24 Aug 2010 at 07:46
mcd
books, literature
No Comment
I’m looking forward to purchasing a copy of the first dictionary of slang. Out of print for 300 years, it is being published by the Bodleian Library from a rare copy unearthed in its collections. From the website:
Originally entitled A New Dictionary of Terms, Ancient and Modern, of the Canting Crew, its aim was to educate the polite London classes in ‘canting’ – the language of thieves and ruffians – should they be unlucky enough to wander into the ‘wrong’ parts of town.
With over 4,000 entries, the dictionary contains many words which are now part of everyday parlance, such as ‘Chitchat’ and ‘Eyesore’ as well as a great many which have become obsolete, such as the delightful ‘Dandyprat’ and ‘Fizzle’. Remarkably, this landmark of English from 1699 was compiled and published anonymously, by an author who has left us only his initials – ‘B.E. Gent [gentleman]’.
Be sure and read the sample entries.
Via the most excellent blog The Centered Librarian.
07 May 2010 at 08:23
mcd
books
No Comment
Totally depressing article on the decline of reading in America. Apparently 40% of people in the US (and 34% in the UK) do not read books any more.
07 May 2010 at 08:16
mcd
books
2 Comments
20 Apr 2010 at 09:15
mcd
books
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from On Books by Michel de Montaigne. Via Booklover.
19 Apr 2010 at 07:58
mcd
books
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14 Apr 2010 at 10:03
mcd
Connor, books
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01 Dec 2009 at 15:52
mcd
books
4 Comments
I love the feel and experience of actual books, so I will most likely never get a Kindle or other ebook reader. However, the idea of purchasing all of Mark Twain’s works (over 300 books and story collections) for $1.00 is mighty tempting.
UPDATE: I just downloaded Kindle for the iPhone for free and purchased the entire collection. I may lose my eyesight, but I will never be bored again.
22 Jun 2009 at 11:40
mcd
books
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…come into my tent, young reader.
You say you have just finished Joyce’s Ulysses and are looking for something similar to whet your literary appetite?
Look no further my friend, for you have found the Book Seer.
09 Mar 2009 at 16:06
mcd
books, religion
No Comment
11 Feb 2009 at 21:03
mcd
books
No Comment
13 Jan 2009 at 16:33
mcd
books
No Comment
When I was 19, my friend Sharon turned me on to Stephen Mitchell’s delightful translation of the Tao to Ching, a powerful little book which changed my life. I’ve read it several times and many of its passages stay with me.
Can you coax your mind from its wandering and keep to the original oneness?
Can you let your body become supple as a newborn child’s?
Can you cleanse your inner vision until you see nothing but the light?
Can you love people and lead them without imposing your will?
Can you deal with the most vital matters by letting events take their course?
Can you step back from you own mind and thus understand all things?
Giving birth and nourishing, having without possessing, acting with no expectations, leading and not trying to control: this is the supreme virtue.
We join spokes together in a wheel, but it is the centre hole that makes the wagon move.
We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want.
We hammer wood for a house, but it is the inner space that makes it livable.
We work with being, but non-being is what we use.
The only problem is that the book has so many permutations and translations, all which take it in a different direction, some good and some bad. For the true fan, this site offers a complete line-by-line comparison of all 29 transaltions. Get your way on.
04 Jan 2009 at 08:07
mcd
books
No Comment
22 Nov 2008 at 10:21
mcd
books
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12 Nov 2008 at 11:36
mcd
books
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