Book a Week in 2013 - week thirty seven

[Stacia]

For those interested in some of the history of Dracula (the real, historical person, not the vampire), a few quotes from In Search of Dracula...

The names of Dracula and his father, Dracul, are of such importance in this story that they require a precise explanation. Both father and son had the given name Vlad. The names Dracul and Dracula and variations thereof in different languages (such as Dracole, Draculya, Dracol, Draculea, Draculios, Draculia, Tracol) are really nicknames. What's more, both nicknames had two meanings. Dracul meant "devil," as it still does in Romanian today; in addition it meant "dragon." In 1431, the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund invested Vlad the father with the Order of the Dragon, a semimonastic, semi-military organization dedicated to fighting the Turkish infidels. Dracul in the sense of dragon stems from this. It also seems probable that when the simple, superstitious peasants saw Vlad the father bearing the standard with the dragon symbol they interpreted it as a sign that he was in league with the devil.

(Again, referring to the historical figure of Dracula...)

The progressive popularization of the Dracula story, however, was due to the coincidence of the invention of the printing press in the second half of the fifteenth century and the production of cheap rag paper. The first Dracula news sheet destined for the public at large was printed in 1463 in either Vienna or Wiener Neustadt. Later, money-hungry printers saw commercial possibilities in such sensational stories and continued printing them for profit. This confirms the fact that the horror genre conformed to the tastes of the fifteenth-century reading public as much as it does today. We suspect that Dracula narratives became bestsellers in the late fifteenth century, some of the first pamphlets with a nonreligious theme. One example of the many unsavory but catchy titles is: The Frightening and Truly Extraordinary Story of a Wicked Blood-thirsty Tyrant Called Prince Dracula.

 

No fewer than thirteen different fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Dracula stories have been discovered thus far in the various German states within the former empire. Printed in Nuremberg, Lubeck, Bamberg, Augsburg, Strasbourg, Hamburg, etc., many of them exist in several editions.

And, just as I was thinking the same thing, the authors state...

The deeds attributed to Dracula in the German narratives are so appalling that the activities of Stoker's bloodsucking character seem tame by comparison.

Indeed. I believe that may be an understatement.

 

And, on an interesting side note, I saw this portrait (Petrus Gonsalvus) & two of his "wolf children" in the book.

 

Wondering why this portrait would be in a book about Dracula?...

Ironically, the only existing life-size portrait of Dracula is at Castle Ambras near Innsbruck. Ferdinand II, Archduke of the Tyrol, who owned Castle Ambras during the sixteenth century, had a perverse hobby of documenting the villains and deformed personalities of history. He sent emissaries all over Europe to collect their portraits and reserved a special room in the castle for displaying them. It made no difference whether the subjects were well known or comparatively obscure. What did matter was that they were actual human beings, not fictional ones. If such persons could be found alive, the archduke tried to settle them, at least temporarily, at his court, where paintings could be made of them on the spot. A few giants, a notorious dwarf, and the wolfman from the Canary Islands stayed on at Castle Ambras for some years. Dracula was already dead by the time this degenerate Hapsburg began his hobby, but the prince's reputation as a mass murderer was already largely established in the Germanic world because of the tales told by the Saxons of Transylvania. We do not know how or where Ferdinand's portrait of Dracula was painted or who the artist was.

I'm finding this to be a bizarre, creepy, & riveting history book. LOL.

[mumto2]

I found a copy of a really old version. Looking forward to it!

 

For those interested in some of the history of Dracula (the real, historical person, not the vampire), a few quotes from In Search of Dracula...

 

 

(Again, referring to the historical figure of Dracula...)

 

And, just as I was thinking the same thing, the authors state...

 

Indeed. I believe that may be an understatement.

 

And, on an interesting side note, I saw this portrait (Petrus Gonsalvus) & two of his "wolf children" in the book:

h

 

 

Wondering why this portrait would be in a book about Dracula?...

 

 

I'm finding this to be a bizarre, creepy, & riveting history book. LOL.

