Eggplant.place

279d

Alexander the Great, Ancient Gay Icon

Harry Tanner Explores Queerness and Homophobia in the Hellenistic Period

https://lithub.com/alexander-the-great-ancient-gay-icon/

Alexander the Great at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subject/3864

#books #literature #history

Alexander Cuts the Gordian Knot by Jean-Simon Berthélemy (1767).

At the center of the composition stands Alexander, shown as a youthful. He wears a metal breastplate, a short tunic, and a flowing blue cloak. With one arm extended, he raises a sword, poised mid-action as he decisively cuts the knot rather than attempting to untie it.

Around him, several figures react with surprise and tension. To the right, men kneel or lean forward, their bodies twisted toward the knot, hands outstretched as if caught between disbelief and awe. To the left, older figures and attendants watch intently, one bearded man appearing contemplative, while a child looks on with curiosity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great#/media/File:Alexander_cuts_the_Gordian_Knot.jpg

ALT

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

#OTD in 1893.

The first story featuring the private detective character Sexton Blake, "The Missing Millionaire", appears in Alfred Harmsworth's new boys' story paper The Halfpenny Marvel, written by Harry Blyth under the pen-name Hal Meredeth.

Sexton Blake adventures were featured in a wide variety of British and international publications from 1893 to 1978, comprising more than 4,000 stories by some 200 different authors.

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

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

#books #pulpfiction

The cover of the first Sexton Blake tale, published in The Halfpenny Marvel in 1893, introduces the iconic detective Sexton Blake to readers, presenting an aesthetic typical of late 19th-century pulp fiction.

The title prominently features "The Halfpenny Marvel" in bold, eye-catching font at the top, emphasizing the magazine's affordability and accessibility.

Below the publication name, the story’s title—likely something dramatic like The Missing Millionaire—is highlighted, immediately drawing attention to the thrilling nature of the tale.

Taglines or subtitles, such as “A Sensational Detective Story,” may be included to emphasize the excitement and mystery.

ALT

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

279d

📚 Call Me Ishmaelle by: Xiaolu Guo

I must work on a ship as a man... I must find freedom on the seas.
1843. Ishmaelle is born in a small village on the stormy Kent coast where she grows up swimming with dolphins. After her parents and infant sister die, her brother, Joseph, leaves to find work as a sailor. Abandoned and de...

https://bookblabla.com/book/call-me-ishmaelle

@bookstodon

#books #reading #libraries #fiction #feministfiction #historical #19thcentury #general

I must work on a ship as a man... I must find freedom on the seas.
1843. Ishmaelle is born in a small village on the stormy Kent coast where she grows up swimming with dolphins. After her parents and infant sister die, her brother, Joseph, leaves to find work as a sailor. Abandoned and desperate for a life at sea, Ishmaelle disguises herself as a cabin boy and travels to New York.

Years later, as the American Civil War breaks out, Ishmaelle boards the Nimrod, a whaling ship led by the obsessive Captain Seneca, a Black free man of heroic stature who is haunted by a tragic past. Here, she finds protectors amidst the bloody male violence of whaling and discovers a mysterious bond between herself and the white whale who claimed Seneca’s leg.

Built on the bones of Melville’s classic, Call Me Ishmaelle is a dynamic new tale, imbued with an eclectic crew—from a Polynesian harpooner to a Taoist Monk—and a powerful exploration of human nature, gender, man’s place among the animals, and the nature of home.

A KIRKUS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
A propulsive powerhouse of a read. Marie Claire (UK)
Ambitious, brave, and strange. Philip Hoare, author of Leviathan
From the National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author, a feminist reimagining of Herman Melville’s classic Moby-Dick through the eyes of one inimitable woman and a diverse, swashbuckling crew

ALT

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

The Ebook of Sky Children is now available for purchase! Print copies will be available on Friday, January 3rd!

