How do you YouTube?

 How do you YouTube?

Is it a casual time waster or do you pay for all the bells and whistles in order to see and/or create content?

Some look up videos just for fun like, children throwing temper tantrums, old music videos or TV shows they've forgotten about, adorable animals - pets or candid footage, horrifying wrecks/disasters (it takes all kinds), sports clips, celeb interviews, or amazing physical feats of regular people. Some follow regular podcasts. Some utilize it by looking up how-to videos to help with a task. It can even be a decent research device for neutral topics like ocean floor topography or comparatives of the differences in appliances. Some upload videos on topics of personal interest even if they don't do it for a living.

Some have nothing to do with YouTube at all which is not a bad thing either. Even though I've had a YouTube account for years, I only recently, in the last couple of years, started surfing habitually and finding things that interest me. And I definitely qualify as watching just for time wasting unless I'm using it to learn instruments.

Channels I'm subscribed to:

I have a slew of videos saved on a play list for learning mandolin, bass, and short clips from different political commentators that I like, but I'm not subscribed to leave room for other things it occasionally recommends to me that I'll watch like large domino cascades, figure skaters from back in my day, competitive metrics over various things spanning decades, and size comparatives of fictional objects to name a few. It's actually little things like this that waste the most time, so I try not to click on them. However, the ones that I subscribe to are mostly the ones that don't necessarily need to be watched.. I can have them running in the background and listen to them while I'm busy or working so that I'm not wasting too much time. Beginning with my most frequently checked subscriptions.

The only political channel I'm subscribed to is AwakenWithJP. It features JP Sears whose videos are short and mostly comical. Comedy usually steals my heart anyway, and most political stuff is depressing, so I like to have his channel handy.

And of course, it's all about lists, lists, lists for me! So I have a few that, while not solely devoted to ranked lists, do create them among other things. 

 

Lost in the Pond is a channel hosted by a British immigrant man living in Chicago with his American wife. And here's the real kicker for me - he actually likes America. It's just refreshing. Anyway he does comparatives of England and America since we are two countries separated by a common language and he wants to go over all the memos Britain and America lost in the pond. Sometimes it's language comparatives, sometimes it's cultural comparatives, sometimes it's just video and commentary on different cities he's visited since he's determined to see every state and most of the bigger monuments. His humor is snarky and dry as you'd expect so, of course, I love it. He embraces the British stereotype for fun. His videos are short (I'm defining short as 10 minutes or less) and just a nice, fun distraction.

Harry Potter Theory is, obviously, an HP fan channel. The only one I follow because it's not the sort of fan page that gets nit-picky or bitchy as many fan sites of different franchises are apt to do. The guy that makes the videos speaks softly and just puts out interesting content that ranges from discussion of the latest material like the Fantastic Beast series, to comparatives between book and movie, to a run down of the different types of wood used for different wands, to his own theories on some unexplained characters or moments that have been overlooked or who's the better between two characters. But not in a pushy way... He seems like someone you could have a friendly discussion with. Again, mostly short videos. And like the others I've mentioned so far, there's not daily postings which I like because it feels like less of an addiction to YouTube..

Minty Comedic Arts is an Australian guy that makes movie trivia lists. Mostly "10 things you didn't know about (insert movie)". His research is probably limited to things anyone can find on the internet, and he owns up when the sourcing is questionable. As for comedy, his jokes sometimes land and sometimes don't. But he's a movie lover and a trivia junkie like me so I feel a connection and he's quite passionate about his topics which makes him pleasant to listen to, even if it's a movie I already know well. And he talks about things most other movie list geeks don't like the movie posters and video game tie-ins. And he sometimes gives a bonus entry showcasing his own collectible merch. Not daily postings and his videos are midrange; about 15-20 minutes, but it's nothing I have to sit and watch.

For my fix of ranked lists of anything and everything, there's WatchMojo. They will literally rank anything. They even recently made a list of their top 10 most hated top 10 lists. Of course, whether I'm interested in the subjects being ranked is hit and miss. I'm subscribed so that it'll recommend not only lists from them but lists from Ms Mojo and Mojo UK. But I don't want them all crowding the newsfeed. And I usually stick to the top 10 lists rather than the top 20s. Just a personal preference.

I'm subscribed to only one music reactor. I feel silly admitting it because many think it's uncool to watch music reaction videos. But after seeing a few different ones, I think Jamel_AKA_Jamal seems like the most genuine. His reactions don't seem forced or even controlled. He has a real appreciation for music, he doesn't stop the videos too much and he never has anything mean or overly critical to say. He does have daily posts but, as with all the other stuff, if I don't know or care for the songs, I just don't watch. He has another music_and_more channel where he reacts to comedians and funny things. Not subscribed to that one but I get the recommendations. Video times range from short to long depending on song length and whether or not it gets blocked for copyright strikes.

Only one religious channel as well. Alastair Begg's channel Truth for Life. I've listened to him on the radio for years. I grew up in the era of James and Tammy Faye Baker, so I don't take listening to preachers or Bible teachers that have become public figures lightly. He's been critically vetted by me to my satisfaction. I find his sermons to be be both informative and edifying. He's not a sensationalist. He doesn't have a dream or dramatic, heart-tugging personal story for every situation. He doesn't bully your emotions up into to mystical highs or down into terror and fear. So, some may find him dry. But he's a very knowledgeable and funny little Scottish pastor from Ohio who is good for Christians to listen to. At least I think so. His 25 minute sermons are often broken into two to four parts depending on how long he's teaching on a topic or entire book of the Bible. The only one that I recommend as worth your time to look up on YouTube or the Truth for Life app.

