Tagged: discussion

Discussion: Do You Listen to Audiobooks?

I’ve never really listened to Audiobooks personally but I’ve loved listening to podcasts for about 5 years or so now.  So when I got a chance to download a free audiobook thanks to Marc Secchia (who gifted me a copy of his book Aranya that I reviewed previously) I took it.  I’ve listened to about two hours out of fourteen so far and am actually quite impressed with the narrator.  She has a very pleasant deep voice and enough of an accent to emphasize the exotic nature of the story but not so much of an accent that I actually have to use all of my powers of concentration to make out what she’s saying.  In short, I think this was the perfect one to start with and you can check it out on Audible as well.

Will I make a habit of listening to audiobooks?  Certainly not.  I enjoy listening to Aranya because it’s a book I’ve read at least three times and thoroughly enjoyed but I don’t think I could concentrate enough for that long of a period of time to get all the nuances of a book I’ve never read.  It’s just not something that interests me.

But I want to hear your thoughts on this!  Do you listen to audiobooks?  If so, why?  If not, why?  What is one of the best audiobooks you’ve ever listened to?  Why?  Do you like it when narrators go full out with character accents or do you prefer a more calm reading of the text?

Discussion: Books You Love to Re-Read

Some books are so terrible they probably never should be read.  Some books are good but only really deserve a once-over.  Great books deserve multiple re-reads.  And since peoples’ tastes in books are so different, everyone has a different book that they love to read again and again and again.  I know I have several!

One of the books that I like to read at least once a year is The Return Man by V. M. Zito.  It’s such an unique, highly emotional zombie apocalypse story that every single time I read it I discover something new that I hadn’t noticed before.  The same goes for the entire Newsflesh trilogy by Mira Grant; you can’t help but love Shaun and Georgia.  One of my new favourite re-reads is Aranya by Marc Secchia because the fantasy world he created is so vivid that like the previous books, you discover something new every single time that you hadn’t noticed before.  I’ve re-read the entire Harry Potter series about once every two or three years since I was 9 years old (although when I was 9 not all of the books were out).  And I think I’ve re-read Diantha Jones’ Oracle of Delphi series at least three or four times since finishing the third and latest book in anticipation of the fourth book coming out soon.  I’m also currently re-reading A Song of Ice and Fire.

So what I want to know now is this: What are some of your favourite books to read over and over again?  Why?

Discussion: Writing About Controversial Topics

On Monday I published an article called “The Game of Thrones Rape Problem“.  I was honestly expecting death threats for daring to a) criticize a much-beloved show and b) to criticize it while being female.  Thankfully that has not been the case and it’s probably helped that my post really hasn’t received that many random views from search engines.  Controversial topics aren’t really all that new to me as a blogger, as you guys probably know from my (in)famous rants and these discussion posts.

However, I know that some bloggers deliberately avoid topics like sexual assault, race/diversity issues and gender inequality in fiction because it can bring down the wrath of the darkest corners of the internet down on your head.  I completely understand that because let’s face it: it’s really no fun getting rape or death threats from total strangers.  (Understatement of the year, I know.)  After my little confrontation with a certain author I am probably the last person to judge any blogger from shying away from controversial topics.

So what I want to discuss is this: Do you find yourself shying away from controversial topics?  If so, why?  If not, why?  And please, no judgment against fellow bloggers here.  We should all write within our comfort levels and I feel it’s important to discuss why or why not we feel safe talking about some topics but won’t touch others with a ten foot pole.

While I do talk about diversity, gender inequality and sexual assault in fiction I personally try to stay away from religion because in school I was bullied horrifically for daring to not be Roman Catholic.  I still find I have that particular hang up today, even when talking amongst family and friends because I’m so used to be told I’m going to hell for not worshipping the correct god or worshipping the correct god incorrectly.  Do you guys have any hang ups about similar topics, even in real life amongst close friends/family?

Discussion: Your Favourite Fantasy Creature

Most people enjoy a brand of fantasy, be it epic fantasy or urban fantasy or some variation of the two extremes, so to speak.  I personally enjoy pretty much all types of fantasy when it’s well-written and one of the things that makes it so is usually the fantasy creatures that inhabit the writer’s world.  What elevates some fantasy books from good to great is well thought out, unique fantasy creatures.  They don’t necessarily have to be completely unique, but I do like it when authors put a new spin on old tropes, particularly regarding vampires, werewolves and dragons.

Personally, my favourite fantasy creature is dragons.  I love dragons in fiction because there is really no canon dragon; each author most definitely has their own type.  Christopher Paolini in his Inheritance Cycle has dragons with riders that are just as intelligent, if not more than humans.  Marc Secchia has both dragons, dragon shapeshifters, Ancient Dragons and dragonets and his fantasy world is one of the best thought out of all the ones I’ve ever read.  Rachel Hartman’s math-loving, shape-shifting, highly analytical dragons are pretty cool as well.  Essentially, dragons are unique to the writer and that part of what makes me love them so much.

Now what I want to know is this: What is your favourite fantasy creature?  Why?

Discussion: Author Drama

It’s sort of known that in the book blogging community, at one time or another you are going to have author drama.  You can be the nicest, sweetest, most agreeable person ever and an author is pretty much guaranteed to attack you for one perceived slight or another.  It’s unfortunately inevitable, particularly if you’re like me and accept books from self-published authors, who are disproportionately responsible for author drama.  You can read of my experience with one such person here.

What I want to know is this: Have you, as a book blogger ever experienced author drama?  What happened?  Or, if you’re an author that does book reviews, have you ever been attacked by a fellow author?  Or, somewhat worse, if you’re an author that doesn’t review books have you ever been attacked by another author for a different reason?

Don’t name names here if you’re not comfortable doing so but I’d appreciate it if everyone would share their experiences.  The majority of author-blogger interactions are perfectly fine and even friendly but sometimes bad eggs crop up.  It’s unfortunately part of reviewing books online and I in no way mean to insinuate that only authors initiate drama; plenty of book reviewers do the exact same thing.