[Kareni]

I just finished The Genius and the Muse by Elizabeth Hunter which I enjoyed very much.  (The cover art on my library's copy is markedly different from that of Amazon as well as that shown here.  I wonder how many covers there are for such a recent book!  ETA: With some internet searching, I found the cover art that is shown on my book.  I couldn't figure out what it represented, but my husband suggested a tattoo.  I suspect he's correct.)

 

"For Kate Mitchell, finishing her master's thesis on reclusive photographer Reed O'Connor was just another item to check off her list. She knew exactly what she was doing. Or does she?

There's just one portrait that doesn't fit. One portrait... and the passion she senses behind it. Finding the story behind O'Connor's picture becomes Kate's obsession, and the people she meets will challenge everything she thought she knew about life, love, and inspiration.

A single picture can tell more than one story, and in the end, Kate discovers that every real love story is a unique work of art."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[melmichigan]

It's crazy here, DH heads out of town on Friday. DD10 twins leave Monday for their "once in a lifetime trip" with grandma and grandpa, they will be gone for three weeks. So with that in mind I'm still working on the Sookie Stackhouse books, currently on book #8 From Dead to Worse.  

[Rosie_0801]

Eh? I guess that chap upthread is top of the list of Not Hot literary figures?  :huh:

 

I've finally finished 'Our Woman in Kabul' by Irris Makler. I love reading books by war correspondents. It's the way to get history that isn't in the history books yet.

[mumto2]

It's crazy here, DH heads out of town on Friday. DD10 twins leave Monday for their "once in a lifetime trip" with grandma and grandpa, they will be gone for three weeks. So with that in mind I'm still working on the Sookie Stackhouse books, currently on book #8 From Dead to Worse.

If you are going in order because all series are much better in order(that one it is really true for!) You have made great progress! It seems like you just started them reallt recently. Glad you are enjoying them.

 

On a side note: A librarian just told Dd with a straight face that order does not matter--she disagreed politely.

[mumto2]

Kareni- I think it is a tattoo too. ;) Sounds like an interesting read. I will add it to the list.

[Stacia]

Ohhh, the Man Booker shortlist has been announced!
http://flavorwire.com/newswire/man-booker-prize-shortlist-announced/

I'm so thrilled to see that A Tale for the Time Being is on there. I love that book!

[Jane in NC]

After the discussion up thread, I should not be at all surprised that as Jane Gardam's Last Friends wraps up, there is a drive through Whitby.

 

The ending of this third book in the Old Filth trilogy, Last Friends, brought tears to my eyes. Tears of joy, resurrection. Beautiful!

 

It is exactly what I needed on my reading sabbatical. I think I may be ready to reemerge and face the world.

[Stacia]

It is exactly what I needed on my reading sabbatical. I think I may be ready to reemerge and face the world.

 

Sometimes that is the true beauty of a book... it refreshes the heart & soul.

 

:grouphug:

[mumto2]

Ohhh, the Man Booker shortlist has been announced!

http://flavorwire.com/newswire/man-booker-prize-shortlist-announced/

 

I'm so thrilled to see that A Tale for the Time Being is on there. I love that book!

I have three of them on my request list including A Tale for the Time Being. Looking forward to trying them.

 

I finished "The Winter Garden Mystery" by Carola Dunn which was the second Daisy Dalrymble mystery. Good quick read, better than the first imo.

 

Also finished "The Dark Shore" by Susan Howatch. It was compared to Rebecca by DeMaurier(personal favorite) in a review I read. I didn't think the comparison went beyond the superficial big estate/England/second wife and mysterious death of first wife. It was good and I did not get the "who done it" until the reveal. Thank you for recommending Howatch's gothics.

[aggieamy]

Haven't been reading much but I have been listening to audiobooks and another big Thank You to Kleine Hexe for recommended Bob Newhart.  I finished last night and loved it.  He's such a wonderful, funny, down-to-earth person. 

