Eggplant.place

305d

The ecstatic swoon

As Stendhal knew, the reason for art is to make you feel. Do not try to grasp the artwork: allow it to grasp you instead

by Robert D Zaretsky

https://aeon.co/essays/what-stendhal-says-about-the-purpose-and-promise-of-art?utm_source=Aeon+Newsletter&utm_campaign=048e2ed722-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_12_16&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-4ef8a26106-72664972

#books #art #literature

Portrait de Stendhal par Ducis, 1835, Bibliothèque Sormani, Milan. Portrait mélancolique.

An 1835 oil portrait of French writer Stendhal by Johan-Nepomuk Ender (attributed to Ducis), housed at the Bibliothèque Sormani in Milan. The melancholic portrait shows the author of "The Red and the Black" in dark formal attire against a muted green background, holding an elegant walking stick, capturing his contemplative demeanor during his mature years.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stendhal_par_Ducis.jpg

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155d

📚 Seveneves by: Neal Stephenson

A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in a hastily built space ark.

But the complexities a...

https://bookblabla.com/book/seveneves

@bookstodon

#books #reading #libraries #fiction #sciencefiction #thrillers #technologicalfiction #suspensefiction

A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in a hastily built space ark.

But the complexities and unpredictability of human nature coupled with unforeseen challenges threaten the intrepid pioneers, turning their mission into a desperate survival story until only a handful of survivors remain...

Five thousand years later, their progeny—seven distinct races now three billion strong—embark on yet another audacious post-apocalyptic journey into the unknown... to an alien world utterly transformed by cataclysm and time: Earth.

A writer of dazzling genius and imaginative vision, Neal Stephenson combines science, philosophy, technology, psychology, and literature in a magnificent work of speculative fiction that offers a portrait of a future that is both extraordinary and eerily recognizable. As he did in Anathem, Cryptonomicon, the Baroque Cycle, and Reamde, Stephenson explores some of our biggest ideas and perplexing challenges in a breathtaking saga that is daring, engrossing, and altogether brilliant.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anathem, Reamde, and Cryptonomicon comes an exciting and thought-provoking hard science fiction epic—a grand story of annihilation and survival spanning five thousand years.

What would happen if the world were ending?

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2y

"Call me Ishmael."

#OTD in 1851.

Herman Melville's Moby-Dick is first published as The Whale by Richard Bentley of London.

In the October 1851 issue of Harper's New Monthly Magazine "The Town Ho's Story" was published, with a footnote reading: "From 'The Whale'. The title of a new work by Mr. Melville, in the press of Harper and Brothers, and now publishing in London by Mr. Bentley."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moby-Dick

Moby-Dick at PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/15

#books #literature

The whale or Moby Dick (half-title page), Herman Melville, 1851

Herman Melville and one more author - State Library of New South Wales, [https://collection.sl.nsw.gov.au/record/74VK2oZrBwKZ/l3gXqDvw8yl0N DSM/813.3/M531/2A1

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284d

Book Review: Will This Be a Problem? The Anthology: Issue V (edited by Somto Ihezue and Olivia Kidula)
A unique collection of hauntingly engaging and imaginative stories

Ann Michelle Harris has our review at the NOAF blog:
http://www.nerds-feather.com/2026/01/book-review-will-this-be-problem.html

#books #bookreview #review #bookstodon @bookstodon

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304d

Are there any book clubs on Mastodon? The in-person ones around me keep petering out or are hard to get to, and the ones I’ve seen online are toooo big for my tastes. I have a slight preference for fantasy/sci-fi, but any genre is good. I just want to talk about books! #bookstodon #books #reading

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304d

Someone should make a virtual tickler for e-books, otherwise it's discrimination 😜😂
@bookstodon @books @humor @humor@lemmy.world @aiop

#Book #Books #BookMemes #Memes #Humor #Humour
#Novel #Novels #Bookshelf #Mastobooks #BooksofMastodon #Bookstodon #Bookworm #Bookwyrm #Bookstodon #BookLove #FantasyBooks

Photo of a standing blackboard outside a shop with a hand drawn image of a sad looking book sitting on a shelf.
Caption: The books are bored. Come inside and give them a tickle.

