If Books Won Academy Awards

Ladies & Gentlemen, welcome to the first annual Bookish Academy Awards. Continue reading “If Books Won Academy Awards”

Teaser Tuesday: The Bane Chronicles

Like a basketball circling the hoop before falling in, the Wheel of Time has spun ’round to Teaser Tuesday. Continue reading “Teaser Tuesday: The Bane Chronicles”

Teaser Tuesday: Henri Matisse: Rooms with a View

Like the cycling of thousands of heating and a/c units in the South during winter, the Wheel of Time has spun ’round to Teaser Tuesday. Continue reading “Teaser Tuesday: Henri Matisse: Rooms with a View”

Teaser Tuesday: Disciples

Like a baseball card snapping in the spokes of a bicycle wheel, the Wheel of Time has spun ’round to Teaser Tuesday. Continue reading “Teaser Tuesday: Disciples”

Teaser Tuesday: Jacksonland

The school year and basketball season have hit their stride and should remain there until sometime in mid-March.

With that in mind, the Wheel of Time has turned to

Teaser Tuesday

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 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.

This week’s book is Jacksonland: President Andrew Jackson, Cherokee Chief John Ross. and A Great American Land Grab written by NPR’s Steve Inskeep. For those that listen to him on a daily basis, one can’t help but hear him narrate his own words.

The Truly Random Number Generator send us to page 199:

But in the summer of 1829, Evarts was exactly what 
Ross needed: a genuine ally who was willing to fight 
alongside him as an equal. Evarts was different than 
Henry Clay, who supported Indian rights but also 
thought Indians were doomed. While Clay thought 
Indians' "disappearance from the human family would 
be no great loss to the world," Evarts placed them 
on the same level as white men. 

Jacksonland Goodreads cover

In Retrospect

Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation

Founding Brothers Goodreads CoverAuthor: Joseph J. Ellis.

Although this book adds little new (if anything at all) to the historical record, it is both enjoyable and mostly readable – two qualities which may have helped it win the Pulitzer Prize.

My only fault is the author’s overuse of adjectives and certain phrases – after some time it felt I was reading a fluffed-up report.

4 Stars


 

The Color of Magic

The Color of Magic Goodreads coverAuthor: Terry Pratchett

This is both the first published Discworld novel & the first novel in the “Rincewind Cycle” – the series of Discworld books detailing the misadventures of the “wizzard” Rincewind.

If you picked up this book after seeing the film The Color of Magic, be aware that this book only covers the first part of the film; for the complete story, you’ll also want The Light Fantastic.

As this is the first book in the series, Pratchett spends a good deal more time (comparatively) discussing the actual mechanics of the Disc. Some may find this dull, while the more science-and-math minded may find such discussion downright enjoyable.

I personally find the Discworld series both witty and funny, but such accolades depend greatly on the individual. Much of Pratchett’s humor is dry and his wit relies on the readers’ knowledge of Earth’s workings and/or mythology.

The Color of Magic is fun as pure fantasy, but also contains splendid nuggets of joy for the more cerebral-minded.

5 Stars

Coming Soon

Disciples: The World War II Missions of the CIA Directors Who Fought for Wild Bill Donovan by Douglas C. Waller

 


 

What have you been reading?

 


 

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Oc: The Element of Magic

Sign the Petition to Name Element 117 Octarine

in Honour of Sir Terry Pratchett

Discworld Librarian

The Petition

To:

IUPAC [International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry

Joint Institute for Nuclear Research

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

This petition is to name element 117, recently confirmed by the International Union of Applied Chemistry, as ‘Octarine’, with the proposed symbol Oc (pronounced ‘ook’), in honour of the late Terry Pratchett and his Discworld series of books.

The Discworld series has sold more than 70 million books worldwide, in 37 different languages. Terry Pratchett died in 2015 and his final book, The Shepherd’s Crown, was published in the same year. He was well-known as a lover of science and, with two well-known science writers, co-wrote a series of four books called The Science of the Discworld, which took a sideways look at ’roundworld’ (Earth) science.

Octarine, in the Discworld books, is known as ‘the colour of magic’, which forms the title of Pratchett’s first ever Discworld book. According to Disc mythology, octarine is visible only to wizards and cats, and is generally described as a sort of greenish-yellow purple colour, which seems perfect for what will probably be the final halogen in the periodic table. Octarine is also a particularly pleasing choice because, not only would it honour a world-famous and much-loved author, but it also has an ‘ine’ ending, consistent with the other elements in group 17.

Octarine is being counted as ‘a mythological concept’ under IUPAC rules, which state that elements must be named after “a mythological concept or character; a mineral, or similar substance; a place or geographical region; a property of the element; or a scientist”. The Discworld stories are certainly stories about gods and heroes, and 70 million books surely count for something.

[signed]

The Chronicle Flask & 8,000+ Others


Now, should we call it

“The Element of Magic”

or

“The Element Fantastic”


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.

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