Friday Face Off : A book with a landscape you’d like to visit
2 July 2021
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: A book with a landscape you'd like to visit, Books by Proxy, Friday Face off
Here we are again with the Friday Face Off meme created by Books by Proxy . This is a great opportunity to feature some of your favourite book covers. The rules are fairly simple each week, following a predetermined theme (list below) choose a book (this doesn’t have to be a book that you’ve read), compare a couple of the different covers available for that particular book and choose your favourite. Future’s themes are listed below – if you have a cover in mind that you’re really wanting to share then feel free to leave a comment about a future suggested theme. I’ve also listed events that take place during the year, that I’m aware of, so you can link up your covers – if you’re aware of any events that you think I should include then give me a shout.
This week’s theme:
A book with a landscape you’d like to visit
Well, I had a more difficult time with this one than you might expect. A lot of the places I read about are violent or war soaked places, there are crazy magicians and dark overlords tring to rule the world, armies of orcs and trolls rampaging around – and basically I’m a huge coward so to be honest I don’t want to go there thank you very much. So I had to try and think outside the box a little bit. I thought of using Narnia, the Shire (definitely not Mordor) or Hogwarts but I’ve probably used these before. Instead I’ve gone for a book/series that is perhaps something of a cheat – The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman. Now, okay, I admit I said it’s something of a cheat but – those who are allowed access to this library can open doors to an infinite number of worlds. In fact through the books I’ve read from the series I’ve already travelled to a steampunk London and an alternate Venice where Carnival never stops and St Petersburg’s Winter Palace. So – lots of places to visit in this series – who am I kidding, I’d probably just stay in the library – it has a strange warped sense of time and the librarians barely age at all – think of all that reading time.
This week I’ve picked all the covers from the series:
Do you have a favourite? I’ve been back and forth but find myself drawn to :
I’ve updated the list now to include themes for next year. If you know of an event that’s coming up let me know and I’ll try and include covers that work for the event itself so that you can link up to the Friday Face Off and, as always, if you wish to submit an idea then leave me a comment – or if you’d like to host a week then simply let me know. Also, I would just mention that it’s very possible that some of these might be repeats from previous FFOs although I have tried to invent more ‘open ended’ prompt that can be interpreted differently and also prompts that relate to emotions. Finally, don’t struggle with any of these, this is meant to be a fun way of highlighting books. If you can’t come up with a book you think fits for a particular week use a freebie – perhaps a recent read for example:
Next week – A Wicked Grin
2021
July
9th – A Wicked Grin
16th – Books with ‘book’ in the title
23rd – A Black Hole – could be in the universe or going deep into the ground
30th – Chaos – maybe too much going on in this one
August
6th – “They cluck their thick tongues, and shake their heads and suggest, os so very delicately!” – The Motel
13th – A favourite holiday read
20th – Dressed to kill (could be literally someone dressed to kill, or someone dressed up for a big night out
27th – Sunbathing or on the beach
September (RIP event)
3rd – 1920s feel, noir detective
10th – I’m Henry the Eighth I am – let’s look at Kings or other Emperors/rulers
17th – Books with ‘Murder’ in the title
24th – A favourite thriller
October
1st – A Halloween read
8th – Chills – anything at all that almost makes you too scared to pick up the book (your own pet hate)
15th – Your favourite book of magic
22nd – Books with ‘Queen’ in the title
29th – Must be gothic
November – Sci Fi Month
5th – Your earliest sci-fi read or the first sci-fi you reviewed
12th – A book with ‘star’ in the title
19th – Futuristic vista
26th – A Black Hole – in the universe or going deep into the ground
December
3rd – Windswept, the classic figure, stood majestically, with wind blowing out in a fetching way
10th – A fairytale retold
17th – Winter Solstice approaching – anything cold and seasonal
24th – All things fire – red hair, red covers, fire breathing dragons, simply fire?
31st – What’s your catnip – if it’s on a cover you have to pick it up
I’ve only read the first of Cogman’s series—and not particularly desperate to read more, though I do have a copy of the second lurking somewhere—and even if the idea of being able to access other worlds from a near infinite library is a fine concept, I wonder if as a metaphor it can sustain a whole series unless one’s particularly enamoured with the characters.
My favoured literary landscape? Probably Discworld, I think, and especially the Chalk; I liked Le Guin’s Orsinia as a microcosm of Europe but as a lot of the stories were set either during revolutionary times or during the Cold War probably a little bleak in reality.
I’ve read the first three books and I did enjoy them but for some reason have fallen behind. I very much liked the idea of the library and the infinite possibilities they offer for alternate realities.
I’m currently reading Discworld, just completed book 3 which I enjoyed. I am quite ashamed to say I haven’t read LeGuin but never say never 😀
Lynn 😀
Even tough I’ve read only the first book in the series, I’ve always looked with interest at the covers for the following volumes and I particularly love the first four 🙂
Yes, unfortunately I only read the first three, but I would like to catch up at some point.
Lynn 😀
[…] was to compare UK and US book covers and decide which is we prefer. This meme is being nurtured by Lynn’s Book Blog and this week we are looking at covers featuring LANDSCAPES WE’D LIKE TO VISIT. My father was a […]
Ah… I LOVE this series and so far, I’ve read them all. Inevitably, there are some that are better than others – The Masked City and The Lost Plot are the two that have stayed with me:)). Great choice, Lynn – like you, I think I’d stay in the library.
Hahah, I must have taken inspiration from my early reading of the Wizard of Oz and taken a leaf out of the cowardly lion’s book.
Lnn 😀
:)))
I love these covers, so simple yet pretty. I love both the one you chose and The Mortal World the best😁
I love the style of these covers – it’s such a lovely, classic style.
Lynn 😀
I love these covbrs! Though haha, I came across the same issues you did – I didn’t want to go for the usual ones, and so many my fantasy books took place in such grim and blood-soaked worlds. Going to the thriller genre didn’t help either, as most were settings for grisly murders 😛
Exactly – I mean I love the thought of some of these places but death seems to follow in most of them!
Lynn 😀
Libraries, great choice! I’ve come across other library-based books before, like Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson and Libriomancer by Jim C. Hines. And now here’s Invisible Library, I’m looking forward to start off soon with these.
I loved Sorcery of Thorns – I hope Rogerson might be tempted to write a second book.
Lynn 😀
I’ve heard Rogerson’s Vespertine will be out in September. Not sure if it’s part of the same universe.
I love The Masked City cover. That deep red caught my eye right away!
It’s very striking. Lynn 😀