Sunday Morning Book Thread - 09-10-2023 ["Perfessor" Squirrel]

Welcome to the prestigious, internationally acclaimed, stately, and illustrious Sunday Morning Book Thread! The place where all readers are welcome, regardless of whatever guilty pleasure we feel like reading. Here is where we can discuss, argue, bicker, quibble, consider, debate, confabulate, converse, and jaw about our latest fancy in reading material. As always, pants are required, unless you are wearing these pants...

So relax, find yourself a warm kitty (or warm puppy--I won't judge) to curl up in your lap, and dive into a new book. What are YOU reading this fine morning?

PIC NOTE

Today's pic is of the library of speculative fiction author Neil Gaiman. Note that he has a bunch of awards plastered on his walls. You can view more pics of his library here.

ON THE ART OF EXPOSITION

Put simply, exposition is the insertion of additional background information into a story or narrative. This can take a few different forms, depending on the purposes of the author. One of the more common techniques is for a character to tell a story within the story that reveals key information to the main characters that then advances the plot in some way. Another common technique is to just describe the events of the world as they take place. The key to successful exposition is to find the right balance of information to reveal to the reader at any given time. If you share too much exposition, you run the risk of an infodump where your reader is overloaded with details that may or may not be relevant at the time. Reveal too little and your audience might get lost or you may expose a plot hole later down the line.

Two of my favorite expositional scenes occur in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. He expertly crafts an entrancing narrative near the beginning and middle of The Fellowship of the Rings that reveals exactly enough information for the reader to become invested in the overall story, but also hinting at a far grander and more epic world than the main character (Frodo Baggins) had ever imagined. In Chapter 2, "Shadows of the Past," Gandalf tells Frodo that the magic ring he's been carrying for the past 17 years is, in fact, the One Ring that belongs to the Dark Lord Sauron. This then kicks off the need for Frodo to leave his beloved Shire and travel to Rivendell, where it is hoped that Elrond can shed more light on what is needed to deal with the situation.

When Frodo and his companions arrive in Rivendell, they discover that Elrond has called a council which will include representatives of all the free peoples of Middle-Earth--Elves, Humans, Dwarves, and now Hobbits. During this Council, each representative describes what is happening in their homelands that shows Sauron is stretching forth his hand in search of the One Ring. Thus, the only possible solution is to destroy it. Thus begins the actual quest which continues through the remainder of the book.

In those two scenes, we see just how vast and ancient the world is, and we are given a glimpse into the affairs of the other races, even though the characters may not be travelling to those regions. It's told so well that I just love reading those chapters in The Fellowship of the Ring. In fact, these two scenes directly influenced later writers who attempted their hand at writing epic fantasy fiction.

In Tad Williams' The Dragonbone Chair, the scullery boy Simon is apprenticed to the resident castle scholar, Dr. Morgenes, who takes pity on Simon and strives to give him a proper education. During their time together, Simon is always asking Dr. Morgenes to tell stories. Dr. Morgenes corrects Simon and says it's history and then gives Simon a history of the Hayholt--the castle in which they live. It once belonged to the Fair Folk who were driven out by humans centuries ago. It also houses secrets that few mortals know. Naturally, this information comes up much later in the story when Simon returns to the Hayholt at the end of the series.

About halfway through The Dragonbone Chair, Prince Josua, who is striving to overthrow his evil, mad brother the High King Elias, calls a council that mirrors the Council of Elrond in many ways. Again, representatives from the lands of Osten Ard meet to discuss how they can achieve their goal. During their meeting they are interrupted by Jarnauga, a scholar from the frozen north who declares that their problems are far, far greater than a mere mortal High King. The Storm King is stretching forth his hand to wreak vengeance on the mortals that caused his death centuries ago. So now the heroes have to find a way to defeat the Storm King as well. As with Lord of the Rings this Council of Josua kicks off the rest of the plot for the series as the main characters go on separate quests that will converge in the climax of the story.

