Kate’s 2¢: “Balladz” by Sharon Olds
“Balladz” by Sharon Olds
This was a book chosen at random by NLS and sent to me on a cartridge that contained seven books.
It was interesting to hear Sharon Olds read her own poems, but they were not my cup of tea. I did not enjoy these poems
From NLS/BARD/LOC:
Balladz DB110528
Olds, Sharon Reading time: 3 hours, 36 minutes.
Sharon Olds
Poetry
“”At the time of have-not, I look at myself in this mirror,” writes Olds in this self-scouring, exhilarating volume, which opens with a section of quarantine poems, and at its center boasts what she calls Amherst Balladz (whose syntax honors Emily Dickinson: “she was our Girl – our Woman – / Man enough – for me”) and many more in her own contemporary, long-flowing-sentence rhythm. Olds sings of her childhood, young womanhood, and maturity all mixed up together, seeing an early lover in the one who is about to buried; seeing her white privilege without apology; seeing her mother (whom her readers will recognize) “flushed exalted at Punishment time”; seeing how we’ve spoiled the earth but carrying a stray indoor spider carefully back out to the garden. It is Olds’s gift to us that in the richly detailed exposure of her sorrows she can still elegize songbirds, her true kin, and write that heaven comes here in life, not after it.” — Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.
”The Kiss Curse” by Erin Sterling
At first, I thought this story would appeal to teen readers, however, I found that there were some very explicit descriptions of sex. Not appropriate for teen readers (at least, in my opinion)!
Well, yes, I did enjoy the repartee of the witches and the drama of the romance.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rachel Hawkins (born November 23, 1979) is the author of Hex Hall, a best-selling trilogy of young adult paranormal romance novels. She is from Dothan, Alabama.[1][2] She also writes as Erin Sterling.[3]
Biography[edit]
Hawkins was born in Newport News, Virginia, moved to Dothan, Alabama at a young age, graduated from Houston Academy in 1998, and received a degree in English literature from Auburn University in 2002. She began writing her first novel, Hex Hall, while working as an English teacher at Sparkman High School. As of 2021, Hawkins lives with her family in Auburn, Alabama.[4] edit]
From NLS/BARD/LOC:
The kiss curse: a novel DB110606
Sterling, Erin Reading time: 7 hours, 49 minutes.
Shannon McManus
Humor
Family
Fantasy Fiction
Supernatural and Horror Fiction
Romance
“Gwyn Jones is perfectly happy with her life in Graves Glen. She, her mom, and her cousin have formed a new and powerful coven; she’s running a successful witchcraft shop, Something Wicked; and she’s started mentoring some of the younger witches in town. As Halloween approaches, there’s only one problem–Llewellyn “Wells” Penhallow. Wells has come to Graves Glen to re-establish his family’s connection to the town they founded as well as to make a new life for himself after years of being the dutiful son in Wales. When he opens up a shop of his own, Penhallow’s, just across the street from Something Wicked, he quickly learns he’s gotten more than he bargained for in going up against Gwyn. When their professional competition leads to a very personal–and very hot–kiss, both Wells and Gwyn are determined to stay away from each other, convinced the kiss was just a magical fluke. But when a mysterious new coven of witches come to town and Gwyn’s powers begin fading, she and Wells must work together to figure out just what these new witches want and how to restore Gwyn’s magic before it’s too late.” — Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.
Download The kiss curse: a novel DB110606
Kate’s 2¢: “The Breakdown” by B. A. Paris
“The Breakdown” by B. A. Paris
I think the term gas lighting applies to this story. Georgia Maguire did a good job of narrating this story and I love the ending.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
baparis.com
B.A. Paris (Bernadette MacDougall)[1] is a Franco-British writer of fiction, mainly in the psychological thriller subgenre. Her debut novel, Behind Closed Doors (2016), was a New York Times[2] and Sunday Times bestseller. It has been translated into 40 languages and has sold more than 3.5 million copies worldwide.
Her other books include The Breakdown (2017),[3] Bring Me Back (2018), The Dilemma (2019)[1][4] and The Therapist (2021).
Background[edit]
B.A. Paris was born in Surrey, England, in 1958 to a French mother and Irish father. She is the third of 6 children, including 4 brothers and a sister. After completing her education, she moved to France, where she worked as a trader in an international bank in Paris for several years. During this time, she met her husband, with whom she now has 5 daughters. They eventually left the world of finance to set up a language school together.
