The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy to three (3) winners of The Gods of Heavenly Punishment–to enter fill out the Raf­fle­copt­ter form at the end of the post. On Writing Unlikable Places A few months back, like many writers—and women writers in particular, I suspect–I followed the literary debate over “likable” characters with some interest. For those who might have missed, it all started with an interview Publishers Weekly sat down to with novelist Claire Messud, and their guileless assertion that Nora, the unambiguously furious main character of Messud’s novel The Woman Upstairs, wasn’t someone they’d “want to be friends with.” As Jennifer Weiner later put it in Slate in her thought-provoking response to the exchange, Messud all but “flipped the table”: For heaven’s sake, what kind of question is that? Would you want to be friends with Humbert Humbert? Would you want to be friends with Mickey Sabbath? Saleem Sinai? Hamlet? Krapp? Oedipus? Oscar Wao? Antigone? Raskolnikov? Any of the characters in The Corrections? Any of the characters in Infinite Jest? Any of the characters in anything Pynchon has ever written? Or Martin Amis? Or Orhan Pamuk? Or Alice Munro, for that matter? If you’re reading to find friends,…

Today is the birthday of famed Brazilian novelist, poet, playwrite and short story writer Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis. The author was an advocate of monarchism and is still regarded as the greatest writer of Brazilian literature. 1) The author was known also as Machado de Assis, Machado, or Bruxo do Cosme Velho 2) Machado was born in Rio de Janeiro which at the time was the capital of the Empire of Brazil to a mulatto father and a Azorean Portuguese washerwoman. 3) Machado went to public school but was not a good student. 4) Father Silveira Sarmento became known to young de Assis while celebrating masses and taught him Latin (and later became a friend). 5) When his mother died, 10 year-old Joaquim and his father moved to São Cristóvão. Franscisco de Assis met and married Maria Inês da Silva. 6) Joaquim studied at a school for girls, he was there because his stepmother worked at the school making candy. At night Joaquim learned French and also met Francisco de Paula Brito, a bookstore owner who helped him get published. 7) Joaquim started working in a newspaper as a proofreader while contining to write for several other newspapers. He…

Booker T. Washington (15 April, 1856 – 14 November, 1915) was a prominent author, educator, politician and orator in America during his lifetime. The last to represent African-American leaders born in slavery, he was a dominant figure in the African-American life from 1890 till his death.

Article first published as Book Review: Cervantes Street by Jaime Manrique on Blogcritics About: Cervantes Street by Jaime Manrique is a historical-fiction novel about Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra’s journey to write Don Quixote. The book is peppered with literary references to Cervantes’ works as well as works of the time, while I didn’t get many I did enjoy learning about them. 320 pages Publisher: Akashic Books (September 4, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 161775126X My rat­ing for Cervantes Street — 5 Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic format* Thoughts: As followers of my blog know, I am a big fan of Don Quixote, probably more to the nostalgia associated with the story from my childhood than anything to do with the classic story. However, when I did read the full length novel (both parts) I understood why the book has become such a literary classic. Unfortunately, many readers get daunted by the sheer size of Don Quixote. The stories in the classic tale need knowledge of the time’s pop-culture in order to fully enjoy the reading experience. However, the same could be said for Shakespeare and several other authors from the far and not-so-far past. For those readers who are overwhelmed by the size of the classic book, Cervantes…

Article first published as Book Review: Thomas Jefferson’s Crème Brûlée: How a Founding Father and His Slave James Hemings Introduced French Cuisine to America by Thomas J. Craughwell on Blogcritics. About: Thomas Jefferson’s Crème Brûlée: How a Founding Father and His Slave James Hemings Introduced French Cuisine to America by Thomas J. Craughwell is a non-fiction book which covers the time Jefferson spent as an ambassador in Europe from a culinary point of view. At the time, Hemings was 20 years younger then Jefferson and brother to the young Sally Hemings. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy to three (3) winners of this book –to enter fill out the Raf­fle­copt­ter form at the end of the post 256 pages Publisher: Quirk Books Language: English ISBN-10: 1594745781 My rating for Thomas Jefferson’s Crème Brûlée – 4 Buy this book in paper or electronic format* More Books By Thomas J. Craughwell Thoughts: I was excited to read Thomas Jefferson’s Crème Brûlée: How a Founding Father and His Slave James Hemings Introduced French Cuisine to America by Thomas J. Craughwell, I have read a few books about Thomas Jefferson but never from this perspective. I even went to the local liquor store and picked up Thomas Jefferson’s Tavern Ale…

