I started this my first book for #authoramonth. @Soubhiville
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I started this my first book for #authoramonth. @Soubhiville
Almost 300 pages into this chunkster I‘m finally at Part Two!
Well, well, well there‘s an evil magic ring in this Swedish version of Dracula. A ruby ring.
Could this 1899-1900 version have any influence on Tolkien? Did Tolkien read Swedish? He was a language genius, so maybe.
I‘m going to have to post photos periodically of my grandmother‘s Old Curiosity Shop dishes. Here it is! The Old Curiosity Shop!
These dishes are among my most precious possessions. I only use them once a year for Christmas.
#whattheDickens @Cuilin
Daughter and I are having a read-in evening at our lake house. She‘s reading the tagged book and I‘m reading Powers of Darkness, the Swedish version of Dracula. I‘ve finally just reached Part 2. This book is massive.
October is normally an awesome reading month for me. It was still a good month considering I still had 3 books, 2 of them chunksters, in the works going into November. Dracula still beats the heck out of any book I read. I‘ll admit I get a little bored at the end—never a fan of chase scenes, in books or movies. And Dr Van Helsing (who always will look like Hugh Jackman to me) does seem to drag on a bit.
Theroux thrives on unusual words, prompting me to want to start a #wordoftheday or week or whatever. That‘s not new to litsy. But it‘s new to me since I‘m continuously looking up words in the tagged book. Mom @Doll8455 and I, both avid readers and fairly well educated, but we both had to look up “lugubrious” from this book. Now we toss it out often to one another! 😂 and then 😔
I‘ll start today with the word “ruction.” Use it in a sentence?
Dickens always names his characters appropriately. We meet Mr. Swiveller, compatriot of the grandfather‘s grandson Kip, both of whom seem to be up to no good.
I‘m looking forward to Chapter 3, where we will meet a fellow named Daniel Quilp. That‘s an ambiguous last name, so it will be interesting to see what sort of character he is.
Oh I do love Dickens.
#whattheDickens @Cuilin
A previous owner of my Oxford edition disagrees with this Cast of Characters (love this) that the old man (the narrator) is the single gentleman, brother to Nell‘s grandfather. I‘ve only read 1-1/2 chapters but at least so far I have to agree with this unknown persons‘s “No.” I can‘t wait to see if this bears out.
#whattheDickens @Cuilin
Image from my Oxford edition. This illustration is entitled “The Old Curiosity Shop.” It does appear to accurately depict the shop as Dickens describes it. In Chapter 1, the old man meets a pretty little girl at night and walks her “home,” to this unique place. Here the old man meets her grandfather and suspects he‘s up to no good.
#whattheDickens @Cuilin
The author ridicules Thor Heyerdahl to the ends of the earth and then there‘s this statement: “Probably the most obnoxious aspect of Heyerdahl is that he appears to display a deep bias, bordering on contempt, against Polynesians.”
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!!
If you ever have a desire to read this book, be aware there is a lot of this.
The author is thorough, and 80% into it, I‘m getting a ton of detail about every possible island in Oceania. I‘m not fond of his constant criticisms (Wikipedia calls it a strong stream of irony, that‘s not what I‘d call it) of pretty much every single person he meets, and judgments of swaths of people based on those he encounters. But as usual I enjoy reading about ⬇️
This is how far I am in this chunkster of a book. I‘m still at it. Because the book is so valuable it doesn‘t go on work trips. And it‘s not broken into chapters but only into 3
Parts, I have to find loads of time to sit down with it. So I may be reading about Count Draculitz through Christmas at this rate!!
I lose my head sometimes too when I‘m reading
#blackcatcrew #hauntedshelf @BookwormAHN @PuddleJumper
Happy National Cat Day (it should be everyday)!
Whose celebrating with me? 🙌🏻
Me and the Count…scrolling, scrolling, scrolling
#blackcatcrew #hauntedshelf @BookwormAHN @PuddleJumper
The book I‘m reading about Oceania now references anthropophagia quite a bit. Yes, I had to look up that word and it‘s relevant to this cartoon. Enjoy. Numnum Kevin!!