It was only after turning 50 that B.A. Paris began writing, when one of her daughters suggested she enter a writing competition advertised in a magazine. While she didn’t win, this led her to write her first novels, including her internationally bestselling debut Behind Closed Doors. She is published by HarperCollins Publishers in the UK and St Martin’s Press in the US.
Today, B.A. Paris lives in Hampshire with her husband and continues to write psychological thrillers. They have 5 children together.
From NLS/BARD/LOC:
The breakdown DB89117
Paris, B. A. Reading time: 9 hours, 22 minutes.
Read by Georgia Maguire.
Suspense Fiction
Mystery and Detective Stories
Psychological Fiction
Cass is having a hard time since the night she saw the car in the woods, in the middle of a downpour, with the woman sitting inside–the woman who was killed. What could she have done, really? But now someone is watching her. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2017.
Downloaded: October 5, 2023
Download The breakdown
Whitaker Kayla Rae The animators a novel
“The animators: a novel” by Kayla Rae Whitaker
Alex McKenna did a good job of reading this story, with all its innuendos of same sex relationships, complex artistic woes, and over-coming a trimitic stroke.
A few take-aways:
–Irrefutable love is us us making a place where redemption exists.
–We start small
–The best part about having a stroke is other people assume you can’t talk at all.
–Your life is the people who fill it.
–I was lucky. From age 18 on, I had a partner, a kindred spirit
–The old impulses are not dead. The voodoo did not die.
From the WEB:
Excerpt: During a trip to Sharon’s home state of Kentucky, the only other partner she has ever truly known—her troubled, charismatic childhood best friend, Teddy—reenters her life, and long-buried resentments rise to the surface, hastening a reckoning no one sees coming.
Kayla Rae Whitaker lives in Louisville, Kentucky. THE ANIMATORS is her first novel.
From NLS/BARD/LOC:
The animators: a novel DB86765
Whitaker, Kayla Rae. Reading time: 15 hours, 26 minutes.
Read by Alex McKenna.
Human Relations
Psychological Fiction
Mel and Sharon have been best friends since their first class in college. After ten years, they are still artistic partners, but their fortunes are on the verge of changing. This forces them to reevaluate not only their own relationship, but their relationships with family and friends. Strong language and descriptions of sex. Commercial audiobook. 2017.
Downloaded: September 27, 2023
Download The animators: a novel
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by kate
Comments Off on Kate’s 2¢: “The Age of innocence” by Edith Wharten
Kate’s 2¢: “The Age of innocence” by Edith Wharten
“The Age of innocence” by Edith Wharten
A few take-outs:
–Portrail of the New York society in the 1870’s.
–To defy the social ethic was to disturb the foundation of society…adherence to moral commitment.
From: www.sparknotes.com/author/edith-wharton/
Wharton’s protagonists challenge social taboos, but are unable to overcome the barriers of social convention. Wharton’s personal experiences, opinions, and passions influenced her writing. Edith Wharton was born Edith Newbold Jones on January 24, 1862, in New York City to George Frederic Jones and Lucretia Stevens Rhinelander Jones.
In addition to novels, Wharton wrote at least 85 short stories. She was also a garden designer, an interior designer, and a taste-maker of her time. She wrote several design books, including her first major published work, The Decoration of Houses (1897), co-authored by Ogden Codman.
Wharton wrote numerous novels the more famous being ‘The House of Mirth’ (1905), ‘The Reef’ (1912), ‘The Custom of the Country’ (1913) and ‘Summer’ (1917). She won a Pulitzer Prize for a novel she published in 1920 called ‘The Age of Innocence’. This made her the first woman to receive this award
From NLS/BARD/LOC:
The age of innocence DB28162
Wharton, Edith. Reading time: 10 hours, 53 minutes.
Read by J. P Linton.
Literature
Psychological Fiction
Romance
A novel of manners set in New York society in the 1870s, an age of convention, propriety, and tribal solidarity. Newland Archer is torn between his attraction to a woman separated from her husband, and his security in a bland but proper marriage. Pulitzer Prize 1920.
