Proust’s Overcoat by Lorenza Foschini

by Carol4 Comments
Proust's Overcoat: The True Story of One Man's Passion for All Things Proust by Lorenza Foschini, translated by Eric Karpeles I have to admit that I knew nothing about Proust before reading this short quirky book, but that in no way affected my enjoyment of the story. It might have actually enhances, since every bit of information was new to me. Jacques Guérin was at the head of a successful perfume company, but his true passion was collecting: books, art, photographs, letters, and other sundries. Among all of the artists and authors he collected, he identified most deeply with Marcel Proust. Guérin cultivated relationships with Proust's family and acquaintances, collecting all of Proust's manuscripts, furniture and personal items that he could, a collection crowned by Proust's overcoat, which Proust had worn every day and used as a blanket while writing in bed at night. Through Foschini's telling of Guérin's story, we also learn a lot about Proust, about his personal life, his...
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Up in the Hills

by Carol11 Comments
Some of the folks up here were smarter than anybody he had met at the college, and they read everything they could find, so that they salted their conversations with phrases from Milton, Homer, and Shakespeare. So why were they content to remain here? He wasn't sure, but if he had to put a name to his hunch, he might have called it shyness or, more precisely, since it was not fear, a disinclination to involve themselves in the machinations of society. (pg. 36, The Devil Amongst the Lawyers by Sharyn McCrumb, ARC) I've only started this book, but so far I like how it gives the different views on Appalachian people. The out of town press think of the locals as hillbillies, uneducated moonshine drinkers. The local man, who is trying to work his way up in the newspaper business realizes that the people who choose to live in the mountains do it for their own reason, they're not to stupid...
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The Adventure of the “Gloria Scott” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

by Carol6 Comments
"The Adventure of the 'Gloria Scott'" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle I don't know why, but every so often I just need a Sherlock Holmes fix, so this week I read "The Adventure of the 'Gloria Scott'" which first appeared in The Strand Magazine and was included in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, published December 1893. I'm sure I've read this before, but it's not one that stuck in my memory, although it was Holmes' first case. Holmes finally decides to tell Watson about the first case he was involved in, while he was in college. "You never heard me talk of Victor Trevor?" he asked. "He was the only friend I made during the two years I was at college. I was never a very sociable fellow, Watson, always rather fond of moping in my rooms and working out my own little methods of thought, so that I never mixed much with the men of my...
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Rehashing the Week

by Carol4 Comments
First a reminder, my giveaway for Montana Destiny by R. C. Ryan is still open. I didn't love it, but you might. This past week I finished listening to The Deepest Water by Kate Wilhelm, which I enjoyed so much that I've started Death Qualified by the same author, part of her Barbara Holloway series. I also finished Proust's Overcoat by Lorenza Foschini and should have my comments up later this week. Friday night, I started The Devil Amongst the Lawyers by Sharyn McCrumb, the newest of her Ballad novels, one I've been looking forward to. This past weekend, Dave, Amber and I went to the Origins Game Fair in Columbus with a bunch of people and had a great weekend. For us, the weekend starts with a party at my brother's house, a bunch of people, lots of food and games. Then Saturday we went Origins, played a bunch of new games, did some gawking at the outrageous outfits. Here's a list...
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Game Night – The Dresden Files RPG

by Carol3 Comments
We're spending today at the Origins Game Fair, so hopefully I'll have all kinds of games and info to share with you over the next few game night posts. One of the games I'm hoping to see while I'm here is a new release from Evil Hat Productions. I'm not really into Role Playing Games, but I still have to at least check The Dresden Files RPG out. After all it's based on a book series that David and I both enjoy and a world I always get a kick out of visiting. Here's the blurb for Volume 1: Beneath the “normal” surface of the world are things and people which most of us don’t want to know about, and will do our best to forget about if we ever come near them. People won’t see what they don’t want to see. But that’s most of us. And you—you’re not most of us. What’s Your Story? Whether you’re a champion of God, changeling,...
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