Once Upon a Time Reading Challenge
Hi Everyone,
It’s that exciting time of year again! Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings is hosting Once Upon a Time VIII. Participants get in touch with their inner child and read fantasy, mythology, or folklore and chat about it. You can find the guidelines here.
I enjoyed participating last year in the multi-genre category, so I think I’ll go for it again. Last year for fantasy, I read The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. For mythology, Lavinia by Ursula K. LeGuin. For folk tale, Messenger by Lois Lowry and The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood. I found lovely ghosts in both Lavinia and The Robber Bride.
This year I don’t have a list in mind except that I know I want to explore Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane (I’ve heard great things about it) and participate in the Midsummer Night’s Dream readalong. I may try for another Margaret Atwood. Do you know of any folk tales or fantasy novels with ghosts? Let me know!
It was so great stretching myself (and looking for ghosts in all the wrong places) that I know this year will be a blast as well!
How about you? Are you ready to join in? It’s easy. The minimum requirement is only one book. Come on, you can do it!
11 thoughts on “Once Upon a Time Reading Challenge”
Hi Deb,
I’m so happy to see “The Ocean at the End of the Lane” on your list. I loved this book.
If you want ghost stories, “The Beckoning Fair One” by Oliver Onions is perfect. It’s part of a collection of short stories called Widdershins and you can find it for free on projectguttenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14168
Hi Delia,
Thanks for the recommendation! What a great author name–Oliver Onions. I’m guessing it’s a pseudonym… I’m pretty excited about the Gaiman. I’m just in awe of Neverwhere, and people seem to like Ocean just as much.
I am going to the challenge for the first time. I’m not even sure which books I’ll read. Can I steal you last year book choices? 🙂
Ocean At The End of The Lane is a pretty interesting book. I’d like to read the review once you finish it.
Hi Parichita,
Of course, it would be fun to see your take on the books I read. You can type the titles in the search bar to see my reviews. I’m really looking forward to Gaiman’s new book. It seems everyone is talking about it.
Yep, I’m in and looking forward to it already.
Lynn 😀
Yay! I always enjoy reading your take on the books you select. Deep breath. Okay, I’m ready to go.
Ooh, Ocean at the End of the Lane! Such a lovely, simple-yet-complex book…I hope you enjoy!
Thanks! I’m pretty excited.
Tamsin by Peter S. Beagle springs to mind as a fantasy-with-ghosts book. It’s a very different book to The Last Unicorn, but if you liked TLU and haven’t read this one, it’d be worth checking out. Especially if you also like cats. *thinks* I think Juliet Marillier’s Heart’s Blood has a ghost as well. *goes rummage through her books* Diana Wynne Jones’ The Time of the Ghost perhaps? It’s a book I’d personally nudge more towards the RIP challenge, though. Those are the only ones I can think of, though. I hope one of them sounds interesting!
I hope you’ll enjoy The Ocean at the End of the Lane. ^_^ Happy reading!
Lynn,
Thank you so much! I just ordered Tamsin, which looks exactly right for me. I think I’ll add The Time of the Ghost to RIP as you suggest. Happy reading!
I hope you’ll enjoy it! I found Tamsin a very fast and fun read and utterly unlike what I was expecting. ^_^
And I’ve just remembered Beagle has another book with ghosts in it. (Yay my memory finally decided to kick in? I knew I’d encountered more books-with-ghosts than those.) *looks up the title* A Fine and Private Place. I didn’t finish that one, but it was mostly a case of wrong time wrong book. It was a very quiet little thing from what I remember.
Happy reading! ^_^