Downloaded: September 27, 2023
Download The age of innocence
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by kate
Comments Off on Kate’s 2¢: “David Raker. Books 9-10” BY Tim Weaver
Kate’s 2¢: “David Raker. Books 9-10” BY Tim Weaver
“David Raker. Books 9-10” BY Tim Weaver
I really enjoyed these two stories. I’ll be looking for the other books. Both plots are chock full of twists, turns, and surprises. Awesome.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tim Weaver (born 1977) is an English writer primarily known for his crime thrillers featuring missing persons investigator David Raker.
Career[edit]
Journalism[edit]
Prior to publication of his first book, Weaver was a videogames journalist. He was editor of N64 Magazine and spent six years as editor of Xbox World, leaving the magazine in 2011.[1] He also appeared as co-host of YouTube show GTA V O’Clock.[2] In his wider career as a journalist, he has written about the long struggle he and his wife had to start a family.[3]
From NLS/BARD/LOC:
David Raker. Books 9-10 DB96329
Weaver, Tim. Reading time: 34 hours, 58 minutes.
Read by Jon Huffman.
Suspense Fiction
Mystery and Detective Stories
Psychological Fiction
Two novels, written in 2018-19, feature London missing-persons investigator David Raker. In You Were Gone, Raker is informed that his long-dead wife has just walked into a police station looking for him. In No One Home, four households disappear from a tiny village on Halloween. Violence and strong language. 2019.
Downloaded: October 14, 2023
Download David Raker. Books 9-10
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by kate
Comments Off on Kate’s 2¢: “The Last Days of Pompeii” by Baron Edward Bulwer Lytton
Kate’s 2¢: “The Last Days of Pompeii” by Baron Edward Bulwer Lytton
“The Last Days of Pompeii” by Baron Edward Bulwer Lytton
NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares my thoughts about what I read. I’m just saying…
I downloaded this story after having the opportunity to visit the Memorial Art Gallery and put my hands all over the marble statue of “Nydia, The Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii”, which had been modeled in 1855–56 and carved in 1858 by Randolph Rogers (an American artist, born in Waterloo, NY, 1825–1892). I wanted to put Nydia into the rest of the story.
The inspiration for the marble statue came from a popular novel written in 1834 entitled “The Last Days of Pompeii” by Edward George Earl Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron (1803–1873).
At the time of his writing, the excavation of Pompeii was already underway. I’ve read several accounts of how they found so many places and things in perfect condition exactly where they were, even skeletal remains, buried under 13-20 feet of volcanic ash and pumice in the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius on August 24, 79 AD. Sir Lytton masterly crafted fact and fiction, prose and poetry into a beautiful, alas tragic, love story based on historical writings, paintings, artifacts, and on-site excavations. He stated he wanted to peopled its deserted streets, repair the town’s graceful ruins, and to reanimate its varied population.
I like the way the author gently insinuated the sources of the text and compared the ancient to what it might have been in 1834. He did it in such a way that it did not detract from the narrative arc or emotion of the scene.
Throughout the book, the fore-shadowings of the pending doom of the antagonist, the gladiators, the triangle of lovers, and indeed, the town were artfully built up until the fruition and climax. “Our art is to divert to a milder sadness on the surface the pain that gnaws at the core.”
“The Last Days of Pompeii” was written during an age when people valued reading and were not distracted by electronic devices, so I think educators and retirees would enjoy contemplating the discussions presented in this classic tome.
About the Author:
Edward George Earl Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (1803–1873) was a novelist, playwright, and politician. He was a popular writer of his day, who coined such phrases as “the great unwashed”, “pursuit of the almighty dollar” and “the pen is mightier than the sword”
Born in London, England, in 1803, Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer Lytton, 1 st Baron Lytton, was the third child of General William Earle Bulwer and Elizabeth Barbara Lytton. His father died when Edward was four, and his education fell to his mother, who had already taught Edward to read.
From NLS/BARD/LOC:
The last days of Pompeii DB17605
Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron Reading time: 14 hours, 22 minutes.
Jonathan Farwell National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress.
Historical Fiction
First published in 1834, this novel recreates the life of the vibrant Roman city that was buried alive by the sudden eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The fictional characters are based on known prototypes, and the author relied on the best archaeological evidence available to him.
