Frustratingly little is known about Jane Austen. We don’t know what she looked like. There is only one drawing of her, as a youth, that is considered to be a portrait, but even some scholars don’t accept that.
In time for Jane Austen’s bicentennial year, Paula Byrne has put together a compilation of her life. Byrne chooses to inspect the famed writer’s past by sifting through objects in her life. It is almost like a scrapbook of the Austen family.
Each “thing” is an aspect of Jane’s life, and launches the chapter’s topic. ”The Card Of Lace” outlines a somewhat famous incident involving her aunt, Mrs. Leigh-Parrot’s shoplifting trial. But the chapter is really about Jane’s days in Bath and about the relationship with these wealthy-if-erratic relatives.
One of my favorite chapters is based on “The Theatrical Scenes”. When Rev. Austen determined to move his family from the Steventon parsonage, nearly all of its contents were placed up for auction. Though undoubtedly distressing for the Austen family, there is a great deal of information embedded in the ad in the local paper. Among the usual furnishings are listed a “set of theatrical scenes etc. etc.” With this tidbit, Byrne expands on the probable family dynamic as regards plays and recitals. From there, she further explores the idea of theatre in England at the time.
Another chapter begins with Jane’s brother’s military cap, and goes on to explore the siblings’ relationship as well as how military lives affected families of the era. Yet another focuses on a shawl and its representation of trade with the East. Throughout all of these examples, Byrne ties in passages and characters in Austen’s novels, showing how the author would have been inspired by what was around her.
Byrne’ research is impeccable. If there was anything to be found on Austen, she found it. And she was smart to structure the biography as she did — rather than a chronological effort. But because of the lack of direct information about Austen, the book is unfortunately peppered with holes. Byrne often leaves parenthetical notes such as “All letters from 1806 are gone”. The phrasing of her subject also includes distancing with caveats like “it is probable that” or “we can assume that”. While these are of course the right thing to do from an academic standpoint, it does waterdown the connection the reader has with Austen. With Byrne’s book on Evelyn Waugh, the reader is swept away by Waugh’s personality and fast-paced life. I hardly noticed I was reading a biography. In this, there is still a bit of distance between us and understanding Jane Austen. Byrne does her best to help us bridge that gap.
Thanks to the kind people at Harper for the review copy.
______________________
ISBN: 9780061999093
ISBN10: 0061999091
Imprint: Harper
On Sale: 1/29/2013
Format: Hardcover
Trimsize: 6 x 9
Pages: 400; $29.99
Ages: 18 and Up
Let me start by saying that this is not your typical collection. It is not a juried contest or an annual anthology, edited by an acclaimed professor. This is about writers, and what speaks to them.
Pulled from the archives of The Paris Review, writers of today gush, er, introduce each selection. The intros range from fan letters to analysis.
As Jeffrey Eugenides writes in his introduction to Denis Johnson’s story:
A short story must be, by definition, short. That’s the trouble with short stories. That’s why they’re so difficult to write. How do you keep a narrative brief and still have it function as a story? Compared to writing novels, writing short fiction is mainly a question of knowing what to leave out. What you leave in must imply everything that’s missing. ~Pg. 96
The stories in this book range in length, style, tone, narrator and era. You can skip around, like I did, looking for the story that suits your mood. What doesn’t vary is the literary quality — the sort we’ve all come to expect from the editors of The Paris Review.
The book includes stories by the following:
Daniel Alarcón · Donald Barthelme · Ann Beattie · David Bezmozgis · Jorge Luis Borges · Jane Bowles · Ethan Canin · Raymond Carver · Evan S. Connell · Bernard Cooper · Guy Davenport · Lydia Davis · Dave Eggers · Jeffrey Eugenides · Mary Gaitskill · Thomas Glynn · Aleksandar Hemon · Amy Hempel · Mary-Beth Hughes · Denis Johnson · Jonathan Lethem · Sam Lipsyte · Ben Marcus · David Means · Leonard Michaels · Steven Millhauser · Lorrie Moore · Craig Nova · Daniel Orozco · Mary Robison · Norman Rush · James Salter · Mona Simpson · Ali Smith · Wells Tower · Dallas Wiebe · Joy Williams
Many thanks to the folks at Picador for the review copy.
