A Work in Progress

Is Fate Trying to Tell Me Something?

You might be wondering what the connection between these two images and the usual bookish chatter you find here is?  I'm glad you asked.  The images are postcards that came in the mail just a day or so ago.  I have picked up with my Postcrossing postcard sending once again after quite a long hiatus.  I only keep about four or five postcards "traveling" at once, but it means when one arrives I get a surprise card back in my own mailbox.  What a bounty that not just one card, but two came.  The top one came all the way from Hong Kong and the bottom from Germany.  My Postcrossing profile mentions that I work in a library and enjoy reading and if the sender likes to read, too, to share a favorite book or author or tell me what book they have sitting on their night stand at the moment. 

Now here is where the moment of serendipity comes in.  Both Postcrossers have told me they like reading, too.  The Hong Kong sender happens to be reading Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens right now.  And the German Postcrosser?  Dickens is the author of choice these days it would seem.  She is reading Great Expectations.

Is this fate I wonder?  I have been contemplating (if not actually doing anything about it) reading another classic.  I have done an abysmal job so far when it comes to picking up any classics this year.  Maybe it is a sign?  I have read very little of Dickens' work and neither of these books, so I pulled both from my shelves.  Is it just me, however, or does Dickens just 'feel' like a cold weather/winter sort of author to read?

Alternatively, I get a newsletter from the Penguin Classics Book Club and they are reading Passing by Nella Larsen, a book I started eons ago but never finished.  Maybe that is a sign I should pick it up and read it in earnest now?  Or maybe I should just call Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy my classic (modern classic, right?).

Sometimes just the act of thinking about reading something is enough for me and then I merrily continue on with my pile of in progress books.  Maybe just thinking about it right now is enough.  Or I could live vicariously through you.  What classic are you reading or have recently read (or plan to read?)!

A Few Dutch Postcards

I've been meaning to share some of the postcards with you that I have received from friends or via Postcrossing.  There are loads of Dutch Postcrossers and I have several friends in The Netherlands with whom I swap cards or letters with.  I've picked a small sampling to post, but I have quite a few others that I have pinned to my bulletin board or propped on shelves or stored in bins.  I still love getting mail--little works of art and fun missives on the back.  I have quite a collection--it's always nice to find one in  my mailbox--it's a way of traveling somewhere beautiful and exotic from the comfort of my own home. 

This is from a Dutch Postcrosser and she tells me it shows in traditional old fashions.

This is one of the very first Postcrossing cards I ever received and it came from The Netherlands.  I have no idea who the artist is, but it looks like one of those papercuts--a silhouette.  I think it is very striking and I have kept it on display in my room ever since it showed up in my mailbox.

I love this image, too.  The artist is actually American, George Hitchcock, but he spent a lot of time in The Netherlands.  This is called "In Windmill Land".

An obligatory card of the King and Queen, Willem-Alexander and Maxima his wife.  They have three daughters.

Another favorite card.  This painting is by Frans Hals, "The Banquet of the Officersof the St. George Militia Company in 1627".  I love the cheeky fellow in the middle looking out at us.  I keep this propped by my bed.

This is Amsterdam--one of the famous canals.  I would love to live in a city with such proximity to water.  How cool would it be to live on a barge?  Someday I would love to visit Amsterdam. 

And another canal but this time in the city of Utrecht.  It is the Oudegracht (Old Canal).  Maybe I'll find something colorful and picturesque in my mailbox this weekend!

The Weekend in Pictures: Poseidon, Snow, Lots of Reading and Other Miscellanea

Over the weekend I visited my local art museum to see an exhibit of ancient Greek artifacts called Poseidon and the Sea: Myth, Cult and Daily life, which was excellent.  I happened to arrive just as a tour was beginning.  It's amazing how much more you can get out of an exhibit to hear the museum docent talk about the art.  I enjoyed it so much I couldn't resist buying the exhibit catalog.  The essays in it look really interesting, plus there are loads of photos not just of the pieces included in the exhibit but also of where they would have been found and how they would have been used.  

