Eggplant.place

1y

The light beyond sight

Only a tiny sliver of the Universe’s light can be seen by human eyes. But today we’re catching glimpses of the invisible

By Corey S Powell

https://aeon.co/essays/william-herschels-sensors-let-us-see-the-invisible-universe?utm_source=Aeon+Newsletter&utm_campaign=180c8189f5-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_05_29&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-4ef8a26106-72664972

Herschel at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=william+herschel

#books #science #astronomy

William Herschel by Lemuel Francis Abbott c1785.

Herschel is shown seated or half-length, turned slightly to one side, with a calm yet intense gaze that suggests intellectual depth and curiosity. His expression is serious and reflective, as though engaged in thought or observation.

Attire: He wears formal 18th-century clothing, typically a dark coat and waistcoat with a white cravat.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Herschel#/media/File:William_Herschel01.jpg

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1y

On Thursday 19th we will be celebrating the launch of Dark Crescent by #Edinburgh scribe @lyndseycroal , with tales inspired by #Scottish folklore, published by Luna Press
https://www.edinburghbookshop.com/events-1/lyndsey-croal-dark-crescent-book-launch

#books #livres #Edimbourg #Bruntsfield #LyndseyCroal #BookLaunch #BookEvent #AuthorEvent #DarkCrescent #Fantasy #Scotland #Ecosse #bookshops #librairies #bookstodon

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1y

Cents and Sensibility by Sandra Cisneros

How does a woman writer make her own money? How does she find the time to write?

https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2025/06/10/cents-and-sensibility/

Sense and Sensibilty at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/161
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21839

#books #literature

In ch. 9 of Sense and Sensibility (Jane Austen Novel) Willoughby comes to Marianne rescue, and carries her home.

The picture depicts a dramatic and emotionally charged moment from Chapter 9 of Sense and Sensibility. In the scene, John Willoughby, a dashing young man with a commanding presence, is shown mid-action, carrying Marianne in his arms with care and urgency. His expression is intense yet gentle. Marianne, in a flowing Regency dress, appears pale and vulnerable, her arm loosely around his shoulder.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Sands-brock-06.jpg

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1y

Sweet-Smelling Lies

We are discreet sheep, says Mark Twain.

https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/freedom/sweet-smelling-lies

The Autobiography of Mark Twain at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=The+Autobiography+of+Mark+Twain

#Books #Literature

A portrait of the American writer Mark Twain taken by A. F. Bradley in New York, 1907.

Twain sits in a three-quarter view, gazing slightly off-camera with a thoughtful, almost pensive look. His trademark bushy white hair and sweeping mustache give him a leonine, distinguished appearance.

He is dressed in his characteristic light-colored white suit, paired with a waistcoat and tie, which became his signature attire in the final decades of his life.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Twain#/media/File:Mark_Twain_by_AF_Bradley.jpg

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1y

How Jane Austen Pulled It Off: On Emma

One of Jane Austen’s many mind-bending skills was her ability to wrest so much drama from a world that was, by present-day standards, almost unfathomably static.

By Jennifer Egan

https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2025/06/11/how-jane-austen-pulled-it-off-on-emma/?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&utm_id=01JXJ3YQ6CT1ZYTRMRJRX2Q4ZP&_kx=3MZUehzXM-41qlWAMPUiuNZadX2p0SByuNf_t0eMLB0.U5D8ER

Emma at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/158

#books #literature

Colour illustration of a 1909 edition of Emma (Jane Austen's novel), by C. E. Brock (died 1938).

Emma explains that it was she who planned Miss Taylor's wedding all along.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emma_CE_Brock_1909_Vol_I_chapter_I.jpg

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234d

This struck me as a lovely idea. A citywide book club for people who read on the bus. The Dublin Bus book club selects a book by an Irish author every six weeks.

Also a lovely idea: instead of partnering with a company like Amazon, they’ve partnered with a beloved local independent book store, Chapters, for discounted books and events for the book club members.

#Books #Bus
#Bookstodon

Looking up the stairs of a Bus Átha Cliath double decker bus in Dublin. Freamed between the yellow handrail and a window and an electronic display board, there's a cheerful orange sign advertising the Books On Board Book Club. It has a picture of a nice big bus on it and information about the book club. Photo taken a few weeks ago.

