Top Ten Tuesday ~ Top Ten Places In Books I’d Love to Live

 

"Top Ten Tuesday" is an original feature/weekly meme created on the blog "The Broke and the Bookish". This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists at "The Broke and the Bookish".

It is now hosted by Jana from That Artsy Reader Girl.

Since I am just as fond of them as they are, I jump at the chance to share my lists with them! Have a look at their page, there are lots of other bloggers who share their lists here.

This week's topic is: Places In Books I’d Love to Live

I lived in four different countries in my life but I've visited many. Most of them, I would happily visit again. Some of them, I didn't want to leave at all, stay forever.

Since Edward Rutherfurd has written some fantastic books about various of those places, I have mainly chosen his books to show the places I'd love to live.

Here are some of the places I loved and wouldn't have minded living (for longer):

Ireland - Dublin
My favourite place of all, it just feels like home. I've been to Ireland, both the country (or rather both countries) and its fantastic capital and it's so beautiful. And the people are the best in the world.

Joyce, James "Dubliners"
Rutherfurd, Edward "Dublin" (aka The Princes of Ireland)
- "Awakening"

England
I lived here for six years. The people were wonderful, the country beautiful, everything was great … until they decided to leave the EU. I still love the country but that's why it moved to #2 on my list.

Bryson, Bill "The Road to Little Dribbling"
Rutherfurd, Edward "Sarum"
- "The Forest"
- "London"

Israel
When visiting Israel in 1986, I absolutely loved everything about the country. If I'd been single, I would have stayed. I have read a lot about the situation in the meantime and even though I don't agree with their politics, I still would love to live there, at least for a while - if it weren't so hot in summer.

Of course, a situation as in "The Lemon Tree" would definitely be preferable and Jimmy Carter has a good plan on how this could be achieved.

LeBor, Adam "City of Oranges"
Tolan, Sandy "The Lemon Tree"
Carter, Jimmy "We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land"

And then there are two cities which I know well and would love to live in.

Brussels
I have lived in Brussels and we have visited it several times every year since we left. Still one of my favourite cities in the world and my son is moving there tomorrow. So, there are more anticipated visits.

Menasse, Robert "The Capital" (German: Die Hauptstadt)
Sonneborn, Martin "Herr Sonneborn geht nach Brüssel - Abenteuer im Europaparlament" [Mr. Sonneborn goes to Brussels - Adventures in the European Parliament]
(these two books are on my wishlist, therefore they don't count, right?)

Paris
I have a good friend who lives here and I've seen Paris with the eyes of a local. Its flair is unique.

Rutherfurd, Edward "Paris"

I'm excited to see where the other bloggers want to live.

Rhoides, Emmanuel "The Curious History of Pope Joan"

Rhoides, Emmanuel (Emmanuel Roidis) "The Curious History of Pope Joan" (Greek: Πάπισσα Ιωάννα/Papissa Ioanna) - 1866

With my book club, I read "Pope Joan" by Donna Woolfolk Cross twenty years ago (my, how time flies!) At some point, I bought this older book about the same subject because it was on a reduced shelf in my bookshop.

Same as the first book I read, this didn't really impress me that much. Granted, there might have been a female pope, I can well believe that but the story itself wasn't too exciting. Also, I couldn't detect the humour that some people loved so much.

However, there is some information about life in the 9th century. That's always nice.

Since this was a Greek book, I read it in German. "Die Päpstin Johanna von Ingelheim"

From the back cover:

"'Pope Joan' or 'Papissa Joanna' was originally published in 1886 by the Greek author Emmanuel Royidis. It tells the story of Pope John VIII, the purported ruler of Xendom for a period of two years, five months & four days in the middle of the 9th century. 'Pope Joan' is a comic masterpiece of irreverence towards the medieval Church & the accepted pieties of its revisionist historians. Indeed, insofar as Royidis continued to propagate the legend of Pope Joan, to claim that the work contained only 'facts & events proved beyond discussion', the text itself ingeniously combines history, legend & wit to subvert claims of authority. As Durrell notes in his Preface to his English translation & adaptation, 'the authorities of the Orthodox Church were horrified by what seemed to them to be the impious irony of its author - & no less by the gallery of maggot-ridden church fathers which he described so lovingly.' Not suprisingly, Royidis was excommunicated from the Orthodox Church, his book banned in Greece.

