Fluff Post
"Fluff" can take on a lot of meanings. Aside from the dictionary definition, it can mean your cloth diaper stash, your baby carrier/sling stash, or having a little extra padding around the middle. Today, it means "something of little substance or consequence."
I can't remember if I've mentioned this, but I adore reading. I feel very lucky to have been brought up in a family where we were more likely to sit around in the evenings with books, rather than around a television. As sedentary activities go, it's probably one of the more mentally stimulating.
And the great thing about a good book is that it can take you away from life. Not that my life is a terrible thing that I need to escape from, but let's admit it - everyday life is mundane. Waking, sleeping, eating, commuting, working - all rote. Sure, there's joy to be found in small things, accomplishment in work well done. But it's a constant ho-hum. Motherhood is certainly one of life's greater joys - but once the newness of it rubs off (and it does), books start to regain their allure.
I've always been a fan of fantasy. When I was very young, I remember pouring over Madeline L'Engal, C.S. Louis, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. As I got older, I found L.J. Smith, R.L. Stein, Christopher Pike. And then one day I discovered Mercedes Lackey.
It was the artwork that did it, Jody Lee's paintings and drawings are absolutely beautiful. Every writer who has been fortunate enough to have her design their book covers should thank their lucky stars.
My first Lackey book was Winds of Fate. The cover looked fascinating - a girl with a sword, a horse, and a boy with an arrow. That trilogy got me into the world of Valdemar, and hooked me on to Mercedes Lackey - and the world of fantasy - for life. I was 12. Now, 15 years later, I own most of her books. A few of them, I've read at least a dozen times since.
Which brings me back to the reason for today's post - I've lately been re-reading Jacqueline Carey's epic Kushiel's series. For fantasy lovers, this series is a must-read. It's got all the trappings of a serious fantasy epic - while it doesn't start in medias res, most everything is recounted from a point of perspective, which serves a similar intention. The heroine is amazing. The writing is superb. Each book (and there are 6 in this series, 2 in the subsequent) takes you across the globe and back, on foot, by sea, by accident and intention. The writing takes your heart and holds it in a vise - you feel the characters' pains, longings, fears and joys.
I just finished book 6. It was soo good! And it was my second read-through.
I can't remember if I've mentioned this, but I adore reading. I feel very lucky to have been brought up in a family where we were more likely to sit around in the evenings with books, rather than around a television. As sedentary activities go, it's probably one of the more mentally stimulating.
And the great thing about a good book is that it can take you away from life. Not that my life is a terrible thing that I need to escape from, but let's admit it - everyday life is mundane. Waking, sleeping, eating, commuting, working - all rote. Sure, there's joy to be found in small things, accomplishment in work well done. But it's a constant ho-hum. Motherhood is certainly one of life's greater joys - but once the newness of it rubs off (and it does), books start to regain their allure.
I've always been a fan of fantasy. When I was very young, I remember pouring over Madeline L'Engal, C.S. Louis, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. As I got older, I found L.J. Smith, R.L. Stein, Christopher Pike. And then one day I discovered Mercedes Lackey.
It was the artwork that did it, Jody Lee's paintings and drawings are absolutely beautiful. Every writer who has been fortunate enough to have her design their book covers should thank their lucky stars.
My first Lackey book was Winds of Fate. The cover looked fascinating - a girl with a sword, a horse, and a boy with an arrow. That trilogy got me into the world of Valdemar, and hooked me on to Mercedes Lackey - and the world of fantasy - for life. I was 12. Now, 15 years later, I own most of her books. A few of them, I've read at least a dozen times since.
My first Lackey book was Winds of Fate. The cover looked fascinating - a girl with a sword, a horse, and a boy with an arrow. That trilogy got me into the world of Valdemar, and hooked me on to Mercedes Lackey - and the world of fantasy - for life. I was 12. Now, 15 years later, I own most of her books. A few of them, I've read at least a dozen times since.Which brings me back to the reason for today's post - I've lately been re-reading Jacqueline Carey's epic Kushiel's series. For fantasy lovers, this series is a must-read. It's got all the trappings of a serious fantasy epic - while it doesn't start in medias res, most everything is recounted from a point of perspective, which serves a similar intention. The heroine is amazing. The writing is superb. Each book (and there are 6 in this series, 2 in the subsequent) takes you across the globe and back, on foot, by sea, by accident and intention. The writing takes your heart and holds it in a vise - you feel the characters' pains, longings, fears and joys.
I just finished book 6. It was soo good! And it was my second read-through.
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