__________________________________
Picador
October 2012
Trade Paperback
ISBN: 9781250005984
ISBN10: 1250005981
Rough Front/Deckel Edge
5 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches, 368 pages
I saw this clip about a year ago while visiting Edinburgh. I went to a fantastic exhibit at the Surgeon’s Hall Museum that was on Dr. Bell and his student Doyle. It was wonderful and fascinating. I’m so glad The Paris Review found and posted it.
“It was only in the time of the war when all these splendid young fellows were disappearing from our view and the whole world was saying, ‘Well,what’s become of them … Where are they … what are they doing now … have they dissipated into nothing … are they still the grand fellows that we used to know … it was only at that time that I realized the importance to the human race of knowing more about this matter.” A 1927 interview with author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, including his work in spiritualism. via The Paris Review.
“An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered.” — G.K. Chesterton, “On Running After One’s Hat,” 1908
Ok, we are half way through the 31 Days of Halloween, so I’d say it’s time for a post on the American epitome of the macabre.
We’ll get to the creepy stuff, but did you know these things about him?
In fact he wasn’t always the gaunt, disheveled recluse. This is a small portrait of a young Poe.
And 200 years after his birth (he lived to be just 40), we are still obsessed with him — and his stories and poems. They encompass a disintegrating house (and sanity), the murder of a vulture-eyed man, a rational detective, a buried treasure, a vengeful party guest, a portrait with a horrifying story, and a lost love.
When you look at it in a list like that, it is little wonder he has become iconic both in academia and in popular culture. A number of Poe’s homes have been saved; one in Philadelphia is part of the National Park Service.
Poe’s wry smile graces everything from iPhone cases, hipster memes, and a fantastic app called iPoe. There is an NFL team named for one of his poems. When was the last time football met poetry? There are t-shirts for you to wear and here you can put a Poe on just about anything.
So here’s to Poe, and Halloween, and being scared by stories that inflame our imagination. And remember, ”They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.”
That picture of Bela Lugosi in the 1931 film Dracula has the become the popular image of the blood-sucking creature. It’s loosely based on the bestselling novel by Bram Stoker, but there are numerous differences.
It has inspired a number of adaptations over the years, but none of them have followed the book closely.
Have you read the book? What did you think? Which is your favorite of the movies?
One of the scary movies I remember watching as a kid was the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. This was in the 80s, so it was the Disney version, starring Jeff Goldblum. It looks silly now but at the time it fascinated me. Not to mention I lived in New England so it looked kind of like Tarrytown all around me.
I’m fascinated by the inclusion of German folklore in colonial America, playing on the fears of local residents.
Did you watch scary movies as a child? Or stay up too late reading a scary book?
I am a great lover of the Victorian Gothic. Crumbling castles, secret inheritances, madness, and ghosts are things I never get tired of reading about. I even wrote my Masters thesis on the use of these genre elements in film.
The Southern Gothic is something that I have always felt like I couldn’t quite grasp, like I was always a step behind. But I am trying again since I made the realization that in order for the Gothic to exist there must be some sort of “greatness lost.” In England, it could be as widespread as the Dissolution of the Monasteries, or as simple as an estate that has seen better days. But in all cases there must be some sort of longing for the past amongst the remnants of what used to be.
In the American South, it is the antebellum era. Business and industry were strong, cities and towns were thriving. Plantations were grand palaces in a New World. Yet, there was an undercurrent of angst — all of this was possible for a few, by building on the backs of many. That planation owners lived in mansion like royalty while just a few steps away were slaves lived in hovels was a tension that could only last so long.
The Southern Gothic draws on this and the uneasiness of modern generations whose background lies in a time, in a lifestyle, that no longer exists. These once gorgeous estates have fallen into disrepair, and in some cases, so has the sanity of their inhabitants.
So I think I might take another crack at reading some Southern Gothic literature. And I think I may start with 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey, recommended by The Paris Review, to understand more of the history, the groundwork for this very specific genre.
What do you think of the Southern Gothic? Do you think there are other regional “gothics”? What stories or novels represent them?
I’m sure this won’t be the only post in 31 Days of Halloween to feature that great American writer of the Gothic, Edgar Allan Poe. But did you know he also wrote a The Balloon Hoax of 1844? It was a very complicated and technical story about two men who successfully flew across the Atlantic Ocean in a hot air balloon. You can read the full text here.
It may sound silly to us now, but when news could only travel as fast as a letter or a newspaper, and when the ordinary person didn’t understand complex science, it would have been plausible that such a feat had been accomplished. For its time, it was one of the ultimate trick-or-treats!
