BW29: The Cane-Bottom’d Chair by William Makepeace Thackeray

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday! Today is the anniversary of William Makepeace Thackeray’s birthday and the Cane-Bottom’s Chair amused me so decided to share it.

 

 

The Cane-Bottom’d Chair

by

 William Makepeace Thackeray

July 18, 1811 - Dec. 24, 1863

 

In tattered old slippers that toast at the bars,

And a ragged old jacket perfumed with cigars,

Away from the world and its toils and its cares,

I’ve a snug little kingdom up four pair of stairs.

 

To mount to this realm is a toil, to be sure,

But the fire there is bright and the air rather pure;

And the view I behold on a sunshiny day

Is grand through the chimney-pots over the way.

 

This snug little chamber is cramm’d in all nooks

With worthless old nicknacks and silly old books,

And foolish old odds and foolish old ends,

Crack’d bargains from brokers, cheap keepsakes from friends.

 

Old armour, prints, pictures, pipes, china (all crack’d),

Old rickety tables, and chairs broken-backed;

A twopenny treasury, wondrous to see;

What matter? ’tis pleasant to you, friend, and me.

 

No better divan need the Sultan require,

Than the creaking old sofa that basks by the fire;

And ’tis wonderful, surely, what music you get

From the rickety, ramshackle, wheezy spinet.

 

That praying-rug came from a Turcoman’s camp;

By Tiber once twinkled that brazen old lamp;

A Mameluke fierce yonder dagger has drawn:

’Tis a murderous knife to toast muffins upon.

 

Long, long through the hours, and the night, and the chimes,

Here we talk of old books, and old friends, and old times;

As we sit in a fog made of rich Latakie

This chamber is pleasant to you, friend, and me.

 

But of all the cheap treasures that garnish my nest,

There’s one that I love and I cherish the best:

For the finest of couches that’s padded with hair

I never would change thee, my cane-bottom’d chair.

 

'Tis a bandy-legg'd, high-shoulder'd, worm-eaten seat,

With a creaking old back, and twisted old feet;

But since the fair morning when Fanny sat there,

I bless thee and love thee, old cane-bottom'd chair.

 

If chairs have but feeling, in holding such charms,

A thrill must have pass'd through your wither'd old arms!

I look'd, and I long'd, and I wish'd in despair;

I wish'd myself turn'd to a cane-bottom'd chair.

 

It was but a moment she sate in this place,

She'd a scarf on her neck, and a smile on her face!

A smile on her face, and a rose in her hair,

And she sate there, and bloom'd in my cane-bottom'd chair.

 

And so I have valued my chair ever since,

Like the shrine of a saint, or the throne of a prince;

Saint Fanny, my patroness sweet I declare,

The queen of my heart and my cane-bottom'd chair.

 

When the candles burn low, and the company's gone,

In the silence of night as I sit here alone—

I sit here alone, but we yet are a pair—

My Fanny I see in my cane-bottom'd chair.

 

She comes from the past and revists my room;

She looks as she then did, all beauty and bloom;

So smiling and tender, so fresh and so fair,

And yonder she sits in my cane-bottom'd chair.

 

**********************

Count of Monte Cristo

 

Chapter 70. The Ball

Chapter 71. Bread and Salt

Chapter 72. Madame de Saint-Méran

 

**********************

 

 

 

Link to week 28

 

Visit  52 Books in 52 Weeks where you can find all the information on the annual, mini and perpetual challenges, as well as share your book reviews with other readers around the globe.

 

Edited July 18, 2021 by Robin M

[Robin M]

Reading the 14th and last book in the Wheel of Time series, A Memory of Light which will probably take me a while since it’s a chunky book.  I’m in a reread mood as well and just finished Cherry Adair’s Hush, which was just as good the second time.

“Thrill seekers Zakary and Gideon Stark travel the globe in search of extreme adventure, but a trip to Venezuela to jump off the world’s highest falls catapults them into a perilous game of life or death—where they don’t know the rules.

