tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18178354769969566702024-03-13T23:19:06.278-07:00Howling Frog BooksJeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.comBlogger2393125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817835476996956670.post-63912971256990896132024-03-03T01:00:00.000-08:002024-03-03T01:00:00.134-08:00CC Spin #36: Rob Roy<p> Success! I had a little trouble with this one, because I was trying to read it on my phone, and that was just not working very well. I was less than halfway through and March was looming, but a nice Penguin copy came across the donation table and I took it home. After that, it was easy to read 50 pages a day and zoom through...</p><p><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rob-Roy-Oxford-Worlds-Classics/dp/0199549885/ref=sr_1_3?crid=244AR5ZI6XY8A&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.oLl6Id_oeQwXwCdhgSZ-9Eg27oB6p_GsEXazxsM0QojD6QPeun4-csfkv94ErXXdendXhnTGD7ZZ5VlDwMTrtjm36C1sb1eAtFojgdPmQ_HZRt1ywvGSFZcBG4wVvrb3VCBfy2TV2IgL6GYszvF4fuHCE9DV3U4u4dK8jN1ZOtPM4N4P0G9cRRsd-BWOhmZme_x2nmUKbrQvkqWZwosA6KtD_s46Aqrm5vXwyH_2mto.DUHh1iqWpNr8GUHM-cwC24IeXEsCniOqQLVf5FT5Amc&dib_tag=se&keywords=rob+roy+penguin&qid=1709426546&sprefix=rob+roy+penguin%2Caps%2C141&sr=8-3" target="_blank"></a></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL7zgkgGW0ZJJsAKt28smfdoMtlk7hMwaz63xq4Vf7mJbCeR2VupyolUnAiHISmPUrkgV4QDtEXILSneDcn2dLt9vZtN-JWtA6I75NwjMg3bqdvYbVAU63oFurwCl4nXNtgfPpft6lFtJ6GPPpBxbzoh1ZIITCFusrx_vNPhZXMGUtwtEXerPo4cTHpdQ/s1200/61gePYozrzL._SL1200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="771" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL7zgkgGW0ZJJsAKt28smfdoMtlk7hMwaz63xq4Vf7mJbCeR2VupyolUnAiHISmPUrkgV4QDtEXILSneDcn2dLt9vZtN-JWtA6I75NwjMg3bqdvYbVAU63oFurwCl4nXNtgfPpft6lFtJ6GPPpBxbzoh1ZIITCFusrx_vNPhZXMGUtwtEXerPo4cTHpdQ/w258-h400/61gePYozrzL._SL1200_.jpg" width="258" /></a></b></div><b><br />Rob Roy, by Sir Walter Scott</b><p></p><p>When I read <i><a href="https://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2017/05/spin-title-heart-of-midlothian.html" target="_blank">The Heart of Mid-Lothian</a></i>, I was surprised that it wasn't about Jacobites adventuring all over the highlands, but that turns out to be Rob Roy. Honestly I preferred Jeanie Deans, but this was quite fun. I can see why stay-at-home English folks of the mid 1800s loved reading this!</p><p>It's 1715, and our narrator is Frank Osbaldistone, whose father is a London businessman. Young Frank prefers art and poetry to accounting (and doesn't quite see why he should work hard when his dad has plenty of money), and his exasperated dad sends him off to cousins in Northumberland, pointing out that he who does not work does not get to spend his dad's hard-earned money. In fact, it's Frank's job to hand his place in the family over to the best-qualified cousin -- but Dad shook the family dust off his feet long ago in a quarrel, and hasn't seen his brother, much less any of the sons, in many years. They are all stereotypical 18th-century squires, only interested in horses, dogs, and drink -- except the youngest, Rashleigh, who is extremely clever, but diabolically so. As Frank happily and cluelessly hangs out with his lovely and interesting distant cousin Diana, Rashleigh heads off to London.</p><p>It takes some time, but Frank eventually starts wondering why he's never heard from his father, and he starts hearing news from London that worries him. Rashleigh has been up to no good, and has managed to convince the English government that Frank is a Jacobite and highwayman who stole government funds, and also to disappear with valuable papers in his possession. Frank's father will be ruined and bankrupt, and Frank will be executed for treason, unless he goes off to Glasgow and finds help.</p><p>Much Jacobite adventuring ensues, as Frank heads into the highlands and enlists the help of Rob Roy, a real historical personage and a MacGregor. He's a fugitive from the law, because he's of course all for the Jacobite cause, and also he's been making his living by running a protection racket on most of his neighbors. But he's a good upright fellow for all that, and he's taken to Frank, who has no idea what he's gotten himself into. Their adventure culminates on the eve of the 1715 uprising.</p><p><br /></p><p>So that was fun! Frank is a nice young fellow, and realistically stubborn and clueless. Rob Roy steals the show, even to the point of grabbing the title for himself (it's a much better title than "Frank Osbaldistone and his Rotten Cousin"), though his wife is just as good a character. She is described by a servant: “The wife, man—the wife,—an awfu' wife she is. She downa bide the sight o' a kindly Scot, if he come frae the Lowlands, far less of an Inglisher, and she'll be keen for a' that can set up King James, and ding down King George.” When we meet her, she does not disappoint. (And come to think of it -- if you don't want to deal with <i>lots </i>of Scots dialect, forget this book.)</p><p>My e-copy, on my phone, had a lengthy introduction on the life of Rob Roy, and had a fabulous anecdote about a time when he went and stayed with a distant law-abiding cousin, who showed him great hospitality. To show his appreciation, Rob wanted to take the cousin's little boy (who liked reading) and bring him up to be a proper man instead of being ruined by all this book-learning nonsense. The cousin had a hard time wiggling out of that one, but suggested that since the boy was delicate after a long illness, perhaps Rob could come get him in a year or so.</p><p>I think this will pretty much do it for me and Sir Walter Scott, unless anybody has a recommendation for an unmissable novel. I've read three, and I'm satisfied. Heart of Mid-Lothian is the best one!</p>Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817835476996956670.post-78264259297864489442024-02-27T01:30:00.000-08:002024-02-27T01:30:00.141-08:00Agatha Christie SS24: February<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5IEUK3I4vo1bewqZ_b9HRAglCmG9tIOqx4aMTqhKOZwJLMbKrPYL-JveiFNQZ4vp8YgssHtuTAfJrjlx7EpXLLHj2NSgIyy-OIR_Ab1ABNL2N9XrVAr8Lvuh3MYUpZrpQECOkcHJa4HQ3bUX8vluZMmpXjrAhdb4sMg1RApjBNUMELF16kpzVOvsDMYU/s1000/917GI0GVRaL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="664" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5IEUK3I4vo1bewqZ_b9HRAglCmG9tIOqx4aMTqhKOZwJLMbKrPYL-JveiFNQZ4vp8YgssHtuTAfJrjlx7EpXLLHj2NSgIyy-OIR_Ab1ABNL2N9XrVAr8Lvuh3MYUpZrpQECOkcHJa4HQ3bUX8vluZMmpXjrAhdb4sMg1RApjBNUMELF16kpzVOvsDMYU/s320/917GI0GVRaL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br /> February's stories are "The Pearl of Price," a Parker Pyne story, and "The Affair at the Bunglalow, featuring Miss Marple.<p></p><p>"The Pearl of Price" is set on a group tour of Egypt, a nice little closed group of people who do not know each other well and who come from all over. The rich American's daughter has valuable screw-on pearl earrings, which she is forever losing. Pretty soon one of the pearls is lost, and though it ought to be easy to find...it isn't there. Who took the pearl and where did they hide it? Parker Pyne figures it out.</p><p>This is a fun short piece, and brings up the eternal question: how does anyone ever stand wearing screw-on earrings? I've tried them! They hurt!</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYtCn3ysrkTSass8XYFgqp9abBNVyU2qyQ9Pfvh39avz5_Y5siOKv6iuf1jOz01o5LV9ekbYJCr_FUrKTfxmWvdvdioLhFwmewsuCjYv5x1y4lfSPEFHXghR_qM_EAHw_jeQnNJjUgrzrL5Ugt3VY5PnhXzSrLX0abEus8vIe30ITTPDllV3OutbGCfEE/s1000/91kXMN1gvHL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="609" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYtCn3ysrkTSass8XYFgqp9abBNVyU2qyQ9Pfvh39avz5_Y5siOKv6iuf1jOz01o5LV9ekbYJCr_FUrKTfxmWvdvdioLhFwmewsuCjYv5x1y4lfSPEFHXghR_qM_EAHw_jeQnNJjUgrzrL5Ugt3VY5PnhXzSrLX0abEus8vIe30ITTPDllV3OutbGCfEE/s320/91kXMN1gvHL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="195" /></a></div>In "The Affair at the Bungalow," we have a dinner party that includes some retired military and police men, a lovely and famous actress, and a clever modern writer along with his elderly aunt. As they trade stories of crime and try to fool each other, the actress, Jane Helier, tells a true story that happened 'to a friend' -- an ambitious young playwright was invited to her bungalow for conversation, and then drugged, only to be arrested for stealing jewels from the bungalow. The actress had been away on holiday, and her name used to decoy the playwright. Who stole the jewels? Miss Marple figures out the clever twist.<p></p><p>Another fun story, and I always enjoy when Raymond West comes along with his modern novels about people who drink too much and do unpleasant things to each other.</p><p><br /></p><p>And now it's already almost March, so I'll have two more soon!<br /></p>Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817835476996956670.post-46361525514760540452024-02-24T13:14:00.000-08:002024-02-24T13:14:43.741-08:00Ozathon 3: Ozma of Oz<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ98lpCqXY29gHiNtCQayw-EIacyrkMj10Equ4LDqdJNruyxHWqmx0LbcvOM_oTWmDn0mu6Bs-o6aDS1D8WaWOfsUV3mjMqgSZxs-K6ur-t78V9ODMtqzeio23W_ctJFMvislbrk1_Us5pswi8ZETSFhyQ5jPZnK14oChe8QkhgWeCFmEw318TtL_nryw/s1500/71-Hr3s6a0S._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ98lpCqXY29gHiNtCQayw-EIacyrkMj10Equ4LDqdJNruyxHWqmx0LbcvOM_oTWmDn0mu6Bs-o6aDS1D8WaWOfsUV3mjMqgSZxs-K6ur-t78V9ODMtqzeio23W_ctJFMvislbrk1_Us5pswi8ZETSFhyQ5jPZnK14oChe8QkhgWeCFmEw318TtL_nryw/s320/71-Hr3s6a0S._SL1500_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div> Well, I've spent most of this month doing things besides reading. I guess you could call it a reading slump. But I did read Ozma of Oz, which was a familiar book of my childhood!<p></p><p>In this installment, we go back to Dorothy, who is accompanying her Uncle Henry on a voyage to Australia for his health -- an amusingly transparent method of getting Dorothy on a ship, since there is no way a Kansas farm family would send anybody to Australia when they could just go to Florida or someplace. Nevertheless, to Australia they go, and Dorothy is swept overboard in a storm. Luckily she manages to cling to a chicken coop, and pretty soon she and the chicken come to shore. The hen starts talking, so we know that we're somewhere near Oz!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjreQw6CpnqwV_iR3AHTDwn-B9jKAsq64682ZAEbn5-GcOjE3qLF6u3s0CnqcxUdkSk-2uh8q47fBspfMU-vDML_qQY162FbhzAlrL1Bt9kKOApmd-Ih4GMzr64PAzoPbBVLmpxrdVmBG3vpXnI0c0DHo86J0tfdMkPjLBF7oFnM3c-3Aya7Pqom3HHLQ/s640/ozma-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjreQw6CpnqwV_iR3AHTDwn-B9jKAsq64682ZAEbn5-GcOjE3qLF6u3s0CnqcxUdkSk-2uh8q47fBspfMU-vDML_qQY162FbhzAlrL1Bt9kKOApmd-Ih4GMzr64PAzoPbBVLmpxrdVmBG3vpXnI0c0DHo86J0tfdMkPjLBF7oFnM3c-3Aya7Pqom3HHLQ/s320/ozma-4.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Dorothy and Billina discover that they're in Ev, a land next to the desert that surrounds Oz, and they find the mechanical man Tik-Tok and wind him up, so he joins the team. The queen and all her children have been captured by the Nome King, and a niece is in charge -- but all she is interested in is her own beauty. She's got over a hundred heads, each more beautiful than the last, and changing them is her chief employment. Luckily, Ozma and a retinue arrive on a magic carpet to pay a visit to Ev, and they all decide to visit the Nome King and solve the problem.<p></p><p>So the team heads off to the underground land of the Nome King, each contributing to solve problems they meet along the way. Everyone has something they can do -- even Billina, for the Nomes are terrified of eggs and she overhears the solution to the central problem of rescuing the royal family of Ev. </p><p> </p><p>Although fairy-tale lands must have royalty, Baum enjoys poking fun at the concept too. Ozma's royal dignity prevents her from 'pleading' with anyone, but Dorothy comments, "I'm not afraid to plead with him. I'm only a little girl from Kansas, and we've got more dignity at home than we know what to do with." <br /></p><p></p><p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtpdJv0F5ut4QNomB5JTxaTztU6aQrq5HNWp78gKf8Pl9jui9OY4Cs5BEnOo543Q5IBVmwKbCZPlH-HgmcRa7HFDxi5IxVWFrwxQiudloITHuNbeSb5Fi_2A4cjUrSbH-3rwsy6_q48iEgfksryD3fEBnKYRCuGzRrDG3Tl0YApxx9I92b8TjgBrGD5rA/s500/i116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="317" data-original-width="500" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtpdJv0F5ut4QNomB5JTxaTztU6aQrq5HNWp78gKf8Pl9jui9OY4Cs5BEnOo543Q5IBVmwKbCZPlH-HgmcRa7HFDxi5IxVWFrwxQiudloITHuNbeSb5Fi_2A4cjUrSbH-3rwsy6_q48iEgfksryD3fEBnKYRCuGzRrDG3Tl0YApxx9I92b8TjgBrGD5rA/w400-h254/i116.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ozma and Dorothy leave Princess Langwidere (with the heads)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p> This was a very fun revisit to the Land of Oz, featuring all your favorite old friends and new ones, such as Billina and the Hungry Tiger. As usual, we have the power of cooperation within a team of people who are all different and can thus all contribute.<br /></p>Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817835476996956670.post-29049123368322068882024-01-25T00:30:00.000-08:002024-01-25T00:30:00.144-08:00This Book is Full of Spiders<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBb4_ab_y-pnqAf8txOWRhM6bEO05fRW6YDzdz092sOzSq2N5JwIwqjSHhnPNsuhnIfUnDzEzgGDXDwi7L4fnnDLgBYuvD7LLxkJMTtj_FhMaBzliBj5mr4qnyIuSC-8f80nUXULfE4Qbz-p9RWvuoAMRVR1vMl473qastOxjNH3jmgNDX4Yqdj1qzrQs/s1500/91t72DwSV3S._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="978" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBb4_ab_y-pnqAf8txOWRhM6bEO05fRW6YDzdz092sOzSq2N5JwIwqjSHhnPNsuhnIfUnDzEzgGDXDwi7L4fnnDLgBYuvD7LLxkJMTtj_FhMaBzliBj5mr4qnyIuSC-8f80nUXULfE4Qbz-p9RWvuoAMRVR1vMl473qastOxjNH3jmgNDX4Yqdj1qzrQs/w261-h400/91t72DwSV3S._SL1500_.jpg" width="261" /></a></div><p></p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/This-Book-Full-Spiders-Seriously/dp/1250830524/ref=sr_1_1?crid=CZXI6TZE26QB&keywords=full+of+spiders&qid=1706027511&sprefix=full+of+spiders%2Caps%2C156&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><b>This Book is Full of Spiders (Seriously Dude, Don't Touch It), </b>by David Wong/Jason Pargin<br /></a></p><p> I found the title irresistible, though I'm not sure this is really quite my style of novel. It's #2 in <a href="https://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2023/09/august-reading-part-ii-20-books-of.html" target="_blank">John Dies at the End</a> -- there are 4 in total -- and I've liked them fine, but I'm not sure I like them enough to read more. (Which is pretty common for me these days; there have been lots of series where I read and liked the first one, but never felt the need to keep going.)