Sleep is good, books are better
Readers reading #4 The Novel Reading (1841) - By Josef Danhauser: 1805-1845. A happy couple. I wonder what the armour, book on the floor and general clutter means? I suspect it must mean something because the artist (Josef Danhauser) was a man whose work was inspired by a wonderful series of engravings by the English painter,... Continue Reading →
“Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all.” ― Henry David Thoreau, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers. Good advice. I'm doin' my best, Henry ol' chap - but there's a lot of 'em and only one of me. To put it crudely, wanting... Continue Reading →
No. 5. Bertha Mason and Edward Rochester from Jane Eyre Spoiler alert! Clearly not a successful marriage. Bertha is insane, can't be divorced and has pyromaniac and suicidal tendencies. Certainly she has her own story to tell (as imagined in Wide Sargasso Sea). It can't help a marriage when wife number two is waiting in... Continue Reading →
Wilkie Collins (1824 – 1889) was an English novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He is best known for two books - The Woman in White (1859) and The Moonstone (1868). I recommend them both. Followed by No Name (1862) and Armadale (1866), if you have the appetite. Talking of appetite, that is the topic... Continue Reading →
Readers reading #3 A Pleasant Corner (1865) - By John Callcott Horsley: 1817 – 1903. Donated to the Royal Academy by the artist. "Sorry to disturb, thought you might like a cup of tea." The third post in the “Readers reading” series (this was the first, this was the second). The colours and the shading... Continue Reading →
The Classics Club You can read about The Classics Club here. The challenge is to read at least 50 classics within a set period of time – no more than five years – and write about them. [There is a bit more to it than that, so please go to the website if you are... Continue Reading →
I am currently reading The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. A writer of thumping good reads. I don't expect Great Literature from him, but I do expect to thoroughly enjoy myself between the pages. I also expect many references to food, drink and meals, like the one above. And here is a quote from The Woman... Continue Reading →
Readers reading #2 Carl Spitzweg – The Bookworm – 1850 – Museum Georg Schafer, Schweinfurt, German. Ahh .... I'm envious. Just don't step backwards! This post is the second in a series on art showing "Readers reading" (this was the first). My background in the booktrade and as a librarian has probably had an influence... Continue Reading →
It's odd that while most people recognise the truth in this sentence, it changes nothing and we keep chasing. If only we could always be happy in the present. But perhaps that insatiable impulse for another condition is a requirement from evolution (or God/gods) to get us off our b-hinds. https://uk.pinterest.com/longvictorian2/leo-tolstoy/
That beside the futility of attempting to change somebody, if it is not in their nature to change in that way. https://uk.pinterest.com/longvictorian2/leo-tolstoy/
The Long Victorian 