It's October; fall into reading.
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October Reading
Comments (139)I'm in the middle of Mary Gentle's 1610: A Sundial in a Grave. It's been marketed as an historical fantasy/adventure pastiche that involves plots to kill both Henry of Navarre of France and James I of England -- and is all that -- but I think more important is its exploration of gender and sexuality. Some might find the romantic relationship a bit too deviant, but I'm finding it quite profound the further it progresses. It's the kind of book that should have been nominated for a Tiptree award, but I don't find it on any Tiptree shortlist. And have I mentioned that Mary Gentle really knows how to write a good sword fight?...See MoreThe sweet calm sunshine of October - and what are you reading?
Comments (75)Finished a rather fun read of Love Among the Butterflies by Margaret Fountaine, a collection of her diary entries which detail her wide travels across the world collecting butterflies (and sometimes men). [grin] Fountaine was a vicar's daughter (I think) who grew up at the tail end of Victoria and the beginning of Edwardian days, and as she was not married, she found herself somewhat unoccupied. She started to collect butterflies, and after a while, became a serious entomologist and traveled across the world adding pieces to her large collection. (Lots of overlaps with Edith Holden here.) So - clearly, this is an unorthodox woman for the times: she travels widely to countries not familiar to a lot of people back then, she ends up having a long-term relationship (and traveling with) a man from Syria, she becomes an expert in butterflies... It's quite admirable just how far she pushed acceptability in female terms back then, but it did come with a price. She really struggles to reconcile her love of freedom with the cultural expectations of the time with regard to spinsters and marriage and "suitable" partners. Despite all her travel experience, she stays curiously unhappy throughout her life (at least as told in these entries). She is very defensive all the time, but was heartless to those who kept her close to their hearts. Her Syrian lover could not be publicly acknowledged for many years, and although they travel and work well together, she insisted on them having different rooms and standards (despite their relationship), and she could never grasp that he was in love with her for realz. In their rather frequent seperations, she would drive herself to distraction imagining various horrible scenes involving him and an accident or another woman etc. Fountaine does acknowledge in her diaries that she adores her freedom, but anything that seems to threaten that state of affairs immediately puts her into a tailspin of being mean to her family, friends and lovers, of acting selfishly and generally being a bit of a pinhead. However, just because she was rather an unkind person doesn't make this book any less fascinating. The illustrations taken from her diary pages are intriguing to look at: her writing is immaculate with very few errors and she justifies her handwriting on every page. (Goodness - how to do that without making a crossing-out every now and then, who knows?). She had volumes of diaries and numerous boxes of butterfly specimens that she bequeathed to a museum, but only with the condition that the museum administration do not open the diary box for 40 years after her death. This agreement was stuck to, and so they waited for the correct time. Thus were found the diaries. So - good read overall. Woodnymph - you mentioned earlier that you had a copy but it was only a paperback and had type that was difficult to read. Would you like me to send you this copy? It's only going to the library book sale otherwise,......See MoreWhat are we reading in October 2019?
Comments (131)Lucky Annie, you get to immerse yourself in Moscow for a transcendent reading experience! It was definitely one of those books that left me so sad to come to the last page. I"m in the midst of reading one of the JA Jance Joanna Brady/JP Beaumont series of mysteries. This one is Fire and Ice, and although it's listed as a Beaumont mystery (I've not read that series from its start) it is actually a dual storyline book; each character alternates chapters. They are working separate cases but eventually they will dovetail and the protagonists will connect. I want to thank the person, apologies for not recalling exactly who, that recommended the Joanna Brady books. Love them, and reading one is definitely literary comfort food. I know I'll get solid characters, an intriguing mystery and a sense I've checked in with some virtual friends....See MoreOctober Reading
Comments (142)I have been auditing college and university classes in both VA and SC for the past 20 or so years. In both states, there is a fee to be paid, even for senior citizens. We can opt to take tests and exams, or not. Among the interesting classes I have audited: History of Ireland, History of Western Art, Ancient Egypt, History of Witch Persecution in Germany, Life of Martin Luther and the Reformation, English Renaissance Literature, History of the American West (with an emphasis on Native American tribes), and Voyages of Columbus. Often, we have been assigned original manuscripts to, as in Columbus' journals. Here in Charleston, I'm fortunate to live only a few blocks from the College....See Moreyoyobon_gw
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