Starting A Book Club (Katie)

Do You Book Club? (Katie)

Have you ever been part of a book club? It's something I've never honestly considered until a few weeks ago. My sister recommended a movie to me (which I loved), and it featured a book club. The club looked so fun and interesting, and it left me wishing I could be friends with those people. The idea percolated for a while, and this weekend my sister and I decided we were going to do it--we were going to start a book club!

Full disclosure, this is supposed to be a Story Snippets post. If you came here looking for bits of a story, I do apologize. I'm just so stoked for the book club to begin I thought I'd share about our process instead.

If you've ever been part of a book club I would LOVE to hear what you do for your club. Is it in person or online? Do you stick to one genre? How many people are involved?

Our club will feature a few things:

* Online using Facebook groups and messenger

* A few members to start out, but we will be hoping to grow

* Open to almost all genres because we want to keep ourselves open to learning new things

* Reading one book a month, chatting about it via the FB group, and doing a video chat at the end of the month to discuss our overarching thoughts

The club will officially start on July 1, 2020. We will be reading an inspirational women's fiction book. I'll be honest, this isn't typically my go-to genre...but like I said, we all read different things and want to stay open minded!

My recommendation for an upcoming book was The Gold-Son by Carrie Anne Noble, and it was well received so I'm looking forward to that month!

Again, if you're part of a book club I'd love to hear all about it! We don't really know what we're doing, but winging it is always fun. We could use your tips!

Top 3 Books of 2018 (Lizzie)

Do you ever think about a book and know you read it but can't quite remember what year it was you read it? Well, I'm pretty sure I read these books this year and not last year. If I wasn't sure when I read it, or if it was a short story, I omitted it to make the choosing easier. My list focuses on the fantasy books I read, since this is a fantasy blog. However, I couldn't help but mention some of the other full-length books I loved.

Top 3 Fantasy Books Read in 2018

1. The Restorer (Sword of Lyric)

With adventure, relatable characters, great spiritual truths, and a fascinating fantasy world, this was an unexpected gem. I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series, which I bought as a Christmas gift to myself. You can read my review of it here.

2. Tinsel in a Tangle by Laurie Germaine

I loved this book when I came across it in a writing critique group and even remembered to hunt for it years later to see if it had been published. A contemporary YA with a twist, the twist being that the main character is a Christmas elf (well, mostly an elf) living in a fairly modern town (Santa's workshop and elves can have phones and snow mobiles too, after all), it's a delightful, funny romance. Laurie Germaine was a guest on our blog earlier this year. You can read her post here.

3. Masque

Resourceful and witty heroine, strong hero, humor, cleverness, murder, mystery, wonderful British language, and a Beauty and the Beauty-style love curse, Masque was a delightful read. It reminded me of Jen Turano's Ladies of Distinction series, only with an intriguing world of magic rather than the intriguing, though equally foreign, world of 1880s Park 5th Avenue. Masque also gets an award for one of my favorite covers of 2019!

Top Non-fantasy Books of 2018

In no particular order, here are some of my other favorite reads from this year.

1. Where We Belong by Lynn Austin I absolutely loved this historical fiction about the adventures of two sister who educate themselves and travel in a time when that was frowned upon. With romance, exotic locations (Egypt and a monastery in Sinai), and ancient Biblical texts, I loved the history and the characters.

2. and 3. The Silent Songbird by Melanie Dickerston and More than Meets the Eye by Karen Witemeyer Two thoroughly enjoyable books by two of favorite historical romance authors.

4.  No God but One: Allah or Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi My only non-fiction book on the list, I actually read this one twice, which isn't something I do too often. I learned a lot from Qureshi's studies into his former faith of Islam and the faith his research led him to embrace: Christianity. It taught me a lot about who the Christian God is and how he is a God of love and relationship.








5. The Tainted Coin by Mel Starr Another fantastic medieval murder mystery in the Hugh de Singleton Chronicles, only this time with buried treasure and kidnapped ladies to add to the adventure.

Have you read any of these books? Do any spark your interest? What were your favorite reads of 2018?

Top 3 Fantasy Reads for 2018 (Lizzie)

I plan to read numerous books in 2018, but here are my Top 3 fantasy novels to read.

Three books to read in 2018

1) The Wounded Shadow (The Darkwater Saga) by Patrick Carr

This is the third and final book of Patrick Carr's The Darkwater Saga series, which I've mentioned before when I reviewed The Shock of Night. I can't say enough how much I have enjoyed Patrick Carr's two series (The Sword and the Staff and The Darkwater Saga) for the writing itself, the characters, the plots, as well as the intriguing questions built into the stories, like what if talents were transferable and could be exceptionally strong? That a pure physical gift could make you almost faster than sight? Or one for trade to make your family exceptionally rich for generations (how would the non-gifted feel about this)? Or what if there was a gift that let you not just see another's memories (and absorb everything they've learned) just by touching them, but keep those in your mind? What would that do to your sense of self to have those memories? Should you use that to get "confessions" from criminals?

There was a shocking revelation at the end of The Shattered Vigil, Book 2, so I am eager to find out what happens in this book, but I have to wait until it releases in April!

2) Blood Song (A Raven's Shadow Novel, Book 1) by Anthony Ryan

This one is on my list because K.M. Weiland had it on her favorites of 2017 list, and since a well-known writing teacher recommends it, I figured I should check it out. I doubt it will be the light fantasy with romance or LOTR-style book I usually go for, but variety is good, right?

Here's the blurb from amazon.com:
Vaelin Al Sorna was only a child of ten when his father left him at the iron gate of the Sixth Order—a caste devoted to battle. Vaelin will be trained and hardened to the austere, celibate and dangerous life of a warrior of the Faith. He has no family now save the Order.
Vaelin’s father was Battle Lord to King Janus, ruler of the Unified Realm—and Vaelin’s rage at being deprived of his birthright knows no bounds. Even his cherished memories of his mother are soon challenged by what he learns within the Order.
But one truth overpowers all the rest: Vaelin Al Sorna is destined for a future he has yet to comprehend. A future that will alter not only the Realm, but the world.

3) The Warrior Heir (Heir Chronicles Book 1) by Cinda Williams Chima

I ran across this series at Books-a-Million last Christmas and the covers caught my attention, so I bought book 1. I think it's time I actually read it.

Blurb: A teenage boy unremarkable except for the scar above his heart and the medicine he must take daily discovers that, when he skips his medicine, he's not unremarkable at all--he's stronger, fiercer, more confident (except when those unexpected bouts of magic occur). He's also now the target of covert society of wizards, enchanters, and warriors.

Bonus: Common by Laurie Lucking 

I've actually already read this since I had the privilege of endorsing it, but I look forward to getting my own copy of Common by our own Laurie Lucking to put on my shelf.

What books are you looking forward to reading in 2018? Or what were you favorites of 2017?