</p><p>Story: David and John, who live in Weirdsville USA, can see critters from other dimensions because they took the 'soy sauce' drug. A horrifying spider-esque parasite invades David's house, tries to eat him, and then breeds, turning quite a few of the town's residents into hosts -- and the whole place into a zombie apocalypse scenario. Amid military lockdown, panic, flailing, and way too many guns in the hands of guys who have no idea how to use them well, it's up to David, Amy, and John to save the world from invisible spiders that take over your brain.<br /></p><p> Interesting, scary, saturated with 14-year-old boy humor.<br /></p>Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817835476996956670.post-50136250154761871232024-01-23T08:30:00.000-08:002024-01-23T08:30:52.771-08:00The CC Spin Number is....<a href="https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/mi/16/" target="_blank">And the lucky Spin number is...</a><br /><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCg5dHQrzU5Dj2hnjlwV35EXkqtR85juI2sSnadZH0t6dqIPhvxcQNZ8NaEbHv3Rf0uqMJcGJ2EJA7ACvyxxOR6NvCFaq2Oqn0WLYPhbnP2txrKU2yJ9Izzb59ymeimIILyj13GVmnuJwfL8ABJV9aqjNJGfIaI9D9bQjaEkeQwlBgDFRSIuCflugi7aw/s1200/pharma-list-20.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="655" data-original-width="1200" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCg5dHQrzU5Dj2hnjlwV35EXkqtR85juI2sSnadZH0t6dqIPhvxcQNZ8NaEbHv3Rf0uqMJcGJ2EJA7ACvyxxOR6NvCFaq2Oqn0WLYPhbnP2txrKU2yJ9Izzb59ymeimIILyj13GVmnuJwfL8ABJV9aqjNJGfIaI9D9bQjaEkeQwlBgDFRSIuCflugi7aw/w400-h219/pharma-list-20.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>20! <br /></p><p>So I'll be reading<i> Rob Roy</i>, by Sir Walter Scott. I've never planned to read all, or even most, of Scott, but I've kind of had this one in the back of my head for many years, despite knowing nothing whatsoever about it. I gather that the protagonist is a young man who appeals to the (in)famous Rob Roy for help, and it all takes place in about 1715, just before the second Jacobite rebellion. Rob Roy was a real person, and was also the kind of person who attracts legends, so that he ended up a sort of Highlander Robin Hood figure. We'll see! <br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaEdd3Ldz9qysB4CxpciHYEW8NKhFyxax2qpn8BiCVcuzgQuYU1P1UL4pJQc4Y2NaWkw5VT-fubCZRJELsaI8e6WhDgLDkVeZ87HNqbYZr3lgvdGt077xRWJZ903pXIrn1PJZyAmBikH41LQS1uIGNgEHoGmXTmO7Ac0BVyeujBAqudUOof4lDtuvahkA/s500/9780140435542-us.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="321" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaEdd3Ldz9qysB4CxpciHYEW8NKhFyxax2qpn8BiCVcuzgQuYU1P1UL4pJQc4Y2NaWkw5VT-fubCZRJELsaI8e6WhDgLDkVeZ87HNqbYZr3lgvdGt077xRWJZ903pXIrn1PJZyAmBikH41LQS1uIGNgEHoGmXTmO7Ac0BVyeujBAqudUOof4lDtuvahkA/w256-h400/9780140435542-us.jpg" width="256" /></a></div> <p></p><p> </p>Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817835476996956670.post-36215810700091725972024-01-19T01:00:00.000-08:002024-01-19T01:00:00.134-08:00Revelations of Divine Love<p><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Revelations-Divine-Oxford-Worlds-Classics-ebook/dp/B00VH3T4OC/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1VWXQJ1Q01SW&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.-R0zhBwFScMEQ_G0E5gZqU1bfUCnHJQITP5Hg3kj6XeghXPE4TtxcVewM2low6Xy3yygnV7wxUDM0PejkcNi2KryiRPpt7pESQp0Cy7zcV1wA1QHzzGO06-JxvBcxEQoHCXFWqSvA7ml_WzmehLL0hZh2STsgiBYOwAMBztslCOebP1jqwgNi-9uxSdSRksC1g-6dv3Vi5FhivmCmoqou2iMsVhXv6Ud5lqdsf98rPCS_EmWUuQo0bCCEgLA2WOAq1QL7I85jfncxtS5Go3dfBKFGsDhM6wZMimiFoB9Qp8.C-78aLCmeWDOiXoF-Ajk8CpTojA31GNhMWyAh4re-y8&dib_tag=se&keywords=julian+of+norwich&qid=1705619692&sprefix=julian%2Caps%2C222&sr=8-5" target="_blank"></a></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQT-zlbGv7n7fVUJWn-3FH60Jw8gHjZEfH_IxRankEMWch7CEkBaSn6CH3KbzdiWbTDdMc5COs7Y9v8xFiGWlDd9YO2VwXLcA-AryWBnVXKh-EsU0LQWdBBut2ks-3Yul2mqw3HslP_WNgCwNgW4bPSTxjzvrZGAFtBzbDxHRyqyk9HngP68ZNXclelSU/s1500/91LcnnetKZL._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="987" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQT-zlbGv7n7fVUJWn-3FH60Jw8gHjZEfH_IxRankEMWch7CEkBaSn6CH3KbzdiWbTDdMc5COs7Y9v8xFiGWlDd9YO2VwXLcA-AryWBnVXKh-EsU0LQWdBBut2ks-3Yul2mqw3HslP_WNgCwNgW4bPSTxjzvrZGAFtBzbDxHRyqyk9HngP68ZNXclelSU/w264-h400/91LcnnetKZL._SL1500_.jpg" width="264" /></a></b></div><b><br /> Revelations of Divine Love, by Julian of Norwich</b><p></p><p>In 1373, a 30-year-old nun was dying of an illness. Instead of dying, she had a series of visions and got well. Over the next 15 years or so, she composed two narratives of the visions she had seen -- a short version, and a long version containing everything she felt like she'd learned about her revelations since. Julian of Norwich was an anchoress attached to -- surprise -- Norwich cathedral and she became quite well known. Margery Kempe visited her, which means two of the earliest women writers we have in English knew each other. </p><p>These visions were about the Crucifixion and about God's infinite love for His creations. Here are a few of my favorite bits, some of which are very well-known:</p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"> <span style="color: #274e13;">'It is true that sin is the cause of all suffering, but all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.'</span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #274e13;">'Since I have set right what was the greatest harm, it is my will that you should know by this that I shall set right all that is less harmful.'</span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #274e13;">'Pray with all your heart, even if it seems to give you no pleasure, because it is helpful, even though you may not feel it. Pray with all your heart, even though you may feel nothing, thought you may see nothing -- yes, even though you may think you cannot. For in dryness and in barrenness, in sickness and in weakness, then your prayers are most pleasing to me, even though it seems to you that they give you almost no pleasure.And so it is in my sight with all your faithful prayers.'</span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #274e13;">And these words, 'You shall not be overcome,' were said very distinctly and very powerfully for assurance and comfort against all the tribulations that may come. He did not say, 'You shall not be perturbed, you shall not be troubled, you shall not be distressed,' but he said, 'You shall not be overcome.' God wants us to pay attention to these words and always to be trusting strongly and surely in good times and bad, for he loves us and is pleased with us, and so he wishes us to love him, and be pleased with him, and strongly trust in him, and all shall be well.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;">Glad I finally got around to this one; I should have done it years ago.<br /></p>Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817835476996956670.post-74184627934294674372024-01-17T01:00:00.000-08:002024-01-17T01:00:00.149-08:00Treacle Walker<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Treacle-Walker/dp/0008477809/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2NDJVZ8U1TRES&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.DZEdDjo_vlhitq0yLvHPiz-LwkAls8zvXddNgh5PSuq7RDm56dmwCWM7mE7yMvKsqBb0vG_drnlCmCBr4SD6TIujn8ybYfcDeErK7H2Y0QP7OrNWlJ18QmIjuygEt112YrRr2NXdUE7Vu_uypLqkeIePB-CGbwpCQRXcgTRZhGfIfZjj0pJv69C0PutIq716fIBf_9Df1hoeMgGyvptMXt79XlY-B_QpkbAK1i3Z9P8.9wNISvnTOT9zrMCLYfjpcZv6Jn_7rdaVK10iENY936Q&dib_tag=se&keywords=treacle+walker&qid=1705362955&sprefix=treacle+walker%2Caps%2C167&sr=8-1" target="_blank"></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcclAJ7Mrsp8v1l6qS5vT-8NS-flZoFqEg5X1V8n0PEoBNBJu446TBssXsUwp7-hX1r-iFjzQF_FfIYdTSSPzs61lyGffet-E-D8fh5gmILVJmUYeliURx-koOOcNuwwhBLQRfDsUcz4GUaDwX3PECMnGLxkap5IoAw_Tsx_gtGlEm2MFYNellGEwTjns/s1500/71VFV2QqcTL._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="978" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcclAJ7Mrsp8v1l6qS5vT-8NS-flZoFqEg5X1V8n0PEoBNBJu446TBssXsUwp7-hX1r-iFjzQF_FfIYdTSSPzs61lyGffet-E-D8fh5gmILVJmUYeliURx-koOOcNuwwhBLQRfDsUcz4GUaDwX3PECMnGLxkap5IoAw_Tsx_gtGlEm2MFYNellGEwTjns/w261-h400/71VFV2QqcTL._SL1500_.jpg" width="261" /></a></div> Treacle Walker, by Alan Garner<p></p><p>This very short novel was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2022, which I find an unusual choice. I like Garner; it's neat that he was up for the Booker; but did anybody understand this one? OK, here we go:</p><p>Young Joe Coppock lives alone in an old house with a massive chimney, and he's supposed to wear a patch to strengthen his lazy eye. When the rag-and-bone man comes by, Joe trades his old pajamas and a lamb bone he found for an old china pot and a donkey stone* marked with (from the description) the Uffington Horse. Joe is stunned to find that these things give him the glamorie -- suddenly he can see things in other layers of reality, though only with one eye. He and Treacle Walker, the rag-and-bone man, develop a strange friendship.</p><p>I'm not at all sure that Joe is actually alive. He lives alone, reading his favorite comics (such as Stonehenge Kit, the Ancient Brit, Garner's own favorite from childhood) and playing with his marbles. I'm not sure he eats. This is a really strange story, though about what you'd expect if you know Garner's style. When I read his last novel, <i><a href="https://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2019/12/four-british-fantastists-boneland-and.html" target="_blank">Boneland, </a></i><a href="https://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2019/12/four-british-fantastists-boneland-and.html" target="_blank">and </a><i><a href="https://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2019/12/four-british-fantastists-boneland-and.html" target="_blank">Four British Fantasists</a></i> at the same time, I commented:<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #274e13;">Butler comments on Garner's movement toward prose that becomes starker
and more reliant on dialogue -- so that it's not very easy to read --
and on his preoccupation with the area of Cheshire where his family has
lived for generations. Butler says that Garner wants to make his
readers work a bit to enter the particular world of this one landscape;
he doesn't just want to give it away to any-old-body. That is certainly
true; he is opaque to the point of frustration. Butler contrasts this
with DWJ's attitude -- which I find far more sympathetic -- that it
isn't fair to write for children and assume that they can visit a
particular place. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;">Garner is still opaque, though this time he doesn't seem so obsessed with Cheshire. At least, I don't know where this story is supposed to take place; it seems more like an unspecific fantasy place. Still mostly dialogue, still extremely obscure. Indeed this story seems to be written for an audience of one -- Garner himself -- and not a lot of others. Still, it's quite interesting, and you can see an artist at work, even if you don't know quite what you're looking at. The brevity makes it a fascinating visit into a strange land, not lengthy enough to lose patience with the exercise.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisZiHr2Uu9OFURiqWieqo3qQCSbN765srj4S-at4JgQSg8Ueu6PFy2epfIpULdZSH3T2TBNReQgxGlxu5NRZfCgV5pwhsgENF8vRjfIegSuRyCHbeyuclYbULOirW9IEHhe3_9Clg4NNTPh7juvZBCbE3zVPvB-eE5fkVMIY55dSu11qxKIdcvF9huzxU/s2040/post%20divider%20%231.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="145" data-original-width="2040" height="46" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisZiHr2Uu9OFURiqWieqo3qQCSbN765srj4S-at4JgQSg8Ueu6PFy2epfIpULdZSH3T2TBNReQgxGlxu5NRZfCgV5pwhsgENF8vRjfIegSuRyCHbeyuclYbULOirW9IEHhe3_9Clg4NNTPh7juvZBCbE3zVPvB-eE5fkVMIY55dSu11qxKIdcvF9huzxU/w640-h46/post%20divider%20%231.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">*I had to look up donkey stone; it was a manufactured product that was first used to make factory steps non-skid, and then to put a finish on doorsteps. You've probably seen accounts of British housewives scrubbing and whitening their doorsteps; donkey stones were what they used. The first brand stamped a donkey on it.<br />
