Into the Forest discussion
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2021 Reading Challenge Progress
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Margaret, recs are very much appreciated! Thanks!Jalilah, thank you! I'm caught up on Patricia Briggs, but I'll check out your other recs. :-)
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Jalilah, thank you! I'm caught up on Patricia Briggs, but I'll check out your other recs. :-)"
Animal transformation recs!
In the Night Garden by Catherynne M. Valente: first book in a duology, fairytales tucked in fairytales tucked in fairytales
Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier: first in a giant series but can be read as a standalone. 6 swans retelling
Red as Blood and White as Bone by Theodora Goss: This is a short story but really lovely.
The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan: Gorgeous selkie novel, but trigger warning for rape.
The Fox Woman by Kij Johnson: Japanese kitsune legend, set in medieval Japan
The Crane Wife by Patrick Ness: lovely literary retelling of The Grateful Crane, a Japanese fairytale (though I see I just recommended two Japanese fairytale retellings written by non-Japanese writers...)
Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker: delightful graphic novel
Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim: Oh, read this one! One of my favorite YA novels this year, retells a variety fairytales, set in a fantasy version of ancient China
The Black Swan by Mercedes Lackey: I haven't read this in ages but I do remember enjoying it.
Swim the Moon by Paul Brandon: Contemporary selkie retelling
I could probably come up with more, but I'll leave it there!
Margaret, that is an amazing list! I have Daughter of the Forest on my TBR list already, but many of the other books look really good. I'll look through all of them, and see how many more will end up on the pile.Thank you!
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You're welcome! I love fairytales with animal transformations. :)
Done! Mooncakes did it! I doubled up on a couple of categories, and I'm going to continue adding to the challenge.
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Yay! So glad you enjoyed it! It's such a feel-good book.
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Daughter of the Forest is great! In fact I really enjoyed the entire series!
Jalilah, Juliet Marillier is a favorite of mine, so I've been saving Daughter of the Forest for a rainy day.Margaret, I agree, Mooncakes is a feel-good book.
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Looks like I won't complete this challenge, but I did most of it. 😅 I was doing about 4 challenges this year so maybe I took on a little too much. I'm really surprised that the ones I didn't get to were the animal-related themes, since I usually read a lot of animal books? Maybe I've already read them all 🤷♀️ (I did see the list of recommendations, and yes there are a few on there that I put on my to-read list, so maybe I can read one before the month is over). Luckily, many of the books I picked up naturally fit into the themes.
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You know, the animal ones took the longest for me too, and usually I read a ton of animal transformation books!
4 challenges are a lot! I do two a year, this one and the Read Harder challenge.
I surprised myself this year by being able to participate in the challenge. Most years I'm too busy reading for research (I write historicals), which can feel like more than enough "assigned reading" without adding a challenge. But this year was so much fun (apart from a certain monstrous-women-as-heroes book which I DNF'd 400 pages in). Now I've only got to read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz--how did I never read it as a child?--and I'm saving that read for the last week of the year to read near the lit tree, so I can pretend I'm 9 and just received it as a Christmas present.
As for next year's challenge, given my track record I don't want to make suggestions, in case I can't participate.
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I was an adult before I read The Wizard of Oz too!
Margaret wrote: "I was an adult before I read The Wizard of Oz too!":=D
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:=D"
I was an adult when I read Alice and Wonderland, the Narnia series series, The Secret Garden, Pinocchi, as well as most of the most of the original Fairy Tales! For Fairy tales as a child I was familiar with all the Disney versions that were made in the 60s. I had no idea they were so different than the originals!
Jalilah wrote: "I was an adult when I read Alice and Wonderland, the Narnia series series, The Secret Garden, Pinocchi, as ..."What a revelation, right? Looking back, I compare my experience reading stories after seeing the Disneys (Pinocchio, Cinderella) with that of seeing movies for which I already knew the source. Shirley Temple's Little Princess resurrected the father, and her Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm became a show business story--both movies outraged me. In fact, I've never approved of any of the Little Princess dramatizations--so not surprisingly I wrote my own.)
Pinocchio and the Grimm Cinderella (both read after seeing Disney's) seemed dark and distressing.
Only Peter Pan (saw both stage and Disney versions before reading Barrie at an early age) didn't jar me.
The Disney that most bitterly disappoined me was The Little Mermaid. I'd loved Andersen's bittersweet ending--which as a child I interpreted in a religious way: it seemed to me that Andersen's Mermaid was being invited to join something like a charitable order of sisters, which felt to me a noble calling (I was taught by sisters who were highly educated, accomplished, and admired.) Andersen is often religious, so I don't think my early impression was too far off the mark. But Happy Ever After seems to require a romantic pairing in popular storytelling these days.
