Beth Overmyer's Blog: The Blog of Beth Overmyer, page 7

A Quick Look at TROP and Why I Love It

This is an opinion piece. I respect that many people don’t like the way The Rings of Power show has been handled. That’s okay. People are allowed not to like something and I’m not here to convince anyone that they have to think one way or the other. But a lot of people are enjoying this show. Their enjoyment does not take away from Tolkien’s great works. It might just inspire them to dig deeper into the lore and discover things for themselves.

With that said…

Many have strong feelings ...

How to for Sure Fail at Writing and Publishing

Books and tea are my comfort foods

What follows is for comedic and informative purposes, so take all with a grain of salt and remember that no advice (or joke) is one-size-fits-all.

Don’t read. Like, don’t read anything. Especially not the guidelines for submissions when you’re ready to hit submit to that snazzy-looking ‘zine or publisher/agent. And books/stories? Please. It’s not like anyone will ever ask you for comparative titles.

(Note that this post is extremely sarcastic and that ...

Teasing the Tea: Drink These Fabulous Teas and Tell Me Your Thoughts!

I like tea. Tea doesn’t make me sad.

Here is a list of a few teas that I’ve enjoyed in the past and think some of you might like as well.

A cup of tea is all I need to keep working. – Lailah Gifty Akita

When Bag Ladies Tea’s Novel Teas are good, they are really good. It’s a black tea (English Breakfast) with quotes about books on each tea tag. Note that the bags are not individually wrapped, so I recommend storing them in an airtight container or Zip Lock baggie. Note that I drink my te...

Am I in Truth a Fan?

When you enter a fandom, how fanatical are you?

I had a conversation with a family member recently about Brandon Sanderson. I called myself a Brandon Sanderson fan, as I have read some of his books and enjoyed them. I’ve read the first two books of the original Mistborn trilogy, The Reckoners books, Starsight, The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, and The Emperor’s Soul, and I realize there are quite a few more yet for me to enjoy. My one family member jokingly said that I wasn’t really a Bran...

The Bookworm Tag Challenge

I’ve been tagged by Bookmarkedone to participate in the Bookworm Tag challenge.

How is your bookshelf organized? By color, author, genre, size, etc.?

Wow. Okay, confession time: my bookshelf is ANYTHING but organized. Once upon a time, I tried to organize by topic and genre, but more books kept coming, I ran out of space, and now there are books EVERYWHERE. My room is basically just a vortex of paper: books and notebooks scattered across the landscape. But if I organized, it would be by g...

4 Basic Reasons to Reread Fiction

I know not everyone likes to read books for a second time. It’s not in everyone’s nature to want the same literary treat more than once, and that’s okay. We’re all made different. But if you’re anything like me, there are some books that just beg to be visited again.

Here are some excuses to give your SO or parent when they ask you WHY you are reading, say, LOTR for the twentieth time:

1 – MORE VALUE!

If you paid for it, you’re getting more than your money’s worth! If you’re checking it...

Fabulous: Dressing Like a Hobbit and Making People Laugh

When I was in high school, I was introduced to the wonderful world of J.R.R. Tolkien: Middle-earth. First I read The Hobbit (as one does–it’s still my favorite to this day) and then I made my way through The Lord of the Rings trilogy in a few weeks’ time. What made me want to read this books in the first place? Well, I saw trailers for the live action motion picture of The Fellowship of the Ring directed by Peter Jackson. Talk about breathtaking! The Nazgul in particular gave me chills and I kne...

7 Ways Readers Can Help an Author Right Now

Read more

Here’s a doable list of things you can do to help your favorite author (or any author, really) stay in the business of writing the books you consume.

1 – Request your local library buy a copy of the author’s book.

While libraries make up around a little over 1.3% of book sales (according to a 2015 Publisher’s Weekly article), they are still buyers. Also, libraries display books, giving the casual browser an opportunity to see the covers, blurbs, and so forth. At a later date, ...

Beth’s Top 6 List of Book to Movie/TV Adaptations

Movie-to-book adaptations abound, I mean, come on, who doesn’t want to hear that their favorite paper and ink hallucination trough is about to be offered up in visual and audio? Except…when you buy your ticket, take you seat, and then sit through a condensed dream-soup that reeks of “We didn’t have the heart or the budget, so we present this muck-of-a-movie. Enjoy?” Ugh. That is the worst.

I could do a longer list of movies/TV adaptations/streaming/etc. that not only miss the bullseye, th...

That One Time I Attempted to Cook Like a Hobbit

Cookbook and apples–oh boy!

Back in January, I attempted to make a recipe from AN UNEXPECTED COOKBOOK, a collection of recipes inspired by the food found in THE HOBBIT by J.R.R. Tolkien. The recipe in question was apple hand pies. The method? Both freeform and patted into a cupcake tin. The process went about as well as you can imagine for someone who is short-tempered and has very little experience making hand pies.

Have an apple!

First, I washed and then peeled eight (you heard me) Gr...