Guest Post by Becky R.: JUDGING A COVER BY ITS MAN-FLESH

Our last guest post before the holidays is from Becky at One Literature Nut! A few weeks ago Becky casually made an observation about romance novel covers that I thought was pretty brilliant, and I begged asked her to write a post about it. I'll let her tell you about her theory and you can judge for yourselves!


A couple of months ago, my good friend Tasha at Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Books posted a great review of the romance novel Instant Attraction by Jill Shalvis. Having just come off a couple of quick contemporary romances myself, I thought it was interesting that the hero in the novel was a wounded soul. Here’s why that was interesting—the cover seemed to predict where we were headed. If our heroes could speak, here’s what I anticipate they might reveal to us:

Fully-Clothed Hero, Up Close:


"Hi. I’m a wounded soul. I’ve probably been through a terrible accident, been ditched by a woman, been a witness of a crime, or been emotionally shut down for years. Basically, someone close to me lets the girl know, and it melts her grown-girl, independent heart and allows her to wiggle into my world (take that as you will). I’m the quintessential softie that knows how to be a man’s man, but prefers to be a romantic bard at heart."

Partially-Clothed Hero, Up Close:


"I’m a bit trickier. Showing some man-flesh might just be showing my rugged, manly side to the world, but that’s not all to me. I still have a secret that keeps me aloof  and yet strangely appealing to women. Even though I might act like a jerk, I’m probably profanely dedicated to my woman (to the point of murder), and once I reveal that gut-jerking wound, the bond with my woman is eternal. Don’t mess with me!"

Fully-Clothed Hero with Fully or Partially-Clothed Heroine:


"Listen, girl. I’m not the type to 'need' to chase you. I can seem intimidating in my power suit or native dress, to the point of being unapproachable, but women throw themselves at me every day. I probably 'get around' quite a bit—just enough to make YOU think I’m the ultimate bad boy that you need to tame. I like to think that you don’t get me, and I’ll hold out to the very last second to let you know what I think. In fact, you better have some serious take charge brutishness of your own or powerful boardroom woman-power to catch my attention. No worries. Once I get that we both wear the 'pants' (so to say), I’ll be your bad boy that is secretly your good guy that you managed to tame."

Partially-Clothed Hero with Fully or Partially-Clothed Heroine:


"Nowadays, I don’t like to jerk a girl to my chest just to watch her heaving bosoms rage or flowing hair escape into the moonlight. Nope. Now I like to grab a girl to me to look her in the eyes to show her she has underestimated or misunderstood me on so many levels. Yes, I might look ruthless in my bare chest and jeans or ripped open shirt and kilt, but I’m a man-beast with some serious rage over some past wrong. Oh, and don’t call me a man-whore, because it’s probably pretty likely that I’m nowhere near that title—people just think I am. Unlock my wound, show me some nurturing, and my eyes (ahem, I mean hot bod) will be yours forever."


Of course we have some funny exceptions to these general, four heroes, but when you really take a look at the romance novels you’ve read recently, you might see some of these traits playing out. Gone is Fabio with his long hair, open shirt, and half-dressed vixen. Today we’re seeing more modern themes, paranormal characters, and strong female leads to match their men. It is kind of interesting though to see covers start to reveal even more about those leading men!

Which male lead is your favorite, and have you seen any covers to match their description?



Thank you so much, Becky! I love the phrase, 'unlock my wound,' someone should definitely put that on a cover! :)
You can find out more about Becky on her Twitter page as well as her blog.

BBAW: Blogging Buddies

When I think of the book blogging community, the first people I think of are my blogging buddies. I have a lot of friends in the blogging community, those whom I admire, whose blogs I love to read, who always have great book recommendations, and whom I love to chat with on twitter--too many to list in a single post. But blogging buddies are special (so very special :). I know whenever I need a sounding board for post ideas, critical feedback, or (more often than not) someone to listen when the RW or even blogging starts getting to me, I can turn to them. I first heard about the concept of a blogging buddy during Bloggiesta, soon after I started this blog, and I've had the same blogging buddies since. They deserve a shout-out and cyber hugs, and RL chocolate and flowers as well, because they really do support me and help to make this blog what it is today (the good parts, anyway--the bad parts are all on me).