This is my favorite piece.  It is a Black-Figure Lekythos: Octopus and three dolphins, flanked by kneeling man and youth, Sphinx between youths.  Greek, Attic, ca 540-530 BC.  It's smallish, only 17 cm. tall.  I think it would have been used for oil or for garum perhaps?  Garum was hugely popular with the Greeks--it is a fermented fish sauce--fish being the staple in the Greek diet.  (Garum doesn't sound all that tempting to me, but I guess it was very healthy and protein-rich.

I also love this vase, Black-Figure, White-Ground Hydria (Kalpsis): Theseus slaying the Minotaur, Greek, Attic ca. 490-480 BC, 20 cm.  The docent talked about the myth it depicts, which I remember from my own reading a couple of years ago.  It certainly brings literature and Mythology to life--very cool to see something someone made and used thousands of years ago. 

I was tempted by other books in the museum gift shop, but I contented myself with writing down titles and then ordering them online with a gift card.  I now have Mary Renault's The King Must Die and The Library of Greek Mythology by Apollodorus winging their way to me.  The former is a retelling of the Theseus myth and the latter is a work from Classical Antiquity, which is a sourcebook of Greek Mythology--and hopefully won't be too hard going--I'm not sure I have ever read anything that old.

I'm very excited about my finds and the exhibit catalog.  I plan on going back through the exhibit again a few times as it will be here through May.  If nothing else than to visit my little Octopus vase.  Reading the essays in the catalog, too, will make my visits much richer and shed more light on what I am seeing.  Somehow this makes me feel a little nerdish, but in a good way.

Poseidon was interesting, but snow?  Not so  much.  I don't have a very nice view outside my window.  My neighborhood is pretty shabby really.  I would have gone in search of something more appealing to look at, but it was just too cold.  Although we didn't get as much snow as was forecast (thank goodness for small favors), we have not escaped the cold.

Here's a view outside another window.  I assure you there really is a view!  But you wouldn't know that as it is so cold the window (facing northwest) is completely frosted over.  Brr.  I only left the house to drop recyclables into their bin yesterday.  I wish I could show you something prettier.  And maybe green.  I don't know about you, but I am tired of grey, dreary days.  Someday soon I am going to buy myself a pot of tulips.

Here is a much more satisfying photo.  I stayed inside for much of the weekend.  After my museum visit I played the homebody and actually it was sort of nice.  I did lots of reading.  Short stories, a few books from my night table pile, and even started an ARE that I think is going to be a very good read.  The New York Review of Books and TLS both had lots of good articles--newly discovered works by Katherine Mansfield, works by Fay Weldon (high on my list of authors to try), Scottish Independence (am very interested in this but have heard not read much about it in the blogosphere), an essay by Michael Dirda, retellings or books about One Thousand and One Nights (a book I really want to read someday) . . .   I love both newspapers and wish I had more time to devote to reading them cover to cover--mostly I just cherry pick the articles that looks most interesting and do lots of skimming otherwise.  I usually can't bear to recycle them (until the piles get too cumbersome).

And then there are always new books.  Is it possible to think about books too much?  I probably do so.  I think about what I've finished reading, what I have going, and what I want to read soon.  As a matter of fact it is a continuous migration of books in my house.  From bookshelf or bookpile to nightstand, kitchen table, desk where my computer sits . . . sometimes a book gets slipped into my bookbag to accompany me to work.  Not sure which new books I might start this week, but I always have a mental list going.  Since it is March I want to read something "Irish" and as Margaret Atwood is coming to Omaha next month I should really read something by her in anticipation.  It's weekend like this one that make Mondays so bearable! 

A Bookish Bullet-Point Post

I should  be trying to do something constructive, or at least reading my short story for tomorrow, but I feel like a little bookish chitchat tonight.

