Books About Reading Experiments and Reading Stunts

The Shelf: Adventures in Extreme Reading by Phyllis Rose (2014) - Go to a library near you. Choose a bookshelf at random. Then read through all the books in that particular shelf. This is what Phyllis Rose (Woman of Letters) did. And she wrote about the experiment in this book. Rose had a career reading from syllabuses and writing about canonical books. It was clockwork and tiring. So Rose decided to read like an explorer. Just sail into an ocean of books and choose what to read in random. So she went to the New York Society Library, chose a shelf at random, and read her way through the books in that shelf.

Norse Mythology By Neil Gaiman: Everything You Should Know About The Book

Norse Mythology is an upcoming book by Neil Gaiman, the author of immensely popular and modern classics such as The Graveyard Book, Coraline, American Gods, Stardust, and The Sandman. It's scheduled to be released on February 7, 2017. The project was born when Gaiman got approached by an editor working for the W.W. Norton & Company and asked him if he would be interested in penning a full-length book about Norse mythology. Gaiman enthusiastically accepted the challenge

Gaiman told the New York Times that when he was a young kid, he was engrossed with fascination as he read Roger Lancelyn Green's Myths of the Norsemen and Jack Kirby's The Mighty Thor. This fascination with Norse myths also inspired some of his best-selling books. In American Gods, for instance, there was a major character there who was based on Odin, one of the biggest names in Norse mythology. Odin is associated with healing, royalty, knowledge, sorcery, frenzy, death, the gallows, battle, poetry, and the runic alphabet.

Also, in Odd and the Frost Giants, a children's book, Gaiman created the character of a young boy who crosses path with an eagle, a fox, and a bear. These animals turned out to be Odin, Loki, and Thor. There are also characters and stories in Sandman that were drawn from Norse mythology. Gaiman also contributed in the penning of the screenplay for the 2007 film Beowulf by Robert Zemeckis.

Wikipedia

According to W.W. Norton & Company, Norse Mythology is going to be a non-fiction retelling of Norse stories. However, the stories will be done in an almost novelistic style. Gaiman revealed that it took him three years to write and finish the book. The book is now available for pre-order on Amazon.

"Those Norse tales have accompanied me through pretty much everything I've done. They ran like a vein of silver through Sandman, they were the bedrock of American Gods." - Neil Gaiman

Jack London Trivia: Well-Known Author Of The Call Of The Wild

Jack London is a literary hero and legend. Although most of his works were published more than a century ago, he still remains as one of the most recognizable names in the literary world today. His writings never wavered in their popularity as the decades went by. The man and his works are as popular today as they were popular over a century ago.

He became world famous in 1903 when his book The Call of the Wild was published. This was the book that made London a household name. This book was also his ticket to becoming the first writer to earn a million dollars from his writings.

Most people only know London as the author of The Call of the Wild but the fact is he had written dozens of works. And these are all great pieces of writing that fans of the written word should read.

Here are some Jack London trivia to help you learn more about the legendary writer:

1. His real name is John Griffith London but he preferred to be called Jack and this is the name he used in all of his published works. He also wanted to be called Wolf.

2. His real father has never been definitely established. Some say his father was William Henry Chaney, an astrologer who lived with Jack's mother Flora Wellman in 1875. Jack was born on January 12, 1876. On the other hand, some say that Jack's father was John London, a man married by Flora nine months after the birth of Jack.

3. Jack's family was very poor so he was often put to work as the breadwinner of the family. He was working even before he finished grade school. He held jobs that included selling newspapers at the Oakland water front, scrubbing the floors of dirty saloons, setting bowling pins in bowling alleys and working in a cannery for twelve hours a day. In his later years, London described his childhood as "my life has been one of toil".

4. Typhoon Off the Coast of Japan, one of London's first published works was a product of his adventures as a sailor aboard the Sophie Sutherland, a sealing schooner that operated in Japan and in the Bering Sea. London joined the schooner's crew when he was just seventeen years old.

5. As a teenager, London worked as a fish patrolman as well as a pirate in the San Francisco Bay. He bought a sloop with the three hundred dollars he borrowed from a certain Jennie Prentiss, his former wet-nurse.

6. He once served a prison term at the Erie County Penitentiary for vagrancy. This happened after his return from the sea as part of the Sophie Sutherland crew.

7. London easily passed the entrance examinations at the University of California in 1896 after extensive cramming. He however dropped out after just one semester because he can no longer afford the university fees.

8. London died on November 22, 1916 at the age of 40, just less than a year before the United States entered World war I.

9. London's most popular works are his books about the North collectively known as the Northland Saga. These include The Call of the Wild, The Son of the Wolf, A Daughter of the Snows, The Faith of Men, Lost Face, Scorn of Women, and Smoke Bellew.

10. London's other major works include The People of the Abyss, The Iron Heel, When God Laughs, The Valley of the Moon, The Star Rover and The Assassination Bureau Ltd.

If you haven't read any of Jack London's writings and you don't know where to start, it's recommended that you begin reading the collection titled Great Short Works of Jack London which was first published in 1965 by Harper & Row. The book contains the stories The Call of the Wild, White Fang, Batard, To Build a Fire, In a Far Country, The Law of Life, Love of Life, and An Odyssey of the North.

Noli Me Tangere Chapter 2 Summary

Long summary:
Captain Tiago, the host of the evening party, enters the living room with Don Crisostomo Ibarra. Tiago introduces Ibarra as the son of his deceased friend. He also tells the group that Ibarra just arrived from Europe.

