#and YES this is about my rambling about le guin

[burritosandpeppermint]

Book Suggestions?

As I recently noted I'm re-re-re-reading the Earthsea books (I'll finally get beyond the second one this time!) and while I'm in the midst of it I'm also-

Hey, just taking a step back here for a moment: I'm reading for pleasure again! Like I haven't since I was in my 20s! Holy crap! I won't go into all of it but honestly over the last 15-ish years or so I think I never really gave myself the kind of mental downtime for books that I gave to television and movies, so now I'm taking mental breaks, meditating, doing yoga, journaling, etc, and that means that I can have non-screen time with actual books without quickly falling asleep. Fucking awesome. Loving it. Anyway,

I'm also looking forward to more new stories and I think I like the Earthsea books enough to want more of the same. Any suggestions?

*psst, Chris, what does that mean? more of the same? what does that mean to you?*

Oh, right. Um. Hmm.

How about this: although he's on a hero's journey the story of Ged (again, at least through the first two novels) is of a boy on the hero's journey, focusing largely on his own self discovery and the actions he must take in his world, with what understanding and experiences he has, to navigate his life as well as he can and eventually to not only do so without causing harm or disturbing the equilibrium of all things but possibly right some wrongs and help people here and there where he can. It's a magical world where technology doesn't seem to have gotten any farther than discovering that magnets exist; in other words it's about as advanced as the European Middle Ages, like most Western-oriented fantasy books. And while there are dragons and kings and armies they're really not the focus of the book. Any suggestions?

*good, but can you possibly boil that down any further?*

FINE

Hero's journey (optional but likely unavoidable)

Self-discovery & new connections

Earthy & magical

A time of herbs and leather; candles and crops; everyone is still more or less subject to seasons and the wild world at large

Maybe there's nothing else quite like what I'm looking-

Have you tried 'The Lord Of The Rings?'

Yes yes, shut up, go away. I have and I'm done with it, okay? We all don't always need to go back to the godfather of it all in his overflowingness to get a bit, a crumb, a taste of what we like or are looking for. Like Ursula K. Le Guin there are other authors and other stories, and we can read and appreciate them as well. Speaking of which, no TERF authors, either. You know who I mean, but also no known bigots, thank you.

And I'm well aware of the Discworld books ('Small Gods' is one of my favorite books of all time) but I've barely delved into it, and I might be looking for something less humorous, but I'm not against any suggestions from that series!

And if it's YA...I guess I'm not against it but I'm not really into teen romance? As a middle aged man? You know?

And as it is I've already got a lot that I've saved from my searches here and there and from Amazon specifically (yes, I know they're the devil, but they kinda still do this book thing):

But I also like direct suggestions.

Anyway, my long ramble-y post is intended to entertain you enough to make a suggestion if you've come this far. And even if you don't have a suggestion maybe you've been lightly entertained along the way, because I'm kinda starting out without a compass and I know you nerds have one or two or 500 books up your sleeves. And nothing has to conform to exactly what I'm looking for; it's just what I've enjoyed so far.

And thank you!

[songofwizardry]

so for the past few years, i have made a list of 'things i really liked this year' in december, and it's never gone beyond ramblings in my notes app, but this year, finally, it is going on tumblr! mainly bc i enjoy talking about things and i can guarantee i will have forgotten about some of these things in a year and i like records.

so, here we go—a fairly chaotic list of media i enjoyed in 2023 (with links where possible!)

words (prose, poetry, etc):

the word for world is forest by Ursula K. Le Guin [prose]: i have been intending to read this for years, and i finally picked it up at the start of 2023, and it is incredible. it's fairly brutal, but it was... idk, i have not read anything else that captures the violence inherent in colonisation and the effects of the decolonial project this well. what a book

your emergency contact has experienced an emergency by Chen Chen [poetry collection]: this poetry collection was very good and pretty fucking heavy (cw for homophobia throughout) and extremely emotional and made me feel many, many seventeen-year-old-me feelings. honourable mentions to higher education (excerpt here) and doctor's note.

a master of djinn by P. Djèlí Clark [prose]: i did not read as much sff as i wanted to this year, but i did read this one, and it's great. i adore fatma. i want all her outfits. the alternate cairo is super cool. the angels. it's a really good read. there's a pretty good tor dot com review of it here, if you're interested.

