23.Mar.2009 Once Upon a Time III

Saturday, 21 March 2009 – Friday, 20 June 2009

Carl from Stainless Steel Dropping is hosting Once Upon a Time challenge III. I missed the first two, so I’m not missing this one!

fan⋅ta⋅sy: a genre that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting.(Wiki)

fairy tale: a fictional story that may feature folkloric characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, and talking animals, and usually enchantments, often involving a far-fetched sequence of events. (Wiki)

folk⋅lore: the traditional beliefs, legends, customs, etc., of a people; lore of a people; The traditional beliefs, myths, tales, and practices of a people, transmitted orally. (Dictionary dot com)

my⋅thol⋅o⋅gy: a body of myths, as that of a particular people or that relating to a particular person; a set of stories, traditions, or beliefs associated with a particular group or the history of an event, arising naturally or deliberately fostered. (Dictionary dot com)

Fantasy, fairy tale, folklore and mythology. The definitions above are a jumping off point, but those of us who have unabashedly reveled in between the pages of these genres know that each is so much more.

There are a few quests that you can choose to follow. I’m going for either Quest the First or Quest the Second.

Quest the First requires you to “read at least 5 books that fit somewhere within the Once Upon a Time III criteria. They might all be fantasy, or folklore, or fairy tales, or mythology…or your five books might be a combination from the four genres.”

Quest the Second requires you to “read at least one book from each of the four categories. In this quest you will be reading 4 books total: one fantasy, one folklore, one fairy tale, and one mythology. This proves to be one of the more difficult quests each year merely because of the need to classify each read and determine which books fit into which category. I am not a stickler, fear not, but I am endlessly fascinated watching how folks work to find books for each category.”

I’m not going to make a list of books in advance since that wasn’t working very well for me. So I’m going to choose books at whim and see where they take me next. (This is really my strategy for all my challenges now)

It will be 3 months of good fun! ;)

Review site here for everybody to list their reviews.

Books I’ve read:

1. Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall by Bill Willingham (reviewed 26/03/09, rating 4.5/5, fairy tale)
2. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (reviewed 29/03/09, rating 4/5, fantasy)
3. Fables Vol 1: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham (reviewed 12/04/09, rating 4/5, fairy tale)
4. Clockwork Girl by Sean O’Reilly and Kevin Hanna (reviewed 17/04/09, rating 3.5/5, fantasy)
5. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling (reviewed 27/04/09, rating 4.5/5, fairy tale)
6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (reviewed 01/05/09, rating 4.5/5, fantasy)
7. Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan (reviewed 20/05/09, rating 5/5, fantasy)
8. Bone Vol 3: Eyes of the Storm by Jeff Smith (reviewed 03/06/09, rating 4.5/5, fantasy)
9. Bone Vol 4: The Dragonslayer by Jeff Smith (reviewed 04/06/09, rating 4/5, fantasy)
10. Bone Vol 5: Rock Jaw Master of the Eastern Border by Jeff Smith (reviewed 05/06/09, rating 5/5, fantasy)
11. The Arrival by Shaun Tan (reviewed 13/06/09, rating 5/5, fantasy)
12. The Sandman Vol 2: The Doll’s House by Neil Gaiman (reviewed 21/06/09, rating 3.5/5, fantasy)