Colette from A Buckeye Girl Reads

Colette and I started our blogs around the same time, but we "knew" one another before from our personal blogs on Xanga.  I remember I was super-intimidated by her at first because her posts were so smart. Colette's very considerate and she's someone I know I can turn to for support or feedback, or just to bitch about something, and she's always helping me in my never-ending quest to find another job.



Becky from One Literature Nut

I'm not sure how exactly I started following Becky's blog, but it was right around the time I started book blogging. She reads everything and I love how her posts are a mix of literary analysis and pure enjoyment. Becky is the one who got me into Austen adaptations--how did that happen? She's pretty tricksy. Anyway, Becky's been more than patient with me over the past year listening to me whine talk about school, and has helped me edit some of my posts (including a few I submitted to BBAW for judging this year).

Although we've never met IRL, I think of both these women as friends and would like to take a moment to say thank you and hearts to them for being there for me this past year. ♥♥♥

Don't have a blogging buddy? Ask someone! It's worth it and it's part of what makes book blogging so great.

Suggestions for Reading Classics

 Image by Sister72

 

Guest posting today is one of my blogging buddies, MJMBecky from One Literature Nut.  Since it's Classics Month, Becky is going to give me everyone tips on how to get through those classic books we want to read.  Becky is an English teacher, has an MA in English Lit, and has read way more classic novels than I ever hope to, so she knows of what she speaks.  And let's face it, everyone could use some help getting through those books that we know are worth the effort but aren't exactly easy reading.

Welcome, Becky!

Many people struggle with reading classic novels, whether it’s because the cultures they represent are out of date and foreign, the language is old fashioned and antiquated, or because the storylines are slow moving with too many details of nature.  All of these are valid reasons for not really enjoying a celebrated classic, and can take a little practice to get used to (or overlook…ha, ha) so that the book seems more approachable.

I don’t know that I have any rule on how to dive into a classic, but will say that I do have a few suggestions that I have used, and have recommended to my students:

• Choose the classic wisely.  Ask someone who knows you well, or even a local librarian, what they think you might enjoy, based on your current interests.
• Ask a friend to read it with you, and give each other goals to reach so that you keep it moving, and have things to discuss together.  A lot of times, you’ll feel as though you have to talk to someone about these novels, so having someone along for the ride can be a great idea.
• Rather than reading a novel, try a classic play.  There are loads of great plays out there, and they are so fun to read!  Try a George Bernhard Shaw play, or something by Oscar Wilde.  You’ll be surprised how many plays are real comedies, with great happy endings just around the corner!
• Look for the novel on film.  Yes, you heard me right.  Sometimes those fabulous BBC films and Masterpiece Theater productions can save your life!  About ten years ago I tried to get through Doctor Zhivago.  I was doing all right until I hit a complicated scene that involved all sorts of military groups, and politics that had me completely lost.  They had me so confused, in fact, that I lost the storyline as well.  I decided to watch the film, and soon figured out what was going on, and was back on track!
• Look at SparkNotes.  Yep.  Once again, I know this might seem like a shortcut or controversial, but chapter summaries published for many novels are quite good.  If you find that you just don’t get the last 20 pages you read, try reading a summary or two to get you back on track.  Besides, it’s very much like going to class and listening to the discussions and explanations made by a professor or teacher that then allow you to feel like you really get it again.  SparkNotes can serve a similar experience when you’re reading on your own.
• Remove distractions and maybe even grab a pen.  Let’s face it.  Classics can command more of our attention than a more contemporary piece of fiction. I know when I’m reading a classic, I just can’t have the TV on in the background!
• Look up background information on the time period and author.  As we begin a new novel with a classroom of students, we often introduce the time period and author as a way of helping them get their minds around what they’re going to be reading. 
• Read it serially.  What I mean here is that you should read it the way many authors actually used to present them, a couple of chapters at a time.  Yes, this can take you months to finish, but can ease you into a daunting novel.  Charles Dickens very famously penned many of his novels in this fashion, only releasing a chunk of pages or chapters at a time.  Look at it as your chance to read a book like you would watch a weekly TV show!
• Find a great graphic novel version of your classic, and read it as or after you’ve read your full version.

