tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26945080595414223172024-03-13T15:45:07.987-04:00Ramblings of a Devoted BookwormJust a little space for a passionate bibliophile to share some of her love of literature...Emmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290515700311919367noreply@blogger.comBlogger651125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694508059541422317.post-59494853813605227052023-06-18T23:40:00.008-04:002023-06-18T23:41:06.992-04:00Happy Father's Day<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As I always do, on Father's Day I think of the wonderful fathers in my life. My grandfather (who passed away in 2022), my godfather, and of course my father. And in a special way, I always remember my dear, dear, blogging grandfather, who used to share words of wisdom and comments on this blog, back in its heyday. I miss you, O.F., and I hope that you're happier where you are now. </span></p>Emmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290515700311919367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694508059541422317.post-32864858586286472452023-06-10T23:09:00.003-04:002023-06-10T23:09:58.433-04:00Under the Pyramids (H.P. Lovecraft)<p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1530808810i/29882742.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="308" height="316" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1530808810i/29882742.jpg" width="205" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The other day, my assistants asked me if I had ready anything by H.P. Lovecraft before. And I admitted that I had not. So, Kilbronson and Ahmed laid this title on my desk--a literary mashup of Lovecraft and Harry Houdini--as in the famous magician, Harry Houdini. How could I not get excited about that?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Um...</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><i>Under the Pyramids</i> by H.P. Lovecraft has two distinctions to its name...first, this is my first foray into Lovecraft territory. And second, I really hated this story. I won't lie to you, dear readers. This was not a good story.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Spoilers Ahead:</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">I mean, it started off pretty good. Harry Houdini himself goes on vacation in Egypt, tries to stay incognito and ends up accidentally attracting too much attention when he tries to "show up" a lesser magician. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The real meat and potatoes, however, occurs when Houdini acts as the "second" in a fight on a pyramid between his guide and another man--and learns that the whole thing was a setup to get him alone in the desert in the middle of the night so that he could be bound and gagged and tossed into a hole in the pyramid. Apparently, the Egyptians felt that Houdini's tricks were somehow insulting to the ancient magic of their country.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">I found Lovecraft's writing to be ridiculously edgy, and everything was like "oh no! The world is a terrifying dark place full of great elder gods that existed before time and don't even care because we're so pathetically insignificant." Bleah. Count me unimpressed. It wasn't scary, it was just weird, and not in a good way.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">I'll be honest and say that I probably won't be reading anymore Lovecraft after this. If you think I should give him another go, however, please feel free to comment your favorite stories and change my mind.</span></p>Emmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290515700311919367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694508059541422317.post-30625558745964515282023-06-05T17:18:00.000-04:002023-06-05T17:18:02.702-04:00Lost in a Pyramid or the Mummy's Curse (Louisa May Alcott)<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In order to help me find more books to fill my shelves, I hired two assistants--an Arabic Egyptian named Ahmed and a Londoner named Kilbronson. Together, we hope to track down as many classic mummy stories as we can. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Within a day, they had already brought me a goodish pile, and this one was towards the top of the list. It's a little-known gem by Louisa May Alcott (you know, of <i>Little Women</i> fame?). Now, </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">I'll start this review my admitting that I'm not in love with this book cover. But, that's the cover that Goodreads used, so that's the one that I'm going to use, too.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1301761029i/7615230.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="305" height="400" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1301761029i/7615230.jpg" width="305" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: justify;">So, let's talk about this mummy chiller. Finally, we have a mummy that's not completely sweet and charming! Ironically, though, the mummy doesn't do too much on her own. Of course, as always, there are spoilers ahead, so read at your own risk.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In this story, a man gives his girlfriend some seeds, telling her that he cannot share their origin, because that story is too terrible to recount. She pushes back <i>slightly</i> and the man folds like a cheap suit and tells her <i>everything</i>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And everything, in this context, is a story about he and his friend made a bunch of stupid decisions, got lost in a pyramid, and burned a mummy in order to create a smoke signal for their rescuers to follow. Apparently, the mummy they burned was buried with a small box of seeds close to her breast, and of course, there's not only a curse on the seeds, there's a curse on her, too--because she's a sorceress.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">If you're confused, it's okay. So was I. Two friends burn an Egyptian sorceress's mummy in order to create a smoke signal and bring about her wrath is not a usual story that you'd expect to find. But, here's where it gets crazy. The girlfriend suggests planting the sorceress's seeds. In protest, her boyfriend throws them into the fire, only to reveal later that he had saved one of the seeds and had his friend plant it. And the girlfriend reveals that she did the same thing.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Against all better judgement, friend and girlfriend decide to wear their flowers on their person, and the flower's deadly poison (a mummy's curse?) seeps into their skin and kills them. Shock and horror abound!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I guess I'd have to admit that I saw the ending coming--after a point. And while I enjoyed this story, it was too short to really sink my teeth into. The biggest thing that stood out to me is the continual line of terrible decisions being made by all the characters involved.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Cheers to my assistants for starting things off with a bang. I'll keep you all posted on the other titles they send my way.</span></div>Emmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290515700311919367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694508059541422317.post-17124415694445642392023-05-29T22:57:00.005-04:002023-05-29T22:57:55.996-04:00Moby Dick Summer<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqoM_HWM1oAnPHd6HF_cq8-QzxGeI3K2km8SwzFTWjjoVUxJz40_VGpKHSoUb67UeUxxGd1QbHgx1u5_6RJIVMULofuUVpsFJ8NRQ7mtxeBYw4worpUhh5AngUGCzXSsZgWd7hJPSjQ-SehKyvZxoQhtT97DBFUfC_fju-fFTp6tNzoAnnZMxtwJyN/s1280/Moby%20Dick%20Summer.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqoM_HWM1oAnPHd6HF_cq8-QzxGeI3K2km8SwzFTWjjoVUxJz40_VGpKHSoUb67UeUxxGd1QbHgx1u5_6RJIVMULofuUVpsFJ8NRQ7mtxeBYw4worpUhh5AngUGCzXSsZgWd7hJPSjQ-SehKyvZxoQhtT97DBFUfC_fju-fFTp6tNzoAnnZMxtwJyN/s320/Moby%20Dick%20Summer.