</p>Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817835476996956670.post-18228467587708670542024-01-16T09:12:00.000-08:002024-01-16T09:12:48.128-08:00Classics Club Spin #36!<p><a href="https://theclassicsclubblog.wordpress.com/2024/01/15/cc-spin-36/" target="_blank"> Hooray, it's the 36th Classics Club Spin! </a> You know the drill, so here's my list:</p><ol><li>No Name, by Wilkie Collins</li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Second-Class Citizen, by Buchi Emecheta</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sybil, by Disraeli<br /></span></li><li>The Leopard, by di Lampedusa</li><li> Phineas Finn, by Anthony Trollope</li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Black Arrow, by R. L. Stevenson</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ring of Bright Water, by Gavin Maxwell<br /></span></li><li>The Tale of Sinhue (ancient Egyptian poetry)<br /></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>Eichmann in Jerusalem, by Hannah Arendt</li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="a-size-small a-color-secondary"> </span></span>The Obedience of a Christian Man, by William Tyndale</li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">It Can't Happen Here, by Sinclair Lewis</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Conjure Tales, by Charles Chesnutt</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Well at the End of the World, by William Morris</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is Acceptable (Det Gaar An), C. J. L. Almqvist </span></li><li>Two Years Before the Mast, by Richard Henry Dana</li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Amerika, by Kafka</span></li><li>Peter the Great's African, by Pushkin</li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;"> The Beggar's Opera, by John Gay<br /></span></li><li>The Duchess of Malfi, by John Webster</li><li>Rob Roy, by Sir Walter Scott</li></ol><p> Scary list! I wonder which one it will be??</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnguR04tfpfGNPaY5h44K4f9xa8NLgThlD-BVKEcclOc3RO9x0xhvoYXaQh-yv06Q6fWEe48IpwZDvvAZd8ZzHoG2vDecHSToTlFb7agf6J0JeMlvnmhYs4RyRJ2MtR1L034-LMzyeD89o9lcyVCEjPhRRGbmOSM-e45ta1henJJtplyQc7r7UFcnDNEs/s512/numbers-120.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnguR04tfpfGNPaY5h44K4f9xa8NLgThlD-BVKEcclOc3RO9x0xhvoYXaQh-yv06Q6fWEe48IpwZDvvAZd8ZzHoG2vDecHSToTlFb7agf6J0JeMlvnmhYs4RyRJ2MtR1L034-LMzyeD89o9lcyVCEjPhRRGbmOSM-e45ta1henJJtplyQc7r7UFcnDNEs/s320/numbers-120.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p>Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817835476996956670.post-58686278710529113222024-01-15T00:30:00.000-08:002024-01-15T00:30:00.132-08:00The Light Ages<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht-wig4Z9RDpYoJHmGYt8kzKMH8jYawmqRk1nqohn4OstPCu1070CfiTllxttJsyM1Gf0zekI0a-ClT12-vMuL0CzhjbTTBGgdFFNl7GabNaB_vJNEWY74exSixmtXYvxh_3awcl-1WryBMFyD0G9MkvNslJiBnOs0HYeKWirktbvaIch5oQTOIxM-Xq0/s1200/81dMV6DptWL._SL1200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="787" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht-wig4Z9RDpYoJHmGYt8kzKMH8jYawmqRk1nqohn4OstPCu1070CfiTllxttJsyM1Gf0zekI0a-ClT12-vMuL0CzhjbTTBGgdFFNl7GabNaB_vJNEWY74exSixmtXYvxh_3awcl-1WryBMFyD0G9MkvNslJiBnOs0HYeKWirktbvaIch5oQTOIxM-Xq0/w263-h400/81dMV6DptWL._SL1200_.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Light-Ages-Surprising-Medieval-Science/dp/132400293X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=12AA33WJIL84O&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.prOy37V_JHufZrSDMRO4xAdWyVNN2i79kWH4DoZybuRceT2VBPb5T9uv3Nv_Bf-UEet1703qQWQY0uxjaB_t5g.RNV98UDj2fd6oxU6NmpDCWsoMuWo7e88FPVc18ahxGw&dib_tag=se&keywords=light+ages&qid=1704916510&sprefix=light+ages%2Caps%2C191&sr=8-1" target="_blank"> The Light Ages: The Surprising Story of Medieval Science, by Seb Falk<br /></a><p></p><p>You know I always love a good book about how the Middle Ages were way cooler than you thought. This one came out at almost the exact same time as another book called <i>The Bright Ages</i>, so there was definitely something in the air that year. This book, however, is specifically about certain aspects of scientific progress during the Middle Ages, especially astronomy, and it constructs its narrative around a monastery in St. Albans, which is just north of London.</p><p>We start with a <i>very </i>grabby story, about how in the 1950s a scholar found an old hand-written astronomical treatise at Cambridge and thought, for fairly good reasons, that it might possibly be a holograph by Chaucer. The manuscript described an instrument that was not an astrolabe...what even was it? </p><p>And from there we set off to St. Albans and a tour of medieval calendar math, clocks, universities, astronomical prediction (with a side trip into arguments over astrology), and the ever-more-elaborate tools that could be used to do all that math. They had astrolabes, yes -- and a thing called an Albion, an absolutely genius marketing brand name that told you this instrument was an 'all-by-one' that did way more than an astrolabe <i>and </i>reminded you it came from England. And then there was the instrument that was never made, only described, but it would have been amazing.<br /></p><p>The whole thing was fascinating, though I'm not really capable of fully understanding all the math. The amount of calendrical and astronomical math understood by your basic fairly educated monk was stunning. Your basic experienced ship captain didn't need an astrolabe often, because he understood a whole lot of tidal math without it. It was all very interesting and fun stuff to learn.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #274e13;">Why, then, do we persist in belittling the Middle Ages? In part it is certainly to exalt ourselves....</span><br /></p>Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817835476996956670.post-9285888355435475952024-01-12T00:30:00.000-08:002024-01-12T00:30:00.145-08:00Radical Love<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Go-Love-Yourself-Radical-Acceptance/dp/0785236759/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1704844440&sr=8-1" target="_blank"></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdBMxwryAnxxiGHVOAC0sPRXM-likmEM_Md0_TPsmo0vIDGuZMo88JuNncEY6vNikT_E0Os9JfmGGTCgoNPdOWUJLmUGJ2XaA3bHBHRteqYpW-Jo8StWXqgbZrBPfN1kJuG98ghXDeLEyfjiPnOgnWecSM4o_6dbra15CpvdbFGXArsrfzysEqRKyaJbQ/s1500/81ENAMww4PL._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdBMxwryAnxxiGHVOAC0sPRXM-likmEM_Md0_TPsmo0vIDGuZMo88JuNncEY6vNikT_E0Os9JfmGGTCgoNPdOWUJLmUGJ2XaA3bHBHRteqYpW-Jo8StWXqgbZrBPfN1kJuG98ghXDeLEyfjiPnOgnWecSM4o_6dbra15CpvdbFGXArsrfzysEqRKyaJbQ/s320/81ENAMww4PL._SL1500_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div> Radical Love: Learning to Accept Yourself and Others, by Zachary Levi<p></p><p>I like Zachary Levi, so when this (rather surprising) book came out, it caught my eye. Levi writes about his long struggles with mental health and relationships, and it's a sweet and deeply felt story that I found valuable.</p><p>The short version is that Levi comes from generations of family abuse and re-enactment -- lots of people who had no idea how to love others or themselves. They would escape their family homes, only to build new ones that were just the same. Kid Zachary found escape in making people laugh, and threw himself into a Hollywood career, but by the age of 37, after a short disaster of a marriage, he was falling apart and had no idea how to cope. Never having been loved as a child, he didn't know how to accept himself as a regular imperfect person.<br /></p><p>A lot of intensive therapy later, Levi learned to build basic skills like not beating himself up at every moment. He was also greatly helped by friends and by his faith. So he was doing really well for a few years, starred in <i>Shazam!</i> and everything, and then Covid hit and he fell apart again. In this round, he learned to also accept medication as a help to keep him on track.</p><p>Through all of this, Levi figures out that he has a lot to say about forgiveness and letting go. That the horrible abuse that was visited on him -- or lots of other things we go through -- was not because he was at fault, but because the people who did it to him were so trapped in their own pain and patterns (what he calls 'bad programming') that they didn't know how to do anything else. In order to heal himself, he had to accept that his parents were unable to do better, and love them anyway. That didn't mean getting close and vulnerable so they could continue to hurt him, or giving them excuses.</p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #274e13;">Both can be true at the same time: it may not be your fault, but it's still your responsibility....if you have pain and bad programming and feelings of worthlessness inside you, that is not your fault. But when your pain has caused you to transgress and hurt other people, accepting and dealing with the consequences of your choices is still your responsibility. And that struggle, the difficulty of reconciling those two ideas, is to this day at the root of all of the issues I have with my father...</span></p><p> I thought he had a lot of good stuff to say, and his book is worth reading. I'm not really one to read celebrity memoirs (OK, I guess I said that about J. Michael Straczynski a little bit ago!) but this one is worth it.<br /></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>.<br /></p>Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817835476996956670.post-36175743141425195932024-01-10T00:30:00.000-08:002024-01-10T00:30:00.140-08:00Co-Wives, Co-Widows<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSDHNvbnCHA7aboIHzMlHtdgFGlQD2CINI0HUTDp6elNHTU-feISOaPIxOLw_-H18Pzw29_g1qhReUGV4uNiV-vc70HeluXlaPkqVikIGE8AHddsKwt1UShf3PSetb50varIfNM9Rsii5vIDxcO5vJdhMdO55_9YI9Fz9FX5Dg2XeAerUFL8AlgyASQ_I/s1000/51vVHE2Q42L._SL1000_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="633" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSDHNvbnCHA7aboIHzMlHtdgFGlQD2CINI0HUTDp6elNHTU-feISOaPIxOLw_-H18Pzw29_g1qhReUGV4uNiV-vc70HeluXlaPkqVikIGE8AHddsKwt1UShf3PSetb50varIfNM9Rsii5vIDxcO5vJdhMdO55_9YI9Fz9FX5Dg2XeAerUFL8AlgyASQ_I/s320/51vVHE2Q42L._SL1000_.jpg" width="203" /></a></div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Co-wives-Co-widows-Dedalus-Adrienne-Yabouza/dp/1912868776/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3QOGT3RJHAKT6&keywords=co-wives%2C+co-widows+by+adrienne+yabouza&qid=1704841733&sprefix=co-wives%2Caps%2C184&sr=8-1" target="_blank"> Co-Wives, Co-Widows, by Adrienne Yabouza<br /></a><p></p><p>This short novel, originally written in French with some Sango, is the first from the Central African Republic to be translated into English. It's set in Bangui, the capital and largest city of the CAR.</p><p>Lidou is doing pretty well for himself. At 49, his building business is going well, he's got two lovely wives and several children, he is respected -- life is good. He's a little worried about his vitality, though, so he gets some stuff from his cousin Zouaboua.</p><p>A few days later, Lidou is dead. His wives, Ndongo Passy and Grekpoubou, are stricken, but there's no time to mourn; Zouaboua has accused them of witchcraft and murder. The neighborhood is with them, but bribes are all Zouaboua needs to get the law on his side. In their mutual trouble, Ndongo Passy and Grekpoubou draw closer together and find that their sisterhood is their best help. As they support each other and refuse to betray each other, they find their strength.</p><p>This is a very short novel, highly readable -- a good choice for anyone looking to dip a toe into African literature. I found it difficult going, just because as the story unfolded, I was anticipating disaster, and I didn't want to get there. I won't give you any spoilers, but, (as the back blurb has it) it's "full of dry wit and local colour, set against a backdrop of political instability." <br /></p>Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817835476996956670.post-4924601140223949942024-01-08T01:00:00.000-08:002024-01-08T01:00:00.131-08:00Ozathon #2: The Marvelous Land of Oz<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Land-Oz-Frank-Baum-ebook/dp/B079WD9ZS7/ref=sr_1_4?crid=26LKW7RRJ49GK&keywords=land+of+oz&qid=1704395535&sprefix=land+of+oz%2Caps%2C184&sr=8-4" target="_blank"><b></b></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgslXggWNklaxUi3wiP8nqG_Mb3IP6uJZ1N9YKz47hcxPbzah2eirYweldgoZCDBoqp87GwI440-ux7oNpwCYCjPyZjCt9s4wGjYcpQCWCo1p0AEghUWiEr4Z_eDvR2l7cFYILF8tD0pjvzn85BHtyZbuzZ5LvWEDRyYzVv4XViVCzeIEmU0JYbGe5XIwQ/s1000/517GEKUh3aL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="718" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgslXggWNklaxUi3wiP8nqG_Mb3IP6uJZ1N9YKz47hcxPbzah2eirYweldgoZCDBoqp87GwI440-ux7oNpwCYCjPyZjCt9s4wGjYcpQCWCo1p0AEghUWiEr4Z_eDvR2l7cFYILF8tD0pjvzn85BHtyZbuzZ5LvWEDRyYzVv4XViVCzeIEmU0JYbGe5XIwQ/w288-h400/517GEKUh3aL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="288" /></a></b></div><b> <i>The Marvelous Land of Oz,</i> by L. Frank Baum, illustrated by John R. Neill</b><p></p><p>Dorothy has gone home, but the land of Oz continues! Baum was inundated with letters begging for more, so he wrote a sequel, in which he introduces a whole slew of new characters. I remember this story very well; I must have read it many times as a kid. It was fun to get an adult perspective on the story.</p><p>We start off with old Mombi, a would-be wicked witch whose ambition is held down by the local Good Witch. (Mombi lives in the land of the Gillikins, which is all purple.) She has a boy, Tip, who she uses as a slave, and when she's gone on a trip, he makes a jack o'lantern, gives him a body of sticks, and sets his pumpkin man up to scare Mombi on her way back. She turns the tables on him by using her new Powder of Life to bring Jack to life, and then imprisons them both. Tip and Jack escape and figure they might as well head to the city of Oz, and on the way Tip brings a wooden sawhorse to life. The Saw-Horse is grumpy but fast, and they reach Oz in no time. On the way, though, Tip meets General Jinjur, who is about to invade the city and take it over in the name of vanity and idleness....</p><p>There are lots of adventures with the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Highly Magnified Woggle-Bug, and the Gump -- a creature they build in order to escape Jinjur. Together they improvise, co-operate, and call upon friends to help them find safety and save the city of Oz -- though not in order to put the Scarecrow back on the throne. <br /></p><p>Baum pokes a little gentle fun at most of the characters; all of them are wont to think that their own specialties are the most important things in life. The Tin Man and the Scarecrow love to vaunt their heart and brains, while the Woggle-Bug irritates everyone with his education and puns. Jack Pumpkinhead is always anxious that whatever is happening will be bad for pumpkins. And Tip is just a nice little boy (or is he?), bubbling over with ideas. This is a story MacGyver would enjoy, with lots of inventiveness.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGYWuQKtkUaJX0UT0Fz9LHNnLeuT7qKxUN3G5ULT8mo77kmd9AQCcOG8YLCQfgzNnznsxSeV2zETy2IYbC9JPGZEPkA73Hq9B2dn4B3EmsAYD-eaNoeyIfOe1eT28rat7S3JCGOeggEmeqMFPlUQ2EVqlbsL4Nn6wGm-qok18R8VLMn1QZAeovV7a-Sic/s734/IMG-500x734.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="734" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGYWuQKtkUaJX0UT0Fz9LHNnLeuT7qKxUN3G5ULT8mo77kmd9AQCcOG8YLCQfgzNnznsxSeV2zETy2IYbC9JPGZEPkA73Hq9B2dn4B3EmsAYD-eaNoeyIfOe1eT28rat7S3JCGOeggEmeqMFPlUQ2EVqlbsL4Nn6wGm-qok18R8VLMn1QZAeovV7a-Sic/w273-h400/IMG-500x734.jpg" width="273" /></a></div><p></p><p>I've heard some people say that Baum was poking fun at suffragists with General Jinjur, and I don't think that's true. He's not opposed to women wielding power in Oz (see Glinda, other Good Witches, and Ozma). Jinjur isn't interested in good governance, or in Oz at all; she wants to get out of doing her chores and wear the gems of Oz on her person instead of having them decorate the city. Everybody has to do chores -- even the menfolk. </p><p>There is, however, a nice sharp comment at one point, when a man tells the Scarecrow:</p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #274e13;">"...I'm glad you have decided to come back and restore order, for doing housework and minding the children is wearing out the strength of every man in the Emerald City."</span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #274e13;">"Hm!" said the Scarecrow thoughtfully. "If it is such hard work as you say, how did the women manage it so easily?"