darius the great is not okay and darius the great deserves better by Adib Khorram [prose]: i read a truly ridiculous amount of YA this spring/summer. some of it was incredible, some of it was less-so, but i thought at least one YA book should be on here. this was one of my favourites. both books are lovely, a really-well written look at both living with depression and the challenges and joys of being a mixed-race kid. also, Sohrab is a sweetie.

audio & music (yes music-y videos are in here don't question my organisation):

now and for always from the Watermill theatre's revival of the lord of the rings musical [music + video]: i have loved the soundtrack of this musical for years, and then the Watermill ran it over the summer and i had the incredible luck to go watch it, and it was phenomenal. this song makes me cry literally always, Nuwan Hugh Perera as Sam is amazing, and the whole musical but particularly this song with actor-musicians worked so well.

solidarity forever with Billy Bragg at the elmwood starbucks strike [music + video]: i started off this year on strike, and as such was both picking picket music and listening to a lot of Billy Bragg just for. general motivation yknow. anyway this video is posted by Aisling Ayers, who got up to sing with Billy Bragg, and it's really good. it makes me emotional every time.

artist: known from WBUR's Endless Thread [podcast]: this episode was how i got into Endless Thread, which is great fun on my commute, and – as a wrinkle in time fan – the history behind the artist of the cover was fascinating. it's a really interesting episode, and it made me emotional about old sff art.

you're gonna go far by Noah Kahan, from stick season (we'll all be here forever) [music]: this album is actually one of the very few new pieces of english language music i listened to all year (ok this and the new Hozier album) and honestly it's such a good album, incredible song after incredible song. this one is my favourite though. i have been writing more this year, and this one has been on repeat while i've been writing for the last few months.

video:

disney channel's theme: a history mystery by Defunctland [video essay]: look 1 i know we've all watched it by now and 2 yes it was posted in late 2022 but i didn't watch it till 2023 but this may be... my favourite video essay ever? it has everything. the anxiety of wondering if the mystery will be solved. the twist. the impeccable fucking editing. the emotions. the little aside about being a documetarian. it's so good.

the largest telescope that will ever be built* by Tom Scott [video]: we have one (1) more of Tom Scott's regular monday videos before he goes on leave/sabbatical/etc, and he has given us so many gems over the last several years, it's hard to even pick a favourite from this year. but this one is really fucking good. i'm biased though, there's telescopes in this one.

rehearsing a string quartet while speaking different languages by TwoSetViolin [video]: ("salmon, why is this not in the music section?" because there are no rules. this is my list). i fell down a TwoSetViolin rabbit hole at the start of the year, and you must understand i know nothing about music. can't play a single instrument. can't read sheet music. absolutely fuck all. but i am obsessed with this video. i can't recommend it enough. it's hilarious, it's an incredible show of skill, my multilingual heart enjoyed it immensely, and they clearly had a lot of fun with the subtitles and notes.

escape the greenroom - Gamechanger season 5 episode 9 [video, dropout exclusive]: if you are not watching Gamechanger yet i cannot emphasise how much you should because it is honestly fucking incredible, and every season has done more and more weird and fun things with the format, but season 5 really blew the previous ones outta the water. this episode was incredible. i won't spoil it, but here's the opening on YouTube shorts. if you have watched it, it's 100% worth a rewatch btw

plagiarism and you(tube) by hbomberguy [video essay]: you knew it was coming. it's the video of the year. this is the logical conclusion of roblox oof + who wrote caramelldansen + the author of homestuck contacted me just going to a like. whole other level. what a video. more twists than you could ever predict. iconic work. well worth the several hours.

to hurt is to heal - critical role campaign 3 episode 79 [actual play]: i've been so good. i have not put any cr on here so far. everything else on here you do not need to watch several hundred hours of media to understand. there had to be at least one though, because of who i am as a person. anyway this may be my... favourite cr episode ever? at least in my top 3. (no spoilers, promise.) it's got fey bullshit. it's got a fun twist thing i didn't see coming. it's got... asmr? it's got reveals stacked on reveals in a precarious jenga tower. great episode.

ok. there are several more things that could've ended up on this list (including more books and a lot of not-English music), but i will stop here. 2023 has been a wild, wild year with a lot of really incredible happenings and some fairly Intense Times, but hey, let's see what 2024 brings—probably more video essays and more podcasts and more critical role compilations, and (maybe?? if we're lucky???) alecto the ninth. happy new year, folks!

