BW31: August trek around the Middle East

Courtesy of Kidspast World History

Time to say goodbye to July as we descend from the Alps for an August Trek around the Middle East.  We are going to wander through the fertile crescent which curves through the Middle East from the Persian Gulf, through southern Iraq, encompasses ancient Mesopotamia between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, and continues through Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, to the Nile River in Southern Egypt. 

We are going to follow in the literary footsteps of two Egyptian authors:  Naguib Mahfouz who won the Nobel prize for Literature in 1988 as well as writer Nawal El Saadawi, the voice of Egyptian feminism.  

From the ancients to the present, there are plenty of literary rabbit trails to explore from Off the Shelf's Six Novels, No Packing,  Goodread's Popular Middle East Fiction and Nonfiction, to ThoughtCo's 10 Indispensable Books on the Middle East, 

Our Blossom Bookology flower of the month is Jasmine which the people of Syria consider their national flower.  There are a number of directions to go for this month's challenge.  Read one book per letter using either the title and/or the first or last name of the author.  Yes, you can mix it up.  You may read a book with the name of the flower, color of the flower in the title, or on the cover.  Another possibility is a book which takes place in the time period or flower's country of origin or has some cultural significance and/or symbolism of the flower.  The choices are unlimited.

Our Brit Trip is taking us to Leicestershire this week.  Leicestershire holds an interesting spot as being the origins of things we think of as classically English– fox hunting, Taylor’s Bell Foundry, stilton and red Leicester cheese, and pork pies. It is also where King Richard III met his Bosworth.

Rabbit trails: Abbey Pumping Station, Belvoir Castle

Have fun exploring!  

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BW30: Bookish Birthdays and News

It's time for another round of bookish birthdays and interesting book news!

The 32nd winner of the Arthur C Clarke Science Fiction award is  Anne Charnock for her novel Dreams Before the Start of Time. 

Check out the next generation of Instant Pot Cookbooks.

The Man Booker Prize just celebrated its 50th anniversary and awarded the Golden Man Booker Prize to Michael Ondaatje for The English Patient. 

Barnes and Noble's reads present 10 Books That Will Make You Smarter in Every Way. 

Debbie Macomber, one of my favorite authors, shares her summer reading list. 

The Conversation's Playing Detective with Canada's Female Literary Past.

Author Birthdays 

July 22 -  Emma Lazarus, whose poetry is inscribed on the Statue of Liberty:

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

July 23 - Mystery Writer Raymond Chandler and literary novelist John Nichols .

July 24 - French author Alexander Dumas and Danish Author Henrik Pontoppidan who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1917.

July 25 -  American novelist Robyn Carr and  Bulgarian Elias Canetti who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1981.

July 26 -  Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925 as well as English writer Aldous Huxley. 

July 27 - Italian Poet Giosuè Carducci who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1906 as well as Anglo-French poet Hilaire Belloc.

July 28 - English writer Beatrix Potter  and victorian poet Gerard Manley Hopkins


Our Brit Trip is taking us to Gloucestershire this week:  

Gloucestershire is the picturesque home to the Cotswold towns and villages. The area is also the country residence of Princes Charles at Highgrove.

Rabbit trails: Badminton House (yes, like the sport) , Tewkesbury Abbey  

Have fun following rabbit trails this week! 

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BW29: Sonnet by Alice Moore Dunbar Nelson

Courtesy of Blackpast.org

Sonnet

by

Alice Moore Dunbar Nelson

July 19, 1875 - September 18, 1935

I had not thought of violets late,

The wild, shy kind that spring beneath your feet

In wistful April days, when lovers mate

And wander through the fields in raptures sweet.

The thought of violets meant florists' shops,

And bows and pins, and perfumed papers fine;

And garish lights, and mincing little fops

And cabarets and soaps, and deadening wines.

So far from sweet real things my thoughts had strayed,

I had forgot wide fields; and clear brown streams;

The perfect loveliness that God has made,—

Wild violets shy and Heaven-mounting dreams.

And now—unwittingly, you've made me dream

Of violets, and my soul's forgotten gleam.

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This week our Brit Trip is taking us for second visit to Dorset.  During WWII its location allowed it to be involved in the preparations for the Normandy Beach invasion.