You can learn more at my website:
https://owentyme.us/books/sky-children/sky-children.html

Or go straight to the store links:
https://books2read.com/SkyChildren

#author #indieauthor #books #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #actionadventure #fiction

The cover of the novel Sky Children, by Owen Tyme.

The cover shows the dark silhouette of a man against a night sky consisting of a view of the Milky Way, in more stunning detail than it's usually seen.

ALT

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

279d

📚 One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by: Omar El Akkad

On October 25th, 2023, after just three weeks of the bombardment of Gaza, Omar El Akkad put out a tweet: "One day, when it's safe, when there's no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it's too late...

https://bookblabla.com/book/one-day-everyone-will-have-always-been-against-this

@bookstodon

#books #reading #libraries #biographyautobiography #world #politicalideologies #democracy

$On October 25th, 2023, after just three weeks of the bombardment of Gaza, Omar El Akkad put out a tweet: "One day, when it's safe, when there's no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it's too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this." This tweet was viewed more than ten million times. One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This chronicles the deep fracture that has occurred for Black, brown, Indigenous Americans, as well as the upcoming generation, many of whom had clung to a thread of faith in Western ideals, in the idea that their countries, or the countries of their adoption, actually attempted to live up to the values they espouse. This book is a reckoning with what it means to live in the West, and what it means to live in a world run by a small group of countries—America, the UK, France, and Germany.  It will be The Fire Next Time for a generation that understands we're undergoing a shift in the so-called “rules-based order,” a generation that understands the West can no longer be trusted to police and guide the world, or its own cities and campuses. It draws on intimate details of Omar's own story as an emigrant who grew up believing in the Western project, who was catapulted into journalism by the rupture of 9/11. This book is El Akkad's heartsick breakup letter with the West. It is a breakup we are watching all over the United States, on college campuses, on city streets, and the consequen$

ALT

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

#OTD in 1895.

The première of Oscar Wilde's comedy An Ideal Husband takes place at the Haymarket Theatre in London. In April, on the last day of the Haymarket run, Wilde was arrested for gross indecency; his name was removed from the playbills and programmes when the production transferred to the Criterion Theatre, where it ran for a further 13 performances, from 13 to 27 April.

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

An Ideal Husband at PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/885

#books #literature #theatre

Act II: Mrs Cheveley, centre, denounces Sir Robert Chiltern to his wife, 1895 premiere

Henry Wright (artist) - Illustrated London News, p. 44

"Mr. Oscar Wilde's New Play, 'An Ideal Husband', at the Haymarket Theatre": Mrs Chevely accuses Sir Robert

ALT

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

276d

New #BookReview on my #blog: "Diary of a Bookseller."
https://itinerantlibrarian.blogspot.com/2026/01/book-review-diary-of-bookseller.html

#books #reading #ItinerantLibrarian #reviews #bookstodon
💙📚

@bookstodon

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

Russian feminist and activist Maria Trubnikova was born #OTD in 1835.

Trubnikova hosted a women-only salon which became a center of feminist activism. Alongside Anna Filosofova and Nadezhda Stasova, whom she mentored, Trubnikova was one of the earliest leaders of the Russian women's movement; the three women were referred to as the "triumvirate".

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

#books #feminism

Russian feminist Maria Vassilievna Troubnikova, depicted in a 1909 publication by the All-Russian League for Women's Equality.

Maria Vassilievna Troubnikova is depicted in the 1909 publication by the All-Russian League for Women's Equality in a formal portrait.

Her attire reflects the style of the late 19th to early 20th century, with a high-collared dress that is modest yet elegant, emphasizing her professionalism and commitment to social causes.

Her expression is serious and contemplative, conveying her intellectual depth and the gravity of her activism.