[allylikethecat]

Hello, I hope this isn't considered offensive (I'm old enough that I'm kinda out of touch with what things are acceptable to ask vs what is not nowadays). For your mpreg!Matty Fic, is Matty trans or is it an AU where anyone male/female can be pregnant? I was curious after reading the line where Matty said he missed his cycle. Again sorry if this is an unacceptable question.

Hi! Thank you so much for reading and for reaching out! I hope I can answer this in a satisfactory way that also doesn't come across as offensive, I know this is a delicate subject. I do not see my version of mpreg!Matty as being transgender, and I do not personally feel equipped to fully explore that topic as a cis woman. HOWEVER if that is how you choose to read it more power to you, and I hope I can be the best ally that I can be, and if anything comes off as offensive, please, please let me know because that is never my intention.

In terms of my own little mpreg world that I have mentally created: time for story time! Back in the day, little Baby Ally was assigned a book to read for her high school English class. This book was called The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. The Left Hand of Darkness is still to this day one of my very favorite books and now that I'm thinking about it again, I think i will need to do another reread. It's a science fiction (feminist) novel where the main character travels to a planet where the people are all ambisexual meaning they do not have a fixed sex/gender. Within the novel the King, both sires and bears children. A whole lot of other things happen that are a lot more important, BUT little Baby Ally took that concept of pregnancy and ran with it and here we are, still running with it even more than ten years later.

Basically, that was a very long winded version of me saying that yes, in my little world that I have created that I made the rules for certain members of the population, regardless of if they are typically considered male or female can get pregnant (I don't have an actual name for them, but just they can carry children). Fictional Matty is one of those people, and can carry children. Fictional Matty is also a hot mess and not very responsible with his birth control and now here he is, having a fictional child.

I hope that answered your question!! I'm sorry it's so long, and rambling, and I really hope that I didn't offend anyone! I've always had a lot of feelings about The Left Hand of Darkness and how it has influenced / inspired most of my mpreg fics (because now that I think about it I've actually written a few?) Thank you again for reading and for reaching out!

❤️Ally

[straykats]

okay i sent these to toffee as well, but im collecting book recs so (• ▽ •;)

17, 25, 28, 42, 50, 55, 60, 63, 80, 94 and 135 (；^ω^)

if you thought 4's too many then pHEW AHSJKS IM SO SORRYYY :'D you don't have to answer all tho :]

oh my HAHAHA DON'T APOLOGISEEE i capped myself at four/five or else i would have done what you've done HAHAHA anyways gonna put these utc bc it's very long. i even have footnotes 😭😭 HAHAHA IM SO SORRYYYYY

[ send me book rec asks! ]

17. a book with a yellow cover

given vol.6 by natsuki kizu. idk if manga count. if not, new selected poems 1966-1987 by seamus heaney ... well, the poems are all by him, but it was compilked by.. uh. idk HAHA this was one of the texts for yr12 lit djsfd i wouldn't have picked it off the shelf.

25. a book by your favourite author

28. a book you wish you could read as a beginner again

oh dear me. gonna be sneaky and say the last hours trilogy by cassandra clare even though it's not yet finished idk if i would consider her my favourite author (idk who i would consider my favourite author) bc i really only read the shadowhunter chronicles from her so uh... yes. but the first two books in this trilogy are by far my favourite yet.

not a book, but the pjo/hoo series by rick riordan. i just wanna be whisked away again. also!! the guardians of ga'hoole series by kathryn lasky. i'm not sure if i want to read these 3 series' again because of nostalgia, because i miss those aspects of my childhood (which imo in my head is diff to nostalgia), or because i want to experience being immersed in those worlds again.

42. a book that made you want to scream by the time you got to the end

FRICKEN WHATS IT CALLED chain of iron by cassandra calre. WHY can't everyone just be HAOPPY AHRBJVBSKVS AND THEN [THE THING] HAPPENS AND RFHJFVDS AND THEN IT JUST ENDS??????? okay im normal again. dark rise by c.s.pacat also had me wanting to scream at the end but in a different way to coi. i need the next book for both of these asap pls

50. a book that made you cry a lot

another shadowhunter book rip sorry thats my personality now ig// lord of shadows by cassandra clare. the ending???? bestie boo babes i couldn't read through my tears. also, kingdom of ash by sarah j. maas. oh no and also also house of hades by rick riordan.

55. a book with a satisfying ending *

60. a book you think about at 3am

110% ocean vuong's on earth we're briefly gorgeous. no words. i just. ... yeah.