Article first published as Book Review: Malinalli of the Fifth Sun: The Slave Girl Who Changed the Fate of Mexico and Spain by Helen Gordon Heightsman on Blogcritics. About: Malinalli of the Fifth Sun: The Slave Girl Who Changed the Fate of Mexico and Spainby Helen Heightsman Gordon is a historical fiction novel taking place in South America during Hernán Cortés’ time. Malinalli was an important person in Cortés’ entourage who have been vilified throughout the ages. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy of this book— use the Raf­fle­copter form at the end of the post to enter. 672 pages Publisher: iUniverse (December 16, 2011) Language: English ISBN-10: 1462064930 My rating for Malinalli of the Fifth Sun – 4 Buy this book in paper or electronic format. More Books by Helen Gordon Heightsman Thoughts: Malinalli of the Fifth Sun: The Slave Girl Who Changed the Fate of Mexico and Spain by Helen Heightsman Gordon (blog | Facebook) aims to tell a story in history which many people are not aware of. Malinalli was a real person in Mexican history , known by several different names, who is often overlooked or vilified. The story is told through various view points, Cortés, Malinalli’s family, and acquaintances but mainly…

BAND (Bloggers’ Alliance of Nonfiction Devotees) is a group of people devoted to reading and discussing nonfiction and to promote its nonboringness. Its brilliant! Each month they post a question which other members answer. BAND’s brilliant leader is Kim @ Sophisticated Dorkiness. Check her blog out! The post today is about upcoming new non-fiction books which you are excited about? I do read a lot of non-fiction books, not solely because I don’t like to box myself into a corner, but I do like to learn something…anything … from my reading. One could argue that you cold learn as much from fiction books as you do from non-fiction, but this isn’t what this post is about. I’m always on the lookout for interesting books, the thing is I never know what would I would find interesting, there is no genre or subject. Sometimes I get on a kick, for instance a few years ago I read any book which deals with the American Civil War, then moved on to the Civil War Generals’ biographies, then to the American Revolution, then to simple physics – no rhyme or reason. Without further ado and not in order, here are five books which either…

Yesterday was the birthday of Harriet Beecher Stowe (14 June, 1811 – 1 July, 1896). Stowe is known mostly for her novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin but she was an avid writer all of her life. Picture from Nation’s history is embedded in portrait of a famous writer – boston.com Books by Harriet Beecher Stowe 1 ) Uncle Tom’s Cabin was originally slated to be a short series in an abolitionist magazine 2 ) Stowe was often criticized for not having firsthand knowledge of slavery. In response Stowe published A Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin which revealed her sources. 3 ) After the American Civil War, Stowe bought a home in Florida and started schools for African American children. 4 ) It is said that Stowe danced in the streets when Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation. 5 ) When Stowe met President Abraham Lincoln he reported to have said: “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war!” 6 ) Uncle Tom’s Cabin sold 300,000 copies. 7 ) In 1853 Stowe was welcomed in England as a literary hero. 8 ) In November 1857 Stowe was one of the original contributors to The Atlantic along with Ralph Waldo…

Welcome to another edition of Tightwad Tuesday. While looking around for non-fiction books, I saw some really cool free ones and thought that you might like them as well. Authors: If you’d like your book to be featured on Tightwad Tuesdays please email me. For the Kindle: Thompson’s Lucky Star: The Story of a Stalag Survivor [Kindle Edition] by Tony Thompson, Brendan Gisby When Corporal George Thompson of The Buffs was walking to freedom from Stalag IVB after the camp’s liberation in April 1945, he most probably stopped for a moment, looked up at the sky and thanked his lucky star again. That star had kept him alive through five long years of war, the last eighteen brutal months of which he had spent as a prisoner-of-war. As he passed through the huge, intimidating gates of the camp for the last time, George carried with him some mementoes from his time in captivity, among them a very small, dog-eared notebook. The notebook was George’s prisoner-of-war diary, which he had begun the day after he was taken prisoner and in which he had made the final entry on the day of his liberation. Reproducing the actual diary entries and supplementing them…

Kathy Hep­in­stall’s Blue Asylum (my thoughts) was a quick read on two very interesting subjects – The American Civil War and the definition of insane. i was glad to get the chance to ask Ms. Hep­in­stall a few quick questions. Q. There is a famous story (which I cannot recall where I heard) about a psychiatrist who was interviewing a very pleasant man who thought he was a famous figure (Jesus? Napoleon?) . The man asks “what if I’m right”? The phsychologist answered “you might be right, but there are more of us”. Blue Asylum seems t thrive on the notion of who is considered insane at a moment in time. was that the story you set out to write? What’s your opinion? A. I’m not sure if I set out to write that story, but it ended up that way – I mean, it’s ridiculous, isn’t it, when you think there were people being held in an insane asylum at the exact time we were actually fighting a war in large part, over whether we should keep other human beings as slaves? I found myself really loving and feeling empathy for the inmates of Sanibel Lunatic Asylum. Q. why did…