• You'll never guess.  I am behind in answering emails.  Spending two nights trying to figure out logistics for San Francisco has thrown me off.  I, by the way, found a great place to stay and after a few very promising emails back and forth have not heard back from the property owner.  At the time the apartment was free, but now I am not so sure and she hasn't responded to me since I told her I want to the rental.  Tell me to be patient (I like having all my plans neat and tidy).
• I bet you already know this week is Barbara Pym Reading Week?  It's being hosted by Amanda at Fig and Thistle and Thomas at My Porch.  I am reading, and thoroughly enjoying, Crampton Hodnet.  I will share more about it this week.  I'll be reading more of her work for sure!  Are you reading along?  Maybe you've already read her work and love her, too?  And if so, which novel is your favorite?
• I am now fully six books behind in writing about them.  Six of them!  I know it's not required to write about all the books I read, but somehow it feels good to set a few thoughts down to have something I can look at later.  It's that neat and tidy thing all over again.  I could be writing about one of them right now.  I love reading but the writing about books part is harder for me as I can never quite get down what I want to about a book I really like, or a book that has been really challenging. 
• I had a really good reading month in May (after an abysmal one in April).  I'm not, however, doing so well with books I am meant to be reading along with others or in groups.  Mostly because I am so good at frittering away my time and generally dragging my feet . . . a book that sounded so good a month ago might not appeal quite so much now that it is time to read it.  Does that happen to you, too?
• I should be reading Guiseppe di Lampedusa's The Leopard for The Slaves as discussion is June 8, and here it is June 1, and I've not done more than look at the book.  Don't ask me why.  Any other time I can't wait to start a new book. 
• It started out as one pile but now has grown to two piles of books that I have "abandoned" over the last year or so.  I need to fish or cut bait.  Either the books get rotated into my current reading pile, or the bookmarks get removed and the books returned to their places on bookshelves for reading at a later date.  Pretty soon my bedside piles are going to be higher than my bed. 
• I give up on books too easily sometimes.  Actually it's not a matter of giving up, but more a matter of caving in to the lure of a new book when I know I need to remain dedicated to what is already in progress.  I fear my (bad) habit is so ingrained that I will never reform my ways.
• I've noticed in the last couple of days that when searching in Amazon the links lead directly to Kindle books.  That's fine if you are a Kindle owner, but I have to say I am not very pleased with this new set up as I prefer paper books.  I already have a love-hate relationshiip with Amazon and this may be just enought to push me over the edge to find a new place to buy my books . . .
• I'm liking Feedly, but it seems to take forever to scroll through the list of unread posts.  I wish I could hit a "next" button and jump from post to post more quickly.  Am I doing something wrong?  How does one create one of those little hearts that you see on the top of "liked" posts?  Will any of my own posts ever receive a "heart"?  Just one (not even 29 like some people are popular enough to receive).  Why does this matter to me I ask you?  I am shallow, what can I say.
• I could be stitching right now--that would be fun AND constructive.  I love stitching, so why am I doing so little of it?  Because I feel like I should be writing about books here, though as you see I'm not doing that either.  This sort of behavior (my own behavior) bothers me as I hate being idle or feeling as though I am not doing something constructive.  It's a vicious cycle.  Don't ask me how I became this way.  I honestly don't know.  Secretly I love being lazy (and am more lazy than I think . . . ).  But I feel guilty about that.  If you'll excuse me I'd better go clean out my closet.  (Just kidding).
• My next Postal Book Group round is going to start July 1.  I think I know which book I am going to send on its merry way, but I keep dithering over the choice.  I mean this book is going to be read by a dozen or so other readers--I want it to be perfect.  Decisions, decisions.
• My cat has an overactive thyroid.  She has to take a pill twice day.  She hates taking them, and I hate giving them to her.  So we're even.  Don't you wish you could train cats to do things like take pills (without a major struggle) and clean up their own hairballs.  Who am I kidding . . . what sort of parallel universe do I think exists in this world?
• I have finished reading Virginia Woolf's Jacob's Room and Jane Austen's Lady Susan (need to write about them both, ahem).  Both are part of my Melville House subscription.  I enjoyed them both in different ways.  And they put me very much in the mood to read more classics.  The obvious thing is to pick up my next Meville House book, but I keep seeing visions of unread (and already read) classics float through my mind.  Dilemma, what do I read next?  The Hardy?  Or maybe Kate Chopin or Edith Wharton or Colette, or Maugham or Forster (some of the authors who were part of that parade of books floating . . . ).  This is why I have such huge bedside piles of partially finished books. 
• My current Audible audio book that I am listening to, and I am almost a little embarrassed to share it--is Amanda Knox's Waiting to Be Heard.  I don't usually read true crime and not something like this if I do.  I will say that hearing her story does make me sympathetic to what she went through even though she did some very naive and silly things when she was in Italy.  She tells her story in some detail and there is a lot of repetition of the facts of the crime.  I must admit that I am wavering and am not sure I can finish listening (though surprisingly-? the book seems to have gotten good reviews from readers).  It was an impulse choice and at the time it seemed like it would be engaging to listen to, and it has been to a point.  I also bought Edna O'Brien's Country Girl: A Memoir, so maybe it is time to switch to that and see if it is a better fit for my mood right now.  I don't know why I have such a hard time sticking with my audio books.
• It's amazing how much time you can waste by writing a bullet-point post. 
• Maybe it really is time to go read my short story for tomorrow.
• Isn't that a beautiful painting above?  It is a Postcrossing postcard that I received in the mail all the way from Belorussia!  The artist is an Italian illustrator, Pino Daeni.  I had never heard of him before, but now will be on the lookout for his work.  I love Postcrossing.
• Now off to read.  You can't get more constructive than that.

