On Day 4, of the Bout, a wicked question was broached about pairing two books together which compliment each other and yet, are completely different from each other at the very same time! This particular challenge is entitled: Double Date Book Challenge hosted by Lori @ Writing my own Fairy Tale! This particular challenge appealed to me because there are oft-times I am settling into a book where I think another book might work well to read next, in fact, I mused about this earlier in the year {It truly ought to be rather elementary,…}, which proves that this particular topic has already filtered through my mind as one that would extend a rather curious conversation between readers!!
Atmospheric novels in particular, strike a bit of an accord in me to where I’d love to seek out titles of books which grant me the same feeling I gather inside as I settle into the narratives! The first book which comes to mind would be Kate Morton’s “The Distant Hours” which is a book I have borrowed through my local library on numerous occasions but have not yet had the proper chance to sink into the heart of its depth! I am always out of hours before the dear book has to ‘boomerang!’ back to the library! Oh, my! Stemming from Morton, I have noticed a bit of a shift in how I approach seeking out Gothic-bent stories in literature, as I am attracted to the traditional and non-traditional elements of the genre! I love the suspenseful play-on settings as much as the daring breadth of the synopsises are leading me to believe would be found inside! Likewise, as I disclosed I’m an Anglophile under “My Bookish Life“, the more curious bit to spotlight is my tendency towards growing into a bit of a Francophile! French literature has been attractive to me ever since I first started to ruminate about the French Revolution, and sought out fictional stories set in, during, and after the height of the Revolution! Which leads me to my first book pairing of this kind, except to say, I haven’t yet completed reading one of the books I’m going to mention but! I feel confident that the enjoyment of its conclusion will be an equal match to the first!
My entry for the +*Double Date Book Challenge!*+
The Golden Hour by Maiya Williams + The Skin Map by Stephen R. Lawhead
{my partial review, of The Skin Map}
The main reason I am choosing both of these books is due to the fact they are both focused on two areas of literature which makes my heart smile: time travel & visiting the historical past! In this instance, the height of the French Revolution in Paris (The Golden Hour) matched against the 17th Century of London! Each of the books has a very unique way of giving the reader a prominent experience in two major cities during historical periods of delight! From what I have read of The Skin Map I have already noticed not only the appreciation for the world-building set against the realism of modern science, but the delivery of the setting, the action, and the truism of having the characters wholly realised in the world by which they are entering! Likewise, in The Golden Hour what swept me inside the story the most was the ability to let go of reality and suspend it to include the probability of traveling via the route expressed into play as the novel diverges its secrets! Each are hinged to quantum mechanics and quantum physics theories of how to bend time and reappear ourselves into a different ‘place’ other then we ‘currently’ are. The backstories are lit alive at such a riveting pace you barely can breathe! Part of my Re-Reading Challenge via Caffeinated Life will include both of these titles! As I would love to know how The Skin Map resolves in this Part I of an on-going series, in as much as remember how closely knitted together the climax of The Golden Hour as it was also a launching into a series! I originally lamented to dear friends, that I would pair The Golden Hour alongside The Sixty-Eight Rooms by Marianne Malone, which I still stand-by as a declaration, however, as I was sorting out in my mind tonight about a ‘double date’ choice, especially if to take into consideration two separate books which could run the gambit of being parallel to each other yet completely individualistic at the same time; then you see, my only choice is the one I have given! IF you want an extra answer to this paradoxical riddle, one ought to read my ‘double date book’ choice before sinking into The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil Frankweiler prior to reading The Sixty-Eight Rooms! As I recollect that is the original ‘pair’ of novels I have given to my bookish friends to enjoy!
Stephen Lawhead on “The Skin Map”, Bright Empires Series #1
by Thomas Nelson featured on the ChristianBook channel
I wonder what other books are being matched, paired, and set off into the world on a ‘double date’!? I’ll have to try to visit the other Bout’er blogs as soon as I have a free moment to do so! As once I post this, I’m wrapping up my Day 3 of the Bout, as I want to soak into the book I broached open on Day 3 a bit more before all time is lost on Day 4! Ho hey! Off I go!
{SOURCE: Bout of Books Badge created by Jorie in Canva to give readers & visitors who come to her blog a way to know of its existence and therefore increasing the mystery & lore surrounding it!! The book trailer featuring Stephen Lawhead by Thomas Nelson via Christianbook.com had either URL share links or coding which made it possible to embed this media portal to this post, and I thank them for the opportunity to share more about this novel and the author who penned it.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.
