Tuesday 3 January 2012

Genre and Sub Genre {Horror} 2/5

Welcome to day 2 of Genre and Sub Genre.  I was poking around at the host blog for 52 Books in 52 Weeks and discovered an interesting page about genre and sub genre.  I have always wondered what the different genre classifications were  in books so wanted to share them here with you.

There are 5 categories so will share one a day this week.


Genre and Sub Genre categories

HORROR
  1. Child in Peril: involving the abduction and/or persecution of a child.
  2. Comic Horror: horror stories that either spoof horror conventions or that mix the gore with dark humor.
  3. Creepy Kids: horror tale in which children Ð often under the influence of dark forces Ð begin to turn against the adults.
  4. Dark Fantasy: a horror story with supernatural and fantasy elements.
  5. Dark Mystery/Noir: inspired by hardboiled detective tales, set in an urban underworld of crime and moral ambiguity.
  6. Erotic Vampire: a horror tale making the newly trendy link between sexuality and vampires, but with more emphasis on graphic description and violence.
  7. Fabulist: derived from “fable,” an ancient tradition in which objects, animals or forces of nature are anthropomorphized in order to deliver a moral lesson.
  8. Gothic: a traditional form depicting the encroachment of the Middle Ages upon the 18th century Enlightenment, filled with images of decay and ruin, and episodes of imprisonment and persecution.
  9. Hauntings: a classic form centering on possession by ghosts, demons or poltergeists, particularly of some sort of structure.
  10. Historical: horror tales set in a specific and recognizable period of history.
  11. Magical Realism: a genre inspired by Latin-American authors, in which extraordinary forces or creatures pop into otherwise normal, real-life settings.
  12. Psychological: a story based on the disturbed human psyche, often exploring insane, altered realities and featuring a human monster with horrific, but not supernatural, aspects.
  13. Quiet Horror: subtly written horror that uses atmosphere and mood, rather than graphic description, to create fear and suspense.
  14. Religious: horror that makes use of religious icons and mythology, especially the angels and demons derived from Dante’s Inferno and Milton’s Paradise Lost.
  15. Science-Fiction Horror: SF with a darker, more violent twist, often revolving around alien invasions, mad scientists, or experiments gone wrong.
  16. Splatter: a fairly new, extreme style of horror that cuts right to the gore.
  17. Supernatural Menace: a horror tale in which the rules of normal existence don’t apply, often featuring ghosts, demons, vampires and werewolves.
  18. Technology: stories featuring technology that has run amok, venturing increasingly into the expanding domain of computers, cyberspace, and genetic engineering.
  19. Weird Tales: inspired by the magazine of the same name, a more traditional form featuring strange and uncanny events (Twilight Zone).
  20. Young Adult: horror aimed at a teen market, often with heroes the same age, or slightly older than, the reader.
  21. Zombie: tales featuring dead people who return to commit mayhem on the living.

T
hank you to Writers Digest and 52 books in 52 weeks for the sub genre breakdown
Blessings

Monday 2 January 2012

Genre and Sub Genre {Romance} 1/5

As some of you know I have decided to partake in the 52 Books in 52 weeks challenge this year. I might just get to read all those wonderful books I have purchased and are sitting on the shelf begging to be read.

I was poking around at the host blog and discovered an interesting page about genre and sub genre.  I have always wondered what the different genre classifications were  in books so wanted to share them here with you.

There are 5 categories so will share one a day this week.


gen·re/ˈZHänrə/

Noun:
A category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.

