Tagged Fantasy Literature
Dena's Favorite Books of 2022
Welcome to Year 11 of my annual list of favorite books and the third year of pandemic reading! I've started getting my reading mojo back and have been spending a bit more time reading than watching tv this year—268 books read…
Dena's Favorite Books of 2021
It's that time of year again for my annual list of favorite books from the Philbrick Hall Fiction Department at Parkway Central Library ! Welcome to the tenth anniversary of this yearly list and the second year of pandemic reading!…
Virtual Scandinavian Storytelling: Gnomes, Trolls, and Giants—Oh My!
Thor and Loki aren’t just characters in the Marvel Universe —they are prominent figures in Norse Mythology, which includes the myths of Scandinavia from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Did you know Philadelphia is home to the…
Dena's Favorite Books of 2019
It's that time of the year again! Working in the Fiction Department of the Parkway Central Library means that I am always surrounded by excellent books to read. I read over 330 this year, and in narrowing it down to my top 30…
Indigenous Reads for Children and Teens
This month, in celebration of Indigenous, Native, Aboriginal, and First Nation peoples, we will follow some notable hashtags, making waves for people seeking relatable content in the pages of a good book. Though not an exhaustive list,…
Black Girl Magic
If Blk Girl Soldier by Jamila Woods has been your anthem for the past few years... then you might be ready for the following booklist! Feeling telepathic? Step into this selection of *Black Girl Magic* featuring Black women authors and…
His Dark Materials Screenings and Scavenger Hunts!
by Peter SM and Dena H. Imagine stepping into an alternate universe where not everything is as it seems, animals—known as dæmons —can talk and act like humans, and a mysterious substance called "Dust" is…
Game of Thrones Returns
Eight years ago, HBO debuted a trailer for a new series called Game of Thrones . (My colleague’s 2011 blog post previewed the show and highlighted the books in our collection.) I was confused and intrigued all at once. Hand of the…
YA Books to Read While You Wait for Game of Thrones to Return
Game of Thrones is coming back to HBO, did you know that? I mean, how could we miss it—am I right? I’m guessing that you’ve been waiting like everyone else with baited breath to find out what happens in the final…
Conspiracy? Intrigue? Collusion? Read Some Russian History and Fantasy!
Unless you've turned off all avenues of media and have been hiding under a proverbial rock (and really, no judgement here!), you may have noticed Russia has been in the news a bit recently... Instead of being overwhelmed by the…
In-Universe Folk and Fairy Tales
Have you ever read a book and thought that the universe the author created felt real? Or really wished that it was? I’m looking at you, Hogwarts… Well, what if I told you that some of our favorite series have folk and…
Free Library Staff Remember Ursula K. Le Guin
The literary world lost a genre-defying icon last week with the passing of Ursula K. Le Guin . The author of scores of children's books, short stories, poetry, and essays, her voice—and her outlook on the power of stories in…
Which Game of Thrones Characters Would You Invite to Your Block Party?
Winter is here and season 7 of Game of Thrones (GoT) starts July 16. Are you ready? I know I am, but if you are one of the few people who doesn’t watch (last season the show averaged 25.1 million viewers , making it one of the…