</span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #274e13;">"I really do not know," replied the man, with a deep sigh. "Perhaps the women are made of cast-iron."</span></p><p>Back then, housework did in fact require a constitution of cast-iron!<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817835476996956670.post-64657751263147823902024-01-05T00:30:00.000-08:002024-01-05T00:30:00.134-08:00A local reading challenge!<p> My <a href="https://www.buttecounty.net/1895/24-in-24-Reading-Challenge" target="_blank">local library has decided to host a fun reading challenge</a> this year! I thought I'd just let you know in case you are local and want to participate (or hey, do it from afar!). Finish up, and you get a nice custom sticker featuring the library's new mascot, Felix. Isn't he a cutie?</p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx8VW7wemFyz-HTu6WA80EkogdQV60X8arNvg-Fbt-VCr08Bf2m6j0t2-BjBk-z3WhmDZmS79RHMuuMrOdVQXEQNQDKUnuM7QzTMyJv2rLJE1GGazoO2slHdTLB1ZGAMwKqz0t2VkYdkhaMzY5a4qmTR20Fyq_-b0jODQlDh0_zEqb4Of9yr3_iX-4z4A/s858/Document.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="858" data-original-width="678" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx8VW7wemFyz-HTu6WA80EkogdQV60X8arNvg-Fbt-VCr08Bf2m6j0t2-BjBk-z3WhmDZmS79RHMuuMrOdVQXEQNQDKUnuM7QzTMyJv2rLJE1GGazoO2slHdTLB1ZGAMwKqz0t2VkYdkhaMzY5a4qmTR20Fyq_-b0jODQlDh0_zEqb4Of9yr3_iX-4z4A/s320/Document.png" width="253" /></a></div><p></p><p>Some of these are a little tricky for me. A western? A fanfiction?? Help! I've seen the list of best-sellers from my birth year and I was not impressed. I bet there was some decent children's literature being published then, though...maybe Zilpha Keatley Snyder?<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF4FktPqTK_Np8UYuucYQ80Zo3VgE3fktVjS6ygpp8mfyfySOFmGP7oVayEj34RubfFckW40R36NmlUUv2rmpqkxTK7apWluGK3DiikmlhsLJr0L1U-ULRz8yLOGfgTqCHL4Gn4UhNHVw-kConv2H-TSWgYOiwdpSHLGFBudXIFhOX2DUpMHY5Yi6Xrl4/s1616/challenge.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1616" data-original-width="1171" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF4FktPqTK_Np8UYuucYQ80Zo3VgE3fktVjS6ygpp8mfyfySOFmGP7oVayEj34RubfFckW40R36NmlUUv2rmpqkxTK7apWluGK3DiikmlhsLJr0L1U-ULRz8yLOGfgTqCHL4Gn4UhNHVw-kConv2H-TSWgYOiwdpSHLGFBudXIFhOX2DUpMHY5Yi6Xrl4/w464-h640/challenge.png" width="464" /></a></div><br />I'll see how it goes, and let you know. I really like stickers...<br /> <p></p>Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817835476996956670.post-47749430077256302932024-01-04T10:55:00.000-08:002024-01-04T11:04:20.876-08:00AgathaChristieSS24: January<p> Fanda at ClassicLit is doing a fun thing this year, and I'm going to join in. <a href="https://klasikfanda.blogspot.com/2023/12/agatha-christie-short-stories-2024.html" target="_blank">It's the Agatha Christie Short Stories of 2024! </a> She has picked out two short stories to read each month.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3MwLP4p0s8NaRdhg0wzUhNd6pAnnwb4hyZUZZkAhuDZ-AOai2u3MEIuKFtELLxvkTZN6cs3x2zhCJyURPQYvR-ZUl2CtPCWRm6VpLeK4MfibYMHEYNK7m50D9TzgYTF7qevoDloZy5r_qNe9WC3Qh0acZQ6ceweR2hPML5c_zL3z0AWl7kMpGiRPT8l0/s308/agathachristieSS2024.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="308" data-original-width="269" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3MwLP4p0s8NaRdhg0wzUhNd6pAnnwb4hyZUZZkAhuDZ-AOai2u3MEIuKFtELLxvkTZN6cs3x2zhCJyURPQYvR-ZUl2CtPCWRm6VpLeK4MfibYMHEYNK7m50D9TzgYTF7qevoDloZy5r_qNe9WC3Qh0acZQ6ceweR2hPML5c_zL3z0AWl7kMpGiRPT8l0/s1600/agathachristieSS2024.png" width="269" /></a></div><br /><p>The January stories are "The Coming of Mr. Quin" and "The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman," an early Poirot story, and there's plenty of time for you to join in.</p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_KBPKggqVwSZVllbGQj6Lo_LEwU8aKqRuUQPNitDXFzWgLFV_-QLzx9uoKfJyentgFMSqDWqX9hXmKLLIwPsTfPaVJM9it6pkNRgRu410heipCH01vL9LcqnVdD_hyAQa5HYudQersZ6NB_HFTNbgL58dNsGQOUdKwFPxnHwn8rgJR8TIivR7iN3fqP0/s475/the-mysterious-mr-quin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="297" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_KBPKggqVwSZVllbGQj6Lo_LEwU8aKqRuUQPNitDXFzWgLFV_-QLzx9uoKfJyentgFMSqDWqX9hXmKLLIwPsTfPaVJM9it6pkNRgRu410heipCH01vL9LcqnVdD_hyAQa5HYudQersZ6NB_HFTNbgL58dNsGQOUdKwFPxnHwn8rgJR8TIivR7iN3fqP0/s320/the-mysterious-mr-quin.jpg" width="200" /></a></b></div><b><br />"The Coming of Mr. Quin"</b> was published in 1923 (says my book; Fanda says '24) and was Christie's first published short story. All the Quin stories feature him and Mr. Satterthwaite, who provides the point of view. When Mr. Quin arrives, he doesn't solve a mystery; he simply asks a few questions and inspires others to solve the problem. In this case, several people are gathered at a country home where, ten years ago, a friend of theirs killed himself. Why? The answer is crucial to two other people staying in the house...<p></p><p>I always like Quin stories. They're fun, and very different from her usual thing. <br /></p><p><b>"The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman"</b> is a locked-room mystery. One Count Foscatini is dead in his flat, and two Italian men had dinner with him and have now disappeared. It's up to Poirot to figure out who the killer is.</p><p>I like this story partly for its description of the fancy modern block of flats that Count Foscatini (who is of course not a count at all) lives in. They are full-service flats; you order your meals from the kitchen, located for some reason on the <i>top</i> floor, and they send them down in a dumb-waiter, course by course. Did such a thing ever really exist?? Or was Christie indulging in daydreams about what kind of flat she'd like to live in? And, since I have read Orwell's <i><a href="https://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2017/12/down-and-out-in-paris-and-london.html" target="_blank">Down and Out in Paris and London</a></i>, in which he provides a graphic description of a fancy hotel kitchen of about 1930, I'm wondering what this fictional kitchen was like...eek!<br /></p><p> <br /></p>Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817835476996956670.post-39998163500343772012024-01-02T11:17:00.000-08:002024-01-02T11:17:26.647-08:00Les Misérables<p><i><b>Les Misérables,</b></i> <b>by Victor Hugo </b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCY5UJh9CNSyl5fYKXqMCYgRm_-uHx5NoQZW8LjVowPQuJD90hjzZXHZgK_fU6u5X8oMShaAU4P_mP9DAQaCd8uG0PLUsoJzX4hpeOr7hJNfBpIGgXRC_p8Jthackh_o3Jj3MS7MaXO1oYuTs3QaOd2UtifQRERLfrHrNUlHVK4UjVB-hA_jt0R4ZKs2w/s1177/1frontispiece.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1177" data-original-width="746" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCY5UJh9CNSyl5fYKXqMCYgRm_-uHx5NoQZW8LjVowPQuJD90hjzZXHZgK_fU6u5X8oMShaAU4P_mP9DAQaCd8uG0PLUsoJzX4hpeOr7hJNfBpIGgXRC_p8Jthackh_o3Jj3MS7MaXO1oYuTs3QaOd2UtifQRERLfrHrNUlHVK4UjVB-hA_jt0R4ZKs2w/w254-h400/1frontispiece.jpg" width="254" /></a></b></div><br /><p></p><p>It's the big ambitious 2024 book, <i>Les Misérables</i>! The book I was most afraid of reading! And I read it all! This was enabled by a) my sister and b)<a href="https://lesmisletters.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=reader2&utm_source=%2Fsearch%2Fles%2520mis&utm_medium=reader2" target="_blank"> a Substack that posted one chapter a day. </a> It so happens that <i>Les Misérables</i> has 365 chapters, so if you read one chapter a day, you'll get it done in a year.</p><p>I was always about as ignorant of <i>Les Misérables</i> as it is possible to be. I saw a local production of the musical once because some friends were in it. So pretty much everyone else in the world knows more than I do, and I won't presume to tell you the plot, but just a couple of things I learned.<br /></p><p>I'd always assumed that this story is set during the French Revolution, but it isn't. Jean Valjean is released from prison in 1815, and the story ends in about 1833. The revolt that is the big climax of the story is one of the students of Paris against the government -- an anti-Orléanist demonstration. It gets them all killed, except our hero Marius.</p><p>Victor Hugo is famous for his long digressions, which were quite interesting on their own merits, but he does have a talent for putting them in at just the moment you don't want them. Right when you're really involved and everything is very exciting, Hugo decides it's time for a talk about the street urchins of Paris, or the sewers, or the battle of Waterloo. I'm never much on battles, but I did like the gamins and sewers, those are more my style. It really was amazing, though, how just as I was really into whatever was going on, Hugo would drop it and talk about something completely different.</p><p>I'm still so abysmally ignorant about French history. It's awful. I don't really know what these students were unhappy about, the Napoleonic wars are a blank, I'm just embarrassingly ignorant about all of it. My sister knows a lot, so I ask her. <br /></p><p>I'm really happy that I have now read this huge novel. It was my literary bugaboo, the thing I was most nervous about, and -- thanks to my sister and Project Gutenberg and somebody on Substack -- I can now think of a different book to be afraid of! <br /></p><p>The translation I read was a late 19th century one from Frances Hopgood. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/135" target="_blank">It's available on Gutenberg </a>or on the above-mentioned Substack feed. You can start now!<br /></p><p><br /></p>Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817835476996956670.post-88469226705285016962023-12-30T12:36:00.000-08:002023-12-30T12:36:38.859-08:002023 Challenges Wrapup, and what next?<p>This year I cut way back on the challenges, and then I just about didn't keep track of the ones I did have going. I know I hit my goals, but I can't prove it. The only one I officially finished was Adam's TBR Pile Challenge, which is being retired:</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA9nNHjuga8XZhvKAQ7fEqCAzgYGTQxSMUKsLOlpAVOTnMQfjLJlqJj-2th7_cux56Bnn1VAU09EmR_LX500KvsOn6MLuahHzgdf9y1k76mZQosP3nAy3YHHj2iUjhy30c2fqXLZtsJ3qwybci9gH6EsHnelUmaYabvwcYkiS7h0des7hqmNPbRH3B29k/s422/tbr2022rbrbutton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="299" data-original-width="422" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA9nNHjuga8XZhvKAQ7fEqCAzgYGTQxSMUKsLOlpAVOTnMQfjLJlqJj-2th7_cux56Bnn1VAU09EmR_LX500KvsOn6MLuahHzgdf9y1k76mZQosP3nAy3YHHj2iUjhy30c2fqXLZtsJ3qwybci9gH6EsHnelUmaYabvwcYkiS7h0des7hqmNPbRH3B29k/s320/tbr2022rbrbutton.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not sure I ever got the right graphic...<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><ol><li><b><a href="https://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2023/04/april-reading.html" target="_blank">Map Drawn By a Spy, by Guillermo Cabrera Infante (Cuba)</a></b></li><li><b><a href="https://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2023/02/february-reading-part-first.html" target="_blank">The Green Roads of England, by Hippisley-Cox</a></b></li><li><b><a href="https://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2023/10/fall-tbr-reading.html" target="_blank">The World of Odysseus, by M. I. Finley</a></b></li><li><a href="https://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2023/07/july-reading-hiding-from-heat.html" target="_blank"><b>How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed, by Drakulic</b></a></li><li><a href="https://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2023/01/a-january-riffle-of-reviews.html" target="_blank"><b>Wife of the Gods, by Kwei Quartey (Ghana)</b></a></li><li><b><a href="https://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2023/07/july-reading-hiding-from-heat.html" target="_blank">Pageants of Despair, by Dennis Hamley </a></b>(this is a children's book??)</li><li><b><a href="https://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2023/09/august-reading-part-ii-20-books-of.html" target="_blank">The Way to the Sea, by Caroline Crampton</a></b></li><li><a href="https://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2023/10/fall-tbr-reading.html" target="_blank"><b>Ransom for a Knight, by Barbara Leonie Picard</b></a></li><li><a href="https://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2023/10/fall-tbr-reading.html" target="_blank"><b>The High Book of the Grail (Perlesvaus), ed. Nigel Bryant</b></a></li><li><b><a href="https://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2023/11/finishing-all-those-books-in-november.html" target="_blank">How Democracies Die, by Levitsky and Ziblatt</a></b></li><li><b><a href="https://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2023/02/samsons-hoard.html" target="_blank">Samson's Hoard, by John Verney</a></b></li><li><a href="https://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2023/01/hipploytes-island.html" target="_blank"><b>Hippolyte's Island, by Barbara Hodgson</b></a></li><li><b><a href="https://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2023/10/fall-tbr-reading.html" target="_blank">Mexican Gothic, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia</a></b></li><li><b><a href="https://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2023/05/in-may-i-truly-think-it-best.html" target="_blank">Red Famine, by Anne Applebaum</a> </b></li></ol><p>I definitely hit my goals for Bev's two TBR Challenges too, but I didn't keep track.</p><p>I read a few titles from around the world, but not that many, and not that many books from my CC list either. I did hit all the Spins though!</p><p>In 2023, I tried to read about Ukraine and Russia, and I didn't read as
much as I wanted to (I still have nearly a whole shelf of books!), what I
