Epic Reads

Yesterday on the podcast, Christen led off a discussion about some of our favorite fantasy fiction with a comparison of J. R. R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” vs. J. K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series. I love discussions like these because they often lead us into some very unexpected places, like comparisons of the strength of female characters and then into other fantasy realms altogether, like J. R. R. Martin’s “Game of Thrones.” And while we may not always be factually accurate, it’s fun to discover that we each favored different characters and took away different bits of insight and observation. Sometimes I feel like we could just keep talking for hours, and sometimes we have. Some episodes end and I just can’t wait to write up my blog post and share all the things I forgot to say. That day is not today.

I’m not sure why, but I feel drained from comparing the two storylines. I love both. So instead, I thought I’d throw out a few other favorite fantasy books and series.  So, listed here in no particular order are my 10 favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Gothic Fiction series that are not the focus of one or more Modern Musings podcasts:

• The Expanse by James S. A. Corey

• A Song of Ice and Fire by J. R. R. Martin

• The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis

• The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

• Dune Chronicles by Frank Herbert, Brian Herbert, et. al

• The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice

• Lives of the Mayfair Witches by Anne Rice

• 2001: A Space Odyssey (et. al)  by Arthur C. Clark

• Larry Niven’s Known Space

• The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins

• The Wicked Years by Gregory Maguire

• Ender's Game (series) by Orson Scott Card

And because I can’t leave the list without mentioning two of my favorite historical fiction writers:

• Asian Saga by James Clavell

• The collective works of James Michener

Of course, this is not a complete list of my favorite authors and books by any means…there are many, many fine books and series that I have loved – too many to name them all! And after pouring through this list, I see that some have a few new additions.  It might be time to revisit these series again!

What about you? Do you have a favorite Sci-Fi or Fantasy series? Tell me about it! Is it one that I didn’t mention? Let me know because I might want to read it, too!

National Novel Writing Month

Happy Halloween everyone! I hope our readers have safe Halloween plans for this evening. Today, I dressed up as a literary character for my school’s spooky celebrations; I am dressed up as Elphaba from the book and musical Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. The novel is a reimagining of the Wicked Witch of the West character in Frank L. Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Speaking of novels, this week on the podcast we are talking about National Novel Writing Month, which begins on November first. As a writer, National Novel Writing Month is one of my favorite writing “holidays.” Sure, other cool things happen in November (such as Thanksgiving and my birthday), but this time of year always makes me inspired to sit down and write! Getting the motivation to do it is another story.

What is National Novel Writing Month? According to NaNoWriMo, a nonprofit dedicated to helping struggling writers and education programs, National Novel Writing Month started in 1999 as a challenge to write 50,000 words of a novel in 30 days. As of last year, the writing event spans 671 regions and hosts 427, 653 participants. NaNoWriMo even has a Young Writer’s program for students and educators. 

Popular novels that have spawned from National Novel Writing Month:

• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
• Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
• Cinder by Marissa Meyer

This year, I hope to participate in the event myself. I try every year, but I never complete 50,000 words and sometimes I don’t complete one word. So, I’m going to start small and write a short story. That’s not hard, right? I think the biggest problem for me is getting started, the result, when I write, is always so satisfying. 

So, I am issuing a challenge to our readers and my co-hosts, and I will also be issuing this challenge in my classroom: start small and write one short story (at least a page in length) that has an element of Magical Realism. What is Magical Realism? It is a style of fiction that depicts a realistic view of the world but adds magical elements. Magical realism often crosses the lines between fantasy and reality.

I want to hear from our readers. Do you participate in National Novel Writing Month? Do you complete the challenge? What other writing challenges do you participate in? Let’s continue the conversation below.