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starsandswords.bsky.social
Stars and Swords
@starsandswords.bsky.social
18 followers 35 following 22 posts
A weekly podcast book club exploring and footnoting genre fiction. Find out more at StarsandSwords.com!
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starsandswords.bsky.social
This week, we continue our spookily-seasonal unit on David Sodergren’s The Haar. What is the role of memory in a story preoccupied with bodies? How is identity constructed? Is this book the first recorded instance of Cosy Gore? The new episode is now available! #TheHaar #DavidSodergren #Horror
October 3, 2025 at 1:17 PM
starsandswords.bsky.social
This week, we begin our Modern Horror unit with the first part of David Sodergren’s excellent 2024 novel The Haar!

starsandswords.com/77-the-haar-...
Podcast logo for Stars and Swords: The Haar, Part One.
September 26, 2025 at 2:38 PM
starsandswords.bsky.social
This week, we begin our eleventh unit and our discussion of Jane Austen’s 1811 novel Sense And Sensibility. How are Elinor and Marianne Dashwood compared and contrasted? How sharp is Austen’s satire? What exactly makes a flannel waistcoat so unattractive?
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August 8, 2025 at 4:20 AM
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levostregc.bsky.social
Worrye not about 'being productive,' for thou art not a product. Thou art a star daunsinge yn a hopeful skye. A signal blinking across centuryes and worldes. Thou art a song performid just once and perfectlye.
August 1, 2025 at 9:34 PM
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greenleejw.bsky.social
Recently, I shared a Lord of the Rings subway map, & I had a bunch of people asking me to do a Narnia version. Well...here you go!

It's covers all 7 books, so it's a lot more complicated the the LoTR ones. And if you like it, it's available to buy on my Etsy store:
www.etsy.com/shop/Surpris...
A subway style map on a parchment background. The map's title reads: "Narnia Transit Map: Talking Beasts Ride Free." The map has seven keys, one for each of the seven books in C.S. Lewis's Narinia series. The main movements of characters and action in each book are traced by colored lines, like a subway map. Locations in each book are marked out as stops in the lines. There is a drawing of a lion above the title of the map, and in the lower right corner there is a compass rose.
August 1, 2025 at 9:52 PM
starsandswords.bsky.social
I’ve been done with The Silmarillion unit for less than twenty-four hours, and I’m already developing a deep and respectful crush on Jane Austen. Join me on Thursday for Sense and Sensibility!
August 2, 2025 at 2:54 AM
starsandswords.bsky.social
This week, we conclude our tenth unit, and our discussion of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion! Come join us for a one-slide recap of The Lord of the Rings!
August 1, 2025 at 5:25 PM
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greenleejw.bsky.social
Over the weekend I drew these two subway maps for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and shared them. A lot of you asked about purchasing them, and now you can!

You can buy one or both (as digital files or as prints) at my brand new Etsy shop:

surprisedeelmaps.etsy.com
Subway-style map of the itinerary in The Hobbit. The main journey is show in three different lines: red (Hobbiton to Goblin Town); green (Goblin Town to the Elvenking's Halls); and blue (Elvenking's Halls to Erebor). There are multiple stops on these lines. There is a yellow line going back from Erebor to Hobbiton, making stops at Beorn's Hall, Rivendell, and the Troll's Lair. There is an orange line directly from the Iron Hills on the map's right side to Erebor, and a purple line from Gundabad directly to Erebor. The map's title reads: "Hobbit Transit Map" and there are directions for both There and Back Again listing the lines and transfer points. Between them, in the middle of the page, is a dragon drawn to resemble the dragon on Thror's Map from The Hobbit. A key shows the names of each colored line: Red: Western Lands Line Green: Mountains and Forests Line Blue: Barrel Line Yellow: Gandalf Express Orange: Iron Hills Business Line Purple: Orc and Goblin Reserve Line Text at the bottom right reads Surprised Eel Maps, 2025 Subway style map to go with The Lord of the Rings, showing the different pathways of various parties throughout the book. The title reads: "Lord of the Rings Transit Map: One Does Not Simply Walk Ino Mordor When One Can Ride." The map takes up the middle part of the page, and there are two keys. The one on the left is titles "Standard Service Lines, and has color keys matched to the subway lines on the map. Lines are named: "Shire-Bree Commuter Line Old Forrest Crescent Wildland Scenic Line Fellowship Line Gollum / Sméagol Line Uruk Hai Express Three Hunters Line Fangorn Slow Service Rohan to Gondor Business Line Black Ships Ferry Service Oliphant Direct Line Army of the West Line Gandalf Express A smaller key on the right side of the map is labeled: "Limited Service Lines" and has color keys matched to the following names lines: "Eagle Express Paths of the Dead Line Nazgûl Search & Resuce Valinor Ltd." Two notes at the bottom read: "* Mount Doom station only accepts Rings of Power in payment. Plan accordingly. + Transfer voucher for ferry service at Grey Havens station is for outbound tafle only."
July 23, 2025 at 8:19 PM
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starsandswords.bsky.social
This week, the final fall of Númenor and the history of the Rings of Power! Available now in your favorite podcast app!
July 25, 2025 at 1:09 PM
starsandswords.bsky.social
This week, the final fall of Númenor and the history of the Rings of Power! Available now in your favorite podcast app!
July 25, 2025 at 1:09 PM
starsandswords.bsky.social
This week, we give up the promise of immortality as we reach the end of Chapter XIX and begin Chapter XX of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion. Why does the Lay of Leithian end where it does, and why are the sons of Fëanor so unkillable?