did get done was useful and enlightening. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQnfnNUipeaPRs3RGFEc0SJLvpfQTJewcchGts9-38ecV59FAIS8vizQfZJRRjWOyLW8UxYQbTCZE7HQxGjMfC7VphDrN0VqpqaZEUbpavKwaJDi_IdkLPK9HZizIqblbbBgYqxpH81u-FAJ2NeX6Ho-5w987mHZFWVfjTxVcrj_mZEtZkrLXxtPiosA/s2040/post%20divider%20%231.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="145" data-original-width="2040" height="29" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQnfnNUipeaPRs3RGFEc0SJLvpfQTJewcchGts9-38ecV59FAIS8vizQfZJRRjWOyLW8UxYQbTCZE7HQxGjMfC7VphDrN0VqpqaZEUbpavKwaJDi_IdkLPK9HZizIqblbbBgYqxpH81u-FAJ2NeX6Ho-5w987mHZFWVfjTxVcrj_mZEtZkrLXxtPiosA/w400-h29/post%20divider%20%231.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>So what are my plans for 2024? My favorite challenges have all gone away, which is a bummer, but also part of the circle of life for the blogosphere. Book blogging is now a dinosaur activity, and one I am not keeping up with too well, but I really don't want to stop. For one thing I love how many people I've gotten to know, and I miss the ones who have gone on to other things. I also find having this blog record of my reading to be super-useful. I can go back and see what I've read and what I thought of it! </p><p>I've gone ahead and picked 12 (+2 alternates) books from my TBR shelf to Definitely Get Done in 2024, even though I don't plan to officially participate in any challenges. <br /></p><p>I think my 2024 focus is going to be British geography and pre-history. You can see me moving into this theme with <i><b><a href="https://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2023/02/february-reading-part-first.html" target="_blank">The Green Roads of England</a></b>, <b><a href="https://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2023/07/june-reading-part-iii-extra-bonus-post.html" target="_blank">The Scouring of the White Horse,</a></b> </i>and<i> <a href="https://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2023/11/more-november-reading.html" target="_blank"><b>A Land</b></a></i><a href="https://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2023/11/more-november-reading.html" target="_blank"><b>,</b></a> and I have a very good reason for it. I am really, actually going to be hiking the Ridgeway in June! I'm so excited about this, and I have a lot to do to prepare, like strength training, gear gathering, and neolithic monument reading.<br /></p><div><p></p></div>Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817835476996956670.post-47637538167015646292023-12-30T11:48:00.000-08:002023-12-30T11:48:00.313-08:00Wrapping up 2023<p>I took a look at my reading for this year, and there was a definite trend. I tended to do two things: I either read difficult and depressing books about politics, or I hid in comfort reads. If there was a Nancy Drew on the donation table, I took it home. I read a simply incredible number of fluffy mysteries, which meant that there wasn't as much to blog about, even if I'd been keeping up my former writing rate, which I certainly was not. Of course I read other things too, but ambition, international reads, or classics were pretty thin on the ground. I don't feel bad about it or anything; I just noticed it when I looked at my Goodreads list. (My goal for the year was 170 books, and I passed 200, but a hefty percentage of that list involved titles like <i>Three Investigators </i>and so on.)<br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpVgnLH-29HqlImTsznsdeBtsdDmbPWh9CmKhuLjDQyQx1F30nIRp0YhMwkVgDgFWn7PInmJdSWUlCT6refXO2x_hOOGp2qeODQsiuX0JzSOI9EkcDDGoZGgxH-OFGOz1VY3cXhBpd9wdMQvCUMe6ue-Ihka54t5R58iPtd99zunaio0Ml3Emk9lmvhyphenhyphenY/s1500/A16iv4aHR5L._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1027" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpVgnLH-29HqlImTsznsdeBtsdDmbPWh9CmKhuLjDQyQx1F30nIRp0YhMwkVgDgFWn7PInmJdSWUlCT6refXO2x_hOOGp2qeODQsiuX0JzSOI9EkcDDGoZGgxH-OFGOz1VY3cXhBpd9wdMQvCUMe6ue-Ihka54t5R58iPtd99zunaio0Ml3Emk9lmvhyphenhyphenY/s320/A16iv4aHR5L._SL1500_.jpg" width="219" /></a>This month I've been in the mood for a lot of Christmas reading. Not much new, just a bunch of old and easy favorites. I'm a bit late to get very detailed, so here's a quick list:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper<br /></li><li>The Children of Green Knowe, by L. M. Boston</li><li>The Fox at the Manger, by P. L. Travers</li><li>I Saw Three Ships, by Elizabeth Goudge</li><li>Christmas stories by Connie Willis</li><li>The Nutcracker, by ETA Hoffman (with the Sendak illustrations)<br /></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Chill-Tidings-Tales-Christmas-Season/dp/0712353232/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1703965484&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Chill Tidings: Dark Tales of the Christmas Season,</a> ed. by Tanya Kirk (this was my new title, and is part of the British Library "Tales of the Weird" series, very good indeed!) </li></ul><p> I also re-read the entire Murderbot series so I'd be well prepared to read <i>System Collapse</i>, the new title. That was a lot of fun. <i>System Collapse</i> is a direct follow-up to the novel <i>Network Effect</i>, while all the others are novellas that take place before that, even the one published <i>after Network Effect</i>. It worked really well to zap through the whole series like that.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJB9gTHoY_WTqvQvWF_9kd_h13AhJfYjObcEyT-hVId8xqQaoW2fl_V58Qt0Vift2CzZq56XExM1MzB7_UoRhzHqYEzeEEqx1nxtBb5zNQK3ARavAxLVXzLGni3ANMmO7mERuZK32arjSQkQz_G-W-RArgVAUD0sWizfv6LsljQq2Li5EHco2DAdTmmE/s1500/71nZdFESHjL._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="938" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJB9gTHoY_WTqvQvWF_9kd_h13AhJfYjObcEyT-hVId8xqQaoW2fl_V58Qt0Vift2CzZq56XExM1MzB7_UoRhzHqYEzeEEqx1nxtBb5zNQK3ARavAxLVXzLGni3ANMmO7mERuZK32arjSQkQz_G-W-RArgVAUD0sWizfv6LsljQq2Li5EHco2DAdTmmE/s320/71nZdFESHjL._SL1500_.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />In <a href="https://www.amazon.com/System-Collapse-Murderbot-Diaries-8/dp/1250826977/ref=sr_1_1?crid=8TEP4FQ5ROM7&keywords=system+collapse+martha+wells&qid=1703965561&sprefix=system+%2Caps%2C141&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><i>System Collapse</i>,</a> the whole gang is still stuck in orbit around the planet holding a colony that was infected by alien remains. It emerges that over 20 years ago, a splinter group left the colony and hid out in the north, near the terraforming machinery so that it couldn't be spotted. Are they still there? Are they also infected? Murderbot and friends are going to have to go find out, even as half of them stay behind to try to negotiate with the colony and the corporation that has every intention of taking possession and enslaving all the colonists.<p></p><p>And tomorrow, I'll finish my year-long readalong of <i>Les Miserables</i>! <br /></p>Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817835476996956670.post-78230725626138872982023-12-06T03:00:00.000-08:002023-12-06T03:00:00.138-08:00Cheery December Reading<p> It's nothing but fun around here, as you can see by these very cheery selections. Maybe I should try to read heartwarming Christmas tales for a bit?<br /></p><p></p><p> </p><p><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sexy-But-Psycho-Patriarchy-Against/dp/1472135490/ref=sr_1_1?crid=39GUK0AANHK85&keywords=sexy+but+psycho+jessica+taylor&qid=1701122460&s=books&sprefix=sexy+but+psycho%2Cstripbooks%2C142&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><i></i></a></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNtgyfq1QhypkBGIVr9MeInTFQYwUFQVqwnjr6Fe3zLPF_V9v9bXvp9s9zxOJgKYUrc7oBms6Yjcffe2aJHCcPGe5eHTJ5YlR29Pv9vSfKoyJLwQKo9pFt-svywW2GygYS0LPZcr8dNGaSwuEaz48c3kgRWpkCO9JBN07RkVkxoFbSoPCLsyodvJyEXOA/s1000/61JpL+6UCSL._SL1000_.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNtgyfq1QhypkBGIVr9MeInTFQYwUFQVqwnjr6Fe3zLPF_V9v9bXvp9s9zxOJgKYUrc7oBms6Yjcffe2aJHCcPGe5eHTJ5YlR29Pv9vSfKoyJLwQKo9pFt-svywW2GygYS0LPZcr8dNGaSwuEaz48c3kgRWpkCO9JBN07RkVkxoFbSoPCLsyodvJyEXOA/s320/61JpL+6UCSL._SL1000_.jpg" width="209" /></a></i></b></div><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sexy-But-Psycho-Patriarchy-Against/dp/1472135490/ref=sr_1_1?crid=39GUK0AANHK85&keywords=sexy+but+psycho+jessica+taylor&qid=1701122460&s=books&sprefix=sexy+but+psycho%2Cstripbooks%2C142&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><i>Sexy But Psycho: How the Patriarchy Uses Women's Trauma Against Them</i>, by Dr Jessica Taylor:</a></b> This is a UK book, and focuses on UK practices, though it's still relevant to the US. But just so you know, she uses a lot of NHS terminology that I didn't understand at first, such as<i> sectioning</i>, which seems to be holding a patient for psychiatric reasons without their consent. Anyway...<p></p><p>Taylor's theme is that she has seen way too many women shoved into psychiatric diagnoses and medication because they were upset about the abuse that they had suffered. Say you get a teen girl who has been through some horrific abuse, and instead of receiving therapy and advocacy, she is told that she is making a lot of it up and has BPD. Her distress is interpreted as mental illness instead of a normal person's reaction to terrible things happening to them. Taylor presents many stories and a certain amount of data to back up what she's saying (for example, that somehow teen girls and women are sectioned far more often than young men are), but much of it is unquantifiable, either because the data isn't collected in the first place or because of privacy laws. The solution -- to use a trauma-informed approach that takes people's experiences into account and is sympathetic to their distress.<br /></p><p>This is a fascinating book that will give readers a whole lot to think about. I think she is correct about a lot of things. We <i>do</i> have a cultural narrative that women are unstable, and that there are a lot of 'sexy but psycho' women around. I also think she takes it too far; Taylor goes so far as to imply that there isn't mental illness; there is just trauma or oppression and people's reaction to it, and the establishment's oppression of the oppressed. I don't buy it. Mental illness is real and a terrible burden for many people, and Taylor undermines her thesis with that nonsense, which is too bad because there is a <i>lot </i>here to pay close attention to. So -- read it, but with reservations.</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHayRLy_iHavqf25itkXZqmERaCtBevMks29CrQKaLFibEsLOUriO_aB71tm5KYgvedHWqGb6AFlEMs0gxFLnlXlhOU_S1fX3SNdkNbWsaYIqaDeVoXP3POsKWzyNf6rrkTxv3V7HBab7vJy5mQ5l0ibBIRtf8etmv5E_lZ6Ff5Z7OhZH2amllYy2fz_U/s1500/71F-Hzm1qgL._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="959" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHayRLy_iHavqf25itkXZqmERaCtBevMks29CrQKaLFibEsLOUriO_aB71tm5KYgvedHWqGb6AFlEMs0gxFLnlXlhOU_S1fX3SNdkNbWsaYIqaDeVoXP3POsKWzyNf6rrkTxv3V7HBab7vJy5mQ5l0ibBIRtf8etmv5E_lZ6Ff5Z7OhZH2amllYy2fz_U/s320/71F-Hzm1qgL._SL1500_.jpg" width="205" /></a></div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Case-Against-Sexual-Revolution/dp/1509549994/ref=sr_1_1?crid=34DB22M8HIOID&keywords=louise+perry&qid=1701717313&s=books&sprefix=louise+perry%2Cstripbooks%2C132&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><b><i>The Case Against the Sexual Revolution</i>, by Louise Perry</b>:</a> Another UK author who's not too keen on women's' situation! Very short and a quick read. Perry's thesis is pretty much that pressuring everyone to 'have sex like men' (really, like the most callous 20% of men have done if they could get away with it) has been a recipe for disaster. This leads to lots of people having sex they do not enjoy and often regret, at best -- and young women suffering massively, because the whole thing serves men, not women. Well, not even most men. Perry uses an evolutionary, biological lens for her arguments. Between the unsparing descriptions of the porn industry, prostitution, and the total inadequacy of consent as the only criterion (necessary but not sufficient!), it's all pretty depressing. Very convincing, though! <p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4K1-YATQbkphNqki-rDfkPXYHB_r_ZguGxuhzFQSksKVX3tB3kspgj0ROz6QWhcT9agT74aWcpqRRwahymK94lNy5M43KsfdORkaS6-YIyesrhIVdfocVxQmK1pqbT0DeL1bLy-pLCZ-N1kPR9cZQGH1gYahGddXf6Idw0h8QasheCzuXCz-aeeLFN2g/s1500/81kGXh-dorL._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="975" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4K1-YATQbkphNqki-rDfkPXYHB_r_ZguGxuhzFQSksKVX3tB3kspgj0ROz6QWhcT9agT74aWcpqRRwahymK94lNy5M43KsfdORkaS6-YIyesrhIVdfocVxQmK1pqbT0DeL1bLy-pLCZ-N1kPR9cZQGH1gYahGddXf6Idw0h8QasheCzuXCz-aeeLFN2g/s320/81kGXh-dorL._SL1500_.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Diaries-War-Accounts-Ukraine-Graphic/dp/1984862448/ref=sr_1_1?crid=9QJDLHQ5D830&keywords=diaries+of+war&qid=1701717396&s=books&sprefix=diaries+of+war%2Cstripbooks%2C123&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><b><i>Diaries of War: Two Visual Accounts from Ukraine and Russia</i>, by Nora Krug</b></a>: when Russia invaded Ukraine again in February of 2022, German graphic artist Nora Krug reached out to two people, asking them to commit to weekly updates. K is a Ukrainian journalist, a wife and mother to two; D is a Russian artist, husband and father to two. Every week, Krug would send them questions, and they would answer with short descriptions of their lives and their thoughts. These weekly texts are placed across from each other on the page in 52 spreads that cover the first year of this war.<p></p><p>D starts in Kyiv, moves to Lviv, sends her children and mother to Denmark, and travels constantly -- between the war zones and her children, between Kyiv and Lviv, only occasionally seeing her husband, who is also a journalist. Her friends are scattered, killed, or captured and tortured. She meditates on what this war is doing to everyone she knows, whether her children will have to grow up in Denmark. Having grown up partially in Russia, she mourns the friendships she once had with people who now support the invasion and wonders how anyone will move forward.</p><p>K lives in St. Petersburg, and is appalled by the invasion, but also doesn't dare to protest aloud; everyone can see what happens to anyone who dares to dissent. Instead he thinks about emigrating, and travels to Latvia, Turkey, and finally France, looking for a way to get his family out and, at the same time, agonizing over whether he can stand to leave his beloved city. He talks about his shame at being Russian, and doubts whether he was ever able to make a difference through his art, as he tried to do. Even in France, he is afraid to speak publicly about his opposition to the war, because his family is still vulnerable.</p><p>Nora Krug's drawing style is not my favorite, but the content makes it a crucial read anyway. Definitely recommended.