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Nonfiction of Note-Banished: Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church by Lauren Drain
This is an account of a woman raised in the Westboro Baptist Church and her relationship with the church and her family. Lauren’s father seemed to be the driving force behind their moving and joining the church and I think, when it comes to what I perceived to be his misguided actions and shortcomings, Lauren does a good job of just reporting the facts about her dad. While she also goes into detail about her personal feelings and experiences, she does a great job of explaining how the “church” works. While there are a lot of events that are recounted in this book that make you shake your head in…
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Buncombe Brief Book Review: Elevation by Stephen King
I am a big Stephen King fan, but not all of his work is a shining example of brilliant horror or storytelling. While I’ll read anything he produces, I really love a lot of his old work but there are a few newer tales that are great reads. However, for me, Elevation was just okay. Mind you, it’s worth a read so don’t shy away, but being a shorter work, a novella, it’s a little fast and forced for my liking. The story surrounds Scott Carey, who seems perfectly normal on the outside, looks the same and all that, but he begins to get lighter. His body is the same…
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Wake County Libraries Book Sale: One Of The State’s Biggest Sales
Since I was a student out Wake County way many moons ago, I discovered the Wake County Libraries Book Sale and it’s been something I have looked forward to every year since. Now, I realize Raleigh is a good drive from Buncombe County, but this is one of the state’s biggest library sales and there are numerous books and categories to choose from. Today (May 2nd) is the first day of the 2019 book sale and there are three days remaining for anyone in the Raleigh area (or willing to make the trip). Also, there are discounts each day that can make the books more affordable as we go through…
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Books From My Younger Days: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
This book in the Harry Potter series gets serious but, for me, is one of the most entertaining as well. While I think this might be my favorite, it’s also one of the darker books and, arguably, is the start of where the books become more dangerous and show us why Voldemort isn’t to be taken lightly. While the Triwizard Tournament is so much fun, and is enough of a story to hold up the book, the ending is heartbreaking, terrifying, and brings so many things together in the Harry Potter universe (like where Peter Pettigrew ran off to) and it kicks off the urgency to contain and destroy Voldemort.…
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The Craft of Writing Fiction: The Setting (Part 2)
Setting is something that can be overly explained despite the fact that it is so very vital to a story. There are countless stories that go into detail upon detail of a certain landscape or the country their characters inhabit or the inside of a spaceship or wherever their story resides. Yet, this can be off-putting to many readers so it’s important to slowly introduce your setting if its something incredibly expansive. Be it a magical castle or a vast roaming land, these settings can be exciting and fantastic places that have a life all their own, but it’s important not to focus too much on them, rather, let your…
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Reading Star Wars Novels: Going Beyond The Movies
I am a huge fan of Star Wars and despite the fact the movies vary in quality, I love them all because they are simply, Star Wars. While I enjoy watching the films, there are so many stories and characters outside of the films that many haven’t explored. While I played some of the games, there are many novels (also of varying quality) out there I have never explored. It’s my hope that in the coming weeks and months I can explore some of these books in the hopes of getting deeper into the universe and lore that I love. I want to learn more about the Old Republic, how…
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Reading Nonfiction: Thoughts On Breaking Away From Novels
I love reading fiction, especially when you get into a book that you can’t put down or one that makes you rush through the day just so you can have quiet time to rejoin the story as soon as you possibly can. There are so many great types of fiction out there with countless stories to be told and there is no lack of great fiction. There is also a mountain of nonfiction books that offer endless journeys from experiences of others, self-reflection, trials and tribulations, or ways to look at the human condition. I love when fiction causes us to think deeply about ourselves or the world around us,…
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They Filmed the Book- The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (Part 1)
I was a big fan of The Hobbit when I first read it but when the movie came out, I was so excited to see this book I’d loved come to life. However, some people were a little upset with the film because it took a smallish book and turned it into a trilogy. Yet, for me, I really enjoyed the drawn out story. I’d heard it said that we should read The Hobbit novel with an idea of “this is what happened” and when we see the movie, it’s more like Bilbo retelling it. The fish got a little larger but the truth is still there. While I won’t…
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Writing Self-Help Books: Are “How To Write” Books Worth The Time?
On most subjects you’ll find “How To” books and there are good and bad in any bunch. However, on some subjects, there is more difficulty when it comes to teaching. You can teaching techniques, philosophies, and even review practices and habits but there are some cases where you can’t make someone great if they aren’t very good to begin with and, for types of art, this is the case. Writing is one of those things that can be subjective in that two people can read the same thing and one likes it and the other hates it, but when it comes to what is good writing, there are books…
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Buncombe Brief Book Review: Pet Sematary by Stephen King
Pet Sematary is one of the more creepy books by King, in my opinion, due to the theme of death being at the forefront. It’s not a monster or supernatural occurrence but simply death that is the main antagonist here. Louis Creed, and his wife Rachel, move near the University of Maine for a job. Their home is near the road so, during the course of the novel, their cat is hit by a car. The problem is death has been haunting their family in different ways so Louis is hesitant to tell them about the cat but their neighbor, Jud, leads Louis to a place with the sign “Pet…