From the Project Gutenberg:
titled The Last Days of Pompeii: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1565/1565-h/1565-h.htm
Experiencing The Memorial Art Gallery, December 6, 2023
By Kate Chamberlin
The Visionaries and The Visionary Women were warmly welcomed to the Memorial Art Gallery of Rochester by several staff and volunteers, led by Susie Daiss.
We divided into small focus groups and went to various stations that awaited us.
Susie placed my gloved hand on the marble base of a statue and stood back. I felt a relatively small, smoot foot with perfect toenails and followed up the multiple folds of fabric carved into the marble.
Imagine my surprise when my hand discovered a single, small breast of a nubile female. She held a stick, broken off at the top, in her right hand. The base of the stick was tangled in her skirt.
I was puzzled to find her left arm was raised and crossed over her body to her right ear. I wondered why the girl had her cupped hand facing behind her.
Continuing up, I felt her smooth facial features. When I reached the top of her head, I couldn’t tell if she had wavy hair or wore some kind of hat. Then, continued down her left side to her left foot. The heel was raised, her toes on the ground. She appeared to be fleeing something in fear and listening to hear if it was catching up to her.
Susie asked me to go back to the statue’s face and describe her eyes. When I said her eyes are closed. It dawned on me that this girl is blind! I gasped. My throat closed. I choked up and tears welled up in my own blind eyes. I was surprised at my visceral reaction, knowing the fear and panic this blind girl must have experienced.
I’m in awe that a chunk of pure white marble, carved centuries ago, could convey such a powerful emotion in me.
The statue I was exploring entitle “Nydia, The Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii”, had been modeled in 1855–56 and carved in 1858 by Randolph Rogers (an American artist, born in Waterloo, NY, 1825–1892).
Inscribed on the base is: “Rome 1858”. Its Dimensions are 130.8 × 64.1 × 91.4 cm (51 1/2 × 25 1/4 × 36 in.)
Susie explained that This statue is based on a character from Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s popular 1834 novel “The Last Days of Pompeii”. In the episode depicted here, Nydia and her two companions attempt to flee the city after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The three become separated, however, and Randolph Rogers captured Nydia as she gropes her way through the burning city. The broken Corinthian column at her feet symbolizes fallen Pompeii, and Nydia’s clinging garments, entangled in her staff, indicate her chaotic surroundings. Because of its narrative quality, sentimental presentation, and classical features and proportions, this sculpture was extremely popular with the American public upon its first being exhibited.
So of course, when I returned home, I downloaded “The Last Days of Pompeii” by Edward George Earl Bulwer-Lytton to put Nydia into the rest of the story.
This visit to the Memorial Art Gallery of Rochester, NY, was not the first time experiencing the precious relics in its collection. The members of our groups, The Visionaries and The Visionary Women, all have low vision. I’m the only totally blind person. During this visit, Susie, Senior Associate, Memorial Art Gallery and Department of Health Humanities and Bioethics, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, NY; and her colleagues: Colleen Kaiser, Sydney Greaves, and Adam Koneman. did a wonderful job of presenting paintings and artifacts to us to feel, smell, hear, and to immerse ourselves in history, as each of our small groups rotated from station to station.
You can be sure we’ll talk about our visit for a long time, telling our children and grandchildren about it; possibly insuring the future of the Memorial Art Gallery of Rochester, NY.
About the sculptor:
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Randolph Rogers.