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As all my lovely readers know, my theme for summer reading is 100% going to be about mummies. My summer reading themes, however, are only a portion of my summer reading--and I'll read other books in-between. One of those "other" books this year is <i>Moby-Dick</i>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Last year, I tried reading along with the <b><a href="https://mobydicksummer.substack.com/" target="_blank">Substack</a></b>, <i>Moby Dick Summer</i>. I had a great time, but came in a bit late, so it was a constant game of "catch up" for me. I really enjoyed the book, though, which is surprising, since I had tried to read it multiple times before and <i>hated</i> it. In the end, it got me through some very difficult times and I'm very excited to read it again.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I hope you'll join me!</span></div><p></p>Emmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290515700311919367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694508059541422317.post-90270295974924882652023-05-27T23:06:00.002-04:002023-05-27T23:06:34.273-04:00The Mummy's Foot (Théophile Gautier)<div class="separator"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWCz8t0VXQq4LALugv4-E-PpgADjx0ayQw0Vs9E36nxu57kd1_m8z0aAMiGEYjeMU9jwmmSBBwOfBStCkSgBihqCBqyiq8j_aVBjYYMFeM4rssKNephHNURGTry4Zxjk5NZqC6amzamCIjqeL3ufgKsJbDZfDuFKHDSv2cGil2R9iRzK5mFjDExe5C" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWCz8t0VXQq4LALugv4-E-PpgADjx0ayQw0Vs9E36nxu57kd1_m8z0aAMiGEYjeMU9jwmmSBBwOfBStCkSgBihqCBqyiq8j_aVBjYYMFeM4rssKNephHNURGTry4Zxjk5NZqC6amzamCIjqeL3ufgKsJbDZfDuFKHDSv2cGil2R9iRzK5mFjDExe5C=w201-h280" width="201" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Let's set the scene for my summer reading! As you all know, I'm a librarian, and as a librarian, I naturally have a large personal collection of books to dip into. But, that being said, I also have to get a lot of my books and sources sourced from somewhere else. Which is why I have been sending away for story after story. I'll share my updates here.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">First up, we have the story "The Mummy's Foot" by Gautier. And </span>I'll be honest--I wasn't entirely sure what I was going to get myself into with a story with a name like that. I had a pretty basic idea, having read the description online, but it was certainly a weird, weird story.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Our narrator visits a curio shop to pick up a paperweight, and decides while he's there, to purchase the mummified foot of Princess Hermonthis for just such a purpose. But, when he brings the foot home (after going into excruciating detail about every square inch of it) he is awakened in the middle of the night by the princess herself, searching for the missing limb.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As far as horror stories go, this wasn't really that scary. In fact, if it wasn't so weird, I'd say it was cute. Hermonthis, like Allamistakeo in "Some Words with a Mummy" is delightful, well-spoken, and surprisingly nice. The narrator is a bit dippy, but the story as a whole was pretty amusing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So far, I'm two mummy stories in, and we've yet to have a real dastardly, dangerous one. I guess that bodes well for the rest of the summer, although I must admit that I'm far from being scared.</div></span>Emmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290515700311919367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694508059541422317.post-42860372369684676362023-05-18T22:40:00.000-04:002023-05-18T22:40:02.419-04:00Some Words with a Mummy (Edgar Allan Poe)<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I'd like to offer a Summer Reading preview with one of the titles that inspired this idea. I've read this short story by Poe before, but I thought it would be fun for a reread.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Our unnamed narrator is awakened in the middle of the night by a friend of his who wants him to come and see the mummy that he is going to unwrap that night. As he tells us this story, the narrator admits that he's not sure if it was real or a dream brought on by eating too much Welsh rabbit. Either way, we know we're in for a wild ride.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I guess it should go without saying, but please bear in mind that there might be some spoilers ahead. Thanks!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFgXmjfZKnvr5LyKCKHdkCi1jDBrosG9drzyQ0Yt6MDTnsQWg60U2ju66UzWPdZHH2zqrGTurOBXQN-6IcTmloB6GacNmG-o1Mjsv05df835fMV0yW_PfUZI8Mhl9IS4sF7pd_zJbQLAvvDTq2nDvqhuApRi1eY6TfIdDzUN1jqijC16KF-2N9pl4h/s840/Mummy.png" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="840" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFgXmjfZKnvr5LyKCKHdkCi1jDBrosG9drzyQ0Yt6MDTnsQWg60U2ju66UzWPdZHH2zqrGTurOBXQN-6IcTmloB6GacNmG-o1Mjsv05df835fMV0yW_PfUZI8Mhl9IS4sF7pd_zJbQLAvvDTq2nDvqhuApRi1eY6TfIdDzUN1jqijC16KF-2N9pl4h/s320/Mummy.png" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The unwrapping party is a little different than one might expect, since after the bindings are removed, the group notices that this mummy is not prepared in the traditional way. He appears to have glass eyes, and his internal organs have not been removed. Someone has the bright idea to shock the corpse with a battery and see what happens. Well, what happens is that he comes to life!</span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, the first thing that makes our mummy, Allamistakeo stand out is that he's not the sort of violent, deadly terror one comes to expect from a fictional mummy. In fact, apart from one scene</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> where he quite literally kicks someone out the window (surprisingly, no one was hurt), he's pretty docile.</span></div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Rather than being upset and confused about being awakened from his eternal slumber, Allamistakeo reveals that he was part of a special sect of Egyptians who are mummified in a special way, in order that they could be revived in the future to share history and other information with future generations. This leads to a lively discussion between the gathered friends and Allamistakeo about religion, technology, and other things.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">To rate this mummy, I'd say that he was charming and not at all scary. Bonus points for being incredibly strong and smart. A mummy that I would not mind meeting.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I would like to point out as a final aside, that the narrator's comments about too much grilled cheese and beer (and even the mummy's name, All-a-mistake-o) points to this being a pretty vivid dream. A delightful story all the way through, and a pleasantly witty one from the master of the macabre.</span></p><p></p>Emmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290515700311919367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694508059541422317.post-33811839941637034562023-05-07T18:52:00.005-04:002023-05-07T18:53:51.543-04:00A Summer Reading Prelude<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">We've still got a little ways to go until Memorial Day, but I was already getting excited about my topic, so I picked up a few books with mummy themes to get "wrapped up in". These aren't exactly the types of books I was planning on sampling for Summer Reading, so they fit in very nicely as part of the prelude.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1524538140i/38812223.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="280" height="168" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1524538140i/38812223.jpg" width="117" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">First, we have <i>The Mummy</i> by Kenny Abdo. This book was really simplified for younger readers, almost to the point where I didn't see there <i>being </i>a point, if you know what I mean. I finished, sort of scratching my head. If the topic is too scary for younger readers, perhaps it shouldn't be a book, instead of simplifying the book until all the scary bits are taken out.