books

2y

Belgian lawyer and bibliographer Paul Otlet was born #OTD in 1868.

He developed the Universal Decimal Classification (UDC) system, an innovative and highly detailed method for cataloging information. Otlet envisioned a global network of information that could be accessed remotely, which he described in his writings as a "réseau" or network of knowledge.

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

Books by Paul Otlet at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/50172

#books #literature

Otlet to work in an office built at his home following the closure of the Palais Mondial in June 1937

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340d

A particular genre. #grickledoodle #library #books #horror #haunted #ghost #cartoon #art #drawing #funny

A cartoon illustration of a man and a woman walking their dog stopped at a free library stand in front of a house haunted by a little ghost in the doorway. The man is speaking. Caption reads "Weird. They're all horror books."

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340d

#AmericanPrestige pod welcomes #OmarZahzah, author of #TermsOfServitude: Zionism, #SiliconValley, and Digital #SettlerColonialism. Discussion includes the #SheikhJarrah uprising, the repressive weaponizing of #tech and #AI against #Palestinians, and Palestinian use of #socialMedia to change the narrative of their struggle.

https://americanprestige.supportingcast.fm/listen/american-prestige-1/e334-silicon-valley-and-the-israeli-occupation-w-omar-zahzah

#media #digitalMedia #mediaCriticism #BigTech #oPt #censorship #digitalCensorship #cyberharassment #digitalRights #Gaza #books @bookstodon

Edited 340d ago

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340d

"We who go out to die shall be remembered, because we gave the world peace. That will be our reward, though we will know nothing of it, but lie rotting in the earth - dead."

~Philips Gibbs. In : The Pageant of the Years

#OTD in 1918 - Armistice Day

The Soul of a Nation by Philip Gibbs is available at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41308

#books #armistice #literature

Armistice Day page from the New York Times.

The image shows the front page of The New York Times from Monday, November 11, 1918, the day the Armistice was signed, ending the fighting of World War I.

At the top of the page, in large, bold capital letters, the headline reads:

“ARMISTICE SIGNED, END OF THE WAR!”

This triumphant declaration spans nearly the full width of the page and dominates the layout, conveying the immense significance of the event. Beneath it, several subheadings and bulletins provide urgent details, such as the hour the cease-fire would take effect and reactions from world capitals.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armistice_Day#/media/File:NYTimes-Page1-11-11-1918.jpg

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340d

I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream: Stories by Ellison, Harlan 9781497643079| eBay

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340d

What book(s) are you currently reading or listening to? November 11

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338d

"There are no stars so lovely as Edinburgh street-lamps..."

Happy birthday to local lad, & one of our favourite storytellers, Robert Louis Stevenson (portrait by Nerli, in the National Galleries of Scotland collection)

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#books #livres #RobertLouisStevenson #Edinburgh #Edimbourg #author #auteur #birthday #anniversaire #ScottishLiterature #Scotland #Ecosse #LitteratureEcossaise

Nerli's 1892 oil portrait of Robert Louis Stevenson, sitting relaxed, facing the viewer, in an open-necked shirt

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337d

📚 The Emperor of Gladness: Oprah's Book Club by: Ocean Vuong

The hardest thing in the world is to live only once…

One late summer evening in the post-industrial town of East Gladness, Connecticut, nineteen-year-old Hai stands on the edge of a bridge in pelting rain, ready to jump, when he hears someone shout across...

https://bookblabla.com/book/the-emperor-of-gladness-oprahs-book-club

#books #reading #libraries #fiction #literaryfiction #lgbtq #general

The hardest thing in the world is to live only once…

One late summer evening in the post-industrial town of East Gladness, Connecticut, nineteen-year-old Hai stands on the edge of a bridge in pelting rain, ready to jump, when he hears someone shout across the river. The voice belongs to Grazina, an elderly widow succumbing to dementia, who convinces him to take another path. Bereft and out of options, he quickly becomes her caretaker. Over the course of the year, the unlikely pair develops a life-altering bond, one built on empathy, spiritual reckoning, and heartbreak, with the power to transform Hai’s relationship to himself, his family, and a community on the brink.