<br /></p>Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817835476996956670.post-14236805963243034042023-12-04T03:00:00.000-08:002023-12-04T03:00:00.130-08:00Ozathon #1: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNolvQlR3zzrcH-kgLGv1dA8S-KltywFG_Qr-xJNUcOAyrAW1tUL_kFKhqy9FfKgATIk-1S4ebOShGTjJVdGwUydFhrIA9aQeKFSRe780JNvuTRpUDvP7ZJ-6IDpV2EZlW4yNU1ZLap-E0TBtZ-sBXY73OQ9O7iO4vIGx6Cd9Tj6-f1VT-aJAlZC49Kuw/s1491/611rLBM5rpS._SL1491_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1491" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNolvQlR3zzrcH-kgLGv1dA8S-KltywFG_Qr-xJNUcOAyrAW1tUL_kFKhqy9FfKgATIk-1S4ebOShGTjJVdGwUydFhrIA9aQeKFSRe780JNvuTRpUDvP7ZJ-6IDpV2EZlW4yNU1ZLap-E0TBtZ-sBXY73OQ9O7iO4vIGx6Cd9Tj6-f1VT-aJAlZC49Kuw/w269-h400/611rLBM5rpS._SL1491_.jpg" width="269" /></a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wonderful-Wizard-Illustrated-First-Anniversary/dp/1955529140/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1C478EH1XH9W1&keywords=the+wonderful+wizard+of+oz+100th+anniversary&qid=1701654357&sprefix=wonderful+wizard+of+oz+100th%2Caps%2C148&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><b><i>The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,</i> by L. Frank Baum</b></a> </p><p>It's such a long time since I read this story, but I remember all the illustrations so well! I must have read it many times as a kid.</p><p>I think we all know the story, so I won't repeat it, except to point out that there is about three times as much material in the book as there is in the movie. I'm not a huge fan of the movie -- I didn't grow up on it like so many people did -- so I won't say a lot about it either. But Baum puts in a whole lot of hazards and side-trips that couldn't fit in the film version!</p><p>L. Frank Baum was wanting to write an imaginative, fairy-tale type of story for the new America. Forget all those princes and princesses, and especially all the violence, death, and heavy-duty moralizing of 19th-century children's literature! This was going to be a fun, quirky story for a vigorous, expanding America, and it was going to star some familiar sights for an American child, like scarecrows, farmers, and working people. The morals would be there, of course, but they'd be subtle, and they'd be American.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHFjdGdeZ9SBxqy-R2mSPLooqZPC5OnnaJVbCC5wcKwMxOqLPSGhPxDa5l03F9WjzY6isNsPDtT6fY9BrCaaQUH26f6ie0jnvZqpib4kmE7p9hAMo3oI95ls2osSS2XKZ_Ody0ctz-bfxlakChTaLp9xCBtPxl0PPP89fdM1Fjw4kcD2c-C12uan2rqnQ/s555/Capture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="555" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHFjdGdeZ9SBxqy-R2mSPLooqZPC5OnnaJVbCC5wcKwMxOqLPSGhPxDa5l03F9WjzY6isNsPDtT6fY9BrCaaQUH26f6ie0jnvZqpib4kmE7p9hAMo3oI95ls2osSS2XKZ_Ody0ctz-bfxlakChTaLp9xCBtPxl0PPP89fdM1Fjw4kcD2c-C12uan2rqnQ/s320/Capture.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>So Dorothy's sidekicks long for brains, heart, and courage, but they obviously already have them; they just don't realize it. The Scarecrow is forever thinking out solutions to their difficulties. The Tin Woodman weeps when he accidentally squishes a bug, or when saying goodbye to his friends; he's got all the heart he needs. And when the terrifying Kalidahs attack, the Cowardly Lion tells everyone to get behind him and he'll defend them for as long as he can. The Wizard hasn't got any problem with giving them the things they want, because they already have them. But as he says, everyone in Oz must earn their rewards. Actually, he's the only one who says that; everyone else just helps each other! So we have Baum pushing the virtues of modesty and hard work. Throughout, of course, the team is helping each other and anyone else they come across, which -- like any fairy tale -- pays off in reciprocated help. <br /></p><p>The scene I particularly remember is the poppy field. Dorothy and the Lion are susceptible to the soporific, poisonous vapors of the massed poppies, and they'll sleep forever and die if they don't get out. The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman are able to carry Dorothy, but they can't carry the Lion, who tries to run but succumbs to the vapors not too far from the edge. Luckily, the Tin Woodman helps the Mouse Queen, who then gets her mice to help the Lion. It all comes down to cooperation and creative solutions -- provided by the Scarecrow, of course.</p><p>I also remember the china village, which is a minor scene, and the Hammerheads, who are really strange. They look like Tweedledee and Tweedledum, but have no arms, and use their heads as battering rams. This is, I suppose, why I remember the Quadling country as particularly weird, despite the country of the Winkies being arguably just as strange.</p><p>It was really fun to read this as an adult and come to a new appreciation of what Baum was trying to do. The illustrations are just delightful, and of course they're color-coded to the country they take place in.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDXVD1VA1ZCAgIeG0MXxPehUoOJA6JhTgMEaFIABkFPlmRuE8DM3zODzSVdIZ3AsdN6Fxw7kgDF2w5qnPA5R6qTYeS2Flh7Wg0AoEXSMavehcp-6Dwhutmnnc2BLqyN__jzwxaRDCoExLB7IWgyAPbXKO0wo2rO27AMdFDIAbs3fuPJCybVk-Yhsc3Zio/s1280/apinfanwi__35506.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="892" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDXVD1VA1ZCAgIeG0MXxPehUoOJA6JhTgMEaFIABkFPlmRuE8DM3zODzSVdIZ3AsdN6Fxw7kgDF2w5qnPA5R6qTYeS2Flh7Wg0AoEXSMavehcp-6Dwhutmnnc2BLqyN__jzwxaRDCoExLB7IWgyAPbXKO0wo2rO27AMdFDIAbs3fuPJCybVk-Yhsc3Zio/w279-h400/apinfanwi__35506.jpg" width="279" /></a></div><p></p>Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817835476996956670.post-36306270242550786132023-12-03T14:52:00.000-08:002023-12-03T14:52:59.137-08:00CC Spin #35: London Journal<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM2mbceyFXRnxLrA40egIqXzlf3vW3tKnPZiRzs4IFkzJ-oR-wTbfxZzakBh5v3CfPREArj-Vhw-IgRI0wj3VvpaiyWVXKpWt_t9jnTDQvF0ACpRHT0eTTG07mB85HJRLAh1DpUClTpwbuvH4meocrB219MmfI8i3H3qwIsBLxqUVqMPwowKdbBwv6xQo/s480/BoswellsLondonJournalCover.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="340" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM2mbceyFXRnxLrA40egIqXzlf3vW3tKnPZiRzs4IFkzJ-oR-wTbfxZzakBh5v3CfPREArj-Vhw-IgRI0wj3VvpaiyWVXKpWt_t9jnTDQvF0ACpRHT0eTTG07mB85HJRLAh1DpUClTpwbuvH4meocrB219MmfI8i3H3qwIsBLxqUVqMPwowKdbBwv6xQo/s320/BoswellsLondonJournalCover.png" width="227" /></a></div><br />It's Spin day! I finished my book in good time, and it was a very interesting read. <p></p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/London-Journal-1762-1763-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140436502/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1U0S6PVSIK894&keywords=london+journal+boswell&qid=1701643782&sprefix=boswell+london+%2Caps%2C173&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><b>Boswell's London Journal, 1762 - 1763,</b> by James Boswell, ed Frederick A. Pottle</a></p><p>James Boswell was the son of the laird of Auchinleck, and he was on the outs with his father. Lord Auchinleck wanted his son to study law and generally act like a responsible adult, and James wanted to live an exciting life in London, maybe join the Guards -- as long as he didn't have to actually leave London and do anything military -- hang out with literary types, and write poetry. So they made a deal: Jamie's dad gave him an allowance that was enough to live on as a gentleman, but not enough for living large, and let him spend some time in London to see how he liked it. (This was pretty nice of Dad, considering that a couple of years before, young Jamie had announced a desire to become a Catholic monk and then ran off to London for a few months of serious debauchery. The Laird must have been pretty exasperated!)<br /></p><p>Jamie accordingly finds lodgings and sets off to have a good time. He calls on Scottish friends living in town, gets some invitations, hangs around in coffee shops, and so on. Jamie decides to keep a detailed journal in which he will not only write his experiences so he can remember them, but also for self-development. He is very interested in improving himself so as to be respected and respect himself; in the past, he and his friends enjoyed being rattles -- generally saying whatever came into their heads, being as silly and loud as possible. (Remember that really irritating guy in <i>Northanger Abbey </i>-- he's a rattle.) He wants to leave that behind and cultivate a persona that is a little more dignified and sensible, while also being friendly and relaxed in company. Every day, he writes down a list of things to do and admonitions to himself on how to behave.</p><p>Young Boswell enjoys meeting people, and is naively pleased with his nice clothes and social successes. He visits a lot of influential people, hoping they'll help him to get that coveted spot in the Guards, but he doesn't have much luck. It really doesn't help that he doesn't want to join any other branch of the military or leave London! Eventually he gives up on this idea, and reconciles with his father enough to plan to study law in Utrecht.</p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNNcXOekR_4BhzE_Tuoay2bKAXmRjNHou5IUi0NXLqgK9Bxm3LQppXX5riIgjjvMZC-IOTACzd1-EhsJ35eEsRTvyY_b3DnLDANkpoPdq40KyKF6RuOa1w7Vu13V_DZ7zXV6DdId8V3yp4nT1ChVhUY2XQzxNv0fa5qQjk3-BNQAY6PUBESThdZnDxC9g/s705/500px-George_Willison_-_James_Boswell,_1740_-_1795._Diarist_and_biographer_of_Dr_Samuel_Johnson_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="705" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNNcXOekR_4BhzE_Tuoay2bKAXmRjNHou5IUi0NXLqgK9Bxm3LQppXX5riIgjjvMZC-IOTACzd1-EhsJ35eEsRTvyY_b3DnLDANkpoPdq40KyKF6RuOa1w7Vu13V_DZ7zXV6DdId8V3yp4nT1ChVhUY2XQzxNv0fa5qQjk3-BNQAY6PUBESThdZnDxC9g/w284-h400/500px-George_Willison_-_James_Boswell,_1740_-_1795._Diarist_and_biographer_of_Dr_Samuel_Johnson_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg" width="284" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James Boswell in 1765<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>One of Jamie's problems is that he really, really likes the girls. He's prone to picking up street girls, which he's not super proud of, mostly because he feels that it's not classy and he's worried about getting sick. He's already had a couple of bouts of gonorrhea (and an illegitimate son as well, who he pays for). So he comes up with a plan; he'll find some nice lady who will be his girlfriend, and then he won't have to resort to brothels or worry about infections. He meets a sort of actress, who is only 24 but has already been married a couple of times, and spends a lot of time courting her. Alas, soon enough he realizes that he's got gonorrhea, again, which he blames her for very much. She defends herself, saying that she hasn't had symptoms in years and she's just fine. (Of course, the modern reader realizes the poor girl's innards are being silently destroyed, and feels just terrible.) So Jamie dumps the lady and embarks on a 5-week course of treatment, after which he makes sure to 'go armored' when he picks up girls. Mostly.</p><p>This, of course, raises all sorts of questions in the modern reader's mind. What was the 18th-century treatment for gonorrhea, and did it work at all? Has Jamie been going around merrily infecting every girl he meets, or is he really having separate bouts of illness? The internet was not a lot of help here, so if you know the answers, let me know. <br /></p><p>Later on in the diary, Boswell meets the great Samuel Johnson, and they begin the friendship which will be so famous and the entire reason that James Boswell is known to posterity at all. From the earliest moment, Jamie is writing down everything Doctor Johnson says -- partly because that's what he likes to do anyway, any time he hears a witty conversation.<br /></p><p>A final fun fact about our Jamie -- he's terrified of ghosts. He couldn't sleep alone until he was 18, and even now, a young mid-20s man-about-town, every so often he hears a shivery tale and has to go over to his buddy's house and share his bed (a normal thing to do back then) so he can sleep. Boswell was afraid of ghosts for his entire life.</p><p>This was a very interesting account of life in London in the 1760s. Everything is so <i>small!</i> Jamie can go around meeting all sorts of eminent people, even though he's a relative nobody, because society is just small. Sure, go visit the court and see the king, why not? Have dinner with Garrick, discuss poetry with Goldsmith, become best friends with Dr Johnson. I enjoyed it a lot more than my attempt at reading the trip around Scotland. A nice read for anyone interested in Georgian life and manners.<br /></p>Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817835476996956670.post-85373968275089706432023-11-27T16:00:00.000-08:002023-11-27T16:00:00.128-08:00More November Reading<p> Here's some more November reading! I'm thinking about going back to single-book posts, but on the other hand I'm having trouble finding time to write even these quickie riffles through several books at a time. What do you think?<br /></p><p> </p><p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixWvb8KonsDbh3DRu-brLzVFcFzBtLq-mdmbSkoazxz2fAJkHkrHxt3IQyHgOuDI34V9b8T3tf0SqowiDKYP97klOKYPSdzEt25MnSboxW7YVmH7F6hpiX708unPDG_4RQnixIwA0mlIt5Loy_7mLAWdzD5aeAFTSnGpDlpEJSstqTMLRs82A2RaIVDqM/s1500/71HYxozUr4L._SL1500_.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="988" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixWvb8KonsDbh3DRu-brLzVFcFzBtLq-mdmbSkoazxz2fAJkHkrHxt3IQyHgOuDI34V9b8T3tf0SqowiDKYP97klOKYPSdzEt25MnSboxW7YVmH7F6hpiX708unPDG_4RQnixIwA0mlIt5Loy_7mLAWdzD5aeAFTSnGpDlpEJSstqTMLRs82A2RaIVDqM/s320/71HYxozUr4L._SL1500_.jpg" width="211" /></a></i></div><i><br /> </i><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Canceling-American-Mind-Undermines-Threatens/dp/1668019140/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Canceling+of+the+American+Mind&qid=1700088186&s=books&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><i>The Canceling of the American Mind: Cancel Culture Undermines Trust and Threatens Us All -- But There is a Solution</i>, by Greg Lukianoff and Rikki Schlott:</a> </b> I've been looking forward to this book for a long time! The title is a riff on <a href="https://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-coddling-of-american-mind.html" target="_blank">Lukianoff's last book, co-written with Jonathan Haidt,</a> and the two titles work together. This time, Lukianoff is teamed up with a Gen Z writer, Rikki Schlott, to bring in a younger perspective. The thesis here: that cancel culture (which yes, exists) is a manifestation of false ideas discussed in the earlier book, and which serve to make us less mentally healthy and less able to function as a society. The ideas:<p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Fragility: that people are fragile and need comfort; they cannot withstand discomfort, or judge truth for themselves </li><li>Emotional reasoning: that feelings convey unquestionable truth and should not be examined</li><li>Us vs. Them: that life is a battle between good people and evil people.