September Wrap-Up | The StoryGraph
Tag: books
Dear Schober
Dear Schober, I hear you are not happy and have to sleep off the frenzies of your despair... Although this makes me extraordinarily sad, it does not surprise me in the least, since such is the lot of almost every sensible person in this miserable world.Franz Schubert, 21 September 1824 letter to Franz von Schober… Continue reading Dear Schober
“anyhow depressed and only half-awake”
I'm not by any means a morning person, but I can sympathize with Richard Hannay here, the narrator of this Buchan tale: if you must ruin part of the day with unpleasantness, why not morning which is already a grim prospect to face anyway? Certainly, I've always thought I'm much more motivated and awake to… Continue reading “anyhow depressed and only half-awake”
August Reading Wrap-Up | StoryGraph
“set down in some old book”
There's nothing like reading to disabuse one of the notion that they are unique, alone in the universe, an anomaly unto themselves. Yet, at times, in the insulation of our own consciousness, we are inclined to imagine ourselves the sole inhabitants of the universe. In a way, we are the only inhabitor of our own… Continue reading “set down in some old book”
Strange and Hideous Dreams: The War of the Worlds Review
I don't think there is anyone quite like H.G. Wells, who can so convincingly write about fantastical impossibilities in a manner that is not only credulous but also firmly rooted in a comprehensive grasp of known science, society, and human nature. Maybe Jules Verne comes close but seems at times out of touch with human… Continue reading Strange and Hideous Dreams: The War of the Worlds Review
July Reading Wrap-up | StoryGraph
“to say what one thinks”
It's Aldous Huxley's 130th birthday today. He was born July 26, 1894 in England and became a respected writer and philosopher, nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature multiple times throughout his life. Huxley's writing has insight into human nature and its social dynamics and development, from the famous Brave New World to his seemingly… Continue reading “to say what one thinks”
Two Towers, Pt. 2: Northanger Abbey
Northanger Abbey (completed 1803, published 1817) by Jane Austen I've read Northanger Abbey at least four times, if not more. I recently re-read it with my book club after we finished The Mysteries of Udolpho, which is heavily referenced in Northanger Abbey. It only gets better on re-read, I find. Due in no small part… Continue reading Two Towers, Pt. 2: Northanger Abbey
Two Towers, Pt. 1: The Mysteries of Udolpho
[W]hile I have Udolpho to read, I feel as if nobody could make me miserable. Oh! The dreadful black veil! -Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) by Ann Radcliffe Since hearing about Radcliffe's influence on the gothic literary movement of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, I have been interested in reading… Continue reading Two Towers, Pt. 1: The Mysteries of Udolpho
Fictitiously Yours 