Synonyms:
style - type - kind - sort - manner - genus

Genre and Sub Genre categories

ROMANCE
  1. Chick-Lit: often humorous romantic adventures geared toward single working women in their twenties and thirties.
  2. Christian: romances in which both hero and heroine are devout Christians, typically focused on a chaste courtship, and mentioning sex only after marriage.
  3. Contemporary: a romance using modern characters and true-to-life settings.
  4. Erotica: also called “romantica,” a romance in which the bedroom doors have been flung open and sexual scenes are described in candid language.
  5. Glitz/Glamor: focused on the jet-set elite and celebrity-like characters.
  6. Historical: a romance taking place in a recognizable historical period.
  7. Multicultural: a romance centered on non-Caucasian characters, largely African-American or Hispanic.
  8. Paranormal: involving some sort of supernatural element, ranging widely to include science fiction/fantasy aspects such as time travel, monsters or psychic abilities.
  9. Romantic Comedy: a romance focused on humor, ranging from screwball antics to witty interplay.
  10. Romantic Suspense: a novel in which an admirable heroine is pitted against some evil force (but in which the romantic aspect still maintains priority).
  11. Sensual: based on the sensual tension between hero and heroine, including sizzling sex scenes.
  12. Spicy: a romance in which married characters work to resolve their problems.
  13. Sweet: a romance centered on a virgin heroine, with a storyline containing little or no sex.
  14. Young Adult: written with the teenage audience in mind, with a suitably lower level of sexual content.

Thank you to Writers Digest and 52 books in 52 weeks for the genre and sub genre breakdowns.

Blessings

Sunday 1 January 2012

52 in 52

I'm double dipping (smiles)


Register your participation at: 52 books in 52 weeks 2012
Register your participation at: Legacy of a Writer: The Contentment Challenge.

 My reading list for 2012

  1. Unveiled the story of Tamar (Series: Lineage of Grace) 
  2. Moses The Deliverer by Ellen Gunderson Traylor. 
  3. Joshua - God's Warrior by Ellen Gunderson Traylor. 
  4. Five Chimney''s by Olga  Lengyel 
  5.  A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard.
  6. The Unquiet Bones by Melvin Starr
  7. A Corpse at St Andrew's Chapel by Melvin Starr.
  8. The Trail of Ink by Melvin Starr.
  9.  
  10. Unhallowed Ground by Melvin Starr.
  11. The Tainted Coin by Melvin Starr.
  12.  
  13. The 10 second Rule (a gift to me)
  14. The Priest Moses' brother Aaron (Series: Son's of Encouragement)
  15. The Warrior illuminates the life of Caleb (Series: Son's of Encouragement)
  16. The Prince illuminates the life of Jonathan. (Series: Son's of Encouragement)
  17. The Prophet illuminates the life of Amos (Series: Son's of Encouragement)
  18. The Scribe tells the story of Silas (Series: Son's of Encouragement)
  19. Unashamed The compelling story of Rahab (Series: Lineage of Grace)
  20. Unshaken retelling of the story of Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz. (Series: Lineage of Grace)
  21. Unspoken The scandalous affair of David and Bathsheba. (Series: Lineage of Grace)
  22. Unafraid The story of Mary. (Series: Lineage of Grace) 
  23. Seasons of Womanhood - Stories of despair and hope
  24. Living beyond your feelings - Controlling Emotions so they don't control you.
  25. What's so Amazing about Grace ?

3 of the 7 book shelves in our home. I am blessed!
Are you a part of the challenge ? If so let me know and I'll add your blog address below

Blessings






The guidelines/rules for 52 books in 52 Weeks:

  1. The challenge will run from January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012.
  2.  Our book weeks begin on Sunday
  3.  Participants may join at any time
  4.  All books are acceptable except children books **
  5.  All forms of books are acceptable including e-books, audio books, etc
  6.  Re-reads are acceptable as long as they are read after January 1, 2012
  7.  Books may overlap other challenges
  8.  Create an entry post linking to 52 books in 52 weeks
  9.  Sign up with Mr. Linky in the "I'm participating in 2012 post" .
  10. You don't have a blog to participate.  Post your weekly book in the comments section of each weekly post.   
  11. Mr. Linky will be added to the bottom of the weekly post for you to link to reviews of your most current reads
**in reference to children books. If it is a child whose reading it and involved in the challenge, then that's okay.  If an adult is doing read aloud with kids, the book should be geared for the 9 - 12 age group and above and over 100 pages. If adult reading for own enjoyment, then a good rule of thumb to go by "is there some complexity to the story or is it too simple?"  If it's too simple, then it doesn't count.








What is the Contentment Reading Challenge? Well, it's based on the idea that we, as avid readers, have many books scattered around our homes--on shelves, in the closet, under the bed, etc.--that we hope to read again "some day", but have not made the time to do so. Or maybe you are continually purchasing new books and never take the time to be content with the ones that are currently on your bookshelf.
  1. This IS a challenge, so there has to be some goals/levels to set. There's no pressure--just choose whatever level you think would be good for you to try and accomplish in this coming year.

