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Beiträge, die mit Books getaggt sind


#StorytellingPSA

If you source the folktales in your book as "Aboriginal", "Native American" or - my personal favorite - "African", you immediately tell me that you have done zero research on any of them.

Do better.

#storytelling #folktales #folklore #books


Y’all, I took this book with me, and just had a wonderful couple of days ripping through it.

Alpha Max by Mark A. Rayner (@markarayner)
It’s a fun, light but thoughtful sci-fi romp. The protagonist is aware of, and remarks upon, things like various tropes, Campbells Heroes Journey, and silly names given to space weapons. The book riffs on philosophical “truisms”, and delves into the meaning of consciousness, and where one left one’s void.
And of course there’s a clown. But he has a four foot dildo, so it’s fine. 🥳
#alphamax #markarayner #scifi #books
A copy of the book Alpha Max, being pushed off a tray table by a cat who has called dibs on the space.


I am working on this "folktales about misunderstood animals" collection for children. However, I am accidentally accumulating a bunch of tales about misunderstood animals that are only fit for adults* 😄

I don't think my publisher would go for it, but now I want to work on it anyway...

(* no, not THAT way, just in terms of violence or complexity.)

#folklore #folktales #AmWriting #books #nature #animals


Today on our podcast Re-Creative Mark A. Rayner and I talk to author Jenn Thorson about the classic children’s story, Alice in Wonderland.

We discuss the history of the Alice in Wonderland books and the impact they've had on our culture. It's a fascinating conversation about the nature of writing with a “dream-like” quality.

#aliceinwonderland #book #books #charlesdodgson #jennthorson #lewiscarroll #throughthelookingglass #podcast

https://re-creative.ca/alice-in-wonderland/


Excited to be able to share this now! I was on the Re-Creative podcast discussing Alice in Wonderland as one of my writing influences.

It was a good time. Hope you’ll check it out: https://re-creative.ca/alice-in-wonderland/

#writing #inspiration #fiction #books #aliceinwonderland


Today on our podcast Re-Creative Mark and I are joined by the super successful and super-fun science fiction writer, John Scalzi.

It's an entertaining conversation about science fiction, the egotistical nature of writing, and John's hobby, which is music.

But the conversation doesn't end there, as we examine the value of creating art, just for the joy of it.

https://re-creative.ca/ambient-electronic-music/

#books #johnscalzi #sciencefiction #ambientmusic #writing #torbooks


Wondering how to choose your next book? Try Book Shepherd! It's like "wandering the aisles of your favorite bookstore."

Over 11,000 authors (including me!) share their fave books. The site is completely free; Ben Fox created it to help readers find books and authors (like me!) find readers. I think it's a super cool site.

#books #readers #shepherd #benfox

https://shepherd.com/


Finished one reading challenge, starting another 😊 The goal is to read 26 traditional epics with women protagonists for next year's A to Z. I can't wait to delve into all these amazing, little know stories!

First up: The story of Shirin Mama, from the Xibo people (Northeast China). An epic about a girl who rescues children from bandits, and becomes a goddess in the end.

#epics #folklore #AmReading #bookstodon #books #Xibe
The cover of the book (Hungarian edition). Titled The Western Campaign of Shirin Mama, or, the miraculous story of the birth of a goddess


And finally
12. Farkasvölgy

(The last category in the challenge is always randomly selected for everyone)

I read a collection of primary sources about the history of Budapest's XII. district. It started at the Ottoman Wars, and went all the way to the Communist Era, with court records, newspaper articles, personal diaries, letters, and other interesting contemporary sources. Great local history publication.

https://www.antikvarium.hu/konyv/hegyvideki-olvasokonyv-655153-0

#books #bookstodon #Hungarian #nonfiction


11. Hoaxes and secrets

Sultan of Zanzibar: The Bizarre World and Spectacular Hoaxes of Horace de Vere Cole (Martyn Downer)

Known mostly for the infamus Dreadnaught Hoax (feat. Virginia Woolf) Horace Cole was a fascinating figure in the early 20th century. A real life trickster as well as a tragic figure whose world changed drastically due to historic events. Downer does a great job with this biography, giving a realistic picture of him.

https://www.amazon.com/Sultan-Zanzibar-Bizarre-Spectacular-Hoaxes/dp/0948238461

#books #bookstodon #nonfiction


10. Addiction

Repülős Gizi, a tolvajok királynője (Bodnár Gizella)
[Flying Gizi, Queen of Thieves]

