Category: Reading

Teaser Tuesday: The Shepherd’s Crown

Like a centuries-old Spanish church emerging from the depths of drought-ridden Mexico, the turning Wheel of Time has brought up

Teaser TuesdayJust 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 a few 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.

Given my hectic schedule, I’ve fallen slightly behind pace on my Goodreads challenge; I am now only four books ahead of schedule.

In an attempt to salvage victory, I’ve decided to finally read The Shepherd’s Crown by Terry Pratchett. I received it on release day, but haven’t had the heart to read it . . . yet.

This week, the Truly Random Number Generator sends us to page 192:

They brought actual terror, and horror, and pain. 
. . . And they laughed, which was bad enough
because their laughter was actually musical, and
you could wonder why such wonderful music
could come from such unpleasant creatures.
They cared for nobody except themselves and 
possibly not even that.

Shepherd's Crown Cover

In Retrospect

I’m slowly working my way through Fur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America by Eric Jay Dolan. The story is interesting, but the prose is lacking. I may abandon it . . . or not.

 

 

What have you been reading?

 

 

Have a suggestion for a poem, photograph, or future post?

Drop a note in the prompt box!

 

Don’t forget to follow me on:

Facebook – where I share news stories, articles from other blogs, and various and sundry miscellany that happens to catch my eye. It’s stuff you won’t see here! Well, mostly.

Instagram – where I show you my Life in Motion and share quotes and such. The widget only shows my last three photographs – don’t you want to see them all?

Twitter – where you can see my thoughts in 140 characters or less. Also, funny retweets.

Teaser Tuesday: Fur, Fortune, and Empire

I may have been off my blogging game for a few days, but my reading schedule rolled merrily along. Come to think of it, maybe that had something to do with my interrupted blogging schedule . . .

Be that as it may, the turning Wheel of Time has brought around

Teaser TuesdayJust 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 a few 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.

Believe it or not, I am somehow still 5 books ahead of my Goodreads challenge! I hold no delusions: NaNoWriMo will interfere with both reading and blogging.

This week I’ve left turn-of-the-last-century New Orleans for the American frontier in Fur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America by Eric Jay Dolan. Don’t worry, I won’t be swayed by his middle name – I’ll give the book the same treatment I give any other book.

This week, the Truly Random Number Generator sends us to page 56:

It wasn't long, however, before Ashley lived up 
to their worst fears.  Although he quickly gathered
a "good parcel of beaver," Ashely refused to pay
back the undertakers for any of the supplies they
had given him, and then he had the gall to ask
for more.

Fur Fortune Empire cover

In Retrospect

I felt Empire of Sin: A Story of Sex, Jazz, Murder, and the Battle for Modern New Orleans by Gary Krist deserved 4 stars – the storytelling was solid, but several transition chapters were decidedly lacking; I found myself flipping back to reacquaint myself with the story line.

I also won a copy of Pop Sonnets: Shakespearean Spins on Your Favorite Songs by Erik Didriksen from Heather over at bitsnbooks. I gave the book 4 stars, mainly because I felt too many songs were more modern than I’d like – I understand that’s a purely subjective opinion, but it’s still mine.

 

 

What have you been reading?

 

 

Have a suggestion for a poem, photograph, or future post?

Drop a note in the prompt box!

 

Don’t forget to follow me on:

Facebook – where I share news stories, articles from other blogs, and various and sundry miscellany that happens to catch my eye. It’s stuff you won’t see here! Well, mostly.

Instagram – where I show you my Life in Motion and share quotes and such. The widget only shows my last three photographs – don’t you want to see them all?

Twitter – where you can see my thoughts in 140 characters or less. Also, funny retweets.

Teaser Tuesday: Empire of Sin

Mother Nature knew I needed to catch up on my TBR.

Just as Hurricane Joaquin has turned out into the Atlantic – creating “a hurricane without the hurricane” as Krystal call it – so the turning Wheel of Time has brought

Teaser TuesdayJust 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 a few 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.

Somehow I continue to keep ahead of my Goodreads challenge – 5 books ahead of schedule! – which is just as well since NaNoWriMo lurks just around the corner.

Last night I started reading Empire of Sin: A Story of Sex, Jazz, Murder, and the Battle for Modern New Orleans by Gary Krist. I found the book while wandering the stacks and became intrigued by both the title and the font. Perusing the chapter titles and reading the introduction, I know “the Axeman” will make an appearance or two (maybe more?) – you might be familiar with his character from American Horror Story: Coven; speaking of which, AHS: Freak Show comes to Netflix today – should school be cancelled, I know what I’ll be doing!

But, since you came for a Teaser, the Truly Random Number Generator sends us to page 133:

Joseph La Menthe . . . was a Creole pianist who 
affected a casual disdain for the music of what he 
called "Uptown Negroes."  A musician of stunning 
individuality himself, he was busily developing his 
own unique blend of piano-based ragtime, dance 
music, and blues - a "Spanish-tinged" style that 
would eventually have its own claim as the prototype 
for the kind of music still a decade away from being 
known as "jazz."

Empire of Sin cover

In Retrospect

You might recall Banned Books Week 2015 focused on YA Literature; you might also remember I read The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison as part of that observance. Perhaps the books was shocking once; in my opinion, no more. It has some value in portraying life in a bygone era, but little in the way of actual literary value. 2 stars.

I also read Smoke Gets in Your Eyes and Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty. It found it at times to be enjoyable, philosophical, entertaining, and preachy. It made me ponder what I want for my earthly remains. Losing steam halfway through, this memoir fell to 3 stars.