I hope that some of these ideas help!  Honestly, if you enjoy reading, any aversion you feel to reading classics might just boil down to the fact that you hated having a teacher (such as myself) push you into one as an assignment.  Right?  Well, venture out on your own and see what’s out there, and give a classic another try!

An Equal Opportunity Book Lover

Image created by austinevan

Mjmbecky at One Literature Nut asked a great question on her blog yesterday about what we like to read:

The other day on Twitter, I sat in on a great conversation about what books people associate us with. What types of books do we choose, and why? Have you ever found yourself liking an author or genre for awhile, and then losing interest or simply burning out? Are there books that you just don't enjoy and never read? Have you ever tried something you don't usually like and found you actually enjoyed the experience?

Ever since I can remember, I've loved reading about romance.  So I'm definitely partial to romances, although I do go through periods when I burn out on them and don't read them for a while.  Even when I'm not reading romances, though, I'm always interested in the romantic part of a book first and foremost (this is why I read way too many romances--they're like IVs for romance-addicted veins).  If there isn't any romance?  Well, then it better be the greatest damn book ever, because otherwise I'm *yawn!*  Err... what?

Aside from romance, though, I like to read almost any genre except for:

• Westerns (no particular reason, I just never got into them)
• Chick lit (first and foremost, it's usually sold in trade paperback format, and that's too expensive for me.  Also, with a lot of chick lit books I've read--admittedly not that many--I felt like they were episodic and didn't have a strong plot and storyline.  Add that to very little romance and no HEAs and it's not happening for me)
• Erotica (pretty much ditto the same reasons as chick lit)

Other than that, though, I love genre!  I'm a genre girl all the way.  It's not that I think literary fiction is bad, I just have absolutely zero interest in reading it.  I love formulas and seeing how writers play with the rules of a genre and readers' expectations (that's not just limited to books, btw--I also love genre paintings, and I'm a huge J.M.W. Turner fan (the best genre painter EVER, imo)).

Another thing I've been partial to in my reading since I started (as in literally the first book I read on my own) is the paranormal.  Nearly every book I went crazy over as a kid had some supernatural element in it--vampires, ghosts, witches, you name it.  Unfortunately, now that the paranormal has become über-popular, I'm burned out on it.  I have tons of paranormal romances and urban fantasy books in my TBR pile right now, and no desire to read them whatsoever.  Maybe part of the attraction of those books was that it was a very, very niche market back in the day.  Or maybe I've just read way too many.  Either way, it's sad.

Someone recently called me a very eclectic reader, and looking back on all the books I read, I suppose I am.  But I don't really consider myself one at all.  Maybe because no matter what I'm reading, I'm basically looking for the same thing:  romance, a great story, characters to connect with, and above all a book that can provide an escape from reality.  I'm an equal-opportunity book lover as long as said books provide that.


How about you--what do you like to read?

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Book Recs & Friends

Today's question for BBAW is, "Can you believe it's already day 4 of BBAW?"  Nooooooo, I can't.  Time goes by so fast!  *sniff*  Oh, and also they want to know what the first book was that I read just because a book blogger recommended it to me.

Well, this is kind of complicated answer (not really, but as usual I'm going to make it that way).  The first book I ever read because a blogger recommended it was Odd Thomas.  It was recommended by the lovely and beautiful Amethyst, who is also my adopted mom.  She's not really a book blogger (yet--mwahahaha), and I'm not entirely sure why or how she recommended it to me, but I read it and I loved it!



The second book I read because a blogger recommended it was In Sheep's Clothing by Susan May Warren.  It's one of Ruth's favorite books.  Now, Ruth is a book blogger--but she wasn't at the time she recommended it to me.  I did really enjoy the book and the yummy Vicktor, and the fabulous Russian setting.

With both of these books, I was definitely stepping outside my comfort zone.  I tend to avoid both Christian fiction and horror novels--but because of Amethyst's and Ruth's recommendations, I tried both and really enjoyed them!



