Off to a great start this year, so here we go:

Under Romance: Jagged Feather by Jan Sikes – 5 Sparklers for this amazing romantic suspense.

Under LGBTQ+ for Adults: Past His Defenses by Andrew Grey – 5 Sparklers for this romantic suspense

Under Nonfiction: 7 Minute Strength Training for Seniors 60+ by Liam Owens – 3 Sparklers for this one.

Under YA: The Incident by Avis Adams – 4 Sparklers for this dystopian YA book

Birthdays: Cicero (106 BC), John Fletcher (1886), J.R.R. Tolkien (1892), Carolyn Haywood (1898), Erik Larson (1954), Patricia Lee Gauch (1934), Alex Wheatle (1963), Charles Yu (1976).

Quote: “Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory.” – J.R.R. Tolkien

Erik Larson won the 2004 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime for “The Devil in the White City”.

John Gould Fletcher won the 1938 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for “Selected Poems”

I will admit to never having finished reading TLotR by Tolkien. I’ve read parts of the books, but not all of them. I think I need to look at them again.

Birthdays: Isaac Asimov (1920), Jan Slepian (1921), William Scott Home (1940), Susan Wittig Albert (1940), Andre Aciman (1951), Jimmy Santiago Baca (1952)

Quote: “When I read about the way in which library funds are being cut and cut, I can only think that American society has found one more way to destroy itself.” – Isaac Asimov

Susan Wittig Albert also wrote under the penname Carolyn Keene of “Nancy Drew” fame. Besides the Nancy Drew mysteries, she also wrote many mysteries under her own name as well as The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter and other series. Asimov is one of my favorite authors. His science fiction is amazing. But…the Nancy Drew books that I grew up on? Those will always hold a special place in my heart.

Asimov is generally considered one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. He has works published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey Decimal System (lacking only an entry in the 100s category of Philosophy).

Asimov is widely considered a master of the science-fiction genre and, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke, was considered one of the “Big Three” science-fiction writers during his lifetime. Asimov’s most famous work is the Foundation Series. His other major series are the Galactic Empire series and the Robot series, both of which he later tied into the same fictional universe as the Foundation Series to create a unified “future history” for his stories. He wrote numerous short stories, among them “Nightfall”, which in 1964 was voted by the Science Fiction Writers of America the best short science fiction story of all time.

I’m going to start something new this year. Hopefully you’ll like it, and maybe like my page on FB as well. Each day that I’m not featuring reviews or a writer’s promotion, I’m going to feature authors’ birthdays for that day as well as a quote or two and maybe some interesting facts. So here goes… and Happy New Year!

Birthdays: Ouida (1839), James Frazer (1854), E.M. Forster (1879), Catherine Drinker Bowen (1897), J.D. Salinger (1919), Mary Norton (1903), Audrey Wurdemann (1911), Gina Berriault (1926), Ernest Tidyman (1928), Mary Ann Shaffer (1934), Olivia Goldsmith (1949), James Richardson (1960), Claudia Rankine (1963).

Quote: “I think the first idea—or first feeling—of The Borrowers came through my being shortsighted: when others saw the far hills, the distant woods, the soaring pheasant, I, as a child, would turn sideways to the close bank, the tree roots, and the tangled grasses.” – Mary Norton (author of “The Borrowers”)

“The king died and then the queen died. That is a story. The king died and the queen died of grief. That is a plot.” – E.M. Forster

I read “The Borrowers” as a youngster and loved them. I can’t say the same for E.M.Forster’s books “Howard’s End” or “A Passage to India”. Famous books, but not my favorite genres. I did read Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye” when in high school, but again, not a favorite. James Frazer’s “The Golden Bough” is a wide-ranging, comparative study of mythology and religion and is *the* book to study when planning a fantasy world.

Beneath the kitchen floor is the world of the Borrowers — Pod and Homily Clock and their daughter, Arrietty. In their tiny home, matchboxes double as roomy dressers and postage stamps hang on the walls like paintings. Whatever the Clocks need they simply “borrow” from the “human beans” who live above them. It’s a comfortable life, but boring if you’re a kid. Only Pod is allowed to venture into the house above, because the danger of being seen by a human is too great. Borrowers who are seen by humans are never seen again. Yet Arrietty won’t listen. There is a human boy up there, and Arrietty is desperate for a friend.