I see I've strayed way off topic.
But the way we pass on the classic myths to new generations--what we emphasize, what we leave out, what we transform--does interest me. I belong to another Group that reads fairy tale retellings, and most of them have gathered their entire knowledge of fairy tales and myths from film and television.
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It's interesting now that I have a child and I'm having to make decisions about what versions to introduce her to. Except it's mostly her making those choices! Disney movies stress her out too much and she gets extremely upset, so we can't watch them. She's not particularly into the whole princess thing yet either. We've read original versions of Rapunzel (which she loved; she really wishes she had long hair) and Hansel and Gretel, which upset her. She kept asking if I would die someday. She's very sensitive so for the most part we are sticking to non-stressful book retellings! Her favorite right now is Little Red and the Cat Who Loved Cake. It's so much fun! It has lots of meta fairytales in it we talk about.
She also likes listening to Disney princess songs even though she can't watch the movies. (She just turned 4)
For good or bad, my kids had the Disney immersion and read Harry Potter and retellings such as Ella Enchanted. As a child, I read Lang's Red and Blue Fairy Books, The Secret Garden, The Little Princess and maybe a few other classics. Back then Disney was a treat, The Wizard of Oz was televised once a year at Halloween and Mary Poppins was one of the rare movies I saw in the movie theater.
I can't helping wondering about the effect of the original Hansel and Gretel where the actual mother instigated the abandonment
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Yeah... and Marian is at an age where she doesn't really understand the difference between stepmother and mother, and the whole thing just really upset her. She kept asking questions about the mother through the entire book. I made the book disappear. The whole witch eating children thing didn't phase her though!
Hansel and Gretel was my favorite fairytale as a child. I have probably told this story here before, but I once told my kindergarten teacher that my mom put me in the oven as punishment and could she please let me spend the night at my BFFs house instead? My mom had told me I couldn't stay at a friend's house on a school night. I think that's one of the few times Mom showed she was angry with me, ha! :)
What a great story, Margaret, and what a clever and devious little person you must have been. (A real Gretel!) Eating children is what witches do, so that's not as shocking as what the original mother does. Doesn't Bettelheim write about children who cope with their mother's inconsistencies or changeable moods by deciding that there are two identical mothers, the sweet one and the cruel one?
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Eating children is what witches do, so that's not as shocking as what the original m..."
Ha, I probably was. :)
I do think I remember that, but it's been ages since I read Bettelheim.
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It's inter..."
My son hated fairy tales when he was very young! In fact he disliked anything with anything dangerous or life threatening in it.
He much preferred books about things he liked like trains, trucks, bugs, animals dinosaurs etc.
Then when he was older not be be afraid he wouldn't have wanted to read fairy tales because he would have thought if them as too childish. As a result he never became familiar with any popular fairy tales, so when he'd heard popular references to them in movies, I'd have to explain them to him.
< Hansel and Gretel was my favorite fairytale as a child. I have probably told this story here before, but I once told my kindergarten teacher that my mom put me in the oven as punishment and could she please let me spend the night at my BFFs house instead? My mom had told me I couldn't stay at a friend's house on a school night. I think that's one of the few times Mom showed she was angry with me, ha! :)>
I remember you're mentioning this before. It always cracks me up every time! 🤣
Hansel and Gretel was definitely one of my favourite tales too as a child.
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I thought I had, lol.
I think there will be a time when Marian is interested in fairytales. She likes fantasy things like unicorns, though she also likes dinosaurs and mainly she likes cats. Anything and everything involving cats. Guess I need to check out a Puss and Boots retelling. :)
Margaret wrote: "Jalilah wrote: "I remember you're mentioning this before. It always cracks me up every time! 🤣"I thought I had, lol.
I think there will be a time when Marian is interested in fairytales. She lik..."
Marian reminds me of my 3 years old nephew :-). He is totally fixated upon cosmos, rockets and planets. Unless I invent stories about cosmos in the future (with a legend of Twardowski's journey to the moon as my prime victim), I'm not sure fairy tales will be interesting to him. But I have a nefarious plan to introduce him to Stanisław Lem's fairy tales with robots when he is older.
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:) He sounds fantastic, as do your stories. We went through a space phase that has slightly faded for now but I hope it comes back.
Margaret wrote: ":) He sounds fantastic, as do your stories. We went through a space phase that has slightly faded for now but I hope it comes back. "Thanks! He doesn't talk about anything else. Loves to build planets of the Solar System everywhere, and flies a small rocket toy to them either alone, or with a willing person to play with him. Brother would love this phase to fade away already :).