If you want to get all technical about it, the first book I read because a book blogger recommended it was Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy:  Two Shall Become One by Sharon Lathan.  It was recommended by MJMBecky at One Literature Nut on Twitter!  Again, I wasn't too sure about this book, since I'd never read a Jane Austen adaptation before, and I wasn't certain I wanted to read about Darcy and Lizzie gettin' it on.  But it turned out to be an absolutely lovely and romantic book that I really enjoyed.



Aha, but none of those books were ones I actually bought.  Because of my depressing financial situation, I got them all from the library.  The only book I've bought based on a book blogger's recommendation is The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker--mainly because of Katiebab's killer review of it on Babbling About Books, and More.  Then Smexy Books said the hero was like Alan Rickman and, well, I really HAD to buy it after that.  I mean, Alan Rickman's a pretty big selling point.  I haven't read it yet, but I'm looking forward to it.


And now for the philosophical portion of my day....

The main thing I've found with book recommendations is that it really seems to cement friendships between people when you read a book recommended by a blogger, especially when said book is something you would never consider picking up if he or she hadn't mentioned it.  I think this is because when you read a book based solely on a recommendation, you're not only taking a chance on the book, but on the person who rec'd it as well--on whether she (or he) has good taste, and has paid enough attention to the kinds of books you like, to make a good recommendation.  So far, I've been rewarded on both fronts and have met both wonderful people and wonderful books by taking a chance and stepping outside my comfort zone. 

Have you ever read a book you normally wouldn't just because a friend recommended it?

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R&R Challenge: The Monkey King by Wu Cheng-En

The Rejuvenate and Renew Reading Challenge is hosted by Becky at One Literature Nut.  The challenge is to read three non-fiction books this summer!  Quite a challenge for me, but I gave it a go.  First I read Symbol and Magic in Egyptian Art by Richard Wilkinson; and I started, but wasn't able to finish, Reading Egyptian Art (also by Wilkinson). 

A few weeks ago, I read on writer Jeff Markowitz's blog that his first novel was about Buddhism.  Since I've been wanting to read more about Buddhism for a while now, I asked him if he could recommend any books on the subject.  Jeff's recommendation surprised me:  Monkey King by Wu Cheng-En.  Jeff assured me it was the best introduction to the subject of Buddhism he could think of.



The Monkey King tells the story of a Buddhist monk named Hsuan Tsang who walked from China to India and back again to bring Buddhist scriptures to his country.  But you'll forget all about that when you read it:  beautifully illustrated, it's a fable and adventure story whose protagonist is a monkey made out of stone.  The monkey leads all the other monkeys into a cave behind a waterfall, where they like to sleep; and because of his bravery, they make him their king.

As the monkey ages, however, he starts to get nervous about dying.  He doesn't want to leave the earth where he's having so much fun (can you say mid-life crisis?).  Someone tells him that a person can achieve immortality through the study of Buddhism; so he travels to the Cave of the Slanting Moon and Three Stars and devotes himself humbly to religious study.  His teacher releases him after many years, asking only that the Monkey King not use his newfound abilities to cause trouble.  Clearly this teacher knows NOTHING about monkeys, because the first thing the Monkey King does when he gets home is start to build an army.

The Monkey King is a very quick, enjoyable read, and it can definitely be read purely for pleasure.  But it also contains many layers of deeper historical and religious significance.  Since I was reading it as an introduction to Buddhism, here is what I learned:

• Buddhism is the shizzle:  You can become immortal and gain mad fighting skillz.  Awesome.
  
• Reality is all in the mind:  The Monkey King can bend reality and objects to his will, changing the size of the weapons, along with the size and number of himself.  He's definitely not constricted by reality as normal people experience it, and uses its bendable nature--along with his cleverness--to beat his foes.
  
• The Buddha is inescapable:  The only person the Monkey isn't able to defeat or trick is Buddha himself, whom the Monkey King meets.  He can somersault around the world, but he can't jump out of the Buddha's hand.
  