Kidnapped with a woman Zak knows nothing about, the brothers are held prisoner deep in the jungle. A risky, deathdefying escape separates them and nearly claims Zak’s life . . . until his recovery reveals a baffling new sixth sense.

Now, to find his missing brother, Zak and the mysterious Acadia Gray will have to out-smart, out-gun, and out-maneuver not just the brutal kidnappers but also a new player who joins the adrenaline game: a ruthless opponent who wants the Stark brothers dead—at any cost.”

Also finished reread of the first book in Keri Arthur’s Souls of Fire series with Fireborn. 

“ Emberly Pearson—a phoenix capable of taking on human form, and cursed with the ability to foresee death…

Emberly has spent a good number of her many lives trying to save humans. So when her prophetic dreams reveal the death of Sam, a man she once loved, she does everything in her power to prevent that from happening. But in saving his life, she gets more than she bargained for.

Sam is working undercover for the Paranormal Investigations Team, and those who are trying to murder him are actually humans infected by a plague-like virus, the Crimson Death—a by-product of a failed government experiment that attempted to identify the enzymes that make vampires immortal. Now, all those infected must be eliminated.

But when Emberly’s boss is murdered and his irreplaceable research stolen, she needs to find the guilty party before she goes down in flames…”

[mumto2]

@Robin M As always thank you for the wonderful thread!
 

I did finish The Invisable Husband of Frick Island and really enjoyed it. I had a problem figuring out what bookshelf it belonged on in Goodreads because I don’t have a just plain fiction bookshelf and ended up classifying it as contemporary romance.....it really isn’t. It’s good, the main subject of intrigue was why a small island community all pretended a young widow’s husband was still alive after his death in a fishing accident. Climate change, pod casting, and even the right to be a “dry” no alcohol island is part of the mix.

I also seem to be hooked on a series of themed cozy mysteries and have read three in the series this week. The Cajun Country mysteries series starts wth Plantation Shutters https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24402497-plantation-shudders which centers around a family who has managed to save their plantation house by turning it into a B&B. Nothing special beyond I like them.😉

I am currently listening to Linda Castillo’s latest in the Kate Burkholder series. This is a favorite series of mine set in the Amish country in Ohio. Kate, the police chief, is a former member of the Amish community who has returned home to serve in a much different role.

Book wise I am reading one of my Cajun Mysteries and also about halfway through the latest Kathy Reichs (Temperance Brennan) Bone Code.  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54304127-the-bone-code?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=UDvUcDdwbf&rank=1 This is number 20 in the series and so far is a pretty good read.

[Kareni]

Some bookish posts ~

From the Word Wenches: Ask A Wench - One Special Book

https://wordwenches.typepad.com/word_wenches/2021/07/ask-a-wench-one-special-book.html

DONNA LEON: A CRIME READER’S GUIDE TO THE CLASSICS

https://link.lithub.com/click/24268173.23739/aHR0cHM6Ly9jcmltZXJlYWRzLmNvbS9kb25uYS1sZW9uLWEtY3JpbWUtcmVhZGVycy1ndWlkZS10by10aGUtY2xhc3NpY3Mv/60412031e063502f04d29416Ceb6cb98c

Five Young Adult SFF Books With Asexual Leads

https://www.tor.com/2021/06/09/five-young-adult-sff-books-with-asexual-leads/

Regards,

Kareni

[Ali in OR]

I finished the Eloise Bridgerton book, and now I'm actually taking a break from mindless fluff. I've started a couple that I consider "training" for school: Jo Boaler's Limitless Mind and Zaretta Hammond's Culturally Relevant Teaching and The Brain. The first is being used in a training for math teachers in our district--I wasn't invited to the training as an educational assistant, but I thought I would read the book on my own since I liked Boaler's Mathematical Mindsets. The second book is raved about in our district. Then I also started The Warmth of Other Suns which I expect to take maybe the rest of summer to get through--my third chunkster of the year (for a reader who thinks most books should be <300 pages.) I also received an email that The Sum of Us--What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together is ready for me off my hold list at the library. That will probably be delivered this week. No fluff here! Lots of serious reading and brain growth for a bit.

