Menu Close

Tag: Lovely Books

Lovely Books // quotes

Tracey Dyck 18 Comments

Welcome back, my bookish adventurers, to the fourth and final round of Lovely Books! We started with our first impressions of novels–covers and titles, which we can all agree are very important. But once readers get past the front of a book, they find out very quickly what the story is made of. So we chatted about favorite couples and villains, because characters are often a deal breaker. Well-crafted ones latch onto our hearts and never let go, but shallow or inconsistent characters fall flat and leave us with a stale taste in our mouths.
So. Great covers, check. Great characters, check. But what about the writing? The actual words on a page? The cover can be gorgeous, the characters can be engaging, but if the sentences clunk along, we start losing interest.
I’ve been looking forward to this edition the most, to be honest. Because nothing makes my heart swell with happiness as much as beautiful passages, profound scenes, laugh-till-your-sides-ache dialogue, clever narrative, or scrumptious description. This is the real meat of a story.

Prepare for a deluge!

“I had forgotten that,” said Eomer. “It is hard to be sure of anything among so many marvels. The world is all grown strange. Elf and Dwarf in company walk in our daily fields; and folk speak with the Lady of the Wood and yet live; and the Sword comes back to war that was broken in the long ages ere the fathers of our fathers rode into the Mark! How shall a man judge what to do in such times?”

“As he ever has judged,” said Aragorn. “Good and ill have not changed since yesteryear; nor are they one thing among Elves and Dwarves and another among Men. It is a man’s part to discern them, as much in the Golden Wood as in his own house.”

–The Two Towers, J.R.R. Tolkien
“Wait a minute!” cried Gimli. “There is another thing that I should like to know first. Was it you, Gandalf, or Saruman that we saw last night?”
“You certainly did not see me,” answered Gandalf, “therefore I must guess that you saw Saruman. Evidently we look so much alike that your desire to make an incurable dent in my hat must be excused.”
–The Two Towers, J.R.R. Tolkien
It seemed to Frodo then that he heard, quite plainly but far off, voices out of the past:
What a pity Bilbo did not stab the vile creature, when he had the chance!
Pity? It was Pity that stayed his hand. Pity, and Mercy: not to strike without need.
I do not feel any pity for Gollum. He deserves death.
Deserves death! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some die that deserve life. Can you give that to them? Then be not too eager to deal out death in the name of justice, fearing for your own safety. Even the wise cannot see all ends.
–The Two Towers, J.R.R. Tolkien
“You know,” he said as he dabbed her eyes. “I don’t believe we’ve been introduced. I’m Fenworth, bog wizard of Amara. This is my esteemed librarian, Trevithick Librettowit. He’s been known to be in a better mood from time to time, but we must make allowances. He prefers a good book, a comfy chair, a plate of daggarts, tea, and a fire in the fireplace. Unfortunately, we are often called to adventure. Slaying damsels, rescuing dragons in distress, collapsing kingdoms, thwarting evil, purging plagues, that sort of thing.”
–Dragons of the Valley, Donita K. Paul
[Fenworth] “Logic. Logic is a funny thing. Works when things are progressing logically and is totally undependable when variances poke their long noses into the regular way of things.”
Librettowit spoke around a mouthful of gooey pie. “Don’t think you can say that variances possess noses with which they poke.”
“Ah!” Fenworth looked fondly at his librarian, then winked at Bealomondore. “I’ve missed him, you know. Did you note how he did not end the sentence with a preposition? It’s a good trait in a learned man, the ability to speak a sentence properly arranged. But the variance with a nose is a figure of speech, not meant to be taken literally.”
–Dragons of the Valley, Donita K. Paul
[Gandalf] “…And so a great evil of this world will be removed. Other evils there are that may come; for Sauron is himself but a servant or emissary. Yet it is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule.”
–The Return of the King, J.R.R. Tolkien
Warney made after his friend, gnawing on questions that Krawg’s campfire tale about Tammos Raak and the starcrown trees had inspired. “Why’d they call them starcrowns?”
“The way they caught stars in their branches.”
“And Mawrnash, where they grew . . . How’d it get a name like that?”

