Barbary lions were part of medieval London zoo. I wonder if this would be good for Dielli, especially as part of the king’s menagerie.
Ur ziggurat for Dielli.
New sea monster species, found in Canada. This is a new genus of dinosaur, though a pleisosaur.
prehistoric crocodile sea hunter, different from above.
I enjoyed this book. It is the second in a duology (Dragon’s Bone is first.).
There are several scenes in the book, perhaps as many as five, that were so well written that I quit reading forward and went back and re-read them, sometimes as many as four times.
It is a wonderfully developed world, with characters I cared about, and a story line that, while improbable, made me believe. I liked it a lot.
If you’re a dragon fan, if you like dwarves, if you don’t mind a small touch of romance, if you like to see good triumph over evil and even over not -so-good, then this is a book for you.
This is the beginning of a series by Patricia Briggs. When I finished the novel, I wished I had purchased the other books.
Ward, a nineteen year old idiot, is the main character. But he’s not an idiot, he’s just been playing one because his father is a murderer and has it out for him. He has a deaf sister whose growth into adulthood has brought some troubles and a suicidal brother who is missing, presumed dead, by all but Ward.
The cast of characters is large and they are all individualized. You don’t mistake one for the other.
The milieu is diverse, ranging through the entire Five Kingdoms, but begins, and ends, in Hurog, Ward’s home and homeland.
The story is the fascinating tale of a young man’s struggle to be good in a world that is very evil. He succeeds, despite an abusive father and a drug-laced mother.
Read it. But by the whole series before you start.
is a delightful character, created by Charlaine Harris, who is excellent at vampire stories and murder mysteries like Three Bedrooms, One Corpse.
The main character is a single woman, thirty, an ex-librarian who doesn’t have to work for a living because a friend died and left her money. She meets a tall, handsome, older man and falls in love at first sight. Or so it seems.
At the beginning of the book Aurora is working with her mother, one of the leading realtors in their small town. Then two women realtors are murdered. It’s a fascinating read, as much for the romance as for the murders.
I highly recommend this book and this series.
Zibellini:
animal fur, the whole animal’s skin– marten (or sable)
The animal was associated with childbirth, and wearing its fur was believed to increase a woman’s fertility and protect her during pregnancy. Since antiquity, the marten had been thought to conceive through its ear or mouth (and therefore chastely).
for Dielli
CNN is carrying the story of the Shanks. Debbie Shanks was a Walmart employee and got her insurance through Walmart. When she was given permanent brain damage in an accident, she won a million dollars. $417,000 of that was put in a trust to pay for her long term care at a nursing home.
Walmart has sued to recover the money they paid for her medical bills and has won.
You can email the corporate office here.
And I will no longer be shopping at Walmart.
A petition to stop the crescent memorial is now being circulated on the ground in western Pennsylvania. As a complement to this old fashioned canvassing effort, an electronic petition has also been created at ipetitions.com. Please circulate far and wide!
The petitions highlight four cases of apparent Islamic symbolism in the memorial design. Here is the text (electronic):
Call for Congressional investigation of Islamic symbolism in the Flight 93 memorial
Many features of the chosen Flight 93 Memorial design are intolerable:
1. THE GIANT CRESCENT. The centerpiece of the original “Crescent of Embrace†design was a giant red Islamic shaped crescent. Every particle of this original crescent design remains completely intact in the so-called redesign, which only added a few irrelevant trees. The giant crescent is still there.
2. IT POINTS TO MECCA. The giant crescent points to Mecca. A crescent that Muslims face into to face Mecca is called a “mihrab,” and is the central feature around which every mosque is built. The Flight 93 Memorial is on track to become the world’s largest mosque.
3. THE ISLAMIC SUNDIAL. The minaret-like Tower of Voices is a year-round accurate Islamic prayer-time sundial (one of many typical mosque features that are realized in the crescent design, all on the same epic scale as the half mile wide central crescent).
4. THE 44 BLOCKS. There are 44 glass blocks on the flight path, equaling the number of passengers, crew, AND terrorists.
Intentional or not, these features are entirely unacceptable. This travesty must stop and investigations must begin.
1) We the undersigned call on our state and federal legislators to undertake their own thorough and independent investigations of the Flight 93 Memorial design. The truth must come out.
2) We ask that the crescent design be scraped entirely and that it be replaced with a new design that is not tainted by Islamic or terrorist memorializing symbolism.
3) We demand a fitting and proper memorial that HONORS the brave men and women of Flight 93.
