In This Episode
The Book Evangelists discuss A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula LeGuin and The Book of Three: The Chronicles of Prydain, Book 1 by Lloyd Alexander.
Morning Chatter
- We discuss book monogamy, DNF (did not finish), and also mention many of the books we have each read since we last chatted about books here.
Lissa’s reads:
The Expanse series by James S. A. Corey
You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P! By Alex Gino
Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers
Marian’s reads:
The Rivers of London series by Ben Aaranovich
Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots
The Library of the Dead by TL Huchu
The Anthropocene Review by John Green
Children of Ash and Elm
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula LeGuin
Ged, the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea, was called Sparrowhawk in his reckless youth.Hungry for power and knowledge, Sparrowhawk tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death’s threshold to restore the balance.
The Book of Three: The Chronicles of Prydain #1 by Lloyd Alexander
Taran wanted to be a hero, and looking after a pig wasn’t exactly heroic, even though Hen Wen was an oracular pig. But the day that Hen Wen vanished, Taran was led into an enchanting and perilous world. With his band of followers, he confronted the Horned King and his terrible Cauldron-Born. These were the forces of evil, and only Hen Wen knew the secret of keeping the kingdom of Prydain safe from them. But who would find her first?
Discussion
- Both of these are classic books, the first in series, and bildugsromans. Which did you prefer?
- Do you think they are similar in form?
- Favorite characters? Least favorite character?
- Did you use audio or paper?
- Is it different to read fantasy as a kid versus only discovering it as an adult? How?
- Do you think stories like this transcend the kid/ya/adult labels? Why or why not?
- Did you get impatient with either book? Why?
Coming Up
Next episode: Marian and Lissa are joining and/or starting a new book discussion group which is reading The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells. And also discussing the book here. Because discussing books with friends is AMAZING.
Pssst! Want to See Something Cool?
Marian’s first book A Little Touch of Magic is now available! There are fairies. Someone has a tail. Must be a fairytale. Buy it wherever books are sold, especially for the middle grade fantasy readers in your life.
Our Show Notes include mentions and recommendations, all linked for your convenience. What else would you like to see here?
Music Credit: The music used during transitions in our podcast is adapted from: Jazzy Sax, Guitar, and Organ at the club by Admiral Bob (c) copyright 2018 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/admiralbob77/58382 Ft: geoffpeters
The Book Evangelists 