starsandswords.com/61-the-silma...
May 19, 2025 at 8:40 PM
starsandswords.bsky.social
This week, love and tragedy in Chapter XIX of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion. Why is the tale of Beren and Lúthien such an important story? Are oaths always a bad thing? Why has no-one written a network TV sitcom about Thingol and Melian?

starsandswords.com/59-the-silma...
May 2, 2025 at 5:04 PM
starsandswords.bsky.social
This week, we try to make it to the end of Chapter XV of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion. What does Glaurung have in common with the Balrogs? Why does Ulmo whisper instructions to Turgon and Finrod? Does this book really pass the Bechdel-Wallace test?

starsandswords.com/55-the-silma...
April 3, 2025 at 4:21 PM
starsandswords.bsky.social
In this bonus Q&A for #TolkienReadingDay, we address the issue of inheritance among the immortal elves, the lost story of Lady of Lothlórien, the political infrastructure of The Shire, and the official power ranking of the Valar! Link in bio!
March 25, 2025 at 10:45 PM
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tolkienwonder.bsky.social
"It was in fairy-stories that I first divined the potency of the words, and the wonder of the things, such as stone, and wood, and iron; tree and grass; house and fire; bread and wine."

- Tolkien, On Fairy Stories
March 25, 2025 at 9:09 PM
starsandswords.bsky.social
This week, we continue our discussion of #TheSilmarillion with Chapters XI and XII, including the creation of the sun and the moon, the securing of Valinor, and the awakening of Men. Link in bio! #Tolkien #menelluin
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March 19, 2025 at 5:45 PM
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teawithtolkien.com
“And while Angband was besieged and its gates shut there were green things even among the pits and broken rocks before the doors of hell.” - The Silmarillion
a black circle behind a painting of yellow flowers. The caption: “and while Angband was besieged and its gates shut there were green things even among the pits and broken rocks before the doors of hell.” - The Silmarillion
March 3, 2025 at 6:51 PM
starsandswords.bsky.social
This week, we continue our discussion of The Silmarillion with the end of Chapter VIII and all of Chapter IX, including the the darkening of Valinor, the theft of the Silmarils, and the violence and tragedy which follows. Link in bio!
March 3, 2025 at 11:30 PM
starsandswords.bsky.social
This week, we continue our discussion of The Silmarillion with the the forging of the Silmarils, domestic discord in the House of Finwë, and the secret origins of Tolkien’s most terrifying creation!
February 21, 2025 at 7:56 PM
starsandswords.bsky.social
This week, we continue our discussion of The Silmarillion with the logistics of crossing the Great Sea, our introduction to Fëanor and the family of Finwë, and the subtlety of Melkor. Link in bio!
February 14, 2025 at 5:01 PM
starsandswords.bsky.social
In this bonus episode, we discuss the location of the Far Heaven, the nature of the Ainur, the absence of dwarves and a vision of medieval utopia. Link in bio!
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February 12, 2025 at 6:18 PM
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teawithtolkien.com
I will never be a Cocomelon parent. Sit down children we are watching The Lord of the Rings
November 23, 2024 at 9:39 PM
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smfmspodcast.bsky.social
A few people guessed correctly! For our Valentine's Day episode, we're covering a sexy (?) French classic that not only sparked the modern Realist style, but was also tried for obscenity.
Join us 12 February for Gustave Flaubert's pessimistic adultery novel, 'Madame Bovary' (1857).
Madame Bovary cover of a woman leaning on a carpet (???) and looking at an unidentified small object in her hand (is it a shell? WHAT IS IT?) Madame Bovary cover drawn a bit like a Harlequin Romance Novel cover, with a man embracing a woman in a forest. There is a horse in the background who is strenuously not watching these two perverts. Madame Bovary cover of a woman in C19th clothes sitting and reading a book. Madame Bovary cover of a highly cartoonish sexy pink corset.
February 3, 2025 at 1:36 PM
starsandswords.bsky.social
This week, we continue our unit on The Silmarillion and discuss the Days Before Days, time and space (and calendars and maps), and the paradox of free will. Link in bio!
February 1, 2025 at 6:20 PM
starsandswords.bsky.social
This week, we continue our unit on The Silmarillion and discuss the Valaquenta, spheres of authority, intertexting already and The Diagram. What do the Valar tell us about what Tolkien thought important? Link in bio!
January 24, 2025 at 6:49 PM