Thursday, June 23, 2011

Follow Friday & Book Blogger Hop: June 24, 2011



Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee and is a way for book bloggers to get to know each other better. To join in and make some friends, simply follow the directions listed by Parajunkee on her blog.

This week's featured blogger is Mickey @ I'm a Book Shark. Be sure to stop by, follow, and say, "Hello!"

This week's question:


In light of the summer solstice. Also known as midsummer... let's talk about fairies. What is your favorite fairy tale or story that revolves around the fae?

I love Irish folk lore very much. There are so many fairy stories included that I don't know if I can pick just one. One of my favorites is concerned with the origin of the sidhe (fairies/elves/whatever you prefer) in Ireland. The Tuatha De Danann (sidhe) came to Ireland and waged war against the Fir Bolg (a reportedly monstrous race), which they eventually won. When the Milesians (man) came to Ireland, the sidhe were driven underground and became the fairies that we think of today. That's the story in a nutshell, anyway.

*edited to add: How could I have neglected to type out my favorite book that has fairies?! That has to be Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier. It is the first novel I can recall reading that made me fall in love with fairies as book characters. It also doesn't hurt that it's based upon another Irish myth! Are you seeing a theme here?



The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly event hosted by Crazy-For-Books. It is a way for book bloggers to connect and discover new blogs they might enjoy.

Every week there is a new question. This week, the question is:

When did you realize reading was your passion and a truly important part of your life?

This is a great question. I always liked books as a child, but I think the bug really took hold when I was four. That's when I read my first book by myself. I remember being excited about reading the whole book and ran to my mom to do it all again. I've been a bookworm ever since.

36 comments:

  1. Old follower as well! Thanks for stopping by. And yes, I have read the Sevenwaters Trilogy! I absolutely loved the first two books, wasn't crazy about the third. She's written more in that series though, and I haven't gotten to them yet. I think there are two newer ones. I love Irish folklore as well. If you have any other recommendations let me know!

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  2. Old follower

    Again, I find a Follow Friday talking about things I haven't read or even heard of?? I thought I was well read. Hmm. Guess not.

    StuckInBooks.com

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  3. Thanks for stopping by!
    Very interesting little story, I'd heard the basics but will definitely have to check into it in more detail!

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  4. Hi & Happy Friday :)

    I haven't heard of these books but they sounds great!

    My FF, http://obsessionwithbooks.blogspot.com

    Have a nice weekend.

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  5. Hi! Thanks for stopping by my blog!

    I haven't heard about those stories before. They sound very interesting. This is the second time I've read about Daughter of the Forest. It sounds really good, so I'll have to check it out.

    New follower. :)

    Jennie
    My Cute Bookshelf

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  6. New follower here.... I recently visited Ireland but I'm sad to say I didnt hear much Fey folklore :( that would have been interesting to hear....

    Diana @ The Lovely Getaway

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  7. hi,

    I do agree that the irish folklore has amazing stories and fairytales
    Have a great weekend!
    Kyanara

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  8. Hi, I'm a new follower :D

    This is my FF:
    http://www.librarianmouse.com/2011/06/feature-follow-friday.html

    Pleasse, feel free to go and enjoy. Hugs!

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  9. OOh didn't know any of that!! That was awesome! Wish there would've been a class like that in college!


    Here's my Friday Hops

    Have a GREAT weekend!

    Old Follower :D

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  10. I haven't heard of those specific books but they sounds great! I'll definitely have to check them out! Your blog is great too! [now following] Here's my post: http://tiny.cc/7nma0 :)

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  11. The Irish always have the best stories regarding fairies. I am glad to see someone post a little about that. Great post.

    http://thefablefairy.blogspot.com/2011/06/follow-friday-3.html

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  12. The Irish always have amazing tales. I haven't heard of this one, so it was interesting to read about. Happy weekend.

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  13. Oooh Irish fairy tales! What an interesting story. Thanks for stopping by =]

    The Cait Files

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  14. What a coincidence that you found me at the book element! I hadn't met anyone yet that read Daughter of the Forest and I just find it so hard to believe because the story is AMAZING! I cried at the end haha. I haven't read the entire series yet, have you? That, of course, is on my impossibly long TBR.

