Eggplant.place

65d

Ray’s Day, what is it?

A little more than three years ago, Ray Bradbury flew away to Mars for good (carelessly, he forgot to buy a return ticket) and now that he is gone, we miss a book lover of a rare kind. via @Ross

https://raysday.net/en/

#books #literature

Bradbury in 1959.

Publicity photo of Ray Bradbury from the television progam Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

Bradbury appears in a suit and tie, his hair neatly combed, projecting a professional yet approachable demeanor suited for television promotion. The image captures him with a thoughtful, slightly serious expression.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Bradbury#/media/File:Ray_Bradbury_1959.JPG

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65d

Guide to the classics: Joseph Conrad’s Lord Jim sees humanity’s darkness

By Jamie Q. Roberts

https://theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-joseph-conrads-lord-jim-sees-humanitys-darkness-247565

Lord Jim at PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/5658

#books #literature

First UK book edition
(publ. William Blackwood & Sons)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Jim#/media/File:LordJimCover.jpg

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61d

Radical history & revolutionary predecessors: What queer youth should know about their ancestors Takahe has limited support for this type: See Original Page

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61d

Radical history & revolutionary predecessors: What queer youth should know about their ancestors Takahe has limited support for this type: See Original Page

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60d

What book(s) are you currently reading or listening to? August 26

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64d

With work on "The Nemesis Legacy" winding down, my focus has begun to shift back toward other projects, such as an omnibus edition, containing the first third of The Nod/Wells Timelines, which will arrive later this year, and the universe's compendium, scheduled for 2027.

http://michaelshotter.com

@specfic @scifi @horrorbooks @bookstodon @audiobooks

#book #books #read #reads #reading #bookstodon #booktodon #booksofmastodon #readersofmastodon #readingcommunity #whattoread

The Nod/Wells Timelines literary universe - aailable now ia Amazon, Audible, bookshop.org, Waterstones, and more!

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65d

These 'Blondes' are turning 100, and they're still a lot of fun

by Maureen Corrigan

https://www.npr.org/2025/08/11/nx-s1-5469836/gentlemen-prefer-blondes-review

Books by Anita Loos at PG:

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/48921

#books #literature

A cover of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" shows a blond woman in a black low cut gown. All around her are shadowy lecherous-looking men.

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64d

Vermeer and the Lost Art of Love Letters

Though small, Vermeer’s Love Letters at the Frick is a deep dive into the artist’s depictions of women and their letters of endearment.

by Natasha Seaman

https://hyperallergic.com/1035480/vermeer-and-the-lost-art-of-love-letters-frick-collection/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Mickalene%20Thomas%20Sued%20for%20%2410M&utm_campaign=D082025

Vermeer at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=vermeer

#books #painting

Johannes Vermeer, "Woman Writing a Letter with Her Maid", (c. 1670–72).

Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid is the first of the artist's experiments with centrifugal composition; where the focus is not only on the centre of the canvas. In addition, it is his third work in which the drama and dynamic are not centred on a single figure.

The maid is shown standing in the mid-ground, behind her lady, with her hands crossed and waiting for the letter to be completed. The positions of their bodies indicate that the two women are disconnected.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Writing_a_Letter_with_her_Maid#/media/File:Woman_writing_a_letter,_with_her_maid,_by_Johannes_Vermeer.jpg

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61d

Just catalog all my books and realized I am short 100 books from being a official library.

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43d

That's why I like old books and classics, it's interesting to see how people thought, even if I don't agree...
It also give a window into how the future will judge us for what we think is "normal" now 🤔😅

@reading @bookstodon @books @aiop

#ReadingMemes #Memes #ReadAllTheBooks #Classic
#Reading #Readers #ReadersOfMastodon #ReadingCommunity
#Book #Books #Novel #Novels #Fiction
#Recommendation
#Bookwyrm #Bookworm #Bookstodon #BookLove #BoostingIsSharing

Picture of James Earl Jones on the right with the text overlayed on the left.

“When I read great literature, great drama, speeches, or sermons, I feel that the human mind has not achieved anything greater than the ability to share feelings and thoughts through language.”

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61d

[Discussion] LA bookstore snapshot — best first stop for a new visitor?

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61d

There nothing quite like stale russian despair... 😂

@bookstodon @fantasybookstodon @bookbubble @humour @reading

#Book #Books #BookMemes #Memes #Humor #Humour
#Novel #Novels #Bookshelf
#Mastobooks #BooksofMastodon #Bookstodon #Bookworm #Bookwyrm #Bookstodon #BookLove #BoostingIsSharing
#Repost #From #Old #Account

Post by Existential Comics

British novel: let's go to a party and find a wife.
German novel: let's go to the wilderness and find ourselves.
Russian novel: let's go to the depths ofdespair and then find out there is an even deeper level of despair we didn't know about and go there.