• Sculptor.org information
• World Wide Arts Resources information
• Randolph Rogers from University of Michigan Museum of Art
Rogers was born in Waterloo, New York, and his family moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan when he was a child.[1][2]
He developed an interest in wood cuts and wood engraving, and moved to New York City about 1847, but was unsuccessful in finding employment as an engraver. While working as a clerk in a dry-goods store, his employers discovered his native talent as a sculptor and provided funds for him to travel to Italy. He began study in Florence in 1848, where he studied briefly under Lorenzo Bartolini.[3] He then opened a studio in Rome in 1851. He resided in that city until his death in 1892.[4]
He began his career carving statues of children and portrait busts of tourists. He was not happy working with marble consequently all his marble statues were copied in his studio by Italian artisans under his supervision, from an original produced by him in another material. This also enabled him to profit from his popular works. His first large-scale work was Ruth Gleaning (1853), based on a figure in the Old Testament. It proved extremely popular, and up to 20 marble replicas were produced by his studio. His next large-scale work was Nydia, the Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii (1853–54), based on a character in Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s best-selling 1834 novel, The Last Days of Pompeii. It proved even more popular, and his studio produced at least 77 marble replicas.[4]
In 1855 he received his first major commission in the United States: great bronze doors for the East Front of the United States Capitol. He chose to depict scenes from the life of Christopher Columbus. The Columbus Doors were modeled in Rome, cast in Munich, and installed in Washington, DC in 1871.[5]
In 1854, Rogers along with William Wetmore Story, Richard Greenough, and Thomas Crawford were each commissioned by Mount Auburn Cemetery to create statues of famous Bostonians to be displayed in the cemetery’s chapel.[6] Rogers was commissioned to create a statue of President John Adams.[7] In September 1857, Rogers shipped the completed marble sculpture from Rome, but the ship was lost at sea before its arrival.[8] Rogers was then commissioned to create another copy of his sculpture of “John Adams” and was contracted to create a marble version of Thomas Crawford’s plaster sculpture “James Otis” after Crawfords died suddenly.[9] (All of the sculptures were transferred to the Harvard Art Museums in 1935)
Following the 1857 death of sculptor Thomas Crawford, Rogers completed the sculpture program of the Washington Monument at the State Capitol in Richmond.
He designed four major American Civil War monuments: the Soldiers’ National Monument (1865–1869) at Gettysburg National Cemetery; the Rhode Island Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument (1866–1871) in Providence; the Michigan Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument (1867–1872) in Detroit; and the Soldiers’ Monument (1871–1874) in Worcester, Massachusetts.
He modeled The Genius of Connecticut (1877–1878), a bronze goddess that adorned the dome of the Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford. It was damaged in a 1938 hurricane,[10] removed, and melted down for scrap metal during World War II. A plaster cast of the statue is now exhibited within the building.[4]
In 1873 he became the first American to be elected to Italy’s Accademia di San Luca, and he was knighted in 1884 by King Umberto I.[4]
Rogers suffered a stroke in 1882 and was never able to work again.[11] He left his papers and plaster casts of his sculptures to the University of Michigan, where there is also a Nydia replica.[12][13][14][15]
Memorial Art Gallery of Rochester, NY
500 University Ave, Rochester, NY 14607
(585) 276-8900
Uncategorized
by kate
Comments Off on Cornucopia: Experiencing the Memorial Art GAllery
Cornucopia: Experiencing the Memorial Art GAllery
Experiencing The Memorial Art Gallery, December 6, 2023
By Kate Chamberlin
The Visionaries and The Visionary Women were warmly welcomed to the Memorial Art Gallery of Rochester by several staff and volunteers, led by Susie Daiss.
We divided into small focus groups and went to various stations that awaited us.
Susie placed my gloved hand on the marble base of a statue and stood back. I felt a relatively small, smoot foot with perfect toenails and followed up the multiple folds of fabric carved into the marble.
Imagine my surprise when my hand discovered a single, small breast of a nubile female. She held a stick, broken off at the top, in her right hand. The base of the stick was tangled in her skirt.
I was puzzled to find her left arm was raised and crossed over her body to her right ear. I wondered why the girl had her cupped hand facing behind her.
Continuing up, I felt her smooth facial features. When I reached the top of her head, I couldn’t tell if she had wavy hair or wore some kind of hat. Then, continued down her left side to her left foot. The heel was raised, her toes on the ground. She appeared to be fleeing something in fear and listening to hear if it was catching up to her.
Susie asked me to go back to the statue’s face and describe her eyes. When I said her eyes are closed. It dawned on me that this girl is blind! I gasped. My throat closed. I choked up and tears welled up in my own blind eyes. I was surprised at my visceral reaction, knowing the fear and panic this blind girl must have experienced.
I’m in awe that a chunk of pure white marble, carved centuries ago, could convey such a powerful emotion in me.
The statue I was exploring entitle “Nydia, The Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii”, had been modeled in 1855–56 and carved in 1858 by Randolph Rogers (an American artist, born in Waterloo, NY, 1825–1892).
Inscribed on the base is: “Rome 1858”. Its Dimensions are 130.8 × 64.1 × 91.4 cm (51 1/2 × 25 1/4 × 36 in.)