(For more Halloween fun, print out the Poe picture and use as a jack-0-lantern pattern).
“Ahead of me the Beacons’ bald, grey-brown flanks were furrowed like elephant skin in ashes-of-roses light. It soon became chilly but the ground held onto its warmth, so that the hills began to smoke with eddying bands of mist. That dusk was unspeakably beautiful and not a little illicit. It seemed, for a millisecond, as if I were witnessing the earth drop its guard and exhale its love for the sky, for the pungent cattle, the rabbits whose bones lay underfoot, and for me, too.”
There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are even more reasons to have a library card. Here are just 60:
You can borrow more than just books — movies, magazines, e-books, music, museum and park passes — with your card. Did you know you can even check out seeds, as long as you bring back some seeds from your harvest?
Not sure how to get started? Click here to find out how to get your library card today. Tell a friend or a relative. Get out and go to your library now.
Always good to hear…
More important, a blistering review—if it is written as a candid assertion of your principles—will strengthen existing friendships and earn you new friends whose worth surpasses those who have revealed themselves as your foes. When you are truthful, and especially when the need has arisen for you to be viciously truthful, you will always find yourself in illustrious company.
Letter to a Young Critic: William Giraldi Defends True Criticism – The Daily Beast.
Yes, I’m obsessed with Sherlock. In almost all of his iterations.
When my mind begins to feel bored I try to crack the mystery of the S2 finale of BBC Sherlock entitled The Reichenbach Fall. I plan to rewatch all of the episodes soon, but just for fun, I decided to enter the three “hint” words that the creators of the series just gave out into an anagram engine. The results are pretty fun. The words, which correspond to the titles of the 3 episodes in S2, are “woman”, “hound”, and “fall.”
Awful Ham London
Nodal Human Wolf
And Human Follow
La Man Wolfhound
A Damn Fun Hollow
A Human Old Flown
Lawman Hold Of Nu
Handful Am Low On
Had Faun Moll Won
Had Alum Flown On
Hand Alum Flow On
A Flaw London Hum
They then added the words “rat”, “wedding” and “bow” to the mix.
Bad Wronged Wit
Brand Widow Get
Add Brewing Two
Dead Brown Twig
Traded Bow Wing
Dated Brown Wig
Grand Bet Widow
Windward Begot
And with all 6 together…
A Baa Gilded Downturn Flown Whom
A Baa Domed Downtown Flung Whirl
A Baa Molded Window Flung Thrown
Thoughts?
He had a weak point — this Fortunato — although in other regards he was a man to be respected and even feared. He prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine.
We passed through a range of low arches, descended, passed on, and descending again, arrived at a deep crypt, in which the foulness of the air caused our flambeaux rather to glow than flame.
The Cask of Amontillado, by Edgar Allan Poe
The very cool Tumblr kept by The Strand Bookstore posts found photos and underlined passages in the books. They recently hosted a contest to write a piece based on one of their posts. I chose a black and white photo of a young girl dancing.
I did not win, but I would still like to share my entry here. I wrote a letter from the girl to her brother.
Dearest Henry –
I hope you are well. It seems ages since you’ve been home. I daresay you wouldn’t recognize me. I’ve grown at least a half of a foot since you left. Lucy finds my sudden height a nuisance as I am always raiding her wardrobe for something to wear. I think she’s jealous. I swear she wouldn’t mind if she weren’t so preoccupied with gaining the affections of Mr. Stanley. She needn’t try so hard. He’s not very attractive himself and has eyes for no one else but Lucy. Even so, she changes her dress at least three times a day and again for dinner. He must have seen them all by now, but perhaps men do not notice such things, do they, Henry?
The household is well enough. Mother keeps to her garden, as the days have been quite fine lately. We all encourage her to write as she always has some story or another whirling around in her mind, but you know it’s been hard for her. I think the house spent among nature in solitary contemplation are good for her and her books. I know her publisher is anxious for a new manuscript.
I took some flowers to Father’s grave yesterday. The ground has leveled and the grass is beginning to grow again. His stone still looks too new and shining to be real. I feel as though the funeral I remember was a strange dream. He must have know when we were born that he wouldn’t be with us long. But I’m glad we knew him.