[Violet Crown]

Putting aside my resolution to stick to one book at a time, I've started three simultaneously (while still working through The IL of the BWC):

 

A. E. Housman, A Shropshire Lad

I've read about half of these poems before, but never the entire collection in order. This edition is part of a Penguin series called "English Journeys" which includes such other English rustic reading as the Wordsworths' Life at Grasmere, Henry James' Cathedrals and Castles, and The Pleasures of English Food by Alan Davidson.

 

Henry IV, Part 2

More Falstaff!

 

Gert Ledig, The Stalin Front

Dh's continued attempt to draw me into the 20th century. With an atrocities-of-war novel so horrific I can't read it near mealtime. It's very good, though, and I'm sure the nightmares it's inducing are temporary.

[Violet Crown]

So I'm looking for the English Journeys set at the Penguin UK website, and I see this:

http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/cs/uk/0/minisites/greatideas/index_1.html

 

Please, o please, does someone have £453 to spare?

[Stacia]

So I'm looking for the English Journeys set at the Penguin UK website, and I see this:

http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/cs/uk/0/minisites/greatideas/index_1.html

 

Please, o please, does someone have £453 to spare?

 

Wow. I'd love a set of those too. Lots of great reading, beautifully-bound.

 

Btw, Orwell's Books v. Cigarettes looks good? Have you read it? I may need to round up a copy of that one....

[Mom-ninja.]

Putting aside my resolution to stick to one book at a time, I've started three simultaneously (while still working through The IL of the BWC):

Yeah, I can never make myself stick to one book at a time either.

[ariasmommy]

I haven't posted for awhile, but I have been reading.

 

43. The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (audiobook) - I didn't like this collection as much as the other Sherlock Holmes stories I've read, but I did enjoy Derek Jacobi's narration.

 

44. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens - This was a read-aloud with my dd. Now I know why my mom freaked out during the murder scene when my dad read it to her years ago. We watched a BBC version afterwards, but skipped that part!

 

45. Sun Horse, Moon Horse by Rosemary Sutcliff - I read this for the first time a couple of years ago, and wanted to re-read it. It's a beautifully-written and heart-wrenching imagining of how the White Horse of Uffington might have been made.

 

46. Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches by Rachel Jankovic - Another re-read of a favorite book. :)

 

47. Leisure The Basis of Culture (and The Philosophical Act) by Josef Pieper - Not easy reading - I found myself going over parts of it, trying to figure out exactly what he was saying - but very good. Gave me a hankering to read more philosophical stuff. :)

 

48. Justin Morgan Had a Horse by Marguerite Henry - This was also a re-read, as I read many of Henry's books as a horse-crazy girl. This time I read it aloud to my oldest ds.

[ladydusk]

47. Leisure The Basis of Culture (and The Philosophical Act) by Josef Pieper - Not easy reading - I found myself going over parts of it, trying to figure out exactly what he was saying - but very good. Gave me a hankering to read more philosophical stuff. :)

 

Wow.  I'm super impressed, you didn't tell me you read it... I have it on my shelf but am intimidated ...

[Robin M]

So I'm looking for the English Journeys set at the Penguin UK website, and I see this:

http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/cs/uk/0/minisites/greatideas/index_1.html

 

Please, o please, does someone have £453 to spare?

 

They are all available for nook and kindle.   At least series 1 that I can see so far.  So tempting! 

[ariasmommy]

Wow. I'm super impressed, you didn't tell me you read it... I have it on my shelf but am intimidated ...

Christopher Perrin's repeated endorsements of the book during his lectures and videos pushed me over the edge. I actually don't have my copy anymore, though I want to get another at some point. I was reading it at my parents' place and my brother-in-law saw it laying around and was looking at it. I found out he likes reading philosophy, so when I was finished I gave it to him as a sort of belated birthday present. :D

[Stacia]

For those who like to plan ahead, Banned Books Week is coming up the last week in September. Here is a list of Banned or Challenged Books, 2012-13. Go ahead & order or request one so you have it in time to read during Banned Books Week!

 

:thumbup1:

[Stacia]

You know those "READ" posters you often see in libraries or schools? Looks like there's a Big Bang Theory version of the poster now. Had to  :smilielol5:  at the description, which tells which books the characters are holding...