</li></ol><p>This book looks at instances of cancel culture, from the one at Hamline to the one at Stanford, and how it leads directly to self-censorship, as it's meant to. But a healthy society can't run on self-censorship and enforced conformity, and since everyone knows that everyone is self-censoring, we lose trust in authority. We stop thinking universities are institutions for good. And so Lukianoff and Schlott talk about how to push back against this and what can be done. </p><p>I particularly liked a chapter heading quotation from Kmele Foster: <span style="color: #274e13;"><i>"It's very ironic that we live in an era when we talk a great deal about diversity and inclusion, but in a very real sense, the ethos of cancelation culture is actually exclusion, monoculture and conformity of perspective -- driven so much by this forceful ostracization of people who are perceived to have the wrong sorts of ideas.</i></span>" </p><p>I enjoyed this book quite a bit and mostly agree with it as well. </p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghRNTpcVM5xv75VDJhf0Mp0ulJ88Dmcc9WLNFLF1bnQjld1Gph57P6bzXk43oDMcTyk_PyYPQLl_AG_d7cYNReCm3zTJZgUGREvVWQ08p6K_yADd8h3Mz_Z3lZYM_F3MQSd8SpeblXlmUrw2-sj0wT2ZxYHZlxUUYPyp7Xmt9sAqWj18i-Si7n7sufA10/s500/51bnrr-uK3L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="334" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghRNTpcVM5xv75VDJhf0Mp0ulJ88Dmcc9WLNFLF1bnQjld1Gph57P6bzXk43oDMcTyk_PyYPQLl_AG_d7cYNReCm3zTJZgUGREvVWQ08p6K_yADd8h3Mz_Z3lZYM_F3MQSd8SpeblXlmUrw2-sj0wT2ZxYHZlxUUYPyp7Xmt9sAqWj18i-Si7n7sufA10/s320/51bnrr-uK3L.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sinister-Booksellers-Bath-Garth-Nix/dp/0063236338/ref=sr_1_1?crid=KLV4MOU3AIKQ&keywords=sinister+booksellers+of+bath&qid=1700170603&sprefix=sinister+boo%2Caps%2C131&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><i>The Sinister Booksellers of Bath</i>, by Garth Nix</a></b>: A couple of years ago I read <i><a href="https://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-left-handed-booksellers-of-london.html" target="_blank">The Left-Handed Booksellers of London</a></i> and commented that a sequel would be welcome. And here it is! Susan, half-mortal and half-ancient power, is trying to be a normal art student at the Slade but it is not to be. Animated statues are running around Bath, Merlin has accidentally fallen into a magical map, and Susan has the talent to go and get him out of his pickle. They discover a serial killer hidden away in a pocket out of space and time -- and it's planning to get Susan next. (On account of those inconvenient talents we mentioned.) The Booksellers and Susan have to keep Susan safe until after the winter solstice, which involves meeting Sulis Minerva herself, fighting a lot of statues and -- ha! rogue Masons, and finding the secret place where an ancient power lies hidden.<p></p><p>Lots of action and fun geography, another DWJ name-drop (I appreciate this effort to bring her books to a new generation, Garth), generally a good time all 'round. It was neat that I read it just as I was finishing up this next title, because there is in fact quite a lot about different kinds of stone in the British landscape:<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjky1nTrc6A6SvIkdpQ6EvuUS4qHedS-E9M7bFUwo7-ZRkirVoNxdvXAQ6nPgOKnGb2iMJQLGruQBjSjz_EMeNPVk74ASbjDCSVc7D7ovtm6bDEoiniX-uCEseb1zKcVRUDSGhcdqUOFZX9xRivMbhmlQMc2HKjRsKVr9NehX4JjctVPLAoPxCGl_ZHoqQ/s450/9780807085110.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="281" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjky1nTrc6A6SvIkdpQ6EvuUS4qHedS-E9M7bFUwo7-ZRkirVoNxdvXAQ6nPgOKnGb2iMJQLGruQBjSjz_EMeNPVk74ASbjDCSVc7D7ovtm6bDEoiniX-uCEseb1zKcVRUDSGhcdqUOFZX9xRivMbhmlQMc2HKjRsKVr9NehX4JjctVPLAoPxCGl_ZHoqQ/s320/9780807085110.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Land-Collins-Nature-Library-ebook/dp/B006I1J45W/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1WWP3PO8QQSGV&keywords=land+hawkes&qid=1701120373&s=books&sprefix=land+hawkes%2Cstripbooks%2C136&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><i><br />A Land</i>, by Jaquetta Hawkes</a>:</b> <i><span style="color: #274e13;"> "The story of Britain from the geological shaping of the land to the development of its civilization, told with accuracy, scholarship, and passion."</span></i> For a classic of its kind, this book sure is hard to track down. This is a book of how a land was shaped, and of how people have interacted with it. It's both scientific and poetic, a kind of nature writing that is also seen in <i>Silent Spring</i>, except there's no small measure of dreamy ecstaticism as well. It was a massive best-seller, very influential, and is practically unheard-of today -- but then I live in the US, where it probably didn't make a splash in the first place.<br /><p></p><p>It's both very much of its time and weirdly timeless, perhaps because Hawkes was so unusually aware of the evanescence of her time and her own self, as you can see in the third quotation. So Robert Graves' influence is clearly seen -- his <i><a href="https://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-white-goddess.html" target="_blank">White Goddess</a></i> was then brand new. Piltdown Man is a fossil to be reckoned with (he wasn't exposed as a hoax for another three years). She talks about organisms in the moralistic way that we have dropped, calling some species <i>decadent</i> or<i> stagnant, </i>or<i> youthful</i>, and so on. And yet since most of what she talks about is stone, it's still very relevant and interesting.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #274e13;">Piltdown Man has proved far more elusive. One might think he had left some devilry in his partially petrified bones. For half a century strenuous efforts at recollection failed to prove whether the fragments of human skull were contemporary with the very ancient animal bones or the crude flint implements which lay with them in the Sussex gravel. Moreover, there was long, fierce and inconclusive dispute as to whether the chinless, simian jaw could ever have been attached to the high, well-shaped cranium so full of intellectual promise as to be recognizably that of an ancestor of the learned disputants themselves. I like this Yorick who clowns, makes a mock of us, even with his bones.</span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #274e13;">[Describing a now-vanished London] We have as yet created nothing quite comparable with the scene in Wall Street where the black cliffs of the skyscrapers so dwarf Holy Trinity that it looks like a church fetched from Lilliput. <br /></span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #274e13;">It is — it must be, for here it is — the simple reaction of a consciousness exposed at a particular point in time and space. I display its arguments, its posturings, as imprints of a moment of being as specific and as limited as the imprint of its body left by a herring in Cretaceous slime.</span></p><p><br /></p><p><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/What-Additional-Scientific-Hypothetical-Questions/dp/0525537112/ref=sr_1_1?crid=PKEWTRHCRJX4&keywords=what+if+2&qid=1700582907&sprefix=what+if+%2Caps%2C188&sr=8-1" target="_blank"></a></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Av1vgUrgWwPNjG72zpWDxqX0v-QPt3mSMIKYeeBacOCVJEZtbffBRUEsPywUQvXWdCax2nTPcWHVKZ1NBzZ35VZ25AUZzOqWTWemwjweZMawLHQ2AUaP1WeonEgXfEY7mG1qdR1scNB7hBXgBuRTsCH7fW08Nf1NYx30MPLzADrOmC15iLy7da_faUM/s1500/71xD1Mog4AL._SL1500_.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1155" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Av1vgUrgWwPNjG72zpWDxqX0v-QPt3mSMIKYeeBacOCVJEZtbffBRUEsPywUQvXWdCax2nTPcWHVKZ1NBzZ35VZ25AUZzOqWTWemwjweZMawLHQ2AUaP1WeonEgXfEY7mG1qdR1scNB7hBXgBuRTsCH7fW08Nf1NYx30MPLzADrOmC15iLy7da_faUM/s320/71xD1Mog4AL._SL1500_.jpg" width="246" /></a></b></div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/What-Additional-Scientific-Hypothetical-Questions/dp/0525537112/ref=sr_1_1?crid=36PUXK9YHIUJ5&keywords=what+if+2&qid=1701121189&s=books&sprefix=what+if+%2Cstripbooks%2C129&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><b><i>What If? 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions</i>, by Randall Munroe</b>:</a> The XKCD guy is back with another silly book about science! The weirdest questions you never thought of asking have been thought of by somebody -- often a 5-year-old -- and Munroe is here to game them out. Such questions as "Just how much of this plastic dinosaur is made of real actual dinosaur?" and "What if I put a tube down to the bottom of the ocean and stood in it?" I particularly liked the list of things you should not do, which is updated throughout the book to include "Peel away the earth's crust" and "Remove someone's bones without asking." Very fun.<br /><p></p>Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817835476996956670.post-42453787866123881412023-11-14T14:30:00.000-08:002023-11-14T14:30:00.136-08:00Ozathon 2024<p> Lory over at the Enchanted Castle has had a fun idea: <a href="https://enterenchanted.com/will-you-join-us-in-an-ozathon-ozathon24/" target="_blank">reading all 14 Oz books from December 2023 - January 2025</a>. If you can't take that much Oz, the first six are the main titles and you can just read those.</p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ul4AgExD7pCKTjEQXG-UiRb2BZdxpwjN5ZDWhg_KoHG3RS-VVlewA1IklJajx4uHBNSKMMOq8DdoNK9pXeHQqx_uMyZJ5nAhx2zaic0dGlJuqFs00dNDYH_eW4FXXdfZP0D_DrH6H2Qn3xc7Dkh1yPAYzhGmElp6vjZbGoJ8lJxBTeMKq4w3OphUw4c/s474/OzBookSet.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="252" data-original-width="474" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ul4AgExD7pCKTjEQXG-UiRb2BZdxpwjN5ZDWhg_KoHG3RS-VVlewA1IklJajx4uHBNSKMMOq8DdoNK9pXeHQqx_uMyZJ5nAhx2zaic0dGlJuqFs00dNDYH_eW4FXXdfZP0D_DrH6H2Qn3xc7Dkh1yPAYzhGmElp6vjZbGoJ8lJxBTeMKq4w3OphUw4c/w400-h213/OzBookSet.webp" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>I remember reading many of the Oz books when I was a kid, including several of the later titles. But I haven't read them at all since then (except of course the first one, which I aloud to my kids). So it would be quite interesting to do an adult readalong and see how they hold up and what I missed before. I had no idea that Baum was making fun of General Jinjer, for example; I thought she was great.</p><p>So I'm going to do it and read at least the first six books. We'll see how it goes!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXAXqrvC8xmuqybj3kqloRlSWZ-iHVFhtMd39FqkqUlbtQR5aGZ0efxoH_AzKrUQ1ZPFopvWkd02yuIcIUi-UxgemtQLF59YYhRyVXhvDv_LQj3LOR7uhDu2pf5Tq1lfDWIN98zm278LN3-FvbnutvHxjpP_SgDazfmoNKhcIN1RP7y8tzPtyi79iRKCU/s488/GUEST_3407c292-2a6f-4c6f-ae46-abdbb56d1c7b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="488" data-original-width="488" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXAXqrvC8xmuqybj3kqloRlSWZ-iHVFhtMd39FqkqUlbtQR5aGZ0efxoH_AzKrUQ1ZPFopvWkd02yuIcIUi-UxgemtQLF59YYhRyVXhvDv_LQj3LOR7uhDu2pf5Tq1lfDWIN98zm278LN3-FvbnutvHxjpP_SgDazfmoNKhcIN1RP7y8tzPtyi79iRKCU/s320/GUEST_3407c292-2a6f-4c6f-ae46-abdbb56d1c7b.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First up!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p>Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817835476996956670.post-1346316877111194982023-11-13T15:00:00.000-08:002023-11-13T15:00:00.141-08:00Finishing all those books in November<p> I'm working on that pile! Here are three of my pile books, plus two quick reads I stuck in around the edges.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDPrKuWeSN6d6TSpQZIvUP6pciJ66O3t4pG2CpJ1BNVcUXlkoM4p8RGlHiGcP35nbfhMIgAyjS6fBWAblybi_sR4vITjxhw81yGVIc3WluV3CxuHVu7dX95je7T6LHl2VIgJ6gsdlbmaObMbpuCWZOdqry0c1gpxCXBXtDqAaYoz9drmbtToNytwjMzMs/s1500/61ho8jnRUzL._SL1500_.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDPrKuWeSN6d6TSpQZIvUP6pciJ66O3t4pG2CpJ1BNVcUXlkoM4p8RGlHiGcP35nbfhMIgAyjS6fBWAblybi_sR4vITjxhw81yGVIc3WluV3CxuHVu7dX95je7T6LHl2VIgJ6gsdlbmaObMbpuCWZOdqry0c1gpxCXBXtDqAaYoz9drmbtToNytwjMzMs/s320/61ho8jnRUzL._SL1500_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p></p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Junk-Film-Why-Movies-Matter/dp/B0BXWGNNQ9/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1HW6NCDR8ZM6A&keywords=junk+film&qid=1699306600&sprefix=junk+film%2Caps%2C148&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><b><i>Junk Film: Why Bad Movies Matter</i>, by Katharine Coldiron</b></a> -- This book was just a delight to me, but then it was written by somebody who likes many of the same terrible movies I do but is much more knowledgeable than I am. The first third of the book is dedicated to a monograph of <i>Plan 9 From Outer Space</i> and what makes it so interesting as a terrible movie. Wonderful! She talks about a failed TV show called<i> Cop Rock </i>in which somebody mashed a serious procedural cop show with a musical -- "I promise this is true." Coldiron gets into literature and compares <i>Irene Iddesleigh</i> with Sean Penn's novels. She explains why a low-budget 70s horror film called <i>Death Bed</i> is actually pretty good. I loved it.<p></p><p>If you like bad movies, this is a great book for you. Others possibly not so much. <br /></p><p> </p><p><b><i> </i></b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/How-Democracies-Die-Steven-Levitsky/dp/1524762946/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2VCB4AWYOCX4M&keywords=how+democracies+die+by+steven+levitsky+and+daniel+ziblatt&qid=1699476333&sprefix=how+demo%2Caps%2C136&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><i></i></a></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOAJxGOT-nNx_3XQ4g0kMBq9FLLRceYsDML50ex7dXI3lQhW-HuNYM9AMYiN0HrqeHupJ4Cb1SUdwI2hGsmcHgBCUxOJefZRbgy6SlPxETx2EMEmAohGX_Wte__eRBRvbFc75My4F9znovWtDtCyoKBUkpueef7Y9p5L64R-L2AYYMgyui8Qo_7QblmbI/s1500/71RrM7kcIeL._SL1500_.