There was a poll that stated—Rowling’s opening line in the HP series is one of best in the world. Someone posted about how there are a bunch of other opening statements that are better.
Here’s one of my personal favorites, from Gabriel Garcia Marquez (in English):
“It is inevitable — the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love.”
I just finished Octavia Butler's "The Parable of the Talents." It is a masterful novel and, paired with it's precursor, "The Parable of the Sower," as important a work of fiction as I can imagine. One feels that "The Handmaid's Tale" could fit into this dystopic universe. Interesting that the two most important science fiction works of the last 40 years both take aim at Christofascism in such accurate, prophetic ways.
If you're thinking about New Year's Resolutions, I'd encourage adding read books from more countries to yours. It's the best non-fitness resolution I've ever done.
I realized I was reading a lot of fairly similar books that were almost entirely from Australia, UK or America so I set out to expand my horizons. This year my reading included Singaporean short stories about cats, a Danish guide to happiness, Liberian magic realism, Trinidadian YA, nature writing from the Faeroe Islands, Ukrainian poetry, South African romance and more. I also added books from a few not quite countries like a memoir about Bougainville's journey to become a country and a collection of essays from scientists working in Antarctica.
It's been magic to see the world from so many different angles and to spend time discovering places I'll mostly never get to visit in person. The world seems bigger and more interesting now. It's a goal I plan to keep going in 2024 with books from even more countries.
Autobiography from a pioneering photographer who was present, camera in hand, for several important moments of the 20th century. Like honestly, this woman was everywhere, from Black Tuesday to WWII to Gandhi's death. She also writes passionately about industrial photography, which I never thought I'd care about.
Plus she kept alligators on her balcony in the Chrysler Building. #WomensHistoryMonth#books#bookstodon#photography
#Vaccine specialist Peter Hotez: scientists are ‘under attack for someone else’s political gain’
The physician-researcher who spoke out against #misinformation during the #COVID-19 pandemic says attacks against #science are formidable — and getting worse.
I'm always looking for new and innovative wasy to excuse my book hoarding.
I hadn't realised I could use the 'I'll die someday so nothing matters' angle...😜😂
Right now there's a pre-order sale for my next book, coming in early June from WW Norton. This summer, you will definitely want #storiesareweapons as an antidote to American psyops and culture wars.
It's 25% off today and tomorrow at Barnes and Noble!!
Bound in black goat leather with hand-painted edges,
hand-painted endpages, and a foil design on the cover.
I did a write-up on my blog about my design choices
and techniques for this bind. If you're ineterested head
on over to my website (blackoakbindery.com)!
"The modestly funded West Haven Library has spent more than $12,000 over the last three years to lease just 276 additional digital titles beyond what patrons can access through a consortium of public libraries. Eighty-four of those books are no longer available. If that same amount had been spent on paper books, it would have covered about 800 titles."
I’m thrilled to announce my new photography book ''Wild Vancouver Island''. The book is a celebration of the beautiful landscapes and extraordinary diversity of species that inhabit this region. For a limited time, I am offering a 10% discount on pre-orders. I sign each copy! Pre-order here: https://www.catherinebabault.com/book/wild-vancouver-island-photo-book
Worldwide shipping.
I saw some of his art online and thought it looked like “Invisible Hands” from Liquid Television, which I LOVED. Same artist! This didn’t have quite the same level of twisted, creepiness as that animated series, but I was so happy to find his work in comic form. There’s more too.
Book 29: “New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color” edited by #NisiShawl.
Read this after learning a Mastodon mutual is in it. Tend to have a hard time with short story collections, but this one slowly grew on me. I loved the author bios and having a better sense of what informed their pieces, especially as POC authors in this genre. “New Suns” makes up for some of its less successful parts by gathering these voices together into a greater whole.