Eggplant.place

71d

Can Bibliotherapy Heal the Pain of the World? Takahe has limited support for this type: See Original Page

1y

"La reconnaissance a la mémoire courte."

Swiss philosopher & politician Benjamin Constant was born #OTD in 1767. Author of numerous essays on political & religious issues, he also wrote psychological novels, such as Le Cahier rouge and Adolphe.

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/5256

#books

More details Roche - Portrait de Benjamin Constant (1767-1830), écrivain et homme politique - P1679 - Musée Carnavalet Hercule de Roche - https://www.parismuseescollections.paris.fr/en/node/153046

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71d

When you're reading and someone assumes that means you're doing nothing and they can interrupt you.

#books #reading #writing

At Vespers by Halle. A young woman looks up from reading a book. It's probably some religious thing, but I've cropped out the cross and I just like the intensity on her face.

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84d

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

Spies, aliens, trolls, wizards and a disowned prince use a time machine, to improve their place in history, but Levi Jacobs stands in their way, despite having just lost his parents in war. Will he stop them or will the time travelers kill his father at a pivotal moment, on which the fate of the galaxy hangs?

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

(Left) The cover of The Third Wish, by Owen Tyme, illustrated by Ryan Johnson.

A wizard in a black robe that glitters with hints of gold stands on a mountain and looks down at a city of sky scrapers covered in greenery. In his shadow lurks a creature with glowing red eyes.

In the background, the sun is setting and stars are becoming visible.

(Right Background) Four images separated by black lines, with the silhouette of a woman wielding two swords laid over them. She's outlined in black and her interior is yellow clock-based imagery that spirals outward from the center.

The upper left quarter is a queen in a red, furred robe, wearing a gold and diamond crown. She has dark eyebrows and blond hair.

Upper right is a planet seen from orbit.

Lower left is a symbolic wire frame representation of the view inside a wormhole, in green and yellow.

Lower right is dandelions among grass.

The angle of the planet, one of the woman's swords, the yellow highlights of the wormhole and some of the dandelions form a line that draws the eye along a sweeping curve.

(Right Foreground) The following quote:

He admired the flawless beauty of the insane swordswoman’s fluid movements as Ida took desperate step after step, backwards!

He felt waves of mental energy pour off the panic-stricken troll, but the energy bounced right off of Nicole’s mind, as though she’d shut herself inside a solid, red-hot, steel box of rage!

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

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1y

"Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote
"The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swych licour
Of which vertu engendred is the flour..."
Opening lines. The Canterbury Tales

~Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343 – October 25, 1400)

#books #literature

More details Portrait of Chaucer as a Canterbury pilgrim, Ellesmere manuscript of The Canterbury Tales. The Tale of Melibee „A yong man called Melibeus, myghty and riche, bigat upon his wyf, that called was Prudence, a doghter which that called was Sophie. Upon a day bifel that he for his desport is went into the feeldes hem to pleye. His wyf and eek his doghter hath he left inwith his hous...

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71d

Happy Public Domain Day 2026 (Jan. 1) from Duke Law School's Center for the Study of the Public Domain. To read more about the public domain

via Duke University School of Law

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh9f_k7fQPA&t=33s

More information here:
https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2026/

#books #literature #publicDomainDayCountdown

Public domain day 2026 montage.

A collage celebrating Public Domain Day 2026, featuring iconic 1930 works entering the public domain: "All Quiet on the Western Front," Marx Brothers' "Animal Crackers," early Mickey Mouse cartoons, "The Little Engine That Could," "As I Lay Dying," Nancy Drew mysteries, "The Cat Who Went to Heaven," "King of Jazz," "The Maltese Falcon," Betty Boop cartoons, "I Got Rhythm," "The Murder at the Vicarage," "Dream a Little Dream of Me," "Ash Wednesday," Blondie comics, and "Morocco" starring Marlene Dietrich.

https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2026/

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71d

A psychoanalyst’s desire for a saner world

In Civilization and its Discontents, Sigmund Freud turned his psychoanalytic attention from the troubles of the individual to those of the world.

