Hello readers!
It’s that time, again. This time I am confronted with the reality that I might not get to all the books I want to read and frankly, that’s horrifying.
The Creator and the Rules
This was created by Lia @ Lost in a Story — she has a new blog though called Sunflowers and Wonder!
- Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf
- Order on ascending date added.
- Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books.
- Read the synopses of the books.
- Decide: keep it or should it go?
- Keep track of where you left off so you can pick up there next week!
Book #1
The Song of the Nibelungs by Armour, Margaret
Summary :The Song of the Nibelungs, a thirteenth century Germanic epic, was a rich source of inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien. Scholars have noted the influence of its pre-Christian heroic motifs – drawn from historic events and people of the 5th and 6th centuries – on his writing of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
Verdict: Remove
Frankly, I know I might never get to this one. It’s one of the books that Tolkien was truly inspired by and I would love to dig into that but I just don’t have the time I used to have to invest in this one right now.
Book #2
The Story of the Glittering Plain by William Morris, Walter Crane
Summary : TOLKIEN’S BOOKSHELF #3: THE STORY OF THE GLITTERING PLAIN – ILLUSTRATED. On May 8, 1891, Kelmscott Press published its first book, ‘The Story of the Glittering Plain’. This fantasy novel by the famous 19th century English designer, artist and writer William Morris describes the journey of Hallblithe, a young man on an epic quest to rescue his love. J.R.R. Tolkien was two years old when the second edition was published in 1894, complete with decorated borders and capitals by Morris and richly detailed illustrations by Walter Crane. This is a close copy of that book. William Morris was an enormous influence on Tolkien’s literary interests. Tolkien discovered Morris’s translations in his teens, and his interest in Morris deepened at Exeter College, Oxford, where Morris had also been an undergraduate. When Tolkien was twenty-two he spoke of ‘Morris’s romances’ in a letter to his sweetheart Edith. In 1960 he was still acknowledging his debt of inspiration to Morris, noting that certain elements in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ ‘…owe something to Northern France after the Battle of the Somme. They owe more to William Morris and his Huns and Romans…’ Like Morris, the illustrator Walter Crane was associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement. Crane is considered to be the most prolific and influential children’s book creator of his generation. ‘The Story of the Glittering Plain’ is one of several William Morris works known to have inspired J.R.R. Tolkien’s creation of ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’.
Verdict: Remove
I think this one is just about the books that Tolkien Bookshelf has. I added these in the hopes that I might get my hands on these but I doubt it’s gonna happen anytime soon and since they are illustrated, I would really like it if I had them in the physical form.
Book #3
The Poetic Edda – Illustrated: The Professor’s Bookshelf #2 by William Gershom Collingwood Olive Bray ,Cecilia Dart-Thornton
Summary : The Poetic Edda, also known as The Elder Edda, is a collection of thirty-four Icelandic poems, interwoven with prose, dating from the 9th century to the 12th. J. R. R. Tolkien readily acknowledged his debt to this source. He was sixteen years old when the Viking Club of London published this beautifully illustrated translation by Olive Bray. Readers of Tolkien’s work will easily spot his inspirations – the names of the dwarves in The Hobbit; riddle games; Mirkwood; the Paths of the Dead; an underworld creature being tricked into remaining above-ground until dawn, when sunlight turns him to stone; different races calling a single thing by various names, and more. Illustrator W. G. Collingwood was an English author, artist, antiquary and professor. In 1897 he travelled to Iceland where he spent three months exploring the actual sites that are the settings for the medieval Icelandic sagas. His study of Norse and Anglican archaeology made him widely recognized as a leading authority, and his Art Nouveau-style illustrations for the Bray edition are rich with symbolism. The Poetic Edda, the most important existing source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends, is part of the literature that influenced Tolkien’s inner world, informing the creation of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
Verdict: Keep!
I am keeping this one because I have always wanted to read it and I still do. Icelandic poems will always have a place in my heart and The Poetic Edda is just the essential reading for that sort of thing, innit?
Book #4
The Blade Itself ( The First Law #1) by Joe Abercrombie
Summary : Logen Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught in one feud too many, he’s on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian – leaving nothing behind him but bad songs, dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies.
Nobleman Captain Jezal dan Luthar, dashing officer, and paragon of selfishness, has nothing more dangerous in mind than fleecing his friends at cards and dreaming of glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields of the frozen North they fight by altogether bloodier rules.
Inquisitor Glokta, cripple turned torturer, would like nothing better than to see Jezal come home in a box. But then Glokta hates everyone: cutting treason out of the Union one confession at a time leaves little room for friendship. His latest trail of corpses may lead him right to the rotten heart of government, if he can stay alive long enough to follow it.
Enter the wizard, Bayaz. A bald old man with a terrible temper and a pathetic assistant, he could be the First of the Magi, he could be a spectacular fraud, but whatever he is, he’s about to make the lives of Logen, Jezal, and Glokta a whole lot more difficult.
Murderous conspiracies rise to the surface, old scores are ready to be settled, and the line between hero and villain is sharp enough to draw blood.
Verdict: Keep!
While I kinda know that grimdark isn’t my genre, I still want to read something by Joe Abercrombie because I have heard nothing but awesome things about his books and writing overall. So, of course, I want in.
Book #5
The Dispossessed (Hainish Cycle #6) by Ursula K. Le Guin
Summary: Shevek, a brilliant physicist, decides to take action. he will seek answers, question the unquestionable, and attempt to tear down the walls of hatred that have isolated his planet of anarchists from the rest of the civilized universe. To do this dangerous task will mean giving up his family and possibly his life. Shevek must make the unprecedented journey to the utopian mother planet, Anarres, to challenge the complex structures of life and living, and ignite the fires of change.
Verdict: Keep!
Absolutely keep because I have a physical copy of this and I am super intrigued by it as well! I really loved Le Guin’s writing when I read her book last year so yeah, I am gonna be keeping it for sure.
Books Removed in this Post: 2/ 5
Total Books Removed: 4/ 394
bookwormmuse 
Glad to hear you’ll be keeping Ursula K.Le Guin, one of the founders of fantasy literature along with Tolkein, and still one of the best in my opinion. Interesting post. Thank you.
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Of course I had to keep her book! I hope to read as many of her books as possible. Thanks for stopping by. 💞
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