#readallthings

Here’s another of the #booksthatmademe as a reader and author: Richard Adams’ transcendent, unforgettable WATERSHIP DOWN. . Yes, I know the cartoon is terrifying, but I didn’t see that version until I was well into my twenties (and let’s be fair here, it was never actually aimed at children), whereas I discovered the book at the age of twelve or so and it blew my mind in the best way. Seriously, who would have thought a book where all the main characters are rabbits, and not even rabbits dressed up in clothes and acting like people but actual silflay-eating hraka-passing bunnies loping about the countryside all fours, could be so gripping? . The sense of place in the book is phenomenal, the rabbit mythology is marvellously conceived and told, the characters are distinct and memorable (despite all looking basically the same at a glance because WILD RABBITS, for Pete’s sake), and the worldbuilding has all the richness of high fantasy despite it being set in a very recognizable modern-day England. . And now that I’ve said all this, anyone who’s read my faery books may begin to guess what a huge influence WATERSHIP DOWN had on my imagination. Are the faeries in KNIFE all named after plants like the rabbits in WD? Absolutely (and the name of my faery librarian in particular is a direct allusion to WD, as well as a nod to Margery Allingham’s charming 1930’s detective by the same name). . KNIFE too is set in a quiet corner of the English countryside, and features a community of small, vulnerable creatures with their own distinct history and culture who find modern human ways and technology baffling. There are far more differences than similarities between KNIFE and WATERSHIP DOWN on the whole, but I feel it’s only right to credit Richard Adams for inspiring and teaching me how to tell a story from a non-human point of view. . Q: Have you enjoyed any books where the main characters are animals? Which ones are your favorites? . . . . . #bookstagram #bookish #BookRecommendations #books #watershipdown #richardadams #cozyreading #bookish #bookishfeature #igreads #booklover #lovebooks #readmorebooks #bookpage #bookcollection #writinginspirations #readallthings https://www.instagram.com/p/B-BHMG9AD-i/?igshid=re825qi303ht

Post 4 of the #booksthatmademe - Calvin Miller's Singer trilogy, which retells the gospels (THE SINGER), the book of Acts (THE SONG), and Revelation (THE FINALE) through a poetic fantasy lens. . Even as a child I side-eyed the opening chapters of THE SINGER for implying that its Christ-figure didn’t recognize his own identity at first (what can I say, I came by my theological nerdery young), but there was still plenty in these books that captivated me. Like the epigrams at the beginning of each chapter, so memorable that I can still quote several of them without needing to look them up (see next image), or Joe DeVelasco’s dynamic pen-and-ink illustrations (see image 3). Every few years I pull them out and read them again, and I’m always struck by the lyrical language and the scope of Miller’s imagination as he retells the New Testament in a fantastical but respectful way. . “God, can you be merciful and send me off to hell and lock me in forever?” “No, pilgrim, I will not send you there, but if you chose to go there, I could never lock you out.” . . . Enjoyed this post? Check out the earlier entries:⁠ • Post 3 - Moominland Midwinter⁠ • Post 2 - The Tower of Geburah / The Iron Sceptre⁠ • Post 1 - George MacDonald's Curdie duology & fairy tales . . #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booklover #bookish #BookRecommendations #books #reading #readallthings #speculativefiction #mylibrary #calvinmiller #thesingertrilogy #christianfantasy #christianliterature #poetic #writinginspirations https://www.instagram.com/p/B9znQeCgF0e/?igshid=1tldg8skzhsq2