Favorite Line:

Ignorance is not bliss, only a deeper kind of terror.

For the first time since college I listened to an audiobook – at least, something listed as an audiobook on Goodreads. I won a copy of The Best of Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR. It contains ten of the best or most popular episodes of the show chosen from the over 200 episodes in the show’s history. I have never listened to the actual podcast before; that may change after listening to this audiobook. While I generally care little for pop culture “news”, I would highly recommend the podcast based on these ten episodes. 5 stars.

Finally, As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes proved a fun, lighthearted anecdotal recounting of how The Princess Bride was made. Although Elwes (Westley/The Man in Black/The Dread Pirate Roberts) is listed as author, there are many sidebar recollections from surviving members of the cast. Some of the tales have already been passed around the internet, while others may be new – at least, they were new to me. Highly recommend to any fan of the movie! 5 stars.

 

 

What have you been reading?

 

 

Have a suggestion for a poem, photograph, or future post?

Drop a note in the prompt box!

 

Don’t forget to follow me on:

Facebook – where I share news stories, articles from other blogs, and various and sundry miscellany that happens to catch my eye. It’s stuff you won’t see here! Well, mostly.

Instagram – where I show you my Life in Motion and share quotes and such. The widget only shows my last three photographs – don’t you want to see them all?

Twitter – where you can see my thoughts in 140 characters or less. Also, funny retweets.

Virtual Read-Out 2015

BBW_VirtualReadout_logo3_LGLast week I promised you a video for Banned Books Week.

Well, I’m happy to report that I’ve finished them!

Yes, them – as in plural. Well, not really plural. I filmed a much longer segment and then edited it down to qualify for the ALA’s Banned Book Week Virtual Read-Out playlist on YouTube. Seriously, you should check these other videos out; some of them are quite good.

Here are mine:

The Long Version

The Short Version

Monday Morning Grievance: Censorship

It’s Monday and I haven’t had my coffee.

Monday Morning Grievances Logo 1

This week book lovers across the United States observe Banned Books Week. In case you haven’t been able to tell, I strongly support the freedom of speech [and, by extension, the press]. Yes, I have strong opinions, but as one of Voltaire’s biographers summarized his philosophy:

I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

It seems as if intolerance has grown the last several years, with people of every political, social, and cultural stripe seeking to silence those politics, values, and practices differ from their own. And while I believe in moral absolutes, I also know no belief is worth defending which seeks to silence its critics. Healthy, honest, and open debate is a sign of thriving civilization.

I could give examples, but they’re all to clear. No one side or party or people is blameless.

I just wish people could realize that disagreement is neither hate, nor intolerance, nor bigotry, nor ignorance. Society has placed acceptance on a pedestal and adopted the mantra of “Agree of Perish”.

Ignore society.

Speak Out

Be Heard

You Are Entitled To Your Opinion

Reject the Censors

IMG_4106

 

What annoys you?

 

 

Have a suggestion for a poem, photograph, or future post?

Drop a note in the prompt box!

 

Don’t forget to follow me on:

Facebook – where I share news stories, articles from other blogs, and various and sundry miscellany that happens to catch my eye. It’s stuff you won’t see here! Well, mostly.

Instagram – where I show you my Life in Motion and share quotes and such. The widget only shows my last three photographs – don’t you want to see them all?

Twitter – where you can see my thoughts in 140 characters or less. Also, funny retweets.

Banned Books Week Proclamation 2015

banned books coasterI painted this Banned Books Week coaster two years ago.

 

Banned Books Week Proclamation

 

WHEREAS, the freedom to read is essential to our democracy, and reading is among our greatest freedoms; and

 

WHEREAS, privacy is essential to the exercise of that freedom, and the right to privacy is the right to open inquiry without having the subject of one’s interest examined or scrutinized by others; and

 

WHEREAS, the freedom to read is protected by our Constitution; and

 

WHEREAS some individuals, groups, and public authorities work to remove or limit access to reading materials, to censor content in schools, to label “controversial” views, to distribute lists of “objectionable” books or authors, and to purge libraries of materials reflecting the diversity of society; and

 

WHEREAS, both governmental intimidation and the fear of censorship cause authors who seek to avoid controversy to practice self-censorship, thus limiting our access to new ideas; and

 

WHEREAS, every silencing of a heresy, every enforcement of an orthodoxy, diminishes the toughness and resilience of American society and leaves it less able to deal with controversy and difference; and

 

WHEREAS, Americans still favor free enterprise in ideas and expression, and can be trusted to exercise critical judgment, to recognize propaganda and misinformation, and to make their own decisions about what they read and believe, and to exercise the responsibilities that accompany this freedom; and

 

WHEREAS, intellectual freedom is essential to the preservation of a free society and a creative culture; and

 

WHEREAS, conformity limits the range and variety of inquiry and expression on which our democracy and our culture depend; and

 

WHEREAS, the American Library Association’s Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read is observed during the last week of September each year as a reminder to Americans not to take their precious freedom for granted; and

 

WHEREAS, Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them; now, therefore, be it

 

RESOLVED, that I celebrate the American Library Association’s Banned Books Week, 27 September – 3 October 2015, and be it further

 

RESOLVED, that I encourage all libraries and bookstores to acquire and make available materials representative of all the people in our society; and be it further

 

RESOLVED, that I encourage free people to read freely, now and forever.

 

Adopted by Me this 27th Day of September, 2015

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