Following the cycles of history, memory, and time, The Emperor of Gladness shows the profound ways in which love, labor, and loneliness form the bedrock of American life. At its heart is a brave epic about what it means to exist on the fringes of society and to reckon with the wounds that haunt our collective soul. Hallmarks of Ocean Vuong’s writing—formal innovation, syntactic dexterity, and the ability to twin grit with grace through tenderness—are on full display in this story of loss, hope, and how far we would go to possess one of life’s most fleeting mercies: a second chance.

Listed in 'best books of 2025', according to the Amazon Editors.

The instant New York Times bestseller. Oprah’s Book Club Pick. A 2026 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction finalist. A TIME Best Boo

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340d

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

She’s small and cute, but this half-demon New Yorker lives to exterminate demons, because they murdered her parents. The demonic curse preventing her from saying anything but “it’s a secret” only fuels her desire for revenge.

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #sciencefantasy #scifi #actionadventure #fiction #books

(Left) The cover of She Hunts Demons, by Owen Tyme, illustrated by Ryan Johnson.

Sitting on the roof of a building in New York City is a teenage girl wearing an old, black dress, fingerless, elbow-length black gloves and a battered, black top hat, with a blue rose attached to the band. The tearing of her clothes hints that she's recently been in a fight. Her hair is short, but messy. Her eyes are blue.

In her hands is a wakizashi, a short sword of Japanese design. The tsuba, or hilt guard, is in the shape of an opening, blue rose. The blade shines blue.

The image is black and white, aside from the details in blue, hinting at film-noir influences in the art.

(Right) An image of a dog with glowing, red eyes, with the following text laid over it:

“Will we ever be safe again?”

“Your people call you traitor, as do mine. Hunted by Heaven and Hell alike, there’s nowhere we could turn for peace.”

“Will our daughter ever know peace?”

“I pray she will.”

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

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338d

Tutivillus Is Watching You

For medieval scribes, mistakes couldn’t be easily shrugged off, as Tutivillus, the stickler demon, was always looking over their shoulders.

By: Amelia Soth

https://daily.jstor.org/tutivillus-is-watching-you/

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

#books #old_manuscripts

Representation of Titivillus (14th century).

The scene shows a scribe seated at a wooden desk, diligently copying a manuscript with a quill pen. He leans over an open book filled with red and black text.

Behind him, Titivillus appears as a small, dark, winged creature with a mischievous face, hairy body, and clawed hands. The demon watches him intently.

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

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338d

📚 All the Way to the River: Oprah's Book Club by: Elizabeth Gilbert

In 2000, Elizabeth Gilbert met Rayya. They became friends, then best friends, then inseparable. When tragedy entered their lives, the truth was finally laid bare: The two were in love. They were also a pair of addicts, on a collision course toward catastrophe.

Wha...

https://bookblabla.com/book/all-the-way-to-the-river-oprahs-book-club

#books #reading #libraries #selfhelp #personalmemoirs

In 2000, Elizabeth Gilbert met Rayya. They became friends, then best friends, then inseparable. When tragedy entered their lives, the truth was finally laid bare: The two were in love. They were also a pair of addicts, on a collision course toward catastrophe.

What if your most beautiful love story turned into your biggest nightmare? What if the dear friend who taught you so much about your self-destructive tendencies became the unstable partner with whom you disastrously reenacted every one of them? And what if your most devastating heartbreak opened a pathway to your greatest awakening?

All the Way to the River is a landmark memoir that will resonate with anyone who has ever been captive to love—or to any other passion, substance, or craving—and who yearns, at long last, for liberation.

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

AN OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK

A delicious mashup of narrative that's by turns harrowing and healing. People

Entertaining, insightful, wrenching … punch-to-the-gut powerful. The Washington Post

A blockbuster: brutally honest, lurid, transcendent, and compelling…Gilbert is undoubtedly a force. Boston Globe

In her first nonfiction book in a decade, the #1 bestselling writer who taught millions of readers to live authentically (Eat Pray Love) and creatively (Big Magic) shows how to break free.