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304d

Virginia Woolf Thought Katharine Mansfield Stank Like a “Civet Cat Taken to Streetwalking”

Gerri Kimber on the Literary Legacy of an Early Master of the Short Form

https://lithub.com/virginia-woolf-thought-katharine-mansfield-stank-like-a-civet-cat-taken-to-streetwalking/

Mansfield & Woolf at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/631
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/89

##books #literature

Katherine Mansfield, a New Zealand-writer of short stories. Picture taken 1912.

A 1912 photograph of Katherine Mansfield, the acclaimed New Zealand short story writer. The formal portrait shows Mansfield during her early literary career, before she became one of the modernist movement's most influential voices in short fiction.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Mansfield#/media/File:Mansfield1.jpg

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Portrait of Virginia Woolf (January 25, 1882 – March 28, 1941), a British author and feminist, with her chignon. By George Charles Beresford.

The 1902 portrait by George Charles Beresford captures Virginia striking image, with her famous chignon, reflecting her distinctive style and the aesthetics of the time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Woolf#/media/File:George_Charles_Beresford_-_Virginia_Woolf_in_1902_-_Restoration.jpg

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304d

Rare public display for Mary Queen of Scots' final letter

The public are to be given a rare chance to see the last letter by Mary Queen of Scots, which was written just hours before she was beheaded.

by Cara Berkley

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg4nzy3r5zyo

Mary Queen of Scots at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subjects/search/?query=Mary+Queen+of+Scots

#books #literature

La mort de Marie Stuart, 19th-century painting by Abel de Pujol

The painting is centered around Mary, who is portrayed with an expression of a mix of resignation and strength.

The painting reflects the tragic fate of Mary, who was executed in 1587 after being imprisoned for years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary,_Queen_of_Scots#/media/File:Execution-of-Mary-Queen-of-Scots.jpg

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284d

Medieval Self-Portraits: Ten Artists Who Put Themselves in the Picture

Medieval artists did not just paint saints and kings—they sometimes slipped themselves into the scene, leaving behind portraits that can be devotional, witty, and surprisingly personal.

https://www.medievalists.net/2026/01/medieval-self-portraits-ten-artists-who-put-themselves-in-the-picture/

Medieval artists at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=medieval+artists

#books #literature #painting

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2y

#OTD in 1911.

German novelist Hans Fallada, kills his best friend in a suicide pact staged as a duel.

Fallada made a pact with a friend, Hanns Dietrich von Necker, to stage a duel to mask their suicides, feeling that the duel would be seen as more honorable. However, because of both boys' inexperience with weapons, it was a bungled affair. Dietrich missed Fallada, but Fallada did not miss Dietrich, killing him.

Hans Fallada at Projekt Gutenberg-DE
https://www.projekt-gutenberg.org/autoren/namen/fallada.html

#books #literature

German writer Hans Fallada (1893–1947), depicted in Bonniers litterära magasin Nr.6, 1936.

In the image, Fallada appears as a middle-aged man with a solid, slightly rounded face. His expression is calm yet intense, reflecting a contemplative nature and the inner turmoil often associated with his life and writing. His eyes, framed by slightly heavy eyelids, have a distant, introspective gaze, as if lost in thought. His short, dark hair is combed neatly, and his face bears a mustache, common to his appearance in the 1930s.

Fallada's attire is formal but modest, in keeping with the style of the time. He is dressed in a suit with a high-collared shirt and a simple tie, perhaps signaling his role as a respected writer while also hinting at his working-class sensibilities. The black-and-white portrait from Bonniers litterära magasin emphasizes sharp contrasts, with Fallada's face and suit emerging starkly from the background, highlighting his features with a sense of gravity and weight.