63. a book that actually made you laugh out loud *

80. a book that reminds you of a loved one*

94. a book about grieving*

135. recommend any book you like!

there is a battle inside my mind right now because i want to recommend entirety of the shadowhunter chronicles HAHA but not the main series (the mortal instruments)** so i will specifically rec the infernal devices and the last hours trilogies (to be read in that order) by cassandra clare! i feel that of all the series in the shadowhunter chronicles, those two trilogies are my favourite. they're set in uh. edwardian times, i think? late 1800s, early 1900s (the cast of TID become parents in TLH, whichrevolves around their children). i have a lot of feelings but i wont ramble bc this is already very long HAHA

i also want to rec SO MANY OTHERS FHDSVDHSHKVBSD oh dear me. on earth we're briefly gorgeous by ocean vuong (the writing is beautiful, idk if you've seen toff or i go on about it) and the left hand of darkness by ursula k. le guin (scifi fantasy (i think fantasy too? idk man); this was also a yr12 lit text AHHA it was a really good read itself, but then when we actualyl sat as a class and discussed all the themes it instantly vbecame one of my favs. i really wanna reread this one soon!!)

*skipped these because nothing came to mind instantly. or five minutes later rip

**okay this is just me trying to explain about the war in my head regarding tsc HAHA also if you're not familair w the books, the shadowhunter chronicles encompasses 5 series that take place at different times // i love the entire series and all the characters and while the mortal instruments isn't my favourite and i wouldn't recommend it, it stil makes for a good read so that you can... like, get the most out of all 5 series/the universe? all 5 series (one of which is unpublished, and another awaiting the final installment) are heavily interlinked and there are little easter egg-y things in the more modern day series (plural?? whats the plural of series) that link back to the trilogies that take place earlier on chronologically (????? idk if that makes sense).

ANYWAYS so while i highly recommend reading the infernal devices and the last hours (and if you're feeling spunky, read ghosts of the shadow market in between the two trilogies) i would recommend reading all 4 currently published series for the full experience HAHAHA oh dear me okay im gonna stop bc im getting too carried away 😭😭

edit: i'd been saying 'the dark artifices' instead of 'the last hours' 😭😭 if i missed one while editting, please know i mean the last hours and at no point in this answer did i intent to mention the dark artifices JAJDNSJJXND

[exisntidonot]

"Silence is not what I should choose, yet it suits me better than a lie" -Therem Harth rem ir Estraven From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K Le Guin

When I reread tlhod, that quote stuck out to me bc I feel like this is a quote i can use irl and I have, multiple times.

[themandylion]

what are your favorite books?

As I mentioned fairly recently, I'm actually very bad at choosing favorites for anything! I enjoy different things at different times and for different reasons, so I end up going into a sort of holding loop kind of state when asked for favorites. Also, I have really gotten out of the habit of reading books in recent years (a combination of reading mostly fanfic, no longer being able to read on my commute to work, and other RL factors). Truth be told, I did the majority of my book-reading when I was in middle school, before I discovered fanfic, and that was. A while ago. And mostly consisted of my mother's science fiction and fantasy collection from the '60s–'80s.

So keeping all that in mind, here's a vague attempt below the cut because this got quite long and rambly.

I love most books and stories by Connie Willis, in particular the Oxford/Time Travel series. Doomsday Book was one of the things that motivated me to choose history as my major in college, though I think I like To Say Nothing of the Dog best. Bellwether is another favorite, though probably Promised Land (coauthored with Cynthia Felice) is my favorite of all of Willis's books. If you enjoy a good balance of meaty plot and character develop (usually with a dash of humor), I recommend Willis's works. Many of them remind me of fanfiction, in terms of pacing and character-focus.

Kate Wilhelm is another favorite author. I haven't read as many of her sf books—those I have read tend to make my head hurt because I will insist on trying to understand the fictional science. Wilhelm also wrote a fair number of mystery/courtroom drama books as well, however, in particular the Barbara Holloway series, which I absolutely adore. The first book of the series is more sf than anything else (heavy with chaos theory and other stuff), but all the rest are about a lawyer based in Eugene, Oregon, and the cases she solves argues.

For older sf, I've loved every story I've read by James White. I need to read more of his books (I think I may have only read 3–4, and one of those was a short-story anthology). There's an in-depth analysis of humanity and what makes people human (or what we think of as human) in his stuff that I've always enjoyed.