#blackcatcrew #hauntedshelf @BookwormAHN @PuddleJumper
My next audiobook for #Algeria #foodandlit @Catsandbooks
The worst of the author‘s invective is against the French. It‘s a wonder this man has any friends, but then again, his wife is divorcing him and he‘s on an extended solo outing. 🧐
But his contempt for the French may be justified (sorry all my French friends). At the time he wrote this book the French were nuking Pacific islands mercilessly. France, at least at the time, was the world‘s largest supplier of nuclear weapons.
Look mama and dada what I did!
#blackcatcrew #hauntedshelf @BookwormAHN @PuddleJumper
pickThis book finishes the trilogy in which aliens have recovered and healed the earth and its few survivors from a devastating war. Having mated with humans, no human has given birth to a member of species of the “sexless” aliens, the ooloi, until Lilith has Jodahs. Jodahs is far from a sexless ooloi, and this final book is almost entirely about finding mates, mating, and convincing hard-headed humans that mating with aliens is just hunky-dory. ⬇️
More about food in #Samoa.
#foodandlit @Catsandbooks
Finally, a description of some food in #Samoa. #foodandlit @Catsandbooks
The pain is real
#blackcatcrew #hauntedshelf @BookwormAHN @PuddleJumper
pickAkin is the first male human-alien, with super-human/alien abilities—such as talking and adult-level comprehension at two months old. Anyone who has refused to mate with the aliens—resisters—are sterile. So on earth, kidnapping children is rampant. Akin is kidnapped by resisters and forced to live with a resister couple. Once he‘s recovered a year later, he has come to know and sympathize with the resisters. But he‘s still alien with all their ⬇️
pickTo be blunt, this trilogy is about human/alien hanky-panky. It‘s for folks who are comfortable with kind-of creepy ménage a trois.
Humans have finally destroyed earth in an all-out war. Aliens have saved the world and recovered and put to sleep the few remaining survivors until the aliens have healed the planet. Then the aliens have made the humans sterile, unless the humans will mate with them. ⬇️ #authoramonth
Either Dr Frankenstein did it or it was the Pet Semetary, doing active business
#blackcatcrew #hauntedshelf @BookwormAHN @PuddleJumper
Funny how that happens to the undead as well!
#blackcatcrew #hauntedshelf @BookwormAHN @PuddleJumper
Harker‘s Journal, the 21st. “Suddenly, there appeared a stunning figure in the middle of this portal – a tall old man, with thick white hair and a long, white mustache, wearing an ankle-length robe of a fiery red, which left his sinewy arms, as well as his throat bare. In one hand, he held a long black rod; the other rested lightly on the head of a gigantic wolf, which seemed to follow him obediently as a dog. I recognized the Count…”
Settling down for an evening of reading this Swedish version of Dracula. It‘s insane. Harker has found a secret door and down in the depths of the castle 150 “bestial” people, half-naked who may be worshiping Draculitz. Written only 2 years after Dracula itself, this version is so much more grotesque and cultish. Harker has been unfaithful to “Mina” and he‘s been attacked by some hairy monster during the daytime. Many times creepier than Dracula.
My next audiobook. For the #letterZ #litsyatoz
Well, Samoans don‘t sound very nice at all. The author doesn‘t have much nice to say about Tongans (from Tonga) or New Zealanders for that matter. #Samoa #foodandlit @Catsandbooks
How cute is that little witch?
#blackcatcrew #hauntedshelf @BookwormAHN @PuddleJumper
Daughter pointed this out to me. Perfect way to find your perfect match!
https://www.instagram.com/p/DQA-PIwjrAa/?igsh=MTAyeGZibjAyNHZmNQ==
And apparently she has a book club and reading lists:
https://www.service95.com/tag/the-reading-list
Finally, the last two new-to-me books for the night
Rollins is one of my all-time favorite authors. I didn‘t even know about this book though!
#majicmonday Thanks for the tag @Eggs ! This was fun to look up. Venice (5,700 miles) narrowly beat Trondheim, Norway (5,400 miles). Inset photo is looking back at Venice from our boat on the way to Marco Polo Airport.
We have some mighty world travelers on litsy. I can‘t wait to hear from @wanderinglynn @Cuilin @BarbaraBB @julesG @Teresereading
I love this newish trend to paint the edges of the paper. So beautiful!! But of course it says “Hell is Other People “! Ha! Don‘t we all know that? 😂
![[tagged book]](https://image.librarything.com/pics/litsy_webpics/icon_taggedBook@3x.png){kind=icon}
