After learning of my experiences in Russia (as I wrote about in the last few “Gimbling in the Wabes”), a learned friend of mine recommended the book Peter the Great: His Life and Works (by Robert K. Massie) to me. I’ve already gotten a copy from the library, but this […]
The Lives of Tao Wesley Chu Angry Robot Release Date: April 30, 2013 ISBN 978-0-85766-329-0 Ok, raise your hand if you’ve ever wondered, or ever suspected, or even mused that perhaps throughout our history, humanity has been influenced by beings outside our gene pool. Admit it, you have, right? Maybe […]
Out of the Shadow of Leprosy: The Carville Letters and Stories of the Landry Family Claire Manes University Press of Mississippi ISBN: 978-161703-776-4 Few people these days give much thought to leprosy. True, it’s a rare disease – only 150-250 documented new cases in the U.S. each year. It’s very […]
You may not know it, but one of my many obsessions is home decorating. I stalk blogs, I learn and I apply that small bit of knowledge to doing my best to improve our little place. It’s addictive. Very. Being a good little Southern girl in my, well, thirtysomethings, I’ve […]
On this day, December 3, in 1857, Joseph Conrad was born in Berdichev, Imperial Russia (modern
Ukraine, then a part of Poland). While he settled in England and wrote in English, he always considered himself a Pole. Heart of Darkness, one of the most famous of his 20 novels (which explores colonialism and the attitudes regarding what constitutes a barbarian versus civilized society) is considered one of the best English novels of the 20th century, as is his novel Lord Jim, which chronicles a crew’s abandonment of its disabled ship. Conrad died in England in 1924 at age 66.