“The Old Nurse’s Story” by Elizabeth Gaskell, illus. by Seth

I surprised myself a while back by picking up this classic horror short story to read for a readathon and actually liking it.

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Genre

Classic Horror

Series

n/a

Pubbed

1852

Quick summary

The Old Nurse’s Story is a short ghost story an old nursemaid tells her charges about when she and their mother were younger. The mother, Rosamond, and the nursemaid were sent to live at the family mansion with Rosamond’s aunt shortly after Rosamond’s parents died.

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Book Haul #52: A Lot of Stuff

Can you tell that I couldn’t think of a name for this book haul? I haven’t published one of these posts in a while so, yea, I have a lot of stuff to show you.

Purchases

Physical

Book Haul #51: Birthday Haul…kinda

I’m considering this my birthday haul, though some books were bought before it and none were bought on my birthday.

I bought a good bit of books, so now I’m worrying about shelf space again. I’ve ran out.

Purchases

Physical

Top 5 Wednesday #25: Future Classics

Woah! It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these posts.

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme created by GingerReadsLainey and now managed by Sam from Thoughts on Tomes. For more information on this meme, visit the Goodreads group.

This week’s topic:

Future classics: What books do you think with stand the test of time?

I don’t think all books that are considered a classic have withstood the test of time. Some of them have aged and do not appeal to modern readers and clash with modern sensibilities (thinking of She by H. Rider Haggard. Hate that book).

However, I do believe that classics are books that are not only a product of its time but remains relevant throughout the years and, in some cases, is also a forerunner or has sparked a change in some way. So for me, here are the books I think will be considered classics.

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Shakespearean Insults

Here’s something fun for your Friday afternoon.

I was recently contacted by Invaluable, an online marketplace for fine art, antiques, and collectibles, to feature their Shakespearean Insult Generator created to celebrate the 402nd anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth and death on April 23rd. Below, I’ve included a blurb from Invaluable that gives some more info on the generator and shared some of my favorites.

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Those who love Shakespeare know that his writing can pack a punch! Whether you’ve read all of his works or haven’t touched his plays since your high-school English class, if you’re a bookworm you know that Shakespeare has made huge contributions to the literary world.

To celebrate his legacy, Invaluable created a generator full of Shakespearean insults. Their tool compiles Shakespeare’s top insults from his most well-known works like Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and The Taming of the Shrew. Next time you wish to put someone in their place, step your game up by using one of these hilarious Shakespearean insults!

I’ll find a reason to use this today:

The next time someone tells me to sell all my books:

To Trump:

Check out Invaluable’s Shakespearean Insult Generator to see more. You can set filters based on whom you’d like to insult (lol).

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A bit unrelated, but y’all know I love to read articles and interesting posts about books, reading, and art. Well, Invaluable has a wonderful blog dedicate to all things art and I just peeped this post about the benefits of art on memory and creativity that I had to share. Basically, taking time to appreciate art (whether viewing or creating it) helps to relieve stress and increases feelings of empathy, among other things. It’s a short article with some cool infographics. I recommend that you check it out too.

Old Books Tag

It’s going to be a tag-filled week to make up for the few weeks that’ve gone by without me posting a tag. Today, I’m here with the Old Books Tag, which was created by booktuber Books and Pieces. So settle in to discuss some stuffy, moldy, old books. 😉

Have you ever bought a book that was made before you were born? (the physical book, not the text)

The Wine of Astonishment by Earl Lovelace

Book Haul #30: Last One for the Year

Well, I haven’t been posting much lately. At first it was because I was sick, but then I lost enthusiasm as work got busier and the weather got colder. These days I prefer to laze around the house, read, and stay warm. However, I am trying to perk up and at least get interested in blogging again; but the cold, overcast, sometimes rainy and threatening snow weather is making it so, so hard. Hopefully this book haul will perk me up. They are always fun and sometimes they help to get me out of a blogging rut.

Judging A Book By Its Cover: Lord of the Flies

My beautiful copy of the Penguin Classics Deluxe edition of The Lord of the Flies was featured by Millie, of Milliebots Reads, in her “Judging a Book by Its Cover” post.

The post is a weekly meme where she features beautiful cover designs and packaging of both classic and contemporary books. Check it out!

Milliebot Reads

This is my weekly post where I highlight and appreciate cover designs and the general physical appearance of books. We all judge book covers to some extent. I can’t say that I’ve ever decided against a book with terrible cover art if I liked the sound of the plot, but I have purchased special editions of books or multiple editions of books based on their cover art. If book covers didn’t matter, publishers wouldn’t put out so many beautiful editions!

This week, I’m happy to present a special post – Zezee, from Zezee with Books has photographed her awesome edition of Lord of the Flies so I could feature it here on my blog. She’s informed me it’s a Penguin Classics Deluxe edition (of course!), published this month, ISBN: 9780143129400.

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What Would You Eat While Reading This…?

I was recently contacted by Shari’s Berries, an online retailer of dessert treats such as chocolate-dipped strawberries and cake pops (yum!), to feature an infographic they created that pairs 20 books with desserts.

Pairings range from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with tea biscuits and jam to Jack Kerouac’s On the Road with apple pie and ice cream. By the time I was done reading, I was craving the treats and wistful for old books I’ve read like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, which was paired with Turkish Delight, of course, and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby that’s best read with some lemon cake nearby.

Well, don’t let me keep you. Take a look at the infographic and tell me which pairing appeals to you the most.

“Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte

Writing this reflection is intimidating because Jane Eyre is a big-ass book and I have a lot of thoughts about it. When I write these pieces, I like to include as much of the thoughts I had while reading so that when I reread this reflection later, I can easily recall the experience of reading the book. But right now, it’s daunting to get my thoughts in order and jot them down.

Quick summary:

From the book jacket:

Fiery love, shocking twists of fate, and tragic mysteries put a lonely governess in jeopardy in JANE EYRE

Orphaned as a child, Jane has felt an outcast her whole young life. Her courage is tested once again when she arrives at Thornfield Hall, where she has been hired by the brooding, proud Edward Rochester to care for his ward Adèle. Jane finds herself drawn to his troubled yet kind spirit. She falls in love. Hard.

But there is a terrifying secret inside the gloomy, forbidding Thornfield Hall. Is Rochester hiding from Jane? Will Jane be left heartbroken and exiled once again?