https://www.middlegroundbooks.com/bookish-blog daily 0.75 2026-03-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64a5831f879028254fcfea10/8e3cb800-1189-4801-b9a3-7f11f7594aa5/MGB+AH.jpeg https://www.middlegroundbooks.com/bookish-blog/chapter-20-irish-mysteries-and-the-wishbone-effect monthly 0.5 2026-03-23 https://www.middlegroundbooks.com/bookish-blog/surviving-the-holidays monthly 0.5 2025-12-15 https://www.middlegroundbooks.com/bookish-blog/thank-you monthly 0.5 2025-12-15 https://www.middlegroundbooks.com/bookish-blog/banned-books-or-merely-unavaialable monthly 0.5 2025-10-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64a5831f879028254fcfea10/1bac4be1-4a41-431c-8e6c-955c02c838fb/princes-of-the-yen-front-cover-scaled.jpg blog - Banned Books or Merely “Unavaialable”? - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.middlegroundbooks.com/bookish-blog/hey-now-we-have-ebooks monthly 0.5 2025-12-15 https://www.middlegroundbooks.com/bookish-blog/making-a-villain- monthly 0.5 2024-02-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64a5831f879028254fcfea10/2dc23b58-7ca6-45d5-a6eb-1c7bc323659e/Starter+Villain.png blog - Making a Villain . . . - In a recent BookTube post we discussed John Scalzi’s latest book, Starter Villain. In that video, I mentioned this blog so I better finish it. In this light-hearted comedy about familial dysfunction, organized crime and ultimately calculating and brutal betrayal, we were faced with the question of “what makes a villain?” In literature, the hero (protagonist) normally: i) has some sort of a quest or purpose, ii) is usually present in most of the narrative, iii) may have a cast of supporting characters, iv) faces some sort of opposition in the fulfillment of that quest. Number iv) is where “the villain” (antagonist) comes in. In some stories these traditional associations are reversed. In short, the “bad guy” becomes the protagonist and his goals are then opposed by the (allegedly) “good guy.” But what makes a “bad guy” a “bad guy”? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64a5831f879028254fcfea10/931b78fc-84b1-4bd7-aac3-de0011080950/socrates.png blog - Making a Villain . . . - As in so many cases, Socrates comes to the rescue. Socrates didn’t believe that people are able to purposely choose to do evil, although they are able to do it accidentally. The way this is understood by many is that a person is not choosing something bad/evil (death, destruction, suffering, etc.), rather, they are merely pursuing some other good. For example, consider a bank robber. Does that person want to threaten, injure, or possibly kill others? No. That person believes that they can gain monetary reward without work (albeit through the threat of violence). So with the simplistic answer (that is wrong by the way), the robber desires a good and accidentally (?) commits an evil. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64a5831f879028254fcfea10/db2dd406-5ffa-4a6a-8910-986c6909315d/AA1abMd9-4217254339.jpg blog - Making a Villain . . . Socrates is saying that an “evil decision” is not merely one that harms someone else. It is an action that simultaneously damages the soul of the perpetrator and makes him less capable of good. Take an example from Harry Potter. Voldemort murdered people in order to make horcruxes so that he might “live forever.” However, the evil acts actually fractured and destroyed his humanity. https://www.middlegroundbooks.com/bookish-blog/books-as-technology-or-leaving-bits-of-yourself-laying-around monthly 0.5 2024-01-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64a5831f879028254fcfea10/af08bf39-d258-4da9-b3da-ad2f4db1ed2b/Horcrux.JPG blog - Books as Technology: or Leaving Bits of Yourself Laying Around - Make it stand out Columbus, Chris. (Director). (2002). Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets [Film]. Warner Bros. 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