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1y

10 famous quotes from George Orwell’s 1984 that still resonate

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/books/web-stories/10-famous-quotes-from-george-orwells-1984-that-still-resonate/photostory/122249713.cms

More about "1984";
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four

#Books #Literature

The first edition cover of George Orwell's book, Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)

Michael Kennard - https://interminablerambling.com/2020/10/21/george-orwell-1984/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four#/media/File:1984_first_edition_cover.jpg

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1y

British Library to reinstate Oscar Wilde’s reader card 130 years after it was revoked

Pass to be presented to playwright’s grandson after original cancelled over conviction for gross indecency

By Dalya Alberge

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/jun/13/british-library-reinstate-oscar-wilde-reader-card

Oscar Wilde at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/111

#books #literature

Oscar Wilde by Napoleon Sarony, albumen print on card mount, sheet 30.6 x 18.4 cm, on mount 33 x 19 cm. Notes 1045 U.S. Copyright Office. Title from item. No. 22. Copyright by N. Sarony.

Oscar Wilde is captured in a full-length pose, leaning languidly to one side, his body curved with relaxed confidence.

He is dressed in fashionably eccentric attire: a velvet coat or jacket, silk cravat or ascot, knee breeches.

Wilde holds a cane.

His hair is shoulder-length.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Wilde#/media/File:Oscar_Wilde_by_Napoleon_Sarony._Three-quarter-length_photograph,_seated.jpg

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1y

finished reading The Odyssey 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑
by Homer (trans. Emily Wilson).

Travel back in time for a little insight into the worldview & values of the ancient Greeks. Fickle meddlesome gods, male honour, rampant war and liberal violence, slavery & female subjugation. Easy flowing translation, though I sometimes lost the rhythm.

#BookReview #Books #Bookstodon

@WildWoila @wildwoila@wyrms.de

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1y

I Can Read You Like a Book: On Northanger Abbey

By B. D. McClay

“How are people, at any rate, to be understood?”

https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2025/06/09/i-can-read-you-like-a-book-on-northanger-abbey/?utm_source=The+Paris+Review+Newsletter&utm_campaign=183685b4b4-TPRMailchimp_20250613_WEEKLY&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_35491ea532-183685b4b4-55433165&mc_cid=183685b4b4&mc_eid=1ab9ba5038

Northanger Abbey at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/121

#books #literature

Tinted Line Drawing by H.M. Brock for Northanger Abbey, ch 22 (II, 7) Henry drove so well.

The scene is set outdoors, likely along a country lane near Northanger Abbey.

Henry Tilney is depicted driving a carriage with confidence and ease. He sits upright with relaxed command, holding the reins skillfully.

Catherine Morland sits beside him, looking either directly at Henry or gazing around her with admiration and contentment.

The carriage is drawn by a pair of elegant horses, rendered with clean, expressive lines that capture their movement.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2northanger_abbey-04.jpg

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1y

Like your magical fantasy mixed with justice?

50% of profits from The Witches of Portland ebook bundle—bought directly from me—will go toward people fighting for justice. First round of funds will go to Jail Support LA, which is providing bail money for people arrested in direct actions in Los Angeles.

The Witches of Portland: https://thorncoylebooks.com/products/the-witches-of-portland-complete-series-ebooks

#fantasy #books #bookstodon #lgbtq #antifa

The Witches of Portland. 9 fantasy ebooks with bright covers. 50% of profits go to people fighting for justice. Thorn Coyle Books dot com

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1y

‘Difficult love’: Spanish publisher reprints groundbreaking book of Lorca’s homoerotic sonnets

Federico García Lorca’s poems were printed anonymously in 1983 after being hidden away by family for 50 years

By Sam Jones

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/jun/13/spanish-publisher-reprints-sonnets-of-dark-love-federico-garcia-lorca

#books #literature

Photo of Federico García Lorca, dedicated to Xavier Bóveda.

Lorca's face is captured in sharp relief: high forehead, strong jawline, deeply expressive eyes.