Literary Postcards, Part 5

Once again it's been a while since I've shared any of my more bookish postcards.  I'm still very active with Postcrossing, but these days I think I get almost as many cards and letters from friends that I've met online either via Postcrossing or blogging (and I have even been corresponding once again with a penfriend from Germany with whom I lost contact but then connected up with again--and as it turns out she is a Postcrosser, too).  Mondays are usually my best mail days, but if I am lucky I will get something good (either a letter, postcard, book or magazine...yes, I am addicted) most days.

I love these poem postcards that Stefanie sends me on occasion.  I want to be a better poetry-reader, but my books of poetry usually sit towards the bottom of my bedside piles, so these little poems that come in the mail are a lovely little reminder of what I am missing out on.  I wasn't familiar with Edgar Bowers before, but Harold Bloom has called him one of the 20th century masters, so I've added him to  my list of poets to explore.  Isn't this a great poem--very vivid and creates a strong image in my mind.

Isn't this a great image?  I swap book-related postcards with a lady in The Netherlands that I met via Postcrossing.  She finds such cool images.  This is actually a German postcard titled "The Outdoor Bookcase".  I wonder if people can borrow books from it on an honor system?  It looks like it might be near the seaside--somewhere scenic anyway.

Another image from my Dutch friend.  This is what I would like to be doing right now (yes, complete with cup of tea, apple, and what do you think is on the plate--biscuits?).  I'm afraid there is no information on the painter or painting, but it's very pleasant.

This wonderful image is from a friend in London with whom I normally swap art postcards with, but she sent this very bookish card recently.  The descriptions reads "Sicilian Avenue" c. 1925.  Apparently it is not far from Charing Cross Road.  Now this street is all restaurants she tells me.

This colorful postcard came from a Postcrosser who lives in Minsk, Belarus (interestingly I get lots of cards from Belarus--somewhere I had never contemplated visiting before, but now I think it could be lots of fun).  Last year was Year of the Book in Belarus--I've gotten a few postcards from a series related to their celebration.  Alas, I cannot read Cyrillic, so I am not sure what the description says.

I swap all sorts of postcards with my friend John, who is both a blogger and a Postcrosser.  I love this image and have had it hanging on my bulletin board next to my computer since it appeared in my mailbox.  It is the "Boots Library, Church Street, Liverpool, 1938".  I don't get many library postcards so this is an especially cool one. 

I love Colette.  I have a feeling she was quite a formidable woman, but this is such an inviting photo, don't you think?  Pen in hand, I think she must be writing a letter?  Or maybe working on a story?  Belle, another blogging friend, sent this to me during last month's letter writing extravaganza.

Another really wonderful image from a Postcrosser in The Netherlands (and another favorite postcard that I keep on display).  The artists is Fiep Westendorp who I am told illustrated the books of Annie M.G. Schmidt of "Jip en Janneke" fame.  Sorry I don't know the translation (perhaps Cath can help me out?), but the description is "Alleen in boeken hebben ze nog mooie instincten", Het Parool, 18 augustus 1960.

