Books – Page 12 – If Mermaids Wore Suspenders

Do you ever find yourself screaming at a character not to open that door?

If no, go to a) If yes, go to b)

a) Or mentally imploring them to give that guy a chance?

If no, go to b) If yes, go to c)

b) …Hmm, I guess just go to e) if you want (look for the aligned center)

c) Then Choose Your Own Adventure Books are right up your alley! They let you, the reader, choose what happens next in the story from a given set of options. Continue reading “A Choose Your Own Adventure Guide to Choose Your Own Adventures” →

Books

Detective Stories…Without Detectives (My Top 6)

August 11, 2015August 12, 2015 Aubrey Leaman

The “A Tale of Two Cities” and “A Glimpse of the World With Detectives” blog posts from “Confessions of a Readaholic” have caused me to think lately about what a detective story really is (and since my posts lately been pretty much dominated by the Anna Karenina Classical Music Stories series, I thought I’d take a quick break to talk about something different).

Sure, we generally think of them as containing, well, a detective, and solving a mysterious crime. But I’m starting to think that other stories are like “detective” stories, too.

After all, when you read a book you’re always solving a mystery in a sense. You gradually discover who the characters are, what will happen to them, and/or how Continue reading “Detective Stories…Without Detectives (My Top 6)” →

Books

Disney Doppelgängers

July 30, 2015July 30, 2015 Aubrey Leaman

It’s common knowledge that Disney’s The Lion King is based on Hamlet, where Mufasa is King Hamlet Sr., Simba is Hamlet Jr., and Scar is Claudius (I guess that would make Nala Ophelia??). So it got me thinking: do any other literary characters resemble Disney characters in some way?

WARNING: SPOILERS

George Wickham from Pride and Prejudice = Hans from Frozen

Both Wickham and Hans know how Continue reading “Disney Doppelgängers” →

Books

What if the characters from Alice in Wonderland played sports?

July 27, 2015July 28, 2015 Aubrey Leaman

Alice: Obstacle course racing
Just like in Wonderland, she wouldn’t be fazed by anything in her way. Responding to the unexpected without letting it slow you down? Alice has that covered.

The White Rabbit: Track
Because he knows that the faster he runs, the less late he will be.

The Mock Turtle and the Gryphon: Ice dancing
After they danced the lobster quadrille for Alice, they discovered their passion and began to compete.

The Dormouse: Ski jumping
You might not have considered the dormouse as the athletic type. After all, he’s virtually always sleeping. But the truth is that his lethargy has caused him to perfect the art of getting the most out of a single effort. A.K.A. covering as much ground as possible in a single jump.

Books, Music

First Things

July 26, 2015July 26, 2015 Aubrey Leaman

What if mermaids wore suspenders?

What if the White Rabbit played an Olympic sport?

What if music could take you on an adventure?

Some things you can expect from this blog:

1) Mixing and matching book characters and/or settings (EX: What if character from X met character from Y?)

2) Imagining book characters in new situations

3) Telling stories to go along with classical music*

And who knows what else.

Let me know if you have any ideas, questions, or anything else you would like discussed on the blog and I’ll do my best to get back to you in a timely way!

Hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading!

*As a quick note, I don’t pretend that classical music needs an explicit story to be interesting or compelling. But I do think in many cases hearing stories makes the music easier to understand and enjoy, besides giving it a new and often intriguing interpretation.