“Why, for the Mawrn, of course.” Krawg climbed over a fallen tree and staggered down a steep riverbank, his feet punching up gobs of mud with each step. “You hear me comin’, fish? Comin’ to getcha!”
“Mawrn, Mawrn. That does me no good if’n I don’t know what a Mawrn is, Krawg.”
–Raven’s Ladder, Jeffrey Overstreet
“Tell the Keeper,” [Cal-raven] whispered, “that I don’t know where to go from here . . . When I was a child, I’d have called out myself. It was easier then to believe.”
–Raven’s Ladder, Jeffrey Overstreet
[source]
Mr. Gilmer asked him one more question. “About your writing with your left hand, are you ambidextrous, Mr. Ewell?”
“I most positively am not, I can use one hand good as the other. One hand good as the other,” he added, glaring at the defense table.
–To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
“They almost sold us once, Mummy and Pa.” Wynn confessed this quietly, perhaps to Cortie, perhaps to the ale boy. Perhaps to himself. “They were gonna trade us to Bel Amican Seers. But then they didn’t. They packed up their things, real fastlike. We rode away. We were hungry. But we were together.” He embraced Cortie tight.
The ale boy felt his resistance failing. Emotion swelled in his throat, even though he could not fathom what the boy was feeling.
“Can I cry now?” Wynn whispered.
The ale boy patted him on the shoulder. “Of course,” he said, choking. “I’ll cry with you.”
–Cyndere’s Midnight, Jeffrey Overstreet
An elderly lady stood in the doorway–she was plump the way grannies sometimes are, pillowy and huggable-looking. She kept her white hair tied back behind her head in a poufy bun. She grinned at us and clapped her hands and ran down the ramp, squealing.
“Should I be afraid?” I asked.
“Charlie Sue Hancock is Oliver’s assistant. She gets excited over company.”
Charlie Sue ran at us full speed, both arms straight out like she might take off and fly.
“Should I duck?”
But I didn’t have time to duck. Instead I OOFED! as Charlie Sue swooped in and flung her arms around me and Jonah both. She smelled like coffee and expensive perfume.
“Welcome to Midnight Gulch, Felicity Pickle!” she hollered, pushing me back to take a good look at me.
–A Snicker of Magic, Natalie Lloyd
“Felicity darlin’,” she drawled, “you know what helped me figure out how to put my words together? Music. Music gets my words where they need to go. So you keep catching them words, you hear? Pluck them out of the wind. String them together like the finest set of pearls. Line them up on paper. And if it hurts too much to say them, then you sing them, or whisper them, or write them into a story. But don’t waste them. Your words matter more than you know. You hear?”
–A Snicker of Magic, Natalie Lloyd
“I don’t like how stories always end with folks riding into a sunset,” Mama said. “I’ve never cared for that. I’d rather ride all the way to the end and see that there’s a sunrise still waiting for me. Morning in my eyes, stars at my back.”
–A Snicker of Magic, Natalie Lloyd
[source]
It would be nice, and fairly true, to say that “from that time forth Eustace was a different boy.” To be strictly accurate, he began to be a different boy. He had relapses. There were still many days when he could be very tiresome. But most of those I shall not notice. The cure had begun.
–The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, C.S. Lewis
“You are too old, children,” said Aslan, “and you must begin to come close to your own world now.”
“It isn’t Narnia, you know,” sobbed Lucy. “It’s you. We shan’t meet you there. And how can we live, never meeting you?”
“But you shall meet me, dear one,” said Aslan.
“Are–are you there too, Sir?” said Edmund.
“I am,” said Aslan. “But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.”
–The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, C.S. Lewis
Do right. Fear nothing.
–Crazy Dangerous, Andrew Klavan
“Tu-whoo! Ahem! Lord Regent,” said the Owl, stooping down a little and holding its beak near the Dwarf’s ear.
“Heh? What’s that?” said the Dwarf.
“Two strangers, my lord,” said the Owl.
“Rangers! What d’ye mean?” said the Dwarf. “I see two uncommonly grubby man-cubs. What do they want?”
“My name’s Jill,” said Jill, pressing forward. She was very eager to explain the important business on which they had come.
“The girl’s called Jill,” said the Owl, as loud as it could.
“What’s that?” said the Dwarf. “The girls are all killed! I don’t believe a word of it. What girls? Who killed ’em?”
–The Silver Chair, C.S. Lewis
“Don’t you lose heart, Pole,” said Puddleglum. “I’m coming, sure and certain. I’m not going to lose an opportunity like this. It will do me good. They all say–I mean, the other wiggles all say–that I’m too flighty; don’t take life seriously enough. If they’ve said it once, they’ve said it a thousand times. ‘Puddleglum,’ they’ve said, ‘you’re altogether too full of bobance and bounce and high spirits. You’ve got to learn that life isn’t all fricasseed frogs and eel pie. You want something to sober you down a bit. We’re only saying it for your own good, Puddleglum.’ That’s what they say. Now a job like this–a journey up north just as winter’s beginning, looking for a prince who probably isn’t there, by way of a ruined city that no one has ever seen–will be just the thing. If that doesn’t steady a chap, I don’t know what will.”
–The Silver Chair, C.S. Lewis
Dive deep. Drown willingly.
–White, Ted Dekker
“What love can you possible need from the world if you are full of His? None.”
–Outlaw, Ted Dekker
“There are no longer any problems to solve. If there are no longer any problems to solve, there’s no longer any need for correction. If there’s no need for correction, then there’s no need for law. Live in the grace of that which is now perfect, as it is. Be perfect, don’t try to become perfect. You already are, you just don’t know it yet. Be still and know.”
–Eyes Wide Open, Ted Dekker
“The heart is a peculiar thing. It sees and interprets details long before the brain has started to think there might be something worth noticing. The brain resents this skill, however, and will often spitefully do all it can to repress what the heart might be whispering.”
–Shadow Hand, Anne Elisabeth Stengl
“Do you understand, mortal?” Eanrin said. “We Faerie know it’s the spirit that counts, and all else is malleable. Beauty or ugliness; brawn or frailty; height or lack thereof–these appearances can be exchanged with scarcely a thought! But the truth . . . now, that’s another issue. The truth of the thing, the person behind what you perceive with any of your paltry five senses . . . Creature of dust, it’s the truth that counts! And you’ll rarely find more truth than in Faerie tales.”
With those words, the golden man dwindled into the golden cat, and try as he might, the Chronicler could perceive him as nothing else. But he was still Eanrin, and he smiled, pleased with himself. “That wasn’t a half-bad monologue. Do you find yourself inspired to new heights of ambition?”
–Dragonwitch, Anne Elisabeth Stengl
[source]
“What can I say?” Cosimo bowed in deference to his friend’s wishes. “We accept your hospitality.”
“Splendid! I do hope you are hungry, good sirs.”
“Ravenous!” roared Cosimo–so loudly that Kit gave a start. But no one else seemed to pay the least attention. “But, might we first pass by Pudding Lane? I have that errand we discussed.”
–The Skin Map, Stephen R. Lawhead
Taggle was absorbed in the meat pie. “It’s covered in bread,” he huffed. “What fool has covered meat with bread?”
–Plain Kate, Erin Bow
Perhaps it was time to stop choosing small spaces.
–Plain Kate, Erin Bow
“Hope never stands alone,” he said in a dry, husky voice. “It is born of valor and perseverance. It rides the back of courage.”
–The Book of Names, D. Barkley Briggs
A mouse slid out from under his hat and scrambled down his sleeve, across his lap, and down to the floor. “Nothing,” said Fenworth, “should distract from a wizard’s dignity.”
–DragonQuest, Donita K. Paul
“Not all tongues that wag cohabit with a brain.”
–DragonFire, Donita K. Paul
“I’m sorry, Mother. It’s just that five days of flying with these characters has made me crawl right over the edge of sanity.”
“I fell over the edge,” Karen said.
“I jumped,” Walter added. “And I can’t seem to climb back up.”
–Enoch’s Ghost, Bryan Davis
(At least I think it was that one . . . Goodreads didn’t say, and at this point I haven’t the time to look it up. Correct me if I’m wrong.)
Halt waited a minute or two but there was no sound except for the jingling of harness and the creaking of leather from their saddles. Finally, the former Ranger could bear it no longer.
“What?”
The question seemed to explode out of him, with a greater degree of violence than he had intended. Taken by surprise, Horace’s bay shied in fright and danced several paces away.
Horace turned an aggrieved look on his mentor as he calmed the horse and brought it back under control.
“What?” he asked Halt, and the smaller man made a gesture of exasperation.
“That’s what I want to know,” he said irritably. “What?“
Horace peered at him. The look was too obviously the sort of look that you give someone who seems to have taken leave of his senses. It did little to improve Halt’s rapidly growing temper.
“What?” said Horace, now totally puzzled.
“Don’t keep parroting at me!” Halt fumed. “Stop repeating what I say! I asked you ‘what,’ so don’t ask me ‘what’ back, understand?”
Horace considered the question for a second or two, then, in his deliberate way, he replied: “No.”
Halt took a deep breath, his eyebrows contracted into a deep V, and beneath them his eyes sparked with anger. But before he could speak, Horace forestalled him.

