toomanytomes

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Why #DisneyMustPay

The world’s largest media conglomerate, the Walt Disney Company, became even larger in 2012 and 2019 when it acquired Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox, respectively. A number of huge franchises now came under the ‘Disney’ umbrella, including Indiana Jones, X-Men, Fantastic Four and, of course, Star Wars. In acquiring the Star Wars franchise Disney also acquired a lot of content, including the…

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My Favourite Second-Hand Bookshop Finds

My Favourite Second-Hand Bookshop Finds

I love second-hand bookshops – while any bookstore is basically a magic portal to countless worlds and dimensions, second-hand bookshops are even more magical since you truly never know what you’re going to find. As a frequent patron of my local second-hand bookshops (16% of the books I purchased in 2020 were bought from second-hand bookshops), I’ve found some true gems hidden away in corners of…

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Why I Love Secondhand Bookstores

Why I Love Secondhand Bookstores

There are few things better than wandering around a bookstore, running one’s hands over the glossy new spines (pre-COVID times, naturally) and finding exciting debut authors who are going to become your new favourite author. There are few things better than cracking opening a new book, inhaling that new-book scent and diving headfirst into a brand-new world. Indeed, there are few things better…

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Why Mr Darcy is Still the Best Romantic Hero

Why Mr Darcy is Still the Best Romantic Hero

Happy Valentine’s Day! Literature is filled with romantic heroes, from the dark and broody to the lovable goofball. Some are as wholesome as your grandma’s cooking and others are the quintessential bad-boy. While some of the most popular ‘book boyfriends’ are more recent additions to the long list of literary loves, others have lasted the test of time, still setting hearts aflutter 200 years…

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Reading Books by Morally Questionable Authors

"Reading Books by Morally-Questionable Authors" #bookblogging #bookblogger

As readers, we tend to assume (and hope) that our favourite authors generally align with our own values and morals. If we consider ourselves to be, for instance, open-minded, accepting and progressive, we assume that the authors we gravitate towards to be the same. Realising that authors whose works we love have done things and believe things that we find morally reprehensible can be jarring…

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My Most Anticipated Releases of 2021

My Most Anticipated Releases of 2021

Readers are really spoilt for choice in 2021 with what seems to be an endless list of incredible new releases. With so many exciting releases coming this year, I’ve had to whittle my list down to the 15 that I am the most excited for. Hall of Smoke by H.M. Long – expected publication date: 19 January 2021 A warrior priestess, banished by her goddess, prays for forgiveness on a mountainside in…

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My 2021 Reading and Blogging Goals

"My 2021 Reading and Blogging Goals"

Happy New Year friends! With a new year comes renewed vigour and a reinvigorated sense of purpose, so I now want to share just a few of my reading and blogging goals for 2021! Read 55 books – in 2020, I wanted to read 75 books. I ended the year having only read 44 books so I’ve settled on a goal that is a little more realistic but still aspirational.Read more fiction – I read a lot of…

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2021: A New Year

2021: A New Year

To say that 2020 was a difficult year must be the understatement of the century. I won’t get into it too much as I’m sure we’re all tired of hearing about it as it continues to spread and evolve, seemingly unchecked by several major governments. The stress and anxiety of the past 12 months has prevented me from posting either here or on my Instagram. My focus was entirely on finishing my…

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The Factory of Ideas

"The Factory of Creativity" #blogging #bookbloggers #creativity

I often find myself musing on the very concept of creativity: what compels us to create; how we take our experiences and our abstract thoughts and turn them into music, art and literature, among other things.

Lately, I have been thinking about creativity more than ever. Being stuck inside all day will do that to you.

But I have been particularly focusing on a metaphor that I’ve been playing with…

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The Wonderful World of Worldbuilding

"The Wonderful World of Worldbuilding" #bookbloggers #worldbuilding #fantasywriters

Welcome to the first post in my new series: THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF WORLDBUILDING!

Worldbuilding is one of my favourite parts of writing fantasy.

The process of building an entire planet, continent or country and all the things that make up a ‘world’ is thrilling to me.

I love getting stuck in to a new worldbuilding project and exploring all that a new world has to offer.

But worldbuilding can…

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Networking as a Creative

"Networking as a Creative" #networking #blogging #bookbloggers #creatives #careers

Growing up, in high school and university and from family and media, I’ve had it drilled into my head that networking is one of the most important things you can do for your career.

After all, we’ve all heard the maxim “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”

But I, personally at least, have never had the how of networking explained to me. It always seemed like a case of walking up to a…

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Writing During COVID-19

Whilst some people want us all to use the COVID lockdown to write the Next Great Masterpiece, many people – myself included – have been finding ourselves suffering from a rather intense form of writer’s block.

This should not be particularly surprising. We’re all under stress and tension, and despite the ‘tortured artist’ trope, stress, fear and sadness are not at all conducive to creativity.

So,…

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Review: 'Heroines - An Anthology of Short Fiction & Poetry'

Review: ‘Heroines – An Anthology of Short Fiction & Poetry’

“Prince Charming does yoga.”

Fairy tale Endings by Emily Brewin

Authors: Aislinn Batstone, Toni Brisland, Emily Brewin, Kerryn Coombs-Valeontis, Sue Clennell, Eileen Chong, Therese Doherty, Jane Frank, Maddie Godfrey, Laura E. Goodin, Maria Haskins, Annika Herb, Julie Kearney, Elise Kelly, Tamara Lazaroff, Kathryn Lyster, Antonia Mikocka-Walus, Catherine Moffat, Joyce Parkes, Jaya Penelope,…

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My Favourite YouTubers

"My Favourite YouTubers" #bloggers #bookblogging #youtube #favourites

In this time of social distancing and online classes, I’ve found myself turning to YouTube more than ever in search of distractions from this pre-apocalyptic novel we’ve found ourselves in. These six YouTubers are some of my absolute favourite creators on the platform and if you aren’t already following them, I’m sure you’ll want to at the end of this post.

BERNADETTE BANNER

Bernadette is a…

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Review: 'Middlegame'

Review: ‘Middlegame’

“Words disappear without a trace. That’s what makes them so powerful. That’s what makes them so important. That’s what makes them hurt so much.”

Seanan McGuire

Author: Seanan McGuire

Released: 2019

Publisher: Tor.com

Pages:��528

Rating: 5 stars

Synopsis: Meet Roger. Skilled with words, languages come easily to him. He instinctively understands how the world works through the power of story.

Meet…

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Fantasy Books That Changed My Life

I recently saw a video by Piera Forde that caught my eye: “Fantasy books that changed my life”. I haven’t yet watched the video, but the title got me thinking about all the fantasy books that have proved important in my life. As a veracious fantasy reader, I figured I’d have quite a few to choose from.

I don’t think I could truly say that these books have necessarily ‘changed’ my life, but…

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Fantasy Books That Changed My Life

I recently saw a video by Piera Forde that caught my eye: “Fantasy books that changed my life”. I haven’t yet watched the video, but the title got me thinking about all the fantasy books that have proved important in my life. As a veracious fantasy reader, I figured I’d have quite a few to choose from.

I don’t think I could truly say that these books have necessarily ‘changed’ my life, but…