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72d

We Love Libraries

Honoring the libraries and librarians that have shaped the way we live, learn, and fight.

Want to foment a revolution or win a war? Fight for justice, freedom, and civil rights? Make sure women have a safe social space? Or just leave your mark on the world? We recommend you start at the library.

By The Editors

https://daily.jstor.org/we-love-libraries/

Libraries & librarians at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subject/10467
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subjects/search/?query=librarians

#Books

One of four shop signs for the pharmacy “Zum goldenen Löwen” in Josefstadt by Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (1793–1865) .

This is a finely crafted example of early 19th-century commercial art, blending practical signage with painterly skill.

The sign is painted in oil on panel, intended to be displayed outdoors above the pharmacy in Vienna’s Josefstadt district.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ferdinand_Georg_Waldm%C3%BCller_Apothekenladenschilder_4.jpg

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67d

Leonardo da Vinci’s Flying Machine Recreated From 500-Year-Old Drawing

An exhibition at the French château were Leonardo spent his final years looks at the many inventions the polymath drew from nature.

by Richard Whiddington

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/leonardo-flying-machine-clos-luce-biomimicry-2679116

Leonardo da Vinci at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1629

#books #engineering

Design for a flying machine with wings based closely upon the structure of a bat's wings.

Codex Atlanticus f.858r is a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci.

The drawing depicts a mechanical ornithopter, with broad, membranous wings structured by a system of wooden spars and ribs that closely mimic the skeletal framework of a bat. The wings are hinged and segmented, suggesting they could flex and contract during flight.

At the center lies the framework for the pilot, who would power the machine through physical effort, likely by arm and leg movement transmitted through pulleys or levers.

Leonardo surrounds the central sketch with notes written in his characteristic mirror script, analyzing the principles of flight, balance, and wing movement.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_and_inventions_of_Leonardo_da_Vinci#/media/File:Ailes_battantes_Luc_Viatour.jpg

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70d

Women Have Always Written SFF — But It Wasn’t Always Easy to Find

In the 1970s, many of the best new authors were women — do you remember how you first found their work?

By James Davis Nicoll

https://reactormag.com/women-have-always-written-sff-but-it-wasnt-always-easy-to-find/?utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8-Jz1eu4TLW6WeYT1nfVqXetVzQwA_H2BcdpfafyWXGvZqXaP0psgm71PUYlZCMcwX9FBeY_MJFuupaw6E6piDGgypgQ&_hsmi=375918471&utm_content=375918471&utm_source=hs_email

Science fiction at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subject/36

#books #literature

Fresco found in Pompei representing a high society woman with accounting documents.

The fresco shows a young woman in a circular frame. She holds a stylus to her lips with her right hand, while in her left she carries a wax writing tablet bound with cords. Her gaze is steady and contemplative.

She is dressed in a green undergarment with a maroon cloak draped over her shoulders. Her hair is styled in tight curls, held back by a gold net or hairband, and she wears gold hoop earrings.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Sappho_fresco_(from_Pompeii)#/media/File:Sappho_fresco.jpg

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1y

There is one more thing ;)

Those of you who subscribe to my blog via RSS already know, and now it's the #fediverse community's turn!

I am releasing a photo e-book!

"4xKungsleden" contains mainly photographs from 4 trips on the trail but there are also some thoughts that are important to me and hopefully to the readers.
The work is nearly completed. As a teaser, I'm posting the cover art and I'll keep you informed on what happens next.

__________
#photography #books

Dark grey photo album cover with four colour photos forming a strip across the centre of the cover. The title "4xKungsleden" is above the photographs and the subtitle 'Arctic exposure: a visual tale of the far north' is below.

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63d

What do you mean OR? 🤔
I can broil in existential dread and plot a fantasy series at the same time. 😂 Luckily I don't make mistakes, at least not any I'm willing to admit too 😜

@bookstodon @fantasybookstodon @speculativefictioncomedy @bookbubble @humour

#FantasySeries #VS #ExistentialDread
#FantasyMemes #Fantasy #Memes #Humor #Humour
#Low #High #Epic #Science #Comedic
#Book #Books #Novel #Novels
#Mastobooks #BooksofMastodon #Bookstodon #Bookworm #Bookwyrm #Bookstodon #BookLove

Post by C.G. Drews

Apparently some people go to bed and just...sleep???
They don't plot a 7-book epic fantasy series or softly broil in existential dread or replay every mistake they ever made???
And then they wake up [checks notes] REFRESHED? | just. It sounds a bit fake.