Getting into the longer videos, one channel I really like is Cinema Therapy. I have a layman interest in psychology and I love movies so the unique and fun premise of this channel hooked me in. The two guys are a psychologist and a filmmaker. They watch segments from movies and while the filmmaker critiques the technical aspects of the scene, the psychologist breaks down the possible clinical disorders of characters and character interactions. It really is fascinating and they're obviously having so much fun and their chemistry is so good that I'll even listen to their ads that they have to read through instead of skipping through like I do with other channels. Depending on the topic, I don't necessarily have to know the movie either to enjoy it.

There are three of my most frequented channels that I'm subscribed to that I have to sit and watch though. The first is called RealLifeLore. It deals in a lot of geographical topics so seeing the graphics and maps is helpful. Subjects range from how maps are skewed, what landing in the world's most dangerous airport is like, what if Chile was way longer (up coast of both north and south America), world's strangest borders, what's the furthest away from civilization you can get, and lots of other random stuff. It's a great time waster.

The next is called TRYBALS. These need to be watched because they're entirely in subtitles; no English. It, too, is a reaction channel in which trybal people of the Middle East try different things and give their opinion. A lot of music, not all American. Different foods. Sometimes different TV shows like The Joy of Painting or Mr Bean. And they even tried painting along with a Bob Ross video. They're all from Sindh, Pakistan. The men are Muslims, the lady is Hindu. It's a unique perspective and they're all really nice people. Grateful people. This serves as a job they get paid for and it helps their families.

The third is Hollywood Graveyard. It's pretty self explanatory. The host showcases the memorials of celebs and other famous people. They run anywhere from a half hour to over an hour so I have to watch each episode in segments when I'm not busy.

I have other subscriptions that I don't check on as much because they're best when watched as well and it's hard to find time to watch everything that's watchable. 

 Vinheterio is an Argentinian pianist who is unbelievably talented and makes videos displaying it in many fun ways.

The Gentleman's Gazette... I'm not sure why I'm still subscribed to this one. There are some truly fascinating videos on historical men's fashions, but only a small percentage. They also fall into the long videos range so, it has to be a very interesting topic for me to sit and watch.

NativLang is a great channel. It covers all kinds of ancient and modern languages, etymologies, and writing systems. But the content is infrequent and I'm not interested in every language.

Then there are channels that I don't subscribe to because the content I like is the exception, not the rule, generally. Magazine channels like GQ, Vanity Fair, and Wired sometimes pop up with celeb interviews going over their most known characters or songs, or answering internet questions. Sometimes I'll see people of specific expertise either answering questions or analyzing how their profession is portrayed in film. And voice actors critiquing amateurs that have made videos of themselves doing some of the actor's most well known voices. But that's a subsection of what they cover and why I don't subscribe. I don't typically look for them either. But others I do keep an eye on even though I don't subscribe.

Channels that I'm not subscribed to but still get plenty of recommendations to save and listen to: 

 

More list fixes mostly.. Lists from the WhatCulture universe which includes What Culture, Trek Culture, What Culture Star Wars, Who Culture, Gaming Culture... It's sensory overload and it's all ranked lists. Many of them are better than Mojo's lists, especially since they're subject specific. But the algorithm knows what I like so they always turn up in the newsfeed. Short to midrange videos.

Jordan B Peterson. I discovered him a couple years ago and I love his content. He's a former psychology prof from the University of Toronto and practicing clinician. He's been hunted by the woke mobs for several years for the usual crimes of making common sense, being an adult, and being vocally against compelled speech. I've watched enough clips from his lectures, speaking tours, and podcasts that I get most of his recommendations anyway and I see subscribing as just clutter. Short clips to 1 to 2 hour podcasts that need to be listened to in segments.

Beth Roars. A Scottish vocal coach analyzes different singers in live performances. I don't subscribe because I'm only interested in singers I know and she does a wide variety. But it's fascinating to hear how the science of singing works and she has a lot of infectious enthusiasm.

I keep an eye on three reviewers. First, The Critical Drinker. I like this guy because he shares my views on the pitiful state of movies these days. I've stumbled onto a short series of videos he's done lamenting the way movies have been written in the last couple of decades and he makes compelling arguments. But the rest of his content is on shows I don't watch much of. Still, every now and then he'll make a complaint video and to be honest I just like having my own opinions validated.

Next, Rowan J Coleman. I've been watching his videos over-viewing every Star Trek series and movie. I like well put together opinion pieces even if we differ on some things. He also did some rankings. But I get plenty of rankings elsewhere and although I like Star Trek enough to listen to a longer vlog about it, he doesn't review enough other shows that I like as much to get his content all the time.

                                       

Finally, Clever Dick Films. Put out by a devoted Whovian and amateur documentarian that was making a series of documentaries on every Doctor that I was really enjoying but he stopped after the 10th Doctor and his content seems to have dried up. Maybe he's lost his funding. 

 

The last two that I don't subscribe to but still look in on are kind of heart-breakers. The first is called Legal Eagle. He's a lawyer that has a channel explaining legal procedures. I found him by coming upon his videos made about certain movies getting "lawyered" by breaking down the courtroom scenes in movies and TV in terms of how authentic they were. He also made some videos running down all the laws broken in other movies like Jurassic Park and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. They're smart, funny, so enjoyable, and the guy clearly knows his stuff. But he's a former 9th Circuit Court intern and his background is filled with the usual liberal academic bonifides. So, not only will I not subscribe but I won't watch any of his videos analyzing current legal cases that are in the news, which is almost all of what his content has been for the last couple of years anyway. I don't want to ruin the good times I had watching his movie and TV show videos. And any occasional new movie/tv material he puts out.

