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Description
This blog is a combination of an attempt to chronicle my literary pursuits, and a way to share my love of literature and language with all the world in a consistent format.Links
pronunciation | ‘nU-mi-nus
note | The word originated in religious usage, but it can be applied to natural experiences as well as supernatural. It can also mean “suggesting the presence of something holy or divine”.
(via teri-joyeaux)
BAMF Shakespeare.
Ernest Hemingway once won a bet by crafting a six-word short story, that can make people cry. Here it is.
best
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why Hemingway is one of (if not THE) most powerful authors I’ve ever studied.
Ugh, Hemingway wrenches my guts.
(via hayleycakess)
"Thieves! Fire! Murder! Such a thing had not happened since first he came to the Mountain! His rage passes description - the sort of rage that is only seen when rich folk that have more than they can enjoy suddenly lose something that they have long had but have never before used or wanted."
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
Tolkien knows what’s up.
PREVIEW: The Hobbit
Another blasphemy, I know, that I have not read this book. I read The Lord of the Rings (from the box set in which this edition of The Hobbit is included) many years ago, but I expect I was too young to fully appreciate it. I now rectify the mistake in anticipation of the release of the film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey this December!
Title: The Hobbit (or There and Back Again)
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
Genre: Fantasy/adventure
ISBN: 0-618-00221-9
I’ve done a bit of research, and I’ve encountered the view that this is a subpar edition of Tolkien’s work, containing typographical and spelling errors that sometimes undermine the original meaning of entire sentences. Nevertheless, I shall read it and give you my thoughts afterward.
"It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well."
Sorry I haven’t been updating as much, folks. I’ve just been so busy. Good news, though; I should be back on track with The Hobbit in just a few days!
(Source: facebook.com, via teachthemhowtothink)
"Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open."
"If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals."
I’m taking a brief hiatus.
I’m re-reading the entire Harry Potter saga. I won’t post any reviews, although I may post quotes here and there (as you’ve already seen), but I expect I’ll be finished by Friday or Saturday.
In the meantime, if you want to suggest a book or even donate an old copy, let me know in my ask box! I only bring this up because eventually I will run out of things on my shelf that I haven’t read, and I love the idea of recycling books.
monsieurleblanc
"
‘You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us? You think that we don’t recall them more clearly than ever in times of great trouble? Your father is alive in you, Harry, and shows himself most plainly when you have need of him. How else could you produce that particular Patronus? Prongs rode again last night.’
It took a moment for Harry to realize what Dumbledore had said.
‘Last night Sirius told me all about how they became Animagi,’ said Dumbledore, smiling. ‘An extraordinary achievement - not least, keeping it quiet from me. And then I remembered the most unusual form your Patronus took, when in charged Mr. Malfoy down at your Quidditch match against Ravenclaw. You know, Harry, in a way, you did see your father last night…. You found him inside yourself.’
"J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Dumbledore)
Review: The Respectful Prostitute
This short one-act, two-scene play is “a scathing attack on American racism.” The plot is loosely similar to that of Harper Lee’s masterpiece, To Kill A Mockingbird. A black man is wrongfully accused of raping a white woman, and for different reasons, everyone in the town, despite knowing for a fact that the real culprit is a white man and that the black man is innocent, value the white man’s reputation more than the black man’s life. Even Lizzie, the woman who was sexually abused, despite wanting to tell the truth, doesn’t want any trouble. In other words, telling the truth isn’t as important as her own comfort. It’s a difficult thirty pages to read, because it makes one so furious. It’s not designed to pull at heartstrings the way Mockingbird is; it’s designed to enrage you, and it does its job exceedingly well. It is difficult to say more, so I’ll just conclude by encouraging anyone who believes that racism is dead in America to read this. You will see vestiges of it very clearly in today’s world. Even though lynchings don’t happen anymore (or at least, not like they used to) and most of the civilized world does not use the “n-word”, not much has changed.
Vocabulary word #9
Odalisque adj. (ˈōdlˌisk)
1: A female slave or concubine in a harem, especially in that of the sultan of Turkey.
Origin: 1675–85; French, alteration of earlier odalique (with -s- perhaps from -esque), Turkish odalιk (concubine), equivalent to oda (room) + -lιk (noun suffix of appurtenance)
Source sentence: “(Jessica:)…I don’t fancy spending the whole day in bed like an odalisque; it makes me fat.”