Rabbit trails: Exercise Tiger

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BW28: 52 Books Bingo - Cartography

Courtesy of World Atlas 

Explorin' we shall go!  One of our 52 Books Bingo categories is Cartography which is the art and science of map-making.  Read a book about maps or map-making, written by or about cartographers, historical, present and literary cartography as well as fictional maps.  Books I have enjoyed in the past are:

"The Island of Lost Maps tells the story of a curious crime spree: the theft of scores of valuable centuries-old maps from some of the most prominent research libraries in the United States and Canada. The perpetrator was Gilbert Joseph Bland, Jr., an enigmatic antiques dealer from South Florida, whose cross-country slash-and-dash operation had gone virtually undetected until he was caught in 1995–and was unmasked as the most prolific American map thief in history. As Miles Harvey unravels the mystery of Bland’s life, he maps out the world of cartography and cartographic crime, weaving together a fascinating story of exploration, craftsmanship, villainy, and the lure of the unknown."

"Maps of the Imagination takes us on a magic carpet ride over terrain both familiar and exotic. Using the map as a metaphor, fiction writer Peter Turchi considers writing as a combination of exploration and presentation, all the while serving as an erudite and charming guide. He compares the way a writer leads a reader though the imaginary world of a story, novel, or poem to the way a mapmaker charts the physical world. "To ask for a map," says Turchi, "is to say, ‘Tell me a story.’ "    With intelligence and wit, the author looks at how mapmakers and writers deal with blank space and the blank page; the conventions they use or consciously disregard; the role of geometry in maps and the parallel role of form in writing; how both maps and writing serve to re-create an individual’s view of the world; and the artist’s delicate balance of intuition with intention.A unique combination of history, critical cartography, personal essay, and practical guide to writing, Maps of the Imagination is a book for writers, for readers, and for anyone interested in creativity. Colorful illustrations and Turchi’s insightful observations make his book both beautiful and a joy to read."

as well as playing with 

"Travel through the exciting world of cartography with Map Art Lab. This fun and creative book features 52 map-related activities set into weekly exercises, beginning with legends and lines, moving through types and styles, and then creating personalized maps that allow you to journey to new worlds. Authors Jill K. Berry and Linden McNeilly guide readers through useful concepts while exploring colorful, eye-catching graphics. The labs can be used as singular projects or to build up to a year of hands-on creative experiences. Map Art Lab is the perfect book for map lovers, creative/DIY-inspired, designers. Artists of all ages and experience levels can use this book to explore enjoyable and engaging exercises. Everyone loves maps. And what's not to love? They are beautiful and fascinating, they teach you things, they show you where you are, places you long to go, and places you dare to imagine."


Check out Goodread's list of Cartography books and have fun following maps of thought.  


Plus our Brit Trip is taking us down Fosse Way to Devon:  Devon has the special distinction of being the birthplace of two English greats – Agatha Christie and Devonshire cream tea.

Rabbit trails:  Kent Cavern  Christie’s house Greenway

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BW27: July Quest Across the Alps

Courtesy of Geographical 

Grab your backpacks and your hiking boots and get ready to go mountaineering, armchair style, for our July Quest Across the Alps. We are headed to the Alpine region of Europe which runs through 8 countries:  Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Slovenia, and Switzerland. Whether you choose to take a guided or self guided tour through the region, go on a video quest for Alpine literature with Valere Staraselski, Ales Steger, Helena Janeczek, and Bernhard Aichner.  Learn more with Literature of the Alpines, Eight books inspired by chilly Switzerland,  Rick Steves Recommended Books and Movies of Switzerland and Austria, and NPR's This Trip Through the Alps is a Little Bumpy.  Also travel in the footsteps of our author choices of the month with Umberto Eco and Simonetta Agnello Hornby.  


Our Blossom Bookology flower of the month is Edelweiss which is the national flower of Austria  and a national symbol for Switzerland of rugged purity. There are a number of directions to go for this month's challenge.    Read one book per letter using either the title and/or the first or last name of the author.  Yes, you can mix it up.  You may read a book with the name of the flower, color of the flower in the title, or on the cover.  Another possibility is a book which takes place in the time period or flower's country of origin or has some cultural significance and/or symbolism of the flower.  The choices are unlimited.


Our Brit Trip is taking us to Fosse Way where we start in Cornwall.  Located in the southwest corner of England it is surrounded by beaches and is one of the sunniest locations in England. Not surprisingly it also has a higher than average percentage of retired people as its population. It is also the setting of the English fairy tale Jack the Giant Killer.

Rabbit trails: St Michael’s Mount,  Royal Albert Bridge by Isambard Kingdom Brunel,   The house that inspired ‘Rebecca’,  The Cornwall of Daphne du Maurier  

Whether you are traipsing through the mountains or strolling the beaches, remember to stop and smell the flowers as we welcome in July and another new armchair travel adventure. 

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