    Happy Friday!

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  15. It's great to start to read at a young age.

    http://tributebooksmama.blogspot.com/2011/06/book-blogger-hop_24.html

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  16. I haven't heard of these fairy tales before c:

    I'm a new follower btw and I'd love if you'd follow back.

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  17. Hi! I'm a new follower here from Follow Friday. I hope you'll get a chance to check out my blog!

    I love owls and adore your layout!!

    Nikki @ for the love of books

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  18. Thanks for the FF follow. I'm here to return the favor! Happy Friday!

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  19. I guess I need to read this Daughter of the Forest book. Lots of people picked it! :o) Thanks!

    Mickey @ imabookshark

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  20. Hopping by from the Hop!
    I think it's awesome that you can remember exactly what age you fell for books! :) I don't think there has ever been a point in my life when I didn't like reading.

    My hop is here:
    http://faybaysbooks.blogspot.com/

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  21. I love books that are based around myths...gives some substance to them I think! And I love anything Irish, so I'm good with that too! New follower!

    Our post is here.

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  22. Hi, Marla! I LOVE your blog -- owls are so cute, and I'd wear polka dots every day if I could! Polka dots and stripes, although if I wear them both on the same day, my sister looks like she wants to slap me. x)

    Thank you so much for stopping by! I've actually never read Irish folk lore before, but it seems really interesting. And the Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier sounds great if you love it so much! Maybe I'll add it to my TBR list :)

    I'm just an all-around faery girl, and I love fairy tales in general.

    Hope you have an awesome weekend!

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  23. I wish I was a reader as a child. I loved looking at the pictures, but then once picture books were out of the question, I stopped reading. I feel like I missed out on so much.

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  24. Hi! Just wanted to say thanks for stopping by my blog and for following! I'm a new follower of yours as well :)

    I love all things Irish, so I'm right there with you on the myths and folklore!

    And yes I have read Lament! I really enjoyed that one, I was still thinking about it weeks after I'd read it lol.

    Have a good weekend!

    ~Taylor <3

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  25. Enjoyed reading your answer. Irish folklore is very interesting, I have not come across any tales, but I'm interested in looking it up. We are your newest followers through Follow Friday.

    Cheers,
    Michael

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  26. I loved Juliette's Wildwood Dancing! great picks
    new follower!

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  27. Marla- I think we will be great friends! :D 1. I LOVED The Daughter of the Forest and other Irish folklore, and Marillier is one of my all-time fave authors!

    2. I saw in your bio that you love The Gilmore Girls! This is all I have to say on that- Oy with the poodles already! <3 And, you must check out this hilarious comparison of Jess vs Dean vs Logan:http://www.foreveryoungadult.com/2011/06/09/a-highly-scientific-analysis-of-dean-vs-jess-vs-logan/comment-page-1/

    Following you back!! :D

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  28. I'll have to check out the book you mentioned, it sounds like something I should read. :) I hope you have a great weekend, Marla! :)

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  29. My daughter just started reading this year. I didn't start reading until 1st grade so I'm amazed by anyone as young as four (like you and my daughter) who can read.

    I realized how important books had become in my life in 1999. Come see what happened.

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  30. Ooo good choice in Daughter of the Forest. Great book! Might have to give it re-read actually...

    Thanks for popping by my blog.

    New follower :)

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  31. WOW!! You have got me to fall in love with Irish folk lore. :)
    Thanks for stopping by and following me. New follower here.
    Mia
    http://bookaholic5.blogspot.com/

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  32. Hopping through. I'm not familiar with Daughter of the Forest. I'll have to look it up.
    My Hop

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  33. Checking out your answer since you check out mine. I havent heard of Daughter of the Forest, but sounds interesting =]

    Happy Sunday!!

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  34. You read your first book when you were 4? Impressive - I couldn't read till I was 6, but from then I was off and running (or more appropriately, reading).

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  35. I haven't heard of these fairy tales, I'll have to check them out! I am almost finished with the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning and love the Celtic/fae mythology in it. We're new followers from Heart Bound Book Bound.

    --monica

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