Tag Archives: J.K. Rowling

2021: My Year in Books: The Infographic

Posted on December 31, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

Happy New Year Eve everyone! I will have some fun putting together the “nerd data” in an upcoming post–including more charts! Gotta have charts. And behind every chart is a great spreadsheet! Stay tuned for 01/10/22. Meanwhile, I wanted to … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links | Tagged Anne Rice, C.S. Lewis, Goodreads, Harry Potter, Hugo Awards, J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jane Austen, L.M. Montgomery, Octavia Butler, Reading, Stephen King, Ursula K. Le Guin | 6 Comments

The 2021 Mythopoeic Awards Winners

Posted on October 18, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

At the virtual Mythcon 51 earlier in the fall, there was a good bit of buzz about the Mythopoeic Awards. As readers will know, I pay attention to the awards–so much so that this year they have stimulated a limited … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links | Tagged Bodleian Library, C.S. Lewis, Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, fantasy literature, Frank Herbert, Frederick Buechner, J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jane Austen, John Garth, John Rateliff, Kathryn Hume, L.M. Montgomery, Lev Grossman, Madeleine L'Engle, Marilynne Robinson, Mythopoeic Award, Science Fiction, Shakespeare, Ursula K. Le Guin, Verlyn Flieger | 6 Comments

“The Once and Forgotten T.H. White: Lessons from Obscurity” by G. Connor Salter

Posted on August 12, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

Terence Hanbury White was one of the founding fathers of fantasy in the twentieth century, producing nearly twenty-five novels, including the beloved modern Arthurian retelling, The Once and Future King. Still, much of T.H. White’s life remains a mystery and … Continue reading →

Posted in Thoughtful Essays | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Imaginary Worlds, J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, Lev Grossman, Lin Carter, Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Neil Gaiman, T.H. White, The Inklings, The Once and Future King | 46 Comments

The Other Reasons I Became a C.S. Lewis Scholar

Posted on March 30, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

An intriguing, fun, and occasionally perverse part of being a scholar in areas where there is a lively fandom is that I am often asked to tell my “encounter” story. This can be a bit strange in that in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged academic writing, C.S. Lewis, Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, culture, J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, L.M. Montgomery, literature, Mere Christianity, Miroslav Volf, N.T. Wright, PhD Research, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Sallie McFague, theology, Ursula K. Le Guin | 8 Comments

The Thieves of Time and Waking Wonder: Writing as Discovery and the Stone-Carver’s Art

Posted on March 13, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

After weeks of too little sleep, I have had two terrible half-nights awake. These torturous midnight hours of hazy, half-insomniac puzzles and quandaries and obsessions, the darkness that infuses weariness into the bone-soul of life… I would purchase a single … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged academic writing, C.S. Lewis, CBC, Dymer, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, JP Saxe, L.M. Montgomery, Q, The Screwtape Letters, Till We Have Faces, writing | 9 Comments

Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi, Owen Barfield, Language, Childlike Faith, Joy, and the Inklings

Posted on January 26, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

I have just begun reading Susanna Clarke’s weighty novel, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. I mean “weighty” in the literal, physical sense: I am finding this 1,000-page wonder, a book I did not believe could be written in this century, … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links, Reflections | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Chronicles of Narnia, Inklings, J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Narnia, owen barfield, Piranesi, Susanna Clarke, The Magician's Nephew | 38 Comments

2020: My Year in Books: The Infographic

Posted on January 7, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

Happy New Year everyone! I will have some fun putting together the data in an upcoming post, including some new charts. I love charts. Meanwhile, I wanted to share the Goodreads “My Year in Books” infographic. I’m pleased to say … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links | Tagged Anne Rice, C.S. Lewis, Chaim Potok, Charlotte Brontë, Flannery O'Connor, Frederick Buechner, Goodreads, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jane Austen, L.M. Montgomery, Madeleine L'Engle, Marilynne Robinson, Octavia Butler, Reading, Shūsaku Endō, Stephen King | 2 Comments

Tolkien’s “I am in fact a Hobbit (in all but size)” in Context: A Note on Books and Their Authors (#hobbitday)

Posted on September 22, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

I don’t know that there is any more famous J.R.R. Tolkien quote than his claim to, in fact, be a hobbit. It’s really quite a delightful statement and worth quoting more fully: I am in fact a Hobbit (in all … Continue reading →

Posted in Memorable Quotes | Tagged Charles Williams, Franz Kafka, Harry Potter, Hobbit Day, I.A. Richards, J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, literary criticism, literature, Lord of the Rings, new criticism, practical criticism, Stephen King, The Hobbit, Ursula K. LeGuin | 25 Comments

Harry Potter at Home and at the British Library Online

Posted on April 9, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

Last week I talked about some Audible learning resources –including “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” by Stephen Fry in English, but also in many other languages–and how J.K. Rowling opened up copyright restrictions for teachers and parents to help … Continue reading →

Posted in Fictional Worlds, News & Links | Tagged art, books, British Library, fantasy, Fictional Universes, folklore, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, magic, manuscripts, Medieval Cosmology, writing | 11 Comments

C.S. Lewis and Other Fantasy Books, Free Streaming in Audible

Posted on March 24, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

These are unusual times, and there is evidence that people are thinking in creative ways about how to live big in small spaces. J.K. Rowling, for example, has waived any licensing concerns that might arise by teachers reading her books … Continue reading →