I despise school but it’s near the end of the term now. Mrs. Pigeon (her code name, for she bobs her head while she talks) is a dreadful instructor. She puts lessons on the chalkboard then leaves us to teach ourselves while she reads a romance novel, tucked into our literature reader. She thinks we don’t know, but there’s nothing in our schoolbooks that would make a grown woman blush! Then she calls on us each, one by one, to read our answers, and we have to mark our own papers (honestly). The only thing in which she succeeds is belittling those who come up with incorrect answers. Thankfully, in another couple of weeks I shall never have to submit to Mrs. Pigeon again.
Perhaps my restlessness comes from a lack of male companionship. I find I am surrounded only by girlish pastimes. I long for those summer evenings where you and I stayed out among the fireflies. We ran through tall grasses and chased out the evening moths, forded streams that cooled our dusty feet. Those days seemed eternal then. I’m glad I didn’t know how special they would be to me now; it would have ruined the magic. I would have tried to bottle it instead of letting it wash over me. I suppose there is nothing for it but to be grateful for the memories, especially whenever I miss you.
I’ve enclosed a snap for you. I hope it reminds you of the Midsummer plays we put on. Please give my best to Madge.Your loving sister,
StellaPS Despite Lucy’s complaint about my height, Ms. Petrov thinks it has helped my form considerably. She says my turnout is much improved and I may even go en pointe soon!
One of the the wildest stories related to a Yellow Diamond — a famous gem in the native annals of India. … Partly from its peculiar colour, partly from a superstition which represented it as feeling the influence of the deity whom it adored, and growing and lessening in lustre with the waxing and waning of the moon, it first gained the name by which it continuues to be know in India to this day — the name of THE MOONSTONE. …
And the Moonstone was seized by an officer of rank in the army of Aurungzebe.
I have ADORED Boris Akunin for years. I mean, at least 10 years; maybe more. I was heart-broken when American publishers stopped “importing” him. Last summer, I went to London and stopped in at Daunt Books in Chelsea. I bought every Akunin / Fandorin book they had. When I explained to the wonderful staff that I couldn’t get them in America they were stunned. i wish 3000 miles did not separate me and that lovely shop.
Hopefully this profile in The New Yorker will help bring Akunin, and Fandorin, back to America.
_________________________
July 27, 2012
Boris Akunin: Russia’s Dissident Detective Novelist
Posted by Sally McGrane
Grigory Chkhartishvili has his best ideas in the morning. When he first wakes up, the fifty-six-year-old writer—who, under the pseudonym Boris Akunin, is one of Russia’s most widely read contemporary authors—might think of a new predicament in which to ensnare his popular hero, Erast Fandorin, the dashing nineteenth-century detective who can see into people’s souls and always wins at games of chance. …
While writing book reviews, I often look for images that will illustrate of compliment the post. These are two I didn’t use but I had to share just the same.
I also want to give a “shout-out” to treselegant, whose amazing blog led me to research images such as these.
Looks like Penguin has got himself into a bit of bother…
Check out more adventures at Penguin English Library.
Wow, this is just stunningly hysterical. Especially for someone who just wrote her masters thesis on this…
JANE WHERE HAVE YOU GONE
I AM BEREFT AND WITHOUT MY JANE I SHALL SINK INTO ROGUERY
i am with my cousins
WHICH COUSIN
IS IT THE SEXY ONE
Please don’t try to talk to me again
IT IS YOUR SEXY COUSIN
“ST. JOHN”
WHAT KIND OF A NAME IS ST. JOHN
I’m not going to answer that
I KNEW IT
DID YOU LEAVE BECAUSE OF MY ATTIC WIFE
IS THAT WHAT THIS IS ABOUT
yes
absolutely
BECAUSE MY HOUSE IN FRANCE DOESN’T EVEN HAVE AN ATTIC
IF THAT’S WHAT YOU WERE WORRIED ABOUT
IT HAS A CELLAR THOUGH SO YOU KNOW
DON’T CROSS ME
HAHA I’M ONLY JOKING
Read all of them here: Texts From Jane Eyre | The Hairpin.
Director Cary Fukunaga has given a new generation a gorgeous version of this classic tale. Since its publishing in 1847, under the pseudonym Currer Bell, Jane Eyre has fascinated both readers and storytellers. This adaptation is beautifully shot, very well-acted, and enhanced by a stunning score from Dario Marianelli (Atonement, I Capture the Castle). The set of Thornfield is perfect. It’s devastating and romantic and even funny at times.
