Johnny Town-Mouse

Posted on January 7, 2016 by maedez

I recently came across my childhood copy of Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse. This edition is from 1946. It’s as charming as ever!

Johnny Town-Mouse

Be Quiet!

Posted on January 4, 2016 by maedez

From Grammarly:

Be quiet!

My Year in Books (Sort Of), Part One

Posted on December 30, 2015 by maedez

Another year is (almost) over. Before we flip the calendar to 2016, and start new reading lists, let’s look back at the reading year that was. I’ll share if you reciprocate in the comments!

How many books did you read this year? 50+. My numbers were held down by many heavy, lengthy books.
Which genre prevailed? Nonfiction, by miles and miles.
Which book was your fave? A Writer’s Diary by Virginia Woolf.
Least fave? If You Want to Write: A Book About Art, Independence and Spirit by Brenda Ueland. My loathing for this book knows no bounds.
Recommend three books from your list. The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore; Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys by Viv Albertine; Van Gogh: The Life by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith.

PART TWO WILL APPEAR IN THE NEW YEAR!

Quote

Posted on December 28, 2015 by maedez

“For once the disease of reading has laid upon the system it weakens so that it falls an easy prey to that other scourge which dwells in the ink pot and festers in the quill. The wretch takes to writing.”-Virginia Woolf, Orlando

A Christmas Carol #5: Scrooge’s Third Visitor

Posted on December 16, 2015 by maedez

Scrooge’s Third Visitor. Illustration by John Leech, from the First Edition of A Christmas Carol. 1843.

[Book Nerd Links] Back Issues, Richard Hell, Street Art, and More

Posted on December 15, 2015 by maedez

Favorites from the Archive [THE PARIS REVIEW]
Classic Dionysian Shit: An Interview with Richard Hell [THE PARIS REVIEW]
Art Historical Figures as Unexpected Street Art Collages Around the World [FLAVORWIRE]
10 Snowy Reads To Snuggle Up With This Winter [HUFFPOST]
Classic Book Recommendations For Every Person In Your Life [HUFFPOST]

What Are You Reading in December?

Posted on December 14, 2015 by maedez

What is on your reading list this month?

Have you given yourself permission to take it easy, as the year comes to a close?

Or, as we race the clock to 2016, are you trying to stuff as many books into your brain as possible?

I am still doing the latter, albeit at a slower pace compared to November.

The other difference between this month and last is that I am currently committed to reading lighter fare.

Since 1st December, I’ve finished:

Fantasy Femmes of Sixties Cinema by Tom Lesanti
Busted by Thomas J. Craughwell

I’m in the midst of reading:

Black Women of the Harlem Renaissance Era Edited by Lean’Tin L. Bracks and Jessie Carney Smith
Literary Rogues: A Scandalous History of Wayward Authors by Andrew Shaffer

To Be Read by 31 December:

The Life of Saul Bellow: To Fame and Fortune, 1915-1964 by Zachary Leader
Effie: The Passionate Lives of Effie Gray, John Ruskin and John Everett Millais by Suzanne Fagence Cooper
My Golden Flying Years by Air Commodore D’Arcy Greig
The Mind of the Artist by Laurence Binyon