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Being a Book-a-holic

So here’s the thing, I don’t think I’ve really done a post like this before but I figure now is as good a time as any.

It should be quite obvious to anyone that I am a book-a-holic. It’s not a secret, not even a little bit of one. I unashamedly love reading, books and well all things booky, though sometimes films from books make me a little crazy, in a bad way.

Books though are no different from any other fandom. Those of us who love some authors can have fan girl or fan boy moments. One of my first was when I worked my first Matthew Reilly book signing; I asked when I could get my book signed and was told just add my book to the pile for the store – my response ‘no you don’t understand I will be meeting him,’ and that’s how I ended up working my first signing.

It was AWESOME!

Since then I have worked a few. I have also been fortunate enough to network with some of my fave authors and as such have met some.

Marianne de Pierres is truly lovely and such a generous lady with her time for fans and bloggers.

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This year I met Raymond E Feist – whose book Magician I read when I was 11 or 12 and loved it so much I read bits of it by torchlight when I was supposed to be asleep.

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I also got to meet Michael Pryor, who is a wonderful and fascinating conversationalist. I loved every minute of my time with him, just talking writing, processes and what ever else took our fancy.

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I have also met Jay Kristoff, who writes the Lotus War books. I even stayed in the same hotel as Jay this weekend just gone, how spun out was I? A bit.

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The thing is though for me these things are as cool as meeting the movie and tv show stars I get to meet at SupaNova and similar cons.

Fandom is an awesome thing and authors love to meet their fans and get positive feedback. You know I’ve gotten to witness some wonderful moments of fandom over the years and I don’t think fanboys and girls should ever be ashamed to put their hand up to acknowledge their fandom. Sadly I have seen some terrible things said in the name of fandom. There is never any time you should think a writer owes you, don’t ever tell them how to do their job. They don’t report to you.

(If you noticed that there are a couple of book covers instead of pics of me with the author it’s because sometimes it really isn’t appropriate to ask.)

And for heavens sake if there was something you thought wasn’t great, you don’t need to lambast them for it. They make their writers choices, you make readers ones. I will say though, I love meeting writers and don’t begrudge the fact that they like to do things other than writing. This topic is a whole other thing really so I’ll leave it there. I prefer to focus on the positive.

I love the places authors can take me to. I love to sink into their worlds and I love to meet them. Sure my ‘I love your work’, is unlikely to stand out amongst the others but each one counts. I think there is a Authors Appreciation Day, and if there isn’t there should be.

Also, next year I will be going to an event just to meet one of my other all time favourite authors- the incredible Tamora Pierce, and man will I ever be a fan girl. I’ll be the one with a bag of books for her to sign and if she only signs one well that will be fine because I will have gotten to say ‘wow I love your stuff and recommend it to as many people as I can’.

So if you haven’t already read anything written by these authors I’ve mentioned, do yourself a favour and do so.

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A Little Fun

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Magician

9780586217832By: Raymond E Feist

Pug is an orphan apprenticed to a Magician at Crydee, a frontier outpost. He never wanted to be a magician but he has a gift. When the peace of the Kingdom of the Isles is threatened by alien invaders Pug and his best friend Thomas are swept up into a conflict that will change the course of the entire kingdom. Pug’s destiny is to master the magic of two lands. Thomas is to inherit a powerful legacy that could destroy more than just himself if he can’t master it.

This is epic fantasy. It sweeps across worlds. There are heroes, dwarves, elves, magicians and mad kings. Pug’s arc is harsh as his journey takes him across two worlds, two very different cultures. He learns and he adapts. He was an orphan adopted into power, who grows beyond anything he could really have imagined. Thomas’s journey is that of finding his humanity. In Feist’s hands a simple war story sweeps across two incredibly designed worlds. He brings to life many characters that will stay with you. This is the first of many books set in the Kingdom and many characters who’s lives will draw you in.

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So you may wonder at such a short review of such a long (600 – 800+ pages depending on which edition you have). So here it is. I love this book. I love this series. I am a huge Feist fan, have been since Magician was first put into my hands when I was 12. This was the first book I tried to read by torchlight under my bed covers. When my teacher gave it to me in class I was so embarrassed. He put it on my desk, this great big volume and said he though I might like it. Like I didn’t have enough problems being the smart bookish one in a country high school where students were far more interested in your sporting prowess.

I couldn’t bring myself to read it at first. When he asked how I was going I lied and said it was good. So I thought I’d better at least try to read it. The rest, as the cliche goes, is history. I totally loved it. I kept going out and buying Feist books. In fact I have gone through several copies of the very first book and really need to replace Silverthorn and Darkness at Sethanon. In reality his was probably the first epic fantasy I ever read, and I never looked back. This is one of the books that created a love of the genre in me. Sure it isn’t really a YA book but so what. I read it when I was 12, it is totally accessible and not one of those books who has themes or stylistics that would suggest it is better suited to older readers.

I highly recommend this book.

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Also on the weekend I got to meet the man himself so I figure now is as good a time as any to throw this book into my Recommends and Old Favourites.

I won’t post a link because there are so many editions of this now.

Category:

Old Favourites, Topics and Recommendations

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