To be honest, I’m terrible at reading actual physical books. I used to devour books up until high school, when things just started piling up and I never really had the time or motivation to read. And nowadays, when I want to read something, I can usually satisfy my literary cravings with fanfiction. Don’t knock it til ya try it, because there are some amazing fanworks out there. In fact, I’m just about to write a final paper analyzing a fanfic, but that’s a whole different ballpark. You’re all here for my summer reads, so here we go.
1.) My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate of Me by Kate Berheimer
I technically started this book last summer, but didn’t have time to read anything past the first story. This is a collection of retold fairytales and I’m curious to see how these various authors handled their tales.
2.) XO Orpheus by Kate Bernheimer
This is the book I’m more interested in, since it retells myths. According to the summary, it somehow includes characters from other cultures while being a retelling of Greek myths, so I’m not sure how well the authors handled their retellings, but I suppose I shall see.
3.) Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman
Someone (I forget who) told me that Haruki Murakami is a great author and that I’d like his short stories, so I shrugged, bought the book, and promptly forgot about it as soon as school started. This is a good opportunity for me to see whether or not I’ll actually like his work or not, no offense to those who like him. I’m just a picky person, as my mother often complains about my eating habits.
4.) Fair Winds and Following Seas, a Yuri!!! on Ice Nautical Zine
So, I bought this zine over Christmas break and it arrived sometime in like, March or April, and I skimmed over it, marvelled at the super pretty art, and then got caught up with schoolwork. This summer, I’ll definitely take a more in depth look at the stories and the art to see if I can find any inspiration. The zine basically reimagines the characters of the show as mythical marine creatures so it’s right up my alley.
5.) The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro
So, I watched the movie already, but I’m curious as to how the novel fleshes out the characters because I really want some background and I want all the teeny tiny details we never get in the movie. And I want to see how the cinematography translates into words.
And now for some fun stuff!
Miscellaneous Things
1.) Read every post I’ve reblogged onto my writing tumblr.
There are a lot of great gems on my tumblr about how fandom perceives fantasy and other things they wish fantasy authors would consider, so I was thinking of going back and checking those out again so I’ll have that in mind when I write my project.
2.) Watch Lu Over the Wall
Y’all this movie is about ningyo, which are basically Japanese mermaids. I gotta check this movie out.
3.) Rewatch Ponyo
Studio Ghibli is amazing and great at creating amazing female protagonists while also using magic and fantasy, so I’m definitely going to see what I can learn from this movie. I remember watching it a long time ago and liking the scenery and things, but I want to get a closer look at the little details of the world-building.
That’s all I’ve got for now folks! I’m hoping I’ll get through this list, but knowing me, I’ll be lucky to get through half. I think the most important thing about my list is that it gives me a foundation that I can rely on when I go sit down to do my own writing. It’ll be a comfort to me knowing that there are others out there who love myths, magic, and the water as much as I do.