• Buddhism challenges authority:  The Monkey King mostly uses his powers to unseat, trick, and defeat powerful kings; which seems to suggest Buddhism was something of a subversive religion when it came to China.

Whether you're interested in Buddhism or not, I definitely recommend The Monkey King.  It's a fun story, and it's free to read online.

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Fall into Romance

Image by Clearly Ambiguous

With the changing of the seasons, a lot of people change their reading habits. Several people have blogged about this before, like MJMBecky from One Literature Nut and Amy from My Friend Amy. Going back to school means you have a whole different set of books to read, and a change in pace at work or in school often affects the time people can devote to reading.

I don't really change my reading habits that much based on the seasons except for one thing--I start to read a lot more romance. I guess I just need the warm fuzzies or something. Here are a few romances I'm really excited to read this fall:



Tempt Me at Twilight by Lisa Kleypas

Book 300 in the Hathaway series. Haha, not really--it's not that bad yet. But it's getting there. Kleypas is one of my favorite writers, so I'm excited about this new book. I wish there was going to be another Rom hero in it, though.



Written on Your Skin by Meredith Duran

Duran might be my new favorite romance writer. After Bound By Your Touch, I'm very excited to read this book, which features James' best friend, Phin.



With Seduction in Mind by Laura Lee Guhrke

Okay, seriously, this is the crappiest cover I've seen in a while. Even by romance novel standards it's pretty bad. Now if there was a guy on cover....

Anywhooo, LLG (don't ask me to type her name because I'm constantly misspelling it) is another one of my favorite writers and has written two of my favoritest romance novels evarrr, so I'm certifiably excited about this book. What is it about? I haz no idea. It doth not matter, my lovelies--I am buying it.



Storm of Visions: The Chosen Ones by Christina Dodd

I really liked Dodd's first paranormal series, so the new one should be just as good (should be). The last series was about a group of men who shifted into animals because of a deal with the devil. This one appears to be about people with extrasensory perception.



The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber

I first heard about this book from Katiebabs at Babling About Books & More, and it sounded totally cool. It's a Victorian Gothic ghost story and romance. So I gave in and bought it. I think it's going to be a great book to read during the fall--I mean, who doesn't love Victorian Gothic ghost stories with romance, right? And according to the lovely Mandi at Smexy Books, the hero is modeled off of Alan Rickman! Rawrrrrrrr.



What books are you looking forward to reading this fall?

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Book Blogger Appreciation Week Meme

1)  What has been one of the highlights of blogging for you?

Recommending a book I love to someone else and having them love it, too.  That's always great--spreadin' the love.  Also the opportunity to talk to authors who write the books I love.  And (it should go without saying) I love the wonderful book blogging community that makes writing and talking about books so much fun.

2)  What blogger has helped you out with your blog by answering questions, linking to you, or inspiring you?

There have been so many!  Rebecca from Lost In Books definitely inspired me to set up my Art History Challenge, and mjmbecky from One Literature Nut has also convinced me to join several challenges and helped me out with my blog on occassion.  As for inspiration, Bookish Ruth was the first blog I visited where I thought, "Hmm, it might be fun to have a blog just for books and whatnot." ^_^

3)  What one question do you have about BBAW that someone who participated last year could answer?

On a scale of one to a zillion, how much fun is it?

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Rejuvenate & Renew Reading Challenge: Reading Egyptian Art

Reading Egyptian Art by Richard H. Wilkinson

I want to start a Richard H. Wilkinson fan club.

Last month I did a review of Wilkinson's Symbol & Magic in Egyptian Art. If you read that review, you might remember that my favorite part of that book was when Wilkinson discussed hieroglyphs and how they really are art--or rather, Egyptian Art is actually just hieroglyphs. An Ancient Egyptian statue is just a giant hieroglyph, according to Wilkinson.

Since I was intrigued by that part of book, I decided to order Reading Egyptian Art, also by Wilkinson, at my library. This book is basically all about Egyptian hieroglyphs and how they are reflected in Ancient Egyptian Art. The author takes each glyph and spends about a page each showing how the glyph is reflected in painting and sculpture.