“What ‘what’ are you asking me?” he said. Then, thinking how to make the question clearer, he added, “Or to put it another way, why are you asking ‘what?'”

Controlling himself with enormous restraint, and making no secret of the fact, Halt said, very precisely: “You were about to ask me a question.”

Horace frowned. “I was?”

Halt nodded. “You were. I saw you take a breath to ask it.”

“I see,” Horace said. “And what was it about?”

For just a second or two, Halt was speechless. He opened his mouth, closed it again, then finally found the strength to speak.

“That is what I was asking you,” he said. “When I said ‘what,’ I was asking you what you were about to ask me.”

“I wasn’t about to ask you ‘what,'” Horace replied, and Halt glared at him suspiciously. It occurred to him that Horace could be indulging himself in a gigantic leg pull, that he was secretly laughing at Halt. This, Halt could have told him, was not a good career move. Rangers were not people who took kindly to being laughed at. He studied the boy’s open face and guileless blue eyes and decided that his suspicion was ill-founded.

“Then what, if I may use that word once more, were you about to ask me?”

Horace drew a breath once more, then hesitated. “I forget,” he said. “What were we talking about?”

–The Battle for Skandia, John Flanagan
[source]
“To listen to a poet arguing with himself–for she could scarcely have been said to have borne any part in the discussion–on the merits of blank verse as a dramatic medium was naturally a privilege of which any young lady must be proud, but there could be no denying that to talk for half an hour to a man who listened with interest to anything she said was, if not precisely a relief, certainly a welcome variation in her life.”
–The Grand Sophy, Georgette Heyer
“I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! –When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.”
–Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
There are so many ways to be brave in this world. Sometimes bravery involves laying down your life for something bigger than yourself, or for someone else. Sometimes it involves giving up everything you have ever known, or everyone you have ever loved, for the sake of something greater.
But sometimes it doesn’t.
Sometimes it is nothing more than gritting your teeth through pain, and the work of every day, the slow walk toward a better life.
That is the sort of bravery I must have now.
–Allegiant, Veronica Roth
Una closed her eyes and wished that the ground would open and swallow her up. The nature of the universe seemed to be against her, however, and no sudden chasm rifted the turf beneath her feet. Instead she had to listen to her father ask in a stern voice, “And who might you be, sir?”
The stranger bowed. “Forgive me. I am Prince Aethelbald of Farthestshore.”
Prince Felix muttered, “Aethelbald? I don’t think we can forgive that.”
–Heartless, Anne Elisabeth Stengl
Be not deceived, Wormwood, our cause is never more in jeopardy than when a human, no longer desiring but still intending to do our Enemy’s will, looks round upon a universe in which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.
–The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis
[source]

Warm sun and robin’s-egg skies were inappropriate conditions for sending one’s uncle to a lunatic asylum.
–The Dark Unwinding, Sharon Cameron

“Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?”
–The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien

Then something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick.
–The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien

Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind.
“Pooh!” he whispered.
“Yes, Piglet?”
“Nothing,” said Piglet, taking Pooh’s paw. “I just wanted to be sure of you.”
–Winnie-the-Pooh, A.A. Milne

And as He spoke, He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth ahs read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.

–The Last Battle, C.S. Lewis

And now we come to the end . . .

