A to Z Challenge

A to Z Challenge: Q is for Quotes

QAs the letter Q was quite tricky, in today’s A to Z Challenge post rather than writing about a particular book, I’ll focus on quotes from various books.

Some quotes become famous, and even people who haven’t read the books recognize them. One of such is definitely “Not all those who wander are lost” by J.R.R. Tolkien, another one would be “Winter is coming” from George R.R. Martin, or Leo Tolstoy’s “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” while others remain obscure save the fans of a particular book. (more…)

8 Comments
April 20, 2016
A to Z Challenge

A to Z Challenge: P is for “Primeval and Other Times”

PFor today’s A to Z Challenge post I have a Polish book, but a book that has actually been translated into English, so if you get interested in it, you’ll be able to check it out.

I first came across “Primeval and Other Times” (in Polish: ”Prawiek i inne czasy”) by Olga Tokarczuk in my high school class. It was the fourth year, we were trying to catch up with the material before the finals came, so we didn’t cover much of Polish contemporary fiction, and since I already was diving into speculative fiction, I didn’t have much interest in it. But an excerpt from “Primeval and Other Times” was used as an example in a class (I can hardly recall what it was used for, something related with the style), and it looked very promising, but wrapped up in the preparation to finals, I just remembered the title and the author. And, after all, it wasn’t my genre, so I didn’t lose much by not reading it, right?

As you can guess, I was wrong, but I didn’t learn it until much later, when I finally purchased the book. (more…)

3 Comments
April 19, 2016
A to Z Challenge

A to Z Challenge: O is for “The Orphan’s Tales”

OFor today’s A to Z Challenge post I’m once again going back to the familiar waters of speculative fiction, and will be sharing my impression of one of the most charming fantasy stories I’ve read in the recent decade.

I came across Catherynne M. Valente’s book in Uczta Wyobraźni (Feast of Imagination) series by a Polish publisher, MAG. “The Orphan’s Tales” is actually two books, “In the Night Garden” and “In the Cities of Coin and Spice”, but their structure makes them inseparable, so writing about them both seemed the best idea. (more…)

4 Comments
April 18, 2016
A to Z Challenge

A to Z Challenge: N is for Non-Fiction

NA little late this time, but for the letter N in the A to Z Challenge I have a genre instead of one book, and a genre… I don’t really read.

It’s not that I don’t like non-fiction, but with so many great fiction books out there, they seem to always fall to the end of my reading list. But every once a while I skip the fiction and pick up some non-fiction, and three very different books always pop up in my memory. (more…)

6 Comments
April 17, 2016
A to Z Challenge

A to Z Challenge: M is for “Miracle of Rare Design”

MFor today’s A to Z Challenge I’m coming back to the speculative genre with a book that is very special to me.

I first came across Mike Resnick’s books when my friend gave me his “Soothsayer”. I loved the concept and I loved the main character, a girl able to see possible futures and affect which one would happen, so I quickly read two other books in the trilogy (”Oracle” and “Prophet”), and then I searched for more by that author. This is how I came across “A Miracle of Rare Design”, though when I looked at the inconspicuous little book on the bookstore’s shelf, I didn’t know it would steal me for long hours, re-read after re-read. (more…)

5 Comments
April 15, 2016
A to Z Challenge

A to Z Challenge: L is for “A Little Princess”

LToday’s A to Z Challenge post will take me good 25 years back (if not more), to one of the most charming books I’ve read as a child. But truth to be told, it all started with a movie, not the book itself. If I recall correctly, it wasn’t the shortened and simplified version with young Shirley Temple, but a Japanese animated series. Of course, when I discovered “A Little Princess” is actually a book, I could not ignore it, and found it already waiting on my bookshelf where my mom had placed it. (more…)

11 Comments
April 14, 2016
A to Z Challenge

A to Z Challenge: K is for “The Key to Rebecca”

KAfter two rather obscure titles from Poland, my today’s A to Z Challenge is going to back to the safe waters of books in English, though I steer away from the speculative fiction, and will be writing about a book from another genre.

Before I dived into the depths or fantasy and science-fiction, when I’ve already ran out of adventure books to read (my library had a great selection… but I had a great amount of time and was always a fast reader), I started poking around my parents’ library. My mom already recommended some books to me, like the Count of Monte Christo, so I felt confident I’d find another great read on her bookshelf. This is how I came across thrillers. (more…)

11 Comments
April 13, 2016
A to Z Challenge

A to Z Challenge: J is for “Jeszcze jeden bohater” (“One More Hero”)

JFor today’s A to Z Challenge I have another title in Polish language, a short story by Robert M. Wegner. Please bear with me, tomorrow I’ll be back to more English-friendly reads.

Robert M. Wegner is one of the rising stars of Polish speculative fiction and is most well-known for his epic fantasy (often compared to Erikson’s series), but he doesn’t shy away from science-fiction, like the short story I’ll be writing about: “Jeszcze jeden bohater” (”One more hero”) published in the anthology “Herosi” (“Heroes”). (more…)

4 Comments
April 12, 2016
A to Z Challenge

A to Z Challenge: H is for Hyperion Cantos

HThe A to Z Challenge is a chance for me to re-visit books that left an impression in the past, and letter H brings a very special book.

I’ve already mentioned “Hyperion” by Dan Simmons in last year’s Myk’s Book Tag, and that it was a turning point in me getting more interested in science-fiction. I eyed the book in the library, one of the few that I hadn’t read by the time that kept sparking my interest. So I gave it a chance. (more…)

9 Comments
April 9, 2016