By John Mark Ockerbloom

https://everybodyslibraries.com/2025/12/16/a-psychoanalysts-desire-for-a-saner-world/

Freud at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/391

#books #psychoanalysis

Sigmund Freud in a portrait photograph by Ferdinand Schmutzer, 1926

The black and white image shows the elderly psychoanalyst in formal attire with his distinctive white beard, intense gaze, and contemplative expression, seated with a watch chain visible across his vest—an iconic representation of the founder of psychoanalysis.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud#/media/Datei:Sigmund_Freud_1926.jpg

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75d

So, putting the book down where you finish reading it until it organically evolves into a pile of books doesn't count as "arranging"? Rude! 😜😂

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

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

A meme with pictures of six diffrent bookshelves.

Caption: How do you arrange your books?

1. HEIGHT
2. PERSONAL SIGNIFICANCE
3. COLOR
4. STACKED
5. ALPHABETICAL
6. CHRONDLOGIAL

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50d

The ratio of words written by Kafka to words written about Kafka is estimated to be about 1:10,000,000. Is anything left to say?

by Jared Marcel Pollen

https://libertiesjournal.com/online-articles/kafkainc/

Kafka at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1735

#books #literature

First page of Kafka's Letter to His Father.

The document shows aged paper with a cream or beige tone, typical of early 20th-century stationery that has yellowed over time. The page appears to be standard letter-size paper with some visible wear, creases, and aging marks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Kafka#/media/File:De_Kafka_Brief_an_den_Vater_001.jpg

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50d

Killing Stella. By Marlen Haushofer. 1958. (Translated by Shaun Whiteside)

In 1950s Austria, you are a housewife with kids, when an acquaintance dumps her 19 year old daughter with you for a year; the daughter is innocuous but your household is so fragile, and you are managing your own internal storm of mundane familial relationships, that the friends’ daughter is caught in the invisible crossfire.

4 of 5 library cats 🐈 🐈 🐈 🐈

@bookstodon #reading #books #women #austria

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71d

Think you know Hans Christian Andersen? Four experts pick his weirdest fairy tales to read this Christmas

By Ane Grum-Schwensen, Holger Berg, Jacob Bøggild and Sarah Bienko Eriksen

https://theconversation.com/think-you-know-hans-christian-andersen-four-experts-pick-his-weirdest-fairy-tales-to-read-this-christmas-270725?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20December%2015%202025%20-%203618036937&utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20December%2015%202025%20-%203618036937+CID_56e9e58f2a4c2b638ff45c2b60003d5f&utm_source=campaign_monitor_uk&utm_term=Think%20you%20know%20Hans%20Christian%20Andersen%20Four%20experts%20pick%20his%20weirdest%20fairy%20tales%20to%20read%20this%20Christmas

Andersen at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/2298

#books #literature

The superstitious mother was an archetype, but Andersen’s depiction is shaped by memories of his own mother, Anne Marie Andersdatter. Illustration by Lorenz Frölich. The Hans Christian Andersen Centre.

This illustration by Lorenz Frölich depicts a scene from Hans Christian Andersen's writing, showing the archetype of the superstitious mother - a characterization influenced by Andersen's own mother, Anne Marie Andersdatter. The historical artwork is held at The Hans Christian Andersen Centre and represents the personal biographical elements that shaped Andersen's literary work.

https://hca.sdu.dk/tales/index.html

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1y

English poet and novelist Letitia Elizabeth Landon died #OTD in 1838.

Her first major breakthrough came with The Improvisatrice and thence she developed the metrical romance towards the Victorian ideal of the Victorian monologue, influencing fellow English writers such as Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robert Browning, Alfred Tennyson and Christina Rossetti.

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

Books about Letitia Elizabeth Landon at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/56166

#books #literature #poetry

Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802–1838); variation of the original painting by Daniel Maclise.

Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L.E.L.) was a renowned English poet and novelist of the early 19th century, known for her Romantic works. In the portrait by Daniel Maclise, she is depicted with a delicate and refined appearance, typical of Romantic portraiture of the time. The original shows her seated gracefully, with soft curls framing her face, gazing thoughtfully into the distance. Her attire consists of elegant 19th-century clothing, with rich textures and details.

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70d

From PEN America:

Top 52 Banned Books: The Most Banned Books in U.S. Schools

"The 52 most banned books of the last four school years include National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize winners, bestsellers, and beloved books by authors including Toni Morrison, Margaret Atwood, and Judy Blume."

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

https://pen.org/top-52-banned-books-since-2021/

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1y

#OTD in 1858.

The farce Our American Cousin by the English playwright Tom Taylor is first performed at Laura Keene's Theatre in New York City, with the American Joe Jefferson in the title rôle and the English actor Edward Askew Sothern as Lord Dundreary.

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

Our American Cousin at PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/3158

#books #literature #theatre

Photograph of Edward Askew Sothern as Lord Dundreary.

Unknown author - http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/chatterbox/2009/02/our_american_cousin_revisited.html

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50d

Dictionary of the Oldest Written Language–It Took 90 Years to Complete, and It’s Now Free Online

https://www.openculture.com/2026/01/dictionary-of-the-oldest-written-language-free-online.html#google_vignette

#books #literature #language

Reading glasses on top of an open dictionary

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50d

New Books I’m Looking Forward to This Year: https://lydiaschoch.com/wednesday-weekly-blogging-challenge-new-books-im-looking-forward-to-this-year/

#Books #TBR #Nonfiction #ScienceFiction #Fantasy #WednesdayWeeklyBloggingChallenge

@bookstodon

Book cover for Phases: a Memoir by Brandy Norwood. Image on cover is a close-up photo of her face as she wears a blue silk garment and gazes thoughtfully off into the distance.

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Book cover for Onward: Climate Fiction to Inspire Hope by Erin Entrada. Image on cover is a drawing of two birds sitting at the mouth of a cave whose entrance is shaped like an hourglass. Beyond the birds there are numerous tree branches and a calm body of water, perhaps a sea.

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1y

#OTD in 1892.

The first collection of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories from The Strand Magazine (June 1891–June 1892), The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, is published by George Newnes in London; it includes Doyle's favourite, "The Adventure of the Speckled Band", which was originally published in February.

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

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes at PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/1661

#books #literature

Illustration of the Sherlock Holmes short story The Speckled Band, which appeared in The Strand Magazine in February, 1892. Original caption was "WHICH OF YOU IS HOLMES?"

Sidney Paget (1860 - 1908)

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50d

Looking for a book to fall asleep to (selection inside)

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1y

"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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69d

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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49d

📚 We Are Legion (We Are Bob) (Bobiverse) by: Dennis E. Taylor

There are places to go, books to read, and movies to watch. So it's a little unfair when he gets himself killed crossing the street. Bob wakes up a century later to find that corpsicles have been declared to be without rights, and he is now the property of the state.

He has been uploaded into computer ...

https://bookblabla.com/book/we-are-legion-we-are-bob-bobiverse

@bookstodon

#books #reading #libraries

There are places to go, books to read, and movies to watch. So it's a little unfair when he gets himself killed crossing the street. Bob wakes up a century later to find that corpsicles have been declared to be without rights, and he is now the property of the state.

He has been uploaded into computer hardware and is slated to be the controlling AI in an interstellar probe looking for habitable planets.

The stakes are high: no less than the first claim to entire worlds. If he declines the honor, he'll be switched off, and they'll try again with someone else. If he accepts, he becomes a prime target. There are at least three other countries trying to get their own probes launched first, and they play dirty. The safest place for Bob is in space, heading away from Earth at top speed. Or so he thinks. Because the universe is full of nasties, and trespassers make them mad — very mad.

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69d

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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69d

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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49d

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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1y

#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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