That was a frightfully long post, and yet it was only but a small sample of the glorious wordsmithing I love. I did have full intentions of including more narrative bits and descriptions and whatnot–and of delving into a greater variety of books as well–but it seems I leaned more toward humor and dialogue and wise sayings. Maybe they’re easier to find . . .
Anyway, before I wrap this up, I must say I’m quite sorry for not having read/commented on some of the more recent linked up posts. I greatly appreciate your participation, truly! This week has just rip-roared right by me. Once the craziness blows over (read: after this weekend), I plan to crash all your parties (I mean, read your blogs) and leave fangirly comments.

Enormous thanks, questers!

Thank you for joining me so enthusiastically! It’s hard to believe this month is almost over, and that the first Lovely Books post went up four whole weeks ago. I’ve really enjoyed all the bookish discussions happening here and elsewhere, and I hope you have too.
It’s not too late to join up on any of the themes yet–you have until March 5th. So if you’re about to burst with book quotes of your own collection (or any of the other things mentioned: covers/titles, couples, villains), have at it!
Once more, here’s the link-up form and the brief instructions. Thanks again, y’all!

document.write(”);

Keep Reading

Lovely Books // villains

Tracey Dyck 21 Comments

Well, well, well. What do we have here?

A clichéd villain line used as a blog post opener? Surely you wouldn’t stoop so low. Delete those words now, and no one gets hurt. Delete them or else. Delete them or your loved ones pay the ultimate price. Delete them or I will tell the whole world your Deepest, Darkest Secret. Mwahaha.

. . .

What, none of that fazes you? You refuse to comply? Very well. You’ll pay for this, Tracey.

Um. Apparently I was just having a villainous conversation with myself. I promise you I’m a completely sane, law-abiding citizen, and that whatever crazy I do have is confined to words on a page. (Usually.)

All that nonsense aside, welcome to the third round of Lovely Books! Here’s a rundown in case you missed it:

First, we grew infatuated with some beautiful novels bearing attractive names. Then we got to know them a little better as we discussed their romantic sides. Now the book-love is put to the test as we delve into the dark corners of our favorite stories. It’s getting real here, people–no more surface fluff between us and the books. Now it’s down to the genuine, nitty-gritty relationship. (Okay. That analogy is already crumbling to pieces in my mind, so let’s not dwell on that.)

What I’m trying to say is that Round 3 is all about villains. Some we love, and others we love to hate. If you want to join in the discussion, there’s a linkup form at the bottom of this post, along with the very few rules involved. (Basically: steal the Lovely Books picture, write up a villainous post, and add your link to the form. Bam. That’s all there is to it. Oh, and if you feel like combining editions, go for it.)

Those lovely antagonists . . .

Bartholomew Thorne
(Isle of Swords duology by Wayne Thomas Batson)
 
He’s a pirate! (Cue this music.) A fiendishly awesome pirate who wields a spiked staff, his ‘bleeding stick.’ He kills and pillages and burns, much as you’d expect from his ilk.

“Much more than that,” said Thorne with an ominous, gravelly laugh. “That flask was filled with a potent mixture of the strongest rum and ground-up bog myrtle roots. It enflames their blood lust until is nigh unquenchable and deadens the pain that they feel. When the Berserkers reach the field of battle, it will be with such blunt violence . . . such a bloody frenzy, that few–if any–who come in contact with them will withstand it. My advice to you, Mister Teach: stay out of their way.”
-Isle of Fire


Pastor Jeremiah Marsh
(Solitary Tales by Travis Thrasher)
 
This guy is a major creep. He’s the pastor of a church in the small town of Solitary, but God is strangely absent from his sermons. He’s got skeletons in the closet (literally). His deranged wife never leaves the house. He starts out trying to pass as a nice guy, even buying the main character Chris a gift, but from the start you can tell something is more than a little off with this man. I can’t say too much else without spoiling things.

[He’s speaking of God here.] Marsh pauses, his eyes narrowing, his face growing dim. “Nobody’s on the other line, Chris. He left a long time ago.”
-Hurt


Mictar
(Echoes from the Edge trilogy by Bryan Davis)
 
If Jeremiah Marsh is a creep, Mictar is a psycho. If I remember him clearly enough, he’s tall, gaunt, and pale–a walking corpse fresh from the graveyard, as Nathan describes him. His modus operandi involves sucking the life out of his victims by taking out their eyeballs. I have vivid memories of those scenes . . . eyes sitting in the palm of his hand, with the veins still attached and bleggghhh . . . That dude is just evil.

“Anything I want?” Mictar covered Dr. Simon’s eyes with his dark hand and spoke softly. “I want you to die.”
Dr. Simon’s body stiffened, his mouth locked open in a voiceless scream. As Mictar kept his hand over his victim’s eyes, sparks flew around his fingers, and the two men seemed to hover a few inches off the floor. Simon quaked violently, while Mictar’s body gradually regained its light.
-Beyond the Reflection’s Edge
 

The White Witch
(The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis)
 
A classic villainess! As the proud Queen Jadis in The Magician’s Nephew, she prompted me to mentally shout “No! No, stop it, you evil creature!” many a time. (Why, oh why, did Digory have to strike that bell?) And then as the White Witch in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, she is perfectly malevolent. And yet the reader is ever aware that she is not the most powerful being in Narnia. When Aslan roars at her, isn’t that such a satisfying feeling?