ALT

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

278d

📚 Nightcrawling by: Leila Mottley

Kiara and her brother, Marcus, are scraping by in an East Oakland apartment complex optimistically called the Regal-Hi. Both have dropped out of high school, their family fractured by death and prison

But while Marcus clings to his dream of rap stardom, Kiara hunts for work to pay their rent—which has ...

https://bookblabla.com/book/nightcrawling

@bookstodon

#books #reading #libraries #fiction #literaryfiction #familylife #siblings

$Kiara and her brother, Marcus, are scraping by in an East Oakland apartment complex optimistically called the Regal-Hi. Both have dropped out of high school, their family fractured by death and prison But while Marcus clings to his dream of rap stardom, Kiara hunts for work to pay their rent—which has more than doubled—and to keep the nine-year-old boy next door, abandoned by his mother, safe and fed. One night, what begins as a drunken misunderstanding with a stranger turns into the job Kiara never imagined wanting but now desperately needs: nightcrawling. Her world breaks open even further when her name surfaces in an investigation that exposes her as a key witness in a massive scandal within the Oakland Police Department. Rich with raw beauty, electrifying intensity, and piercing vulnerability, Nightcrawling marks the stunning arrival of a voice unlike any we have heard before. NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • AN OPRAH BOOK CLUB PICK • A dazzling novel about a young Black woman who walks the streets of Oakland and stumbles headlong into the failure of its justice system. This debut of a blazingly original voice “bursts at the seams of every page and swallows you whole” (Tommy Orange, author of There There). A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, TIME, GOODREADS$

ALT

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

276d

Ebook and paperback: https://books2read.com/SheSeeksPeace

The Hunter seeks peace and quiet to mourn the loss of her best friend in a world that seems bound and determined to make that task impossible. Enemies attack when she’d rather be alone, allies can’t take a hint and the arch-demon Wrath seeks the Hunter’s hand in marriage, even though she’d sooner kill him.

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #actionadventure #fiction #books

(Left) The cover of She Seeks Peace, by Owen Tyme.

The background is a snow-capped, craggy mountain with green, grassy hills at its base, which feature yellow and blue flowers.

The foreground is dominated by the round symbol for peace, in gold. Along the bottom of it are two olive branches. At the top is a dove in flight. Arranged on the lower three spokes of it are three figures based on the AIGA symbol for a woman. The figure on the right is blue. The one in the middle is a very dark gray, bordering on black, which includes a top hat. The figure on the left is red and has horns, like a demon.

(Right) The background is a view from the interior of a gun's barrel, with the rifling very apparent and the following quote over the top:

Reggie looked down the barrel of one of his own pistols, which the girl held in both hands, because the M1911 was a little large for someone so small.

There was a long, silent moment as the girl giggled and met his gaze. The murderous look was gone, replaced by something more playful, like a cat toying with a mouse.

(Bottom) https://books2read.com/SheSeeksPeace

ALT

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

190d

Question: What are the worst books on Project Gutenberg (or other terrible public domain writing)?

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

278d

Another quarter means another list of forthcoming critical tech books!

Plus, I also discuss my own reading habits in 2025 and some of the books I most enjoyed out of the 21 I read this past year.

https://disconnect.blog/a-critical-tech-reading-list-for-winter-2026/

#tech #books #reading

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

"There can be no freedom or beauty about a home life that depends on borrowing and debt."
Torvald Helmer, Act I

#OTD in 1879.

The first production of Henrik Ibsen's controversial "modern drama" A Doll's House takes place at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, after publication there on December 4.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Doll%27s_House

A Doll's House at PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/2542

#books #literature #theatre

Adeleide Johannessen in character as Nora, from a cigarette card of c. 1880 – c. 1882.

Adeleide Johannessen is captured mid-action, holding a tambourine in her raised hand, evoking an energetic or defiant moment from her performance as Nora.

Her body language is dynamic, and her intense facial expression reflects the emotional depth and complexity of Nora's character, perhaps hinting at her journey of self-discovery and rebellion.

Johannessen wears a full-length Victorian-era dress, with detailed pleating, fitted bodice, and layered skirts that cinch at the waist with a decorative belt.