As far as I am concerned, this book is full of awesome. I really, really want to buy it. The way Egyptian hieroglyphs match up to other Egyptian art is truly amazing and thought-provoking.

That being said, I wouldn't recommend it for a casual reader. The book is very much set up as a reference work, and isn't generally meant to be read cover-to-cover, I think. I would recommend this book for anyone interested in Egyptian hieroglyphs, or someone who has a fair amount of familiarity with Egyptian Art already.



I read this book as part of mjmbecky's Rejuvenate and Renew Reading Challenge, although I don't think it really counts, since I didn't finish it (had to return it to the library). However, I did enjoy this book and felt it deserved a post. Basically, the idea of art being a language--literally--fascinates me, and I hope I'll be able to find more writing on this topic.

Mr. & Mrs. Darcy: Two Become One

Mr. & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One by Sharon Lathan

Becky at One Literature Nut recommended this book to me (see her review here), and I'm really glad she did.  It is full of warm fuzzies.  Reading it is like sitting in field with hopping bunnies, stuffing your face with chocolate, and cuddling a puppy. 

I read a quote from one of Jane Austen's contemporaries once about Pride & Prejudice.  Actually, it was a letter where the writer was telling her sister about the book.  It went something along the lines of, "It was a really good book, but the ending sucked.  But then what else can you expect."  I do have to agree with her that the ending of P&P does kind of suck and leaves a lot of open ends.  Fortunately, this leads the field open for other writers to take up where Austen left off and to give us the "ending" they envision for romance's most beloved couple.

Mr. & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy starts on Lizzie's and Darcy's wedding day.  Although the language seems a bit pedantic at first, it simply takes some getting used to.  I really loved the beginning of this book because it adds to the characters of Lizzie and Darcy and fills in things from their personal history that I had wondered about from the original book.  Then they get to Pemberly, and pretty much have sex all over the place for the rest of the novel. :D

A reviewer on Goodreads acused this book of being "basically porn."  I doubt that reviewer has ever read porn, or even erotica for that matter, because this isn't it.  The sex isn't pornographic (or even graphic), but is very sweet and an important part of Darcy and Lizzie's relationship. 

One thing this book does suffer from, though, is a lack of conflict.  While I loved the beginning and seeing how everything was working out at Pemberly for Lizzie and Darcy, the middle started to drag a bit.  Lizzie's life is way too perfect, even if this is a total fantasy (and that's what it is), and there are no major conflicts or problems to drive the development of the characters or make us discover anything new about them.  Around page 200, Lizzie and Darcy start fighting again, so that's fun; but Lizzie always comes off looking petty and immature, and Darcy is of course always nobly suffering.  I know this book takes place in Regency England, but Darcy doesn't have to be right all the freaking time.  That's annoying, and a tad anarchonistic--as if the book had been written by a '50s housewife. 

So the novel evened out to a good read for me--the beginning was fantastic, the middle got a bit boring, the ending was a bit better.  I'm still not sure if I'm sold on P&P retellings (do they ever live up to the original?), but I did enjoy reading this one.  Recommended for hopeless romantics.



I read this book as part of the Everything Austen Challenge hosted by Stephanie.  One Austen thing down, five more to go!

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The Sunday Salon

I didn't get much reading done this week, what with job interviews and trying to throw together a presentation about Counter-Reformation art in a day.  I did finally finish Bound by Your Touch by Meredith Duran on Monday night.  It was a very good book that I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes historical romances (review forthcoming).  Then I started Kill the Dead by Tanith Lee.  I'm reading this book for the Take a Chance Challenge and it was due at the library about two days ago. =/  The guy who is in charge of Interlibrary Loans is going to kill me.  Did I mention he used to be my Earth Sciences teacher in high school?  Oh, yeah, and he also is a member at the bank my mom works at, and the last time I was late returning a book, he told my mom about it! o.O On the plus side, though, I always get the books order.

I don't know why, but it's been really difficult for me to focus on reading these past two weeks (hence the loooooong time it took to read Bound By Your Touch, even though it was a good book).  Maybe the heat is just getting to me and I can't concentrate.  Nevertheless, I still acquired my usual pile o' books the past two weeks.  I even bought some books (the first time I've bought a book since March--very exciting!).