                * Floating: Skimming the surface, you re-read 5 books you already own.
                * Wading: Getting your feet wet, you re-read 10 books you already own.
                * Swimming: Immersing yourself again, you re-read 15 books you already own.
                * Diving: Going deep into the stories you love, you re-read 20 or more books that you already own.
  2. This challenge officially starts on January 1st, 2012 and officially ends on December 21st, 2012
  3. If you have a blog, post about your decision to join in the Contentment Reading Challenge for 2012 and then leave a comment saying you want to join
My book basket:
  1. How to ruin your life by 40 by Steve Farrar
  2. What's so Amazing about Grace ? by Philip Yancey
  3.  Unveiled the story of Tamar (Series: Lineage of Grace) COMPLETED
  4. Moses The Deliverer by Ellen Gunderson Traylor. COMPLETED
  5. Joshua - God's Warrior by Ellen Gunderson Traylor. COMPLETED

Curricula for 2012

Sonlight Core A



We will be using the 5 day Sonlight Core A with Grade K readers over the next year exploring and introducing Sir N to new cultures etc.


Sonlight Language Arts for K readers






Sonlight Science A - 5 Day





Expedition Earth



I will also be using Expedition Earth: A Journey through God's World. We are not using this weekly but rather as an extra when we want to learn about a country.

Timeline


I want to make a time line note book using these time line figures I purchased from Home School in the Woods. My goal is to have this time line book for the complete duration of Sir N's schooling. I will be posting about how I made his book and what we did together with it. I will be following Amy Pack's detailed instructions to make a portable timeline using a sketch book.

Maths




We are currently working through Singapore Math Kindy .  I am looking at switching to Abeka Arithmatic 1 when we are done, with an aim of going to Teaching Text Books when Sir N is around 9.


Developing the Early Learner



Music  

This year Nathaniel will be listening to Hide em in Your Heart Vol 1 & 2 by Steve Green as well as The Classical Kids Collection Vol 1 & 2.  To read more about these and listen to some samples click on the picture of below.




 

Worlds Greatest Artists


  The World's Greatest Artists Vol 1 (and the best part is it's FREE). I have been watching her children's adventures and thought that Sir N might enjoy doing some of those things. I downloaded the FREE instructors guide which contains: Lesson plans for each, week Lap Book printables, Artist Notebooking page, Art Puzzles and Artist Flashcards.

The source books are from the series: Getting to Know the worlds Greatest Artists by Mike Venezia. Six of the eight books arrived in the mail today and I spent a while looking through them and I confess I am impressed.  One or two of the pictures I don't want to show Sir N but I will simply cover them with a sheet of paper, however the information about the artist and their style is excellent.  What I know about the art community and art appreciation is minimal so I will be learning alongside Sir N on this journey.



The eight artist you will meet in the series are:


That's a summary of what we will be doing over the next 12 - 18 months.  I will update if things change. We will also be using note booking pages as well.

2012 Goals and Plans

I was over at Amy's place Little Adventures where she shared her goals for 2012 and was inspired to make some of my own. (Thank you Amy)

These are the Amy's words that inspired me to make goals for the new year:
Have you ever set out "resolutions" for the New Year only to find that within the first month of the New Year you are not doing those set resolutions AT ALL and then you feel guilt and shame?


THROW AWAY THE WORD resolution. It gives this finality of things that makes it very difficult when life gets busy (and we all know life gets busy all the time).


This year, I am going to make goals. Goals are things to strive for... and work your way up to... I want to lay out a plan ... things I really want to work for each week, month, project for the year, etc...

Goals for 2012 Lord Willing (James 4: 13-15)

1. Spiritual:

As the year draws to a close I have been thinking about my spiritual walk (actually the lack of) and thinking back and remembering the times in my life that I have walked closer to my Heavenly Father.

One time in particular stands out in my mind is the time that I spent reading my bible from Cover to Cover chronologically. It was a year of healing and spiritual growth that had me excited about getting out of bed and reading my bible.



Lately I have felt I need to repeat that journey with my Heavenly Father and have decided to blog my journey in 2012 working my way through the Word of the Lord, loving learning and being healed.

