Tag: books

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”

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Teaser Tuesday: Founding Brothers

Winter break has ended and school has started again.

The New Year hit the ground running, and 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.

I’ve currently read six books out of the 100 in my Goodreads Challenge.

I’ve actually settled down a bit, and [gasp] I’m only reading one book this week – that’s right, I’m not reading multiple titles at the same time. What is this New Year coming to?

This week’s book is Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis. The Truly Random Number Generator send us to page 37:

But the looming threat of possible injury and
perhaps even death did tend to focus [Hamilton's]
mind on the downside of his swashbuckling style.  
He was less suicidal than regretful, less fatalistic 
than meditative.

Founding Brothers Goodreads Cover

In Retrospect

Since I read quite a few books this week and wrote a review for each one (part of my goal for 2016, remember?) I won’t waste space by repeating it here. Simply follow the link to see my rating and review.

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

Lee Miller in Fashion by Becky E. Conekin

Heretics and Heroes: How Renaissance Artists and Reformation Priests Created Our World by Thomas Cahill

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

Mouse Muse: The Mouse in Art by Lorna Owen

Graphic: Inside the Sketchbooks of the World’s Great Graphic Designers by Steven Heller

Coming Soon

Jacksonland, by Steve Inskeep.

 

 

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.

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

The Book Culling (pt 1B)

too high tbr

I noticed something about others’ New Year Resolutions.

Rather, I noticed a lack of resolutions in that most of my acquaintances declared they weren’t making resolutions, but taking things day by day and doing what made them happy.

I would argue that this is a kind of resolution, but I digress.

With that in mind, I took a second look at my TBR.

284 books is quite a large number, and most of them ended up there because of some magazine’s Top Reads / Best Books / All [X] Should Read [Y] list.

Why should I waste my time reading things someone else says I should read?

Didn’t I already do that for 17+ years?

I think it’s time to read the books I want to read, and not base it on some arbitrary list.

The Book Culling (pt 1B)

I’m not going to list the books eliminated in this round.

I started with 284 books.

I ended with 188 books.

188 may still be high, and I may never finish the list – especially since I’m certain to continue adding to it – but they’re the books I want to read*.

Huzzah

*Subject to change without notice.

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.

The Book Culling (pt 1A)

Leather Books with Ladder

Yesterday, along with finishing my first books of 2016 [4 down; 96 to go], I took a good look my Goodreads TBR.  I wondered how I came to have over 300 books on the list, and decided to see if I could narrow the list down a bit. Here’s what happened:

Beginning: 303 books

Duplicates

These were books I’d read, but for some reason still appeared on the “to-read” list. Books removed:

Ender’s Game

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes: and Other Lessons from the Crematory

Why did I Add This?

These were books that I had no recollection of ever adding to the list. Now, before you ask, I did check out the synopsis page before removing them. My best guess is that these books were added to my list as a result of entering a giveaway. Books removed:

The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman

Dragon Choir

Contention

The Dinner

In Times Like These (In Times Like These, #1)

The Chronothon (In Times Like These, #2)

Year of the Cow: How 420 Pounds of Beef Built a Better Life for One American Family

The Sunlit Night

The Smuggler’s Gambit (Adam Fletcher Adventure #1)

Graynelore

Tangled Gardens Coloring Book: 52 Intricate Tangle Drawings to Color with Pens, Markers, or Pencils

Interest Has Waned

I remember adding these books, but for one reason or another I really have no interest in reading them (or in anyone spending their hard-earned money on one as a gift). Books removed:

Lens of War: Exploring Iconic Photographs of the Civil War

In Defense of Troy: The Prince’s Ascent

Dreams to Remember: Otis Redding, Stax Records, and the Transformation of Southern Soul

The Monogram Murders: The New Hercule Poirot Mystery

The Road Not Taken: Finding America in the Poem Everyone Loves and Almost Everyone Gets Wrong

27 Views of Asheville: A Southern Mountain Town in Prose & Poetry

Keeping an Eye Open: Essays on Art

John le Carré: The Biography

Abandoned, Will Not Return To

There is only one book in the category. When I saw it on the list I said “ha ha ha – NOPE!” Seriously – I said this out loud, annoying Smokey. Book removed:

Finnegan’s Wake

Final: 282

Moving Forward

First, I’ll be more careful about adding books to my TBR.