“I had forgotten that you are only a common boy. How should you understand reasons of State? You must learn, child, that what would be wrong for you or for any of the common people is not wrong in a great Queen such as I. The weight of the world is on our shoulders. We must be freed from all rules. Ours is a high and lonely destiny.”
-The Magician’s Nephew
 

Marsuvees Black
(Paradise Trilogy by Ted Dekker)
 
Going back to pyschos, apparently. Saying Marsuvees is messed up would be an understatement. His catchphrase, “Wanna trip, baby?” makes him sound like a druggie, which he isn’t. But he does swagger around town in his trench coat and wide-brimmed hat, convincing people to stake each other in the heart and lovely things like that. And I seem to remember him being involved with those big slimy worms and those really important books . . . ? And I think he does something with eyeballs too. I’d say he ranks among the weirder villains Dekker has written. But then again, that’s a fairly long list.

“Now, when I say that I’ve come to bring grace and hope, I may mean something altogether different than what you think. My kind of grace and hope is full of life, my friends. A real trip. Not that you have to agree with my definitions of those two most holy words. I’m not here to ram anything down your throats, no sir. But we’re on dangerous ground here, and I strongly suggest you pay attention.”
-Showdown

Death-in-Life / Life-in-Death
(Tales of Goldstone Wood by Anne Elisabeth Stengl)
 

This sibling pair is deliciously creepy! Though the Lady of Dreams (Life-in-Death) doesn’t appear that often in the series as a whole, she wreaks havoc in the lives of good characters by tempting them with the realization of their dreams, only to leave them hollow and dissatisfied upon the fulfillment of those dreams. And the Dragon (Death-in-Life) is FABULOUS. With paper-white skin stretched over a black skull, and his ability to transform into a monstrous dragon at will, he makes for a formidable foe. Oh yeah, and he’s basically the Satan figure of this story world.

“Did you bring the dice?”
He raises a hand. The skin is leprous pale, stretched thin over black bones, and each finger is tipped with a talon. In his palm he holds two dice, their faces marked with strange devices.
“I want her for my child,” he repeats, and smoke licks from his forked tongue. “She is beloved of my Enemy.”
“Roll the dice,” says the Lady, her eyes not breaking gaze with his.
“I want her, sister.”
“Roll the dice.”
He clatters them together in his hand, then sets them rolling across the mist-churned floor. Her gaze does not move from his face as he follows the progress of the dice. When at last they are still, she sees the flash of triumph pass over him.
“The game is done,” her brother says. “I have won.”
“She is yours, then,” the Lady replies. “Take her. But ‘ware, brother! You’ve not won yet.”
-Heartless


Morgan La Faye
(Dragons in Our Midst and Oracles of Fire by Bryan Davis)
 
Remember her from the original King Arthur legends? She sashays her way into the Dragons in Our Midst story world, all crafty and silver-tongued. Sometimes she appears in the form of a raven. Surviving millennia, she manipulates and lures and slays from the dawn of time up until present day. Makes me want to gather all the heroes in my arms and protect them from her witchiness.

Billy took a quick step back, and Morgan folded her hands at her waist, bowing her head. “I am under a curse only you can break, Billy Bannister.” She looked up again, her eyes imploring. “Set me free, and I’ll help you take the throne of England. Together we’ll spread your goodness to all of mankind.”
-Circles of Seven

Taksidian
(Dreamhouse Kings by Robert Liparulo)

An assassin with a penchant for dismembering his victims. He keeps a horrible sculpture-thing made of people’s fingers and ears and noses all glued together. Pursuing the King family across the ages (it’s a time travel series, you see), he will stop at nothing to get what he wants. He’s just plain malicious. And I don’t recall the details (again!), but I believe his evil plans are far-reaching.

“Can’t let you do that, Mr. Taksidian,” the remaining cop said. “It’s not your house, sir.”
David expected the man to say Not yet . . . but what he did say was worse.
“But, Officer Benson,” Taksidian said, “there’s no place they can hide where I can’t find them.”
-Gatekeepers

 

Hashim
(Head Game by Tim Downs)
 
I would be very surprised if any of you had heard of him. He lost his family, home, and honor because of Cale Caldwell (the protagonist) in the Desert Storm of Iraq. Driven by revenge, he goes after Cale, but not with brute force and sprays of bullets. No, he would rather deal one psychologically crippling blow after the other, so piece by piece, he dismantles Cale’s life. Diabolical, isn’t he?
 
Sadly, I have no quotes from him, as I don’t own the book and couldn’t find anything online.
 
Gollum
 
I needed to mention at least one sympathetic ‘villain.’ But that’s not to say that Gollum is any less deserving of being on this list! Oh no! He’s a many-layered character, tragically flawed and, at heart, very human. He made bad choices, and we can see how much he suffers the consequences. Obsessed with the Ring, living a miserable life . . . I mean, just think of how stark the contrast is between his current existence in a cold, damp cave, and the warm, countryside home he surely used to have as a hobbit. When you remember how dearly hobbits love home and food and quiet, Gollum’s life seems even more wretched. But even this lurking little antagonist does some good in the end. 😉
 
“Is it nice, my preciousss? Is it juicy? Is it scrumptiously crunchable?”
-The Hobbit
 
It appears I enjoy the villains with dark, twisted minds. Also ones with tragic backstories. But mostly the really, deep down evil guys. I don’t know, maybe because the blacker the shadows, the brighter the light shines? (I do like the sympathetic villains as well, the ones who are more grey than black, but I couldn’t think of many.)
 