Anne McCaffrey's Pern series was pretty formative for me when I was a wee Mandy. I started with the Harper Hall trilogy and that definitely influenced which books in the series I like best (I find whether someone started with Harper Hall or with the Dragonriders trilogy tends to affect which books they prefer), though my favorite is probably Dragonsdawn (SPACE colonists is very yes for me).

Brain Plague by Joan Slonczewski is a book I read in high school, and reread in high school, and reread in college, and reread in college, and finally reread again for the first time in ages a couple years ago (I'd forgotten the title and the author and a dear friend tracked them down for me based on my vague recollections of the plot). While it does involve space people having space adventures in SPACE (a long-time favorite of mine), the majority of the story is more focused on the micro rather than the macro. Another wonderful exploration of what makes people people.

My all-time favorite Young Adult series is hands-down Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising Sequence, though it's a toss-up which book I like best out of all of them at any given time. Somewhere in my sketchbooks I have fan art I did for these back in high school, illustrations of the two prophetic poems found in the series.

Finally, in terms of short stories (not a book, but one of the few things I can point to and say, "Yes, this is a favorite"), my favorite is probably 'Another Story' by Ursula K. Le Guin (can be found in the anthology book A Fisherman of the Inland Sea, which is named for that story).

[st-just]

What's the piece of media you would recommend to anyone?

Surprisingly difficult, honestly-I know for a fact that all my favorite works are very much not going to be to the tastes of the average bear. 

So, lets break this down

Nonfiction-Philosophy: Strangers Drowning by Larissa Macfarquhar is easily the best work of pop philosophy I’ve ever read, and between the numerous case studies/reported real world examples and the near-complete lack of jargon, it’s really quite accessible as well. About selflessness, charity, moral duty and-well, if you know the parable about the drowning child and the suit, the title gets the subject across pretty well. 

Nonfiction-History: An amazingly difficult choice, given how specialized and niche all my favourite works are (Also, much as I love Clark, I’m reasonably sure History as Ritual would put most people without prior investment in the subject to sleep). But for something accessible about a subject that I, at least, was never taught about in school, lets go with King Leopold’s Ghost by Adam Hochschild. A bit dated by now, I’m sure, but the prose makes it an easy a read as the subject matter allows. About the Congo Free State, the 19th century Belgian colony so horrific the (largely ineffectual) response to it created the modern human rights movement. 

Fiction-Book-Popular: The vast majority of my favorite books have endings or themes that leave a decent chunk of readers either inconsolable or furious, so I’m going to play it safe here. Go read Discworld. Hogfather, Men at Arms, or Small Gods are probably the works with the most literary merit, though Going Postal was my first and I’ll always like it best. 

Fiction-Book-Vaguely-Snobbish: The Dispossessed by Le Guin. Which, actually, I should really re-read sometime soon. 

Fiction-Video Game-Boringly Mainstream: Mass Effect trilogy, naturally. Yes, yes, the ending of the third one, and the framing device/main plot of the second, and the dated gameplay of the first. And what cowards they are with romances in the first one. And fucking Kai Leng. And how clunky the save import feature is. And etc. Still, worth it imo. 

Fiction-Video Game-Insufferably Indie*: I’m going to say Night in the Woods. It really does live up to the hype! And the main character is extremely relatable and not even slightly a boring power fantasy!

(*Not really, but I’ve accepted no one’s ever going to actually play Hidden Agenda or The Last Express)

Television: So going back to being a snob-The Americans and The Wire should naturally be required viewing. But in terms of what I could actually recommend to anyone-I have in my life met exactly one person who didn’t enjoy Leverage when I forced them to watch it. 

Anyway, I’m rambling, but yeah. 

[zuppizup]

For the writer’s ask - #s 3, 8, and 20 please! If I can ask all three at once? 😅

Oh yes! Ask away! 3. What is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all of the set-up and context it would need? (consider this permission to write it and/or share it anyway)

Oh, hmm… well, I don’t tend to ever really give up on my WIPs and most of my ‘scenes’ end up as a WIP so... I either put them on the shelf, thinking I’ll eventually get around to them or I find a way to repurpose them into other stuff. I have a lot of WIPs on the go and I hope to eventually get around to posting most/all of them. I don’t want to spoil too much but I guess a few I like but still seem a long time away would be

Arranged marriage AU - Callum and Rayla bonding while learning to dance·      

Arranged marriage AU – Rayla showing Callum her Moonshadow powers while they sneak away with some Moonberry wine·      

Random scene that now has no place – Callum having no option to but leave Rayla behind while she fights off [redacted] and the conflict it causes in him.