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">We did much better, however with <i>What is the Story of the Mummy?</i> by Sheila Keenan. This book was very similar in concept, but actually shared the story of the first <i>Mummy</i> movie, plus facts about mummies themselves, how they are created, and the different types of mummies. Plus, it touched on some of the <i>Mummy</i> sequel films, and even included the later iterations, such as the series with Brendan Frasier and the newest one with Tom Cruise.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1626369558i/56298799.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="456" data-original-width="318" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1626369558i/56298799.jpg" width="139" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">Finally, let's wrap up this list with something a little more light-hearted. When I was a kid, I went through a major "joke books phase." (Does that happen to everyone or was that just me?) Anyway, I would constantly raid the shelves of anything related to jokes or riddles. I couldn't get enough! </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">What I'm getting at is that the last book on my list was actually one of those books! <i>Mummy Riddles</i> (Katy Hall) looked super familiar when I saw it in the library catalogue, and low and behold, I definitely remembered it as I started to flip through the pages. I totally read this book when I was a kid! It was published in 1997, meaning it was probably pretty new when I first got my grubby little hands on it. I'm sure you can imagine what a delightful surprise it was!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1582724281i/1096656.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="665" data-original-width="444" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1582724281i/1096656.jpg" width="134" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">The jokes are just as corny as you would imagine they'd be, and while I wasn't rolling in the aisles, I definitely got a few chuckles out of this collection. Of the three titles here, I think this was the one that I enjoyed the most, although whether it was because of nostalgia or genuinely good writing and illustration is hard to say.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I have a couple other mummy short stories I might poke at before the summer reading challenge officially starts, just to keep the hype going. We'll see. Either way, keep tuned in to this page, and I hope I'll have a little more for you in the coming weeks! Happy Reading!</span></div>Emmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290515700311919367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694508059541422317.post-80509565117482819862023-04-30T19:34:00.002-04:002023-04-30T19:34:31.092-04:00Summer Reading 2023<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Welcome, my friends, to another installment of my yearly Summer Reading Challenge! For the rest of this post, please listen to the following video at a low volume. Thanks!</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cFGCu5hnLyA" title="YouTube video player" width="500"></iframe></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, I'm sure that those of you who actually still read this blog have noticed the decided absence of a certain type of post over the past few months...namely, the one focusing on my yearly reading challenge. I'll admit, I posted my intentions in a fit of enthusiasm, which quickly fizzled out. You see, my drafts were getting burdensome, since I read <i>a lot. </i>In fact, I've read 100+ books already, and we're just into May. It was too hard to keep up with the pace.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, I'm abandoning that plan and moving on with this one. Starting on Memorial Day (May 29th) and ending on Labor Day (Sept. 4th), I'll be working on my new Summer Reading Challenge for the year: Read Like An Egyptian (aka, books about mummies!)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I've been planning this for a few months now and I'm starting to really get excited, so I'll start dropping a few preview titles (think of it as a warm-up) into the blog, but we'll really consider Summer Reading started on Memorial Day.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">There are so many classic books featuring mummies, and I'm excited to read as many as I can get my hands on! We'll be evaluating each mummy for how scary or interesting it is, and each story for its creativity.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I hope you'll all join me. If you read along, feel free to drop the titles of mummy stories you've read and loved in the comments of any of the upcoming posts. I look forward to taking a look!</span></p>Emmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290515700311919367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694508059541422317.post-3339457161505864642022-12-25T14:05:00.004-05:002022-12-25T14:05:43.710-05:00Reading Challenge 2023<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-TvIWQcG5AQ_8CjvxxhQAtNo7a8h0JIas72_pgL1pf-jwyeRgaaMVZxa44WeO-BBrxtlofw9gDctjagQgCLrCh0OAZ3gHZgoErhiJnm3-eYRJhxn70vwce4yxYekUHo7mIoGtZfRToByFG77IfTxTUDDGkfoItPswCRw63ojiCxc0F8H-jvTlbMFp/s640/AntoineBook.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-TvIWQcG5AQ_8CjvxxhQAtNo7a8h0JIas72_pgL1pf-jwyeRgaaMVZxa44WeO-BBrxtlofw9gDctjagQgCLrCh0OAZ3gHZgoErhiJnm3-eYRJhxn70vwce4yxYekUHo7mIoGtZfRToByFG77IfTxTUDDGkfoItPswCRw63ojiCxc0F8H-jvTlbMFp/w400-h300/AntoineBook.webp" width="400" /></span></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Merry Christmas, everyone!</span></p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">While I have a few moments of unexpected solitude, I thought it might be fun to share my plans for the coming year. As longtime readers know, I love to read, and every year I try some sort of reading challenge. I usually do well, but I never finish, so this time, I'm trying something a little bit different.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Past attempts have seen me using a book for as many prompts as I could. Other years, each book can only complete one prompt. I've tried starting in December. I've tried keeping track on paper. I've tried keeping track online. And this time, I think I found the magic solution.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I desperately want to whittle down my TBR list, so I'm going to try and take books from that list exclusively. And in order to do that, and to make sure that I don't get stuck throughout the year, I've started putting together a list of books (from my TBR) that fit each prompt. I've done something similar in the past, where I had one or two books selected. But, this year, I've got lists upwards of 10 titles to choose from for each prompt. There should be no way that I'll be at a loss for titles to fit my mood!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I'm combining PopSugar's Reading Challenge with three others I found online, plus one I made up (a book title for each color of the rainbow). It's going to be a real challenge, but I'm very excited.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">To keep me on track, each month, at the end of the month, I'll post a list of all the books I read and the prompts they fulfilled (with a small description of the book and my thoughts). So, keep your eyes peeled throughout the year, for 12 book prompt reading lists!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I'll start the festivities off on January 1st. We're looking at 173 prompts.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I hope you'll join me in sharing your reading selections (and reading challenge prompts) in the comments throughout the year!