Steve Shives. Closest thing to a Star Trek soul mate I've ever found. When I listen to his videos it's like listening to my own thoughts and analysis. We agree on everything about Star Trek. At least everything Trek that I've seen. He's more immersed and has seen much more Trek content than me. About him I can truly say, "He gets it!"... He's also the worst kind of raging angry, belligerent, communist liberal on the internet. He actually wasn't unbearable about it until he got a response to one of his videos expressing disappointment over a few political jokes he made during the commentary and asking politely for him not to drag politics into it. It was then that he made a video telling anyone who didn't agree with him to unsubscribe and to basically go f**k themselves. I mean, I wasn't subscribed anyway, but was considering it. However, since he made his wishes so explicit... And I'm truly heartbroken and completely bewildered on how our "beliefs" on Star Trek can be so closely aligned while we clearly have polar opposite philosophies on real life. Bizarre. I guess some respect should be credited to him because he did, in fact, lose a lot of subscribers and his exclusively political videos don't get a lot of views, yet he hasn't toned down his politics at all; doubled down rather. I still watch his Trek videos, but it's just such a shame.

Anyway, that's how I YouTube. Those are the audio/visual things that I enjoy being distracted by when I don't wish to engage in this insane world. Written down for my friends that prefer to read rather than do YouTube, or any kind of video leisure.

Top 10 Favorite Book Series

 

Top 10 Book Series of All Time

Criteria can be any series by the same author(s) and a minimum of five books that you have read.

Personal note:... I won't be following the criteria to the letter. There will be a few trilogies in my list. 

 

 

#10 Dragon Riders of Pern

Author: Anne McCaffrey

30 books in the series

Books I've completed: 5

This is a sizable series and a very good one. Not continuous, it contains several trilogies and stand alone-novels. And in my experience so far, I've noticed the trilogy sets also shift focus within - the main character of the first book is often not the main character of the last, which is an interesting approach. But, McCaffrey is a a wonderful writer who created a world that married science fiction and fantasy elements surrounding the lives of people on a planet who need dragons help protect them from a deadly spore-fall that occurs when the planets in their solar system pass each other in a certain orbit.

The first trilogy, Dragonriders of Pern, containing Dragonflight, Dragonquest, and The White Dragon set up the concept beginning with the story of the newest rider of a queen dragon and finishing with the struggles of a land holder turned rider to the backdrop of the world building as pertaining to the dragons and the spores.

But the first Pern book I read was the first one in the Harper Hall series, Dragonsong which focused on a secondary aspect of life on Pern, the harpers who kept the historical records of their society in songs that are taught through the generations. Dragonsong is about one girl's journey from obscurity to a career harper. But her story seemed rushed in the second, Dragonsinger, and didn't have a solid tie-in with the overarching premise, although I loved the fire lizards. So I skipped the third one, Dragondrums, which had a new main character that I don't think I'd like anyway if his appearance in The White Dragon is any indication of his personality. But the overlap of the two sets is clever and I like the fully finished lead character from Harper Hall as she appears in The White Dragon.

At any rate, this is a great series of books. Will I ever get through all of them? Remains to be seen. But I do recommend them.

Tagging, Jaycee Caramsalidis, who is also a big fan of the Pern universe.

 

 

 

#9 Sherlock Holmes

Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

5 novels and 56 short stories in the series

Books I've completed: almost all of them

The Sherlock Holmes series is a little different and probably not thought of as a "series" since, apart from the Moriarty material and the occasional mention of Watson's wife after he's married, there's no real continuity in them. They're episodic. But they're so compelling. Mystery is another genre I like although I don't have as many and it turns out that, as with the supernatural/thriller genre, the short story is a really good format for it. I like the slower pacing of a novel but it's very talented and creative to create misdirection in such a limited narrative. The stories were smart with interesting twists and became the standard bearer of the genre. You can see Doyle's change in style from the first novel, A Study in Scarlet in which he switches the POV in the reveal at the end to later works where he refines the technique to explaining his brilliant deductions to Watson. They range from deadly intense to comical misunderstandings. And even though there are some repeated openings over the span of the series, each story remains unique and, even after binge reading several in a row, unpredictable I think. I love to read and reread them. The pictures are just various novels. Jaycee Caramsalidis is not a fan, but this definitely meets his criteria. 

 

 

 

#8 The Inheritance Cycle

Author: Christopher Paolini

5 books in the series

Books I've completed: 4

I'm actually surprised by how much I really liked this series. My first time through it, I noticed almost exclusively all of the influences behind it and was tempted to call it unoriginal but after another read, I noticed all the little details that made it unique. After all, there is nothing new under the sun, and this is yet another variation on the fantasy theme. There's a nice balance of action, problem solving, as well as humor and tragedy. All the characters likeable and the way the story is paced keeps you interested and wanting to find out what happens next. It also has a beginning, middle, and definite end. I'm a big fan of closure. I like the episodic types of series that don't have an underlying theme and the grand series that are layered with stories within stories and can carry on over several decades. But part of me appreciates seeing a final payoff for all of the work and suffering the characters go through. And bonus points if it's not a perfect, happy ending but adds depth with some bittersweet complication. This series went with a more complicated ending while tying everything together nicely. I found it satisfying. Just the kind of series I like to reread for comfort food. The fifth book is an extension of the series. I think it may be the start of a sequel set, but I don't think it's done well and I'm not sure if more are planned. It's on my list of things to try out. That's a possible downfall of having a clear and definite ending... people aren't as forgiving with extentions. But, we'll see. All in all, it's not bad for a modern YA series.