[Negin]

Robin, thank you for this thread, as always.

I have been barely been online much lately, since I had carpal tunnel surgery a few weeks ago and am only now slowly getting back into the swing of things. I didn't read nearly as much during this time as I thought that I would. Instead, I listened to a wonderful podcast and caught up on so many YouTube videos. It was a nice and refreshing change to do things that I normally don't get to do. I feel so thankful that the healing has been going well and I'm relieved to have had the surgery. The pain had been going on for far too long - three years! Now, there's no more pain and discomfort. I may eventually need it on my left hand. We'll see.

I read What’s Really Eating You?: Overcome the Triggers of Comfort Eating - 5 Stars

Real Life Organizing: Clean and Clutter-Free in 15 Minutes a Day - 3 Stars

   

[Kareni]

It's nice to see you back, @Negin. I hope that your recuperation will continue to go smoothly.

Regards,

Kareni

[Negin]

11 minutes ago, Kareni said:

It's nice to see you back, @Negin. I hope that your recuperation will continue to go smoothly.

Regards,

Kareni

Kareni, thank you so much. 

[Negin]

For those who are on Good Reads, do you have any thoughts on their new layout? I don't think that it's user-friendly anymore, not that it ever was to begin with. It's also not an attractive layout. I'm trying to think of alternatives. Maybe it's just me, but I'm having difficulty making my reviews to actually show. I wrote two reviews this morning and I don't believe that they showed up at all. I can see them, but I don't think that anyone else can unless if they search, or, as with the above, when I link them. 

[Kareni]

@Negin, I can easily see your review for the first book because it has so few reviews.

For the organizing book, I can find your review when I sort the reviews by Newest. (That book has 189 reviews.)

Regards,

Kareni

[Mothersweets]

Hi everyone! It's a been a few weeks since I posted. I only have two books to share but they were both good ones!

Winterkill by C.J.Box -This is #3 of the series and while I enjoyed it there were still a couple things that didn't make sense in the plotting. Overall I gave it three stars and will read the next one soon.

Mystic River by Dennis Lehane - This one grabbed me right at the beginning and had me staying up much too late at night! Three boys are childhood friends until something terrible happens to one of them. One grows up to be a police detective, one is an ex-con, and one struggles to have a "normal" life. The ex-con's daughter is murdered and the detective is put on the case and the story really takes off from there. I know this was made into a movie a while back but I never saw it so the story(and the ending!) was all new to me. 

@Negin I didn't realize Goodreads has changed - I'm only seeing a new color? green  It has always been a weird layout and super cluttered for my taste. I considered joining BookBrowse but it looks just as clutter-y. Also, sometimes my reviews and/or edits don't show up right away or I'll log in and all my review stars have disappeared and then magically reappear later. Who knows?

[Laurel-in-CA]

Hubby had to stay an extra day @ hospital due to very low blood pressure, so I started reading Westerly Gales to him--not a chapter in and he was released. He's home now, vegging out to TV and setting his phone timer to remember to walk around every hour. The steps are not the challenge I had feared they would be, but the foley bag and I have yet to have our evening close encounter, so we'll see.

Needless to say, reading hasn't gotten much time apart from a Robert Heinlein: Beyond This Horizon. Then I have Sharon Kay Penman The Land Beyond the Sea lined up. That and the new online book club I joined should keep me busy for a week or two as dh recovers.

Even when I don't comment or make it here in a given week, I go back and read all the threads, search my local library and recommend them if they're not in the overdrive collection. I so appreciate you for doing this, Robin!!

 

[Kareni]

@Laurel-in-CA, I hope that all is going well for your husband and you.