I would love your company, your insights and more importantly your conversations so please join me in 2012 over at:



2.Mind:
  • I have been feeling challenged to Be True to Myself. I want 2012 to be the year that I find my true self.
  • Work on 52 books in 52 weeks Challenge
  • Take every thought captive into the obedience of Christ.  I really struggle with negative self talk.  I have been challenged to think about what I am thinking.  To help me I will be reading Battle Field of the Mind.
  • Meditating on scripture.
  • Putting on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.  I love to sing and somewhere along the way I have lost my melody.... My aim is to play worship music on a daily basis.
3. Body:
  • Becoming fit and healthy so that I am able to play and keep up with Sir N and enjoy my holiday to South Africa in April.  I want to enjoy my climb up the mountain at Trackers. My husband would like to take the family on a hike up here.
  • I want to get back into Weight Watchers at home.  My weight as of today will be my new starting point and I will move forward from here.  I aim to divide my weight loss goal by 10 and use that amount as my mini goals.  I will have 10 mini goals then.
  • I would like to aim to do 10 000 steps a day.
  • My aim is to detox from Caffeine (I ♥ tea ...  but alas I feel I need to go on a tea fast for a while.) I read a great post titled Why I ended my love affair with Coffee. I encourage you to have a read and follow the links that Jo provides it makes for interesting reading.
  • To be up early and go for an hour walk at least 5 mornings a week.
  • Drinking 8 glasses of water a day. 
  • Regularly take my supplements.
  • Eat nutritious meals and make treats just that treats and not daily staples.
4. Relationships:
  • Going for a walk once a week with Paul on my own.  We have done this a couple of times of late and it's been a fantastic way of reconnecting without social media, television and daily living distractions.
  • Phoning rather than sms'ing to be in touch with friends and family.
  • Taking time to play with Sir N. Taking out those games that are sitting idle in the games cupboard.
  • Taking the tag-along out and going cycling with Sir N a few times a week.   Teaching Sir N to ride his bicycle.
  • Finding ways to connect with my teens.
  • Meeting fortnightly with Homeschool Mums for encouragement and accountability.
  • Making cards for birthdays and posting them on time ....
5. Home School:
  • I would like to work my way through A Charlotte Mason Companion. I was thinking of setting aside time once a month to talk about a chapter or two from this book. Anyone want to read this with me over the next year ??
  • Spend some time on each Saturday reviewing my Sonlight Instructors Guide and getting in mind what is ahead for us each week.
  • Choose which Note booking pages we will do for the new week ahead.
  • Have a look at what we will be doing in our Art study for the week.
  • Doing a weekly Nature Study
  • Having a look at our Time Line book once a week on a Friday.
  • Continuing our journey through Expedition Earth
  • Once we have the basics in place I would like to add in Hymn Study.
  • Swimming lessons. 
Looking at this list it looks fairly busy but we will not being doing these things daily but on different days of the week.  I will spread the work over the whole week.
6. At Home:
  • To move from C.H.A.O.S. to being organized.
  • To gradually work through each room at home and de-clutter and pass on what we don't need or use to someone who is in need of our excess.
  • Plan healthy and nutritious meals.
  • Find new tasty meals for my family.
  • To actively work on reducing our debt.
  • Spend an hour three times a week working in our garden.
  • Do a load of washing each evening.
  • Shine my sink every night.

7. Digital
  • Blog three evenings a week.
  • Learn to create websites using Microsoft Expression Web.
  • Back up ALL (7 years worth ..) of digital photo's. Sort and burn to disk.
  • Create photo albums with above photo's
  • Learn to understand Domain Trading and setting up auto income generation.
8. Creative
  • Work on my scrapbooks one evening a week
  • Finish Paul's three Albums.
  • Make cards on a fortnightly basis.
  • Work on cross stitch while watching dvd's with Paul or out visiting a friend. 

I have found writing up these goals rather challenging as it has been a few years since I have made any goals.  I have been living from moment to moment and day by day without a vision or a hope.  No more.  As the old adage goes:  If you aim at nothing you will surely hit it. 

This has been a really positive experience and I would recommend it to anyone. Pop on over and be inspired by Amy at Little Adventures to make and set goals for 2012.

" You are never too old to set another goal or to dream another dream " ~CS Lewis

Blessings