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284d

I do like both, and I've never understood why this is an issue, is it not the content of the book that matters? Not how that content is delivered? 🤔😁

@reading @bookstodon @books @humor @humor@lemmy.world @aiop @joinin

#ReadingMemes #Memes #ReadAllTheBooks #Humor #Humour
#Reading #Readers #ReadersOfMastodon #ReadingCommunity
#Book #Books #Novel #Novels #Fiction
#Bookwyrm #Bookworm #Bookstodon #BookLove #FantasyBooks

Tom and Jerry meme, Tom is having a sword fight with the dog, and Jerry is watching.
Captions:
Dog: ebook readers
Tom: Physical readers
Jerry: Me liking both

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1y

"The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself."

#OTD in 1847.

Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre is published (as "an autobiography, edited by Currer Bell") in London by Smith, Elder & Co. in 3 volumes.

The first American edition was published the following year by Harper & Brothers of New York.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Eyre

Jane Eyre at PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/1260

#books #literature

The title page to the original publication of Jane Eyre, including Brontë's pseudonym "Currer Bell".

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St John Rivers admits Jane to Moor House, illustration by F. H. Townsend

F. H. Townsend, 1868-1920 - http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1260/1260-h/images/

"Hush, Hannah! I have a word to say to the woman.

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1y

#OTD in 1917.

The 51-year-old poet W. B. Yeats marries 25-year-old Georgie Hyde-Lees at Harrow Road register office in London, with Ezra Pound as best man, a couple of months after Yeats' proposal of marriage to his ex-mistress's daughter, Iseult Gonne, is rejected.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._B._Yeats#Marriage_to_Georgie_Hyde-Lees

Books by W. B. Yeats at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1719

#books #literature #poetry

Walter de la Mare, Bertha Georgie Yeats (née Hyde-Lees), William Butler Yeats, unknown woman, summer 1930; photo by Lady Ottoline Morrell.

In the image, the group is outdoors, likely in a garden or rural setting, characteristic of Lady Ottoline's gatherings at her homes. The lighting is soft, typical of an English summer, lending a relaxed and somewhat nostalgic quality to the photograph.

Walter de la Mare, the English poet and author, stands or sits calmly, perhaps slightly to one side.

Bertha Georgie Yeats (née Hyde-Lees), the wife of William Butler Yeats, appears in the photograph with a sense of quiet elegance.

William Butler Yeats, the famed Irish poet, stands or sits prominently in the image, his distinctive features easily recognizable.

The unknown woman is present alongside the others, her identity and role a mystery, adding an air of intrigue to the photograph.

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1y

"Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own."

Irish writer Jonathan Swift died #OTD in 1745.

Swift is remembered for works such as A Tale of a Tub, An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity, Gulliver's Travels, & A Modest Proposal. He originally published all of his works under pseudonyms—including Lemuel Gulliver, Isaac Bickerstaff, M. B. Drapier—or anonymously.

Books by Jonathan Swift at PG
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/326

#books #literature

Charles Jervas portrait of Jonathan Swift.

In the portrait, Swift is shown as a middle-aged man, with his characteristic rounded face and full, expressive features. His hair, worn in long, flowing curls, is typical of the wigs of the early 18th century, a fashion among men of high status. His gaze is direct, with piercing, intelligent eyes that convey both a sharp wit and deep contemplation, traits often associated with his satirical writing.

Swift is dressed in clerical attire, signifying his role as a clergyman within the Church of Ireland. He wears a dark robe with a white clerical collar, which contrasts against the rich, dark tones of his clothing.

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304d

Things from the Flood. By Simon Stalenhag. Translated by Martin Dunelind.

You are a young Swedish teen, growing up in the aftermath of a failed industrial project that may have opened a portal to another world, but the poisoned and destroyed landscape is your playground, and the agonies of adolescence find a comfortable home there.

4 of 5 library cats 🐈 🐈 🐈 🐈.