What are some other excellent examples of exposition in literature? I was a bit disappointed in Alan Dean Foster's The Man Who Used the Universe. He overused exposition to advance the plot over many decades when it would have been interesting to see how the main character actually achieved all of the power he accumulated during his lifetime.

BOOK SALE!

Another non-woke book sale courtesy of Hans G. Schantz:

Bypass the cultural gatekeeping, support non-woke authors, and check out some great books from both established and emerging talent. The Big BasedCon Big Book Sale runs through Tuesday September 12, 2023. Celebrating the BasedCon Science Fiction Convention in Grand Rapids, MI, the sale offers about 150 books for free or $0.99, including about sixty works new to the sale. The contributors include science fiction grandmasters, Dragon Award winners and nominees, established mainstream authors, and emerging indie talent.

Author Larry Correia explained, "There's a lot of really good stuff out there that isn't woke garbage. There's a lot of amazing art from brilliant people that's more focused on entertaining than shoving message down your throat... [T]here are lots of great authors out there who get zilch attention, in an industry that actively black balls them for wrongthink."

So, support non-woke creators and get yourself some great books from authors who don't hate you, today!

Thanks for your support and for the support of the Moron Horde!

Hans

WRITERS GROUP REMINDER

The AoS Writer's Group, A-Literary-Horde, is now active on groups.io. It's private and not searchable to protect us from Bob.

Anyway, if you still have space in the next book thread, could you please mention it? Anyone else who's interested can e-mail me at maildrop62 -at- proton -dot- me. All I need is their real name, AoS nic if they have one, how they want to be listed (real name or nic) an e-mail, plus whether they're a writer (include genre) or a reader/editor.

We also have a surprise, hidden member who may show up from time to time.

Thanks,

OrangeEnt

MORON RECOMMENDATIONS

Our homeschool co-op always has a summer read for students and parents, and this year it was Grit, by Angela Duckworth. It's about success and tenacity, with loads of data on how high-achievers in a wide range of disciplines succeed. It has changed my view on innate ability vs. training and perseverance.

Also made me question some of my own life choices - world class expertise often requires a life-long fanatical devotion to one niche. Personally I become obsessed with something, really improve, and then get bored and move on to something else. Maybe when I break 29 I'll finally figure it out.

Posted by: Candidus at September 03, 2023 09:13 AM (oFLDw)

Comment: I think there is something to determination and focus when it comes to success. Lots of authors tried and failed, tried and failed, and tried again until they finally found success. I recently attended a retirement party for a faculty member who admitted that it took him three tries to attain promotion to full Professor. By the time he retired, he was acknowledged as being one of the leading figures in his field (geological engineering), and recognized by the department chair and dean as one of the most productive faculty on campus. But he also suffered a number of failures along the way.

As others here have done, I read You Will Own Nothing: Your War With A New Financial Order And How To Fight Back by Carol Roth. This serves as a companion book to Glenn Beck's Dark Future. Roth concentrates on the economic policies of the World Economic Forum that are geared to prevent ownership and wealth accumulation by those not already in the global elite. For me, the most disturbing policy is the buying up of farmland and water rights by elites, large corporations, and hedge and investment funds. Also disturbing is their plan to trade water as a commodity like corn or soy beans.

The elites want to cut the world's population drastically. Part of their plan is to do it through higher water and food prices and drastic cuts to food production. Their trial run a few years ago in Sri Lanka was a great success when their policies led to a country becoming an importer of food rather than an exporter. Widespread starvation led to riots and the collapse of the government.

Posted by: Zoltan at September 03, 2023 09:14 AM (3qIfi)

Comment: I really don't understand the motivations behind the WEF's desire to eliminate up to 90% of the world population. Somehow, they believe that their standard of living will remain intact. It's both delusional and evil thinking on their part.

My nonfiction reading this week is Labyrinth of Ice by Buddy Levy, about the Greely polar expedition. I'd say "I'll-fated", but don't 95% of polar jaunts end in madness and cannibalism? It's just assumed.