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Thank you for being a part of my ramblings!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">♥Emmy</span></p>Emmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290515700311919367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694508059541422317.post-1428976936780296212022-05-20T15:40:00.001-04:002022-05-20T15:40:03.803-04:00The Parasite and Other Tales of Terror (Arthur Conan Doyle)<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1596895819l/53483764.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="518" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1596895819l/53483764.jpg" width="207" /></span></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As we are still in the Summer Reading Prelude, this next story came to me via the post once again. I must admit I was very excited, especially considering how interesting the last one had been. I eagerly curled up in my favorite chair with a cup of tea. There were quite a few tales to unpack in this collection, and I devoured each and every one.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I won't go into much detail about the stories, as I don't want to spoil them, but I can at least give you a short synopsis or teaser. I started with <i>The Parasite</i>, a chilling tale of a scientist who first learns about the fascinating world of psychology, and decides to participate in an experiment involving hypnotism--to his great peril. It was by far the longest title in the collection and a great start to the reading.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Fans of the supernatural and of psychic phenomena will also enjoy <i>The Great Keinplatz Experiment</i>, about a professor and his student who attempt an "impossible" venture where their souls leave their bodies, and <i>How it Happened</i>, which is being narrated through a medium who writes instead of speaking.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As you well know, last summer I went out to sea, so the tales <i>J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement</i> and <i>The Captain of the Pole-Star</i> were of particular interest to me with their nautical themes. I especially liked the former, as it dealt with the mysterious circumstances surrounding the ship <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Celeste" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Mary Celeste</a>, a real-life mystery that was never solved.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The rest of the stories were all equally good, with <i>The Bully of Brocas Court</i> turning out (for me) to be the scariest in the collection, as a boxer and his sponsor end up in a fight against a terrifying opponent. <i>The Mystery of Sasassa Valley</i> was a suspenseful tale of two friends (Englishmen living in Africa) who hear a story about a demon living in Sasassa Valley and go to investigate<i>. The Ring of Thoth</i> is a classic mummy story set in the Louvre<i>, </i>and finally, my favorite in the collection had to be <i>Selecting a Ghost</i>, where an insufferable homeowner goes to great lengths to make sure that there is a ghost in his new house. While all the tales had some element of horror to them, this one was also surprisingly funny.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The collection as a whole was a very good one, and while I felt that <i>How it Happened</i> was the weakest of the collection, I thought on the whole, the stories were all very good and there was not a clunker in the bunch. I can only say that I now greatly look forward to my next Conan Doyle adventure, and with Memorial Day quickly approaching, I know I have a whole summer to enjoy these delicious tales!</span></p>Emmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290515700311919367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694508059541422317.post-71018543273818757272022-05-15T10:43:00.000-04:002022-05-15T10:43:01.452-04:00The Doings of Raffles Haw (Arthur Conan Doyle)<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328312122l/6400487.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="305" height="317" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328312122l/6400487.jpg" width="241" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As our first teatime is before Summer Reading officially begins, Sir Arthur and I are communicating by letter. I sit down and eagerly tear open the envelope, pulling out the sheets containing our first story: <u>The Doings of Raffles Haw</u>.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, for reasons completely unknown to me, I keep referring to this novella as "The Goings of Israel Daw". I'm pretty sure that Chesterton had a short story or a novel with a similar name*. But, I digress.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My tea of choice for this story is chamomile, since this is a somewhat more relaxed story (relying more on tension than direct action) and it would do me good to be relaxed. The tea is the same golden color as the pollen-covered landscape outside, which also seems fitting. Because of the inhospitality of the landscape, I am reading this in my library.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">One word of warning before you start this story. Do not Google it. In fact, don't really read the book description, either. The description I got in advance did not reveal the secret to Raffles Haw's wealth, which meant it came as a complete surprise to me. But, when I googled it afterwards: BOOM! Big spoiler right away. Save yourself the surprise.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, the story was a really interesting one, and I was completely hooked from the start. The McIntyres are down on their luck after their father's failed business venture, and have to move to a small town in the countryside. Quite by chance, they become acquainted with their insanely rich neighbor, Raffles Haw (Gatsby has <i>nothing</i> on this guy!). But, as everyone gets closer, the eldest Mr. McIntyre becomes more and more suspicious of Haw and his money. Where does it all come from?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This story is amazing. The plot itself is pretty simple, but the magic is in all the inventions that Haw has in his house. Conan Doyle's imagination is boundless, and it was so much fun to see all the insane gadgetry that he concocted. I won't talk too much about that here, as with the secret of his wealth, it was more fun to come across it as I was reading, as opposed to knowing it in advance. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">The central message of this story might come across as a little preachy at times, but it never felt overwhelmingly so. And it certainly never affected my enjoyment of the story.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The whole experience left me very excited for more adventures to come.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">*He did. It was "The Honor of Israel Gow"</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p>Emmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290515700311919367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694508059541422317.post-7540218374612910872022-05-14T22:50:00.001-04:002022-05-14T22:50:41.234-04:00Summer Reading 2022<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlX5sqDnHnZienbGQOPxcAPA-6g_Vi5yMAfLMSfdsYqjRoJ9M4spBu-qobz3_m_gVx08mVlDLX528GmY2IG87zklCAs4U8gYkYD3FuxWzIN9xYy8S6PcoF7LK8vbnrhjwH7biMKqlBlqO7jtHV2NW52gWHg3Zna8evkzSICjUA-WrZKTaZf3uDAaa_/s670/teabritish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="670" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlX5sqDnHnZienbGQOPxcAPA-6g_Vi5yMAfLMSfdsYqjRoJ9M4spBu-qobz3_m_gVx08mVlDLX528GmY2IG87zklCAs4U8gYkYD3FuxWzIN9xYy8S6PcoF7LK8vbnrhjwH7biMKqlBlqO7jtHV2NW52gWHg3Zna8evkzSICjUA-WrZKTaZf3uDAaa_/s320/teabritish.