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="973" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOAJxGOT-nNx_3XQ4g0kMBq9FLLRceYsDML50ex7dXI3lQhW-HuNYM9AMYiN0HrqeHupJ4Cb1SUdwI2hGsmcHgBCUxOJefZRbgy6SlPxETx2EMEmAohGX_Wte__eRBRvbFc75My4F9znovWtDtCyoKBUkpueef7Y9p5L64R-L2AYYMgyui8Qo_7QblmbI/s320/71RrM7kcIeL._SL1500_.jpg" width="208" /></a></i></b></div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/How-Democracies-Die-Steven-Levitsky/dp/1524762938/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3T1VQT0SQYNRL&keywords=how+democracies+die+by+steven+levitsky+and+daniel+ziblatt&qid=1699911477&s=books&sprefix=how+democrac%2Cstripbooks%2C119&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><b><i>How Democracies Die</i>, by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt</b> </a>-- This was kind of a hard one to read, because, obviously, a lot democracies are weakening across the globe, and we're one of them. Levitsky and Ziblatt wrote their treatise way back in 2017-18, five+ years ago, and here they charted four indications of authoritarian behavior: rejection of democratic norms, denial of legitimacy of political opponents, toleration/encouragement of violence, and readiness to curtail civil liberties of opponents. Then they describe these indications and how they played out in Venezuela, Chile, Argentina, Germany, Italy, and other places where democratic governments have fallen to authoritarianism of various kinds.<p></p><p></p><blockquote><span style="color: #274e13;">Unable to permanently defeat each other and unwilling to compromise, Chilean parties threw their democracy into a death spiral.</span></blockquote>The last part of the book goes through American history and describes the fortunes of democratic norms -- where they were strengthened, and where they were weakened. The last 40+ years get the most analysis, of course. When we ignore those long-established norms and play 'hardball,' we threaten our own future.<p></p><p>This was my final book on Adam's TBR Challenge list!</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNC5tpdppHgZp_k2XfvNUokF-SIVIMnGa4OxbikGBEDrUnKvM1fZvu42MlWsP6V3k6TH9aZSfyopmEmaUoORG-5wJs5S70vfTPTMbJQzl1FTxKEB3SDHJJf3t6FH8pOkdhRKi-tLLG9C8OiuSmKUeYuNRUH-X-6JQc4rZwkCjwD-EfuAVfairdultaYRs/s1200/719Rqi4ryjL._SL1200_.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="778" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNC5tpdppHgZp_k2XfvNUokF-SIVIMnGa4OxbikGBEDrUnKvM1fZvu42MlWsP6V3k6TH9aZSfyopmEmaUoORG-5wJs5S70vfTPTMbJQzl1FTxKEB3SDHJJf3t6FH8pOkdhRKi-tLLG9C8OiuSmKUeYuNRUH-X-6JQc4rZwkCjwD-EfuAVfairdultaYRs/s320/719Rqi4ryjL._SL1200_.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Served-King-England-Directions-Classic/dp/081121687X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1699475838&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><i>I Served the King of England</i>, by Bohumil Hrabal</a></b> -- I'd been meaning to read this and a beautiful pristine copy showed up on the donation table. It was fate! I have read a couple of Hrabal's novels before, and he writes long, run-on sentences and chapters that frequently venture into absurdism. Here we have Ditie, a young busboy in a Prague hotel before World War II. He is very ambitious and wants to rise in the ranks to become a headwaiter and finally, the owner of his own hotel. When he asks the greatest headwaiter how he knows everything (where any customer is from and what he will order), he replies, "I served the King of England." And Ditie gets his chance to learn waiterly wisdom when he serves the Emperor of Ethiopia. We follow him through several hotels and adventures, through the war and its aftermath, and finally to the realization of his ambition -- only for everything to fall under Communist rule. What then?<p></p><p>This was a very engaging read, replete with subtle (and unsubtle) satire of European politics and the human condition.</p><p><br /></p><p><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Thornhedge-T-Kingfisher/dp/1250244099/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1699910441&sr=1-1" target="_blank"></a></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF8iOKcdzZ79HczoAisfMznb_fwKHuRpaunrrsSeY46fKYJZ-ZaHQdWp130Eo9WnIEyTowvHGC02uzr4gnjjrNONd600BStfAqGxGvL3R1LTPMtemvjb4qezninejxozvIVTul69P_j8a8CPZwguBe9VT4fHPNLe11lpXiEQTbcsJGkZ5W6LtnfRIZIL0/s1500/81qR5ujA1lL._SL1500_.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="938" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF8iOKcdzZ79HczoAisfMznb_fwKHuRpaunrrsSeY46fKYJZ-ZaHQdWp130Eo9WnIEyTowvHGC02uzr4gnjjrNONd600BStfAqGxGvL3R1LTPMtemvjb4qezninejxozvIVTul69P_j8a8CPZwguBe9VT4fHPNLe11lpXiEQTbcsJGkZ5W6LtnfRIZIL0/s320/81qR5ujA1lL._SL1500_.jpg" width="200" /></a></b></div><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Thornhedge-T-Kingfisher/dp/1250244099/ref=sr_1_1?crid=Y0J4L5SUHVOC&keywords=thornhedge&qid=1699911437&s=books&sprefix=thornhed%2Cstripbooks%2C150&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><i>Thornhedge</i>, by T. Kingfisher</a></b>: I continue my reading of Kingfisher novellas with this latest one, which turns out to be the first she wrote for this publisher; the others came later. This is Sleeping Beauty's castle, after centuries: covered in brambles, virtually invisible and ignored, watched over by a small creature who lives in fear that someone will take an interest and disturb the enchantment. And then Halim, a knight, arrives and doesn't leave. He sees Toadling, and asks her questions....and while Toadling is terrified that the curse might be broken, she also finds that Halim offers hope of freedom.<p></p><p>I'm not too sure about the cover; I think it's too 80s. You?<br /></p><p>Absolutely lovely, highly recommended, this is great stuff. Short enough to read in one sitting, which I did -- I recommend that too.<br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMI-lzJTm9OWb8v7gjZ9TNOEn27-0JHZQXKq4Xy7qN8-nxYr9cFViTpvu_usbtpvln0iXvzmdDYdggos2GqiLJm5epUuEXAeWGaBItv3I1DkqkwklGn-nuWsWPwwB9lyABS9ohCHmfCdOuNNT5XPjuOZpTm32wXOZLZ-ZHE_79-GgpOy1W-2R7JX6Lidg/s1360/81-Seah1fsL._SL1360_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1360" data-original-width="893" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMI-lzJTm9OWb8v7gjZ9TNOEn27-0JHZQXKq4Xy7qN8-nxYr9cFViTpvu_usbtpvln0iXvzmdDYdggos2GqiLJm5epUuEXAeWGaBItv3I1DkqkwklGn-nuWsWPwwB9lyABS9ohCHmfCdOuNNT5XPjuOZpTm32wXOZLZ-ZHE_79-GgpOy1W-2R7JX6Lidg/s320/81-Seah1fsL._SL1360_.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Crying-Lot-Perennial-Fiction-Library/dp/006091307X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3ECZSIYY6GRJN&keywords=crying+of+lot+49&qid=1699911189&s=books&sprefix=crying+lot%2Cstripbooks%2C117&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><i>The Crying of Lot 49</i>, by Thomas Pynchon</a></b>: Evidently, once a decade, I need to read this book. I looked up <a href="https://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-crying-of-lot-49.html" target="_blank">the last time I read it and it was exactly 10 years ago</a>. And that blog post was pretty good, too! In fact I recommend you read it, because I'm not sure I have much new to say.<br /><p></p>Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817835476996956670.post-38956792019326077882023-10-31T11:23:00.006-07:002023-10-31T11:24:04.222-07:00October!<p>First off, happy Halloween! Happy Witch Week!! I hope everything is suitably spooky in your neighborhood. <br /></p><p>Wow, I feel like I've done quite a bit of reading lately....but what I have not done is<i> finish </i>anything much. I think I am 30 - 50% through ten or so books! There are books<i> all over </i>my coffee table; it's a disaster.</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>How Democracies Die, by Levitsky and Ziblatt </li><li>I Served the Kind of England, by Bohumil Hrabal</li><li>The Cancelling of the American Mind, by Greg Lukianoff and Rikki Schlott</li><li>Overreach, by Owen Matthews (oh my gosh so heavy-duty)<br /></li><li>The Lost 116 Pages, by Don Bradley</li><li>A Land, by Janetta Hawkes</li><li>Sexy but Psycho, by Dr Jessica Taylor (fascinating and I think goes a bit too far)<br /></li><li>London Diary, by James Boswell (why yes he has picked up an STD, again)<br /></li><li>Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo</li><li>Junk Film: Why Bad Movies Matter, by Katharine Coldiron (I love this book)<br /></li></ul>So, I'm in kind of a ridiculous place right now. But here are the three books I've managed to actually finish in the last few weeks...<div><p><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Passage-Nina-Bawden-ebook/dp/B007237DBW/ref=sr_1_13?crid=398UNQNP8BDHH&keywords=bawden&qid=1698699608&s=books&sprefix=bawden%2Cstripbooks%2C110&sr=1-13" target="_blank"> The Secret Passage, by Nina Bawden</a></b>: I enjoyed <i>Carrie's War</i> a lot, and picked up a couple more of Bawden's titles in ebook form. <i>The Secret Passage</i> was Bawden's first published story, and a lot of fun. John, Mary, and Ben have led a happy life with their parents in Kenya, until a disaster robs them of their home and their mother, and they're shipped off to live with Aunt Mabel in England. It's cold, Aunt Mabel worries about money, and they're not sure what to do with themselves. John becomes preoccupied with the house next door, which has been locked up for a couple of years, and when the children find a secret passage in the cellar (which sounds extremely dangerous), they start to explore. And they're not the only ones entering the house...</p><p>A fun domestic adventure story, and includes some good stuff about perceptions vs. reality.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs05x47ddLKYnW_kOHVTHbPBdnI_kfGzRiRqHnDr_6s0TIBg2LUWk5nr9TjDqUMKoIGt39ASrJBRN4C9mTOH17H2fbJaakpOshS7aocBeweYz5TU-xwS78JLUihCN5YMl8UKSIp9PTYX8MfsemtUBbTx8Yvd02GHxhsuSTh1gDIkBUVnNYeA3gDYLUPM4/s1500/71g7LgcxgJL._SL1500_.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="938" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs05x47ddLKYnW_kOHVTHbPBdnI_kfGzRiRqHnDr_6s0TIBg2LUWk5nr9TjDqUMKoIGt39ASrJBRN4C9mTOH17H2fbJaakpOshS7aocBeweYz5TU-xwS78JLUihCN5YMl8UKSIp9PTYX8MfsemtUBbTx8Yvd02GHxhsuSTh1gDIkBUVnNYeA3gDYLUPM4/s320/71g7LgcxgJL._SL1500_.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><br /> <b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Clone-Nick-Nolte-Mystery/dp/B0CKNYBZJL/ref=sr_1_1?crid=7OT8F0DLU31K&keywords=naked+clone&qid=1698699714&s=books&sprefix=naked+clone%2Cstripbooks%2C109&sr=1-1" target="_blank">The Naked Clone: A Nick Nolte Mystery, by Conor Lastowka et al</a></b>. Okay let me explain. I am a big fan of Rifftrax, which is one of the modern versions of MST3000. I will happily listen to Kevin, Mike, and Bill all day. And they have a running gag about Nick Nolte, and five of the show writers decided to just write one of those consecutive stories, where each person produces the next chapter, and this voyage of insanity is the result. I'm not sure it can be summarized, but it's a wild ride and I had a good time. Definitely meant for fans. <br /><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigUERgV9ZzmRDmK7ypelWB5NkKpWSYprEfQusuJP5Ip7mt59s9zzY4JOFuUIwWuD_PkkmcDJx-iiTpmTi9fYcfGGwcgJfJ0ApzlP-ioRED3t8ERQ-1VyEuHBqN_gYk1Vpbl4wAltYc9Ysv5JT5424kFgfK66pYcR5NFJrGoo7AsBK-1AuYc3pGwaCFEqY/s1500/71Ve8Bv6tLL._SL1500_.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="988" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigUERgV9ZzmRDmK7ypelWB5NkKpWSYprEfQusuJP5Ip7mt59s9zzY4JOFuUIwWuD_PkkmcDJx-iiTpmTi9fYcfGGwcgJfJ0ApzlP-ioRED3t8ERQ-1VyEuHBqN_gYk1Vpbl4wAltYc9Ysv5JT5424kFgfK66pYcR5NFJrGoo7AsBK-1AuYc3pGwaCFEqY/s320/71Ve8Bv6tLL._SL1500_.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/How-Elites-Social-Justice-Movement/dp/166801601X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1Q5LOY3PNI0MO&keywords=how+elites+ate+the+social+justice+movement&qid=1697556572&sprefix=elites+ate%2Caps%2C146&sr=8-1" target="_blank">How Elites Ate the Social Justice Movement, by Fredrik deBoer</a></b>: This guy does a lot of writing about politics and education, and here are his thoughts on what Dems/liberals/the Left ought to do about being more effective, appealing to more people, and generally getting things done -- in particular, wresting Left discourse out of the hands of Ivy-educated elite people who mostly worry about language and symbolism, and finding more solidarity with working people who are looking for concrete gains. If everybody's in a flurry about the latest tweet or whether the world 'field' is objectionable in the social sciences -- well, that's not putting food on anybody's table or getting better medical care to the poor. Over and over again, deBoer points out that the Left has this tendency to slice people into smaller and smaller identity groups, which is "fine for academic analysis, but ruinous for taking action." You want to get stuff done, you need to appeal to wider groups and convince a lot of people that they have a stake in this too. Thus the saying that the Left eats its own. <p></p><p>Interesting stuff, and engaging writing. Plus, an unbeatable title.<br /></p><p> </p><p> </p></div>Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817835476996956670.post-13023355807545390712023-10-15T13:33:00.002-07:002023-10-15T13:33:33.404-07:00And the Spin Number is...<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFQkZF-sMJ-SQwnAeapcKNJktgJbpsYlABX2sBCP8ekpBe0vsSLK5O1dAxJN-TGdGOELhB7UK9YLNoi2LZPGZhPQ9nPx2k58pnwO5qVDB835VwKWUIoGn90gheTtOX-hvB01_Als4wFUExFeycQFYzMI-m23uVN875MuM9F0VMHtL6TSEZUcJNxIjOqg/s3372/two.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2248" data-original-width="3372" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFQkZF-sMJ-SQwnAeapcKNJktgJbpsYlABX2sBCP8ekpBe0vsSLK5O1dAxJN-TGdGOELhB7UK9YLNoi2LZPGZhPQ9nPx2k58pnwO5qVDB835VwKWUIoGn90gheTtOX-hvB01_Als4wFUExFeycQFYzMI-m23uVN875MuM9F0VMHtL6TSEZUcJNxIjOqg/w400-h266/two.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p> Number 2!</p><p>This gives me Boswell's <i>London Diary</i>, which on the one hand -- yay, I get to read about London! and on the other -- how many brothels do you suppose he will visit, and in how much detail? If this turns out to be nothing but a list of exploited girls, I'm going to be disappointed. I hope he does something else with his time. We'll find out!</p><p>What book did you get?<br /></p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCFxTqrtzTJSHrPBec4sSmW2dGT7sMaoOLnyaqoFeTeh5KOfS4oUWuNI2HKlXxBIy-3Y-QdpiaEwvuqg5Zun89IJ9IMtu9rFGCsM5T1uc3dI_Hgmfz6pkZsgBPjIN6wTR8g5gmh-qer34KB_EEfIZpDL8OReUVgi3EyT6pcyYCldXlWlFLlUwx38qebpk/s480/BoswellsLondonJournalCover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="340" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCFxTqrtzTJSHrPBec4sSmW2dGT7sMaoOLnyaqoFeTeh5KOfS4oUWuNI2HKlXxBIy-3Y-QdpiaEwvuqg5Zun89IJ9IMtu9rFGCsM5T1uc3dI_Hgmfz6pkZsgBPjIN6wTR8g5gmh-qer34KB_EEfIZpDL8OReUVgi3EyT6pcyYCldXlWlFLlUwx38qebpk/w284-h400/BoswellsLondonJournalCover.png" width="284" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.com6