Maybe someday these scenes will end up somewhere but for now, they are a bit orphaned.

8. Is what you like to write the same as what you like to read?

I guess? I generally prefer other people’s fluffy stuff to my own. I love angsty dramatic plotty stuff of all varieties.

I did start writing for this fandom because I consumed pretty much all the fics and wanted more. And by and large, I found many of the fics to be fluffly, when I really enjoy gritty stuff. 

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

Oh hmm, I don’t want to give away too many spoilers with my WIPS. I do tend to incorporate Celtic mythology into my stuff.

I think one I liked but was super obscure was Medb’s Promontory from Zoom-mates, which was a bit of an in-joke from Discord. There is a mountain in Ireland called Sawel Mountain, which in Irish is a bit naughty. When I needed a location for Callum and Ezran’s hike, it seemed like a good idea to use that as a basis for the name.

Most of OC names are Celtic in origin.

Ethari and Runaan’s cat is Sidhe in reference to cat siths or cat sidhe from Celtic folklore.

My ‘big’ WIP, Purgatory, is in some ways, based around an idea from an Ursula K. Le Guin story and so I have referenced that in the text. I’m super excited to see if anyone picks up on it.

My work environment enforced references, so I tend to do a lot of research for even random part of my fics. If you have a question about an obscure part of my story, I probably have a decent amount of research to back it up.

[skerbango-blog]

A Meditation on Youth (and Books)

           Warning: this is a free-wheeling rambling joint. 

            I used to love to read.  Like many adults in the middle years of life seeking self-betterment, I often tell myself that I need to watch less television and pick up a book.  The reality is, however, that between work, commitments to my kids’ activities and just general life, I am usually too tired at the end of the day to do anything other than flop on the couch in front of the television.  It isn’t even really about entertainment per se, but just numbing the cerebral cortex.  These days, I basically read about four books a year: two while hunting in Texas and two while on vacation at the beach.  And, I love every minute of every page and promise myself to read more.  But then life! 

            But, in my youth, I read voraciously.  I read spy novels and political drama and especially liked Frederick Forsyth and Tom Clancy novels.  I read all the fantasy stuff I could get my hands on like Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.  Science Fiction was in my wheel house and I have always had a spot for Ursula K. Le Guin’s social commentary wrapped up in a space story like The Dispossessed.  Of course, I read all the classics which being from the South meant the stream of consciousness of Faulkner as well as the short stories of Flannery O’Conner. 

            My real obsession though was Ernest Hemingway.  It started with an assigned reading in school; The Sun Also Rises.  I was HOOKED.  Taken away to Spain for the bull fights.  I read them all – the novels and collection of short stories and reveled in the epic storytelling, exotic locations and heroic plots. 

            Hemingway is to some extent rightly criticized for a lack of complexity in both his writing and plots.  But to me, it was perfection; a movie on the page.  Epic, even heroic stories of war or in faraway locations.  Strong, masculine characters all centered around dialogue.  I could visualize the story coming to life from the page! 

            More importantly, my Hemingway obsession, for a time, became a central component of my relationship with my Mother.  We would spend full days in second hand bookstores scattered around New Orleans looking for old used editions of Hemingway books that are still on my bookshelves today in my home office.  Our favorite was Herget Books on Magazine Street. https://paw.princeton.edu/memorial/george-herget-58     

            That shared love of literature blossomed and led us to explore things like art at the New Orleans Museum of Art in City Park.  She was also the person who introduced me to the symphony as well as ballet.  All things that I still appreciate to this day.  All of which has been central in making me the person I am today. 

            When my first daughter was born, we named her after a semi-famous British poet.  And, what would arrive shortly after her birth, second hand editions of that poet’s works from old bookstores in London.

            Yeah, I really need to read more. 

            As an aside and a final thought for comment in the, well comments, how come Hollywood has never really been able to make a good adaptation of a Hemingway story?  Yes, there are good Hemingway movies, but nothing classic and iconic.  Everything is there, the characters, the dialogue, the locales and the story.  Why is this so hard? 

Top 5 Hemingway movie adaptations: 

5.         For Whom the Bell Tolls;

4.         The Killers;

3.         The Snows of Kilimanjaro;

2.         To Have and To Have Not;

1.         Old Man and the Sea