Susie explained that This statue is based on a character from Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s popular 1834 novel “The Last Days of Pompeii”. In the episode depicted here, Nydia and her two companions attempt to flee the city after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The three become separated, however, and Randolph Rogers captured Nydia as she gropes her way through the burning city. The broken Corinthian column at her feet symbolizes fallen Pompeii, and Nydia’s clinging garments, entangled in her staff, indicate her chaotic surroundings. Because of its narrative quality, sentimental presentation, and classical features and proportions, this sculpture was extremely popular with the American public upon its first being exhibited.
So of course, when I returned home, I downloaded “The Last Days of Pompeii” by Edward George Earl Bulwer-Lytton to put Nydia into the rest of the story.
This visit to the Memorial Art Gallery of Rochester, NY, was not the first time experiencing the precious relics in its collection. The members of our groups, The Visionaries and The Visionary Women, all have low vision. I’m the only totally blind person. During this visit, Susie, Senior Associate, Memorial Art Gallery and Department of Health Humanities and Bioethics, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, NY; and her colleagues: Colleen Kaiser, Sydney Greaves, and Adam Koneman. did a wonderful job of presenting paintings and artifacts to us to feel, smell, hear, and to immerse ourselves in history, as each of our small groups rotated from station to station.
You can be sure we’ll talk about our visit for a long time, telling our children and grandchildren about it; possibly insuring the future of the Memorial Art Gallery of Rochester, NY.
About the sculptor:
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Randolph Rogers.
• Sculptor.org information
• World Wide Arts Resources information
• Randolph Rogers from University of Michigan Museum of Art
Rogers was born in Waterloo, New York, and his family moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan when he was a child.[1][2]
He developed an interest in wood cuts and wood engraving, and moved to New York City about 1847, but was unsuccessful in finding employment as an engraver. While working as a clerk in a dry-goods store, his employers discovered his native talent as a sculptor and provided funds for him to travel to Italy. He began study in Florence in 1848, where he studied briefly under Lorenzo Bartolini.[3] He then opened a studio in Rome in 1851. He resided in that city until his death in 1892.[4]
He began his career carving statues of children and portrait busts of tourists. He was not happy working with marble consequently all his marble statues were copied in his studio by Italian artisans under his supervision, from an original produced by him in another material. This also enabled him to profit from his popular works. His first large-scale work was Ruth Gleaning (1853), based on a figure in the Old Testament. It proved extremely popular, and up to 20 marble replicas were produced by his studio. His next large-scale work was Nydia, the Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii (1853–54), based on a character in Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s best-selling 1834 novel, The Last Days of Pompeii. It proved even more popular, and his studio produced at least 77 marble replicas.[4]
In 1855 he received his first major commission in the United States: great bronze doors for the East Front of the United States Capitol. He chose to depict scenes from the life of Christopher Columbus. The Columbus Doors were modeled in Rome, cast in Munich, and installed in Washington, DC in 1871.[5]
In 1854, Rogers along with William Wetmore Story, Richard Greenough, and Thomas Crawford were each commissioned by Mount Auburn Cemetery to create statues of famous Bostonians to be displayed in the cemetery’s chapel.[6] Rogers was commissioned to create a statue of President John Adams.[7] In September 1857, Rogers shipped the completed marble sculpture from Rome, but the ship was lost at sea before its arrival.[8] Rogers was then commissioned to create another copy of his sculpture of “John Adams” and was contracted to create a marble version of Thomas Crawford’s plaster sculpture “James Otis” after Crawfords died suddenly.[9] (All of the sculptures were transferred to the Harvard Art Museums in 1935)
Following the 1857 death of sculptor Thomas Crawford, Rogers completed the sculpture program of the Washington Monument at the State Capitol in Richmond.
He designed four major American Civil War monuments: the Soldiers’ National Monument (1865–1869) at Gettysburg National Cemetery; the Rhode Island Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument (1866–1871) in Providence; the Michigan Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument (1867–1872) in Detroit; and the Soldiers’ Monument (1871–1874) in Worcester, Massachusetts.
