Reading to a child. Challenge accepted
Bookish Quotes
Cool Bookish Quotes
2
Rereading Harry Potter
7
Understanding Poetry
Inspired by The New Poetry Handbook by Mark Strand:
1 If a man understands a poem,
he shall have troubles.
2 If a man lives with a poem,
he shall die lonely.
3 If a man lives with two poems,
he shall be unfaithful to one.
4 If a man conceives of a poem,
he shall have one less child.
5 If a man conceives of two poems,
he shall have two children less.
6 If a man wears a crown on his head as he writes,
he shall be found out.
7 If a man wears no crown on his head as he writes,
he shall deceive no one but himself.
8 If a man gets angry at a poem,
he shall be scorned by men.
9 If a man continues to be angry at a poem,
he shall be scorned by women.
10 If a man publicly denounces poetry,
his shoes will fill with urine.
11 If a man gives up poetry for power,
he shall have lots of power.
12 If a man brags about his poems,
he shall be loved by fools.
13 If a man brags about his poems and loves fools,
he shall write no more.
14 If a man craves attention because of his poems,
he shall be like a jackass in moonlight.
15 If a man writes a poem and praises the poem of a fellow,
he shall have a beautiful mistress.
16 If a man writes a poem and praises the poem of a fellow overly,
he shall drive his mistress away.
17 If a man claims the poem of another,
his heart shall double in size.
18 If a man lets his poems go naked,
he shall fear death.
19 If a man fears death,
he shall be saved by his poems.
20 If a man does not fear death,
he may or may not be saved by his poems.
21 If a man finishes a poem,
he shall bathe in the blank wake of his passion
and be kissed by white paper.
he shall have troubles.
2 If a man lives with a poem,
he shall die lonely.
3 If a man lives with two poems,
he shall be unfaithful to one.
4 If a man conceives of a poem,
he shall have one less child.
5 If a man conceives of two poems,
he shall have two children less.
6 If a man wears a crown on his head as he writes,
he shall be found out.
7 If a man wears no crown on his head as he writes,
he shall deceive no one but himself.
8 If a man gets angry at a poem,
he shall be scorned by men.
9 If a man continues to be angry at a poem,
he shall be scorned by women.
10 If a man publicly denounces poetry,
his shoes will fill with urine.
11 If a man gives up poetry for power,
he shall have lots of power.
12 If a man brags about his poems,
he shall be loved by fools.
13 If a man brags about his poems and loves fools,
he shall write no more.
14 If a man craves attention because of his poems,
he shall be like a jackass in moonlight.
15 If a man writes a poem and praises the poem of a fellow,
he shall have a beautiful mistress.
16 If a man writes a poem and praises the poem of a fellow overly,
he shall drive his mistress away.
17 If a man claims the poem of another,
his heart shall double in size.
18 If a man lets his poems go naked,
he shall fear death.
19 If a man fears death,
he shall be saved by his poems.
20 If a man does not fear death,
he may or may not be saved by his poems.
21 If a man finishes a poem,
he shall bathe in the blank wake of his passion
and be kissed by white paper.
8
The 50 Coolest book cover
I think I would add some more to this collection.
Book Lover by Robert William Service
Book Lover
I keep collecting books I know
I'll never, never read;
My wife and daughter tell me so,
And yet I never head.
"Please make me," says some wistful tome,
"A wee bit of yourself."
And so I take my treasure home,
And tuck it in a shelf.
And now my very shelves complain;
They jam and over-spill.
They say: "Why don't you ease our strain?"
"some day," I say, "I will."
So book by book they plead and sigh;
I pick and dip and scan;
Then put them back, distrest that I
Am such a busy man.
Now, there's my Boswell and my Sterne,
my Gibbon and Defoe;
To savour Swift I'll never learn,
Montaigne I may not know.
On Bacon I will never sup,
For Shakespeare I've no time;
Because I'm busy making up
These jingly bits of rhyme.
Chekov is caviare to me,
While Stendhal makes me snore;
Poor Proust is not my cup of tea,
And Balzac is a bore.
I have their books, I love their names,
And yet alas! they head,
With Lawrence, Joyce and Henry James,
My Roster of Unread.
I think it would be very well
If I commit a crime,
And get put in a prison cell
And not allowed to rhyme;
Yet given all these worthy books
According to my need,
I now caress with loving looks,
But never, never read.
Books & Strings - Incredible Installations of Hanging Books
For me books are the symbols of freedom, they sharp our minds, broad our horizons, show new paths and routs to take. So when I came across flying books, floating books, hanging books and other installations with books I was thrilled. They represent all I need and all I look for: space, a little mystery, beauty, sensitivity. There's something special in objects hanging from the sky you know. On the one hand you need to be ready for an unexpected (things can find their way down), and on the other you must be certain that nothing unexpected will happen.
It may sound too deep, let me just conclude with a cliche: I love it and it looks magical.
A Brief History of Ink
by printerinks
Chinese ink
The history of Chinese ink can be traced back as far as the 23rd century BC. They were most commonly made from plant dyes, animal extracts and minerals and applied onto graphite surfaces using paintbrushes. The earliest Chinese ink stick dates back to 255 BC and was made from animal glue and soot.
Indian ink
Ink has been around in India since the 4th century BC and was called ‘masi’ during ancient times. It was made from a mixture of burnt bones and tar. Nice. Lots of ancient Buddhist and Jain documents were written in ink, which was applied using a sharp needle; an early yet effective type of pen.
Egyptian ink
The ancient Egyptians used ink to add brightly coloured tints to their hieroglyphs, both on stone and on papyri. According to Dioscorides it would usually be made from lampblack (whatever that is) and mixed with gum, although his correspondent Pliny mentions it being made from vinegar and an infusion of wormwood in order to prevent the parchment being eaten by mice.
The fountain pen
Egypt also takes the credit for coming up with the idea of the fountain pen, which dates back to AD 953. It was known as the reservoir pen and was created to satisfy the demands of the caliph of Egypt who wanted a pen that wouldn’t leave ink splodges on his hands and clothes.
Roman ink
Ancient Roman ink was called atramentum and was a jet black substance used for writing, dying leather and as a varnish by painters. A popular ink was developed about 1,600 years ago that was made from iron salts mixed with tannin from gallnuts and a thickening agent. Blue-black on first application, the ink would fade to a dark brown over time.
Medieval Europe
During the period from AD 800 to 1500, commonly referred to as the medieval period, scribes would tend to write on parchment or vellum. One of the most popular ink recipes of the time used the branches of the hawthorn tree, which were cut and left to dry in the mild springtime sun. The bark would then be removed and soaked in water for at least a week. The water was then reduced over a fire until it thickened and turned black. This treacle-like substance was then left in the sun to dry out. Once dry, it was mixed with wine and iron salt.
The printing press
With the arrival of the printing press the use of ink and the accessibility of information changed forever. It was developed in the 15th century, yet it was incompatible with the two most popular inks of the time; the Greek and Roman version made from soot and glue and the 12th century variety made using gall, gum and ferrous sulphate. A new smudge-free variety had to be created. Inventors finally hit upon the idea of teaming soot, turpentine and walnut oil to create a glossy, oil-like consistency that worked in perfect harmony with the press. The rest, as they say, is history.
Image and text source: http://www.printerinks.com/blog/2013/01/10/a-brief-history-of-ink
)
Book Lovers Gift Guide
Not only for Mother's Day ;)