@bookstodon #bookstodon #books #reading #sweden #scifi #adolescence #graphicnovel #tech #art

Book cover featuring a beat up android alone in the wilderness

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304d

📚 Oona Out of Order by: Margarita Montimore

It’s New Year’s Eve 1982, and Oona Lockhart has her whole life before her. At the stroke of midnight she will turn nineteen, and the year ahead promises to be one of consequence. Should she go to London to study economics, or remain at home in Brooklyn to pursue her passion for music and be with her ...

https://bookblabla.com/book/oona-out-of-order

@bookstodon

#books #reading #libraries #fiction #womenfiction #timetravel

It’s New Year’s Eve 1982, and Oona Lockhart has her whole life before her. At the stroke of midnight she will turn nineteen, and the year ahead promises to be one of consequence. Should she go to London to study economics, or remain at home in Brooklyn to pursue her passion for music and be with her boyfriend? As the countdown to the New Year begins, Oona faints and awakens thirty-two years in the future in her fifty-one-year-old body. Greeted by a friendly stranger in a beautiful house she’s told is her own, Oona learns that with each passing year she will leap to another age at random. And so begins Oona Out of Order...

Hopping through decades, pop culture fads, and much-needed stock tips, Oona is still a young woman on the inside but ever changing on the outside. Who will she be next year? Philanthropist? Club Kid? World traveler? Wife to a man she’s never met? Surprising, magical, and heart-wrenching, Margarita Montimore has crafted an unforgettable story about the burdens of time, the endurance of love, and the power of family.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK

AMAZON EDITORS' 20 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR PICK

With its countless epiphanies and surprises, Oona proves difficult to put down.USA Today

By turns tragic and triumphant, heartbreakingly poignant and joyful, this is ultimately an uplifting and redemptive read.The Guardian

A remarkably inventive novel that explores what it means to live a life fully in the moment, e

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2y

Available from 1 November: another thriller I translated, by the same author as the last one, Catherine Cooper.

This time we're going skiing in the French Alps, but there's another storm, which means nobody can leave the chalet... 🏠 🇫🇷 🏔️ ⛷️ 🍷 🍄 🌨️ 😱

#books #thriller #hetchalet #BookTranslation #translation #xl8 #boeken #BoekVertaling #VertaaldDoorEenMens #TranslatedByAHuman

Book cover: four glasses of champagne on a table outside against a snowy landscape, one glas has blood spatters on it and there are shards of glass on the table.

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1y

Dutch author and poet Isabelle de Charrière, known as Belle van Zuylen, was born #OTD in 1740.

She is now best known for her letters and novels, although she also wrote pamphlets, music and plays. She took a keen interest in the society and politics of her age, and her work around the time of the French Revolution is regarded as being of particular interest.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabelle_de_Charri%C3%A8re

Books by Isabelle de Charrière at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=Isabelle+de+Charri%C3%A8re&submit_search=Go%21

#books #literature #poetry

Isabelle de Charrière by Jens Juel, (1777), Bibliothèque publique et universitaire de Neuchâtel.

Jens Juel - http://www.charriere.nl/images/juel.htm [1]

Isabelle de Charrière, born Isabelle Agneta Elisabeth van Tuyll van Serooskerken, known as Belle de Zuylen (1740-1805)

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Edited 1y ago

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302d

"#KarenHao joins Scientific American to discuss her new book #EmpireOfAI, exploring how companies like #OpenAI wield power that is reminiscent of historical empires. From ideological quests for artificial general intelligence to the environmental toll of massive #dataCenters, Hao reveals the hidden forces shaping our technological future—and the reasons we should all be paying attention."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd8ZTI2Ft0w
#AI #AGI #artificialIntelligence #tech #BigTech #books @bookstodon

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303d

📚 The Librarians by: Sherry Thomas

In the leafy suburbs of Austin, Texas, a small branch library welcomes the public every day of the week. But the patrons who love the helpful, unobtrusive staff and leave rave reviews on Yelp don't always realize that their librarians are human, too.

Hazel flees halfway across the...

https://bookblabla.com/book/the-librarians

@bookstodon

#books #reading #libraries #fiction #thrillers #domesticfiction #mysterydetective #amateursleuth

In the leafy suburbs of Austin, Texas, a small branch library welcomes the public every day of the week. But the patrons who love the helpful, unobtrusive staff and leave rave reviews on Yelp don't always realize that their librarians are human, too.

