11/07/2024
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11/07/2024
Colin: A Novel
“Colin” tells the story of the Stanier family who come from Stanier, near Rye, in the county of Sussex. The first section recounts their history from around 1600 when the first Colin Stanier made a Faustian pact with the devil in order to win success in life – don’t miss the cameo of Queen Elizabeth I, who was captivated and seduced by Colin – and then jumps to 1900 when his namesake, another Colin Stanier who bears a striking resemblance to the former, tries to lie and sin his way to snatching the family inheritance away from his older twin brother, Raymond. Here is a contemporary review at the time of publishing: “A reasonable explanation for many young men of the present day is here provided: Their ancestors sold their souls to the devil and the paper, discounted three centuries ago, has just come due.” ~The Bookman’s Guide to Fiction, 11/1923 – Summary by Jake Malizia [chương_files]
11/07/2024
Ogura Hyakunin Isshu
Hyakunin isshu (百人一首) is a traditional style of compiling Japanese waka poetry where each contributor writes one poem for the anthology. [chương_files]
11/07/2024
Women’s Wild Oats: Essays on the Re-fixing of Moral Standards
A resounding and, for the times, outrageous look at restructuring British society using the first world war as trigger for changing the place of women in the workplace and their homes, right down to their relations with their children. These essays are persuasively argued and copiously documented. – Summary by czandra [chương_files]
11/07/2024
Long Poems Collection
Long Poems Collection 1: a collection of 5 public-domain poems longer than 5 minutes in length. [chương_files]
11/07/2024
Encounters: Stories
Included in this first collection of stories by noted Irish-British author Elizabeth Bowen are tales of psychological unease, of pent-up emotions simmering until boiling over. Her knack for putting the reader into fully realized worlds of her characters, experiencing the societal anxieties they repress, is unrivaled among 20th century writers. – Summary by Ben Tucker [chương_files]
11/07/2024
Iceland Fisherman
‘An Iceland Fisherman’ is an 1886 romance by the celebrated – he was elected to the French Academy in May, 1891 – novelist and naval officer Louis Marie-Julien Viaud, under his pseudonym, Pierre Loti. It is a multi-faceted story of romantic love, familial devotion and the brotherly bonds within a community of hard-working fisherfolk who both love and dread the challenges of a seafaring life. Set in 19th Century Brittany, the story reveals unique aspects of the Breton people and their ancient culture that is today threatened by the possibility of disappearing forever. The English translation is by the accomplished French diplomat and writer Jules Cambon. (Summary by Brian Fullen) [chương_files]
11/07/2024
Sonetos – Poemas de Amor
Luís Vaz de Camões (c. 1524 — 10 de Junho de 1580) é frequentemente considerado como o maior poeta de língua portuguesa e dos maiores da Humanidade. O seu gênio é comparável ao de Virgílio, Dante, Cervantes ou Shakespeare. A obra lírica de Camões foi publicada como “Rimas”, não havendo acordo entre os diferentes editores quanto ao número de sonetos escritos pelo poeta e quanto à autoria de algumas das peças líricas. Alguns dos seus sonetos, como o conhecido “Amor é fogo que arde sem se ver”, pela ousada utilização dos paradoxos, prenunciam o Barroco. Nesta coleção, apresentamos uma recolha de Sonetos de Camões cujo tema é o amor. (Sumário adaptado da Wikipedia por Leni) [chương_files]
11/07/2024
Optimism, An Essay
Though blind, deaf, and left-handed too, it seemed nothing could hold Helen Keller back. For her graduation from Radcliffe College in 1903, this 23 year old idealistic, charming, ever-striving, pampered young essayist wrote: “I find myself looking forward with beating heart and bright anticipations to what the future holds for me. My share in the work of the world may be limited; but the fact that it is work makes it precious.” She concludes, “America is confronted with the mighty task of assimilating all the foreigners that are drawn together from every country, and welding them into one people with one national spirit. We have the right to demand the forbearance of critics until the United States has demonstrated whether she can make one people out of all the nations of the earth. . . . . I find that to be an American is to be an optimist.” She went on to develop even higher hopes for a borderless, socialist world, where all mankind strive to help each other prosper as one human family. – Summary by Michele Fry [chương_files]
11/07/2024
Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 090
In his autobiographical essay “The Intellectuals and the Boston Mob,” Booker T. Washington wrote: “It is not argument, nor criticism, nor hatred, but work in constructive effort, that gets hold of men and binds them together in a way to make them rally to the support of a common cause.” Individual and group dynamics are at the core of most of the reader-chosen nonfiction pieces in Vol. 090. (Rugby School; Questions of Divorce; The Sage of Vienna, Popular Folk Poetry, The Use and Abuse of Church Bells, Superstition and Crime, Social Control, The Importance of Marking Historic Spots, The Pirates Who’s Who, Catherine Tegahkouita, the Iroquois Mission of Sault St. Francois Xavier, and The Declaration of Independence.” For nature lovers, there are Birds as Flying Machines and Weather Prophets in Furs and Feathers. Scenic sites and history feature in Caerhays, Cornwall; and Caerhays Castle Excursion; while old-time glass making methods are explained in Clay Melting Pots. Summary by Sue Anderson [chương_files]