And the stamps are often little works of art, too.  I love these--especially the Daphne du Maurier stamp!  The one on the left is "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte.

Needless to say I always look forward to coming home from work and seeing what sorts of surprises the mailman has brought me. 

For more literary postcards: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.  I have loads more and will have to share more later.

February 26: Reading Notes

Joy!  A good mail day as you can see.  The only thing that is missing from my photo is the mailer that has a book in it, which I forgot to grab for my photo.  They all sit unread and unopened at the moment (have only just cut the tops of the envelopes to pull out the contents), as I like to get all my chores out of the way first and then sit leisurely to read my postcards, letters and open my parcels at the end of the night.  I sort of like the anticipation and having something to look forward to before bedtime (mail and then a few pages of a good book).  I rarely get so many good things at once (has the mailman been holding back on me?)--five postcards (two are Postcrossing cards) and three letters.  A few of you might recognize these missives and I thank you in advance and will be replying soon.

So, the perfect segue into my next topic of business before I get into my regular bookish mode.  Just a few random items today, the first of which is once again mail-related.  Have you seen these very cool commemorative stamps for the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice?  I don't really collect stamps per se, but I do greatly appreciate a letter that comes with colorful and unusual stamps.  I am hoping one of my British friends will include one or two on a letter or card sometime in the future.

It seems the season of book prizes is upon us once again.  Thanks to Marg for the heads up on The Stella Prize.  This is a new prize for Australian women's writing, and they have just unveiled their inaugural longlist.  Whatever you think about book prizes, I see them as a way to discover new authors and some potentially good books I might not have heard about otherwise.  I definitely need to read more Australian Literature, so I am looking forward to exploring the list. 

The Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award (that's quite a mouthful) has announced their shortlist.  I had thought I would read all the stories on the longlist, but I've not had a chance to track down the original publications where the stories were published.  The stories are available digitally for Kindle users but not outside the UK sadly.  It's akin to waving some little treat in front of my eyes and then saying sorry none for you.  Not that I am at a loss for good stories to read.

The L.A. Times has announced the finalists for their 2012 Book Award.  I've only read one of the books from their mystery/thriller list and have a few more on my reading pile. 

I'm curious about the longlist for the former Orange Prize, now the Women's Prize for Fiction (the name's just  not the same, is it?--sort of bland).  I thought the list comes out in March, but I don't see a date for it yet.  

A little closer to home I have my own list of reads that I hope to tackle in March.  I'm very much looking forward to reading Elizabeth Bowen's The Heat of the Day for Caroline's Literature and War Readalong next month.  Perhaps I'll also manage a few of Bowen's short stories, too, for Mel u's Irish Short Story Month.  I have a thick collection of her work on my shelves which I think I'll go grab now.

While I am still working my way through Iain Pears' An Instance of the Fingerpost for Cornflower's most recent book club choice (which she notes is well worth persevering to the end, so I shall keep reading), but I have ordered her March selection as I'm in the market for a good nature book (is it too early for Spring fever?), Richard Mabey's Nature Cure (hmm, maybe that's what's in my mailer waiting to be opened).

The Slaves of Golconda are going to read Diana Athill's Stet: An Editor's Life in March.  Of course anyone is welcome to join in.  It's "a beautifully written, hardheaded, and generally insightful look back at the heyday of postwar London publishing by a woman who was at its center for nearly half a century".  Sounds good, don't you think?  I have a book of short stories by Athill I'd like to read sometime this year. 

And I've got the last book for this round's Postal Reading Group, Lisa St. Aubin's The Palace.  It sounds like a retelling of Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo, which is one of my all-time favorite books, so I'll be very curious to read it. 

Of course there will be the usual Art of the Novella installments, and a new NYRB Classic (to add to the pile--I am quickly falling behind there).  I made the mistake of looking through my most recent New York Review of Books and discovered that March's book will be Pitch Dark by Renata Adler.  I sort of like the element of surprise, but now I know since I had to read the ad so will just look forward to getting the book.

As you can see I have my work cut out for me next month.  Maybe I need to plan a few afternoons off from work for a little quiet reading time.  Good thing March is a long month.  Now I'm off to read my mail!