The autobiography of the famous Hungarian thief Bodnár Gizella (Flying Gizi). An honest and fascinating read about addiction, living through the entire 20th century as a woman, struggles, poverty, and life in prison. Being a talented thief is the least memorable thing about this woman's story.

https://www.libri.hu/konyv/Repulos-Gizi-A-tolvajok-kiralynoje-16.html

#nonfiction #books #bookstodon #Hungarian #crime #biography


9. Famous women

The search for Omm Sety (Jonathan Cott)

The fascinating biography of a woman who was declared dead at age 3, and came back to life remembering her previous life in Ancient Egypt. She dedicated her entire life to studying Egypt, moved there, helped archaeologists, and remembered a lot of things that later were discovered to be true...

https://www.amazon.com/Search-Omm-Sety-Jonathan-Cott/dp/0446390402

#nonfiction #books #bookstodon #history #Egypt #women


8. Mental health

Medical Muses: Hysteria in Nineteenth-Century Paris (Asti Hustvedt)

The book explores the heyday of the study of "hysteria", through the lives of three women who were exhibitied in Paris as model hysterics. Sometimes very dark and sometimes amusing, the author goes beyond trying to diagnose them, focusing on the cultural context of "hysteria".

https://www.amazon.com/Medical-Muses-Hysteria-Nineteenth-Century-Paris/dp/0393025608

#nonfiction #books #bookstodon #MentalHealth #history


7. Movies, cartoons, television

Are You Not Entertained?: Mapping the Gladiator Across Visual Media (Lindsay Steenberg)

Really fun read with all the gladiator stuff coming out this year. The author explores the gladiator as an archetype, and the arena fight as a trope, across various movies and TV shows (even outside historical movies, e.g. Hunger Games, Gamer, Fight Club etc). Lots of good insight into gender, nostalgia etc.

https://www.amazon.com/Are-You-Not-Entertained-Gladiator/dp/1350120073

#nonfiction #books #bookstodon #gladiator


6. Human relationships

The Divorce Colony: How Women Revolutionized Marriage and Found Freedom on the American Frontier (April White)

In the late 19th century, traveling to Sioux Falls was the easiest way to get a divorce - after only 90 days of residency. So the city's largest hotel turned into a "divorce colony" of women (and some men) waiting for their freedom. The book is an awesome read, full of personal stories.

https://www.amazon.com/Divorce-Colony-Revolutionized-Marriage-American/dp/0306827662

#books #bookstodon #nonfiction #divorce #AmReading


I finally figured out where the UK keeps the folklore books. I wandered into a witchy shop, and there they were. 😄

#books #bookstodon #UK #witchy #folklore #folktales


5. Crime and criminology

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession (Allison Hoover Bartlett)

The story of a man who used credit card scams to buy extremely expensive rare books and hoard them. The author explores the world of rare book collecting, buyers and sellers and scammers alike. 📚

https://www.amazon.com/Man-Who-Loved-Books-Much/dp/1594484813

#bookstodon #books #nonfiction #AmReading


4. Russia

The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them (Elif Batuman)

Shorter essays about people who engage with Russian literature, including the author herself. Stories like organizing a Russian literature conference in California, or her summer study in Uzbekistan, or the history of the Ice Palace. Interesting read, although I didn't always like the author's personal attitude.

https://www.amazon.com/Possessed-Adventures-Russian-Books-People/dp/0374532184

#books #bookstodon #nonfiction #Russia #literature


3. History outside Europe

Sparks: China's Underground Historians and their Battle for the Future (Ian Johnson)

Highly recommended read. The author traces the work of underground historians, archivists, and documentary filmmakers in China who try to keep records of history that has been erased or changed by the party. They often literally risk their life and freedom to do it.

https://www.amazon.com/Sparks-Chinas-Underground-Historians-Battle/dp/0197575501

#history #China #nonfiction #bookstodon #books


2. Language, linguistics

The Invention of Clouds: How an Amateur Meteorologist Forged the Language of the Skies (Richard Hamblyn)

The story of how cloud types were named by Luke Howard at the turn of the 19th century. The book gives great historical context starting from the 1600s, about the birth of meteorology and the difficulties of cloud classification. I finally learned how the categories work.

https://www.amazon.com/Invention-Clouds-Amateur-Meteorologist-Language/dp/0312420013

#cloud #language #linguistics #nonfiction #history #books #bookstodon


1. Gastronomy

The Land Where Lemons Grow (Helena Attlee)

The author travels across Italy, exploring the history of various citrus fruits. I never knew citrus could be such a fascinating topic, but the book was an amazing read. From the connections of lemons to the Sicilian mafia, through the orange-throwing carnival of Ivrea, all the way to Renaissance hybrid citrus collections. 🍋 🍊

(Sorry for the Amazon links)
https://www.amazon.com/Land-Where-Lemons-Grow-Citrus/dp/0241952573

#nonfiction #books #bookstodon #AmReading #food #Italy


I finished this year's Polymath Reading Challenge early!
It was exciting as usual, and led me to some great #nonfiction books. So, I'm going to share my reading list. No one asked, but here it is.