Please take a minute to electronically sign this petition. All signatures collected by the end of April will be printed out and delivered to the May 3rd public meeting of the Memorial Project, along with Xeroxes of the hand-signed petitions.
That is just the start. There will be another public meeting in August, where we hope to present a much larger pile of petitions, and all signatures will eventually be delivered to the Pennsylvania state legislature and to Congress. Keep sending until the crescent design is stopped!
In the short term, we have a number of supporters in the Pennsylvania legislature at this point who are working to gain backing for an investigation. A demonstration of public demand should help that effort.
The paper petition
In order to make the paper petition self-sufficient, there is a second page, to be printed on the back of the petition, that provides explanations and graphical documentation of the four highlighted cases of Islamic symbolism. The idea is to have a petition that can circulate virally. Anyone can print it out and have enough information right on the petition itself to know that the objections are legitimate. (Mailing instructions are also included.)
Here are the back-side explanations of the four intolerable features:
1. THE GIANT CRESCENT
The original Crescent of Embrace design was a giant Islamic shaped crescent with the crash site placed between the crescent tips, in the position of the star on an Islamic crescent and star flag:
The redesign was supposed to eliminate these Islamic symbol shapes, but as Congressman Tom Tancredo wrote to the Park Service in November 2007, these features remain completely intact in the so-called redesign, which only disguised the crescent with a few additional trees. Architect Paul Murdoch’s refusal to eliminate the Islamic symbol shapes suggests intent, but intentional or not, these symbol shapes are unacceptable. Congressman Tancredo is now calling for the crescent design to be scrapped in its entirety, and we join in that request.
2. IT POINTS TO MECCA
Several credible analysts have found that a person facing directly into the giant crescent (still present in the redesign) will be facing almost exactly at Mecca:
The green “qibla†circle in the graphic above is from the prayer-direction calculator at Islam.com. It shows the direction to Mecca from Somerset PA (ten miles from the crash site). The red arrow shows that a person standing between the crescent tips and facing into the center of the crescent will be facing almost exactly at Mecca.
This Mecca orientation claim must be authoritatively investigated and answered. If it is true that the crescent points to Mecca, and hence can serve as an Islamic prayer direction indicator (the central feature around which every mosque is built), then whether this construct was intentional or not, it indelibly taints the design.
3. THE ISLAMIC SUNDIAL
Anyone can see the overt similarity between a traditional Islamic sundial (left-hand image) and Tower of Voices part of the Flight 93 Memorial (right-hand image):
When the shadow of the traditional sundial reaches the outer curved vertical in this photo, it will be time for Islamic afternoon prayers. Shadow calculations confirm that, on any day of the year, when the shadow of the 93 foot tall crescent shaped Tower of Voices reaches the inner arc of trees, it will also be time for Islamic afternoon prayers.
4. THE FORTY-FOUR BLOCKS
Tom Burnett Sr. does not want Tom Junior’s name inscribed on one of the 44 translucent blocks that are to be emplaced along the flight path. Forty-four is the number of passengers, crew, AND terrorists:
The left side of this graphic shows the Memorial Wall, which follows the path of Flight 93 down to the point of impact. At eye level are 43 glass blocks. Forty are inscribed with the names of the 40 heroes. Three are inscribed with the 9/11 date.
Right-hand image: the 44th glass block sits at the end of the Entry Portal Walkway, where the flight path crosses the upper crescent tip. It marks the spot where, in architect Paul Murdoch’s description, the terrorists broke our humanitarian circle, turning it into a giant (Islamic shaped) crescent. This circle-breaking, crescent-creating feat is memorialized by the inscription: “A field of honor forever.â€
The Park Service dismisses the suspicious block count on the grounds that the 44th glass block is much larger than the others. Mr. Burnett is not comforted by the magnificence of the 44th block, and neither are we. This design must be stopped, and investigations must be launched!
Other petition formats
The same four intolerable features are described in the annotated “Map of Betrayal” that was the subject of one of last month’s blogbursts. Thus the map makes a perfectly serviceable back side for the petition, providing an alternative petition/flyer combination.
The information on the map is denser than the explanations above, but has its own intrigue, showing how the different terrorist memorializing parts fit together like an elaborate puzzle.
The petition being circulated on the ground now in Pennsylvania is still another variation. It has slightly different wording than the electronic petition, and slightly different explanations of the four points than presented above. All the different formats are interchangeable. They all highlight the same four objectionable features, and they will all be delivered together to state and federal legislators.
