Mandy Eve-Barnett's Blog for Readers & Writers

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Bibliophile’s Collective Tuesday – Food to Eat While Reading Your Favorite Genre.

May 17, 2022
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Photo by Melike Benli on Pexels.com

Quite often we snack while we read, our choice of snack varies with our personal taste, but it may also reflect the genre we are reading. Here is a list of suggested comparable foods for several genres.

Romance – Red wine & dark chocolate covered strawberries or cherries. Chocolate or vanilla flavored foods are also popular. Hot chocolate for an alternative to alcohol. Smooth, rich or decandent foods are best.

Thriller – This snack is right up there and is a real mixture – popcorn with cinnamon, olive oil and pesto or mixed with M&M. You can imagine popping each morsel into your mouth in quick succession as the tension grows within the narrative.

Fantasy – Linking back to a childhood fantasy – Snow White, this pick is the ‘bad’ apple choice. Apples covered in cinnamon, honey, or caramel. Red velvet cookies. Hummus and pita chips or french fries with ketchup.

Comedy – Animal Crackers. Tea and biscuits/cookies.

Historical Fiction – Tea and crumpets (or scones or crackers). Charcuterie. Coffee

True Crime – Aged cheese & wine.

Horror – Spicy pizza. Whisky.

Science Fiction – Cheesy Shrimp Nachos. Gummy Worms.

Action & Adventure – Sriracha popcorn.

Young Adult – Blueberry Crumb Bars. Apple slices & peanut butter.

Realistic Fiction: Chips. Sweet and sour Gummies.

Classics: Tea and Sugar Cookies. A good Bordeaux and a decadent spread of cheeses

Fanfiction: Nuts. Chocolate bars.

Biography/Autobiography: Grilled Cheese Sandwich. Trail mix.

Contemporary fiction Earl Grey tea and scones.

Bibliophile’s Collective Tuesday – Smashwords Book Sale & How to Pick a Genre to Read

July 27, 2021
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Until 31st July you can grab many of my books from Smashwords at a sale price.

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/mevebarnett

As you well know I write in multiple genres, so how do you choose which one to read? There are several options on where you can research a book and decide if it will engage you.

Local library

Local Bookstore Staff Picks

Friends and Family Recommendations

Book Fairs

Book Clubs

Goodreads

Purchase sites – compare reviews in the genre sections

As a last resort you can try:

Best Sellers, Prize Winners or Best Books Ever Lists – just remember these can merely succeed on an authors name, or through a massive advertising campaign. I know I was extremely disappointed in one ‘famous author’ book, which was badly edited because it was rushed into production.

Here are a few other things to think about. It maybe that there are certain writing styles that appeal to you or you find more enjoyable to read. These can be due to:

  • Pacing: How quickly does the narrative move? Is it a page-turner or is it a slow burn?
  • Characterization: Do you become engaged with the characters?
  • Story line: What is the orientation of the plot – character-driven, action-oriented, complex, fantastical or inspirational?
  • Frame and Tone: What is the mood of the book – heartwarming, thrilling, quirky, or dark?
  • Style: What is the author’s writing style – descriptive, expository, persuasive, narrative, technical or poetic.

How do you choose a book to read?

Do you have a ‘favorite’ genre? What draws you to it?

Meet Sherlock Holmes and Maybe Other Literary Heroes in the Future…

April 4, 2014
mandyevebarnett


Sherlock

Recently I enjoyed the Harry Potter Exhibition (see here: https://mandyevebarnett.com/2014/02/03/creating-monsters-to-delight-and-scare/) so was intrigued to see an article advertising a touring exhibition for Sherlock Holmes. This is an exciting concept for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle enthusiasts. The exhibition will tour until 2017.

See the following links.

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2014/03/20/arts/artsspecial/20140320-SHERLOCK.html?_r=0

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/20/arts/artsspecial/entering-world-of-literatures-great-sleuth.html

This tour raises the question, will all literary heroes have their own exhibtions in the future? We could enjoy the intricacies of our favorite characters in a tangible, hands on way. Would the exhibitions remain excellent or would the promoters begin to get on the bandwagon? These exhibitions are not cheap to devise, create or transport thus ticket prices will remain high. Hopefully the quality will not suffer as more tours are created.

Which character or characters would you like t0 ‘meet’?

Holmes

Today’s quotes have tobe from Sherlock himself of course.

“The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.”

Sherlock Holmes -The Hound of the Baskervilles

‘You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear.’

Sherlock Holmes  -A Scandal in Bohemia

Our prompt will be a crime mystery sentence to draw your reader in.

My response:  With quivering hand, she plunged the knife deep into flesh.

Happy Writing! 

 

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