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: georgia; text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Welcome to another Summer Reading post! Last year's theme, <i>A Summer at Sea</i> was so much fun that I actually considered creating themes for my Fall and Winter reading, as well. But, I didn't. Summer Reading is a sacred thing, and I don't want to mess with something that's not broken.</div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, it's pretty much summer again, and I'm preparing for my next theme. I've hashed out multiple themes over the last few months, including Haunted Houses, Adventure Stories, Fairy Tales, and The Foreign Legion, but nothing felt quite right. Then, quite by chance, the perfect idea fell into my lap.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It may come as a surprise to you that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote more than just Sherlock Holmes stories. In fact, he wrote tons of novels, short stories, and scientific treatises on a variety of topics, from historical fiction to military history to spiritualism. Now, normally, I won't make one author my Summer Reading theme, since their work tends to be somewhat similar to itself, and I get bored. But, with such a wide array of topics such as this, I know that I'll have plenty to keep me occupied for months!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, welcome to this month's Summer Reading Theme: Teatime With Arthur! Otherwise known as reading the writings of Arthur Conan Doyle!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">For the curious reader, who has been following along for a while, here is a rundown of my themes so far:</span></p><ul style="background-color: #e0e0e0; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin-left: 10px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><li style="background: url("https://resources.blogblog.com/blogblog/data/tictac/tictac_orange.gif") left 6px no-repeat; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">2010: Gothic Novels</span></li><li style="background: url("https://resources.blogblog.com/blogblog/data/tictac/tictac_orange.gif") left 6px no-repeat; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">2011: Scary Stories and Mythical Monsters</span></li><li style="background: url("https://resources.blogblog.com/blogblog/data/tictac/tictac_orange.gif") left 6px no-repeat; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">2012: A Summer in Middle Earth</span></li><li style="background: url("https://resources.blogblog.com/blogblog/data/tictac/tictac_orange.gif") left 6px no-repeat; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">2013: Summer School</span></li><li style="background: url("https://resources.blogblog.com/blogblog/data/tictac/tictac_orange.gif") left 6px no-repeat; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">2014: It's a Mystery!</span></li><li style="background: url("https://resources.blogblog.com/blogblog/data/tictac/tictac_orange.gif") left 6px no-repeat; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">2015: To Read or Not to Read</span></li><li style="background: url("https://resources.blogblog.com/blogblog/data/tictac/tictac_orange.gif") left 6px no-repeat; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">2016: Professional Fan-Fiction</span></li><li style="background: url("https://resources.blogblog.com/blogblog/data/tictac/tictac_orange.gif") left 6px no-repeat; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">2017: [Skipped this year]</span></li><li style="background: url("https://resources.blogblog.com/blogblog/data/tictac/tictac_orange.gif") left 6px no-repeat; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">2018: Monster Mash</span></li><li style="background: url("https://resources.blogblog.com/blogblog/data/tictac/tictac_orange.gif") left 6px no-repeat; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">2019: [Skipped this year]</span></li><li style="background: url("https://resources.blogblog.com/blogblog/data/tictac/tictac_orange.gif") left 6px no-repeat; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">2020: [Skipped this year]</span></li><li style="background: url("https://resources.blogblog.com/blogblog/data/tictac/tictac_orange.gif") left 6px no-repeat; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">2021: A Summer at Sea</span></li><li style="background: url("https://resources.blogblog.com/blogblog/data/tictac/tictac_orange.gif") left 6px no-repeat; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">2022: Teatime with Arthur</span></li></ul><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And as always, if you want to keep up with ALL my readings for the summer (and beyond!) you can <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6688540-emmy" target="_blank">follow me on Goodreads</a>.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Summer Reading starts Memorial Day, but I'll be adding a Summer Reading Prelude this year, for the next two weeks until the big day! I hope you'll join me--grab a cup of tea and a Conan Doyle book (Sherlock or otherwise!) and get ready to read!</span></p>Emmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290515700311919367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694508059541422317.post-42009242718974615692021-07-24T21:49:00.003-04:002021-07-24T21:49:33.625-04:00Two Years Before the Mast (Richard Henry Dana Jr.)<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1183492071l/1425916._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="290" height="446" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1183492071l/1425916._SY475_.jpg" width="273" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Your captain regrets to say that after two weeks at sea with Mr. Dana, she has decided to quit reading </span><u style="font-family: georgia;">Two Years Before the Mast</u><span style="font-family: georgia;">. It's not a decision that I come to lightly, as I hate quitting books, but I'm just not getting into it, and it's been two weeks of on-and-off reading and I've barely made any headway.</span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, the story itself is actually a memoir by a young Harvard student who starts losing his sight. In an effort to fix what the doctors could not, he decides that working as a sailor will be just the cure he's looking for (a strange conclusion, but okay...). Anyway, he goes on to spend two years as a sailor and recounts the experience.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The book had the potential to be really interesting, but it also had the potential to be very boring. And it fell somewhere in the middle, but closer to the boring side. Still, I enjoyed some of the passages, but had to stop about 20-30% in. I would, however, be curious to learn if Dana ever went back to school, or if he chose to pursue the life of a sailor full-time. I'm guessing, since he wrote this book, that he went back to continue his studies. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">If you are looking for a true story of life at sea, then this is certainly the book for you. However, if you are looking for more of a high-seas, swashbuckling adventure, than I would advise you to choose a different book.</span></p>Emmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290515700311919367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694508059541422317.post-12987383163027277352021-07-05T11:28:00.007-04:002021-07-05T11:28:55.446-04:00Fourth of July (Fireworks and a New Friend)<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2020/06/07/13/33/fireworks-5270439_960_720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="267" src="https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2020/06/07/13/33/fireworks-5270439_960_720.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />As I'm sure many of you know, I'm terribly afraid of spiders. I hate, hate, HATE them. But last night, as we watched the fireworks from a small side window, I noticed a creepy crawly friend chilling in the window frame (on the outside). He was just hanging there, completely relaxed, his little face turned towards the fireworks, enjoying the show. I wonder what spiders think of when they see fireworks. Was he enjoying it, or just confused about the bright lights in the dark sky? Either way, it was nice to enjoy the sight with my family and a new, eight-legged friend.