Thread. 📚

#AmReading #Books #bookstodon #ReadingChallenge #science #history


Addendum:

1. One page of academic writing often requires 5+ of those books.

2. I still buy a whole lot of books (yep) and go to a whole lot of libraries.

3. Even university libraries have budgets.

4. Copyright is obviously still a thing.

#research #InternetArchive #books #writing #academia


The Change series by Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith is my favorite YA fantasy.

By "fantasy" I mean post-apocalyptic western with mutant superpowers :D

This series does diversity right. It's part of the setting. The story also features a very cute throuple, a demisexual main character, and realistic depiction of PTSD. And yes, it's well written and exciting. Final book out in October.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0753KXMV3?binding=kindle_edition&qid=1718896357&sr=1-1&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tkin

#YA #fantasy #books #amreading #reading #bookstodon #pride #representation


People I would like to read biographies about and no one has written them yet:

Willy Clarkson
Bunny Roger
Ynés Mexia
Dr. Anandabai Joshee, Dr. Kei Okami & Dr. Tabat M. Islambooly

#books #biography #history #nonfiction


Reading any comic written by Si Spurrier:

"I don't get it... I don't get it... WTF is even going on... I'm not smart enough for this... WTF... OH HELL I GET IT! DAAAMN!"

😅
My favorite comic writer.

#comics #popculture #Marvel #AmReading #Books


"His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead."

In June 1914.

James Joyce's Dubliners, a collection of fifteen short stories depicting the Irish middle classes in and around Dublin during the early 20th century, is published in London.

Dubliners at Project Gutenberg:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/2814

#books #literature
Dubliners / by James Joyce. - London : Grant Richards, 1914. - 278 p. ; 20 cm. Frontespizio


"I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound and stab us. If the book we are reading doesn't wake us up with a blow on the head, what are we reading it for? ... A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us."

Letter to Oskar Pollak (27 January 1904)

~Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924)

#books #literature


Czech writer Franz Kafka died #OTD in 1924.

Kafka's works were not widely known during his lifetime, and he published only a few of his stories. Most of his major works were published posthumously by his friend and literary executor, Max Brod, despite Kafka's instructions to destroy his manuscripts.

Books by Franz Kafka at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1735

#books #literature
Last known photograph of Franz Kafka. Most likely taken in 1923.

A monochrome image of a well-dressed gentleman wearing a suit, exuding elegance and sophistication.
„Jemand musste Josef K. verleumdet haben…“ – Anfang des Manuskripts zu Der Process, 1914/15

"Someone must have slandered Josef K...." - Beginning of the manuscript for The Trial, 1914/15.

"The Trial" follows the story of Josef K., a chief clerk at a large bank, who is suddenly arrested by mysterious agents one morning. The nature of his crime is never revealed to him, and the entire legal process he faces is shrouded in ambiguity and absurdity. Despite being allowed to go about his daily life, Josef K. is continually drawn into a bewildering and nightmarish legal system.

"The Trial" has had a profound impact on literature and philosophy. Its themes of alienation, existential dread, and the absurdity of modern life resonate with existentialist thinkers and writers. The novel has been interpreted in various ways, including as a critique of totalitarian regimes, a reflection on the nature of guilt and innocence, and a commentary on the complexities of the human condition.


I did up a book list for Booklisti. This is my list of five great Canadian books you're probably not aware of. Well, except for my father's... you've probably seen me go on about it a bit. Think about taking a chance on some of these: https://booklisti.com/booklist/great-books-canadians-you-probably-havent-heard-of-joe-mahoney/lxpdbjq

#books #booklisti #publishing #hiddengems


Award-winning Canadian SFF writer Douglas Smith shares how a Swiss painting has inspired his work on this episode of Re-Creative. Delve into Doug's acclaimed works and the creative process behind them. Oh, and we also talk about our mutual admiration for writer Roger Zelazny. #books #podcast #zelazny #publishing #art #arnoldbocklin
https://re-creative.ca/isle-of-the-dead/