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340d

See How Manet and Morisot’s Creative Friendship Influenced Their Artistic Styles

A new exhibition in San Francisco reframes the complicated relationship between two renowned 19th-century French artists

by Ella Feldman

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-how-manet-and-morisots-creative-friendship-influenced-their-artistic-styles-180987574/

Manet & Morisot at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subject/21340
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=berthe+morisot

#art #paintings #books

Berthe Morisot - Woman at Her Toilette - 1924.127 - Art Institute of Chicago

Woman at her Toilette shows a woman in front of a mirror in her bathroom, facing away from the viewer. The piece contains a silvery-gray and white palette with subtle hints of blue.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman_at_her_Toilette#/media/File:Berthe_Morisot_-_Woman_at_Her_Toilette_-_1924.127_-_Art_Institute_of_Chicago.jpg

Edouard Manet - The Balcony

The Balcony (French: Le balcon) is an 1868–69 oil painting by the French painter Édouard Manet. It depicts four figures on a balcony, one of whom is sitting: the painter Berthe Morisot, who married Manet's brother Eugène in 1874. In the centre is the painter Jean Baptiste Antoine Guillemet. On the right is Fanny Claus, a violinist.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Balcony_(Manet)#/media/File:Edouard_Manet_-_The_Balcony_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

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339d

finished reading Playground 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑
by Richard Powers.

The glorious wonder of the ocean, the fraught love of competitive friends, our tangled dependence on both extraction & love of the natural world, the tempting appeal of AI. Felt like there was too much to wrap up in so short a space, but he pulls it off remarkably, leaving an uncertainty as to what was real and what imagined or simulated.

#BookReview #Books #Bookstodon

@WildWoila @wildwoila@wyrms.de

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2y

#OTD in 1870.

Libraries of the University of Strasbourg and the City of Strasbourg at Temple Neuf are destroyed by fire during the Siege of Strasbourg in the Franco-Prussian War, resulting in the loss of 3,446 medieval manuscripts, including the original 12th-century Hortus deliciarum compiled by Herrad of Landsberg, the Apologist codex containing the only text of the early Epistle to Diognetus, and rare Renaissance books.

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

#books #libraries

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2y

#OTD in 1881.

Robert Louis Stevenson's children's pirate adventure novel Treasure Island begins serialization in the British magazine Young Folks as Treasure Island; or, The mutiny of the Hispaniola by "Captain George North". It was first published as a book on 14 November 1883 by Cassell & Co.

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

Treasure Island at PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/120

#books #literature

Treasure Island, illustrated by George Wylie Hutchinson (1894).

Chums serialization of “Treasure Island,” which ran from 29 Aug 1894- 2 Jan 1895.

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337d

📚 All That We See Or Seem by: Ken Liu

Julia Z, a young woman who gained notoriety at fourteen as the orphan hacker, is trying to live a life of digital obscurity in a quiet Boston suburb.

But when a lawyer named Piers—whose famous artist wife, Elli, has been kidnapped by dangerous criminals—barges into ...

https://bookblabla.com/book/all-that-we-see-or-seem

#books #reading #libraries #fiction #sciencefiction #cyberpunkfiction #thrillers #technological

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337d

Mary Wollstonecraft, The Woman Who Laid the Foundation for Feminism

"Think 18th-century feminism must be outdated? Think again—there is still so much to learn from the life and writing of Mary Wollstonecraft."

https://www.thecollector.com/mary-wollstonecraft-woman-laid-foundation-feminism/

Wollstonecraft at PG:

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/84

#books #literature

Mary Wollstonecraft by John Opie

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2y

English novelist and playwright Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was born #OTD in 1797.

She wrote the Gothic novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818), which is considered an early example of science fiction. She also contributed five volumes of Lives of Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and French authors to Dionysius Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopaedia.

Books by Mary Shelley at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/61

#books #literature #literarycriticism

Richard Rothwell's portrait of Shelley was shown at the Royal Academy in 1840, accompanied by lines from Percy Shelley's poem The Revolt of Islam calling her a "child of love and light".

