantic/sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 22 - Favorite non-sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 23 - Most annoying character ever
Day 24 - Best quote from a novel
Day 25 - Any five books from your “to be read” stack
Day 26 - OMG WTF? OR most irritating/awful/annoying book ending
Day 27 - If a book contains ______, you will always read it (and a book or books that contain it)!
Day 28 - First favorite book or series obsession
Day 29 - Saddest character death OR best/most satisfying character death (or both!)
Day 30 - What book are you reading right now?