Wednesday, July 6, 2022

IWSG: July 2022


 Another month has flown by and it's time for the monthly IWSG bloghop. Thank you to the IWSG admins and our founder Alex J. Cavanaugh. Please see the entire list of blog participating on this list.

This month's optional question: If you could live in any book world, which one would you choose?

LOL. Most of the books I read are set in worlds at war or medieval mysteries or fantasies. I love reading about them, but I don't want to live there! I don't want to live where there is no running water or central air or where women are second-class citizens and die in childbirth very often. I would love to live in a peaceful, futuristic world though that might make a dull book, it would be great to live in. I want to travel through space and see what's out there! I guess I would like to live in Star Trek's world without the conflicts.

"We cannot in one lifetime see all that we would like to see or to learn all that we hunger to know." Loren Eiseley


I would like to thank all of you who read my book, The Keepers of Sulbreth, for the IWSG Goodreads Book Club. I'm so honored to have been featured for this book of my heart.

I'm still writing though not as much as I would like. I'm planning my daughter's wedding reception. She and her wife eloped in May but now we're having a small local gathering. Seems there's always something more that needs doing.

I enjoyed the latest season of The Umbrella Academy. Not my favorite but okay. Stranger Things held my interest though I don't think any season has been as good as the first one. I watched The Terminal List on Prime. Definitely not light fare. I stopped watching The Boys. It seemed like each episode was trying to outdo the previous in grossness.

The warm weather has been great for walking and swimming. I love the heat as long as I can jump in the pool afterward. I've put some traveling plans on hold while I hope for gas prices to regain some sanity. Not entirely hopeful that will happen soon. So, I might spend my summer writing, walking, and swimming. Not too bad.

"All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking." Friedrich Nietzsche

Is there a literary world you'd like to live in? Does your mind work creatively while you exercise? Any travel plans? 





16 comments:

L. Diane Wolfe said...

You go back too far and it's not too fun, especially for women.

We're traveling for two cons in August, so I'm hoping gas prices continue to trickle down.

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

Fun on the wedding reception!

I stopped watching the newest season of Stranger Things. The first season was definitely the best.

Janet Alcorn said...

Are we twins? I also chose Star Trek and made a similar comment about not wanting to live in a world where women are second-class citizens. I also find exercise stimulates my creativity. I'm the weirdo on the treadmill at the gym, frantically typing notes into my phone so I won't forget my latest story inspiration.

No travel plans till September, when I'm going to Vegas for a concert.

Happy IWSG Day!

H. R. Sinclair said...

Ha! Yes, I rather not live in a fantasy world like those!

Patricia Stoltey said...

I read a lot of thrillers and suspense, and a lot of historical fiction. There's way too much angst and trauma in those worlds, although sometimes reality seems worse. I guess I'll live in the present and hope for the best. :D

Loni Townsend said...

I agree--a lot of worlds I'd like to visit, but none I'd like to live in. Star Trek, though, would be a good choice.

Anonymous said...

Agree. I enjoy immersing myself in bookworld, especially historical novels, but life was harder and more uncomfortable and harder and I don’t think I would like that.

Olga Godim said...

If I have chosen a sci-fi world to live in, I would've gone with Bujold's Vorkosigan series. Her world seems pretty decent, and the wars are fought somewhere else by her intrepid heroes. And there is running water and good medicine. Also - apropos for the American recent abortion situation - there are uterine replicators in Bujold's world. No woman needs to stay pregnant or give birth. If she wants to have a baby, the fertilization is done in a petri dish by a professional geneticist, with all the gene cleaning you could hope for, and the healthy fetus is developed for 9 months in a machine. The prospective mother just opens the machine when the timer beeps, and voila - a baby comes out. Who wouldn't choose that instead of messy pregnancy and birth?

Jenni said...

Walking is great for getting ideas! I agree that some worlds from the past would not be fun to live in. Karen Cushman's historical novels are very realistic and show how not fun it would be live in the past. I'd miss indoor plumbing too!

J Lenni Dorner said...

Congrats on keeping up with writing. Best Wishes to your daughter.
Not sure what real world is keeping people from dying during childbirth. But I'm in the US, which has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed countries. (17.4 -- As opposed to Norway at 1.8) And it's on the rise, so there's that. https://bit.ly/3uvgS73

ANYWAY.
Walking and swimming are really healthy. Glad you're able to enjoy those.

For the IWSG July prompt asking which book world I would live in, I narrowed it down to three choices.
One is a short-story I published. One is from a popular series. And one is better known from television, but there are books. It's all on my blog.
"Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago." - Warren Buffett
Over at Operation Awesome, our Pass or Pages query contest is open this week with July's family saga genre. Know any writers who might want to enter?


J Lenni Dorner (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) ~ Co-host of the #AtoZchallenge, OperationAwesome6 Debut Author Interviewer, Reference& Speculative Fiction Author

Diane Burton said...

There are definitely worlds I wouldn't want to live in. Give me my modern facilities. LOL The future is a better place. Enjoy the celebration of your daughter's marriage.

Damyanti Biswas said...

Stranger Things would be an interesting world to see. The scenes would be spectacular I feel :)

Fundy Blue said...

Like you, Susan, I enjoy reading Medieval fantasies and historical fiction, but I have no desire to live during those days. I like my modern conveniences. I have experienced living without running water and electricity. It was an adventure at the time, but I'm glad it was a short time.

mind is not usually creative when I'm exercising. Typically I'm completely in the moment as I try to get through the exercises. I have a trainer, and she is very tough. My trainer is a luxury, I know; but she has had a powerful impact on my health and has helped me recover from some serious health setbacks.

Enjoy your summer days!

Tara Tyler said...

i like your world choices — action adventure is where it’s at!
and how nice your book was the one to read for the book club!
summer has been hot and sweaty here too, thank goodness for a/c! and i love the storms that come through =D

Rajani Rehana said...

Great blog

Nick Wilford said...

I definitely enjoyed the latest Stranger Things though I have to agree the first couple of seasons were best. Petrol prices are through the roof here too and booking foreign travel seems to be a lottery with all the flight cancellations. We just had a five-day holiday at a Scottish caravan park just over an hour away and that will do us fine for this year.