Westerly Gales sounds intriguing!

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

This afternoon I finished The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard.  The book is just over 900 pages, so it was quite a time commitment! I'd seen this title on lists comparing it to (and for fans of) The Goblin Emperor; there are some commonalities. I quite enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more by the author.

"An impulsive word can start a war.
A timely word can stop one.
A simple act of friendship can change the course of history.

Cliopher Mdang is the personal secretary of the Last Emperor of Astandalas, the Lord of Rising Stars, the Lord Magus of Zunidh, the Sun-on-Earth, the god.
He has spent more time with the Emperor of Astandalas than any other person.
He has never once touched his lord.
He has never called him by name.
He has never initiated a conversation.

One day Cliopher invites the Sun-on-Earth home to the proverbially remote Vangavaye-ve for a holiday.

The mere invitation could have seen Cliopher executed for blasphemy.
The acceptance upends the world."

Regards,

Kareni

[melmichigan]

I finished Raphael by Laurel K Hamilton.  I miss Anita Blake without all the metaphysical relationships, and the first 20% of the novella could have been summed up in a page, but I still follow this series 28 books in when my library has them.

I finished A Thin Disguise (Richter #2) by Catherine Bybee.  Richter is the spinoff from the First Wives series by the same author (which spun off from The Weekday Brides). 🙂

I am now starting book 3 in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series.  I didn't care for a good part of the first book, but stuck with it because many reviewers said it would improve.  I don't know if I would have picked them myself, but they are available on my Libby app, and book 2 was better than book 1, so I'm still reading. 🤷‍♀️ 

Tomorrow Last Guard is released by Nalini Singh, so that is next on my list.  Nalini Singh is one of my favorite authors and this is her psy-changeling series.  Reviews compared it to Heart of Obsidian. 🤞  

Edited July 20, 2021 by melmichigan

[Robin M]

On 7/18/2021 at 10:07 AM, mumto2 said:

I did finish The Invisable Husband of Frick Island and really enjoyed it. I had a problem figuring out what bookshelf it belonged on in Goodreads because I don’t have a just plain fiction bookshelf and ended up classifying it as contemporary romance.....it really isn’t. It’s good, the main subject of intrigue was why a small island community all pretended a young widow’s husband was still alive after his death in a fishing accident. Climate change, pod casting, and even the right to be a “dry” no alcohol island is part of the mix.

Oh, Invisible Husband sounds good. Downloaded it to my ipad.

On 7/18/2021 at 10:29 AM, Ali in OR said:

Then I also started The Warmth of Other Suns which I expect to take maybe the rest of summer to get through--my third chunkster of the year (for a reader who thinks most books should be <300 pages.)

Sounds like a great book. Will add it to my wishlist.

 

On 7/18/2021 at 12:43 PM, Negin said:

I have been barely been online much lately, since I had carpal tunnel surgery a few weeks ago and am only now slowly getting back into the swing of things. I didn't read nearly as much during this time as I thought that I would. Instead, I listened to a wonderful podcast and caught up on so many YouTube videos. It was a nice and refreshing change to do things that I normally don't get to do. I feel so thankful that the healing has been going well and I'm relieved to have had the surgery. The pain had been going on for far too long - three years! Now, there's no more pain and discomfort. I may eventually need it on my left hand. We'll see.

We missed you. So glad to hear you had the surgery and it fixed the problems with your arm. Happy you are doing better and free of pain now.  Although the physical therapy may be painful in itself, it's worth it in the long run.  

 

On 7/18/2021 at 1:01 PM, Negin said:

For those who are on Good Reads, do you have any thoughts on their new layout? I don't think that it's user-friendly anymore, not that it ever was to begin with. It's also not an attractive layout. I'm trying to think of alternatives. Maybe it's just me, but I'm having difficulty making my reviews to actually show. I wrote two reviews this morning and I don't believe that they showed up at all. I can see them, but I don't think that anyone else can unless if they search, or, as with the above, when I link them

I'm rarely on Goodreads these days so I can't see a difference.  You're review is the first one to show up for me on your books since I have you in my friends list. My guess is maybe the filter needs to be changed to see newest first on the news or book feed.