 

 

Howard: Portnoy’s Complaint
Bernadette: Jewish Cooking Boot Camp
Penny: An Actor Prepares
Sheldon: The Official Dictionary of Sarcasm
Leonard: A Brief History of Time
Amy: Smart Women Foolish Choices
Koothrappali: Eat, Pray, Love

 

Love it!!!

[Violet Crown]

Wow. I'd love a set of those too. Lots of great reading, beautifully-bound.

 

Btw, Orwell's Books v. Cigarettes looks good? Have you read it? I may need to round up a copy of that one....

 

I have not. I confess, in fact, to never having read Orwell since Animal Farm and 1984 when I was 11 or 12, and then only because I was bored and they were among the few books on my dad's shelf that weren't about chemical engineering. I do keep meaning to, though.

 

Yeah, I can never make myself stick to one book at a time either.

I try to partially tame the bad habit by at least not reading more than one book of a kind simultaneously. One fiction, one history, one verse, one play, or something of that sort.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

. 

 

[mumto2]

I looked at the banned book list. Hard as this is to believe I actually attended on of the schools listed as banning. That surprised me. Not that conservative of an area, I thought. May have to read that one. ;(

 

 

Will look more later with AP list in hand. If I can accomplish two goals all the better.

[Stacia]

I looked at the banned book list. Hard as this is to believe I actually attended on of the schools listed as banning. That surprised me. Not that conservative of an area, I thought. May have to read that one. ;(

 

 

Will look more later with AP list in hand. If I can accomplish two goals all the better.

 

Wow. That would be a great idea to read the one that was banned from the school you attended.

 

The list I attached is a short one. There are more extensive lists from other years on the website too (so you might be more apt to find books that match up w/ your AP list if you use multiple or longer lists.) The links on this page might be helpful for you...

http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks

[mumto2]

I finally had a chance to look for my book. It was actually sitting on the shelf at my village branch. Librarian laughed because I probably "saved it" because it hasn't been checked out in over two years. So even if I don't read it I will have saved a banned book! :lol:

 

 

Wow. That would be a great idea to read the one that was banned from the school you attended.

 

 

 

The list I attached is a short one. There are more extensive lists from other years on the website too (so you might be more apt to find books that match up w/ your AP list if you use multiple or longer lists.) The links on this page might be helpful for you...

 

http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks

[Violet Crown]

30. Henry IV, Part 2.

 

Not my first reading of the Henry IV plays; but my first reading while having a teenager on the cusp of adulthood. Funny how the king doesn't seem so hyper-fretful this time around. Of course he's panicking that his son is coming into his majority and is screwing up in every possible way.

 

A passage that is always timely:

-------------------

 

You, lord archbishop,

Whose see is by a civil peace maintained,

Whose beard the silver hand of peace hath touched,

Whose learning and good letters peace hath tutored,

Whose white investments figure innocence,

The dove and very blessèd spirit of peace,

Wherefore do you so ill translate yourself

Out of the speech of peace that bears such grace,

Into the harsh and boisterous tongue of war,

Turning your books to graves, your ink to blood,

Your pens to lances, and your tongue divine

To a loud trumpet and a point of war?

[mumto2]

"Mistress" by James Patterson and David Ellis is the best thriller he has written in ages. I suspect that has much to do with David Ellis. It did not really "feel" like a Patterson book imo -- Much harder to speed read through. :lol: Interesting plot, I did not guess the ending for sure. I thought of it but dismissed it so it was a surprise at the end.

[-M-]

Since my last post, I've completed...

 

#75 Cyrano de Bergerac (Edmond Rostand (1898); Bantam ed. 1950. 240 pages. Drama.)
#74 King Lear (William Shakespeare (1605); Folger ed. 2005. 384 pages. Drama.)
#73 The Returned (Jason Mott; 2013. 352. pages. Fiction.)
#72 Lowboy (John Wray; 2009. 272. pages. Fiction.)

 

... which keeps me on target for my goal of 104 in this "year of reading slowly."

