The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/category/arts/books/)
As an avid fantasy reader, I have read everything from stand-alones to eight-book series with equal eagerness. However, I have found it can be extremely intimidating to start a lengthy series, while stand-alones often lack the development I seek in my fantasy worlds. In my opinion, duologies, or two-book series, offer a perfect middle ground. You don’t have to say goodbye to your favorite characters too soon, but you aren’t committing weeks or even months to a single plot.
So far in 2024, I have been pushing myself outside of my reading comfort zone. This meant exploring new genres and reading books I might not normally pick up. In the past month, I was really into thriller and mystery books. Although not all of them were winners, I found a few new favorites.
I started with The Housemaid and The Housemaid’s Secret by Freida McFadden. The Housemaid is rated 4.34 on Goodreads and a nominee for the Goodreads Choice Award for 2022 Best Mystery and Thriller.
Mustapha Mond says, “People never are alone now…we make them hate solitude; and we arrange their lives so that it’s almost impossible for them ever to have it.” I fear this is what our technology is most likely pushing us toward.
As someone who reads at least three novels a week, I consider myself a bit of a book connoisseur. I have devoured a number of excellent books, and I have also slogged through quite a few that were not my favorite. The sheer volume of literature I’ve consumed has allowed me to hone my list of dislikes, from physical flaws in a paperback or boring storylines.
On Tuesday, Sept. 26, an event occurred which many had long deemed impossible: Bestselling author Rick Riordan released a brand new book featuring his beloved protagonist Percy Jackson. Percy Jackson and the Chalice of the Gods marks the first book with Percy as a main character, along with his two best friends Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood, since the release of The Heroes of Olympus: The Blood of Olympus in 2014. It is clear from the mass excitement about Percy’s return after almost ten years that loyal Percy Jackson fans never have, and never will, forget their childhood hero.
The strange create out of a necessity to express what is missing around them, but it turns out that once shared, the idea or emotion is often relatable to many.
Sarah J. Maas has become one of the most well-known fantasy writers in the past couple of years. She has written three fantasy series, for a total of fifteen books so far. Two of these series, A Court of Thorns and Roses and Crescent City still remain unfinished. However, she has finished her eight book series Throne of Glass. While eight books may sound intimidating, this series is perfect for fantasy lovers.
October is going to be a big month for new fiction releases! There are many new books that will be a part of current series and others that will be the first of a new series. Two new books are slated to come out on October 3. The first is a romance called Wildfire by Hannah Grace. This will be the second book in the Maple Hill sports romance series; if it is anything like the first book, it will be the perfect comfort read for fall. Grace’s books are usually light-hearted and easy to read, with cute scenes of romance and not too much depth.
When comparing these two novels, it is important to note that they both have their own merits, and I myself gave both books a five star rating.
Spending time watching the sunset-topped slope has been a quiet moment each evening. But my phone camera fails to capture the cloud-piercing pink rays and scattered chatter of the people on the hill. Throughout literary history, writers have been particularly active in the long lineage of people trying to capture the feelings of sunset. Given how visually overwhelming sunsets can be, representation through words can often tell far more than photographs.
In H.E. Hilton’s The Outsiders, a shared sunset is used to break down socioeconomic barriers. In a town split between two opposing social groups, the “Socs” and “Greasers,” the interactions between them are violent and hateful.
Based on Taylor Jenkins Reid’s novel of the same name, the limited mini series Daisy Jones and the Six premiered on Amazon Prime Video in March. The show and book mostly have the same plot: the rise and fall of a 1970s rock band, loosely based on Fleetwood Mac. Like the book, the TV show is formatted as a documentary — as the characters are interviewed, they reminisce on their time in the band. As with most book-to-screen adaptations, I personally preferred the book over the show. The band first started as “The Dunne Brothers,” created by Billy Dunne (Sam Claflin) and his brother Graham (Will Harrison) with a group of friends in high school out of their garage.