The first three parts of 'Pope Joan' tell of Joanna prior to her arrival in Rome, before she became an historical personage. Set in the 9th century, the narrative captures Europe after the death of Charlemagne, a time when civilization was tenuous & the Church provided one of the few viable social structures. This part is the imagined story of Joanna's life in Germany & then in Greece. After her parents die, Joanna clandestinely enters a monastery where she meets the monk Frumentius & develops a romantic relationship with him. When her gender is surmised, Joanna & Frumentius flee one monastery & then another, eventually ending up in Greece. Joanna soon becomes tired of romance & her intellectual brilliance attracts the attention of Church leaders thruout Greece. She leaves Frumentius & departs alone for Rome, where the legend, some say the history, of Pope Joan begins. She becomes a papal secretary renowned for her intellect &, when Pope Leo IV dies, she ascends to the papacy. Pope Joan becomes pregnant & dies after giving birth during a procession thru Rome.

While the general outline of the narrative may seem only mildly interesting, the translation of Lawrence Durrell, together with the biting, irreverent wit of Royidis, make 'Pope Joan' a work of comic genius. A flavor for this wit & style can be found in a passage describing what ensued after Joan gave birth: 'Great was the consternation when a premature infant was produced from among the voluminous folds of the papal vestments...Some hierarchs who were profoundly devoted to the Holy See sought to save the situation & change horror & disgust to amazement by crying out A miracle! A miracle! They bellowed loudly calling the faithful to kneel & worship. But in vain. Such a miracle was unheard of; & indeed would have been a singular contribution to the annals of Xian thaumaturgy which, while it borrowed many a prodigy from the pagans, had not yet reached the point where it could represent any male saint as pregnant & bringing forth a child.'

While the apologist position has denied the historicity of Pope Joan, there is some suggestion that the legend is factual. As Durrell suggests in his Preface, one telling point is that Platina includes a biography of Pope John VIII in his 'Lives of the Popes'. The Catholic Encyclopedia states: 'Platina's Lives of the Popes is a work of no small merit, for it is the first systematic handbook of papal history. ' Historical disputation aside, however, 'Pope Joan' stands as a brilliant work of comic writing & translation."

Book Quotes of the Week

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"Reading is the key that opens doors to many good things in life. Reading shaped my dreams, and more reading helped me make my dreams come true." Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Great words by a great lady.

"It’s what you’re reading that matters, and how you’re reading it, not the speed with which you’re getting through it. Reading is supposed to be about the encounter with other minds, not an opportunity to return to the endlessly appealing subject of Me." Alan Jacobs

I'm a fast reader but I totally agree with this.

"If you write, write about what you do and who you are and you can't be wrong. Don't lie about anything. You are very similar to everybody else in the world. You love, you hate, you have friends, you have enemies. Be who you are." Carl Reiner

Good advice. Carl Reiner is the father of one of my favourite directors and I'm sure he passed on his wisdom to his son.

Find more book quotes here.

Binchy, Maeve "The Maeve Binchy Writers' Club"

Binchy, Maeve "The Maeve Binchy Writers' Club" - 2010

The topic for this month's Xanadu read is: All Things Irish. I chose a book by an Irish author that had been on my TBR pile for a while. I picked it up on one of those book swap shelves where I left a lot of my books that I sorted out before our move. I thought this might be another book club type book but it was worth checking out.

Well, it was what it says, a book about a writers' club. With many hints for the budding author. And a short story at the end about a writers' class.

One thing I found quite interesting since I don't come across it very often, in week 11, The Writer as a Journalist, Maeve Binchy mentions Esperanto. Always worth a mention, I think.

I guess if you really want to write a book, there is quite some advice this one how to start and how to carry on. I had expected more a book about the club itself, something like a novel. However, it was an interesting read.

From the back cover:

"'The Maeve Binchy Writers' Club' gives an unique insight into how a No.1 bestselling author writes. Inspired by a course run by the National College of Ireland, it comprises 20 letters from Maeve, offering advice, tips and her own wonderfully witty take on the life of a writer, in addition to contributions from top writers, publishers and editors.

Whether you want to write a saga or a thriller, comedy or journalism, or write for the radio or stage, this also gives advice on the best way to get started, and what editors, publishers and agents are looking for.

'The Maeve Binchy Writers' Club' is a fascinating and informative guide to inspire all budding writers as well as entertaining Maeve Binchy fans the world over.

Includes expert advice from Marian Keyes, Alison Walsh, Norah Casey, Paula Campbell, Ivy Bannister, Seamus Hosey, Gerald Dave, Jim Culleton, Ferdia McAnna and Julie Parsons.

Includes a specially written brand new story by Maeve Binchy:

'The Writing Class'"

Top Ten Tuesday ~ Top Ten Funny Book Titles

 

"Top Ten Tuesday" is an original feature/weekly meme created on the blog "The Broke and the Bookish". This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists at "The Broke and the Bookish".

It is now hosted by Jana from That Artsy Reader Girl.

