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Hide Me Among the Graves-Tim Powers
According to Tim Powers’ page on Amazon, he writes “secret histories.” His books are based on documented history, but he provides the “real” story so to speak. By following the provided link (click on the title), you’ll be taken to a Between the Covers radio interview with Mr. Powers discussing his latest book. Characters in Hide Me are John Polidori, Christina Rossetti, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. These are all real people, and Polidori wrote The Vampyre —according to Wikipedia, one of the first vampire stories in English—, which should clue readers to the fact that Hide Me is a vampire novel. However, according to Mr. Powers this is not a vampire novel of Twilight ilk, but rather Bram Stoker’s Dracula. In the interview Tim Powers actually laments the weakness of current fad vampire stories, noting that they aren’t scary because they don’t pose a threat to the human soul (he says bodily harm only isn’t scary enough).
The interview is roughly 12 minutes long, and Hide Me Among the Graves can be found at Amazon here.
Posted on: 30th May 2012 - 0 notesReblog
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The book discussed in this video may be of interest if you follow books that provide insight into Middle Eastern countries.
Posted on: 29th May 2012 - 0 notes Reblog
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The next review on Talk Book will be about Gang of One by Fan Shen.
Briefly, this book is Fan Shen’s story about growing up in, and eventually fleeing China. It starts with him, one of his childhood friends, and neighbors gathering up almost every book in their respective households and burning them. At the time, Mao was only allowing certain books in China (marked by a red cover) and all others had to be destroyed. Early on, Fan Shen finds that he is disillusioned by “The Great Leader” and communism. The ensuing story is so wild it is hard to believe it is non-fiction! Leaving room for a more in depth review, we’ll just say that readers—or maybe just this reader— will finish Gang of One believing Fan Shen is a super hero.
Posted on: 16th May 2012 - 2 notes Reblog
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Talk Book was able to obtain a signed copy of Peace, They Say by Jay Nordlinger.
Peace, They Say studies the history of the Nobel Peace Prize. However, in doing so, it covers recent history in such a nutshell that one reviewer said reading it is invaluable “if you want to understand the world in which we live”.
A full review/summary is forthcoming!
Posted on: 16th May 2012 - 2 notes Reblog
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Look what bookstorey has posted! Their blog is fantastic because readers learn a certain kind of history, a nuanced history, rather than a merely reading a book review.
Lays of Ancient Rome,
Lord Macaulay
Although now you would struggle to find a copy in a high street bookshop, in its heyday Macaulay’s Lays of Ancient Rome, originally published in 1842, was recited in many a Victorian parlour and provided the first commercial success for its publisher Longmans. A set text in British public schools for over one hundred years, likely, it was as widely read in the past as Harry Potter is today. Among its notable fans was Winston Churchill who is said to have memorised it.
The lays themselves (Horatius, The Battle of Lake Regillus, Virginia and The Prophecy of Capys) are narrative poems based on semi-mythical heroic and tragic episodes in Roman history.
The photographs are of the New Edition published by Longmans around 1880s with the original illustrations by George Sharf, Jun.Posted on: 16th May 2012 - 45 notes Reblog
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