And until the last third of the movie, I thought someone had finally made a perfect adaptation. But, like Jane, my dreams were dashed, made all the more painful because I had dared to hope at all.
Yes, everyone has a favorite scene that they can’t wait to see on the big screen. Or a line that doesn’t match quite with their imagination. But this goes beyond minuscule details. Even more frustrating, many of these key scenes were shot, but edited out (Luckily you can see them in the extra features).
* Spoilers beyond this point *
There are no scenes that hint at or show Bertha until the failed wedding. Although Bertha does try to set Mr. Rochester’s bed on fire, there are no cackles from the hallway, no unholy screams that keep Jane awake. There is no Grace Poole as a red herring. There isn’t a hint of the supernatural or any idea that something is amiss. Most frustrating, is the lack of the veil shredding scene. It jumps from Adele playing with the veil to Jane and Rochester heading to the church. I think the lack of these scenes undermines Jane’s character and detracts from the richness of the story. The uncertainty, the unsettled atmosphere is key to Jane Eyre. Without it, it becomes little more than a “will they or won’t they” story.
There are also some important elements of Mr. Rochester’s character that are left out. Though shot, but cut, there is a scene in which he describes his connection to Adele’s mother. I found Wasikowska and Fassbender’s chemistry most evident during this scene, but it was inexplicably cut. And Rochester’s speech at the altar? Nowhere to be found. He merely takes the wedding party to his attic, for our first glimpse of a woman who looks methed out.
* End of spoilers *
In short, what IS there on screen, is beautiful and well done. The problem is it leaves what I consider essential scenes out. Do see it; it was very enjoyable. Just know that somethings are missing. I suppose I am only all the more disappointed knowing how very close to perfection they came.
Late in life Arthur Conan Doyle pursued an interest in the possibility of spiritualism and existence beyond the grave. He was widely criticized for this, but a writer to the Graphic raised a redeeming point:
Although we may misbelieve mediums and
With doubt and suspicion our minds may be filled,
Sherlock Holmes, we must grant, reappeared in the Strand
A number of times after having been killed.
Indeed, Holmes had returned against his creator’s wishes. “I never thought they would take it so much to heart,” Conan Doyle once wrote of Holmes’ death. “I got letters from all over the world reproaching me on the subject. One, I remember, from a lady whom I did not know, began ‘You beast’.”
nescience
n. ignorance; lack of knowledge
agnoiology
n. the study of ignorance
In 1927, Hungarian physiologist Albert Szent-Györgyi isolated a substance in lemons and oranges that seemed to prevent scurvy.
He couldn’t identify it chemically, so he called it “ignose,” meaning “I do not know.”
When the editors of the Biochemical Journal asked for a different name, Szent-Györgyi suggested “godnose.” Finally they settled on “hexuronic acid.”
It turned out to be vitamin C.
It should be pretty easy to guess what the Penguin is up to in this one…
The super cool people at Penguin English Library have been having a little fun with a penguin figurine and some famous scenes in classic literature. This has been christened Penguin Acts Out.
I’ve been inspired to do the same but I’ve only done a couple so far. Watch this space for my contribution to Penguin Acts Out!
Just when it seems I can’t admire this young actress any more, I come across this…
My Week: Romola Garai | From the Observer | The Observer.
And my review of GLORIOUS 39…
Dear Paris Review,
Someone sent me this text message yesterday: “What’s a book I should read to make girls think I’m smart in a hot way? I want to seem like a douchey intellectual instead of my deadbeat self.” What should I tell him?
Sincerely,
A
Paris Review – Dear Paris Review, What Books Impress a Girl? , Sadie Stein.
Today’s topic is about networking “in the real world”, bringing those online relationships to another level.
I admit, this is something I’ve been working on, but I’m no expert. Still, I will share an examples of how books and book reviewing are a part of my “real” life.
Living in Savannah, we are lucky enough to have a fantastic library system.
Live Oak Public Libraries does wonderful things for the area and I support them as much as I can. When I got married, I asked guests to bring gently used books that I later donated to the library.
I don’t have lots of money to donate but I help in other ways. Every couple of months I donate books that I have read for review to them. They often add them to their catalog; and the ones that don’t make it into their Book Sale, which supports their costs as well. I also wrote an article for Connect Savannah about their annual gala. I donated the article to the paper and asked the paper to in turn donate my writer’s fee to the library. The story was picked up by Geek the Library campaign!