Since I am just as fond of them as they are, I jump at the chance to share my lists with them! Have a look at their page, there are lots of other bloggers who share their lists here.

This week's topic is: Funny Book Titles

When I hear funny titles, I also think funny books. I know the books on this list don't necessarily have to be funny but most of them are. 

There's Bill Bryson who invents British place names that are even funnier than the original ones (which are the funniest in the world). Michael Chabon tries to imagine how the state of Israel would have functioned in Alaska. Philip K. Dick lets androids dream, of electric sheep of all things.

Nora Ephron muses about life of women. If you like "When Harry met Sally", you should read Nora Ephron. Jonas Jonasson invented the funniest hundred-year-old.

Alexander McCall Smith's stories about Mma Ramotswe's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency are all hilarious but I love the title where he alludes to the "traditionally built" protagonist best. Marisha Pessl's story about a teenager called Blue is not really a funny one but the title of her book is. Calamity Physics, I think we would all love to study that. Saša Stanišić's book about how the soldier repairs the gramophone also isn't funny but the idea that soldiers repair anything differently to a civilian is. That leaves us just with Rebecca Wells who invented the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, a title that's definitely funny.

Bryson, Bill "The Road to Little Dribbling: More Notes from a Small Island" - 2015

Chabon, Michael "The Yiddish Policemen’s Union" - 2007

Dick, Philip K. "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" - 1968

Ephron, Nora "I Feel Bad About My Neck And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman" - 2006

Ephron, Nora "I Remember Nothing. And other reflections" - 2010

Jonasson, Jonas "The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared" (Swedish: Hundraåringen som klev ut genom fönstret och försvann) - 2009

McCall Smith, Alexander "Tea Time for the Traditionally Built" - 2009

Pessl, Marisha "Special Topics in Calamity Physics" - 2006

Stanišić, Saša "How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone" (German: Wie der Soldat das Grammofon repariert) - 2006

Wells, Rebecca "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" - 1996

Jacobs, Harriet Ann "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl"

Jacobs, Harriet Ann (Linda Brent) "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" - 1861

I never understood how someone could feel comfortable with "owning" another human being. You would think that we know better by now but this is still going on in this world and we have not changed much. Even if someone doesn't hold slaves, the way we treat others is not much further from that.

In this story, written by a real slave from the 19th century, we learn all the disadvantages of being a slave. The girls who get raped by their masters, the boys (and the girls) who get tortured, the children who are taken from their parents and sold separately, never to see their families again. Awful, terrible, unbelievable. Harriet Jacobs (who first published this book under the name Linda Brent) lived through it all, either herself or her family. As we can see, even if you have a "good" mistress (whatever that means, she owned a slave and didn't even take care that she was set free after her death, don't know what's good about that), this can end from one day to the next.

Since the North didn't really help the slaves, they even sent them back to their "rightful" owners if they caught them, this book was mainly written to open their eyes. Did it help? I doubt it. Maybe some learned from it but many, far too many … haven't learned even today.

A brilliant book written with so much understanding and force. It should be read by everyone at a very early age so that we hopefully will learn from it today.

From the back cover:

"The true story of an individual's struggle for self-identity, self-preservation, and freedom, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl remains among the few extant slave narratives written by a woman. This autobiographical account chronicles the remarkable odyssey of Harriet Jacobs (1813–1897) whose dauntless spirit and faith carried her from a life of servitude and degradation in North Carolina to liberty and reunion with her children in the North.

Written and published in 1861 after Jacobs' harrowing escape from a vile and predatory master, the memoir delivers a powerful and unflinching portrayal of the abuses and hypocrisy of the master-slave relationship. Jacobs writes frankly of the horrors she suffered as a slave, her eventual escape after several unsuccessful attempts, and her seven years in self-imposed exile, hiding in a coffin-like "garret" attached to her grandmother's porch.

A rare firsthand account of a courageous woman's determination and endurance, this inspirational story also represents a valuable historical record of the continuing battle for freedom and the preservation of family."

See my other reviews about anti-racism here.

Book Quotes of the Week

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"If a nation reads what is good with a good understanding, it gets a good understanding for a good nation building!" Ernest Agyemang Yeboah

And that goes for any nation. Education is the most important thing in the world.

"A classic is something that tends to relegate the concerns of the moment to the status of background noise, but at the same time this background noise is something we cannot do without." Italo Calvino 

I'm always surprised when reading a classic how little really has changed.

"Well, the house there is about three times as high as my TBR Pile!" Mayersche Buchhandlung

That would be quite a large house. LOL

"The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence." Rabindranath Tagore

True. The more I know about a subject, the better I can avoid the downsides of it. You can see that now with Covid, those protesting most against the measures are not the smartest people. Sorry.


Find more book quotes here.