Saturday, March 30, 2019

Online Goodies



The Necklace of Princess Fiorimonde, and Other Stories by Mary De Morgan  on Project Gutenberg



Mary de Morgan: Subversion through Fairy Tales by Marilyn Pemberton







The Orchid Album, Vol 1  ; The Orchid Album, Vol 2 by Robert Warner and Benjamin Samuel Williams and Thomas Moore
There are over 40 colored plates in each of these two volumes.
On Project Gutenberg.



U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Pomological Watercolor Collection
This is an amazing collection. There are over 7,000 images in this searchable database.







Thursday, March 14, 2019

Perusing Project Gutenberg


            Oats and Vetch


From...
Wayside and Woodland Blossoms; A Pocket Guide To British Wild-Flowers For The Country Rambler
by Edward Step (Published:1898)








Motoring Skills


Photo. H. W. Nicholls.
THIS LITTLE DRAWER IS THE GREAT SECRET



 The Woman and the Car: A Chatty Little Handbook for the Edwardian Motoriste
by Dorothy Levitt,
C. Byng-Hall (Editor, Introduction)
(published 1909)


And what should one keep in the secret drawer (the forerunner of the glove compartment)?

"This little drawer is the secret of the dainty motoriste. What you put in it depends upon your tastes, but the following articles are what I advise you to have in its recesses. A pair of clean gloves, an extrahandkerchief, clean veil, powder-puff (unless you despise them), hair-pins and ordinary pins, a hand mirror—and some chocolates are very soothing, sometimes!"

Some light Verse


The Motley Muse (Rhymes for the Times) by Harry Graham; Illustrations by Lewis Blumer (published 1913)

Many of these refer (in a light manner) to the politics of the time. There is also a section on clubs and another of seasonal verses. Clever rhymes although some of the terms used are considered unacceptable by today's standards.






Campy Camp Tales


Gutenberg has no cover image, but there are plenty of illustrations in the work
Romance of California Life by John Habberton; Illustrated By Pacific Slope Stories, Thrilling, Pathetic And Humorous


Was Habberton ever actually in California? It's not clear from his Wikipedia entry. In the book's introduction he writes "Although at present mildly tolerated in the East, I was "brought up" in the West [Illinois], and have written largely from recollection of "some folks" I have known, veritable men and women, scenes and incidents, and otherwise through the memories of Western friends of good eyesight and hearing powers."



Saturday, March 09, 2019

These Caught My Attention Because...


Because this is the land where I was grown...
The Land Where Birds Are Grown A visit to the engineered wetlands of California’s intensively cultivated Central Valley by Cynthia Hooper

Because procrastination is a thing with me...
I've Been Meaning to Talk to You About Procrastination by David Abrams

   and on the same note...


Because I went to the eye doctor yesterday and something he told me led to my googling and finding this...
Mayo Clinic Q and A: Fish oil supplements and dry eyes By Liza Torborg 
I've been taking this stuff for other reasons for years and didn't know I was helping my eyes.

Because he was Connecticut based... 

“Form-Generating is Similar to Music – You Try to Compose Music and Suddenly the Melody Comes”: In Conversation with Kevin Roche  by Vladimir Belogolovsky

Because lit in translation...Yes
The Catalan Paradox: Writers, Editors, and Translators on the Literature of a Stateless Language
Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi interviews Quim Monzó


Between worlds: in praise of the literary translator by Miranda France

Gendered “Revenge” in Emma Ramadan’s Reworking of Brice Matthieussent’s Meta-Novel
By Arshy Azizi
It's rare that I read a review or interview concerning a book I'm currently reading but I couldn't resist this one. I was about 2/3 of the way through the book when I succumbed to the temptation to google to find out if the translator (Emma Ramadan, that is--everyone in this book is a translator of sorts) had given any interviews on this work. I found this review and decided to read it. It goes beyond where I had read so there was a chance of spoilers. But I didn't think anything could spoil the marvelous book. I was right. There are some revelations but, for me, no spoilers though other readers might not agree.