</span><p></p>Emmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290515700311919367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694508059541422317.post-45214119391113110812021-07-02T16:25:00.001-04:002021-07-02T16:25:45.818-04:00Captains Courageous (Rudyard Kipling)<p><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309211293l/941781.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="309" height="400" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309211293l/941781.jpg" width="260" /></span></a><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Ahoy! We have a special guest for this entry in the Captain's Log. Those of you who follow me on Goodreads know that I have been having many reading adventures with my grandpa (who appears in my reviews as Dz.). This was our 30th book together, and since it's a nautical book and we're reading it this summer, I wanted to include it in my list.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As the crew of the <i>Arabella</i> continued on our way, we watched as a young boy fell from the side of a cruise liner and fell into the water. This was Harvey Cheyne, who was picked up by the crew of a local fishing boat and taken aboard as a new crew member until they were able to return to America and bring him home again.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The adventure was strong in this one, and Kipling's language really brought the story together. It was a beautiful tale, very well-written, and there would be times when you could practically taste the salty sea air and feel the spray of the sea on your face. It was grand time. This is one of the best books that I've read for my Summer at Sea so far. We just finished reading this afternoon, and already, I'm thinking about reading it a second time. I'll let it sit for a few days before I do, but I would love to give it another go.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">If you're looking for a well-written adventure on the high seas, this is it. It's not a swashbuckling tale (much to my grandfather's chagrin), but it was engaging and interesting, and felt very "real". There was a romance to the tale, and it never got too graphic, but it also didn't feel like a fairy tale, either, striking the perfect balance between fantasy and realism. If the rest of our adventures are anything like this one, I feel that we are in for a real treat!</span></div><p></p>Emmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290515700311919367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694508059541422317.post-91136568322875139922021-07-02T10:18:00.004-04:002021-07-02T13:47:35.121-04:00The Devil and Dark Water (Stuart Turton)<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51-KdIYvFVL._SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_FMwebp_.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="196" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51-KdIYvFVL._SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_FMwebp_.jpg" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">We are pulling into port in Batavia, just in time to witness the shocking arrest of Samuel Pipps, the great detective. <i>What was his crime?</i> we ask of the crowds. They do not know. <i>What will happen now?</i> Execution. Curious, the crew of the <i>Arabella</i> prepares to follow the ship setting out for Amsterdam. Things are never simple, however. Strange symbols appear on the ship's sail, a leper calls out an ominous warning, and soon, there are deaths. The ship is cursed, everyone claims, but who knows if our crew will be able to survive in order to find out what happens!</span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, your captain has a few choice words to say about this book. First and foremost, it was an excellent, gripping tale that was nearly impossible to put down. But, the ending took a turn that I didn't approve of, and I would argue that Turton lost the plot and sort of messed everything up in the last 2-3 pages. Which is frustrating anything you're reading a book, but when that book happens to be over 450 pages, you feel somewhat cheated for committing that much of your time to it. I lost so much sleep over trying to finish "just one more chapter" and to have the ending that it did just galled me.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I guess I would give this an average rating, since most of it was so good and the ending was so poor, they sort of balance out in the middle. Would I recommend this? Maybe? I guess there are others who wouldn't feel the same way that I did about the ending. And I'll be honest, the rest of the book <i>was</i> really good. But, I feel somewhat cheated. Although, I guess in keeping with a book's theme, a deal with the devil will usually leave you feeling cheated in the end.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Regardless of my review, Stuart Turton really is a very good writer, and I'm looking forward to seeing what else he writes in the future.</span></p>Emmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290515700311919367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694508059541422317.post-78080631804881329482021-06-25T12:14:00.001-04:002021-06-25T12:14:05.479-04:00Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Samuel Taylor Coleridge)<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1436976206l/732562._SX318_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="318" height="316" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1436976206l/732562._SX318_.jpg" width="230" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The next time the Arabella docks, there's a wedding. We all clamber down the boat onto the shore, hands laden with gifts-- golds, jewels, and pearls--for the happy bride and groom. Up ahead is the best man. But, what's this? Someone steps from the shadow of a doorway and stops him before he can enter into the feasting hall. Let's step a bit closer and see if we can hear what they are talking about.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The stranger from the shadows is a grizzled old sailor, or mariner, with a grip like iron. He's clutching at the wedding guest's arm, and the guest is struggling to get away. Let's step a little closer still, to see if we can hear what they're talking about...</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The mariner shares his story, about how he was once sailing on a ship, and how the ship's luck took a terrible turn after he shot and killed an albatross that was flying around them and hanging out with the sailors. Of course, no one could have realized the terrible bad luck that this would bring down upon their heads, but soon enough a thick fog blankets the water, and another ship appears, bringing with it two terrible passengers.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I read this back in high school and absolutely loved it. Reading it again now was a special treat, as it had been...well, <i>years</i> since I had read it last. The pacing, the tone the rhyming, it was all excellent. Besides being an interesting story, this is just a genuinely fun piece to read. 4 of 5 stars on Goodreads.</span></p>Emmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290515700311919367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694508059541422317.post-25526877303923100722021-06-22T22:47:00.001-04:002021-06-22T22:47:19.292-04:00The Sea Fairies (L. Frank Baum)<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347624713l/1291904.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="266" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347624713l/1291904.