Eggplant.place

274d

Why we love literary anniversaries

In 2026 there is another slew of big anniversaries, marking the tercentenary of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, and 200 years since the ever-relevant Mary Shelley’s The Last Man.

by Amy Wilcockson

https://theconversation.com/why-we-love-literary-anniversaries-273375

Some literary anniversaries at PG:
Gulliver’s Travels: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/829
The Last man: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/18247
Winnie-the-Pooh: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/67098
The murder of Roger Ackroyd: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69087

#books #literature

In the drawing, Eeyore is starting to munch on the thistle; Pooh is standing up with lots of thistle-burrs on his behind.

https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/67098/pg67098-images.html

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275d

📚 The Kaiju Preservation Society by: John Scalzi

When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls “an animal rights organization.” Tom’s team needs a last-minute grunt to h...

https://bookblabla.com/book/the-kaiju-preservation-society

@bookstodon

#books #reading #libraries #fiction #sciencefiction #aliencontact

When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls “an animal rights organization.” Tom’s team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on.

What Tom doesn't tell Jamie is that the animals his team cares for are not here on Earth. Not our Earth, at least. In an alternate dimension, massive dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju roam a warm, human-free world. They're the universe's largest and most dangerous panda and they're in trouble.

It's not just the Kaiju Preservation Society who have found their way to the alternate world. Others have, too. And their carelessness could cause millions back on our Earth to die.

The Kaiju Preservation Society is John Scalzi's first standalone adventure since the conclusion of his New York Times bestselling Interdependency trilogy.

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1y

#OTD in 1826.

Edgar Allan Poe is forced to renounce his studies at the University of Virginia when his foster parent John Allan refuses to pay for his tuition. In 1827, having enlisted in the United States Army under the assumed name of Edgar A. Perry, he published his first collection, Tamerlane and Other Poems, which was credited only to "a Bostonian".

Books by Edgar Allan Poe at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/481

#books #literature

Poe depicted in a modern retouched version of a daguerreotype

Mathew Benjamin Brady - U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

Scope and content: Drawing made from the “Ultima Thule” daguerreotype.

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1y

"We thought we believed in trial marriage. Nothing of the sort—trial separation! What marriage put asunder divorce has joined together."

#OTD in 1917.

Jesse Lynch Williams' Why Marry?, the first drama to win a Pulitzer Prize, opens at the Astor Theatre (New York).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_Marry%3F

Why Marry? at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35389

#books #literature #theatre #drama

Nat Goodwin, an unidentified actress and Leonard Mudie in the 1917 play Why Marry. Date stamped Sept. 28, 1918.

The play was a comedic exploration of the institution of marriage, written by Jesse Lynch Williams. The actors are likely dressed in early 20th-century attire, fitting the time period of the play's production. The image was stamped with the date September 28, 1918, indicating either the date of publication or archival cataloging. The scene captures a moment of dramatic or comedic interaction between the characters.

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275d

Heavy Is the Crown: George R.R. Martin on His Triumphs and Torments

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12d

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

Amelia and The Book of Newts are in conflict. She wants to explore her feelings. It wants to explore space, taking back the gift for mathematics and piloting it gave her. She’s left unable to plot a direct course home. She’s desperate to see the man she loves, lest she lose him forever and The Book is in her way…

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

(Left) The cover of The Next Horizon, by Owen Tyme.

The black silhouette of a man and woman embracing. They stand atop the dark side of a planet or moon in space, which has a slim crescent along the right side. The background is the stars of space, but some have been highlighted with a heart shape that surrounds the couple. Everything is in shades of blue.

(Right) Deep space, displaying the edge of an orange and blue gaseous cloud from a nebula, while most of the stars appear golden in color. Floating in space is a square, red leather book with the image of a newt stamped on the cover. Over the top of everything is the following text:

“You can back down and cooperate, right now, or Marta will hit you so hard, you should reach a tenth the speed of light…”

“No one will ever find you again, but even if someone does, there’s no way they’ll have the capacity to safely slow you down, before you’re gone to them!”

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

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275d

finished reading Becoming Mrs Mulberry 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑
by Jackie French.

In the aftermath of WW1, a woman strives to build a new life despite the sacrifices she has made. Eventful & enjoyable, if implausible, with an excellent cast of characters and strong Miss Fisher vibes.

#BookReview #Books #Bookstodon #HistoricFiction

@WildWoila @wildwoila@wyrms.de

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1y

#OTD in 1893.

Kate Chopin's short stories "Désirée's Baby" and "A Visit to Avoyelles" appear in Vogue magazine in the United States. It first appeared under the title "The Father of Désirée's Baby" in a section called "Character Studies".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A9sir%C3%A9e%27s_Baby

Désirée's Baby at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/160

#books #literature

"Désirée's Baby" by Kate Chopin as it appeared in Bayou Folk, 1894.