Until we get a Congressional investigation, the petition will be an ongoing tool for raising awareness and registering opposition. If you participate in any activist fora or email lists, please forward the text and links along. (The electronic and paper-petition links are collected together on this petition Page at CrescentOfBetrayal.com.)
Blogburst blogroll
To join, email Cao (caoilfhionn1 at gmail dot com) with your blog’s url.
It’s an Edmonton dinosaur found in North Dakota and its skin looks much like we expected it to look.
“The process of decay was overtaken by that of fossilization, preserving many of the soft-tissue structures,” Manning said.
To see a photograph, go to National Geographic.
That doesn’t mean it actually means that.
One problem with the world today is that we as a nation no longer hold to truth. I mean we no longer believe in truth. We think that any thought is as good as another. Any opinion is as good as another. There are no actual facts, not truths, no fundamental realities.
That is not true.
Freemasons can be Christians. My grandfather was a freemason and an Episcopalian (Church of England). He saw no disconnect between the two.
I have read that Washington was a freemason. He also attended and was active in the Episcopalian Church. Perhaps he saw no disconnect either.
I also read that famous people are deists. Some say Jefferson was; some include most of the founding fathers. (Don’t believe me? here, here, here, here, and here. All of these are discussing whether or not America is a Christian nation.)
Deism is “The belief that there is a God who created the universe, but that after creating it he left it to regulate itself and doesn’t step in to provide miracles or the like.” (Web definitions) Or is it?
I think that often people mis-state the question, asking, “Is America a Christian nation?” This question could mean “Are most Americans Christians?” or it could mean “Is it a nation that is based on Christianity?” or (as most who answer with a resounding no are actually discussing) “Is America supposed to be a Christian nation by
requirement?”
Duh, the answer to the last question is no. But the careful wording of the question to “Was America founded on Christian principles?” should bring a resounding yes. Only careful, out of context, isolated quotations can infer that it was not.
My son and my husband are discussing this question tonight loudly.
An incredibly good website is Religion and the Federal Government. They have quotes in context, historical information, and general discussion. But it is not long and wordy.
A good discussion of the Christian heritage of the US. It has a lot of short quotes from different documents throughout American history.
This site discusses the urban myth that the founding fathers weren’t Christians. Then it quotes for pages from the founding fathers.
After his marriage, George Washington, like his father before him, served for a considerable time as vestryman in Truro parish. Later he served in the same capacity in Fairfax parish. He is recorded as having served on the building committees of Falls Church and Pohick Church–the latter edifice, being built from plans which he drew,7 still stands today. Davis
And he wasn’t glad for religious freedom because he wasn’t a believer.
After the Colonies had won their independence, it was a matter of special pride to Washington that the American Republic guaranteed full religions liberty to all, especially to such persecuted groups as the Jews and the Quakers. In a famous letter to the Hebrew congregation at Newport, Rhode Island, in August 1790, he wrote:
It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that those who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it, on all occasions, their effectual support. . . . May the Father of Mercies scatter light and not darkness on our paths, and make us all, in our several vocations useful here, and in his own due time and way everlastingly happy.12
In similar vein he wrote to the Philadelphia Quakers:
The liberty enjoyed by the People of these States, of worshipping Almighty God agreeable to their consciences is not only among the choicest of their blessings but also of their rights. . . . I assure you very explicitly that in my opinion the conscientious scruples of all men should be treated with delicacy and tenderness.13 Davis
He resigned from Commander in Chief, stating:
I consider it an indispensable duty to close this last solemn act of my official life, by commending the Interests of our dearest country to the protection of Almighty God, and those who have the superintendence of them to his holy keeping.
All of the above is from here. As you can tell from the numbers in places, he does give a bibliography from which you can trace his quotes.
Some of these quotes I found used on other pages on the internet, but I found them at the above site first.
Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear.
Thomas Jefferson
Does that preclude him from believing? I would say that and I am a Christian.
I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.
Thomas Jefferson
How could he swear upon the altar of God if he didn’t believe?
I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever.
Thomas Jefferson
He must believe in a god.
Some of his statements sound very anti-Christians.
I have recently been examining all the known superstitions of the world, and do not find in our particular superstition (Christianity) one redeeming feature. They are all alike founded on fables and mythology.
In every country and every age, the priest had been hostile to Liberty.
Thomas JeffersonI do not find in orthodox Christianity one redeeming feature.
