Housekeeping
A gentle reminder of the stated intentions of this newsletter:
To exercise a writing muscle that has sorely atrophied;
To share links, resources, and other esoterica that caught my fancy during my digital excursions;
To build bridges instead of walls
Free-range topics, including books, technology, music, the thoughts between, and, of course, other writers that I stumble upon that touch on these subjects and more.
As always, thank you for joining, and you’re more than welcome to stop by anytime.
On Reading: A Lifelong Journey Between Pages
A comment left by a reader on last week’s issue was the kick in the pants that I needed to get these words on the page.
Only advice I have on being a dad is read to them early and often. Read, read, read.
Since the birth of baby n0madz, I’ve been thinking quite a bit about my relationship with the written word. Growing up, I was surrounded by books. I lived in a veritable library filled with fictional worlds that skewed towards the sci-fi end of the spectrum with a healthy mix of police procedurals, whodunits, and capers to fill the gaps in the shelves. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Stephen King, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Lawrence Block, and Elmore Leonard were a few of the household names gracing our small but robust library.
As an early avid reader, books became an integral part of my identity; my identity as a “reader” is one of the most foundational memories I can hearken back to. Understandably, I hope to share this with ‘lil n0madz if given the opportunity and if he’s amenable to the idea. Honestly, the idea of sharing the books I enjoyed reading as a child - that made me the reader I am today - is what I look forward to the most.
Now, I ask you, dear reader, what did you read as a child? What books captured your imagination? Maybe they weren’t books at all but comics and graphic novels? Or perhaps it was something small but not insignificant, like comic strips and fortune cookies?
What book brings to mind your earliest memory of reading for joy, entertainment, and the escape that only the written word can provide?
If so inclined, feel free to hop in the chat to discuss this topic in more detail because I am interested in the books that inspired at an early age.
While I know The Magic Treehouse Series was probably the first series I can remember where I was churning through book after book, always hungry for more, the Redwall Series by Brian Jacques will always have a special place in my reading genealogy. This series, more than any other, influenced my future reading habits.
I wrote the following micro-essay a while ago when I was thinking of how the Redwall series impacted my life as a reader and how I hope to share this with my son one day. Currently, this micro-essay can be found in my bookshop.org bookstore, “No Mad Reads.”
I hope you enjoy.
The Redwall Series by Brian Jacques: An Introduction
As a young child, the Redwall series by Brian Jacques was instrumental in instilling in me a lifelong love of reading that continues to this day. Looking back, this series, in particular, laid the foundation for my love of serial fantasy and authors who use their medium for world-building and storytelling in a fashion that does not necessarily progress chronologically. Labeled a children's fantasy series, the Redwall novels tell stories of anthropomorphic woodland creatures that go on adventures, defend their land and loved ones from vermin and grow old to become legends for later generations.
Beginning with the eponymously named Redwall, the series was published from 1986 to 2011 and encompasses twenty-two novels that jump around chronologically, featuring many characters over an extended time frame, often telling generational stories where the events of one book are referred to as legends in another. Jacques introduced young readers to concepts and tropes that are most commonly found today in some of the most complicated epic fantasy series (ahem, Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen).
Returning to this series nearly thirty years after I first discovered it, I'm pleasantly surprised to discover that it has aged relatively well over the years. The Wikipedia page on the series reminds me that female characters are highlighted just as readily as their male counterparts:
"The Redwall series has received praise for its 'equal-opportunity adventuring, in which female creatures can be just as courageous (or as diabolical) as their male counterparts” Novels such as Mariel of Redwall, Pearls of Lutra, High Rhulain, and Triss all feature strong female leading characters."
Similarly, I find it refreshing that the series does not overtly condone nor condemn any particular religion. The series as a whole, despite the recurring setting of an abbey, is refreshingly areligious.
Criticisms of the series include Jacques' tendency for repetition, predictability, and a general pattern carried throughout the novels. Others point to these characteristics as the features that make this series so everlastingly popular. As a series for ages nine and up (according to Google), I don't see this as a criticism if it makes a lifetime reader out of those lucky enough to get lost in these books.
For those interested in introducing their own children to this series, the Fandom page recommends that you read the series in the order they were published and not in chronological order. If my memory serves me well, I particularly remember enjoying Martin the Warrior, Salamandastron, Lord Brocktree, and The Long Patrol. You can pretty much pick any of the books that have rabbits and badgers as main characters, and you won’t be disappointed.
Links and ‘Tingz
Currently Reading
Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson
Currently Listening:
Essence of Spring by Iasos, discovered through Flow State’s ‘sletter on the Greek-American New Age composer Iasos. The whole album is great from start to finish (and should be listened to in that order), but if push came to shove and I had to pick a song or two to recommend, I’d throw out “Spring Temple Forest” and “Brooks & Birds.”1
Hands down,
is probably my favorite newsletter on the ‘stack and has introduced me to more new music than I can count.For those interested in expanding their musical horizons on a daily basis:
Other Digital Food for Thought
I’ll be honest: I’m pretty trash at social media. I’m a chronic lurker, terrible about posting, and I will let an account lay fallow for periods far too long.
Lately, though, I’ve been experimenting with mastodon and federated social media.
If you are already on a server somewhere and would like to connect, please feel free to follow me @n0madz@wzrds.fun - I’ll be sure to follow you back as well.
If you’re not on a server and want an experience similar to Twitter (I hate calling it X) or Threads, I recommend @mastodon.social for a large, active server or Bluesky as another decentralized, federated alternative. If you want to start slow and grow with intention, please join my server @wzrds.fun.
If all of this makes you wonder what the hell I’m talking about, then don’t worry. I’ll post a thorough walkthrough of getting started and some tips ‘n tricks I’ve learned along the way.
While I have more to say, and am already surprised at how much I’ve said so far, I have to leave you in suspense for now until my next missive. As always, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below and until next time when we meet again, dear readers.
Your friendly neighborhood digital nomad,
n0madz
I should mention that “The Pipes of Pan” track has some downright terrifying laughter. Be warned.