He modeled The Genius of Connecticut (1877–1878), a bronze goddess that adorned the dome of the Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford. It was damaged in a 1938 hurricane,[10] removed, and melted down for scrap metal during World War II. A plaster cast of the statue is now exhibited within the building.[4]
In 1873 he became the first American to be elected to Italy’s Accademia di San Luca, and he was knighted in 1884 by King Umberto I.[4]
Rogers suffered a stroke in 1882 and was never able to work again.[11] He left his papers and plaster casts of his sculptures to the University of Michigan, where there is also a Nydia replica.[12][13][14][15]
From NLS/BARD/LOC:
The last days of Pompeii DB17605
Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron Reading time: 14 hours, 22 minutes.
Jonathan Farwell National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress.
Historical Fiction
First published in 1834, this novel recreates the life of the vibrant Roman city that was buried alive by the sudden eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The fictional characters are based on known prototypes, and the author relied on the best archaeological evidence available to him.
From the Project Gutenberg:
titled The Last Days of Pompeii: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1565/1565-h/1565-h.htm
About the Author:
Edward George Earl Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (1803–1873) was a novelist, playwright, and politician. He was a popular writer of his day, who coined such phrases as “the great unwashed”, “pursuit of the almighty dollar” and “the pen is mightier than the sword”
Born in London, England, in 1803, Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer Lytton, 1 st Baron Lytton, was the third child of General William Earle Bulwer and Elizabeth Barbara Lytton. His father died when Edward was four, and his education fell to his mother, who had already taught Edward to read.
Memorial Art Gallery of Rochester, NY
500 University Ave, Rochester, NY 14607
(585) 276-8900
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by kate
Comments Off on Kate’s 2¢: “The Escape Room” by Megan Goldin
Kate’s 2¢: “The Escape Room” by Megan Goldin
“The Escape Room” by Megan Goldin
This was a great story, but I did wonder how Sarah Hall could be in each alternate chapter.
Many thanks to Ramon De Ocampo for doing such a great job of narrating “The Escape Room”.
A few take-aways:
–Lucy said: Let them underestimate you. It’ll give you an advantage.
— Sun Su, The Art of War: Pretend inferiority and encourage their arrogance.
–Sarah: I felt as if I were a fraud. Terrified that one day someone would figure out that I was an imposter.
–to all of them life was like a casino.
–All the perks and pay were to skew our moral compass, so we wouldn’t hesitate, when we had to be ruthless.
–Goldin: The office toady is the human habitat of the 21st century. We’re all about survival skills we needed to get ahead.
–Goldin: My characters are a composite of people I’ve read about, observed, or experienced.
–Stephen King: When you write characters, it is like sitting around a campfire and they just emerge.
From the WEB:
Megan Goldin is an Australian author who is best known for her dynamite novel, The Escape Room. Prior to releasing her first novel, Megan Goldin worked for ABC and Reuters in Asia and the Middle East as a foreign correspondent. She covered war zones and covered topics like terrorism, war, and the quest for peace.
MEGAN GOLDIN worked as a correspondent for Reuters and other media outlets where she covered war, peace, international terrorism and financial meltdowns in the Middle East and Asia. She is now based in Melbourne, Australia where she raises three sons and is a foster mum to Labrador puppies learning to be guide dogs.
From NLS/BARD/LOC:
The escape room DB95709
Goldin, Megan. Reading time: 10 hours, 46 minutes.
Read by Ramon De Ocampo.
Suspense Fiction
Psychological Fiction
Invited to participate in an escape room as a team-building exercise, four ferociously competitive Wall Street coworkers crowd into the elevator of a high-rise building. But when the lights go off and the doors stay shut, it quickly becomes clear that this is no ordinary competition. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2019.
Downloaded: November 12, 2023
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Kate’s 2¢: “Eventide” by Therese Bohman
“Eventide” by Therese Bohman
“Eventide” by Therese Bohman
Translated by Marlaine Delargy
Gary Telles did a good job of narrating this story that seems to be about a frustrated, promiscuous female professor in a stream of consciousness. I didn’t really enjoy this story, although I usually like to read prose from other countries.
A few take-aways:
–Perceptive novel of ideas, of love, art, and solitude in our time and the distorted standards to which women are held.
–While working, she could forget time and space.
–She could see in her mind’s eye, a twilight land of late Capitalism, the decadence that precedes the collapse , a permanent dusk, where the obsured proportions that society has cast longer and longer shadows.
–By the end of the 19th Century, the ape came to represent sexuality and the animalistic side of whole humanity.
