Friday Memes and Zipes' Magic Spell

I can't believe another week has already passed! Although I got some bad news this week, I also managed to get two of my applications out and get a head-start on my assessments, so overall I'd say it was a pretty good week! So, let's focus on some memes! Follow Friday is hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee. This week's question comes from Take Me Away... and is:


What books would you give to newbies in your favourite genre? (Ex. I'm a newbie to high fantasy and EVERYONE said to ease into it with the Throne of Glass series!)

Oh God, I'm a high fantasy fan and I still haven't read the Throne of Glass series! So yes, I'm not the best person to go to for recommendations because there will be a lot of books thrown at you, not all of which are actually in the  genre you requested. Most of my recommendations would be classics because I personally love finding out what the roots of traditions are. So if the genre is Gothic I'd give you Dracula or Frankenstein, whereas if you're looking for Romance I might go for North and South (although I still haven't read that one actually). When it comes to "newer" genres such as Urban Fantasy I might actually give you some Otherworld books, although I myself have only read one!

So yes, please don't ever ask me for specific recommendations because there are so many books.

Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Billy over at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer. We're still on the Halloween theme because, thank God, October isn't over yet. I'm going to savour this last day of October because for me the start of November means the end of the year. So, this week's question is:

Halloween Edition: You can go trick or treating with any fictional character (book or film). Who would you go with?

I am loving these questions. Last week's was amazing because I loved imagining myself hunting ghouls with my team of female ghost busters. But this one might be even better!! I haven't really ever gone trick or treating, I don't think it's that much of a tradition in the Netherlands. However, the idea of it is great. So, who would I want to go with? There are different criteria here to consider. I mean, it has to be someone who can not complain about the cold, who can appreciate dressing up in terrible costumes, who'll be fun to hang out with all night... I think I'm going to have to go with Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter books. She is absolutely awesome and we'd have a lot of fun!

Book Beginnings and Friday 56 are hosted, respectively, over at Rose City Reader and Freda's Voice. This week I'm using a book which I took out of the library after really enjoying Marina Warner's Once Upon A Time. I am really starting to develop an interest in fairy tales and the scholarly work behind them, so Jack Zipes was naturally the place to go to. So these teasers are from Breaking the Magic Spell.

BB:

'One of the more recent books about folk and fairy tales has declared that fairy tales are fantastically 'in'. Everywhere one turns today fairy tales and fairy-tale motifs pop up like magic. Bookshops are flooded with fairy tales by Tolkien, Hesse, the Grimm Brothers, Andersen, C.S. Lewis, and scores of sumptuously illustrated fantasy works.' p.1

The book actually starts with an anecdote about Einstein recommending fairy tales as a way of nurturing your child into a genius. It was a bit too long to share, so I went with what came straight afterwards. He is so right, fairy tales are everywhere!

F56:

'The topos of the golden age had a socio-psychological significance for them which was intended both to affirm their radical visions and critiques and to compensate for the voids in their everyday lives.' p.56

I picked this sentence on purpose just to share my pain with you. Academic writing can be impossible to read unless you sit there for 10 minutes reading it out slowly, one word at a time. I bet it makes more sense when you've actually read the chapter this line is in, but at this point there is just too many concepts to really deal with.

So, how is your Friday looking? Who do you want to take trick or treating and which books would you recommend from your favourite genre?