 

The Misses and I are just 61 pages from the end of Moby-Dick. LOVE it! Both girls are sporting these now, too.

 

And just for fun, here are illustrations inspired by one of our summer reads, Kafka's The Metamorphosis.

 

 

 

[Mom-ninja.]

I try to partially tame the bad habit by at least not reading more than one book of a kind simultaneously. One fiction, one history, one verse, one play, or something of that sort.

I do this too.

 

 

Think I'll participate in the Banned Books week.

[Violet Crown]

Banned Book week is tempting, but I'll beg off on the grounds of having just read Genet's Funeral Rites (it was banned in the U.S. along with all his other novels), and not being quite ready to tackle Ulysses. And because now I want to read the books in the Penguin "Great Ideas" series. Dh has promised to pick up Seneca's Treatises from the campus library so I can get started with "On the Shortness of Life" (also available on-line, but I hate reading books on the iPad).

[Robin M]

Yesterday, Master and Commander arrived and and I arrived home to find that my son had immediately absconded with the book. The one who doesn't like to read anything but star wars and comic books.  Am I going to complain?  Nope!

 

As for banned books week.  I always swear going to read such and such and then never do. So this time, going to swear I won't be reading any banned books and I'm sure one will leap into my hot little hand when I least expect it.   :laugh:

 

Have discovered a few of the great series books are at Barnes and Noble.  I think a trip is in order for Sunday. So much for my buying ban.  :tongue_smilie:

 

Speaking of readers - here are 15 Types of Readers, As Told by Cats and Dogs

 

Back to reading #5 in Stephen King's Dark Tower series - Wolves of Calla

[Robin M]

Since my last post, I've completed...

 

#75 Cyrano de Bergerac (Edmond Rostand (1898); Bantam ed. 1950. 240 pages. Drama.)

#74 King Lear (William Shakespeare (1605); Folger ed. 2005. 384 pages. Drama.)

#73 The Returned (Jason Mott; 2013. 352. pages. Fiction.)

#72 Lowboy (John Wray; 2009. 272. pages. Fiction.)

 

... which keeps me on target for my goal of 104 in this "year of reading slowly."

 

The Misses and I are just 61 pages from the end of Moby-Dick. LOVE it! Both girls are sporting these now, too.

 

And just for fun, here are illustrations inspired by one of our summer reads, Kafka's The Metamorphosis.

 

 

 

Cool shirts. I see a few I want to buy.  Love the illustrations! Did the Misses do those?

 

[Kareni]

I read and enjoyed the historical romance The Arrangement by Mary Balogh.  It wasn't my favorite of her books (but given that she's written over 70 books ....), but it was a good read.

 

"A mesmerizing story of passionate awakening and redemption, Mary Balogh’s new novel unites a war hero consigned to darkness with a remarkable woman who finds her own salvation by showing him the light of love.
 
Desperate to escape his mother’s matchmaking, Vincent Hunt, Viscount Darleigh, flees to a remote country village. But even there, another marital trap is sprung. So when Miss Sophia Fry’s intervention on his behalf finds her unceremoniously booted from her guardian’s home, Vincent is compelled to act. He may have been blinded in battle, but he can see a solution to both their problems: marriage.
 
At first, quiet, unassuming Sophia rejects Vincent’s proposal. But when such a gloriously handsome man persuades her that he needs a wife of his own choosing as much as she needs protection from destitution, she agrees. Her alternative is too dreadful to contemplate. But how can an all-consuming fire burn from such a cold arrangement? As friendship and camaraderie lead to sweet seduction and erotic pleasure, dare they believe a bargain born of desperation might lead them both to a love destined to be?"

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

[Stacia]

Violet Crown has really piqued my interest in Penguin's Great Ideas series. They look absolutely gorgeous & fascinating to boot.

 

The Book Depository seems to have decent prices on the various books. Just in case anyone needs to know that. My Christmas wish list just got really long....

 

P.S. For those that have read/are reading Angelmaker, a couple of John Ruskin's books are included among the Great Ideas series.