Come to the dark side, readers…

 

document.write(”);

Keep Reading

Lovely Books // couples

Tracey Dyck 30 Comments

Welcome to the second edition of Lovely Books! Last week, we gloried in the beauty of cover art and snappy titles. Today, the eve of Valentine’s Day, is the perfect time to pull out the warm, fuzzy feelings and discuss lovely bookish couples.
This is a linkup hosted by yours truly. I’d love for you to join in! You can participate in as many or as few of the four editions of Lovely Books as you like, in whatever order you like. (Meaning you could write a post on couples today, and then decide to go back and do covers/titles tomorrow if you so wished. There are practically no rules.) Two more editions of Lovely Books are scheduled to come out on February 20th and 27th.
All I ask is that you use the Lovely Books picture provided in each edition, and then be sure to use the linky thingamabob so that others can find your bookwormy ramblings.
If you have any questions, ask in the comments! And if you don’t have a blog, but can’t resist participating anyway, feel free to comment with some of your favorite fictional couples.
Onwards! What follows are just ten of the character pairings that make me swoon.
Billy and Bonnie
(the Dragons in Our Midst story world by Bryan Davis)
Yes sirree, we’re kicking off the list with my beloved anthrozils! (For those who’ve never read the books: firstly, anthrozils are half human, half dragon. Secondly, GET THEE TO A BOOKSTORE.) Billy and Bonnie grow so much over the course of the first twelve books. And a bit in the last four as well, though they’re not as much in the spotlight. Anyway, their romance is so sweet and chaste and strong . . . I just love them. I love all of Bryan Davis’s character couples, come to think of it. Billy and Bonnie are kind of the classic pair, though. They go through terrible circumstances side by side, standing up for each other, forgiving each other, and trusting each other.
[source]


Mr. Bingley and Jane Bennett
(Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen)
Admittedly, my brain latches onto the 2005 movie version of these two, not the book version–but still. They are completely adorable together. Jane is the sweetest thing, so quiet and reserved and eager to believe the absolute best about everyone. And Mr. Bingley gets socially awkward around her, in a very sweet way, just grinning in her presence. (See, I can’t even remember how much of that is actually from the novel. Oops.)
The Dragon and Rose
(of Burning Thorns by Christine Smith; unpublished–for now, mwaha)
(click here to meet the cast, and over here to read some snippets)
It’s no secret that I love Beauty and the Beast. Christine’s retelling, originally a novella penned for the Rooglewood Press contest last year, has since grown into a full out novel (which I have the immense pleasure of reading now), and its protagonists are so. very. shippable. Sweet and sunny Rose comes traipsing into the life of the gruff, tortured soul dubbed ‘The Dragon,’ and, well . . . you can guess where that goes. A food fight scene from the novella remains one of my favorites of ever. After all the cold standoffishness on the Dragon’s part, seeing him drop his guard long enough to get into a food fight is hilarious and heartwarming.
Eanrin and Imraldera
(Tales of Goldstone Wood series by Anne Elisabeth Stengl)
There’s no way on this green earth that this couple wasn’t getting a spot on this list. No way. Because theirs is perhaps the most amusing, most lovable, most infuriating relationship I’ve had the pleasure of reading. Eanrin, a self-absorbed Fae bard who spends much of his time in cat form . . . Imraldera, a–no wait, I shouldn’t mention that–or that–ack, spoilers! Suffice it to say, she’s a wonderfully deep character. Selfless and brave and somehow gentle and strong all at once. She and Eanrin take just a few days short of forever to even come close to realizing there might be some romantic possibility between them. Anyone who’s read Shadow Hand can now join me in howling our fierce fangirly agony at the moon. (Though really, I wouldn’t have this subplot any other way. Slow and layered and delightful is just right.)
[source]
Jonah and Felicity
(A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd)
I just finished this adorable Middle Grade novel this week. Yes, they’re only eleven years old. But give them half a decade or more, and I will smoosh them together with great enthusiasm. Felicity Juniper Pickle is a downright spindiddly character, brimming with imagination and heart. And Jonah Pickett, her new, wheelchair-bound best friend? Well, he’s like a spiky-haired bottle of sunshine, he is. He spends his time planning secret good deeds for the townsfolk. He’s also an amazing encourager, always telling Felicity exactly what she needs to hear, exactly when she needs to hear it. I’m not ashamed to admit that they elicited more than a few happy squeals from this reader.
Charlie and Beth
(The Homelanders series by Andrew Klavan)
I’m a little fuzzy on the plot these two are involved in, being as I haven’t read the books in a while. But I remember them. Charlie is a patriotic, selfless, brave guy; kind of like a young Captain America. Down to earth. Just wants to do the right thing. That kind of person. And Beth is an incredibly kind girl. I distinctly remember that when she talks with anyone, she focuses so intently on what they have to say that they feel like the only other person in the world; they feel like they truly matter. And I remember thinking, “Wow, I wish I was more like her.” So. Throw in some amnesia on Charlie’s part, and some terrorists out to get him and those he loves, and you’re up for a fabulously exciting romantic subplot.
Paul Falcon and Ann Silver
(Full Disclosure by Dee Henderson)
If I remembered more of the O’Malley series, I might have picked one of those couples instead. Maybe? But seeing as this is the latest Dee Henderson books I’ve read, I’m going with Ann and Paul. They’re 30-something, both involved in secret FBI sorts of things. Their romance is mature and level-headed, which is a gulp of fresh air after a smog of insta-love and “oh my goodness, I’m going to run away with that bad boy because he’s hot and has anger issues!” (Yes, that’s primarily a YA problem, and Full Disclosure is an adult novel, so I’m not really comparing apples to apples. But still.) Anyway. Paul is incredibly thoughtful. And Ann is a really introverted writer. I like ’em both rather a lot.
Luca and Lia
(River of Time series by Lisa T. Bergren)
While I love Gabriella and Marcello, the main duo, I really love Luca and Lia. In case you haven’t heard of this series, the basic premise is that sisters Gabi and Lia time travel to medieval Italy through a magical Etruscan tomb. Adventure and romance and even some historical/political intrigue ensues. Luca’s fabulous personality–all charm and laidback humor–meshes adorably with Lia’s feisty-yet-tender soul. Their banter is all kinds of wonderful. Once again, it’s been some time since reading it, so I don’t remember specifics, but this quote on Goodreads jogged my memory:

Lia aimed, shifted, and waited, watching one man peek out time and time again. She let her arrow fly, anticipating his next peek at us, and it pierced his eye.