Another that Jaycee Caramsalidis probably wouldn't care for, but variety is the spice of life.. 

 

 

 

#7 Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children

Author: Ransom Riggs

7 books in the series

Books I've completed: 6

To be honest, I fell in love with the concept of this series first. Riggs took a bunch of creepy looking old photographs and built a story around them. It's an exercise in creative writing that just makes me so happy. It's the sort of thing I'd do with a cousin when we were kids. The creepy pictures led to a supernatural story. Not normally my type of thing anymore and I didn't find them terribly frightening, but the pictures were integral to the process and having them scattered throughout the novel for visualization just made me smile. It's different than placing artwork in the pages because the author had to spin the narrative around them to make it work instead of drawing his own vision of characters and settings. Of course, as the series went on the story became more complex and fleshed out so there were fewer pictures and several had to be altered to fit into the events. But the writing and the story turned out to be solid on its own so the pictures became just a clever contrivance that made the books unique and fun. Fun enough for me to forgive any plot holes or continuity issues that arose between the two trilogies that the series is composed of. And I had a moment at the beginning of the second trilogy where I was, as mentioned in my previous entry, a little put off with the extension of a completed story, but I stuck with it (for the pictures ) and it turned out to be a addition. Along with the first trilogy and the sequel set, there's a seventh book that is a companion piece. Tales of the Peculiar, which I don't think is directly related to the main characters of the previous 6. I got it with my Christmas books and it's in my queue. So, if you like supernatural stories and think you'd be chilled by old black and white photos that fit the story, then this is for you. Probably not for Jaycee Caramsalidis who I will bypass while he's on hiatus. But our overlap in lists will come soon.

 

 

 

#6 The Hunger Games

Author: Suzanne Collins

4 books in the series

Books I've completed: 3

The last two series came as a delightful surprise to me and this one did as well. I kind of went along with the crowd when I tried the first book and was unsure about it. But I was interested enough to try the second book... about 6 years later. After some time passed and I looked at it with fresh eyes, I ended up being hooked and got the third book right after I finished the second. Dystopic scifi isn't one of my usual choice either. But this one is especially character driven. I've described it as a cross between 1984 and Bladerunner. But it wasn't trying to convey a specific political message. It's an evergreen future in which a reader of any political side can see it as the result of his or her opponent. Also the science of the scifi was vague. Instead of explaining how everything works it just gets on with the struggles of the characters within. Not every technology has to be backed up with enough techno-babble to make it believable. It's merely a background to set the mood for the story. Sometimes it's taken advantage of in a critical moment but, for the most part, it's not an antagonist to be defeated, and learning how it all works works doesn't really make a difference. I guess I find it a nice change of pace. Instead of having to keep up with technical jargon, a person can really ponder the decisions made by the characters. Everything about this series is different including a heroine that is reactive rather than proactive. She never chooses her path, but makes the best of her circumstances without compromising her nature. It makes for some very interesting twists. It's a series that can actually keep you guessing after all the years of most stories being forged from the same basic formulas. It breaks a rule or two. Not many, but just enough to make it sufficiently different to catch my eye. I'm a big fan of different. And it's also an engrossing page turner in my opinion. The kind of read that stresses me out and I have a hard time coming back to reality after reading for a while. That doesn't happen often to me and that's why I rank these pretty high. For me it's a series to reread when I have extra time on my hands to really dive in and consume it. The fourth book in the set is called The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and I don't know much about it. Seems to have slipped in under the radar. It apparently takes place at an earlier time in the universe, during the 10th Hunger Games whereas the main trilogy takes place during the 74th and 75th Games. But I don't think it's a prequel. It's something I'll have to look into sometime. Last clash with Jaycee Caramsalidis 

 

 

# 5 The Deed of Paksenarrion

Author: Elizabeth Moon

3 books in the series

Books I've completed: 3

My first break in the List criteria. Sometimes you only need three books to tell the story. And my, what a story it is. It's pretty standard fantasy fare on the surface, but it's actually quite different. The heroine is a young woman whose goal is to become a Paladine knight, the setbacks and challenges she faces as she moves through a military and trains with elves, and her first mission as a knight. With all series, each book should have its own definitive ending, and these do, but you don't see how all three tie together clearly until the end of the last book and it's such an interesting approach. Because the books are so highly consecrated on the main character's actual life and internal conflicts, everything and everyone around her appear to be just window dressing. But it's actually such a slow and subtle build to the climax that it's pretty brilliant. So it's more like one very long story rather than three separate books. The more books you throw in, the harder it is to pull that off. That's why I had to include this trilogy in a list meant for more protracted series. It's too impressive to leave out. Like so many of the others, it's different. And I like different. You can read it several times over and it always seems like the first time. Highly recommend. Jaycee Caramsalidis would vehemently recommend as well..