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63d

Read the Dramatic 17th-Century Memoirs of Alice Thornton, Who Wrote Four Versions of Her Life Story

Researchers have digitized all four volumes, which are now available online. The autobiographies offer a compelling window into a tumultuous period in English history

By Sonja Anderson

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/read-the-dramatic-17th-century-memoirs-of-alice-thornton-who-wrote-four-versions-of-her-life-story-180987167/?utm_source=smithsoniandaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=editorial&lctg=93133550

The autobiography of Mrs. Alice Thornton is available at @internetarchive
https://ia801308.us.archive.org/9/items/autobiographyofm00thorrich/autobiographyofm00thorrich.pdf

#books #literature

Alice Thornton autobiography title page from 1875.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Alice_Thornton#/media/File:Alice_Thornton_title_page_from_1875.png/2

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60d

Jane Austen at 250: Why we shouldn’t exaggerate her radicalism

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60d

Reading For Fun Is Plummeting in The US, And Experts Are Concerned Takahe has limited support for this type: See Original Page

reading-for-fun-is-plummeting-in-the-us-and-experts-are-concerned

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61d

Library of Congress acquires only known lyrics sketch of 'Over the Rainbow'

By Chloe Veltman

https://www.npr.org/2025/08/25/nx-s1-5511391/library-of-congress-wizard-of-oz

Wizard of Oz at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subject/25089

#art #music #culture #books

Screenshot of Judy Garland performing Over the Rainbow for the film The Wizard of Oz.

Dorothy is pictured from the waist up, standing in a modest Kansas farmhouse setting. She wears her well-known blue-and-white gingham pinafore dress over a light blouse with puffed short sleeves. A neat ribbon ties back her dark hair in pigtails, emphasizing her youth and innocence. Her gaze is slightly upward, her eyes wide and expressive.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Judy_Garland_Over_the_Rainbow_2.jpg

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62d

7 authors in a dark, gothic horror fantasy 👼😈

7 spotlights to introduce them! ✍️📖

Also wanna about the stories.

I'll start the ball rolling. 😁 Call me Etaski.

#Books #ComingSoon #HorrorAnthology #FallenAngels #DarkReads #DarkFantasyReaders #HorrorBooks #HorrorRomance #RomanticHorror #GothicReads #DarkFantasy #UrbanFantasy

@bookstodon @bookstadon @horror @lgbtqbookstodon @sffbookclub @paranormal @romancelandia

Fallen: Darkness Ascending Vol. 1. Meet: A.S. Etaski. Author Spotlight. A gothic background of a dark forest with a transparent image of a hand reaching for a pair of white wings.

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60d

FYI: I've updated my Speculative-Fiction Showcase at bookshop(dot)org based on some of my recent reads. If you're searching for some new books and authors, give these a try!

https://bookshop.org/lists/michael-shotter-s-speculative-fiction-showcase

@specfic @scifi @horrorbooks @fantasybookstodon @bookstodon

#specfic #scifi #horror #fantasy #books #bookrec #bookrecs #whattoread #booksoffacebook #readersoffacebook #reading #readingcommunity #bookstodon #booktodon

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63d

William Blake’s painting The Ghost of a Flea speaks to processing childhood trauma

White paint dots the flea’s eye, so that he appears to be both looking ahead and looking at us.

By Sarah Corbett

https://theconversation.com/william-blakes-painting-the-ghost-of-a-flea-speaks-to-processing-childhood-trauma-234131

William Blake at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/295

#books #art #literature

The Ghost of a Flea, c. 1819–20. Tate. Tempera mixture panel with gold on mahogany, 21.4 cm × 16.2 cm (painting), 38.2 mm × 32.4 mm × 5.0 mm (frame).

The muscular and nude Flea is depicted using its jutting tongue to gorge on a bowl of blood. Part human, part vampire and part reptile, the beast strides from right to left between heavy and richly patterned curtains.

In his left hand he holds an acorn and in his right a thorn, both items drawn from the tradition of fairy iconography.

His massive neck is similar to that of a bull and holds a disproportionally small head, marked by glaring eyes and open jaws, and a venomous slithering tongue.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ghost_of_a_Flea#/media/File:William_Blake_002.jpg

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Edited 62d ago

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62d

The Pieces of "8" are a great way to get a quick sample of The Nod/Wells Timelines and my style of writing but they're just the tip of the iceberg. Explore a vast universe of speculative fiction that's only getting bigger!

http://michaelshotter.com

@bookstodon @specfic @scifi @horrorbooks @audiobooks

#specfic #scifi #horror #paranormal #thriller #book #books #read #reads #reading #readingcommunity #booksofmastodon #readersofmastodon #whattoread #bestreads #yournextread