Thomas Jefferson
But I read those and I know that hyperbole can account for some of that. And the time in which it was said can account for it. I could have said something very like these at times in my life, yet I was always a Christian.
It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no God.
Thomas Jefferson
People quote this and say, see, he doesn’t care. No. He is saying that there is no injury done to HIM if someone is a pantheist or an atheist. He is not effected. And he believed in the separation of the church (in Britain paid for by taxes) from the state. He was not saying take all religion out of government. That would have been atheistic and he knew atheism and discussed it a time or two. He meant, don’t put the church in charge of the state and don’t make the church a part of the state.
To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.
Thomas Jefferson
Then there are other statements Jefferson made:
The Creator has not thought proper to mark those in the forehead who are of stuff to make good generals. We are first, therefore, to seek them blindfold, and then let them learn the trade at the expense of great losses.
Thomas Jefferson
The god who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time: the hand of force may destroy, but cannot disjoin them.
Thomas Jefferson
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Thomas Jefferson
from Brainy Quote
These are quoted from the Jefferson Memorial:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men. We . . . solemnly publish and declare, that these colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states. . . And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”
“Well aware that the opinions and belief of men depend not on their own will, but follow involuntarily the evidence proposed to their minds; that Almighty God hath created the mind free, and manifested his supreme will that free it shall remain by making it altogether insusceptible of restraint; that all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments, or burthens, or by civil incapacitations, tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness, and are a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion . . . .”
— “A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom,” Section I
“But let them [members of the parliament of Great Britain] not think to exclude us from going to other markets to dispose of those commodities which they cannot use, or to supply those wants which they cannot supply. Still less let it be proposed that our properties within our own territories shall be taxed or regulated by any power on earth but our own. The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time; the hand of force may destroy, but cannot disjoin them.”
— “A Summary View of the Rights of British America”
“For in a warm climate, no man will labour for himself who can make another labour for him. This is so true, that of the proprietors of slaves a very small proportion indeed are ever seen to labor. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with his wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep for ever . . . .”
— Notes on the State of Virginia
from Monticello.org
I think he was a believer.
I was in Thailand on “spring break.” Actually, I was in Thailand on spring break. I was also in Thailand for 4C’s, a very important rhetoric convention that was not, in fact, anywhere near Thailand. But all the English classes were cancelled for an extra week so TAs could go to 4C’s. I was far more interested in going to Thailand.
How did I get there? My dad knew I was wanting a new stereo for Christmas, asked me what kind I wanted, and gave the money to buy it. When I saw that much money, I thought, “How much is a ticket to Thailand?” (Friends of mine were living and working in Thailand as missionaries.)
Turns out tickets were on sale because smart Americans, not me in other words, were not buying tickets to Asia because the Red Japanese blew up a plane and there was concern that they would do it again. (I do not know if they did it again. I do know they didn’t blow up my plane.)
The plane trip over had some problems. The scummy molester sitting next to me on the flight, for example. But I was okay.
My dad came over, too, on a different flight from a different part of the country and we met in Thailand at a missionary conference. We attended that and saw gorgeous blue butterflies and orchids growing in trees naturally. We also did some sight seeing.
Then my dad left and I stayed on and had a good time visiting. I don’t understand the Thai and I’m fairly certain that my favorite meal there was barbecue dog, but I had a good time. Thanks to my friends who helped to host me.
Twenty years ago. Where were you?
to me. At least, if it’s not new I only vaguely remember it. Found at Common Room, which I’ve been reading for quite a while now. But rarely have so many posts in one day appealed to me personally as something I need to blog and mark.
the book, had the whole history of the volcanic eruption and what it brought to the known world–including 18 months of yellow skies and then a clearing followed by fire and brimstone falling from the sky in China. (This is in my novel, though set 2000 years earlier than it occurred.)
National Geographic says folks have found proof that this was in fact caused by a volcano.
Dielli
discussed at one of my regular reads. HG only has a mild case, though, and it appears to be exacerbated by pollen. She’s really, they say, having hay fever and her body confuses that with peppers and paprika.
Here are some old posts on the topic:
Nightshades Food List
Discussion of solanine in nightshades and how it isn’t really an allergy. But it acts like one. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” And an allergy by any other name hurts.
A collection of internet comments on nightshades that were relevant to me or my family.
Night Shade Allergies, my post with the most comments, I think.
on living history and the recounting of a tale of French heroism and German duplicity and lives saved. A wonderful story.