“Okay, that’s just going to make ’em mad,” I said.

“Three hundred and ninety-two,” she said to Luca, tossing her braid over her shoulder and taking aim again.

“Saints in heaven,” he said to me, rolling his eyes, “how much deeper in love can I yet fall?”


Told ya.
Cat and Anne Ross


(Isle of Swords duology by Wayne Thomas Batson)


[source]
Cat: a young man with amnesia (I seem to fall for the guys who can’t remember their past . . .) and a dark history and plenty of internal struggles. Anne Ross: the firebrand daughter of a pirate, a girl who wants nothing more than to captain her own ship someday. (Anytime now, Dad, thank you.) How can I not ship two lovable pirates? Oh yes, I forgot to mention that Cat joins the crew. Anywhozens, these two are another one of those adorable pairs. A certain father does not approve of the relationship, by the way. (Bother. I need to stop picking couples from books I read long ago. I’m questioning every other sentence here. Correct me if I mess up the details!) Much delightfulness here. If any of you read the ending of Isle of Fire, you know how perfect that was!
Cor (a.k.a. Shasta) and Aravis
(The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis)
I wasn’t intending to put them on this list. But I wanted an even ten couples, and as I was scanning my shelves in search of another romantic duo, Cor and Aravis came to mind. The main reason is this section of the book’s final paragraph:
[source]

Aravis also had many quarrels (and, I’m afraid, even fights) with Cor, but they always made it up again: so that years later, when they were grown up, they were so used to quarreling and making it up again that they got married so as to go on doing it more conveniently. And after King Lune’s death they made a good King and Queen of Archenland, and Ram the Great, the most famous of all the kings of Archenland, was their son.

Not that I think healthy marriages are founded on quarreling (heavens, no!–although disagreements are inevitable and should definitely be worked through), but something about this snippet strikes me as drily charming. And the fact that their relationship is strong enough to weather so many quarrels does speak volumes!

~*~
Here’s the linkup form, if you care to join me in gushing over make-believe people in make-believe relationships. Feel free to mention only three couples. Or five. Or ten dozen. Whatever floats your boat! As I said, there are practically zero rules for this thing. Just have fun discussing whatever topic we’re on! Oh, and if you’re participating in more than one edition, please put your link in each time! I don’t want to miss anyone’s posts.
(Shout-out to Squeaks and Mary Horton for being my first-ever linkers for my first-ever linkup! Woot!)

document.write(”);

Keep Reading

Lovely Books // covers & titles

Tracey Dyck 32 Comments

February, as we well know, is all about love. Usually it’s in the context of relationships, but I’m using this month as an excuse to talk about books that I love.

Introducing Lovely Books! Each Saturday during the month of February, I’ll be focusing on a different aspect of those wonderful bundles of dead trees and ink that we like to pet and sniff and sometimes devour. Best of all, I’m making this my first ever link-up, inviting you to join me! Because what’s better than one bookworm gushing over books? Two or three or several dozen bookworms gushing over books they love, of course.

Today is all about lovely covers and lovely titles. Shallow? Mayhap, but none of us can deny the power of a strong title or an eye-catching cover. We really do tend to judge books by these surface qualities. (Though sometimes an incredible story is disguised by a shabby cover, or a glitzy cover may hide a second-rate tale.) But I’m not here to discuss the rightness or wrongness of such tendencies, so let’s get on with the show.

The rules are so simple, they’re almost non-existent. Just grab the picture, and use it in your own post talking about covers and titles you adore! Be sure to use the linky I included at the end.

(This will not be a comprehensive list. I’m sure if I browsed the library or a bookstore to jog my memory, I’d have five times as many to show you.)

(Most of these will be books I either own or have at least read, but at the end I’ll point to a few covers of books I haven’t yet explored. This is all about the looks here, not what lies underneath, which will come later this month. Though I’d say most of what’s on my list has content to match the covers.)

