My Photo
Name:
Location: Vero Beach, Florida, United States

My name is Pat and I live in Florida. My skin will never be smooth again and my hair will never see color. I enjoy collecting autographs and playing in Paint Shop Pro.,along with reading and writing. Sometimes, I enjoy myself by doing volunteer "work" helping celebrities at autograph shows. I love animals and at one time I did volunteer work for Tippi Hedren's Shambala Preserve.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

The Time Has Come..



"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."

Lewis Carroll

The time has come !!..
It's finally here !!...
Carl's, Once Upon A Time Challenge is about to begin!!

Here are the Challenges you get to choose from: (There's something for everyone !)
The Journey
This is really as simple as the name implies and is to Once Upon a Time as the experience was to The Sci~Fi Experience. It means you are participating but not committing yourself to any specific number of books. All reading is a journey, perhaps none more so than reading fantastical fiction. By signing up for The Journey you are agreeing to at least read one book within the four categories during March 21st to June 20th period. Just one book. It has always been of utmost importance to me that the challenges that I host be all about experiencing enjoyable literature and sharing it with others. I want you to participate. Hence, The Journey.

Quest the First
Read at least 5 books that fit somewhere within the Once Upon a Time II criteria. They might all be fantasy, or folklore, or fairy tales, or mythology…or your five books might be a combination from the four genres.

Quest the Second
Read at least one book from each of the four categories. In this quest you will be reading 4 books total: one fantasy, one folklore, one fairy tale, and one mythology. This proved to be one of the more difficult quests last year merely because of the need to classify each read and determine which books fit into which category. I am not a stickler, fear not, but I was fascinated watching how folks worked to find books for each category.

Quest the Third
Fulfill the requirements for Quest the First or Quest the Second AND top it off with a June reading of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Love the story, love the films, love the idea of that magical night of the year and so this is my chance to promote the reading of this farcical love story.
Three is a magical number, a number of portent in fantastical tales, and so three quests seems about right.

There are so many fun reading challenges out in cyberworld.. but this one was the first one I had ever come across... and though I didn't jump right in and join it (I am not big at "joining" because then I start feeling obligated and the fun goes out of things) I did find myself reading ALL the reviews of books I had never heard of, and finding myself either buying or adding many MANY books to my Amazon wish list! (sheesh, like all things we enjoy one can easily get carried away!)
So,.. it took me all year to finally convince myself that joining did not mean that I HAD to do anything I didn't want to. If I were to say I'd read 5 books but by book 3 I though.. "nah, not for me".. no one was going to come after me to finish it lol... I still am not a "joiner" but there are times when things become a "no brainer" (duh).
Like for instance, I am going to be reading Fantasy books anyway so I'm not saying I'll do anything I wouldn't be doing anyway.. heh. This challenge is my "no brainer".. I could no more pass this challenge up than I could forget to go to sleep at night ! So... you bet your bootie I am joining Carl's Fantasy Challenge!!
I'm not sure just how many of the different challenges I will do but so far I can commit to (as I call it) the OBVIOUS.
I'll begin with The Journey, for this I had already picked up a Cornelia Funke book called Igraine the Brave. I started it last night but didn't get far (dancing with the stars came on) so I will let it sit on the shelf again until Friday March 21st so that I can use it for the first challenge, the category being "Fairy Tale"..


After that I plan a reread..
I don't think Carl would say that a reread wouldn't count, especially when I can say it's been at least 15 yrs (if not more) since I read these books. Sometime last year I replaced my paperback versions (which are turning tan from age) with new Hardbacks that were released by Wizards of the Coast. I call them "new" because, although the original books, in paperback, came out in 1984 the hardbacks began coming out in 2003.
So.. for Quest the First I will reread the first 6 Dragonlance books by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.
The cover art was done by Matt Stawicki, and is absolutely fabulous!

If I have time and if I can come up with something I think I'd like to read in Folklore and in Mythology I'll also do Quest the Second. (Hmmm, I wonder if the fairy tale and fantasy I am committed to counts on that one??)
So we are off and running with this great ONCE UPON A TIME challenge, beginning March 21st and ending June 20th.. lots and lots of time to read lots and lots of fabulous books!!

13 Comments:

Blogger Carl V. Anderson said...

So glad you’re giving it a go. This is indeed a no-brainer for you since you love the genre so much. Rereads definitely count. I enjoy hearing about why people reread certain stories as I do reading new reviews. Look forward to seeing what you decide to read, besides the ones you’ve listed, throughout the coming months.

By the way, love the opening quote!

11:39 AM  
Blogger Nikki in Niagara said...

I love the Dragonlance books! I can't wait to read your reviews.

12:00 PM  
Blogger DesLily said...

Carl: sorry for all the trouble! I have got to be your bane! between your host not liking me and this lol..
For reasons I have no idea why the beginning of that quote jumped at me when I started to do my post. When I looked it up I though it fit "fantasy" perfectly!

Nicola: It's been a long time but mostly what I remember with Dragonlance is the characters who I really love, so this is a gift to myself to reread them!

12:18 PM  
Blogger Debi said...

Hooray! I'm so glad you signed up!

Can't wait to hear all about Igraine the Brave...I bet it's going to be a winner!

12:36 PM  
Blogger Ana S. said...

There is indeed something for everyone in this challenge...which is one of the reasons why I love it so much. Happy reading!

1:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I do like those Dragon Lance covers. I look forward to reading your Cornelia Funke review.

2:56 PM  
Blogger DesLily said...

debi: I have a feeling Annie is way above Igraine the Brave LOL but I can't resist Cornelia Funke, I just think she's a great story teller! Even at my old age I enjoy her, wish she was around when I was young!

Nymeth: I complain but I love that my wish list grows so big during the time of this challenge! It's so good to learn about many books you hadn't heard of but sound so good!

rhinoa: I sent for this book out of desperation lol... this waiting for Inkdeath to come out is driving me crazy! Especially when her German version came out some time ago!

3:31 PM  
Blogger chrisa511 said...

I haven't heard of that Funke book...is it new? I'm hoping to get to Inkheart during the challenge :) I absolutely loved When Santa Fell to Earth and want to read more of her stuff.

The covers to the Dragonlance books are awesome! I'm sure you'll enjoy rereading those! And of course, this challenge is a no brainer for you ;) It is for me too!

4:10 PM  
Blogger Cath said...

Nice list, Pat. Look forward to your reviews. Just sorting mine out now. Will probably post about it tomorrow.

7:00 PM  
Blogger DesLily said...

Chris: yes it came out Sept 2007. It's a childrens "story", not as "adult" as Inkheart..

Hey Cath!! You're going to join?!! Wooohoooo!!! You won't be sorry! I'm sure I'll read much more than this list ! Just don't know what yet... maybe I'll get something from a review and I still have books in my tbr that will fit the challenge!

7:17 PM  
Blogger Cath said...

Yep, I'm doing it for certain and my list is already up! Yaaay! This should be a lot of fun. Really looking forward to reading people's reviews.

8:08 PM  
Blogger Kailana said...

Hardcover versions of the Dragonlance books? Can I say jealous! haha. I think I might read some Dragonlance soon. I miss me my Tas. It would be fun to read all the old ones and then the first two new ones... hm, maybe April could be Dragonlance month. I am such a nerd. lol Happy reading!

7:27 PM  
Blogger Carl V. Anderson said...

You are in no way any trouble to me at all. You're a blessing and I am so glad that you discovered my site as I certainly enjoy visiting yours.

1:42 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home