Just in case you don’t know, Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! All you have to do is grab the book you’re currently reading, open to a random page and share two sentences from that page. But make sure you don’t share any spoilers!*
*I wish I could take credit for this introduction, but I shamelessly stole it from Heather over at bitsnbooks. To help me make amends, you should go check out her blog.
This week I’m reading The Long Mars by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter, the third (and most likely final) installment of the Long Earth series. I’ve only read the first few pages, but it already appears to be a significant improvement over the other two.
Enough chatter; you want the teaser! Happy to oblige:
Well, there are plenty of contingencies we couldn't
survive at all. A massive enough meteor strike.
In Retrospect
I gave last week’s read The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer 5 out of 5 stars; I’d give more if I could. I’m actually working on writing a review to post here and on Goodreads – unlike the review for Republic of Pirates, which I still haven’t gotten around to . . .
My Wife is my greatest treasure, but as I’ve mentioned before we’re rather particular about sharing personal photographs.
I already shared how coffee is my daily dose of bliss; spoiler alert: it makes another appearance here!
First, there are the family treasures: the kind of thing you’d want to grab in case of fire.
For me, that’s my great-grandfather’s matchsafe. He was a printer on turn-of-the-century banana boats (that’s the 1890s-1900s, by the way) as well as almost serving on the Titanic, but didn’t. This particular matchsafe is from the SS Almirante, a merchant vessel out of Belfast, Ireland that sank off Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1918. I don’t believe Great-Grandpa was on board.
Second, there are the daily treasures: the little things that help make life worth living.
You guessed it, time for more coffee:
Finally, there are the rare treasures: things that are only here for a short time and then gone for good.
Like lebkuchen from Day’s Bakery:
Because even if someone buys the bakery, it just won’t be the same, you know?
The Seven Deadly sins may bring to mind one of two things.
For Catholics (and several other religious denominations), the phrase refers those faults that may or may not send one directly to Hell without passing Purgatory or collecting $200. Although thirty pieces of silver may be an option, I hear the gift shop is terrible.
For the more musically-minded, the phrase might plant an earworm:
Sail away where no ball or chain
Can keep us from the roarin' waves
Together undivided but forever we'll be free
So sail away aboard our rig
The moon is full and so are we
We're seven drunken pirates
We're the seven deadly sins
Of course, the two are not mutually exclusive. Anyway, Heather over at bitsnbooks recently posted her Seven Deadly Sins of Reading; being tagged by proxy, here is my own list:
LUST: a strong sexual desire
What attributes do you find most attractive in male (or female) characters?
Intelligence and strength of will. This means I often find myself sympathizing with the antagonists of a story rather than the intended protagonist.
Gustave Doré Francesca and Paolo
GLUTTONY: intense over indulgence
What book have you devoured over and over with no shame?
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
The Discworld novels by Sir Terry Pratchett
Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis
Third Circle illustrated by Stradanus
GREED: an intense and selfish desire for something
What is your most expensive book?
I’m not sure; there are several contenders:
A large coffee table book on Raphael
A leather and gold edition of 100 Decisive Battles from Ancient Times to Present
Several turn-of-the-last-century encyclopedias and almanacs (valuable for their prints)
Gustave Doré The Hoarders and Wasters
SLOTH: a reluctance to work or make an effort
What book have you neglected to read due to laziness?
Until recently that distinction would go to To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It was the only book I’d ever lied about reading, too.
Now, I’m probably neglecting Atonement by Ian McEwan; it’s been on my Currently Reading list since January and I haven’t even cracked the cover.
Gustave Doré The Slothful
WRATH: extreme anger
What author do you have a love/hate relationship with?
Nicholas Sparks in that I love to hate him. Lacking originality, his books are highly predictable; never mind the fact that he’s literally sold the exact same story many times over.
Fifth Circle illustrated by Stradanus
ENVY: a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else’s possessions, qualities or luck
What book would you most like to receive as a gift?
Anything signed by Tolkien, Lewis, Pratchett, or Dante (good luck with that last one!)
Gustave Doré The Envious
PRIDE: satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements or from qualities or possessions that are most widely admired
What books do you talk about most in order to sound like an intellectual reader?
My dear, here we must run as fast as we can, just to
stay in place. And if you wish to go anywhere you
must run twice as fast as that.
The week began innocently enough with a decent Monday, as far as Mondays are concerned, but it had all gone downhill by Tuesday afternoon. I was behind in Photography 101, behind in my online college class, behind in grading and lesson planning, and students’ science and history projects were due.
Today I played catch-up, rising before the sun on a Saturday – my one day to sleep in – to take advantage of the Golden Hour at sunrise. OK, that isn’t entirely honest. The Wife headed out of town to a business conference and needed to meet her carpool. I simply stayed up instead of going back to bed. Hey, whatever works, right?
I wandered downtown for three hours, taking pictures and killing time until the library opened so I could use the free wifi – and make another dent in my TBR.
My online class completed, I tackled the morning’s photographs.
Check them out in the galleries below!
Monochrome Architecture
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Movement
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Landscape
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I hope you enjoyed vicariously reliving my morning; for me it was time well-spent!
Even though it will be Wednesday when this finally posts. You know how things keep piling up . . .
Just in case you don’t know, Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! All you have to do is grab the book you’re currently reading, open to a random page and share two sentences from that page. But make sure you don’t share any spoilers!*
*I wish I could take credit for this introduction, but I shamelessly stole it from Heather over at bitsnbooks. To help me make amends, you should go check out her blog.
Last night I started Amanda Palmer’s Art of Asking. I was just going to grab two sentences and ended up reading the first 64 pages; I only stopped because I had to sleep sometime and I really did need to make it to work on time this morning. That’s how good it is. Now I’m going to break my own rules and share not two but three sentences:
Here's the thing: all of us come from some place
of wanting to be seen, understood, accepted,
connected.
Every single one of us wants to be believed.
Artists are often just . . . louder about it.
If that doesn’t spark your interest, bear in mind that Amanda Palmer herself retweeted my library run to get her book:
How many authors would do that?
In Retrospect
I awarded last week’s book Republic of Pirates 3 out of 5 stars. I’m still working on writing a review; stay tuned to Goodreads!
Just in case you don’t know, Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by 
Running In My Head 