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Jungle Adventure
I put together a little terrarium-like thing several weeks ago. It’s made in an old plastic cage that my daughter and I had used for roly-polies in the past. First, I laid down a layer of gravel. On top of that I added some potting soil, making a small area slightly higher than the rest…
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A Few Comics
I stopped at a comic shop in a little town during our family reunion. Picked up five issues:
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A Bitter Fate by Alexey (Aleksey) Pisemsky
I finished reading A Bitter Fate by Alexey (Aleksey) Pisemsky.
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Turgenev by Henri Troyat
I just finished reading Turgenev by Henri Troyat, a biography of Ivan Turgenev published in 1985 and translated by Nancy Amphoux. This was a beautiful biography of one of my favorite writers, so it’s no surprise that I greatly enjoyed it. The book, perhaps like Turgenev’s life, is tinged with sadness, dignity, and a gentle…
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Bane of the Black Sword by Michael Moorcock (fifth in the Elric of Melniboné saga)
I finished reading Bane of the Black Sword by Michael Moorcock. This is the fifth book in the Elric saga and was first published in this form in 1977, though some of the work had previously been published in other formats. It consists of four stories (The Stealer of Souls, Kings in Darkness, The Flamebringers,…
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The Covetous Knight by Alexander Pushkin
I finished reading The Covetous Knight (1830), a short play by Alexander Pushkin, translated by A. F. B. Clark. I subsequently learned that Sergei Rachmaninoff wrote a one act opera known as The Miserly Knight based closely on Pushkin’s text. The plot is simple and focuses on the avarice of an elderly baron and his…
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Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Here is a book jot from December 2021: I just finished reading Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (1958). The story narrates the life of Okonkwo, a prominent member of an Ibo clan in Nigeria. The story is deftly told in a fluid and unadorned style with a finely-crafted, objective voice. There is a strong…