[mumto2]

I just finished my latest Dorothy B. Hughes American Noir thriller. "The Blackbirder" was a lot like watching a really good Hitchcock movie with great mysterious actors. Cary Grant was Blaike the mysterious man following the rather confused heroine. I started late last night and almost didn't sleep last night. Woke up early to finish it. :)

 

 

http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/mystery-39.html

[Tress]

I'm finally going to jump in on this thread! I'm going to try to read 15 books in 15 weeks, sounds much easier than 52 in 52 weeks somehow :).

 

I finished reading The Shallows by Nicholas Carr and started reading Dreams of Joy by Lisa See.

 

Last week I read Shanghai Girls by Lisa See, after seeing someone mention it in this thread. I love getting recommendations for books I would otherwise not read! Looking foward to the sequel.

 

Banned Book week is tempting, but I'll beg off on the grounds of having just read Genet's Funeral Rites (it was banned in the U.S. along with all his other novels), and not being quite ready to tackle Ulysses. And because now I want to read the books in the Penguin "Great Ideas" series. Dh has promised to pick up Seneca's Treatises from the campus library so I can get started with "On the Shortness of Life" (also available on-line, but I hate reading books on the iPad).

Your link to the 'Great Ideas' series had me drooling :D! I admit to having ordered Seneca's On the Shortness of Life (and ...ahum...a few others..). English books, via the bookdepository, are so much cheaper than Dutch books. We have a fixed (high!) book price in the Netherlands, a comparable book in Dutch would easily cost 20-25€. It is however going to take a while before it gets here, shipping is slow.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

.

[Onceuponatime]

I haven't posted in a while. I've recently finished The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window. I'm now working on Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World by the Dalai Lama, and A Zoo in My Luggage by Gerald Durrell. I'm halfway through Labyrinths by Borges.

[Violet Crown]

Middle Girl is a huge Durrell fan. Audubon also makes for good reading if you like travel essays with wildlife.

 

Speaking of travel writing, while looking for some of the English Journeys books, I found a website dedicated to chronicling the British countryside of the last 200 years, which has the complete Through England on a Side-Saddle in the Time of William and Mary.

http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/text/contents_page.jsp?t_id=Fiennes

Each section is accompanied by a map of England showing the writer's location, and hyperlinks.

[Stacia]

I'm finally going to jump in on this thread! I'm going to try to read 15 books in 15 weeks, sounds much easier than 52 in 52 weeks somehow :).

 

I finished reading The Shallows by Nicholas Carr and started reading Dreams of Joy by Lisa See.

 

Last week I read Shanghai Girls by Lisa See, after seeing someone mention it in this thread. I love getting recommendations for books I would otherwise not read! Looking foward to the sequel.

 

Your link to the 'Great Ideas' series had me drooling :D! I admit to having ordered Seneca's On the Shortness of Life (and ...ahum...a few others..). English books, via the bookdepository, are so much cheaper than Dutch books. We have a fixed (high!) book price in the Netherlands, a comparable book in Dutch would easily cost 20-25€. It is however going to take a while before it gets here, shipping is slow.

 

Glad to see you here, Tress!

 

And, it's always fun to run into a Dutch speaker. (My dh is Belgian; dd speaks Dutch, ds does not. I can understand the gist of the conversation sometimes & read a tiny bit... like street signs & other simple things. :tongue_smilie:) 

 

Be sure to let us know what you think about the Great Ideas series books once you get them! (And I'm curious to know what the others are too. :thumbup: )

 

RE: Penguin Great Ideas.  Those are gorgeous books, but right now I am too involved in reading mind-shriveling carp for the  R.I.P. Challenge :D  My August Shakespeare project totally wore me out on Serious Reading.  

 

Finished #71 for the year, a reread of The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye, which I read for the first time back in June.  Yes, BaW'ers, I read the same book twice within about 3 months -- it was that good.  If you like historical mysteries along the lines of Caleb Carr's The Alienist, this is a must read.  Loved it!  I am even thinking about ordering the sequel being released next week, even though it exceeds my personal buying ban on e-books over $9.99. 