ALT

1 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

184d

Do you enjoy reading books? There's a social reading platform on the Fediverse called BookWyrm, which is a free open alternative to Amazon Goodreads. Lots more info at:

➡️ https://fedi.tips/bookwyrm-a-social-network-for-people-who-enjoy-reading

BookWyrm lets you import your existing account data from other platforms including Goodreads, LibraryThing, StoryGraph, OpenLibrary and Calibre.

If you want to use BookWyrm's features you should join a BookWyrm server:

➡️ https://joinbookwyrm.com/instances

#FediTips #Books #Reading #BookWyrm #GoodReads

1 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

80d

Company Offering Printed Books to Train AI Stops After 404 Media Coverage cross-posted from: piefed.social/…/company-offering-printed-books-to… Citing backlash, ISBNdb removed its webpages about training AI, denied ever buying, scanning, or selling a book for AI training, and said the site was a “test of market interest.” Page · lemmy.dbzer0.com

cross-posted from: piefed.social/…/company-offering-printed-books-to…

Citing backlash, ISBNdb removed its webpages about training AI, denied ever buying, scanning, or selling a book for AI training, and said the site was a “test of market interest.”

Company Offering Printed Books to Train AI Stops After 404 Media Coverage

https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/73205048

1 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

278d

Rights of Nature: A Reading List

What would it mean for rivers, forests, and animals to have legal rights? A global movement is rethinking law’s relationship to nature.

By: Sam Firman

https://daily.jstor.org/rights-of-nature-a-reading-list/?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&utm_id=01KEYB46PN6NMF8X3GYBW3ZKEX&_kx=3MZUehzXM-41qlWAMPUiuNZadX2p0SByuNf_t0eMLB0.U5D8ER

#books #literature #environment

An almond tree flourished in the surroundings of the church of Santa Cruz de Olorda, in the Sarria district of Barcelona. In the background, you can see a farmhouse.

https://www.europeana.eu/pt/item/2024914/photography_ProvidedCHO_Ajuntament_de_Girona_102099

ALT

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

What Is Entropy? A Measure of Just How Little We Really Know.

Exactly 200 years ago, a French engineer introduced an idea that would quantify the universe’s inexorable slide into decay. But entropy, as it’s currently understood, is less a fact about the world than a reflection of our growing ignorance. Embracing that truth is leading to a rethink of everything from rational decision-making to the limits of machines.

By Zack Savistky

https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-is-entropy-a-measure-of-just-how-little-we-really-know-20241213/

#books #science #physics #entropy

Carnot aged 17 in the uniform of a cadet of the École polytechnique. Portrait by Louis-Léopold Boilly (1813).

ALT

5 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

The Editor Who Drove Hemingway Away

Harry C. Hindmarsh, assistant managing editor of the Toronto Daily Star, knew how to get under Ernest Hemingway’s skin.

https://daily.jstor.org/the-editor-who-drove-hemingway-away/

Hemingway at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/50533

#books #literature

Hemingway's 1923 passport photo; at this time, he lived in Paris with his wife Hadley and worked as a foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star Weekly.

ALT

3 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

George R.R. Martin has co-authored a physics paper

"I couldn't help but wonder if a simple underlying model might tidy up the canon.”

By Jennifer Ouellette

https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/01/george-r-r-martin-has-co-authored-a-physics-paper/

Ergodic Lagrangian dynamics in a superhero universe
By I. L. Tregillis and George R. R. Martin

https://pubs.aip.org/aapt/ajp/article/93/2/127/3331568/Ergodic-Lagrangian-dynamics-in-a-superhero

#books #physics

3 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

276d

This is really cool! Last year I read William Dalrymple's "The Golden Road" and central to its narrative are these trade routes. This was an experiment to reconstruct a lost 5th century CE ship design based on drawing in the Ajanta Caves. According to Dalrymple, images in the Ajanta Caves provide some of the best info for the period.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyn15110gvo

#India #MastIndia #History #AncientHistory #Histodons #Books #Bookstodon #Ocean #Ships #Sailing #Archeology @histodons @bookstodon

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

184d

Dear #fediverse, please send more readers my way.