In the portrait, Mary Shelley is depicted as a youthful and ethereal figure, embodying the Romantic ideals of beauty and intellect. Her face is delicately rendered, with soft, refined features that convey a sense of calm and introspection. Her skin is pale, almost luminescent, contributing to the portrayal of her as a "child of love and light," echoing the lines from Percy Shelley's poem The Revolt of Islam that accompanied the painting's exhibition.

Her dark hair is styled in loose waves, framing her face and adding to the gentle, almost melancholic mood of the image. She is dressed in period-appropriate clothing, often imagined as a simple yet elegant dress that reflects her status as a literary figure. The color palette of the portrait is subdued, with soft tones that enhance the delicate and introspective atmosphere.

Edited 2y ago

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339d

I'm going to Vietnam and would like to read up on it.

I'm looking for a non-fiction book that will tell me about Vietnam, not about the americans or the french.

About Vietnamese history and culture, preferably going beyond the wars.

A book about who they are not about what was done to them.

@bookstodon #vietnam #BookRec #history #books

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339d

What Happens When an Entire Generation of Scientists Changes Its Mind

Total reversals in scientific thinking are rare—but earth-shattering

By Charles C. Mann edited by Josh Fischman

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-happens-when-an-entire-scientific-field-changes-its-mind/

Michelson & Morley experiment at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/70888

#books #historyofscience

Michelson's 1881 interferometer. Although ultimately it proved incapable of distinguishing between differing theories of aether-dragging, its construction provided important lessons for the design of Michelson and Morley's 1887 instrument.

This is a technical line drawing labeled Fig. 3, illustrating the layout of Michelson’s original interferometer apparatus. The instrument rests on a central pedestal base with adjustable legs for leveling.

From the center extends two perpendicular arms of equal length, each supporting various optical components.

At the left end (marked a), a light source directs a beam toward a half-silvered mirror or beam splitter (labeled m) placed at the center.

The beam is divided into two paths—one traveling along the horizontal arm (b–c) and the other along the vertical arm (b–d).

Each arm contains mirrors and adjustable mounts (labeled l, k, etc.), which reflect the light back toward the center.

At the center, the returning beams interfere with each other, producing an interference pattern observable through an eyepiece or telescope (u).

The drawing shows precision details such as the rotatable table, the fine adjustment screws, and the mechanical supports, emphasizing the delicate alignment required for the experiment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelson%E2%80%93Morley_experiment#/media/File:Michelson1881c.png

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339d

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

With the return of her arch-nemesis to the world, in 1972, the Hunter literally goes to war, finding herself drawn to Vietnam, once more backed up by her demon hunting allies, but as all that faced the horrors of the Vietnam War, she finds her time there trying and emotionally difficult.

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

(Left) The cover of She Goes to War, by Owen Tyme, illustrated by Ryan Johnson.

Three people dressed in tiger-stripe camouflage crouch near the edge of a jungle, in Veitnam. The jungle is a mixture of bamboo and ferns.

The first is a girl with brown hair and blue eyes. She wears a dress, top hat and elbow-length fingerless gloves. She points out of the jungle.

The second is a hispanic man and his skin is covered in greasepaint, to make him blend in even better. He wears a military uniform, including a hat with a round brim and leans on an AK-47 for support. His vest has pouches large enough for spare magazines for his weapon. He looks through a pair of binoculars at what the girl is pointing at.

The third is huge and has the head of a cat, with black fur and green eyes. He wears a military uniform.

(Right) The view from the back of a military cargo plane, with the rear hatch open, in flight, while cargo is dropped for descent via parachute, with the following quote over the top:

“Did you see that?”

“No! I officially *never* saw that crate! I *did not* see the flash of a sword cut the crate apart and *very specifically* didn’t see it explode into a shower of thousands of dinner rolls, with a teenage girl in the middle!”

“Good! I was afraid I was the only one that hadn’t seen that!”

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

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337d

Audiobook: https://owentyme.bandcamp.com/album/short-of-tyme-the-most-powerful-words

Hungry and hunting alone, a goblin boy meets a bouncing, blue slime and assumes it will be dinner. Naturally, the slime has other ideas, and the boy gets his hind-end handed to him by what’s supposed to be one of the weakest monsters of the forest.

