Get to Know The Fantasy Reader Tag

Hello all! Today we’ve just got a quick book tag (does anyone even do these anymore? I’m so out of the loop) because we’re in the first few days of NaNoWriMo, which is always a bit of a slog, especially if you’re a slow writer like me. Anyway, this tag has been sitting in my drafts folder for months and months at this point, so I think it’s well and truly time that I posted it.

(Also, please let me know if you’re the creator of this tag! I stole it from somewhere and my sieve brain forgot where, I’m so sorry).

What Is Your Fantasy Origin Story (the first fantasy you read)

My mum loves fantasy, so most of my earliest reading memories involve fantasy. Probably the very first books I read (or were read to me) were The Chronicles of Narnia. Obviously I loved these and I was hooked from then on, I really didn’t stand a chance, fantasy was literally introduced to me in the womb.

After Narnia, I think was next introduced to The Magician’s Daughter, a self-published Australian fantasy trilogy, How To Train Your Dragon, The Little White Horse, and Emily Rodda’s books, including Rowan of Rin, The Key To Rondo, and of course the Deltora Quest series, the staple of every Aussie kid’s reading life. When I was in my preteens, I started on the Warrior Cats series, Rick Riordan, Lloyd Alexander, Stephen Lawrence, Tolkien, and C.S. Lewis’s adult fantasies.

Mid Year Book Freakout Tag 2022

Hello! It is, in fact, time for the annual Mid Year Freakout, because how is it already July???

Anyway, this tag hardly needs an introduction and I know you all want to hear about my fabulous reads, so lets get into it!

Best book you’ve read so far in 2022

I can never just choose one, so here’s a few of the great books I’ve read this far!

QAnon and On: Van Badham. This is a nonfiction book about the rise of internet-based conspiracies such as Pizzagate and Gamergate (which both sound stupid, but were actually quite serious) and how these small conspiracies finally snowballed into the damaging QAnon cult. It’s exceptionally well written and it really explains the psychology behind cults, conspiracies and how the internet makes these more accessible than ever. I personally think it should be required reading for anyone who uses the internet.

Behave: Robert Sapolsky. This fascinating book really delves into the behaviour and psychology of humans and animals, and I really enjoyed it. Despite it’s dense subject matter, the book was really well written and most parts were easy to understand for the layman like me. It helped a lot with my own dog training knowledge, but also a more general knowledge of people and how we work.

The Stars Fill Infinity Character Playlists (but it’s just classic rock songs)

I finished my first semester of university, and also my Certificate IV in Auslan, which means that, for the first time all year, I actually have some spare time! I’m hoping this will mean a few blog posts for all you lovely people, before I go back to uni in July! I’ve got some great plans coming up, including the first instalment in my Disability in Fiction critique posts and also the ever faithful mid year freakout book tag, but today I wanted to ease back in with something a little bit quirky and fun.

I grew up listening to classic 80s and 90s rock and not much else. My mum loved the Christian rock bands, like Petra and Whiteheart, and rock operas like The War of the Worlds and Jesus Christ Superstar. My dad liked more mainstream rock, Bryan Adams, Midnight Oil and Bon Jovi.

Anyway, all this to say that recently I’ve been enjoying listening to all those 80s and 90s classics. And as I’ve been listening to them, I’ve been comparing them to some of my characters. So today, I’m here to present you with character playlists for my SFI characters but it’s all 80s and 90s music (and not all rock, contrary to the title).

(A few years ago I did a normal character playlist, which you can check out herehttps://anordinarypen.wordpress.com/2018/05/24/character-playlists/)

Let’s get into it!

Disability Representation in Storytelling: A New Series

A country road stretching towards a bend in the early morning sunrise, with trees on either side. A boy and a dog are walking along the road silhouetted against the sunrise.

Hello everyone!

I come to you today from the depths of university disability studies with a proposition for a new blog series.

Namely, as it says in the title, a series that examines disability representation in storytelling.

My favourite unit at uni so far has been one called Perspectives on Disability and it focuses on critiquing the representation of people with disabilities in media. My major assignment involves writing an examination of a YouTube clip from an X-Factor audition a few years ago.

I’ve really enjoyed the critical thinking aspects of this unit, but I felt a bit limited by the assignment. I wanted to branch out more, dig deeper into some of this representation. So, what better way to do that than with a few blog posts on the topic! I’m super excited to dig into this more, and raise some awareness on disability and also provide a guide for writers’ who are looking to add more diversity to their novels.

I already have a long list of characters, movies, and books to examine (way more than I’ll ever be able to actually write about), but if you have a particular topic you think would make a great instalment let me know!

Anyway, thanks for your time today, hopefully I’ll be more active on here, especially since I’ve convinced myself that “it’s uni work!” I’ll see you around!

How has life been for you, my friends? Are you studying at the moment, and if so, what? Who is your favourite disabled character in media? Any suggestions for topics in this series? Also, are you currently doing Camp NaNoWriMo?