Cover Love

The Bones of Makaidos – Bryan Davis
There’s so much epicness happening here! Several characters manage to fit onto this cover without making it feel cluttered. The battle raging in the background definitely piques one’s interest.
The Errant King – Wayne Thomas Batson
This. Just–what are words? It’s clever and unusual and gorgeously illustrated. I love the depictions of both characters (and that’s such a hit or miss kind of thing, illustrating characters on the cover–what if they look weird, or different than how I imagine them?). But this is fabulous.
Isle of Fire – Wayne Thomas Batson
Pirate ships! Fire! Skull and crossbones! Ahh!
If We Survive – Andrew Klavan
I know I’ve mentioned this book before, but I have to drool over the colors and jungle-y-ness of it again.
Shadow Hand – Anne Elisabeth Stengl
Quite possibly my favorite cover of the entire series so far!
Illusionarium – Heather Dixon
I couldn’t talk about gorgeous covers without mentioning this one, now could I? The steampunk detail on the borders, the period clothing, gah, EVERYTHING. (Though I still can’t figure out which character the girl is supposed to be. She has the wrong hair color to be any of the main females, except for maybe one, and I’m sure this is not her.
Plain Kate – Erin Bow
Whimsical with a faint hint of eeriness . . . beautiful colors . . . yes, preciousss.
Outlaw – Ted Dekker
It looks like someone cut a hole right through the book, focusing our attention on the dark jungle background and the silhouette of a mysterious somebody.
Forbidden – Ted Dekker & Tosca Lee
Simple and gothic in style. The bleeding heart makes sense once you read the book. I always love it when I get to the point in the story that reveals the cover’s meaning.
The Dark Unwinding – Sharon Cameron
One of the only other steampunk books I’ve read besides Illusionarium. Pretty blue dress, eye-catching title graphics, and can we take a moment to appreciate that humongous, creepy mansion in the background?
Raven’s Ladder – Jeffrey Overstreet
Come on, it’s an epic guy holding a sword! And the sweeping perspective is perfect for a fantasy novel. (As a side note, this cover–it’s the third in the series–is what got my brother interested in reading it. Not book one, two, or four. This one.)
Offworld – Robin Parrish
Dark and brooding . . . an eerily abandoned bicycle lying on the highway . . . If you like sci-fi and/or space even a little bit, go read this one.
Nightmare – Robin Parrish
Creepy, once again . . .
Illusion – Frank Peretti
Another cover that wonderfully captures the content of the pages within. The colors are soft and golden as memory. The birds and the bit of theater curtain on the edge allude to the main couple’s magician life.





Emissary – Thomas Locke
You saw this coming. Serious cover love going on here. (Maybe it’s because the orb on the staff reminds me of an object in my own fantasy series.)
Return of the Guardian King – Karen Hancock
Kind of just screams classic fantasy, doesn’t it?
House of Dark Shadows – Robert Liparulo
There’s something about a creepy house that always gets my attention. And I love the title font used for this series!
The Black and White Rainbow – John Trent & Judy Love
This is here partially for nostalgia’s sake–it was one of my absolute favorite childhood books–but also because the illustrations were so pretty and fun. It starts out black and white, but as the story progresses, colors are added. The cover portrays both a world of color and a world without.

And now for a few covers of books I have not yet read (but probably will).

Toothiana: Queen of the Tooth Fairy Armies – William Joyce
I’ve been meaning to read this series since I saw the movie based off it, Rise of the Guardians. This cover in particular is so prettyful, and that shade of teal is one of my personal favorites.
The Golden Braid – Melanie Dickerson
I read the first two books (which were so-so), but this cover depicts Rapunzel rather beautifully, don’t you think?
Six of Crows – Leigh Bardugo
This book has been stalking  me around the blogosphere lately, and the cover keeps snatching at my eyeballs. Crows are just kind of cool, okay? (Except when they’re being pesky, raucous creatures in my neighborhood.)
Passenger – Alexandra Bracken
I know exactly zero about this book, but THAT COVER. A city in a bottle, a ship in the reflection–ack, it’s so pretty.
Ink and Bone – Rachel Caine
I ‘overhead’ a conversation about this book in the comments section of a blog recently. Not only is the premise totally gripping, but this cover is lovely too.
Plenilune – Jennifer Freitag
I’ve heard bits and pieces about this book, mostly that it’s HUMONGOUSLY LONG–but that is one powerful cover.
The Progeny – Tosca Lee
(It doesn’t come out until May 2016, just so you know.) Again, I’m quite enjoying the gothic feel of the cover, and masquerade masks are a sure-fire way to make me perk up.
Five Magic Spindles – ???
Seriously, this might be one of my favorite covers EVER. I’m completely in love with the golden, autumnal colors! (And because I need an outlet, however brief, to release some excitement . . . THE WINNERS ARE BEING ANNOUNCED IN 24 DAYS!!!!!)
In summary. . .
It appears that I have a color scheme going on, consisting of a lot of blues, greens, reds, and golds. Huh. I also gravitate towards epic artwork rather than abstract (though there’s a tiny bit of that in there, too). Covers that promise something exciting, beautiful, or slightly creepy definitely get my attention!

Lovely Titles

We’re not finished just yet! To rest your eyes from that overwhelming collection of gorgeous cover art, here’s a short list of just some of my favorite titles, in no particular order.
  • Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
  • Circles of Seven (Bryan Davis)
  • The Tide of Unmaking (Wayne Thomas Batson)
  • Solitary (Travis Thrasher)
  • The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)
  • Heartless (Anne Elisabeth Stengl)
  • Outliers (Malcolm Gladwell–nonfiction, by the way)
  • The Screwtape Letters (C.S. Lewis)
  • First the Dead (Tim Downs)
  • The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)
  • The Windy Side of Care (Rachel Heffington)
  • The Grand Sophy (Georgette Heyer)
  • The Last Thing I Remember (Andrew Klavan)
  • And I’m drawing a big, fat blank now . . . I know there are more delicious titles that I love, but no more are coming to me. Like I said before, I could probably wander a library and end up quadrupling this list!
I like titles that roll off the tongue, like The Windy Side of Care. I like short, punchy titles like Heartless, Solitary, and Outliers. I like alliteration (Pride and Prejudice) and classics (The Hobbit). I like titles that hook me upon first glance, such as The Last Thing I Remember. Words like Screwtape or Unmaking are unusual and demand that I understand them.
Seriously, I wish I remembered enough awesome titles to make that a longer list. Ah, well.

Would you care to join me?


document.write(”);

Keep Reading