Category: Books

Books, The Other Stuff

What If Alice In Wonderland Characters Played Sports?

Aubrey Leaman

If Mermaids Wore Suspenders turned one year old yesterday! (I guess that means it’s sleeping more at night and will start to babble soon?) I’m thrilled that so many of you have found this blog enjoyable.  Always feel free to leave comments or email me with any questions or thoughts you may have about the blog’s content! I love exploring different viewpoints on books and music with people.

To celebrate this first blogiversary, here’s a look back at my first blog post–just in time for the Olympics!

Alice: Obstacle course racing

Just like in Wonderland, she wouldn’t Continue reading “What If Alice In Wonderland Characters Played Sports?” →

Books, The Other Stuff

Literary Quotes About Me

Aubrey Leaman

When faced with ten questions and a Liebster award (shoutout to The Library Lizard who tagged me and has a great blog with all kinds of bookish stuff), I decided to answer each of the questions with book quotes (and one movie quote) since I don’t normally like blogging directly about myself.  Plus, I’ll be killing two birds with one stone by posting some great quotes! (I’m violent that way.)

1. What is one of your favourite quotes from a book?

“First Murderer: (Stabbing him) Young fry of treachery!

Son: He has kill’d me, mother.” —Macbeth (I originally posted this quote here.)

YOUNG FRY OF TREACHERY

Also these hilarious quotes from The Importance of Being Earnest.

2. Favourite animal/creature from a book? (e.g. hippogriffs from Harry Potter) Continue reading “Literary Quotes About Me” →

Books, Music

The “Fairy Tale” Genre in Music

Aubrey Leaman

Castle

“After everyone had left the house, Cinderella went out to her mother’s grave under the hazel tree, and cried: ‘Shiver and shake, dear little tree, gold and silver shower on me.’ Then the bird threw down to her a gold and silver robe and a pair of slippers embroidered with silk and silver…

On the second day, when the festival was renewed and her parents and stepsisters had started forth again, Cinderella went to the hazel tree and said: ‘Shiver and shake, dear little tree, gold and silver shower on me.’  Then the bird threw down a still more gorgeous robe than on the previous day…

On the third day, when her parents and sisters had started, Cinderella went again to her mother’s grave and said: ‘Shiver and shake, dear little tree, gold and silver shower on me.’ Then the bird threw down a dress which was so magnificent that no one had ever seen the like before, and the slippers were entirely of gold.”

–Cinderella

Fairy tales often include these types of three-fold repetitions.  Something will happen, it will have an effect, and then the Continue reading “The “Fairy Tale” Genre in Music” →

Books

Pride and Prejudice Characters Sorted Into Hogwarts Houses

Aubrey Leaman

Jane Austen with wand

What if your favorite Pride and Prejudice characters lived in the world of Harry Potter? What houses would they be sorted into and what can that tell us about the similarities between (and functions of) various characters?

Jane Bennett = Hufflepuff

She is incredibly kind.  She can’t think ill of anyone! The reader also has a sense of her loyalty to Bingley.

Mr. Bingley = Hufflepuff Continue reading “Pride and Prejudice Characters Sorted Into Hogwarts Houses” →

Books

NEW Bookish Time Travel Tag

Aubrey Leaman

ancient-clock-1427041_1920

And thus, a new tag was born over at The Library Lizard.  It’s one of the best I’ve seen!

Rules:

  • Answer as many of the questions as you can/want.
  • Tag other people – as many as you like. Share the love!
  • Please leave a link to this post/blog. 
  • Tag the post as “Bookish Time Travel”.
  • Feel free to leave a link to your post in the comments!
  • Explore! Try and visit other people’s Bookish Time Travel posts and leave a comment.

 

  1. photo_16696_0What is your favorite historical setting for a book?

The Roaring ‘20s. The parties, the fashion, the glamour…it almost feels like an alternate dimension (which I guess is pretty appropriate, given this tag).

  1. What writer/s would you like to travel back in time to meet?

The Brontë sisters (Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre are phenomenal). Victor Hugo (Les Misérables blows my mind). But I’d also like to meet authors like Austin Kleon, J.K. Rowling, and Mallory Ortberg before they were published. I’d like to discover first-hand how they Continue reading “NEW Bookish Time Travel Tag” →

Books, Music

Clair de Lune: Music From “All the Light We Cannot See”

Aubrey Leaman

SPOILERS

This is the piece a starving Marie-Laure blasted from the attic to draw Von Rumpel to her.  Imagine yourself as Marie-Laure, listening to this music and waiting for the murderer to find you with a knife in your hand.  Imagine yourself as Von Rumpel, hallucinatory, sick, and dying, following Continue reading “Clair de Lune: Music From “All the Light We Cannot See”” →

Books

7 Ways to Put a Robot in Your Fantasy Story

Aubrey Leaman

warrior-563172_1280

It isn’t easy putting tech into a fantasy setting. Yet it can be done! Sometimes even correctly. Here are 7 methods that might or might not work. Though looking at the ‘humor’ tag on this post, it’s probably a lot of tongue and cheek. Time travel! Nothing goes wrong with having a robot time travel […]

via 7 Ways to Put a Robot in Your Fantasy Story — Legends of Windemere

Books

Who Would Win In a Fight: Gandalf or Sherlock Holmes?

Aubrey Leaman

Sherlock fighting

It’s a tough call.

On the one hand, Gandalf has magic.  On the other hand, Sherlock Holmes is a mastermind who understands situations and people better than anyone else.  He might be able to outsmart Gandalf.

On yet another hand, Gandalf was able to see the big picture and notice the threat Saruman posed as well as Bilbo Baggins’s potential in the dwarves’ party, so perhaps he is Sherlock’s equal or better.

What do you think? Vote and share!