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Our first stop aboard the </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">Arabella</i><span style="font-family: georgia;"> is actually underwater. So, we're going to lower the anchor and prepare ourselves to leap overboard. This is </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">The Sea Fairies</i><span style="font-family: georgia;"> by L. Frank Baum. The story is centered around a young girl named Trot and her friend, a grizzled old sailor named Cap'n Bill. One day, as Cap'n Bill is explaining to Trot how no one has ever seen a mermaid and lived to tell of it, a mermaid appears and tells the pair that she had heard what they said, and that the mermaids all agree that they want to prove Cap'n Bill wrong. After some slight hesitation, Trot and Cap'n Bill jump out of the boat, exchanging their legs for tails, and go on a deep-sea adventure.</span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Your captain (that's me) will freely admit that I did not finish this book. I read it back in grade school a couple of times, and remembered liking it. But, reading it again, I was struck by how slow it was. While as a child, I would have been dazzled by the beauty of this underwater world, and all the amazing sights to be seen, as an adult, I kept checking my watch, or skimming, or even dozing off in the sunshine while I waited for something, <i>anything</i> to happen. <i>C'mon</i>, I thought to myself, <i>let's have someone get eaten by a sea monster or get trapped in an underwater cave or something!</i> But, nothing happened. Until about 120 pages in, when the evil sorcerer plot started up. But, by that point, I was kind of done, so I pulled my bookmark and moved on to new adventures.</span></p>Emmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290515700311919367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694508059541422317.post-16034031142381189872021-06-20T12:56:00.005-04:002021-06-20T17:21:18.372-04:00Summer Reading 2021<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QPfrxFgCeTI/YM9yGQ7PolI/AAAAAAAAAyI/11Fx43VhUEglkHtXP3hYzZhgNLIk6bw3QCLcBGAsYHQ/s900/Ship.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="900" height="272" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QPfrxFgCeTI/YM9yGQ7PolI/AAAAAAAAAyI/11Fx43VhUEglkHtXP3hYzZhgNLIk6bw3QCLcBGAsYHQ/w341-h272/Ship.jpg" width="341" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">All aboard the good ship Arabella (named for the ship in Rafael Sabatini's adventure story, <i>Captain Blood</i>). Today, I want to talk about my Summer Reading theme for the year: A Summer at Sea. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, I know what you're thinking. <i>Yeah, yeah, this is one of Emmy's summer reading posts that never amounts to anything</i>. And, yes. You're probably right. But, this year, I'm really going to try. I'm going to actually have a theme and stick with it. And it's going to be awesome!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, as I said, this year's theme is A Summer at Sea. Not to be confused with any of my previous Summer Reading themes:</span></p><ul style="background-color: #e0e0e0; font-size: 13px; list-style: none; margin-left: 10px; padding: 0px;"><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 6px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: initial; background: url("https://resources.blogblog.com/blogblog/data/tictac/tictac_orange.gif") left 6px no-repeat; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">2010: Gothic Novels</span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 6px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: initial; background: url("https://resources.blogblog.com/blogblog/data/tictac/tictac_orange.gif") left 6px no-repeat; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">2011: Scary Stories and Mythical Monsters</span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 6px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: initial; background: url("https://resources.blogblog.com/blogblog/data/tictac/tictac_orange.gif") left 6px no-repeat; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">2012: A Summer in Middle Earth</span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 6px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: initial; background: url("https://resources.blogblog.com/blogblog/data/tictac/tictac_orange.gif") left 6px no-repeat; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">2013: Summer School</span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 6px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: initial; background: url("https://resources.blogblog.com/blogblog/data/tictac/tictac_orange.gif") left 6px no-repeat; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">2014: It's a Mystery!</span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 6px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: initial; background: url("https://resources.blogblog.com/blogblog/data/tictac/tictac_orange.gif") left 6px no-repeat; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">2015: To Read or Not to Read</span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 6px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: initial; background: url("https://resources.blogblog.com/blogblog/data/tictac/tictac_orange.gif") left 6px no-repeat; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">2016: Professional Fan-Fiction</span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 6px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: initial; background: url("https://resources.blogblog.com/blogblog/data/tictac/tictac_orange.gif") left 6px no-repeat; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">2017: [Skipped this year]</span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 6px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: initial; background: url("https://resources.blogblog.com/blogblog/data/tictac/tictac_orange.gif") left 6px no-repeat; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">2018: Monster Mash</span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 6px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: initial; background: url("https://resources.blogblog.com/blogblog/data/tictac/tictac_orange.gif") left 6px no-repeat; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">2019: [Skipped this year]</span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 6px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: initial; background: url("https://resources.blogblog.com/blogblog/data/tictac/tictac_orange.gif") left 6px no-repeat; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">2020: [Skipped this year]</span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 6px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: initial; background: url("https://resources.blogblog.com/blogblog/data/tictac/tictac_orange.gif") left 6px no-repeat; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">2021: A Summer at Sea</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">As I've attempted in previous years, I'll provide lists of the books I'm reading as well as reviews. If you want to see EVERYTHING I read, you can check out my <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6688540-emmy" target="_blank">Goodreads account here</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, toss on your rain slickers, hoist the mainsail, and raise the anchor, because we're going out to sea!</span></div>Emmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290515700311919367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694508059541422317.post-40220892042827261722021-01-02T23:15:00.005-05:002021-01-02T23:15:55.658-05:00The Skunch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rigTUzRnkBQ/X_FDmKtVIWI/AAAAAAAAAwU/IFh2kgjqLjk-uwk6T4IKZI0jxCqxP2GPACLcBGAsYHQ/s750/Skunch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="750" height="284" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rigTUzRnkBQ/X_FDmKtVIWI/AAAAAAAAAwU/IFh2kgjqLjk-uwk6T4IKZI0jxCqxP2GPACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h284/Skunch.