–What seems like a failure to you right now, you won’t feel the same when time has passed.
–She understood men; they were simple.
–It looks like there is a link between symbolism in Sweden and Germany that had never been researched.
–The purpose over the passed year, no longer existed.
–She turns her face up toward the sun. It is Spring. Life goes on.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
theresebohman.wordpress.com
Therese Bohman (born August 21, 1978) is a Swedish novelist and cultural journalist.
Life[edit]
Bohman grew up in Kolmården, a town about 150 km south of Stockholm that is famous for its zoo, the Kolmården Wildlife Park.[1] She has written that she visited the Kolmården zoo frequently as a child.[1]
Bohman is an editor for a monthly magazine called Axess, and is also an art critic for the Swedish newspaper Expressen. In addition to her work for those publications, Bohman is a freelance writer about art, literature and fashion.[1]
In 2010, Bohman’s debut novel, Drowned, was published in Sweden and it was subsequently translated and published in France, Germany, Holland, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Drowned was recommended by Oprah’s Book Club.[2][1]
Interests and influences[edit]
Bohman has stated that her favorite author is Michel Houellebecq.[3] Bohman said that Houellebecq’s male protagonists “are cynical, bitter, even misogynic, but I feel a kind of tenderness for them, and I also feel that I understand them.”[3] Bohman has also said she is a “big fan” of Karl Ove Knausgaard.[3]
As an art critic, Bohman has said that her artistic interests are similar to those of Kristina, the protagonist of her novel Eventide, in that she prefers nineteenth century, decadent and fin de siècle art,[3][4] and is especially interested in how women are depicted in such works:
It is such a fascinating period of history with big changes in society and culture: Darwin’s theories on evolution changed the way people thought about themselves and about God, secularization, urbanization, the women’s and labour movements, a little later Freud and his theories about the unconscious. All these things made traces in the art from the period, and they are evident in the way women were depicted.[3]
Critical reception[edit]
Tara Cheesman-Olmsted reviewed Bohman’s first two novels, Drowned and The Other Woman, in The Quarterly Conversation. Cheesman-Olmsted found remarkable similarities between the two works: “The books share so much in common that they might be the same novel: both explore almost identical situations, share many of the same structural and plot devices, and the author’s and translator Marlaine Delargy’s prose styles remain the same from book to book.”[5]
The key similarity of Drowned and The Other Woman, Cheesman-Olmsted writes, is that they feature protagonists entangled with older men. Bohman, she writes, “channels the psyches of twenty-something University students engaged in liaisons with men already involved with other women…. Bohman’s treatment of them is inarguably sympathetic. Their affairs with men may be the impetus for coming-of-age journeys, but they do not represent a final destination.”[5]
Cheesman-Olmsted is laudatory of both novels, writing, “Therese Bohman strikes the right balance between lavish prose and simple storytelling—allowing her books to be both beautiful literary objects and vehicles which engage readers through larger ideas.”[5]
Writing in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Randy Rosenthal praised Eventide as “full of damn fine writing, but it’s the novel’s irreverent attitude toward feminism that makes it as challenging as it is necessary to read.” Rosenthal noted that the main character, Karolina, was “well drawn,” but questioned whether the novel could be sustained by the scant plot. Rosenthal concluded that “Karolina lives by her own terms, and that alone is a courageous kind of success.”[6]
Publishers Weekly described Eventide as “moving,” going on to say that “[t]his psychologically rich journey provides insight into an intelligent, successful woman who burns with needs she fears she can’t fulfill.”[7] Kirkus Reviews called Bohman “an adroit novelist,” and concluded in its review of Eventide by saying that the book is “[i]ntelligent, impassioned, and compelling … Bohman’s latest explores complex inner worlds with great sensitivity and insight.”[8]
From MLS/BARD/LOC:
Eventide DB91991
Bohman, Therese; Delargy, Marlaine. Reading time: 8 hours, 4 minutes.
Read by Gary Telles.
Human Relations
Psychological Fiction
Art professor Karolina Andersson feels adrift after the breakup of a long relationship. As she advises a postgraduate student who has uncovered material that could change Swedish art history, Karolina finds herself in a complex game. Translated from the 2016 Swedish edition. Strong language and some descriptions of sex. 2018.
Downloaded: November 12, 2023
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