His hair is dark, neatly combed back—shorter on the sides.

He wears a crisp, light-colored shirt under a dark tailored jacket.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Federico_Garc%C3%ADa_Lorca#/media/File:Federico_Garc%C3%ADa_Lorca,_dedicada_a_Xavier_B%C3%B3veda,_1933.jpg

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1y

How Belle Da Costa Greene Managed Financier J.P. Morgan's Library — While Hiding That She Was Black

Hired by financier J.P. Morgan to manage his collection of books, manuscripts, and artworks, Belle da Costa Greene broke barriers in New York high society as a young female rare books expert — all while hiding a big secret about her race.

By Genevieve Carlton

https://allthatsinteresting.com/belle-da-costa-greene

#Books #Librarian

Greene is seated, looking slightly upward or away from the camera with a composed, somewhat contemplative expression. Her hair is styled in soft waves or a dark, possibly curly hat.

She wears a dark dress with a prominent light-colored, wide, pointed collar, typical of early 20th-century fashion. She holds papers or a thin book in her lap, suggesting her scholarly or professional pursuits.

The background includes a tall plant and sheer curtains that let in bright natural light, giving a calm, elegant domestic or office environment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_da_Costa_Greene#/media/File:Belle_DeAcosta_Green_-_Alice_Carpenter_-_Kath._Davis_-_Maude_Wetmore_(LOC)_(cropped).jpg

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1y

The young Oscar Wilde’s Russian revolutionary drama reveals a playwright divided

Vera; or, The Nihilists concerns a plot to kill a tsar but after Alexander II was assassinated, its London premiere was cancelled. Now receiving a rare production, it captures his conflict between ethics and aesthetics

By Michael Billington

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/jul/07/oscar-wilde-russian-revolutionary-drama-vera-or-the-nihilists

Vera; or, The Nihilists at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26494

#Books #Literature #Theatre

Oscar Wilde by Napoleon Sarony.

Wilde is dressed in stylish, somewhat flamboyant attire—a velvet jacket, knee breeches, silk stockings, and often holding a soft hat or a cane, embodying the dandy aesthetic.

Wilde’s longish, wavy hair frames his face, emphasizing his androgynous beauty and poetic persona.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Wilde#/media/File:Oscar_Wilde_by_Napoleon_Sarony._Three-quarter-length_photograph,_seated.jpg

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1y

More book events fun: my chum Rachel Plummer is the special guest for @TheEdinburghBookshop 's Under Fives Storytime with the charming The Big Day, for #PrideMonth
https://www.edinburghbookshop.com/events-1/the-big-day-a-storytime-special-with-rachel-plummer

#books #livres #ChildrensBooks #LivresJeunesse #Edinburgh #Edimbourg #RachelPlummer #TheBigDay #PictureBooks #bookstodon #UnderFivesStorytime #bookshops #librairies #Pride

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248d

Poem of the week: To Wordsworth by Percy Bysshe Shelley

The radical young poet’s backhanded tribute to the older writer is a stern judgment on his lapsed political idealism

by Carol Rumens

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/feb/09/poem-of-the-week-to-wordsworth-by-percy-bysshe-shelley

To Wordsworth & Alastor; or, The Spirit of Solitude at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4800

#books #literature #poetry

Portrait of William Wordsworth by Sir William Boxall, 1831.

The oil painting depicts the great Romantic poet in his early sixties, with white hair, wearing a dark coat and cravat, rendered in warm brown tones with loose, atmospheric brushwork against a dark background.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/William_Wordsworth#/media/File:William-Wordsworth.jpg

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1y

Tagore and Yeats: How a Nobel-winning friendship fell apart

On his 160th birth anniversary, revisiting Irish Nobel laureate WB Yeats' complex relationship with Rabindranath Tagore, who he first hailed as a mystic sage and championed for the Nobel, only to later dismiss him for “wrecking his reputation”.

by Aishwarya Khosla

https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/tagore-yeats-nobel-prize-friendship-10065210/

Tagore at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/942

Yeats at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1719

#books #literature

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Photographic portrait of William Butler Yeats by Alice Broughton. Platinum print. "John Quinn arranged for Yeats to be photographed by Alice Boughton, probably on 22 December 1903.