 

On 7/18/2021 at 6:50 PM, Mothersweets said:

 

Mystic River by Dennis Lehane - This one grabbed me right at the beginning and had me staying up much too late at night! Three boys are childhood friends until something terrible happens to one of them. One grows up to be a police detective, one is an ex-con, and one struggles to have a "normal" life. The ex-con's daughter is murdered and the detective is put on the case and the story really takes off from there. I know this was made into a movie a while back but I never saw it so the story(and the ending!) was all new to me. 

I've had this one on my wishlist for a long time. I should probably get it sooner than later. 

 

On 7/18/2021 at 7:43 PM, Laurel-in-CA said:

Hubby had to stay an extra day @ hospital due to very low blood pressure, so I started reading Westerly Gales to him--not a chapter in and he was released. He's home now, vegging out to TV and setting his phone timer to remember to walk around every hour. The steps are not the challenge I had feared they would be, but the foley bag and I have yet to have our evening close encounter, so we'll see.

Needless to say, reading hasn't gotten much time apart from a Robert Heinlein: Beyond This Horizon. Then I have Sharon Kay Penman The Land Beyond the Sea lined up. That and the new online book club I joined should keep me busy for a week or two as dh recovers.

Even when I don't comment or make it here in a given week, I go back and read all the threads, search my local library and recommend them if they're not in the overdrive collection. I so appreciate you for doing this, Robin!!

 

Very glad hubby was able to go home. Hugs to both of you! Good thought and prayers winging your way because I know my hubby reverts to being very very needy when he's ill.  

 

On 7/19/2021 at 4:32 PM, Kareni said:

This afternoon I finished The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard.  The book is just over 900 pages, so it was quite a time commitment! I'd seen this title on lists comparing it to (and for fans of) The Goblin Emperor; there are some commonalities. I quite enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more by the author.

That does indeed sound like a time commitment so glad you enjoyed the story. Sounds intriguing and I'll have to check it out at some point.

 

23 hours ago, melmichigan said:

I finished Raphael by Laurel K Hamilton.  I miss Anita Blake without all the metaphysical relationships, and the first 20% of the novella could have been summed up in a page, but I still follow this series 28 books in when my library has them.

I stopped reading after book 22. Can't remember if it's because I caught up with the series or got tired of it. I may have to revisit. 

23 hours ago, melmichigan said:

Tomorrow Last Guard is released by Nalini Singh, so that is next on my list.  Nalini Singh is one of my favorite authors and this is her psy-changeling series.  Reviews compared it to Heart of Obsidian. 🤞  

Yeah! Love this series and just downloaded to my ipad.  

 

Thank you for the thanks and appreciation comments.  It's that time of the year when I start thinking about whether I want to continue on with 52 books for another year and all the bookish love gets me over the hump.  I woke up with the thought in my head the other day, Simplicity is key.  Not sure exactly what that means for us, but there you go. Hugs and Love! 😀😘

 

 

 

 

 

[Junie]

I'm a little bit behind in The Count of Monte Cristo, but I am enjoying it.

Books I've finished:

James y el Melocoton Gigante (James and the Giant Peach)  -- classic Roald Dahl. :)

Dumbing Us Down -- John Taylor Gatto -- This one didn't really live up to my expectations, though I've been homeschooling for 17 years after teaching in (private) school, so none of this was new to me.

[melmichigan]

15 hours ago, Robin M said:

I stopped reading after book 22. Can't remember if it's because I caught up with the series or got tired of it. I may have to revisit. 

Book 23 I gave one star.  I skipped book 24 altogether.  Book 27 felt more like the early books, but readers complained because it had zero sex scenes. I'm not sure where the series is going right now to be honest, and I doubt I'd read them if the library wasn't still getting them.  I really preferred the early books.