 

 

# 4 The Chronicles of Narnia

Author: C.S. Lewis

7 books in the series

Books I've completed: 7

Ah yes, Lewis gets a double dip in my lists most of the time, and so he shall this time. He had a way with words, condensing complex ideas and philosophies into words that, not just children, but non-academics as well. Shown here in the order they were written, it's a series that gets better with each one. I've often noted that The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe reads like no sequels were ever intended. But what an amazing save! They kept getting better with each installment. The world of Narnia was expanded and the characters were refined. Some of the seeming randomness of the first book attained focus in future storylines. Episodic, but connected by Aslan, the books follow a number of different kids as they bounce back and forth from our world to Narnia where they're given tasks to preform and lessons to learn. But they're not only lessons for children to learn, although life would be easier if we could learn them that young. There's actually a lot of content squeezed in these seven short novels. No, it's certainly to Lewis' credit that he didn't need thousands of pages to convey powerful works... It holds true with all of them. The sweet simplicity and sincerity of this series has appealed to every generation since they were published. You had to know this would be here Jaycee Caramsalidis

 

 

# 3 Harry Potter series

Author: J. K. Rowling

11 books in the series

Books I've completed: 10

I've written so much content about the HP series because I love it so. A detailed review of every book, all my favorite characters, chapters, and moments. I have no shame in having a YA series this high on my list. I was 22 when the series began; 24 or 25 when I read my first one. So, it's no wonder I took to them since I was at the back end of young adulthood. Still close to my youth, it brought back memories of teenage behavior, struggles, angst, nativity , and loss of that innocence. I often wished that I'd have been able to grow up with them since they really do hit the psychology of these years so spot on. Being an adult, however, and not a teenager like the protagonists, the attraction for me was also their freshness at the very tip-end beginning of the staleness and apathy that would take overtake the creative industries. In fact, some of the most creative stuff was coming from the YA industry for a while. Already there were hints and indications that the entertainment industry was getting tired of trying to foster and harvest originality when it was just so much easier to cash in on the same old, same old. Yes, HP follows a formula, but it's a skeleton that was built wonderfully on with such imaginative additions to the borrowed elements. And it still has some traction with the spinoff franchise. I've not invested in it, but I think spinoffs are a pretty good indicator of an original premise... lots of stories left to tell, centered around other characters. A tree with varying limbs and branches. There are 11 books in all - the original 7 in the set and 4 companion pieces, of which I've read three. Those three were like overflow containers of creative concepts from the original series and absolutely delightful. I haven't read The Cursed Child for no real reason. Just waiting for the right time I guess. I feel like I have to stress that it's the book series that's my favorite. I liked the movies and they were perfectly cast, but, of course, they lacked so much of what made the books special. I just love this series and it's overdue for a good re-read. I guess other things keep Jaycee Caramsalidis young at heart though.. 

 

 

# 2 The Lord of the Rings

Author: J. R. R. Tolkien

5 books in the series

Books I've completed: 6

The math is right. I'm including The Hobbit and The Silmarillion in the primary set and the sixth one I've read is Unfinished Tales of Middle Earth. There are several unfinished works and other volumes that the Tolkien estate has approved, like the latest repackaging of the story of Beren and Lúthien. I suppose if one was to track them all down the numbers would go up. But this series isn't just in my personal top ten list but from a measurable market perspective as well with 150 million copies sold. Admittedly, a lot of those may be purchases from schools for kids who felt forced into reading them as an assignment. I've felt that way too about other books. But that's what happens when you're not just unique for your chosen genre, but you're actually are the original. The theme on which variations will be played on for generations to come. The standard by which the variations will be judged. Tolkien didn't think much of the fuss made about his books. He even referred to his fans as cultists. But, I don't think he really understood the impact it had on readers. Or what a wonderful idea it was to spin the age old stories of good versus evil and the hero's journey in that way. Or how that idea was malleable enough that it could inpire so many other writers to augment the basic concept to continue the influence for better in some cases or worse in others. His writing has become so appreciated by so many. And the recent revival through the Peter Jackson movies have reminded everyone what a classic piece of art they are. And perhaps encourage those who felt like they were just homework to rediscover them. I know Jaycee Caramsalidis will agree with me on this one!

 

 

 

Honorable mentions

There's 5 of them, but my blurbs will be brief.

Dragonlance

Authors: Tracy Hickman/ Margaret Weis and various other authors

Total: at least 150. I've completed: 6

Specifically, I've read the Chronicles trilogy that started it all and the Legends trilogy, an immediate sequel to Chronicles. Dragonlance is a Tolkien-esqe fantasy series mixed with Dungeons and Dragons storytelling and original elements. It's a great match and streamlines the classic fantasy tropes. Good stuff. Lots of stuff!

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Author: Daniel Handler

Total: 13. I've completed: 1

A series for younger children. Younger than the typical YA demographic. But, my goodness, they're so well written as to be very addictive. Dark, funny, and enchanting. I intend to read them all one day.

His Dark Materials

Author: Phillip Pullman

Total: 6? I've completed: 3.

The underlying philosophy of these books runs in direct contradiction to everything I belive in. However they are creative and compelling and not written on offense in an aggressive or condescending manner. Worth being out of my comfort zone. The other 3 are companion pieces. I'm tempted to get them to complete the set. And I think there's another trilogy in the works? But I may be playing with fire, though, to keep going with these.

Chronicles of Prydain

Author: Lloyd Alexander

Total: 5. I've completed: 4

I'm actually in the middle of the 4th one right now. A classic YA series that was a recent discovery on my part and I got them with my Christmas books. I'm enjoying them a lot and I'll be reviewing them as a set when I complete them.

Choose Your Own Adventure

Authors: various authors

Total: 184 in original series. I've completed many.

This is a another disconnected series like the Holmes stories. They were a big part of my childhood. I loved them before I actually liked to read. They were interactive play for a lonely girl that didn't have many friends. And the franchise is by no means gone in the modern day. But the books from the original series published between 1979 and 1998 hold a special nostalgia for me. I've replaced only a handful of what I lost after leaving home, but had quite a few growing up.