Anyway, it was 1881 and this was part of the International Polar Year, a global effort to gather data on the Arctic. Greely set up the northernmost in a chain of research stations, Conger Staton, on Ellesmere Island.

Good to know if you're outfitting for a polar expedition: Muktuk (whale skin and blubber) is a good source of vitamins C and D. C and D.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at September 03, 2023 09:55 AM (ynMLt)

Comment: I have no desire to be a polar explorer. It's cold, it's dangerous, and, fortunately, someone else already did it so I don't have to. The same goes for jungles and deserts. I'm quite comfy in my little Hobbit hole...

The book is titled Ugly as Sin, by Michael S. Rose. Published in 2001, the hardcopy is rather expensive but a Kindle version is available on Amazon. The author, with a degree in Architecture, shows the link between the design concepts of a Lutheran architect, Edward, and the design concepts promulgated by the Bishop's Committee on Liturgy. The villains in this saga are Söaut;vik (he wanted to eliminate the concept of the church building as a "House of God" and replace it with a multipurpose community center), and Fr. Robert Hovda (the Catholic priest that was the primary author of Environment and Art in Catholic Worship). Michael Rose shows how Sӧvik's design concepts are echoed almost verbatim in Environment and Art in Catholic Worship when it was published in 1978.

Doing a little exploring on the inter-tubes, I found a couple of obituaries for Fr. Hovda: He admitted to thinking the Counter-Reformation was "hysteria." Reading between the lines in his obituaries, he converted to Catholicism in 1943 to stay out of prison, and became a priest to "fix" the Catholic Church. Interestingly, he shows up like a bad penny in liturgical groups after Vatican II, and teaching Jesuits in 1978.

The good thing is that the bishops finally formally replaced Environment and Art in Catholic Worship with the document, Built of Living Stone in 2000. There is almost no commonality between the two documents, and BLS goes back to praising traditional architecture and the necessity of sacred art. EACW placed the focus of the Mass on the assembly (i.e., a celebratory meal), while BLS goes back to the traditional emphasis of the Mass in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. For those interested, pdf versions of both documents are on the internet.

If Catholics want to know why their church building is a weird Post-Modernist monstrosity, here's your answer.

Sincerely,

Retired Buckeye Cop

Comment: I'm not Catholic, but I do admire the art and architecture in their magnificent European cathedrals. My own church is very plain by comparison, though the inside is quite comfortable. Around here, a church is just as likely to be a storefront in a strip mall as it is to be a more traditional denominational building. Our local Catholic church looks rather plain as well.

More Moron-recommended reading material can be found HERE! (965 Moron-recommended books so far!)

WHAT I'VE ACQUIRED THIS PAST WEEK

• The Wheel of Time Book 4 - The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan -- My old copy was damaged and needed to be replaced. Fortunately, I was able to find a duplicate copy for a reasonable price on Amazon. I made sure to get the original hardcover edition, though it's a much later printing.

WHAT I'VE BEEN READING THIS PAST WEEK:

• Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn Book 1 - The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams -- Still holds up very well as a top-tier epic fantasy story. Highly recommended.
• Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn Book 2 - Stone of Farewell by Tad Williams -- The heroes are scattered to the four winds as they seek a means of stopping the seemingly omnipotent Storm King.

That's about all I have for this week. Thank you for all of your kind words regarding the Sunday Morning Book Thread. This is a very special place. You are very special people (in all the best ways!). The kindness, generosity, and wisdom of the Moron Horde knows no bounds. Let's keep reading!

If you have any suggestions for improvement, reading recommendations, or discussion topics that you'd like to see on the Sunday Morning Book Thread, you can send them to perfessor dot squirrel at-sign gmail dot com. Your feedback is always appreciated! You can also take a virtual tour of OUR library at libib.com/u/perfessorsquirrel. Since I added sections for AoSHQ, I now consider it OUR library, rather than my own personal fiefdom...

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