Hazel flees halfway across the world for what she hopes will be a new beginning. Jonathan, a six-foot-four former college football player, has never fit in anywhere else. Astrid tries to forget her heartbreak by immersing herself in work, but the man who ghosted her six months ago is back, promising trouble. And Sophie, who has the most to lose, maintains a careful and respectful distance from her coworkers, but soon that won't be enough anymore.

When two patrons turn up dead after the library s inaugural murder mystery themed game night, the librarians’ quiet routines come crashing down. Something sinister has stirred, something that threatens every single one of them. And the only way the librarians can save the library and themselves is to let go of their secrets, trust one another, and band together...

All in a day's work.

This delicious murder mystery is a must-read for any library lover! New York Times bestselling author Shelby Van Pelt

Murder disrupts four quirky librarians' lives when they try to hide among books to keep their secrets.

A LIBRARY READS PICK! l An NPR Books We Love

Sometimes a workplace isn’t just a workplace but a place of safety, understanding, and acceptance. And sometimes murder

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302d

📚 We Could Be Rats by: Emily Austin

Sigrid hates working at the Dollar Pal but having always resisted the idea of growing up into the trappings of adulthood, she did not graduate high school, preferring to roam the streets of her small town with her best friend Greta, the only person in the world who ever understood her. Her...

https://bookblabla.com/book/we-could-be-rats

@bookstodon

#books #reading #libraries #fiction #lgbtq #generalfiction #humorous #literaryfiction

Sigrid hates working at the Dollar Pal but having always resisted the idea of growing up into the trappings of adulthood, she did not graduate high school, preferring to roam the streets of her small town with her best friend Greta, the only person in the world who ever understood her. Her older sister Margit is baffled and frustrated by Sigrid’s inability to conform to the expectations of polite society.

But Sigrid's detachment veils a deeper turmoil and sensitivity. She's haunted by the pains of her past from pretending her parents were swamp monsters when they shook the floorboards with their violent arguments to grappling with losing Greta's friendship to the opioid epidemic ravaging their town. As Margit sets out to understand Sigrid and the secrets she has hidden, both sisters, in their own time and way, discover that reigniting their shared childhood imagination is the only way forward.

A must read (Haley Jakobson, New York Times Editor's Choice author), We Could Be Rats is an unforgettable story of two sisters finding their way back to each other, and a celebration of that transcendent, unshakable bond.

A one-sitting-read (Laurie Frankel, New York Times bestselling author) about two very different sisters, and a love letter to childhood, growing up, and the power of imagination from the bestselling author of Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead and Interesting Facts About Space.

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284d

Why doesn't my year-in-review look like others' do? It's certainly little fun.

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303d

5 Dazzling Medieval Manuscripts That Have Outlasted Empires

These manuscripts stand out for their artistry, craftsmanship, and historical significance.

by Tim Brinkhof

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/illuminated-medieval-manuscripts-to-know-2710634

Old manuscripts at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=old+manuscripts

#archeology #history #books #old_manuscripts

Book of Kells (an illuminated manuscript), Folio 32v, Christ Enthroned.

Folio 32v from the Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript created circa 800 CE, depicting Christ Enthroned. This masterpiece of Insular art showcases the elaborate Celtic ornamentation, vibrant colors, and intricate geometric patterns characteristic of medieval Irish monastic manuscripts. The page exemplifies the extraordinary artistic achievement of early medieval Ireland.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Kells#/media/File:KellsFol032vChristEnthroned.jpg

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303d

‘From her pen sprang unforgettable females’: 16th-century Spanish author’s knight’s tale given reboot

Beatriz Bernal’s pioneering novel features brave, chivalrous women who ride dragons and her adapter wants his illustrated version to reach young readers

By Sam Jones

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/20/16th-century-spanish-author-beatriz-bernal-knights-tale-given-reboot

Spanish literature at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subjects/search/?query=spanish+literature

#books #literature