10 Stories to Experience with My Kid

My son is eighteen months old now, and he loves listening to stories, turning the pages of books, listening to music, and watching cartoons. I’m not sure how much of any of it he understands, but it’s exciting to watch him experience those things.

A colleague recently told me how he was watching through all of the Star Wars movies with his eight-year-old daughters, hoping to bring them to the theater to see The Rise of Skywalker. He managed to catch it with them just last week, and he said their reactions and excitement in the theater was well worth it.

That got me thinking about the types of stories — movies, books, TV — I’m looking forward to sharing with my son. So here’s my top 10. Continue reading “10 Stories to Experience with My Kid”

THE LONG PATROL Still Captures the Imagination

Sometimes a story just sticks with you. The words pass from the page through your eyes and are spun into vivid images in your mind. Occasionally, those images linger somewhere within you. Their presence may not always be obvious, but their echoes reverberate in quiet moments, reminders of those fleeting images. Continue reading “THE LONG PATROL Still Captures the Imagination”

Jason Concepcion on Why We Love Fantasy Stories

For those of you who are a) fans of good storytelling and b) fans of A Song of Ice and Fire  and HBO’s Game of Thrones, season 7 was probably disappointing. Without ranting on about it (today), I’ll just say that it was poorly written.

Jason Concepcion of the “Binge Mode” podcast on TheRinger.com has perfectly summed up my feelings on the season, and the weight that fantasy stories carry as a whole. Continue reading “Jason Concepcion on Why We Love Fantasy Stories”

Steve’s To Be Read List!

My reading has been slow this year, but I’ve made a concerted effort o branch out of my fantasy and/or history realms. After finishing Skylights a few weeks ago, I had to think about what I would read next.

Currently Reading…

The Long Patrol, by Brian Jacques

Image result for the long patrolI’ve talked about the Redwall  series a bit in this space. After spotlighting this very book as one of my all-time favorites last year, I decided I needed to go back and read it as an adult.

I probably read The Long Patrol three or four times before I was 16, but it has been a long time since my last venture into Jacques’s playful, but dangerous world. Forty-some pages in and I love it!

To Be Read… hopefully this year…

Lord of Chaos, by Robert Jordan

WoT06 LordOfChaos.jpgThis is book six of the Wheel of Time series. It has been several months since I read book five, so I feel like I need to read this before I forget everything. Entering book six of a 14-book series is a bit daunting, since the middle part of any series tends to drag a bit.

All the same, this one is shipping to my house as we speak (along with book seven, for good measure).

Caught, by M.L.S. Weech

Image result for caught mls weechShout-out to my blogging friend and fellow Marylander! I picked up Caught when I attended Weech’s launch event at a comic book shop in Glen Burnie.

This has been on my TBR shelf since then, and I swear I’m going to read it this year.

Caught happens to be a different flavor of book than I’m used to — speculative fiction — so I’m excited to dive into uncharted genre territory with an author I actually know (like, in real life). I trust that Weech will be an excellent guide.

Oriental Mythology, by Joseph Campbell

Image result for oriental mythology joseph campbellI need to mix up my reading list a bit with some more academically tinged writing. I started reading Volume II of Campbell’s four-volume series, The Masks of God some time ago.

I just never finished it. I read the first few chapters on the beach, and it was beautiful and poignant and eye-opening. I’m hoping to capture that feeling again when I go to OBX next month.

A Crown of Swords, by Robert Jordan

Image result for crown of swordsLet’s face it, I may just need to dive back into book seven of this mega-series to keep myself sated. I’d like to limit the number of books I read between each installment to less than five.

If I get through this novel relatively quickly, I’ll be halfway through the series, and it only would have taken me… three years!

Steve D

Friday Write-Day: Top 5 Favorite Books!

fwd-top-5-favorite-books

I was prompted earlier this week to post my top five favorite books of all time by Mr. MLS Weech, a real-live published author and blogger-buddy. So props to you sir, for making me want to write about my favorite books! (His blog is full of insightful pieces on the writing and publishing process – check it out.)

Now then, thinking about my favorite books was surprisingly difficult, because my reading preferences tend to fall into three broad and diverse categories: Continue reading “Friday Write-Day: Top 5 Favorite Books!”