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #fiction #goblin #books #audiobook

(Left) The cover of The Most Powerful Words, by Owen Tyme, which consists of a temperate forest path in twilight, with a tree on the right side, which hangs over the path. At the base of the tree is a translucent, blue slime monster, with shiny, black eyes that give it a somewhat cute appearance, while the shadow that's visible at its base almost looks like a big mouth. The air has an almosty golden look, because there's a hint of fog in it. The cover is framed with beveled stone.

(Right) The background is a bookcase with three shelves that are filled with old-looking books. Some have bookmark ribbons that stick off the edge, adding a little color. The books are largely brown, with ribbed spines. The following quote is laid over it:

“There are words so powerful, they can shake the foundations of reality or alter the fate of the world.”

“The most powerful words of all can change a man’s heart and mind about old, incorrect beliefs.”

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

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339d

📚 Kafka on the Shore by: Haruki Murakami

Here we meet fifteen-year-old runaway Kafka Tamura and the elderly Nakata, who is drawn to Kafka for reasons that he cannot fathom. As their paths converge, acclaimed author Haruki Murakami enfolds readers in a world where cats talk, fish fall from the sky, and spirits slip out of their bodie...

https://bookblabla.com/book/kafka-on-the-shore

#books #reading #libraries #fiction #literaryfiction #fantasy #contemporary

Here we meet fifteen-year-old runaway Kafka Tamura and the elderly Nakata, who is drawn to Kafka for reasons that he cannot fathom. As their paths converge, acclaimed author Haruki Murakami enfolds readers in a world where cats talk, fish fall from the sky, and spirits slip out of their bodies to make love or commit murder, in what is a truly remarkable journey.

As powerful as The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle... Reading Murakami... is a striking experience in consciousness expansion. Chicago Tribune

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the acclaimed author of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and one of the world’s greatest storytellers comes “an insistently metaphysical mind-bender” (The New Yorker) about a teenager on the run and a deceptively simple old man.

Now with a new introduction by the author.

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339d

Tajja Isen for The Walrus: "The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem"

“I don’t know how people are supposed to develop in their careers,” says a novelist who also spoke on the condition of anonymity. She has published multiple books but, owing to editorial shuffles at her publishing houses, has had to take her books out on submission multiple times. “Every single time, the sales track becomes heavier.”

#books #writing #writersofmastodon #WritingCommunity #bookstodon @bookstodon

https://thewalrus.ca/the-publishing-industry-has-a-gambling-problem/

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336d

📚 Awake by: Jen Hatmaker

At 2:30 a.m. on July 11, 2020, Jen Hatmaker woke up to her husband of twenty-six years whispering in his phone to another woman from their bed. It was the end of life as she knew it. In the months that followed, she went from being a shiny, funny, popular leader to a divorced wreck on antidepressants and antianxiety meds, pare...

https://bookblabla.com/book/awake

#books #reading #libraries #biographyautobiography #divorceseparation

At 2:30 a.m. on July 11, 2020, Jen Hatmaker woke up to her husband of twenty-six years whispering in his phone to another woman from their bed. It was the end of life as she knew it. In the months that followed, she went from being a shiny, funny, popular leader to a divorced wreck on antidepressants and antianxiety meds, parenting five kids alone with no clue about the functioning of her own bank accounts. Having led millions of women for over a decade—urging them to embrace authenticity, find radical agency, and create healthy relationship—she felt like a catastrophic failure.

In Awake, Jen shares for the first time what happened when she found herself completely lost at sea—and how she made it to shore. In candid, surprisingly funny vignettes spanning forty years of girlhood, marriage, and parenting, Jen lays bare the disorienting upheaval of midlife—the implosion of a marriage, the unraveling of religious and cultural systems, and the grief that accompanies change you didn’t ask for. And, drawing on all resources—from without and within—Jen dares to question the systems beneath the whole house of cards, and to reckon with the myths, half-truths, and lies that brought her to this point.

More than one woman’s story, Awake is a critical analysis of the story given to all of us: the story of gender limitations, religious subservience, body shame, self-erasure. With refreshing candor, Jen explores a midlife renaissance—grieving what’s lost, cherishi

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