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1y

See Charles Dickens' Rare Manuscripts, Teenage Love Letters and a Copy of 'David Copperfield' That Traveled to Antarctica

To celebrate its 100th anniversary, the Charles Dickens Museum in London is staging an exhibition of historic objects that shed light on the writer’s life and legacy

By Julia Binswanger

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-charles-dickens-rare-manuscripts-teenage-love-letters-and-a-copy-of-david-copperfield-that-traveled-to-antarctica-180985811/

Books by Charles Dickens at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/37

#books #literature #manuscripts

Dickens at his desk, 1858

By George Herbert Watkins, born 1828.

Dickens is seated at a polished wooden desk, which is adorned with neatly arranged papers, a quill pen, and an inkwell, symbolizing his literary craft.

Dickens is dressed in mid-19th-century attire, including a dark frock coat and waistcoat, reflecting the fashion of his time.
His face bears a contemplative expression, with his gaze slightly diverted from the camera, suggesting introspection or creative thought.

His distinctive facial features, such as the sharp nose, expressive eyes, and thick beard, are rendered with remarkable clarity.

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1y

"Here is a golden Rule to begin with. Write legibly. The average temper of the human race would be perceptibly sweetened, if everybody obeyed this Rule! A great deal of the bad writing in the world comes simply from writing too quickly."

Eight or Nine Wise Words About Letter-Writing (1890)

~Lewis Carroll (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898)

Books by Lewis Carroll at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/7

#books #literature

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) by Oskar Gustav Rejlander (1813? - 1875) .

Lewis Carroll is portrayed in a slightly posed position, reflecting his reserved demeanor and intellectual persona.

His expression is thoughtful, exuding a quiet intensity that aligns with his identity as a mathematician, logician, and writer.

His attire includes a tailored coat, waistcoat, and cravat, which add to the air of formality and professionalism.

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275d

The shape of time

In the 19th century, the linear idea of time became dominant – with profound implications for how we experience the world

By Emily Thomas

https://aeon.co/essays/when-we-turned-time-into-a-line-we-reimagined-past-and-future?utm_source=Aeon+Newsletter&utm_campaign=6edcc3967b-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2026_01_10_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-4ef8a26106-72664972

Space and Time at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subject/7601

#books #literature #historyofscience

(Page 1) Adams' Synchronological Chart of Universal History. Through the Eye to the Mind. A Chronological chart of Ancient, Modern and Biblical History, Synchronized by Sebastian C. Adams. Third Edition and Twelfth-Thousand carefully and critically revised and brought down to 1878. Colby & Co.

The work depicted is part of "Adams' Synchronological Chart of Universal History" by Sebastian C. Adams, published in 1881 by Colby & Co. The chart is a massive timeline measuring 57 cm in width and 70 cm in height, featuring a sophisticated layout that visually represents 5,885 years of history, from 4004 B.C. to 1881 A.D. It's known for its complexity and effectiveness in synthesizing historical data into a cohesive visual narrative.

The chart is a lithograph, characterized by its detailed and colorful design. It integrates text, illustrations, and graphical lines to convey chronological information. The timeline is divided into segments that represent different eras, with intricate pathways tracing historical events and genealogies.

https://archive.org/details/dr_page-1-adams-synchronological-chart-of-universal-history-through-the-ey-6000002

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1y

Simone Weil: Voluntary Worker

The weeks Weil spent working in French factories helped to develop her ideas about the meaning and value of labor.

By: Emily Zarevich

https://daily.jstor.org/simone-weil-voluntary-worker/

#books #philosophy #labor

Photo of part of the khâgne class at the Lycée Henri-IV, 1926. Simone Weil in the center, future deputy René Château on her right.

Photographer not determined.

Collection of the Association pour l'étude de la pensée de Simone Weil.

Published in Le Lycée Henri-IV, Paris, Collectif, published by Gérard Klopp, Paris, 1996.

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275d

Joined this #IndieAuthor #Fantasy Promo to start 2026 right. 🥰

We got #Books with
More Heart ❤️‍🩹,
More Helpers 🤝
More answering the Call 📢

FANTASY WITH HEALERS
Browse over 40 titles!

https://books.bookfunnel.com/fantasyhealersjan26/yl0gg573fe

#BookSale #FantasyReads #Romantasy #DarkFantasy #Epicfantasy #SwordAndSorcery @bookstodon @fantasy

A red-haired woman in a velvet blue hooded robe looks over her shoulder at the viewer, her hand lifted as if to touch gently. Background of fuzzy blue sky with white and pink clouds. Fantasy with Healers in white, January 1-31st, 2026.

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184d

"#GabrielRockhill’s polemic against #WesternMarxism seeks to condemn a set of postwar left-wing intellectuals such as #HerbertMarcuse. Heavy on innuendo but light on evidence, the result is more like a show trial than a serious political indictment."

