Bogwitch

swordgirl:

Susan Cooper on Facebook:

These are the Signs my husband made for me for Christmas, more than 30 years ago.

Yes!

15 May 2012 • reblog: swordgirl • literature Susan Cooper The Dark Is Rising

For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

— from The Prophet
by Kahlil Gibran

17 April 2012 • poetry literature

wesleyhill:

So, basically, these are like tweets from medieval monks, right? (via Benjamin McNutt)

The last one is best. Literature is time travel.

13 April 2012 • reblog: wesleyhill • literature history

My dear Francesco, I have lately kept praising the age in which we live, because of the great, indeed divine gift of the new kind of writing which was recently brought to us from Germany. In fact, I saw a single man printing in a single month as much as could be written by hand by several persons in a year… . It was for this reason that I was led to hope that within a short time we should have such a large quantity of books that there wouldn’t be a single work which could not be procured because of lack of means or scarcity… . Yet — oh false and all too human thoughts — I see that things turned out quite differently from what I had hoped. Because now that anyone is free to print whatever they wish, they often disregard that which is best and instead write, merely for the sake of entertainment, what would best be forgotten, or, better still be erased from all books. And even when they write something worthwhile they twist it and corrupt it to the point where it would be much better to do without such books, rather than having a thousand copies spreading falsehoods over the whole world.

—

Niccolò Perotti, 1471 (as quoted by Robert Darnton in The Case for Books)

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.

(Source: ayjay)

29 March 2012 • reblog: ayjay • language literature technology

Things I’ve Been Enjoying Lately

Primeval
A British sci-fi series about, essentially, dinosaurs in London, which I think is cool & fun. A team of experts deals with anomalies (gates in time & space) and the prehistoric (as well as futuristic) creatures that travel through them to maraud around modern-day England. The dinosaurs are really well animated, and some of the characters are very winning.
Samorost 1, Samorost 2, & Machinarium
Beautiful, creative little point-and-click games made by an indie Czech design team called Amanita Design, recommended to me by Drew. I can’t wait for Botanicula!
Girl Genius
The story of Agatha Heterodyne, a “gaslamp fantasy” (read: steampunk) comic by husband & wife team Phil & Kaja Foglio, recommended to me several years ago, which I’m just now getting around to, and I’m so glad! I think I’m still getting used to the illustration style, but the story is so good! Complex, witty, exciting, funny, sympathetic, and there are those little touches of pure originality to the world they’ve created that make it golden for me.
Gregory Alan Isakov
…If you couldn’t tell, from several of my recent music posts. I heard “Stable Song” on Pandora & fell head over heels in love with it. Then a former student/current friend showed me a few more of his songs, and now I have both of his CDs (the actual physical rainbowy discs, because my motto is “Always opt for the hard copy.”) and I listen to them a lot. His lyrics are lyrical, his music is musical, wistful & pleasant, and that’s as Pitchforky as I get.
Lost on Planet China by J. Maarten Troost
At China orientation they told us, “If you’re not confused, you’re not paying attention.” This is a perfectly-titled book about that, a travelogue that explores the complex otherness that is the Middle Kingdom (yes, somewhat skimmingly, because China is BIG) while keeping a sense of humor, something I sincerely wish I’d been able to do better in my two years there.

12 March 2012 • list journal literature television webcomic music game

oldbookillustrations:

Siegfried leaves Brünnhilde in search of adventure.

Arthur Rackham, from Siegfried & The twilight of the gods, by Richard Wagner, London, 1911.

(Source: archive.org)

11 March 2012 • reblog: oldbookillustrations • Arthur Rackham Norse art horse literature women art nouveau

vasqaitt:

(via If Dr.Seuss Wrote Star Wars - Imgur)

(sic)

10 March 2012 • reblog: vasqaitt • humor Dr. Seuss Star Wars literature film sci-fi

Why then should anyone bother to make the effort [of reading Karl Barth]?

Perhaps the best answer is that those readers who have managed to get past the initial difficulties find that they are in the midst of something truly magnificent. Barth’s theology in the Church Dogmatics could be compared to the cathedral at Chartres. Once one’s eyes get used to the light, one discovers that one is inside an awesome and many-splendored structure, soaring with vaulted arches, arrayed with intricate passage-ways, adorned with exquisite statuary, and crowned above all by rose windows dancing with fire. The problem, then, is for one’s eyes to get used to the light. But once they do, no other architecture, no other theology, is likely to be quite the same. Back in the light of day, some contemporary theologies will begin to look more like lecture halls than cathedrals, others will stand out as respectable but limited sanctuaries, still others perhaps as monuments to suburban kitsch. There will of course be other cathedrals to visit, but they will have been constructed long ago. One effect of getting to know the cathedral of Barth’s theology is that it can help one appreciate the older cathedrals and make one want to spend time in them, too. But none of this will happen if one leaves the cathedral before one’s eyes get used to the light.

—

George Hunsinger, How to Read Karl Barth (via wesleyhill)

A friend gave me some Barth for my birthday. I’m currently preparing a clean space in my mind for it, but this is encouraging, and beautiful.

10 March 2012 • reblog: wesleyhill • theology literature metaphor