I’d love to connect with more people who read books, post about #books, write #reviews, share #recommendations, and enjoy thoughtful conversations about #literature.

#bookstodon #reading #booksky #bookreview #booklovers #readingcommunity #bookclub
@bookstodon

ALT

15 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

277d

A Review of Homeless: https://lydiaschoch.com/a-review-of-homeless/

#ScienceFiction #PostApocalyptic #Books #BookReview

@bookstodon

Book cover for Homeless by Neal Shooter. Image on cover shows a black and white sketch of someone walking through a forest on a cold winter day. The ground is covered in snow, the trees are bare, and the person is so bundled up you can’t tell what they look like.

ALT

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

277d

The strange tale of Sigmund Freud’s begonia

How the gift of a plant helped Emma Freud finally get to know her great-grandfather

by Emma Freud

https://observer.co.uk/news/first-person/article/emma-freud-sigmund-freuds-begonia

#books #literature #botany

Begonia obliqua L.

Robert John Thornton (1768-1837) - Botanicus http://www.botanicus.org "Temple of Flora"

The image depicts Begonia obliqua (now more commonly known as Begonia species), showing:

A begonia with characteristic asymmetrical (oblique) leaves in rich green tones, with prominent red stems
Delicate pink blossoms and white star-shaped flowers scattered throughout the composition
An orange/brown butterfly in the upper left, adding life and movement to the scene

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begonia#/media/File:Begonia_obliqua00.jpg

ALT

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

275d

This week's #NewBooks at the library:
- I bought a second-hand copy of #Isotopes: Principles and Applications, published by Wiley. Isotopes are hugely important in various branches of science, and I have it in mind to get to grips with the finer details at some point.
- I found a copy of Simon Lamb's Devil in the Mountain: A Search for the Origin of the Andes at a local charity shop, a classic from @princetonupress
- And I bought a copy of Paul Thagard's Bots and Beasts: What Makes Machines, Animals, and People Smart? from @themitpress for basically the price of a packet of crisps.
#Chemistry #Physics #Geology #EarthSciences #Orogeny #CognitiveScience #Cognition #Intelligence #Books #Scicomm #Bookstodon @bookstodon

A photo of three books standing on a small, brown, wooden table. The out-of-focus background shows black shelves full of books and part of the beech-coloured laminate floor.

On the left, Isotopes: Principles and Applications, showing a chunky hardback book with a bluish-black cover. A band of large ochre and brown pixels is running diagonally across the bottom-left corner. Though no explanation is given on the cover, this is a close-up of a colourised schematic plot that shows nuclides and their decay products

In the middle, Devil in the Mountain: A Search for the Origin of the Andes, showing a colour photo of a group of small, single-storey concrete buildings on a barren hillside with a huge mountain range with snow-covered peaks in the background. This photo is reproduced in the book, with the legend explaining that this is a small cemetery on the road to the Zongo Valley in the Cordillera Real, just north of La Paz. The peak in the background is the 6088 metre high peak of Huayna Potosi.

On the right, Bots and Beasts: What Makes Machines, Animals, and People Smart?, showing a colour photo of three figures, a small white robot, a woman, and a dog, in a grassy field facing the viewer, the out-of-focus background showing a blue sky.

ALT

Edited 275d ago

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

235d

The Man Who Stole Infinity

In an 1874 paper, Georg Cantor proved that there are different sizes of infinity and changed math forever. A trove of newly unearthed letters shows that it was also an act of plagiarism.

By Joseph Howlett

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-man-who-stole-infinity-20260225/

Cantor at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/34168

Cantor in Principia Mathematica:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78050

#books #mathematics