Reader Max K. found another Islamic website with a Mecca-direction calculator. It can be used to construct yet another graphical demonstration that the Flight 93 memorial points to Mecca.
Muslims face Mecca for prayer, with the direction to Mecca calculated by the great circle method. Enter your street address into the search field at QiblaLocator.com and it brings up a Google map with a red line showing the Muslim prayer-direction (or “qibla”) from your home.
At the Flight 93 crash site, Skyline Road passes through the center of what is to become the giant central crescent of the planned memorial. Enter “Skyline Rd, Shanksville PA” into the QiblaLocator search box and it generates this map:
Red line points to Mecca. (Azimuth, also in red: 55.19° clockwise from north.)
To see how this direction to Mecca compares with the orientation of the planned memorial, first impose some orientation lines on the Crescent of Embrace design:
The short black line connects the two most protruding tips of the half-mile wide central crescent. The long black arrow shows the orientation of a person standing between the crescent tips and facing into the center of the crescent. (Every particle of this original design remains completely intact in the so-called redesign, which only disguises the giant crescent with a few additional trees.)
Next just lay the site-plan graphic on top of QiblaLocator’s Google map:
The red and black lines are almost parallel.
To be precise, the upper crescent tip is the end of the thousand foot long, fifty foot tall, Entry Portal Wall. The bottom crescent tip is the last pair of red maple trees at the bottom end of the crescent walkway. Connect these tips, and the perpendicular bisector (black arrow) points 53.5° clockwise from north (within two degrees of the exact direction to Mecca).
A crescent that Muslims face into to face Mecca is called a mihrab, and is the central feature around which every mosque is built. The Flight 93 Memorial will be the world’s largest mosque.
Earlier Mecca direction graphics
In 2005, Sarah Wells constructed a somewhat similar graphic. She used the Mecca direction calculator at Islam.com to get a qibla line that she superimposed onto the memorial site plan:
Green “qibla” circle shows direction to Mecca from nearby Pittsburgh. Again you can see that a person standing between the tips of the crescent and facing into the center of the crescent will be facing almost exactly at Mecca.
Sarah’s graphic and the QiblaLocator graphic both demonstrate that the giant crescent points to Mecca in the way that Muslims define the direction to Mecca (by the “great circle” or “shortest distance” method).
The first graphic to show the Mecca orientation of the crescent memorial was posted by the pseudonymous Eaotin Shrdlu on September 10, 2005, two days after the crescent design was unveiled:
The large map projection and the small site-plan inset both have north at the top. Etaoin’s graphic shows that direction to Mecca from crash site (green line) and direction of person facing into crescent (red line) are the same.
University of Pennsylvania Professor Tim Baird, a member of the Flight 93 Advisory Commission, says that everyone involved in the Memorial Project is fully aware of the factual accuracy of the Mecca direction claim. Nevertheless, they all stand by as Project spokesmen keep denying the Mecca orientation in the newspapers. The Project even found an academic fraud to tell the press that there is no such thing as the direction to Mecca:
Daniel Griffith, a geospatial information sciences professor at the University of Texas at Dallas, said anything can point toward Mecca, because the earth is round. (Pittsburgh Post Gazette, August 18, 2007.)
Any Muslim would have denied this absurdity, but the Post Gazette does not want Griffith’s fraud exposed, because the Gazette itself has been fully complicit in covering up the Mecca orientation of the memorial since 2005. Post Gazette reporter Paula Ward told Alec Rawls in 2006 (download 3, p. 108) that editors and reporters at the Post Gazette saw all of the demonstrations of the Mecca orientation of the giant crescent back in 2005 and made a top level editorial decision not to publish this explosive information. Editor Tom Birdsong thinks it would hurt the Democrats, so he is not going to publish it, and neither are other newspapers.
This shouldn’t be a right-left issue, but try telling our newspaper editors that. Which leaves it up to the rest of us to get the word out about Islamic and terrorist memorializing symbolism in the Flight 93 Memorial. This is going to have to be passed person to person.
You can help. To join our blogbursts, email Cao (caoilfhionn1 at gmail dot com) with your blog’s url.
This is for younger geek children, but is very funny.
I read a lot, normally. But teaching eight classes this semester I have found myself falling behind. I’m busy, busy, busy. And when I have a moment to myself, I get on the internet instead of reading books. Now, I like the internet. I get my news from there. I learn things. But it isn’t a book.
