A lovely resource i've found via Leighton Cooke - From Old Books : here you can find scanned images, engravings and pictures from old books.
"Remains of Ruined Castles, Deserted Abbeys, Old Manor Houses, mansions and stately homes.."
Ah..
Friday, June 02, 2006
Images From Old Books
Monday, May 22, 2006
internet: library and labyrinth
Rosicrucian - Wikipedia entry
Priory of Sion
tags: legend , esoterica
da vinci code
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Green Tea
Green Tea and Other Tales by Sheridan LeFanu
Irish writer born in 1814 well known for his ghost stories and supernaturalist fiction. M.R. James was a great fan of his work. He published his vampire story Carmilla in 1872 - predating Bram Stoker's Dracula - ( it is theorized that Stoker was possibly influenced by Carmilla).
the wikipedia article on him points out:
"His best-known works, still read today, are the macabre mystery novel Uncle Silas (1864), 'The Rose and the Key' (1871), and the collection In a Glass Darkly (1872), which contains Carmilla as well as 'Green Tea' and 'The Familiar', two famous stories of enigmatic hauntings apparently provoked by obscure guilt "
A lot of his work is available online - the Green Tea e-text is available here
Web Braille Petition
Web Braille offers access to thousands of electronic braille books on the Internet for the use of eligible braille readers by the Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS).On May 11th 2006 NLS made the following announcement on the Web Braille website:
“Because of technical and security difficulties, Web Braille will be unavailable in the near future. NLS regrets the inconvenience and will provide further information as soon as possible.”
Unacceptable and unfair - this needs to be resolved immediately! Please add your voice and sign the online petition- they need to sort this out ASAP.
Thanks…
via As it Happens
Monday, April 03, 2006
news update
some people have kindly linked to this site - please note - i shall shortly be moving the content on this site over to the book journal section of my wordpress blog - the past, present and future.
Reasons for moving? Hmm, this Blogger software is just so crap really, that's it - in a nutshell. it appears attractive, but re: functionality, i'm not so sure. Wordpress is miles better, hence i'm sticking to that publishing platform. the blogger experiment will soon be over.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Uffizi Gallery
The Past Present and Future had a post on the Virtual Uffizi - a website where you can view images of most of the Galleries' works, as well as finding out more about visiting the Gallery.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
The Infernal Parliament - More Saki
I found this on a blog called Laudator Temporis Acti - and in an amusing post titled 'Political Correctness in Hell' he refers to, and publishes, a short story by our friend HH Munro - Saki: The Infernal Parliament
technorati tags: Saki, Infernal Parliament,HH munro
Friday, January 13, 2006
friday the 13th
Friday the 13th of October 1307 - the day all the Templars in france were arrested by Philip IV ( called Philip the Fair and King of France from 1285-1314) on a variety of wild charges and accusations.
Monday, December 19, 2005
Organ Recitals at the Temple Church
Organ Recitals are held on Wednesdays between 1.15 - 1.45 pm, at the Temple Church and are free and open to the public. For a full timetable of the series for 2006 please click here,
a few upcoming dates are highlighted below.
Also, the services are open to the public, and information is available at the link.
11 JANUARY -Francis Jacob [(in support of the Keyboard Trust]
18 JANUARY James Lancelot [Durham Cathedral]
25 JANUARY Ian le Grice [Temple Church]
1 FEBRUARY Robert Quinney [Westminster Abbey]
8 FEBRUARY Robert Houssart [Gloucester Cathedral]
15 FEBRUARY Colin Walsh [Lincoln Cathedral]
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
The Athenian Murders
The Athenian Murders by Jose Carlos Somoza is definitely reminiscent of a Chinese puzzle. A mystery within a mystery. It's been called a postmodern novel amongst all sorts of other things - and its definitely worth a read. Featuring 'Heracles Pontor - Decipherer of Enigmas'..
Monday, December 12, 2005
More Ghost Stories of An Antiquary
Book Cover Art: 1911 Cover
It's pretty hard buying these new - you can get the the Complete Stories in the Wordsworth Editions, but trawling the second hand shops is a good idea for these old gems. Abebooks.com is a good place to look.
I always do think that if you write about books, or are searching for example, blogs about books, people jump to the conclusion that 'reviews' ought to be a big part of any blog about books. Now i've never understood this obsession with constant reviews - yes it is important to have reviews as well - but it just becomes rather monotonous having - what is at the end of the day - someone's opinion- as the starting point. I'd rather direct people to some interesting books - even if i haven't read something - why not? If it excites your curiosity - why not give it a mention? And then - even if I would like to say something about a particular book - that's one thing - I just think the constant emphasis on Reviews seems to imply that the rest of us ought to take into account what mr. or ms important reviewer thought. Well we know what the publishing industry is like, as well as the inherent clicquey-ness of the idea behind 'literati'. Perhaps that turns me into a literary anarchist?
technorati tags:ghost stories
Ghost Stories of M.R.James
Montague Rhodes James (1862-1936) is known as one of the originators of the modern ghost story. Either which way, they are a fantastic read - and definitely so for anyone interested in the 'classic' ghost story. Also, for antiquarians they're particularly fun.
The 1904 'Ghost Stories of an Antiquary' was succeeded in 1911 by the second collection - 'More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary'. H.P. Lovecraft called him 'a literary weird fictionist of the very first rank'.
technorati tags:ghost stories
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Best Secondhand Bookshop in London
Skoob Books, Russell Square. Currently the physical premises are 'under construction' so check out the online shop.
technorati tags: Books, Bookshops
Arthurian Texts and Images
Holy Grail Texts
Chapman, William Ernest. "The Departure of the Knights." From: Sterling, Mary Blackwell. The Story of Sir Galahad: Retold from Le Morte D'Arthur of Sir Thomas Malory and the Original Stories by Mary Blackwell Sterling. New York": E. P. Dutton, 1908.
Short Stories by Saki: Esme
One of his wickeder and funnier stories, Esme - this a link to a lovely site which has a few of Saki's short stories featured. Enjoy the read ( oh he does have a sharp sharp edge) As copyright has expired, there are actually quite a few places on the web where you can enjoy Saki's stories for free. Project Gutenberg is one of them, i shall be refreshing my memory and placing more links from this site.
technorati tag:Saki
Beyond the Shadows: Classic Gothic Tales
Beyond the Shadows - an audio collection of four classic short stories from the nineteenth and early twentieth century.
Edgar Allan Poe - The Tell-tale Heart
The second two tracks are Saki's The Open Window
And the last one is by Louisa May Alcott - ( you might remember Little Women): A Pair of Eyes
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