Father Damaso is petrified by the entrance and appearance of Ibarra. When the latter introduces himself to the priest and alludes to a friendship between the priest and his late father, the priest responded by saying "your father was never a close friend of mine".

Ibarra immediately withdraws the hand that he extended towards Father Damaso. In that instant, the Teniente asks Ibarra if he is the son of Don Rafael Ibarra. The young man acknowledged the question.

The Teniente tells the young Ibarra that he met and knew his father and that he was one of the country's most honorable men. Ibarra replied by thanking him and hinting that he doesn't know what caused his father's death. The Teniente gets emotional and hurries to leave.

Ibarra introduces himself to a group of ladies but he generated no response so he leaves and joins a group of young men instead.

A man approaches Ibarra and introduces himself as Captain Tinong of Tondo. Tinong invites Ibarra for lunch at his house in Tondo but the latter politely declines saying he is leaving for San Diego first thing in the morning.

An attendant informs everyone at the party that dinner has been served. The guests start proceeding towards the dining hall.

Short summary:
Captain Tiago appears at the party with Crisostomo Ibarra whom he starts introducing to some guests. Father Damaso isn't too happy about the young Ibarra's presence in the gathering. In a conversation with the Teniente, Ibarra hints that he is still in the dark with regards to what has befallen his father, the late Don Rafael Ibarra.

Noli Me Tangere Chapter One (1) Summary: A Social Gathering Or Isang Pagtitipon

Chapter One (1): A Social Gathering; Isang Pagtitipon; Una Reunion
The month of October is coming to an end and Don Santiago de los Santos (commonly referred to in the area as Capitan Tiago) is hosting a dinner at his house in Binondo which is located along Anloague Street and near the Pasig River. Capitan Tiago's cousin is receiving the lady guests as well as offering cigars and a compound of betel nut, leaves, and lime to Spaniards. She soon gets bored, leaves the party which is being held at the living room, and never reappears.

Sitting around one of the tables at the living room are Padre Damaso (a Franciscan priest), Padre Sibyla (a Dominican priest), a blond youth who is a newcomer to the Philippines, Senor Laruja, and a soldier (a Teniente). The five men are feasting on English biscuits and bottles of wine. Padre Damaso is telling the group of how ignorant and indolent the Filipino people (indio) are.

Padre Damaso and the Lieutenant nearly figures in a fist fight after the former insults the Vice-Royal Patron (Capitan General). But Padre Sibyla intervenes and prevents the potential scuttle.

Doctor de Espadana and his wife Dona Victorina arrives at the dinner party. Padre Damaso and group greet the couple and engage them in a conversation about the invention of the gunpowder.

List of characters who appeared in the chapter:
1. Don Santiago de los Santos or Capitan Tiago
2. Padre Damaso
3. Padre Sibyla
4. Senor Laruja
5. Dona Victorina de Espadana
6. Don Tiburcio de Espadana
7. Leiutenant Guevarra
8. the blond youth
9. Tiya Isabel

Notes and analysis:
1. Padre Damaso is quickly established as a priest with a very high level of self-entitlement. He not only despises Filipinos, he also deem them to be both indolent and ignorant. He is also shown as a man with a bad temper as evidenced by his fist-raising during the heated conversation with Lieutenant Guevarra.

Google Pays Tribute To Russian Author Leo Tolstoy With An Interactive Doodle

Every now and then, search engine giant Google pays tribute to people and historical events via a doodle that would appear on its homepage for at least a day. Anyone or anything that gets a doodle receives massive publicity and exposure online as Google generates millions of searches a day.

Today (September 9), the tribute went to one of the greatest novelists of all time. The Russian writer Leo Tolstoy. A master of realistic fiction, Tolstoy is most well-known for War and Peace, Anna Karenina, and The Cossacks. He is mostly associated with these titles but these are just a tip of Tolstoy's massive iceberg of works. He has written novellas, dozens of short stories and an impressive collection of philosophical writings.

Featured in the Google doodle are War and Peace, Anna Karenina and the novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich. Below are screenshots from the brilliant doodle.

To learn more about Leo Tolstoy, you can read an overview of his biography and writings on Wikipedia. A list of his works can be found here. And for memorable quotes from his works, find them here. Tolstoy's most well-known works include Childhood, Boyhood, Youth, The Cossacks, War and Peace, Anna Karenina, and Resurrection. He has also written novellas like Family Happiness, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, and The Forged Coupon.

Poet, Artist, And Writer Lang Leav Is Coming To Manila This February

Fans of Lang Leav in Manila, here's something to rejoice about. The quirky artist, poet and author has posted on her official Facebook page that she will be in Manila from February 7-9, 2014. Invited by the bookseller chain Fully Booked, she will be in town to meet her Filipino fans and promote her new book called Love & Misadventure.

Published on September 17, 2013, Love & Misadventure will take you on a roller-coaster of a ride through messages of hope, love and tragedy. Beautifully illustrated, it's a nice book that will appeal to readers who are looking for something unconventional and different.

On February 7, Lang Leav will be at the Ateneo de Manila University for an artist's talk and book reading. To attend this, you need to register. Unfortunately, Fully Booked has announced that registration has been closed as all slots are full. On February 8 and 9, the author will be at Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street and Fully Booked Alabang Town Center respectively. Activities are book signing and poetry reading.

A contest is also in place wherein fans are asked to submit their own poems. Winners will get the chance to have dinner with the author. For more details about the contest, go here.

Since Lang Leav has a lot of fans here in the Philippines, the venues provided might not be able to accommodate them all. That said, it's probably best that you get there as early as you can.