A Thursday Mishmash

I know there are colder places in the midwest right now, but it's all relative, and as I bundle up (with many layers of clothing) for my frigid morning and evening walks to and from the bus stop, I am dreaming of warmer climes.  A sunny beach sitting under a parasol (book or stitching in hand) sounds pretty perfect to me right  now.  In keeping with the holiday mood of the postcard above, this is going to be a bullet point post (but without the bullets).  Just a mishmash of things today.

Sarah at Reading the Past has compiled another tempting Downton Abbey readalikes list.  Although a few were already on my wishlist, I've added a few more to it.  I already have a few books from her last list on my reading pile.  Although I don't tire easily of reading about this era, I do like to pace myself and make sure I have plenty of variety interspersed with these sorts of reads.  It doesn't seem to take long however, before I am ready to return to this period.

And as much as I love and am enjoying Downton Abbey (am glued to my TV every Sunday night), I can't resist sharing this spoof.  Have you seen it?   

The Edgar Nominees for the 2013 award have been announced.  The Edgars are awards presented by the Mystery Writers of America in case you're not familiar with them.  I've only read one of the books, but I have a few more on my reading piles and will be investigating a few more.  The winners will be announced early in May.   

Since I am very much into short stories this year I was interested to see the longlist for The Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award.  I'm not sure where the stories were originally published (magazines like the New Yorker or collections maybe?), but I am going to try and track them down to read.  I admire people who read all the books on various longlists for prizes like the Booker or Giller, but I don't think I would ever be able to manage it myself.  Now, short stories are an entirely different matter.  The winner will be announced later this spring.

And if you are looking for some literature with an international flare, check out the shortlist for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature.  I wouldn't mind expanding my horizons a bit by reading something from that list.  

Did you know yesterday was National Handwriting Day?  I should have celebrated in some way.  My handwriting is pretty atrocious these days, as anyone who receives a card or letter from me can attest.  Any practice or work towards improvement wouldn't be remiss.  That's what happens when you work on a computer all day long.

Athough I missed out on any handwriting celebrations, I have decided that I am going to sign up for the A Month of Letters challenge.  The idea is to send a letter for each mail day (23 days to be exact here in the US--not counting Sundays or one holiday) during the month of February.  You can send letters or postcards--whatever strikes your fancy--and part of the challenge is to answer any letters you get, too.  So, if I have your address, you might just get a card or letter (maybe even a Valentine!) from me next month.  I have Melwyk to thank for introducing me to Postable.  If you send me your mailing info I'll send you a postcard back!  I'll probably chronicle my letter writing odyssey here.  (And it's a good time to brush up on my handwriting, too). 

So, in for a penny, in for a pound.  I might as well make all this correspondence into a little project.  I had already been contemplating joining Melwyk's Postal Reading Challenge anyway, so what better time than now?  The challenge goes all year and I just need to read and write about postal themed books (epistolary novels--or books of letters).  My goal is to read four books, but if I end up reading more, all the better.  I've not yet come up with a list to work from (to follow soon), but I will kick things off with Bright Star: Love Letters and Poems of John Keats and Fanny Brawne, which has been sitting on the top of one of my reading piles for a little while now (it's been winking at me, so I have to pick it up).  It's a slim volume, but not only does it have letters but there are poems, too!  Me, Keats, Fanny--and poetry!  A good combination if ever I saw one.      

I'll leave you with just one more very cool item.  This is a cross between books and correspondence.  You might know I belong to Postcrossing (I really need to share more of my bookish postcards with you soon) and they highlight various Postcrossers on their blog.  I think the largest number of Postcrossers per capita happens to be in The Netherlands (or if they aren't at the top, then they are very close), where Postcrossing is huge (they even have their own Postcrossing stamp!).  The Bibliotheek Reuver has started a Postcrossing Bookclub.  You can send them a postcard with the title of a book recommendation on it and they will add it to a display.  They even have a map of the world showing the places they have received postcards/book suggestions from.  You can read about it here.  How cool is that?  I think I might just have to send my own recommendation!  

