August 2014 – Page 4 – Further Annotations

Gabbler Recommends: Saga Vol. 2

Posted on August 9, 2014April 24, 2015 by blablablaandgabbler

So, our favorite part of Saga Vol. 2 was the part where Alana tries to get her so-called “Work Friend” to read a novel so that they can both talk about it. Alana tries to sell the novel as: “They mostly just hang out and play board games, except sometimes they leave their apartment to eat…” As seen in exhibit A:

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After work-friend’s resting bitch-face, this happened:

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“I don’t know Alana. Sounds a little…boring.”

“It is! That’s kind of the point, I think!”

We need more novels that are a little boring. A little boring with a point.

Ugh, and please don’t comment on the crappy phone pics of the pages. They’re just there to give you a general idea. Don’t get your panties in a wad. We’re writers, not photographers. Geez.

Lev Grossman, on how sometimes you can fill in someone else’s blanks.

Posted on August 8, 2014July 3, 2015 by blablablaandgabbler

“Today’s fantasy writers feel as though the fictional worlds they create have to be full-scale working models. People talk a lot about the ecology of [George R. R. Martin’s] Westeros, for instance—how do the seasons work? What are the climate patterns? How does it function as an ecosphere? You have to think about the economy, too—have I got a working feudal model? It’s gotten so extreme that when characters do magic, it’s very common to see fantasy writers talk about thermodynamics—okay, he’s lighting a candle with magic, can he draw the heat from somewhere else in the room so that equilibrium gets preserved?

This is the school of thought that extends from Tolkien, and his scrupulously-crafted Middle Earth. Lewis was of a different school from that. Magic, to him, was a much wilder, stranger thing. It was much less domesticated. And when I re-read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, I feel as though we’ve wandered too far from the true magic, the kind Lewis wrote. Maybe we want to worry less about thermodynamics and work harder to get that sense of wonder he achieves with such apparent effortlessness.”

Read the rest at The Atlantic.

[“BLA and GB Gabbler” (really just a pen name – singular) are the Editor and Narrator behind THE AUTOMATION, vol. 1 of the Circo del Herrero series. They are on facebook, twitter, tumblr, goodreads, and Vulcan’s shit list.]

B&N | Amazon | Etc.

Gabbler Recommends: Travel Light, by Naomi Mitchison

Posted on August 8, 2014December 13, 2014 by blablablaandgabbler

I am going to start this new thing called “GABBLER RECOMMENDS” (also searchable as a tag “category” — see the side bar). It will showcase items that both BLA and I enjoyed. Feel free to recommend interesting books/novelties/artifacts to us in the comments below. There’s probably a lot we haven’t tried.

***CORRECTION*** BLA tells me that s/he has tried everything and therefore should make it clear that it’s only ME who needs help in my cultural development. Perhaps BLA is right. After all, I backed THE AUTOMATION. Ahem.

But to the post!

Gabbler recommends… Travel Light.

Why? Because this novel has nice dragons in it. Not all need to be slain. This novel weaves together various myths and magical creatures into one beautiful fairytale-like story. It was a very quick read (very short), and worth your time.

A Burlesque Translation of Homer from the Public Domain Review:

Posted on August 7, 2014December 13, 2014 by blablablaandgabbler

Hilarious! One of the best “Evoking of the Muses” since…since…well, BLA’s, I must say. See the entire work at PDR. – Gabbler.

For Mecca:

Posted on August 3, 2014December 13, 2014 by blablablaandgabbler

…And for those of you who stumble across this blog and haven’t read our book and are like “WHY THE HELL DOES THAT SAY MECCA?” Take a chill pill and let us assure you that Mecca is a character in our novel. We do not mean the Islamic pilgrimage site. Although, his name does mean that.