 

Hey, hey, the RIP is not necessarily mind-shriveling carp! :lol:  (I've already started my RIP reading, so that's why I'm saying that. ;) ) I need to check out both The Gods of Gotham and The Alienist (neither of which I've read).

 

I haven't posted in a while. I've recently finished The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window. I'm now working on Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World by the Dalai Lama, and A Zoo in My Luggage by Gerald Durrell. I'm halfway through Labyrinths by Borges.

 

Good to see you back here. Looks like lost of fun books. How did you like the 100 Year Old Man book?

[Onceuponatime]

 

 

Good to see you back here. Looks like lost of fun books. How did you like the 100 Year Old Man book?

 

I finished it quickly and got quite a few chuckles out of it. Even though it was quirky and odd, the characters were fascinating and almost lovable.

[Rosie_0801]

 I'm now working on Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World by the Dalai Lama, 

 

Any good? I need a new religion book but in my situation it's hard to find anything I fancy. Buddhism usually makes me shout, so perhaps the Dalai Lama's book is not for me either.

[Stacia]

Ah, nice. Holiday cards for book lovers (from The Reader's Catalog)....

http://www.readerscatalog.com/collections/holiday/products/booklovers-holiday-card

[Stacia]

I finished In Search of Dracula: The History of Dracula and Vampires by Raymond T. McNally & Radu Florescu today. A very fascinating book for fans of Dracula, esp. if you are interested in the history behind the real figure (Vlad Tepes), locations, etc.... Part history, part folklore, part opinion, this book has a nice variety of information.

In addition to the historical sections about Romania & the Dracula family, I also enjoyed the section on Bram Stoker, his research, & other books that have been variations on the Dracula/vampire legends. The film section was fine (but I haven't seen any of the films mentioned, so it wasn't entirely applicable to me).

That said, between the sections on the mass murders & extreme cruelty of Vlad Tepes and Elizabeth Bathory, real life is much scarier & horrific than fiction. Dracula, the vampire character, seems tame in comparison to these blood-thirsty sadists of history. There is definitely some disturbing information in this book.

The extensive bibliography is wonderful. I do wish there had been more/better maps.

Overall, highly-recommended for Dracula fans.

[Miss Innocent]

Finished The Warden's Niece today. So great to revisit this childhood favourite. Apparently it was published in the USA as 'Maria Escapes'. Does that ring a bell with anyone? I can't believe so few people have read this great book!  :001_smile:

 

Emma

[Miss Innocent]

I'm finally going to jump in on this thread! I'm going to try to read 15 books in 15 weeks, sounds much easier than 52 in 52 weeks somehow :).

 

I finished reading The Shallows by Nicholas Carr and started reading Dreams of Joy by Lisa See.

 

 

Hi Tress

 

I've also joined recently and am aiming for 15 books. It does seem less daunting, somehow, doesn't it?

 

The Shallows is on my (teetering) to be read pile. I might even get to it this year....

 

Emma

[Onceuponatime]

Any good? I need a new religion book but in my situation it's hard to find anything I fancy. Buddhism usually makes me shout, so perhaps the Dalai Lama's book is not for me either.

 

He is calling for a universal secular ethic, and explains how he visualizes it happening.  It does draw a lot on his personal experience in Buddhism, but tries to stay away from the religious aspects. I am sympathetic to his vision, but some of it may not be practical, such as the meditation and mental exercise. I would still recommend the book.

[-M-]

Cool shirts. I see a few I want to buy.  Love the illustrations! Did the Misses do those?

 

 

Thank you! Yes, that's their work. If you visit M-mv, the images can be clicked and enlarged to see some of the detail. The window, for example, looks out on the veiled view Kafka describes, and the framed image is the woman in fur coat and hat. The other illustration is deceptively simple, employing a type of cartooning style, but the scene is one of the saddest in literature, per the Misses: a father flinging apples at his transformed son. *sniff*

 

I have shared the comment and the "likes" with my artists. Many thanks to all of you!