Edited July 21, 2021 by melmichigan

[Granny_Weatherwax]

My 30 day Challenge of reading The Count of Monte Cristo has been productive. I have read 720 pages and finished through chapter 67. I should be caught up with Robin's schedule either today or tomorrow. I have 9 days left in my 30 day challenge so I just might keep reading it.

I must admit the middle portion has dragged at times but, now that I am in the final 1/3 I can see it all coming together. I have never read it before nor have I seen any of the movies so I am completely naive as to the conclusion. I hope the Count doesn't do anything foolish and put himself in peril.

*I spent pages wondering which M. de Villefort could have been killed as both Villefort and M. Noirtier are living. The dinner party explained a bit but I am eagerly anticipating the full disclosure.

[-M-]

Hello! It’s been a while. As always, thank you, Robin — not only for the thread but for setting me on Louise Penny. 
 

This week, among other things, I’m reading Book Three of Middlemarch (George Eliot) for book group and finishing up Home Fire (Kamila Shamsie). Here are the last few books I’ve finished:

118. Bury Your Dead (Louise Penny; 2010. Fiction.) 
119. The Hummingbirds’ Gift: Wonder, Beauty, and Renewal on Wings (Sy Montgomery; 2021. Non-fiction.) 
120. How to Think Like Shakespeare: Lessons from a Renaissance Education (Scott Newstock; 2020. Non-fiction.) 
121. Hamlet (William Shakespeare; 1601. Drama.) 
122. Trojan Women (Euripides (trans. E. P. Coleridge); 415 B.C. Drama.)
123. Antigone (Sophocles (trans. Don Taylor); 441 B.C. Drama.) 

[mumto2]

7 hours ago, melmichigan said:

Book 23 I gave one star.  I skipped book 24 altogether.  Book 27 felt more like the early books, but readers complained because it had zero sex scenes. I'm not sure where the series is going right now to be honest, and I doubt I'd read them if the library wasn't still getting them.  I really preferred the early books.

Maybe I should try that one!  I quit reading because it seemed like more pages were devoted to s*x scenes than storyline.  Not sure when I stopped but I loved the start of the series.

I hope you enjoy Frick Island @Robin M

[Kareni]

Welcome back, @-M-!

**

This evening I finished Edge of Nowhere by Felicia Davin. It was an enjoyable book, but the story felt incomplete and I don't feel like buying the sequel. (Adult content)

"Kit Jackson has two talents in life. He can navigate the void known as the Nowhere to teleport himself across long distances and he can keep his mouth shut. These talents have earned him a reputation as a discreet, reliable Nowhere runner—he’ll smuggle anything for the right price—and that’s how Kit likes it. Morals don’t earn money, and neither do friends. When the private research firm Quint Services makes Kit an astounding offer for a mystery delivery, he says yes.

The parcel turns out to be an unconscious man, and even for Kit, that raises questions. When something monstrous attacks them in the Nowhere and throws them into an unknown wilderness, Kit and this stranger, a man named Emil, have to rely on each other. Kit just wants to make his delivery and get paid, but he finds himself increasingly entangled in Quint Services’ dangerous research—and his own attraction to Emil.

Emil Singh left his career in the Orbit Guard to work at Quint Services Facility 17, a base hidden in an asteroid, to prepare a team to cross the Nowhere into other worlds. It’s the chance of a lifetime and he can’t wait to explore the universe. But then Emil witnesses a terrible accident in a Facility 17 lab and gets sent to Earth for questioning. Something isn’t right, but before Emil can investigate, he and the Nowhere runner hired to transport him are knocked off course. Is the monster that attacks them a creation of Quint Services? What else is the corporation hiding? He has to get back to Facility 17 to protect his team and he needs Kit’s help. Can he trust the cynical young smuggler?"

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

Link to week 30