BW48: The Tyger by William Blake

Courtesy of William Blake Archive

In honor of William Blake, who was born November 28, 1757

The Tyger 

By 

William Blake

Tyger Tyger, burning bright, 

In the forests of the night; 

What immortal hand or eye, 

Could frame thy fearful symmetry? 

In what distant deeps or skies. 

Burnt the fire of thine eyes? 

On what wings dare he aspire? 

What the hand, dare seize the fire? 

And what shoulder, & what art, 

Could twist the sinews of thy heart? 

And when thy heart began to beat, 

What dread hand? & what dread feet? 

What the hammer? what the chain, 

In what furnace was thy brain? 

What the anvil? what dread grasp, 

Dare its deadly terrors clasp! 

When the stars threw down their spears 

And water'd heaven with their tears: 

Did he smile his work to see? 

Did he who made the Lamb make thee? 

Tyger Tyger burning bright, 

In the forests of the night: 

What immortal hand or eye, 

Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

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Brit Tripping

Our Brit Trip on Watling Way is taking us to Merseyside. Merseyside has produced one of the biggest musical cultural icons for the 20^th Century – The Beatles.

Rabbit trails: More Beatles  Liverpool

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BW47: 52 Books Bingo - Philosophical and Self Help

Philosophy begins in wonder.  And, at the end, when philosophic thought 

has done its best, the wonder remains.  ~Alfred North Whitehead

Two of our 52 Books Bingo categories fit in perfectly with our nonfiction November theme - Philosophy and Self help - which could actually be one and the same, depending on your point of view.

According to the Book Genre Dictionary:

"Books in the philosophy nonfiction genre are about the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence as an academic discipline. The books in this genre also explore fundamental truths about one’s self, the world, and their relationships. They also delve into and argue the answers to life’s most basic questions, literally exploring the basic fundamentals of knowledge and existence."

"Books in the self-help nonfiction genre are based on one’s own effort and resources to achieve things and goals without relying on the help of others. The books in this genre can be about self-guided improvement in one’s economic standing, their intellectual state of being, and in their emotionally and self-worth state of being."


Dive into the history of Philosophy and Self help with Guide to the World's Philosophers , A Short History of Self Help and American and Japanese Self Help Literature and check out Yukichi Fukuzawa's An Outline of a Theory of Civilization

Best Philosophy Books for Beginners

Best Modern Philosophy Books

70 Philosophical Books Everyone Should Read

Popular Nonfiction Philosophical books

The 25 Best Self Improvement Books to Read No Matter How Old You Are

Popular Self Improvement books

110 Of The Best Self-Improvement Books You’ll Ever Read


Have fun following rabbit trails!

Brit Trip

Our Brit Trip on Watling Way is taking us to Cheshire. Cheshire has a long industrial and transportation background as it was the largest train manufacturer in the 1800’s and also claims the invention of Cheshire Cheese, first stagecoach run, and the first neighborhood watch program in the UK.

Rabbit trails: Chester Rows Virtual Tour Roman Amphitheater Lyme Hall - Pride and Prejudice Capesthorne Hall

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BW46: Armistice Day

The Soldier

by

Rupert Brooke

If I should die, think only this of me:

That there’s some corner of a foreign field

That is for ever England. There shall be

In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;

A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,

Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam;

A body of England’s, breathing English air,

Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,

A pulse in the eternal mind, no less

Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;

Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;

And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,

In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

In honor of  all those who fought in World War I, read the poignant poetry of soldiers and volunteers who served.

The First World War Poetry Digital Archive

Pan Macmillan's The Poetry of the First World War

Poetry Foundation's Poetry of World War I

Poet Luke Wright pens tribute to World War One soldiers and more from BBC

Brit Tripping 

Our Brit Trip is taking us down Watling Way to Shropshire. Shropshire is one of the most rural and sparsely populated counties in England and is well known for its hills and other natural landmarks.

Rabbit trails: Caedfael Virtual Tour Barbara Pym Wilfred Owen Edith Pargeter (aka Ellis Peters)

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BW45: Welcome to Nonfiction November

Courtesy of Libraryskills.com

Welcome to Nonfiction November. This month we are jumping into the world of nonfiction which encompasses a wide variety of categories including but not limited to -  memoirs and essays, history and geography, comedy and cookbooks and crafts, language and technology, religion and philosophy, music and art, to law and political science, self help and travel, to writing and reference books.   

Nonfiction is no longer full of dry facts and figures and has expanded quite a bit over the years with the advent of literary or creative nonfiction essay writing which uses the literary styles and techniques of fiction to tell a factual story. 

There are a wide variety of writing books that teach the art of creative nonfiction which includes Dinty Moore's Crafting the Personal Essay and Flash Nonfiction, Peter Turchi's Maps of the Imagination, Jack Hart's A Writer's Coach, and  A Nonfiction Writers' Guide from the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University Telling True Stories.   There are plenty of entertaining, well written creative nonfiction stories such from  Joan Didion's Slouching towards Bethlehem, to Annie Dillard's The Writing Life and Anne Lamont's Bird by Bird.  Can you tell I have writing on my brain today? *grin*  

Take a look at Goodread's long list of Popular Creative Nonfiction reads and check out the variety of authors from Truman Capote, Barbara Kingsolver,  Maya Angelou to John Berendt, Frank McCourt, Neil Gaiman, and John Muir.  Take a look at Esquire's picks of the 40 Best Nonfiction Books in 2018 so far, as well as 25 Best True Crime books, plus Barnes and Nobles 50 Nonfiction Books that will make you Smarter in 2018.

Flower of the month

Our Blossom Bookology flower of the month is the Daisy.  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.

Brit Tripping

Our Brit Trip is taking us down Watling Way to Staffordshire. 

Staffordshire has a history of being a significant pottery center for centuries.

Rabbit trails: More Pottery  Croxden Abbey  Letocetum Roman Baths and Museum

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