New in the stacks:
Nothing. Isn’t that sad? ;)
Wishlisted:
The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz.
“From 2008 Newbery Medalist Laura Amy Schlitz comes an exhilarating new adventure — and a thoroughly original fairy who is a true force of nature.
What would happen to a fairy if she lost her wings and could no longer fly? Flory, a young night fairy no taller than an acorn and still becoming accustomed to her wings — wings as beautiful as those of a luna moth — is about to find out. What she discovers is that the world is very big and very dangerous. But Flory is fierce and willing to do whatever it takes to survive. If that means telling others what to do — like Skuggle, a squirrel ruled by his stomach — so be it. Not every creature, however, is as willing to bend to Flory’s demands. Newbery Medal winner Laura Amy Schlitz and world-renowned illustrator and miniaturist Angela Barrett venture into the realm of the illustrated classic — a classic entirely and exquisitely of their making, and a magnificent adventure.”
Where Everything Ends by Ray Bradbury.
“In 1949, a struggling writer—a man very much like the young Ray Bradbury—boards a late night trolley in Venice, California and hears a disembodied voice murmur the words: ‘Death is a lonely business.’ Shortly afterward, that same young man discovers a body trapped in a cage beneath the waters of the local canal. Convinced of a connection between these events, the narrator/hero—together with a wonderfully characterized detective named Elmo Crumley (named in a nod to noted mystery novelist James Crumley) begins to investigate a series of suspicious deaths among the disenfranchised population of Venice.
Death is a Lonely Business was Ray Bradbury’s first book-length foray into classical detective fiction. Two others followed: A Graveyard for Lunatics, in which Crumley and our hero (now a gainfully employed scriptwriter) join forces with special effects wizard Ray Harryhausen, and Let’s All Kill Constance, a tale of mystery and suspense set against the faded backdrop of Hollywood’s Golden Age. All three, together with Where Everything Ends, the never-before-published title story that preceded and inspired them, are now gathered together in a single generous volume that should prove indispensable to Bradbury’s large and loyal readership.
Freely acknowledging the influence of the genre’s masters (Hammett, Chandler, MacDonald, and Cain), all of these stories successfully transcend those influences, filtering them through their author’s wholly unique sensibility. The result is a powerfully nostalgic evocation of time and place, and an unforgettable portrait of a writer in love with language, with movies, and with the transformative power of stories themselves.”
How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren.
“How to Read a Book, originally published in 1940, has become a rare phenomenon, a living classic. It is the best and most successful guide to reading comprehension for the general reader. And now it has been completely rewritten and updated.”
You are told about the various levels of reading and how to achieve them — from elementary reading, through systematic skimming and inspectional reading, to speed reading, you learn how to pigeonhole a book, X-ray it, extract the author’s message, criticize. You are taught the different reading techniques for reading practical books, imaginative literature, plays, poetry, history, science and mathematics, philosophy and social science.”
The Case For a Creator by Lee Strobel.
“A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence That Points Toward God. ‘My road to atheism was paved by science . . . But, ironically, so was my later journey to God.’—Lee Strobel. During his academic years, Lee Strobel became convinced that God was outmoded, a belief that colored his ensuing career as an award-winning journalist at the Chicago Tribune. Science had made the idea of a Creator irrelevant—or so Strobel thought. But today science is pointing in a different direction. In recent years, a diverse and impressive body of research has increasingly supported the conclusion that the universe was intelligently designed. At the same time, Darwinism has faltered in the face of concrete facts and hard reason. Has science discovered God? At the very least, it’s giving faith an immense boost as new findings emerge about the incredible complexity of our universe. Join Strobel as he reexamines the theories that once led him away from God. Through his compelling and highly readable account, you’ll encounter the mind-stretching discoveries from cosmology, cellular biology, DNA research, astronomy, physics, and human consciousness that present astonishing evidence in The Case for a Creator.”
Concise Guide to Self-Sufficiency by John Seymour.
“Teaching all the skills needed to live independently in harmony with the land, from harnessing natural forms of energy and raising crops to keeping livestock and preserving foodstuffs, this new format of John Seymour’s classic is still the most practical guide for realists and dreamers alike.”
What I’m Watching:
Arranged – Pretty cute, even if it (I think intentionally) glosses over some of the cultural issues women of these two religions face. I found it interesting to see a film that is positive towards arranged marriages, an unusual stance to take in the West though it’s a reality for many people in the world.
What I’m Reading:
The Sheen on the Silk by Anne Perry.
Still reading this one, and enjoying it.
What I’m Writing:
Worked a little on Foxglove, but not much. Thinking about setting up a small setting “bible” so I can keep all my world-building straight. I have stuff written all over legal pads, notebooks, sticky notes, graph paper, etc., some of it probably in triplicate or more. It would help to have it all in one place.
What I’m Revising:
I haven’t touched Dogwood in awhile. This stage of the process is just mentally exhausting.
Around the House:
Spent some time this past weekend going through old papers, receipts and mail. Threw a bunch of stuff away so now I can really start sorting through my writing. Messed with my jewelry making some more, and found out that the antique brass headpins don’t match the wire I’m using and there’s no way to fix it. I’m sick of dealing with the pre-antiqued wire so I may switch to copper and learn to antique it myself. Sounds kind of fun, honestly.
Cooking:
Not much cooking lately. Made some chicken salad with homemade mayonnaise made by a friend which turned out lovely.
Spirituality:
I just keep trying to make time during the day for prayer, reflection and Bible reading. Sadly, my attention span is shorter than it once was. I feel overwhelmed by too many choices each day, and it’s hard to sit quietly without thinking about everything I have to do.
Also, apparently, not being able to find something when I know where it should be is enough to throw me into an unmitigated rage. This is something I must work on.
The cover for “Where Everything Ends” is fantastic! I looked at that “Concise Guide to Self-Sufficiency” over the weekend, and it contains a wealth of information presented in a straightforward, but not dry, way. It gives you what you need to know without unnecessary fluff to it. I’d like to get that one sometime.
We are a not-for-profit educational organization, founded by Mortimer Adler and we have recently made an exciting discovery–three years after writing the wonderfully expanded third edition of How to Read a Book, Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren made a series of thirteen 14-minute videos, lively discussing the art of reading. The videos were produced by Encyclopaedia Britannica. For reasons unknown, sometime after their original publication, these videos were lost.
Three hours with Mortimer Adler on one DVD. A must for libraries and classroom teaching the art of reading.
I cannot over exaggerate how instructive these programs are–we are so sure that you will agree, if you are not completely satisfied, we will refund your donation.
Please go here to see a clip and learn more:
http://www.thegreatideas.org/HowToReadABook.htm
ISBN: 978-1-61535-311-8
Thank you,
Max Weismann