Here's what I bought:

• Don't Tempt Me by Loretta Chase
• My Wicked Marquess by Gaelen Foley
• Bending the Rules by Susan Andersen
• What Happens in London by Julia Quinn
• Bound by Your Touch by Meredith Duran

Here are the books I got at the library:

• The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson (heard about it at I'm Lost in Books)
  
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (recommended by just about everybody)

I also read "The Birds" by Daphne du Maurier for Summer of Hitchcock (review of both story and movie forthcoming).  And I won a contest at One Literature Nut.  Yay, me! ^_^

So hopefully this next week will see me out of the summer doldrums and I'll be able to get some serious reading done.  And hopefully I'll finished Kill the Dead soon, because I'm determined to do so before I return it.  Even if I risk the wrath of the librarians. :P

What did you read this week?

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What's On My Desk Wednesday

Hey, look everyone!  I'm doing a weekly meme and it's actually on the day it's supposed to be on!  Hooray!



My new blogging buddy, (^_^) mjmbecky at One Literature Nut, tagged me for What's on Your Desk Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sassy Brit at Alternative Read.  Here are the rules:

Here's what you do:

   1. Grab a camera and take a photo of your desk! Or anywhere you stack your books/TBR pile. And no tidying!
   2. Add this photo to your blog.
   3. Tag at least 5 people!
   4. Come back here and leave a link back to your photo in the comments section.

That's it. However, for those without digital cameras or blogs of your own, you can do this instead: (or both if you are keen!)

   1. List at least 5 BOOKISH things on your desk (I'm thinking your TBR pile or books you haven't shelved...)
   2. List at least 5 NON BOOK things. (I'm thinking some of some of the more unusual items on your desk/table?)
   3. Tag at least 5 people to do the same.
   4. Come back and leave your link, so we can come and visit your blog. Or add your answers in the comments.

Feel free to grab the above picture to place on your blog - as a way of showing you are participating, and of course to spread the word! Have fun!

So here is my desk, such as it is:



Ack, it's a mess!  You can tell I heart the post-it notes.

Five book-related things on my desk are two books, a Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix window-cling, a list of books that are being released that I need to buy, organized by month; a few bookmarks, and a bookplate sticker signed by Yasmine Galenorn that my mom gave me. 

Five non-book related things are a music box with kittens that dance in a basket when you wind it; essential oils I bought as part of a project inspired by Broom_Service (I was going to try to mix them to create an aromatherapy mist to help my students concentrate in class, but then I started getting concerned one of them would have an allergy to it or something); a business card for a puppet- and mask-maker in Venice, some money (so that's where I put that!), and a letter that I started but didn't finish (yet!--I swear I will finish it, Vicki).

So now it's my turn to tag five people.  Here they are:

• Collette at Loves Romances
• Ruth at Booktalk & More
• Shannan at ShannanLovesBooks
  
• Amy at Haiku Amy
  
• Rebecca at Lost In Books

The reason why I chose these five people in particular is because I know they all started blogging about books (exclusively at least) around the same time I did--which is to say, only a few months ago.  But if you like this meme and you want to do it, you should consider yourself tagged!  I look forward to seeing all of your desks.

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Rejuvenate and Renew Reading Challenge

I joined mjmbecky's from One Literature Nut Rejuvenate and Renew Reading Challenge a few weeks ago.  Here are the details of the challenge:

Here's the challenge:

• Choose any three non-fiction books that deal with a topic you've wanted to learn more about. This could be money & finance, home decorating, budget tips, weight loss, nutrition, beauty & fashion, writing, religion, philosophy, literary theory, or even a biography. (You get the picture.) Basically, take three how to or self help books that you've been wanting to read, and join in!
• Read these books between June 1st and September 1st.
  
• Sign up by posting a simple comment below. (I didn't want to make things too complicated for this first challenge...for myself, or for anyone else!)
  
• Take the button created above and post in your own blog, with a link back here so that we can all see what everyone is reading.
• Review your books, and once a week I'll put up a post that you can link your own post/review.
  