I haven’t been doing much reading for fun because I have been doing other things. Perhaps, though, if I am purposeful about my reading, I will get the reading done.
So when A Peek at My Bookshelf, the most voracious reader I have ever read (and that’s saying a lot as those who know me know), suggested Spring Reading Thing, I thought I should join in. Here’s the main post on Spring Reading thing.
You have to write a post. (Ha ha! That’s this.) Then you have to link on Thursday. That’s where it will get sticky for me. I am not sure I will remember to link then. No, I didn’t remember.
Here’s my list:
Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard because it changed the way my husband looks at God.
Magic Lost, Trouble Found by Lisa Shearin because my brother said it is great and funny and there are sequels. And because I bought it last month and it has been sitting on my bedside table ever since. I read it. My review is here.
Kris Longknife: Mutineer by Mike Shepherd. Also recommended by my brother and also sitting on my bedside table for a month.
Dragon Bones by Patricia Briggs. I bought it sometime this semester because my brother recommended it. But I haven’t been doing much reading. I read it. My review.
Three Bedrooms, One Corpse because I love Charlaine Harris’ books and this is one of her mysteries. I read it. My review.
Make the Impossible Possible by and about Bill Strickland, despite the fact that I hate the title. Why? Because of the truth of the subtitle “One Man’s Crusade to Inspire Others to Dream Bigger and Achieve the Extraordinary.” He did. He has. They have. Amazing. I have begun to read this and it is not a fast or easy read.
Schemers, Dreamers, and Medicine Men: Witchcraft and Magic among Primitive People by Gordon C. Baldwin. Because I have an interest there and I bought the book ages ago and haven’t read it.
The Discovery of the Germ: Twenty Years that Transformed the Way we Think about Disease by John Waller. I am a science reading hobbyist. That is, I read about science as one of my hobbies. And since I have been living with disease, I think this would be an interesting book. I bought it a year ago and put it on a bookshelf and haven’t read it.
Power Unseen: How Microbes Rule the World by Bernard Dixon. Same as above.
The Feejee Mermaid and Other Essays in Natural and Unnatural History by Jan Bondeson. I used to teach PTBarnum as part of a section on notetaking, so I have continued to be interested in his stuff. Also, natural history falls within science.
How To Read a Book which I started after my husband got it for Christmas but didn’t finish. An amazing book. I haven’t finished it yet, but it very clearly discusses my teaching system in a positive way. I should look at the notes before I go for my onsite interview.
Reading Like a Writer which was a Christmas gift to me that I started and did not finish.
Dead Men Do Tell Tales interested me after falling in love with the television series Psych. I don’t as much love Kathy Reichs’ books, which are the basis for the series, but I do read them.
I read this book. It turns out I read it last year! But I began again and enjoyed it immensely. It is a well written book. It is interesting. It gives specific details and information that keep it fascinating without giving so many that it drags. If you always wanted to know what happened to Anastasia, princess of Russia, this is the book for you. The author is one of the people who identified her. I am sorry she and her family were killed. I am sorry she wasn’t able to escape. But I am NOT sorry I read this book again.
I am sure I have other books, but I don’t know if I will have time to read them. So this is my list.
Note: I have another list on a different post of books I wanted to get to in 2006. I am going to add them here and see if I can challenge myself to get them all read.
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Raven: a Biography of Sam Houston and other biographies by Marquis James
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (I don’t remember it.)
Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (I don’t remember it.)
Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc by Mark Twain
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
Life of George Washington by Washington Irving
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (I don’t remember it.)
How I Found Livingstone by Sir Henry Morton Stanley
Erewhon by Samuel Butler
Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy
Life of David Crockett by Davey Crockett
Berenbaum, Michael
The World Must Know: The History of the Holocaust as told in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Epstein, Norrie
Friendly Shakespeare: A Thoroughly Painless Guide to the Best of the Bard.
Gain a perspective on Shakespeare’s works through these sidelights, interpretations, anecdotes, and historical insights.
Kennedy, John F. Profiles in Courage (I don’t remember it.)
Tocqueville, Alexis de
Democracy in America
This classic in political literature examines American society from the viewpoint of a leading French magistrate who visited the U.S. in 1831. (I’ve read some of it.)
Tuchman, Barbara
A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous Fourteenth Century
Tuchman uses the example of a single feudal lord to trace the history of the 14th century. (I just bought this.)
Yolen, Jane
Favorite Folktales From Around the World
Yolen frames these powerful tales with explanations of historical and literary significance.