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Okay, so this has been making me laugh way more than it should. And today, I'm going to explain why.</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">So, on the surface, funny picture, right? But, what got me was the caption. And I know what you're thinking. <i>Ha ha, sorta funny</i>, right? But, it gets better.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">First, it's this derpy Grinch. And I love it so much. I would totally put that up in my yard. It looks great! But, it clearly is not a perfect Grinch. But, then you read the caption and it's referred to as the Skunch. Which means that this is not a mistake--this is its own thing! (Oh, wow!)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">And <i>then</i>, the first part of the line: "Oh shit"<i>.</i> Not only is this the Skunch, which is now a known quantity, but the Skunch elicits a reaction that is less than positive. This is not "hooray" or "oh boy!" or even "hey, look". No, this reaction implies that the speaker is not happy to see the Skunch. And judging by the look on its face, it knows this. The Skunch is a thing to be feared. And it knows where you are.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The first time I showed this to someone, I laughed until I cried.</span></div>Emmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290515700311919367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694508059541422317.post-26509493216665330372020-06-23T17:00:00.001-04:002020-06-23T17:00:44.593-04:00Telephone Book Club and the Death of Sherlock Holmes<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The other day, my grandpa and I finished reading <u>Favorite Sherlock Holmes Detective Stories</u>. It was a lot of fun. I personally love the Sherlock Holmes stories, and he had been wanting to read some more mysteries. It was a win-win for both of us. Everything went fine for most of the book. I'm pretty sure he dozed off during "Silver Blaze," although I didn't particularly mind, since that was never my favorite, and in general, good times were had by all. But...then, we got to "The Final Problem". You know the one. Sherlock Holmes reveals that most of the biggest crimes in London were being orchestrated by one man, weaving his web in the shadows: Professor Moriarty. And of course, Holmes is *this* close to capturing him and ending his reign of terror forever.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But, Moriarty is easily Holmes's equal in brainpower and deductive reasoning. And he has figured out what Holmes is up to. So, what soon follows is a game of cat and mouse that culminates at Reichenbach Falls. Watson gets pulled away on a fool's errand only to return once the final fight has ended. Holmes and Moriarty have gone over the falls.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was an incredibly emotional story, and reading it out loud made me realize just how intense it really was. Reading to someone is so much more than just reciting something. It's a performance. You need inflection, and sometimes voices. You get really invested in the story. I found myself reading slowly, with lots of feeling and emotion. It was probably my best reading yet. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And I closed the book, and announced, as I do after every short story, "...and that's the end of 'The Final Problem'." He was quiet on the other end, and for a moment, I wondered if he had fallen asleep. Finally, he said, "So...Sherlock Holmes and this Moriarty fella. Did he die?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of course I knew that this was not the end. I've read all the Sherlock Holmes stories, and I knew that Conan Doyle killed off the detective because he wanted the freedom to write something else. So, I told him with a smile in my voice what really happened. That this was <i>supposed</i> to be the end, but after a huge public outcry, he had to bring the detective back. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Well, then," he said, "There's one more story in the book. Is that the one about how he comes back?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It wasn't, and I told him so. But, I told him that I could totally get it for him and read it in a few days. He was surprised, but delighted. And when we finally did read it, it was awesome.</span></div>
Emmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290515700311919367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694508059541422317.post-87020439276001369232020-06-21T13:21:00.001-04:002020-06-21T13:21:32.384-04:00Father's Day 2020<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As always, I want to take a moment to wish a very Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there. And to a couple special men in particular.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">First, to my own father, who has been an amazing role model and source of love for me my entire life. My grandfathers (one living, one dead) whose love and support has been invaluable. To my godfather (we don't have much of a relationship, but I'm still thinking about you and praying for you). And finally, to a special, special man who I always think about on Father's Day. You were the patriarch of our little blogging group, and I miss you very much. I hope that wherever you are, you know how much you are loved. Thank you, O.F., for everything.</span></div>
Emmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290515700311919367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694508059541422317.post-89483967893580780372020-06-20T23:11:00.000-04:002020-06-20T23:11:11.169-04:00Gloves<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We've started letting patrons back into the library, so I'm working with people again. It's been kind of nice, but mostly frustrating. I forgot how stressful people can be.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As a side note, I sometimes wear gloves when I'm handling things for patrons (touching computer keyboards, etc.). There's something rather satisfying about pulling on rubber gloves. I feel like a mad scientist or something. It's a little something that makes me smile, but since no one can see my face (because of my mask), I'm the only one who knows.</span></div>
Emmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290515700311919367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694508059541422317.post-8980274397361884242020-05-11T22:35:00.001-04:002020-05-11T22:35:32.915-04:00Allergies<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yesterday, I learned that I'm allergic to latex after spending hours over the weekend doing library work in latex gloves. My hands are covered in raised, red bumps, and the skin feels dry and scaly. I spoke with the drug-store pharmacist today, and he confirmed what I had already suspected. Huh. I've never had a problem before. I wonder why now?</span></div>
Emmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290515700311919367noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2694508059541422317.post-52820757978120779882020-05-07T22:23:00.000-04:002020-06-20T23:10:27.451-04:00Reading with My Grandpa 2<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Due to our schedules, my grandpa and I had to take two days off from our reading. And when we were back on the phone together, it was very clear that he missed me. We talked for way longer than we have on our previous nights, which meant that I missed out on getting ice cream with the rest of my family (to be fair, they decided not to go without me, but I still felt kinda bad). But, even so, we had a wonderful time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The book is nearing its end. We have about four more days of reading to go. I'm going to suggest we continue on with a different book when we finish this one.</span>Emmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06290515700311919367noreply@blogger.com0