By the way I hope you'll stop by tomorrow for another Lost in the Stacks guest!  If you have missed any of the posts so far and are curious about taking a peek inside some very cool personal libraries there are links on my left hand sidebar. 

Literary Postcard, Part 4

I feel like I've mostly been absent online for the last week or so, and now it's the Thanksgiving holiday, so I'll be spending time with my family.  I do plan on getting caught up with blog reading and emails in the next few days since I've got a long weekend ahead of me, but it's probably going to be quiet here this weekend.  So I'll leave you something pretty to look at while I'm away. 

It's been a while since I've shared any of my bookish postcards.  This first one isn't book-related, but it is nicely autumnal.  It came from a Postcrosser in the Netherlands.  Although our weather here has been very fine for the last few days (unseasonably so, and I'm not complaining!), I don't expect it to last.  I think by next week I'll be reaching for a blanket and something warm to drink as well (or eat--the cup seems to contain some sort of fish soup?--I'll settle for hot chocolate or tea, I think).

I love Edward Hopper's work in general, but I especially love this painting, "Compartment C, Car 193" from 1938.  It's cool traveling by train and wish it was something we did more of in the U.S.  There's something very romantic and leisurely about it.

This is "Repose" by John White Alexander from 1895.  Alexander was an American painter.  When I first saw this image I was sure I was unfamiliar with his work, but as it turns out there are several of his paintings that I'd come across before.  It looks like he has other reading women as subjects for his paintings.  Quite an elegant image, which I like very much.

I bet this might be familiar to a few of you.  A friend traveled to England and sent me several bookish postcards including this one of Duke Humfrey's Library, which is the oldest reading room in the Bodleian Library in Oxford University.

I'm afraid I can't find any information about this painting.  The card lists it as "Lezend meisje (Sàrika)" by Ada Góth ca. 1912/14.  It looks like a nice spring day--perfect reading weather for sitting out on the balcony. 

Someday I'd love to see Jane Austen's Bath.  These are views of the city, but unfortunately the card doesn't give specifics.  I wonder if any of these contain the famed pump room?  Persuasion, which is set in part in Bath, is my favorite Austen novel.  I can easily imagine Anne Elliot walking down those streets. 

How fitting that I should have a postcard of a painting called "A Russian Folk Tale" by Leonid and Olga Tikhomirov since I've been reading fairy tales.  The painting is dated 1967-72.  Another sunny place to curl up with a book.  I hope I can find a sunny spot to sit and read this weekend.

This is "Madame de Pompadour (Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, 1721-1764)" by Francois Boucher.  I wonder what she would have been reading?  She seems awfully distracted.  Imagine having to sit about in all those frills!  (Maybe that's why she can't concentrate--her dress is scratchy?).

If you're celebrating Thanksgiving--many good wishes however you're spending your day.  And I hope everyone finds at least a few hours of leisurely reading (in some sunny corner) to fill their weekend.  Happy reading everyone.

Views of Greece: A Brief Interlude

I've been reading my next Mythology 'assignment' this afternoon but thought it would be fun to take a little break and share a few images that came my way via Postcrossing.  If I am really trying to immerse myself in a subject visuals are always welcome, so these couldn't have come at a better time.  Imagine living in Athens and have this as your view.  Stunning, don't you think?  Of course perhaps to most Athenians this is all 'old hat' and they don't give it a second thought (or look) and mostly just resent all the camera toting tourists who must flood the city every summer?  

To this end, wondering what life in contemporary Greece is like that is, I've expanded my reading project just a little bit.  But more about that in a moment.  That's the Acropolis you see on the far horizon overlooking the city.  And the famous building is the Parthenon, or the Temple of Athena, who is the goddess of wisdom, war, divine intelligence as well as architecture and crafts.   She's the city's patron and gave her name to it.  Athens must just ooze history and culture.

To the Northwest of the Acropolis is the Ancient Agora, which is where this Temple of Hephaestos is located.  The Agora would have been an important meeting place for the people of Athens both politically and socially.  Hephaestus is the patron god of metal working and craftsmanship.  This temple is apparently very well preserved and stands much as it did when it was built.  There is something very awe inspiring to think of the history these stones have observed, particularly since it was built around 449 BC.