That was one of my favorite “networking”moments!
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW OVER.
I’ve got two books for giveaway for this year’s Armchair BEA. I should mention I have not read either; I’m merely hosting a giveaway.
The description from the publicist:
In Such a Pretty Fat, Jen Lancaster learned how to come to terms with her body. In My Fair Lazy, she expanded her mind. Now the New York Timesbestselling author gives herself—and her generation—a kick in the X, by facing her greatest challenge to date: acting her age.
Jen is finally ready to put away childish things (except her Barbie Styling Head, of course) and embrace the investment-making, mortgage-carrying, life-insurance-having adult she’s become. From getting a mammogram to volunteering at a halfway house, she tackles the grown-up activities she’s resisted for years, and with each rite of passage she completes, she’ll uncover a valuable—and probably humiliating—life lesson that will ease her path to full-fledged, if reluctant, adulthood.
ISBN 9780451233172 | 368 pages | 01 May 2012 | NAL | 9.25 x 6.25in | 18 – AND UP
Many thanks to Melissa at Penguin for this title.
Also up for grabs is a new book, due out TODAY, called Little Night by Luanne Rice.
The description from the publisher:
LITTLE NIGHT has elements of classic Luanne Rice—the complex family dynamics, the atmospheric sense of place (specifically, her incredible descriptions of New York’s wildlife and natural areas). But it is also extremely suspenseful as we learn the truth of what Grit has endured the past twenty years. Because Grit’s mother Anne is absent for most of the book, she has a ghostlike, haunting presence, affecting Grit and Clare as deeply as if she were present. Above all, LITTLE NIGHT is a riveting story about women and the primal, tangled family ties that bind them together.
ISBN 9780670023561 | 336 pages | 05 Jun 2012 | Pamela Dorman Books | 5.98 x 9.01in | 18 – AND UP
Many thanks to Lindsay for the giveaway copy!
So… here’s how it works! There will be two winners, one for each book. Winning is really easy.
- In the comments section below, leave your first name and your email in the following format email (at) domain (dot) com.
- You can earn extra entries (one for each) by:
1) posting a link to this giveaway on your blog/site (post the link below so I can find it)
2) linking to it on Twitter (please include my handle @cineastesview and #armchairbea)
- Contest closes at 11:59pm EST June 7 (Thursday!) so get those entries in. Winners will be notified by email. Books will be sent directly from the publisher to a US mailing address only. THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW OVER!
GOOD LUCK!
Bonnie Regan, you’ve won JENERATION X.
Mary Ward, you’ve won LITTLE NIGHT.
LADIES, I will be in touch soon.
Thank you to everyone who entered. Happy Armchair BEA!
The home which Conan Doyle built in Surrey has been saved from development! Thanks to the banding together of fans and preservationists around the world.
But there is still plenty to do. Please visit the Undershaw Preservation Trust’s site to find out how you can help – from the UK or abroad.
I cam across some of my poems from college. These were written for an actual poetry class, and this one was inspired by the chronic insomnia that I had (and still struggle with).
Colors get muted
As thought they were too bright
For your mind to handle
I has other things to do:
Like cradle your slumping head
That gained a pound
For every hour
You didn’t sleep;
Like find garbled words
Somewhere
In dark corners
For your heavy tongue;
Like translating languages you used to know
And sifting
All the noises.
And when night comes,
When respite is near
Something
Keeps going.
And you look up
At the already counted ceiling tiles.
“I can live alone, if self-respect, and circumstances require me so to do. I need not sell my soul to buy bliss. I have an inward treasure born with me, which can keep me alive if all extraneous delights should be withheld, or offered only at a price I cannot afford to give.”
― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
Bronte was born today in 1816.
How cool is this?
A baseball trading card made by the very cool folks at Novel-T. It seems the only way to obtain this awesomeness is to visit their booth, #211, at (LATFOB) this weekend.
A group dedicated to saving one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s homes. Lend your support.
Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Unlikely Friendship
On the Daily : Paris Review – Hocus Pocus, Margaret Eby.
Something I’ve been fascinated with since I saw the much too often overlooked film, Fairy Tale: A True Story.
