Happy National Cozy Mystery Day!!

 

Do you have a favorite cozy mystery series?

Bookish Quote of the Day!!!

 

The Dali Legacy by Christopher Heath Brown & Jean-Pierre Isbouts

 

I’m a longtime fan of Salvador Dali’s artwork. I have even visited the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida back in 2008 with my husband before the museum moved to its current location. 

Since I’m a Dali fan, I’ve decided to listen to the unabridged audio version of The Dali Legacy by Christopher Heath Brown & Jean-Pierre Isbouts and narrated by Charlie Thurston. 

Listening time for The Dali Legacy by Christopher Heath Brown & Jean-Pierre Isbouts is 6 hours, 28 minutes.

I truly enjoyed listening to this work of nonfiction. I learned a lot of things I never knew about Salvador Dali's life before reading this book uncluding a lot of history about Spain, the Surrealist movement itself, other artists of the time, Dali's thoughts on various current events, and what had the most impact/influence on his artwork. I also enjoyed the detailed deep dive into some of Dali's most famous works and what the symbology in these works meant.

If you're at all curious about Salvador Dali, other artists during the day, art in general, and history, then this book is most definitely for you. If you enjoy audiobooks, then you'll also enjoy Charlie Thurston's narration of The Dali Legacy.

Below is the publisher's summary for The Dali Legacy by Christopher Heath Brown & Jean-Pierre Isbouts from Chirp's website:

In turns beloved and reviled, twentieth century art, painter, filmmaker, and designer Salvador Dali set Europe and the United States ablaze with his uncompromising genius, sexual sadism, and flirtations with megalomania. His shocking behavior and work frequently alienated critics; his views were so outrageous, even prominent Surrealists tried to ostracize him. Still, every morning he experienced “an exquisite joy-the joy of being Salvador Dali,” and, through a remarkable talent that invited bewilderment, anger, and adoration, rose to unprecedented levels of fame-forever shifting the landscape of the art world and the nature of celebrity itself. In this stunning volume, noted art historians Jean-Pierre Isbouts and Christopher Heath Brown discuss the historical, social, and political conditions that shaped Dali’s work, identify the impact of Modern as well as Old Master art, and present an unflinching view of the master’s personal relationships and motivations. With their deeply compelling narrative, Isbouts and Brown uncover how Dali’s visual wit and enduring cult of personality still impacts fashion, literature, and art, from Andy Warhol to Lady Gaga, and seeks to answer why, in an age of shock and awe, Dali’s art still manages to distress, perplex, and entertain.

I am giving The Dali Legacy by Christopher Heath Brown & Jean-Pierre Isbouts a rating of 5 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!

Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle

 

I had Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle on my reading wishlist for quite a while. I don't recall how I discovered this graphic memoir, but it must have really stood out for me to have added it to my reading wishlist.

I recently purchased a used paperback copy of Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle. Guy Delisle is a Canadian cartoonist and animator, who spent time working in North Korea as an animator.

I loved the artwork for Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea!! The artwork is the best part of this book. It was an intriguing to read Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea as it gives us perspective on what it's like to visit North Korea as a foreigner and to also work in North Korea short term. For instance, the author had to be essentially escorted everywhere by a translator/escort. Propaganda is a big problem in North Korea. The sad state of affairs for the North Koreans is touched upon in this book, which gives us some insight as to how the country is in real life.

Below is the publisher's summary for Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle I discovered on Amazon's website:

Guy Delisle’s Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea is the graphic novel that made his career, an international bestseller for more than ten years. Delisle became one of the few Westerners to be allowed access to the fortress-like country when he was working in animation for a French company.

While living in the nation’s capital for two months on a work visa, Delisle observed everything he was allowed to see of the culture and lives of the few North Koreans he encountered, bringing a sardonic and skeptical perspective on a place rife with propaganda. As a guide to the country, Delisle is a non-believer with a keen eye for the humor and tragedy of dictatorial whims, expressed in looming architecture and tiny, omnipresent photos of the president. The absurd vagaries of everyday life become fodder for a frustrated animator’s musings as boredom and censorship sink in. Delisle himself is the ideal foil for North Korean spin, the grumpy outsider who brought a copy of George Orwell’s 1984 with him into the totalitarian nation.

Pyongyang is an informative, personal, and accessible look at a dangerous and enigmatic country.

I am giving Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!

Happy National Read A Book Day!

 

Bookish Quote of the Day!!!

 

Top Book-To-Screen Adaptations for TV and Movies!

The above, short YouTube video (under 4 minutes) discusses four books that have been turned into either a tv series or a movie coming out this fall. They all sound like good adaptations!

Literary Sites of the Monterey Peninsula

 Fun video highlighting the literary sites on the Monterey Peninsula. Ths focus being on John Steinbeck, Robinson Jeffers, and Robert Louis Stevenson.

I've even visited both Cannery Row and also the house where Robert Louis Stevenson once stayed... See the blog post I made from my visit to the Robert Louis Stevenson House here.

Top Ten Tuesday - Books Involving Food

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Top Ten Tuesday was originally created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Below are ten books related to food in some way. The first five books are ones I've read and really enjoyed reading. While the last five books are ones about food that I would like to read.

Below are five books I've read and loved that are focused on food!

1. The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food by Jennifer 8 Lee

2. The Story of Sushi: An Unlikely Saga of Raw Fish and Rice by Trevor Corson

3. Paris, My Sweet: A Year in the City of Light (and Dark Chocolate) by Amy Thomas

4. The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister

5. The Lost Art of Mixing by Erica Bauermeister

The following five books are ones that I would like to read that are focused on food!!

6. Our Fermented Lives: A History of How Fermented Foods Have Shaped Cultures & Communities by Julia Skinner

7. Chocolate Wars: The 150-Year Rivalry Between the World's Greatest Chocolate Makers by Deborah Cadbury

8. The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell by Mark Kurlansky

9. Caviar: The Strange History and Uncertain Future of the World's Most Coveted Delicacy by Inga Saffron

10. Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky

Have you read any of the above books? If so did you like them? Let me know in the comment section below. Happy reading!

2024 High Summer Readathon - Wrap Up Post!

I didn't quite reach my goal of reading four specific novels I set out for myself to read for the 2024 High Summer Readathon as I had a two week reading slump mid-month.

I'm kind of surprised by my reading slump last month as I read so many books during the month of July. I simply thought I'd keep the momentum going during the month of August.

I did, however, read three books last month. I read and reviewed the following three books:

1. The Story of English in 100 Words by David Crystal (nonfiction)
2. Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfar (fiction)
3. The True Story of Hansel and Gretel: A Novel of War and Survival by Louise Murphy (historical fiction/fairytale retelling)

Click on the links above to read my review of each book.