On 7 January 1904, Quinn wrote to her thanking her for two solio prints and two platinum prints, telling her that 'Yeats received the three photographs which you sent him and was charmed by them.' Quinn particularly liked one of Yeats reading a book, which was published in Florence Brooks's article in the New York Herald on 17 January 1904. Another, presumably the present image, was published in the Gaelic American on 5 March 1904."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._B._Yeats#/media/File:Yeats_Boughton.jpg

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1y

finished reading The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑
by Sangu Mandanna.

A lonely witch finds family & love when she is sought out to tutor three young witchy girls. A cosy romantic fantasy. Some enlivening characters and fun use of magic. Very 'House by the Cerulean Sea'.

#BookReview #Books #Bookstodon #Romantasy #Romance #Fantasy #Witches

@WildWoila @wildwoila@wyrms.de

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236d

I just heard someone refer to Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir, as "hope punk". I really like that.

#books #bookstodon @bookstodon #ProjectHailMary

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1y

Best books for learning to draw "spicy" art?

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1y

New Discovery of 3,000-Year-Old Babylonian Text Sheds Light on Women’s Roles in Ancient Society

By Emma Taggart

https://mymodernmet.com/babylon-text-cuneiform-tablets/?

Full paper available here:
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/iraq/article/literary-texts-from-the-sippar-library-v-a-hymn-in-praise-of-babylon-and-the-babylonians/B477D54E6554CA35718880339B3736CD

#Books #Archeology

The Entry of Alexander into Babylon by Sébastien Leclerc.

Alexander is shown entering the city on horseback or in a triumphal chariot, richly adorned, wearing a plumed helmet or a laurel crown.

He’s accompanied by soldiers, standard-bearers, and often by a figure holding a parasol or canopy over him—a symbol of royal status.

The streets are filled with people welcoming the conqueror—some playing musical instruments, others throwing flowers, and many reaching out in admiration.

Women and children are often shown kneeling or extending gifts, emphasizing the submission and joy of the populace.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Entry_of_Alexander_into_Babylon_MET_DP837120.jpg

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1y

What is Hwæt? The Debate Behind Beowulf’s Opening Line

By Hana Videen

https://www.medievalists.net/2025/07/hwaet-beowulf-opening-line/

Beowulf at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subject/12660

#Books #Literature #Translation

The first folio of the heroic epic poem Beowulf, written primarily in the West Saxon dialect of Old English. Part of the Cotton MS Vitellius A XV manuscript currently located within the British Library. This is a digital photographic copy of the folio.

Text shown according to https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43521/beowulf-old-english-version:

HWæT. WE GARDE na in geardagum, þeodcyninga, [129] þrym gefrunon, hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon. Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena þreatum,monegum mægþum, meodosetla ofteah, egsode eorlas. Syððan ærest wearð feasceaft funden, he þæs frofre gebad, weox under wolcnum, weorðmyndum þah, oðþæt him æghwylc þara ymbsittendra ofer hronrade hyran scolde, gomban gyldan. þæt wæs god cyning. ðæm eafera wæs æfter cenned, geong in geardum, þone god sende folce to frofre; fyrenðearfe on geat þe hie ær drugon aldorlease lange hwile. Him þæs liffrea, wuldres wealdend, woroldare forgeaf; Beowulf wæs breme blæd wide sprang, Scyldes eafera Scede landum in. Swa sceal geong guma gode gewyrcean, fromum feohgiftum on fæder.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beowulf#/media/File:Beowulf_Cotton_MS_Vitellius_A_XV_f._132r.jpg

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1y

Filles du roi: the Founding Mothers of New France

Sent by Louis XIV, the filles du roi were sent to North America to birth new generations of colonists and help conquer the land.

On September 22, 1663, thirty-six young women arrived in a French colony on the shores of the St. Lawrence River in a region that we now call eastern Canada.

By: Ann Foster

https://daily.jstor.org/filles-du-roi-the-founding-mothers-of-new-france/

Books about New France at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subject/1225

#Books #History