This gallery contains 5 photos.
literaryflack: Black Orchids is a Nero Wolfe double mystery by Rex Stout published in 1942 by Farrar & Rinehart, Inc. Stout’s first short story collection, the volume is composed of two novellas that had appeared in abridged form in The … Continue reading
This gallery contains 3 photos.
todaysdocument: Edgar Allan Poe: January 18, 1809 – October 7, 1849 Pioneering author Edgar Allan Poe joined the Army at the age of 18 in an act of desperation after suffering the strain of surviving on his own for two months … Continue reading
… Books are yours
Within whose silent chambers treasure lies
Preserved from age to age; more precious far
Than that accumulated store of gold
And orient gems, which, for a day of need
The Sultan hides deep in ancestral tombs.
These hoards of truth you can unlock at will.
Christmas hustle and bustle got you harried? Want to win something? For yourself? You don’t have to tell… just leave a comment below and you’ll be entered to win a copy of A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES, out in paperback this December 27. Easier than reciting a magic spell!
Here’s a bit about the book:
- Set in real, storied and historic places on the campus of Oxford University, England.
- It debuted at # 2 on the New York Times bestseller list and was published in 34 countries.
- Warner Brothers has acquired screen rights to A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES and its sequels.
- A second installment in the All Souls Trilogy, Shadow of Night, is due out in summer 2012.
- Read about the author and her works here: http://deborahharkness.com/discovery-of-witches/
THIS GIVEAWAY IS OVER. CONGRATULATIONS TO JENNIFER.
Here’s a bit about the giveaway:
- To enter, leave a comment on this post with A) Your First Name & B) Your Email in the following format [email (at) domain (dot) com.
- Winner will be chosen via random.org. Entries must be posted on December 30, no later than 5:00pm EST.
- Prize is one paperback copy of A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES by Deborah Harkness.
- Prize will be mailed directly to the winner from the publisher.
Good luck!!
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Another reason Edinburgh is cool. doubledaybooks: Delicate and anonymous paper sculptures carved from books have been left in libraries and cultural spaces across Edinburgh. Artist still Unknown.
Like one who on that lonesome road
Doth walk in fear and dread,
And having once turned ‘round
Walks on, and turn no more his head,
Because he knows a frightful fiend
Doth close behind him tread.
Happy Halloween!
If you don’t already, you should follow @Edgar_Allan_Poe on Twitter. Whomever is behind this icon’s, well, icon, is an unknown but they know their Poe. And they have a wicked sense of humor to boot. Occasionally, this user will host an #askpoe forum, which is generally quite amusing.
I’m not going to lie — my heart did a little flip when Poe (shh… don’t remind me he’s dead) answered one of my queries.
Dead for 162 years and still making the girls swoon. At least bookish ones like me.
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| Subway tiles at the Baker Street station |
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| In front of the museum |
The museum is set up as though it were Sherlock and Watson’s home. They each have a bedroom, as does Mrs. Hudson, plus their very famous study. The upper floors are devoted to the stories themselves and to various fan items. It’s really great fun and quite “hands-on.”
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| On the keeping of bees |
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| What Sherlock would have taken with him just before Reichenbach Falls. |
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| Evidence of his shooting skills |
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| Mrs. Hudson sets a lovely table |
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| In the study |
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| Watson’s desk |
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| Watson’s service revolver and his license to carry |
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| Mrs. Hudson’s room |
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| Prof. James Moriarty |
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| A letter to Sherlock from a child |
Being that we were already near Regents Park, we went up to the zoo, which was a little disappointing, actually.
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| Baby monkey |
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| Galapagos Tortoise |
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| Meerkat |
I love these new illustrations by the super-talented Tom Gauld for an article in The Washington Post Book Review about genre fiction:
You can see more of Tom’s work and his regular literary cartoons for The Guardian on Flickr.
A word of caution, children, before we discuss the arcane contents of this stygian course: some mathematics were not meant for man to understand. This is Cartesian devilry of a black and necromantic sort, dreamed up by the twisted designs of sinister scholastic gods, existing purely to tempt and destroy mankind with its elusive secrets. Topics to be covered include: non-Euclidean geometry, dividing by zero, Cthulu’s Principle of Inverse Sanity, approaching and surpassing asymptotes, Fermat’s Next-to-Last Theorem, gazing into the depths of a parabola, and the dreaded unit circle.
This was the fourth of the annual literary event, all taking place on Telfair Square. It’s a superb setting with easy access to everything the festival has to offer. Speakers and presentations took place in the Jepson and the Telfair as well as the Trinity United Methodist Church and in a tent outside. There were booksellers and authors all looking to ply their wares among like-minded readers. 
