Some habits die hard, I guess. Some return. This will be a post about one of them: how I found reading before sleep appealing now in my late twenties and some retrospective on that matter, including my reading habits and some inspiration.
Tag Archives: Books
Book review: Ordination
This is one of the first books I’ve read after buying Kindle in 2016. One of my most favorite, still. And the first I’ve re-read for the third time already with the third book coming out in a matter of days. It’s a bit strange to write a review for it now. Anyway, here it comes.
Storytelling: morals
Welcome to another jumble of thoughts related to books and stories. The book I’m currently re-reading (review coming in the next few days) led me to think about morals and the impact on characters.
Storytelling: tying up the ends
This is a thought that I had a few times at the end of a longer series, especially if the world-building was complex and many factions took part in it. Some of these will have longer ends, adding several pages and chapters even after the threat is dealt with to show how its demise changed the people and the world.
I think that Paolini’s Inheritance series is one of those with a longer ending. Some even ask if the last 60 pages are worth reading and I admit I was surprised when I saw 80% done (or, 20 to go) on my e-reader when Eragon fought Galbatorix. The ending, as long as it is, shows the impact of the political turmoil created during and after Galbatorix’s reign and how his fall changes it.
Of course, not all series have the story written in a way that requires tying up several loose ends to make the story feel truly finished. To some, these parts are not even necessary – all they want to know is who won and that’s it. Yet, it might feel more complete if there’s an end that shows how the world changed beyond the tyrant’s death.
Why am I mentioning all of this? After finishing the Chronicles of the Black Gate series ending with The White Song (my review), I expected longer ending. Maybe not in the scope of Inheritance but definitely longer than a single chapter.
It can also be spread out more – characters can have plans about the situation before it gets there (which is definitely the case in White Song) but even then, for me, it’d be nice to see at least a hint that some of the possibilities either came to pass or was put in motion.
I’m curious about what the books I’ll read in the coming month and years be like in this regard. Will I see more books with a simple ending just knowing that the threat is gone, or will I see more with a detailed ending? Time will tell.
Feel free to add your opinion on endings in books.
Stories and emotions
Some recent ‘events’ led me to think about the emotions created by stories, in any form. Be it a book, a movie, or even a video game; a good story should probably create some emotions in those who ‘consume’ it. But, is there a thing like going too far?
Book review: The White Song
After taking a two-week break from reading, I finally returned to the fifth and final book in ‘Chronicles of the Black Gate’ series. The grand finale. So, without much fumbling around, I go for the review.
Writing: choosing a sample
As I mentioned before, I am getting ready to get to beta with my fantasy story. There’s some more editing and fluff removal to be done. What I’m thinking about these moments is something I’d use as a sample people could freely have a look at and decide whether my story is something they should give a try.
It’s quite a difficult decision.
Book review: The siege of Abythos
The third book in the series started by The Path of Flames, it picks up pretty much where the second book left off, the morning after the battle for Mythgrafen hold besieged by the demons. The stories of different characters will start getting complicated and more complex as the situation escalates.
As with the second book, the third follows several threads of the main story. Many of them will eventually converge by the end.
By the book’s half, it very visible that it’s all going down and that it’s not so much about who might win but about how big mess it’ll be – which helps the pace for a book that’s slightly longer than the previous two.
Fantasy thoughts: battle scars
I am back with another jumble of thoughts about something that is part of any violent story, not only limited to fantasy though it’s fantasy I read the most so my prevalent point of view will be for that genre.
Heroes and villains will both go through much and not everyone is lucky to emerge without at least a token of remembrance for the perils endured. And based on several factors, how the character and those around him perceive battle scars can vary.
Something about TBR and series
A friend once said: “the larger an HDD is, the faster it gets filled”. I realized that I could say the same about my ‘to be read’ list – it can grow faster than I can reduce it by reading the books listed there.
At this point, the excel file with potential TBRs is 70 items long and most of them are in series, ranging in length usually between 3 and 6 books. If I average it at 4 and add to it some classics that I don’t bother to put there, it gets me somewhere to potentially 300+ books. That is without counting books that will continue existing series (as I don’t put those to that file). Even if some might not make it out of the TBR list, the choice is still quite large and I keep discovering new TBR candidates every now and then.
So, I’ll go into some factors I have for choosing a book to read as well as to factors about adding them to the TBR list.
Tomas - the wandering dreamer 
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