 

 

# 1 The Space Trilogy

Author: C. S. Lewis

3 books in the series

Books I've completed: 3

It's not a set of books that's well known except to Lewis fans. It's been called Narnia for adults. Maybe, but only because it's written in Lewis' style. The reason I'm so attached to it is because it was a key part of my spiritual reawakening. They aren't allegory, just an imagining of other worlds made by God, what that would look like, and how a person would be thrown into an adventure of discovering them. In the first, a man is taken by force to a world older than Earth, Mars, that was spared the spiritual scars of being attacked by the Evil One by its planetary angel and his own faith is reawakened. In the second, a retelling of the story of Eden, he is sent to help prevent the fall of this younger planet, Venus. The third is more focused on the erosion of faith on Earth and the push to replace it with a kind of bureaucratic mind control and worship of science. It's frighteningly relevant. Probably best understood alongside The Screwtape Proposes a Toast. Also, Lewis was an Arthurian scholar, so he works Merlin and the Logres into the narrative on the side of good; a creative boon. I don't understand much of those points, as I'm not as well versed, but it doesn't detract from the way all of his stories are easily to relate to by non academics. They were written in a time before the science caught up to fiction, which is why Mars and Venus can feature as populated with some of the most whimsical and inventive nature settings native to each planet, which I find charming. And they can be read separately even though the first two share the same protagonist. I always recommend it highly.

Jaycee Caramsalidis knew I couldn't have a list without it 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review

Dragonology, Dugald Steer

Fictional author: Dr. Earnest Drake 

This book was as much fun as it looked liked. I posted pics from inside of it about a month ago. It's for kids but all fantasy lovers will love it. It's a comprehensive guide to the scientific study of dragons as penned by Dr. Earnest Drake in the 1800s. It's filled with illustrations and samples of various things pertaining to dragons and those who study them. Scale "specimens" are scattered throughout different pages. Pull away diagrams showing a dragon's egg and embryonic growth and a body atlas detailing surface, muscles, and skeletal structure of a full grown dragon add a nice touch. It has a wonderful map that folds out on both sides showing the native locations of the various species. There are small one or two page books with journal entries and riddles as well as sealed envelopes that you can open to find other spells. And instructions on how to use parts of the desceced dragon in potions and such. It's all just creative and relaxing to look through. Good for smiles. Especially for adults because the humor may be a little dry for kids to pick up on. The book itself is large and not portable. The pages are thick like cardboard to hold all of the embedded goodies like the scale samples and dragon dust. It's better suited as a coffee table book. A fair warning if you're giving it to a child - the dragon dust is glitter so, it could potentially make a mess. 

It's one of many in the "Ology" series. I'll post pictures of the others. But I don't see this format working as well with the other subjects presented, except maybe Monsters. So, I don't know if I'll ever try any others. But this was worth it.

Other ologies:

Book Review

Dragonriders  of Pern
Dragonflight/ Dragonquest/ The White Dragon
Anne McCaffrey

A classic trilogy that uniquely blends science fiction and fantasy. I've never read anything quite like it and I'm wondering why Hollywood hasn't picked up on them. Well, I say that, but I suspect the real reason is that adapting original work is too hard for them anymore. Also, these books aren't structured in the way that film series have become settled on in recent years. The main character of the first book isn't the same as the main character of the third book and the primary antagonist is a scientific phenomenon that, is indicated, will never be be defeated. Yet, trilogy it remains as the story rolls and flows with the way the characters are affected by the cosmic threat in a concert of world building and the drama of the lives of the people thereon. Instead of a firm, overarching plot, it has more of a supple, overarching theme of a civilization losing valuable knowledge of their past, their struggle of reconnecting with that past without losing the progress that they've made, and balancing those dynamics to protect the future with both a firm grounding in their historical achievements and continued innovation of technology and improvement on cultural norms.
The peculiar union of scifi and fantasy could also complicate visual storytelling. The base premise is that a group of human space explorers settled on Pern. Shortly thereafter they noticed that another planet in the system would rain down deadly spores they dubbed "Thread" in predictable patterns that would destroy all organic matter. In adapting to the threat they bred native creatures, fire lizards, into large dragons that could be tactically flown during a Thread attack while the fire they breathe irradicates the spore. The fantasy aspect lies with the relationship between dragon and rider as they are telepathically linked as well as becoming physically and emotionally symbiotic. This leads to what would surely be cinematically frowned upon these days in what amounts to arranged marriages between the riders of mating dragons, as they helplessly succumb to the passions of their beasts with each other. I've seen some women refer to the romantic relationships in the books as "rapey" but these books were written by a woman so some of her own fancies and fantasies are embedded in the stories. I bet the same naysayers liked the 50 Shades trilogy. All I'm saying is that women's sensual imaginings aren't necessarily P.C. or feminist approved whether the world wants to admit it or not. But I'd still say the books lean more towards scifi because even for the dragons to breathe fire, they need to be fed a particular stones and can be used for instantaneously transporting over distances and through time. Anyway, back to the story... there will be some spoilers because it's hard to describe the books as a set without them.
The first book, Dragonflight, is the story of Lessa. Pern is coming to the end of a centuries-long interval during which there's been no threadfall due to the movements of the planets and has become akin to a civilization that's lost its faith. Most no longer believe that Thread will ever fall again and that the Dragonriders that they've been supporting financially are nothing but a useless burden on their supplies. The Dragonriders themselves have dwindled in numbers down to one weyr and have become complacent in training and vigilance, also supposing the Thread to be mostly a non-issue. All except for one Rider, F'lar, who has applied himself to studying the movement of the Red Star, the planet where Thread originates. Knowing that it will pass by again soon, he is determined to become the new leader in order to properly prepare. Leaders are determined by whose bronze dragon captures a golden queen dragon during her mating flight. So in search for a woman to bond with a newly hatched queen that his bronze, Mnementh, will one day fly, he finds a likely candidate in Lessa, who is a lowly drudge in an impoverished land hold. Her story embodies the themes of past vs. future and tradition vs. progression. She comes from an old bloodline entitled to power in her hold and she possesses the strength and drive of that line, born to lead and gifted with the rare ability to communicate with all dragon kind. After her dragon, Ramoth, is impressed on her, she bucks the latter-day traditions that have been set up in the weyr to protect the few queens and their shrinking population. She learns to fly on Ramoth even though it's not allowed. She travels "between" with her, which transports them instantaneously from place to place throughout Pern. And in doing so, it's she that discovers that dragons can travel in time as well as across distances. Only wanting to take back her own hold one day, she ends up being critical in saving the planet from the devastation of the falling spores. As hard as F'lar works over the years to prepare to fight the Thread, there's just not enough dragons or riders after all the years of neglect. Making progress with one flying, fighting queen is meaningless against such odds. So Lessa takes the daring and dangerous mission upon herself to travel back four-hundred turns (years) to when the weyrs were full and bring the Dragonriders of the past forward to help canvass the northern continent and protect the land holds from Thread. Lessa's dragon flight becomes the stuff of legends and the Master Harper is quick to set her story to song. It's a great start. And fun fact: this book is composed of two novellas that McCaffrey had published in Analog Science Fiction the year prior to its publication.
The second book, Dragonquest, is my favorite, I think. The honeymoon is soon over with the Oldtimers that Lessa brought back from the past as the book begins with the difficulties brought about by the resulting culture shock. Their arrival had its advantages. They boosted their numbers and brought invaluable experience to the generations that had never seen Thread. But society was ordered differently in their day. They begin to bully and oppress the people of the lands in their care, not taking into account that the land holds and craft halls had moved on over the centuries becoming independent of the weyrs, relaxing and freeing up the feudalistic economy a little. This book is centered on F'lar and the overwhelming task of protecting the population not just from Thread, but the outdated attitudes of the Oldtimers. To complicate matters, the Thread begins to fall in irregular, unpredictable patterns. It's at this point they start to learn how much past knowledge they've really lost. Upon discovering information and technologies belonging the ancient humans that first settled Pern, the past and present are put at odds again. Those in the present become just as resistant to changing their closed society to avoid the lack of communication that is impeding their ability to survive as the Oldtimers are to changing their traditional views of order in the land. F'lar has a full plate sorting all of this out. Also introduced in this book are the fire lizards which still exist on the southern continent, thought to be barren, that was only rediscovered and partially taken advantage of in the second half of the first book. The lizards' behaviors and impressions they make on their humans challenge coupling rituals that the weyrs had so strictly followed thus far. It's explored in the relationship of F'lar's half brother F'nor and Brekke. Their romance has a touch of the unrequited to it, which is what I like. I think F'nor is my favorite character. To be honest, both Lessa and F'lar are wound a little tight for me at times. And his brown dragon, Canth is also my favorite dragon. F'nor seems more secure with himself with no chip on his shoulder even though he doesn't have the same leadership pressures on him as F'lar. Likewise, Canth has no doubts or hesitations of his ability to out fly bronze dragons to capture Brekke's queen but not in an arrogant or boastful manner. They also show no fear when deciding that they are capable of traveling between to the Red Star itself when the tensions between the weyrs and holds reach their pique. The trust they have in one another without the need to agonize over every decision before taking action makes them a breath of fresh air. Although, I do sympathize with F'lar's obligation to exhaust all diplomatic solutions before finally fighting the leader of the Oldtimers and banishing him and all those aligned with him to the southern continent. This book brings closure to the main plot begun in the first book, confirming that Thread will always be a part of Pern and that plans would need to be made against the next extended interval to avoid losing their knowledge and forgetting the danger. The first two books actually make a pretty complete couplet.
To say that the third book, The White Dragon, is a let-down would be way too harsh. But it does seem a little disconnected from the first two. In the first book when Lessa realizes her destiny lies in the weyrs with her dragon, she cedes her claim to power in her land hold to another of the old bloodline, Jaxom, who was just born at the beginning of the story. His character is never forgotten and the beginning of his arc as a protagonist begins at the end of the second book when he impresses a dragon from an underdeveloped egg that would normally be left to die because it didn't have the strength to break its shell. Being groomed to be a Lord Holder one day, this puts him on the wrong side of everyone. But the blurb on the back cover makes his struggles sound more intense than what they actually end up being. He broke the rules by impressing the dragon but he's allowed to keep him after some good natured debate. The rest of his childhood is firmly controlled by his guardian and nurse, until he asserts his status of adulthood and he's given more freedom without much resistance. He learns about flying and going between without formal permission, but once he's caught there's no harsh repercussions for him to deal with and he's allowed to train as a dragon rider to fight Thread in a limited capacity. There's lamenting of his teenage recklessness, but usually with an underlying grin for the rascally young man. There's no problem with any of this except the most heroic thing he does at the beginning of the book - a deed that prevents an altercation between Benden Weyr and the Oldtimers in the south - is done in secret, never being officially acknowledged. And when most people figure it out, nothing is really said about it and he receives no accolades. Nor does he get much credit for important discoveries at the end of the book. To come full circle, in the same way Lessa realizes her destiny lies in the Weyr, Jaxom realizes his duty is to his land hold and finally returns to take his place as Lord. His story is fun and exciting, but also a little underwhelming. The fire lizards have more conflict to deal with than him, falling out of favor early on after the resurgence of friction from the aging Oldtimers. The fire lizards and their capability of ancestral memory is one of several other things that I loved much more than Jaxom's story that were just secondary elements in this one. I loved the Ruth, the runt, white dragon. He was deeply complex, was not useless as a dragon even though he was undersized, and had a unique relationship with the fire lizards. He always knew "when" he was when traveling between. And even though all of this is covered, it seemed incomplete and left me wanting more. Along with the latest discoveries made with the ancient's technology. They find that a grouping of stars in the sky are the ships that the original humans came in, still in orbit. And at the end, with Jaxom's impulsive and under-appreciated help, they find the location of the ancient's original settlement on the southern continent. It's such a tantalizing and frustrating tease. Will they learn everything about their ancestors? Will they travel to the ships? What other surprises lay in store? Also, will they now encourage the hatching and impression of diminutive eggs now that they've seen how special Ruth is? I'm more interested in that than the fact that Ruth had no proclivity to mate because of his size. But I suppose these threads (no pun intended) are picked up on in other installments or series; there are many entries in the Pern universe. The Harper Hall series overlaps with this one bringing in Menolly and Piemur as Jaxom's friends who assist him in his adventures. The storylines concerning the contentions between the Oldtimers and the Weyrs as well as F'lar's plans for the Dragonriders' retirement during the next long interval were wrapped up neatly in the background, spread out over the whole book since there wasn't quite enough content to fill it alone.
But overall, I have no complaints. This is a big, rich trilogy full of characters and situations that I haven't even had a chance to touch on. For as long as this review and my synopses are, there are still so many details I've had to leave out. So much great world building. Such detailed character development. So original. I can't recommend it enough for fans of dragons and light science fiction. 