Margaret wrote: "Every single one of the books I read just happened to fit with the challenge."True of quite a few books I read this year, too. I read lots of retellings, bec I write them.
I've finished the challenge. I've also got a Remainder List--several DNFs and several books I sampled and do want to finish, that somehow slid down the TBR stack.
The challenge as a whole told me things I didn't know about my reading life. I had no trouble with some categories, but struggled with others (finding it hard to select a book for that category, or finding it hard to continue a book I did select). I was surprised to discover that I don't gravitate to books featuring Monsters-as-Heroes and Travel to Another World.
Another discovery is that I don't enjoy long YA fantasies or retellings unless I find the characters, plotting and the writing itself all extraordinary. I'm reluctant to list the many books I've opened with eagerness (based on a brilliant hook), only to find the them less and less compelling with each turn of the page. Perhaps I'm too old, like Wendy Darling.
Such discoveries prove the value of a topical challenge.
Now--off to figure out how to frame my 2022 challenge. Happy and above all healthy New Year to all!
Susan wrote: "Margaret wrote: "Every single one of the books I read just happened to fit with the challenge."True of quite a few books I read this year, too. I read lots of retellings, bec I write them.
I've ..."
I think that's how challenges should work - let you discover something new, gather data to analyze, and simply as it sounds be fun itself :)
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone, or happy holidays :)
Susan wrote: "Another discovery is that I don't enjoy long YA fantasies or retellings unless I find the characters, plotting and the writing itself all extraordinary. I'm reluctant to list the many books I've opened with eagerness (based on a brilliant hook), only to find the them less and less compelling with each turn of the page. Perhaps I'm too old, like Wendy Darling."Once you've read a lot the thrill of novelty wears off. You need other attractions to make up for it.
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The hardest challenge on this list for me was animal transformation. I love animal transformation stories, but I don't think many were released this year, at least, publishers didn't send them to me or they didn't end up on my radar.
Monsters as heroes was also a more difficult one for me compared to the others.
Margaret wrote: "I read the first few chapters of many many books and put them aside when I don't like them. Maybe as many as 50 a year? Mostly because I read for lists I'm making for websites, so I have to be very..."Why feel bad about dropping books? If I count all novels I decided to put away, there would be way too many :). My tbr pile from around 380/350 titles suddenly dwindled down to a manageable 208. Magic!
As for the challenge, I struggled with tricksters and monsters-as-heroes too,
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I don't! Dropping books means I'm more likely to find excellent ones and more likely to be able to promote authors. :) It's been very liberating, actually!
Margaret wrote: "Asaria wrote: "Why feel bad about dropping books?"I don't! Dropping books means I'm more likely to find excellent ones and more likely to be able to promote authors. :) It's been very liberating,..."
More time to find a better match :)
Goodness! I never imagined that I had so much company in the Picky Mary--absolutely, you start to need "other attractions," and for me that usually means an amazing writer's voice/way with words. There are some writers whose voices become so beloved to me that I can take pleasure in rereading any random chapter to cheer up a grumpy day or break up a frantic one.
1. Journey to another worldOzma of Oz
2. Witch
Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 7
3. Magical helper, mentor, or guardian
Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 8
4. Shapeshifter
Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits, Vol. 1
5. Monsters as heroes
Out of House and Home
6. Shadow: Represents the energy of the dark side, the unexpressed
Pirate of the Prophecy
7. Keys, passes (opening new doors)
Cloak of Blades
8. Talking animal/object
Aria: The Masterpiece, Volume 2
9. Trickster
Monster Hunter Bloodlines
10. People turning into animals
One Bright Star to Guide Them
11. Free spot -- Magical homes
Julia's House Goes Home
12. Free spot -- adventures
Tales From the Fermi Resolution: Vol. 1: Shadow of the Tower
Into the Forest
Books mentioned in this topic
The Seventh Queen (other topics)A Master of Djinn (other topics)
Aria: The Masterpiece, Volume 2 (other topics)
Ozma of Oz (other topics)
Out of House and Home (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
P. Djèlí Clark (other topics)Katharine Duckett (other topics)
Maurice Maeterlinck (other topics)
Ursula K. Le Guin (other topics)
Carrie Vaughn (other topics)
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I read graphic novels in between every print or digital book I read. I have a whole reading system of choosing what's next on my TBR.
Ozsaur, let us know if you need r..."
Fairly close, it's 45. I add books as I go what makes the list look quite... eclectic at the end of the year