Second, I’ll get around to sorting my physical books . . . eventually.

This will constitute “The Book Culling (pt 2)”

What Think You?

Do Any of These Books Deserve a Second Chance?

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: Mouse Muse

I’m on my second day of the second week of Winter Break, and although my To-Do list is just about as long as it was when break began, I’m ready to start second semester.

As books have helped keep my sanity, it seems only fitting 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.

In terms of reading, this screenshot of Goodreads updates will suffice:

Currently Reading December 28 2015

Remember how I decided to read but not finish several books during the break, only finishing them after the 2016 Goodreads challenge starts? This is my progress.

Since I’m reading several books this week, let’s go with Mouse Muse: The Mouse in Art by Lorna Owen. The book is unique, with a different artist and work per spread with no artists repeated. She highlights paintings, sculpture, photography, and even modern art installations.

I’ve abandoned the Truly Random Number Generator for this week, choosing instead to highlight one of my favorite passages. From page 7:

Painters and stained-glass makers honored Saint 
Gertrude of Nivelles - who had expunged the rodents 
from seventh-century Francia, earning herself the 
awkward moniker Patron Saint of the Fear of Mice - 
with numerous portraits that included a mischief of 
penitent mice at her feet ("mischief" being a 
collective noun for mice.)

Mouse Muse Goodreads Cover

Those poor, poor mice; hopefully they will find redemption through humanity’s great artists.

In Retrospect

Although I’d intended The Relic Master to be the first book I finished in 2016, I didn’t realize the last few pages were acknowledgments. Thus, I finished it earlier than intended. However, Relic Master was such an engrossing tale I don’t mind the slight disappointment at all. Five stars and added to my “To Purchase” list.

Coming Soon

I’m reading quite a bit [see above] so it could be any one of those – – except Er Ist Wieder Da, with which I’m taking my time [it being in German and all].

 

 

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.

Christmas Song Book Tag

Book Christmas Tree

It’s Christmas Day, and hopefully there’s a book or two under the tree with your name on it; at the very least there should be a gift card to your preferred bookseller.

Perhaps as you gather ’round and tear into those gifts so carefully wrapped you’re listening to the last Christmas carols of the season. In that spirit, here’s a little game to play in which the Christmas song inspires a bookish response.

 

Christmas Song Book Tag

 

“You’re A Mean One, Mr Grinch”

Name a villainous character you couldn’t help but love.

Erik [aka the “Phantom of the Opera”]

 

“All I Want For Christmas Is You”

Which book do you most hope to find under your Christmas tree?

See Here

 

“Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer”

Name a character that overcomes major obstacles and learns to believe in themselves.

Sam Vimes, over the course of several Discworld novels

 

“Santa Claus is Coming To Town”

A character at the top of the naughty list/ a character at the top of the nice list.

Naughty: V from V for Vendetta

Nice: Virgil from The Divine Comedy

 

“Frosty The Snowman”

A book which just melts your heart.

The Shepherd’s Crown by Terry Pratchett, and not just because it’s his last . . . if you’ve read it, you know why.

 

“Feliz Navidad”

A book that takes place somewhere other than your home country.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

 

“It’s The Most Wonderful Time of Year”

Which holiday themed book do you use to spread Christmas joy?

Hogfather by Terry Pratchett

 

“Sleigh Ride”

Which fictional character would you choose to spend the holidays with?

Hermione Granger, but I have the feeling we’re so much alike we’d end up hating each other by the end.

 

“Baby It’s Cold Outside”

Which book that you didn’t like would you sacrifice to a fire to keep yourself warm?

Really? I’m going to leave you with this:

IMG_4106

 

“Do You Hear What I Hear?”

Which book(s) do you think everyone should read?

The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

 

 

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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