Category: Opinion Piece
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My Top 10 Recommended Books – September 2023
10 Recommended Books/Book Series – as of September 2023 After carefully considering the two bookshelves of all the books I’ve read so far, I’ve compiled a list of the books I’d most recommend to others and why. Instead of ranking these books—since it’s so hard to decide—I’ve ordered them alphabetically by author last name. Clare,…
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Books vs TV vs Movies
There isn’t really much to compare here since I love each of these things for different reasons, and not everyone will think the same—some people just don’t like reading; some just don’t like movies. But, for the sake of this argument, I’ve made a list of pros and cons of each category according to my…
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Angels & Demons in Fiction
Since finishing another of Cassandra Clare’s series, The Infernal Devices, I was inspired to write this article, talking about angels and demons, and how they are typically handled in fiction. Since both (and especially demons) show up in religious texts all over the world, there are many different interpretations of them, though most of the…
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Romance in Fiction
This’ll probably be a more controversial topic—especially for those out there who love romance books—but I don’t like cheesy love stories. Love triangles are sort of a bore too, if they’re splattered with clichés, and unless the point of the story is to show a toxic relationship or bring light to degrading stereotypes, I won’t…
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Deities in Fiction
Whether you’re incorporating real-world gods into your book, or you’ve created your own pantheon, deities are some of the most difficult to write because humans are not immortal. How can you think like one? How can you determine what an immortal would think is important, considering they have all the time—and often all the power—in…
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Powers in Fiction
Often in books—fantasy and science-fiction mostly—supernatural powers are involved. This could be powers bestowed by a deity (shadowhunters from The Mortal Instruments), by a science experiment (Captain America from Marvel), by magic (magic itself, or powers bestowed by a magical being), or simply through biology (aliens). Whether it be by any of these methods or…
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Heroes in Fiction
[Cover image by TylerWalpole on Deviantart] “Heroes always win.” “Good always prevails.” You’ve probably heard this before, but have you given any thought as to why? People love heroes. They love seeing them win, but they also love to see heroes fall, fail, lose, only to rise again and defeat the enemy. It’s in the…
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The Rise and Fall of a Franchise
Sometimes, when a book franchise is popular enough, it receives what every author dreams of—a movie or TV series contract. For the Harry Potter series, first published in 1997, it was only a matter of time before movies hit the screens. Despite minor missteps in the movies (see: “calmly”, book 4), the popularity of the…
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Dragons in Fiction
Dragons and dragon-like beings permeate history and culture across the world. From the typical European interpretation to their Asian cousins, to Africa and Central America and the Middle East. They differ vastly from one another and go by different names, but they are all, inherently, mythological and majestic creatures. [A handy chart highlighting some of…
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Physical vs. eBook vs. Audiobook
Reading comes in different forms, and so do people’s reading habits. Some don’t read at all. Some only read physical books that smell like old paper and dust. Some read magazines or newspapers or websites. Whether you read romance, science-fiction, crime, or anything else, reading is something you probably enjoy. So what’s the best way…