• Enjoy finding out more about what everyone else is learning this summer!

I'm happy to report that I completed my first book in the challenge last night!  I chose to read Symbol & Magic in Egyptian Art by Richard H. Wilkinson.



This book was recommend to me by Harmony0stars, and it was a great introductory book into the symbolism that's prevalent in Ancient Egyptian Art.

All of Egyptian art is functional--meaning it's never simply decorative.  All statues, paintings, and objects that we know from the art of the Egyptians served a spiritual and religious function.  It also likely had layers upon layers of symbolic meaning.  I'm not going to go into the specifics of how the symbols interact with each other too much, because that would be like rewriting the book (something I definitely don't want to do), but the types of symbols Wilkinson covers are:

• Form--self-explanatory.  What a thing is can take on symbolic meaning--for example, a mirror is not functional as just a mirror, but symbolic of Re Horakhty (god of the sun).
• Size--This essentially refers to hieratic scaling (where the most important people in the image are the largest and the least important are the smallest).  Hieratic scaling is not symbolic; however, in certain instances in Egyptian art, hieratic scaling can take on symbolic overtones.  Monumental statues, like the one of Ramses that inspired "Ozymandias," were likely made so big because things in the afterlife were supposed to be huge.
• Location--To the Egyptians, their land was literally the center of the universe.  The Nile reflected the river in the heavens (or the Milky Way), and the earth itself consisted of a series of worlds or concentric rings (Dante's Inferno, anyone?), with Egypt literally in the middle.  The location of temples and tombs often reflect this world view in a relative or absolute way.
• Materials--Certain materials contain certain symbolic connotations; kind of straight-forward.
• Color--Ditto; certain colors symbolize certain things.  One of the interesting points in this chapter is that colors were often interchangeable--green and black, for example, since black could be the earth and green symbolized fecundity.  Also, nearly all hieroglyphs written in an official capacity were color-coded to give added meaning to what was being written.
• Numbers--Not necessarily numerology, just a general symbolism of numbers that Egyptians thought were auspicious.
• Hieroglyphs--This was by far my favorite chapter in the book.  Hieroglyphs also had symbolic meaning and were pretty much analogous to painting or sculpture.  In fact, Champollion (guy who translated the Rosetta Stone) said "a statue is often 'in reality... only a single glyph, a veritable character of written script.'" (151)  The Egyptians thought the glyphs that decorated their temples came alive and had their own personality and symbolic meaning.  They not only read them phonetically, like we read our script, but ideographically, as a rebus, and as visual analogies and metaphors.  In comparison, our modern script seems pretty lame.
• Actions--Many of the actions pharaohs and others take part in on their tomb walls have symbolic meaning.  The jubilee race, for example, is something nearly every single pharaoh is shown taking part in.  The race was the pharaoh's symbolic claiming of the land of Egypt. 
• Gestures--Just like us (waving hello, shaking hands, flipping someone off), the Ancient Egyptians used symbolic gestures in everyday life which appear on their tombs.  This seems like an truly fascinating topic, but Wilkinson doesn't spend enough time on it, in my opinion.

So, as you can see, symbolism in Egyptian art is a very complex subject, which Wilkinson condenses into an admirably short and readable text.  I wouldn't say this is a good book for people who don't know anything about Egyptian Art to start with--I still think Egyptian Art by Jaromir Malek is the best introduction to the subject that I've come across--but if you do know the basics about it and are interested in the symbols of Egyptian Art, this is definitely a book I would recommend.  In fact, I would consider reading more of Wilkinson's books in the future.

So that's it for my first book in the Rejuvenate and Renew Challenge.  There are still two more to go!  I think I'm going to tackle Buddhism next with a book Rebecca at I'm Lost in Books sent me.  I just want to say thank you to mjmbecky for hosting this challenge and giving me an incentive to read the nonfiction books I wanted to this summer!  I am so happy I read Symbol & Magic in Egyptian Art, and if it hadn't been for this challenge, it would still be sitting in my TBR stack.  So thank you, mjmbecky!

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