After a quick bite from Thrive, I attended the presentation by Jonathan Rabb in the sculpture gallery of the Telfair. I’ve heard him speak a couple of times before but I really enjoy his topics. His was a popular lecture — It started late because they had to keep adding chairs! He also has a easy-to-listen to style, most likely from his numerous teaching pursuits. He now lives in Savannah, where he finished the 3rd book in his trilogy of Nikolai Hoffner, entitled The Second Son. Rabb spoke about the fun of writing historical fiction. There is a “special relationship between the writer and the reader. You and I know how the ‘story’ ends, but the characters don’t.” 
The national Geek the Library campaign (which I have been fan of for some time now) heard about my article in Connect Savannah and gave me a little shout-out on their Facebook page today!
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Rebecca DeWinter just won’t stay dead.
Read about her, and more, in the BACK FROM THE DEAD issue of the Revolving Floor:
http://revolvingfloor.com/issues/6/from-the-diary-of-mrs-dewinter/
One of the most famous publishing houses, Penguin, turns 75 years old TODAY. Founder Allen Lane chose ten titles in 1935 and published them in England, complete with the stamp of that cute little black and white bird. By 1937, they set up shop in Holy Trinity Church Crypt in New York City.
Make sure you check out their anniversary website which is full of fun photos, cover art, and even a way to follow that orange Mini. www.penguin75.com
So to help them celebrate (and because I love the cheeky little penguin) I am giving away TWO books. Since this is a milestone for Penguin, I thought I’d make it a sort of past-meets-present-sister-act.
You can win a copy of WUTHERING HEIGHTS by Emily Bronte and a copy of THE EYRE AFFAIR by Jasper Fforde (based, of course, on characters created by Charlotte Bronte).
All you have to do to enter to win these fantastic literary pieces is:
1) Wish Happy 75th Birthday to Penguin on your Facebook or on Twitter with a link to this post
2) In the comment section for this post, put your name, email and a link to the post you made (see #1).
That’s it! I will announce the winner one week from today, Friday, August 6. Happy Reading.
Many thanks to Lindsay at Penguin for providing the titles for giveaway.
Q: What attracts you to writing in general?
| Price: | $13.99 |
| On Sale: | 6/15/2010 |
| Formats: Trade PB | E-Book | |
My Letter to Dr. Watson is now up and you can view it here:
http://letterswithcharacter.blogspot.com/2010/05/arthur-conan-doyle-hound-of.html
Write your own letter to a fictional character and send it to LettersWithCharacter@gmail.com
It’s fun, I promise.
The folks over at Harper Perennial’s The Olive Reader have endorsed this fantastic and fun idea. If you have ever yelled at, been annoyed by or been desperately in love with a character in a book, now is your chance to tell them how you feel.
Write a letter to a literary character and send it to LettersWithCharacter (at) gmail (dot) com. They will choose the best ones and post at LettersWithCharacter.blogspot.com
And if you work in the media and want to feature Ben or the site, you can contact the Gregory Henry at gregory (dot) henry (at) harpercollins (dot) com
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some questions for Dr. Watson.
It is one of those words that I hear less frequently but have always found it useful (less so when overused, as with any word). It has such specific meaning, that it limits it to (usually) proper use. I am reading P.G. Wodehouse’s The Inimitable Jeeves, can think of no better title. Jeeves is such a particular being. He represents something that probably never existed, at least in one person, but is the personification of decades and generations of proper English breeding, celebration of perfection and wishful thinking. Jeeves is, as the definition says, matchless. Incapable of being imitated.
There are berserk potions and “power-ups” in many video games with Medieval and magic themes. It is also a long running manga series. The main character is a mercenary warrior in Medieval Europe.
Maybe one of the last modern usages of the term was as the title of a Joan Crawford picture in 1967. Desperately clinging to her reputation and falling beauty, the film follows the desperate (and unfeeling) owner/ringmistress of Rivers’ Circus as one by one, circus performers turn up dead. Berserk! uses its title to imply the unruly, strange and unpredictable underworld 
of a traveling circus.
Originally pronounced something rhyming with “Pick a yoon,” the prevalence of this word in the titles of so many newspapers seems to have created a new pronunciation something along the lines of “Pick Cane.”
On the Gulf Coast, Picayune is still recovering from Katrina.
From: thanks-katrina.blogspot.com
“Forward, the Light Brigade!”