#RussellJacoby's withering review of #WhoPaidThePipersOfWesternMarxism

https://jacobin.com/2026/04/review-rockhill-western-marxism-cold-war/
#Marxism #FrankfurtSchool #NewLeft #snitchjacketing #hacks #campism #Rockhill #books @bookstodon

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226d

Massacre in the Clouds : An American Atrocity and the Erasure of History - Anna’s Archive

69bd1d894fae99fa73a4efea5ee8f59a

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1y

Virginia Woolf poems, written for niece and nephew, have been discovered

By Andrew Limbong

https://www.npr.org/2025/01/17/nx-s1-5260964/virginia-woolf-poems-niece-nephew

Books by Virginia Woolf at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/89

#books #literature

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274d

Judge orders Anna’s Archive to delete scraped data; no one thinks it will comply

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279d

Who could use a laugh?
Space Worms is here. Chaos is inevitable. Space Squad 51 is unstoppable. Get it now! https://buff.ly/N02v1f5
#Kindle #Kobo #Nook #Apple #GooglePlay
#books #sciencefiction #readers #WritingCommunity

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39d

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

Nicole’s brain is slowly being taken over by an ancient, magical artifact, a small fragment of a magic city. She seeks a cure, before the city can destroy her sanity and then eventually, take her life by replacing her mind. Racing against time, she gathers pieces of the city, hoping to find an answer among them.

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

(Left) The cover of Jigsaw City, by Owen Tyme.

The background is a futuristic city of sky scrapers covered in greenery, with water ways in place of some streets. The background has been divided by dark lines that cut it up, into a jigsaw puzzle.

The foreground is a hexagonal coin with an indentation in the center that follows the same shape, with raised lines forming a hexagram in the center, which has a smaller one turned at a ninety-degree angle inside the hexagon at the center of it. The smaller hexagram has another inside it, a pattern that repeats until the lines become so fine and indistinct, they blend together.

(Right) There's a pool of lava at the base of a rocky slope, with some sharp rocks sticking upward out of it and the following text over the top:

“I’m immune to heat and fire. I can easily carry and protect one of you…”

“Ye’d need to deliver an army to make a difference, not one person!”

“I *am* an army.”

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

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1y

#OTD in 1904.

J. M. Barrie's play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up premières at the Duke of York's Theatre in London with Nina Boucicault in the title rôle and Gerald du Maurier as Captain Hook and Mr Darling; du Maurier is the uncle of the Llewellyn Davies boys, who inspired the story.

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

Peter Pan at PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/16

#books #literature

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1y

#OTD in 1853.

Charles Dickens gives the first of his public readings of his own works, in Birmingham Town Hall (England) to the Industrial and Literary Institute, repeated three days later to an audience of working people and including an adaptation of A Christmas Carol; these are very successful and Dickens continues public readings until the year of his death.

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

Christmas Carol at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46

#books #literature

Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas. With Illustrations by John Leech. London: Chapman & Hall, 1843. First edition. Title page.

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278d

Oh, there's something like #portfolioDay ! Okay, so, I'm an #author, #podcast host and data privacy expert with a strong focus on #ITsecurity awareness. I write #nonfiction, crime and #scifi in German and English. The last two years I mainly spent with making #books and podcasts for others, like the lovely Eltville #WeinSchreibereien anthology and podcast.

https://www.zotzmann-koch.com/

Photo of a shelf of books that were either entirely written by me or have short stories or articles by me inside, sorted chronologically from left to right.

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1y

Hello Fediverse! (as we've learned :) )

Thank you for your warm welcome.

In our shop there is a display-window for which we pick a topic that is important to us. There we place all kinds of books beside each other. Poetry and prose, fiction and non-fiction, childrens' books and essays. There only has to be an association which connects them. We call this our "Wabe", our honey-comb.

We'll start posting on it next week. Are there and important hashtags we should use? #books #bookstodon

A photograph of the bookshop "Buchhandlung am Brühl" from the outside. You can see three large display-windows with books and handmade craft-art from the ore mountains.

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1y

"Nothing can come of nothing: speak again."

#OTD in 1838.

William Macready opens a performance of King Lear at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, London, restoring most of Shakespeare's original text, including the character of the Fool.

The restored character of the Fool was played by Priscilla Horton. And Helen Faucit's final appearance as Cordelia, dead in her father's arms, became one of the most iconic of Victorian images.

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

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1532

#books #theatre

Lear and Cordelia in Prison c1779 N 05189 B 53 Pen and watercolour 123×175 by William Blake.

It depicts a poignant scene from William Shakespeare’s King Lear, where the aging King Lear and his devoted daughter, Cordelia, are imprisoned together.

In this work, Blake captures the deep sorrow and tenderness between Lear and Cordelia. Lear, frail and distressed, appears to lean toward his daughter, who remains calm and resolute.

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30d

Blood meridian game I was wondering. What if we have a blood meridian game. What would you expect from it? And how was you going to adapt this masterpiece to a video game? Page · lemmy.world

I was wondering. What if we have a blood meridian game. What would you expect from it? And how was you going to adapt this masterpiece to a video game?

Blood meridian game

https://lemmy.world/post/52134560

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