I wasn't sure what this building housed as there is no description on the card, but I believe it is the Old Royal Palace and is now the Hellenic Parliament.  By the way--just a little piece of trivia--they  have a unicameral legislature.  I live in Nebraska, which is the only US state that has a unicameral legislature.  Anyway, the building looks sort of small in the postcard, but if you click through the link and look at the Wikipedia photo (click to enlarge it) it is massive building!

And then we must have the requisite picturesque view of whitewashed buildings and perfectly calm, brilliant blue water.  It's only missing a cat, don't you think? 

As for my extracurricular reading . . . I've still got Karen Armstrong's A Short History of Myth by my bedside.  I think I need to just buy it as it's the sort of book where everything I read is something I feel I should note down and turn the page corner over to remember.  I've decided I need to just read it one one fell swoop as there is so much information to take in, it's not one to pick up and set down as it loses some continuity.

A little browsing of my own bookshelves netted me Katherine Kizilos The Olive Grove: Travels in Greece, which is a book in the Lonely Planet Journeys series.  I'm very much enjoying it.  Kizilos is Australian by birth but Greek by heritage.  Her father fled the German Occupation during WWII, so Kizilos writes about the dislocation that is felt by immigrants and his sense of being an exile not truly part of a new culture.  However she notes she has always felt like someone who lives within two cultures rather than between them (and not truly part of either).  The book is split into three sections: The Sea, Borderlands and The Village and isn't exactly like so many other books I've read that are straightforward travel narratives.  She writes about places off the beaten track and not what an ordinary tourist would expect to see, which is really sort of refreshing.    

I've also got Anne Zouroudi's The Messenger of Athens waiting for me at the library, which I hope to pick up in the next couple of days.  So I realize that reading a mystery is definitely verging off the path of mythology, but it's amazing what you can learn about a culture by reading a crime novel, and Zouroudi comes highly recommended, so I'm looking forward to it.  I don't really know much about the series, other than the detective is Hermes Diaktoros, and I believe the setting is contemporary.  I'm excited about reading this as well as it is a fresh place in the world for me to read about and an entirely new and different character.  Also on hand, though I'm not sure when I'll get to these, are Eurydice Street: A Place in Athens by Sofka Zinovieff and Mani: Travels in the Southern Peloponnese by the brilliant Patrick Leigh Fermor.

Now back to the Golden Fleece, which I'll write about tomorrow (but I promise to keep it brief--there is usually so much to write about!).

Literary Postcards, Part 3

As my bookish postcards are beginning to pile up again, I thought it was time to share a few more of them with you.  I've only scanned a few from the pile, so there will be another post coming eventually.  As you can see this card came from Russia, and luckily there was a translation of the words on the back of the card.  "Greetings from the country whose people read the most."  I wonder if that is statistically true?  It's heartening to think that others so far away are enjoying perhaps some of the same books as I am. 

Isn't this a great image?  It's a Corbis photo by an anonymous photographer.  Can't you just smell old books? 

Many thanks to Litlove for this great Byron postcard.  According to the blurb it is from a series of drawings by Quentin Blake to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the University of Cambridge.  800 years--imagine!  Byron was a Cambridge man and apparently he kept a bear when he was a student (name Bruin).  He was also something of a hottie, hence the googly eyes of the young ladies.

Still life with books.  Maybe it's true that Russia really is a nation of readers.  Yet another card from Russia.  I love the little icon up on the shelf--this even looks very Russian.  Maybe three volumes of Tolstoy?

I thought this was an unusual art card.  There is no information at all about the artist, but I liked the geisha wrapped up in her kimono reading with a sleeping cat nearby. 

So who's been to the Mark Twain House in Hartford, Connecticut?

"Mark Twain House is an unusual 19-room Victorian Gothic home built in 1873.  The brick mansion has towering turrets and large porches.  It was here that Samuel L. Clemens wrote seven major works including Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn."

I don't think I've been to a single author's home save a house Frank Kafka lived in in Prague. 

I'm still enjoying my postcard adventures.  Although I get a variety of postcards, I'm always especially happy when a bookish postcard shows up in my mailbox.  I'll share more of my growing collection soon.