So You Want To Be A Wizard - Tumblr Posts
Book shelf clean out: young wizards
I loved this series! I don't know where my copy of the 1st book went but the others are on their way to the library bookstore, and I hope they find a new home there
It was hard to say bye to these books (but I plan to get the new millennium editions in ebook soon... and i need the space). I read them when I was in high school and college.
They're really excellent, set in Our World (not fantasy whatever land). They remind me in some ways of Terry Pratchett's work--not the setting or voice, but in the underlying ethos of the work. Although the characters go through difficult things (big warning for A Wizard's Dilemma), the world overall feels... kind?
More things to love about this series
Hispanic & queer representation, if you pay attention. In other, more recently-written series, these aspects of the characters might have been played up. In this series, those aspects are still present but more subtly. I actually like this because it's more fitting with my experience of the world. It also serves the story itself better and allows the characters' choices and actions to be the focus of the story.
Even in the case of the antagonists, the characters are... They extend civility and understanding to the antagonists, but they don't veer into "all-forgiving hero" territory. The story doesn't get into really black-and-white good-and-evil morality, but it isn't that tiresome "everyone sucks enjoy your undifferentiated grey." The heroes are heroic because of how they choose to treat others.
I love it when stories say "the way you treat others does matter." Kindness is repaid with kindness.
The styles of magic are cool too! I think many people have read "this character has a connection with plants and growing things" magic before. One of the other characters has a connection with mechanical and technical things! There's a scene in one of the books where he communes with, I think it's an airplane? And he can feel its eagerness to be flying, its fierce joy in speed and movement. I think that's lovely.
There are some good jokes in there, like the pig!
If you love space and astronomy, you'll probably like this series :) Especially the later books.
If you like alien cultures (and more traditional fantasy other-cultures) you'll probably like this seriies
Overall I just really enjoy these books and recommend them okay byeeee
Choosing Kindness Book Recs
I’m been thinking about stories and the types of things I like to read. I usually think in terms of genre, I love fantasy and space opera and very specific types of romance to name a few. But one type of story I really gravitate to isn’t tied to genre at all (though most of my examples are fantasy). I love stories about genuinly good people doing their best to make the world a better place. Now that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy stories about anti-heroes, rogues or very flawed characters, I do. But there is a very unique flavor to these stories despite wildly different settings so thought I’d make a list of these types of stories. Characters who, when given a choice, choose kindness. I’ll add more as I think of them but please feel free to add on to this list with your own recs.
The Young Wizards series by Diane Duane Book 1: So You Want to Be A Wizard
All the Heralds of Valdemar books by Mercedes Lackey Book 1: Arrows of the Queen
The Order of the Air by Melissa Scott and Jo Graham Book 1: Lost Things
Stealing Fire by Jo Graham (I don’t know if this trait carries over to the rest of the Numinous World books, I only just started reading the series, but Lydias is such a great character. There are so many moments were he could be selfish or cruel and the world he lives in would excuse or even encourage it but he chooses kindness instead.)
I was so cool and fine and normal about Dairine Callahan at age ten (I was NOT, I was SO NOT NORMAL, and I have never become normal about her, she is a childhood blorbo and I have been rotating her like a 90’s windows screen saver for twenty-two years)
A very Merry Christmas to all! #crossingscon #christmas #youngwizards
No so much wanted to be the character but I definitely wanted to be like Raistlin Majere from the Dragonlance series and I have the bloodstone pendants to prove it.
Also seconding the person above, I wanted to be a Herald of Valdemar (though I think I was just starting high school when I read those books).
I also wanted to swim with sharks like Nita and Kit from "So You Want to be a Wizard" or hang out with the Murry family from "A Wrinkle in Time".
all of the poll characters I recognize came long after my middle school years.
Now this is more like it! This was a really tough one, So You Want to Be a Wizard and Dealing with Dragon both had a huge impact on my childhood but Princess Cimorene won. I literally read my little Scholastic paperback to pieces and proceeded to scour every used bookstore I entered for more books by the author. (on the other hand I drove to Montreal for love of Diane Duane and Nita sooooo like I said very tough call.)
Sara and Meg were close runners up and Alanna, Anne and Sophie were disqualified on the technicality that I didn't actually find/fall in love with their stories until I was an adult.
Claudia is awesome and I devoured the BSC but even back then I knew myself well enough to know I was a Mary Anne.