Book Review

Rush on the Radio, James Golden a.k.a. Bo Snerdly

After Rush passed, Snerdly… I’m sorry, James Golden (who will always be “Snerdly” to people who listened) put together a twelve part pod cast series interviewing family, friends, and co-workers of Rush as a wonderful memorial tribute. The first quarter of this book was a summation of that series with excerpts from the interviews and biopics. I’d listened to the pod cast in real time so there was nothing new here for me, but then Golden went into details about his own life and career as it weaved in and out with Rush’s emphasizing the influence Rush left on him and the legacy he leaves behind with a call to other conservatives to help pick up the mantle. So, it’s only a partial biography of Rush Limbaugh. I imagine his brother will write a more complete biography one day. What you do learn in this book is an account of Rush as witnessed by people who were very close to him as an adult from his staff, to the guest hosts, to president Trump, to even James Carville whose wife, Mary Matalin, was a former guest host and long time friend to Rush. You learn of his humor, generosity, and what a great boss he was. There are also many, many excerpts of Rush’s monologues explaining conservative philosophy. If you’ve never heard it explained before, he taught an ongoing Master Class in it for 30 years, and the few bits and pieces chosen for this book are a good start if you’re curious to learn about it. Then you learn from Golden his personal journey from a former Black Panther evolved into a black Conservative. A vegetarian, black Conservative that doesn’t celebrate the 4th of July and has a healthy pride in his race. Healthy because, and it never really dawned on me until I was reading his viewpoints, how liberalism has poisoned the genuine and pure form of racial pride with identity politics. Reading about his life and how his attitudes changed is quite illuminating. And a large portion of the book is Snerdly’s commentary focusing on the pain it caused him to see Rush continually lied about in the media. He considered Rush to be his best friend. Naturally he wants to bring the truth to light about a man he loved like a brother. You would too if someone you knew was being judged unfairly. This is another attempt to set the record right that, sadly, many will not read. Not just liberals, but those who have believed the media’s portrait of him over the years and are afraid to investigate themselves. But those of us who listened know the truth. He also highlights his own contributions to the show over the years. His experiences with callers. The ups and downs of Rush’s last year. And he talks about how he’s carrying on Rush’s crusade in his own career. It’s a great book. Please, put aside your prejudices and read it. You’ll get a different perspective, if nothing else.

Book Review

Bunnicula, A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery, Deborah and James Howe

A children's book from 1979, it was right in my wheelhouse, yet somehow I'd never heard of it. I put it on my list of things to check out one day and then it was fortuitously gifted to me earlier this year. It's the first of a series that follows a human family from the first person pov of the family's dog named, Harold. Some children's books have the complexities that you can reexamine into adulthood like the Narnia series, and others just make for wonderfully light reading with a sophistication that adults can appreciate. This is one of the latter and it's adorable and generally funny in ways that smaller kids won't pick up on at first such as sarcasm and the duality of the the pets both having personalities and also still being just a cat and a dog with natural instincts and reactions to the activity.
The family brings home a new pet bunny after attending a Dracula movie, and Harold observes as the other main character, Chester the cat, works out the mystery of this rabbit. Chester is also the antagonist as he becomes obsessed with proving that Bunnicula is a vampire and a danger to everyone, even though the only threat the unusual rabbit poses is to the vegetables in the fridge. He does traumatize the little thing in his pursuit, but he's constantly foiled by the absurdity of how his behavior is perceived by the family who see him as acting out and jealous of the new pet. Harold helps Chester at first but ultimately rescues Bunnicula from Chester's irrational scheme. And the problem of the rabbit being a veggie-vampire works itself out in the end thanks to the family's response to Chester's interference.
It's not perfect story crafting. The animals are limited to their animal nature except when the refrigerator needs to be opened or a book needs to be retrieved and read. But rules like that are rightfully relaxed when making a story for young kids. It's imaginative and creative fun for fun's sake, and that's the real takeaway. My copy has the first chapter for the second book at the end, and it looks like it'll be the continuing adventures of Harold and Chester. I liked it. It's a clever, quick read, and a nice change of pace.