The Swerve: How the World Became Modern

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

pick

This book wanders a bit and I don‘t know that I believe the authors assertion that the specific poem that the book focuses on has as much of an impact as the authors claims, but it is well written and interesting.
The book follows the life of a papal secretary who rediscovered and made available through his copies a book the author claims jump started modern science and thought.
2.5/5 interesting and well written but weak in arguments sometimes

dabbe Castle! 🤩🐾🤩 2mo

AnnCrystal 💕🐶💝. 2mo

iread2much @dabbe he‘s a good boy! 2mo

iread2much @AnnCrystal 😊💜🐕 2mo

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GingerAntics

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

#stephangteenblatt #theswerve #deconstruction

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GingerAntics

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

#stephangteenblatt #theswerve #deconstruction

6 likes

GingerAntics

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

#stephangteenblatt #theswerve #deconstruction

6 likes

allenac87

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

pick

An excellent telling of how the world recovered past knowledge, that ultimately led to an age of enlightenment

CaseyMoore

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

Current book pile

7 likes

iread2much

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

Hi @Kaila-ann @Hestapleton @EadieB these are my choices for our group read. Which would you prefer to read? They have all been on my shelf a long time and this will finally force me to read them 😊

Kaila-ann Any of the bottom three sound good to me 😊 4y

Hestapleton I‘m voting for the Alison Weir (God I‘m a sucker for Tudor history) or the Mary Roach! 4y

EadieB I vote for the Mary Roach book. 4y

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iread2much Looks like it‘s Mary Roach for the win @Kaila-ann @Hestapleton @EadieB 4y

EadieB @iread2much Great! 4y

Kaila-ann Sounds good to me 😁 4y

19 likes6 comments

GingerAntics

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

Bill Nye‘s book made me think of this quote in relation to a documentary I once watched called “Jesus Camp.” If you ever get the chance to see it, it‘s truly astounding. This boy who is homeschooled by his Uber Christian parents says “I think Galileo did the right thing by giving up science for Jesus. His parents are very anti science and this is what they have taught him about Galileo. No wonder these people also don‘t like history.

GingerAntics #stephengreenblatt #theswerve #billnye #undeniable #evolution #Galileo #science #history #ultraconservative 5y

GingerAntics @julesG @Weaponxgirl yes, Americans are just this crazy. 5y

julesG Narrow minded fools. 5y

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GingerAntics @julesG Yup! I feel bad for the kid. He had no clue about reality, and now he‘s grown up, raising his own children the exact same way. Can you imagine? 5y

julesG Unfortunately, I can imagine. If they have the mind of medieval people, why don't they live like people in the middle ages? 5y

GingerAntics @julesG 🤦🏼‍♀️ 5y

15 likes6 comments

GingerAntics

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

pick

5🌟
I didn‘t think I was going to like this one as much as I liked The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve, but I was completely wrong. This is a completely different book, with a completely different feel to Adam and Eve, but it is equally as wonderful and amazing. I inhaled it in two days.
(Full review in comments)
#stephengreenblatt #theswerve

GingerAntics A great text on the return of Latin and Greek texts and the birth of the study of the humanities. It gave a clear look at what humanism originally was, and how it shaped the modern Western World. I loved the part about gothic script and this period being the one that brought us the far more legible humanist script. I googled it and found that it is remarkably close to the times font still available on computers around the world today. 5y

GingerAntics There was an interesting, full chapter, look at the sado-masochism of the early Christian church, leading me to wonder who signed on for that madness without some kind of fetish. That gave me an interesting look, and whole new insight, into the world I grew up in, even though that was in no way the intent of this book. 5y

GingerAntics This book has so many fun little tidbits about the period and its importance to our everyday lives. The best part was that Greenblatt gave us a hero. The entire book follows the heroic adventures of Poggio Bracciolini to rescue forgotten and nearly lost classical works for his humanist friends from the clutches of the suppressive monks who were the gate keepers of the only libraries at the time. 5y

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GingerAntics We have a hero. We have a foe. We have triumph. We have history. What more can you ask for? 5y

Weaponxgirl Stacked! 5y

GingerAntics @Weaponxgirl I enjoyed it, but it has less than stellar reviews on good reads, but honestly the description they gave for the book I actually gave to their review, so there is that. 5y

27 likes1 stack add6 comments

GingerAntics

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

This is probably why writers are also readers...and always have been.
#theswerve #stephengreenblatt #readers #writers #thinkers

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GingerAntics

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

It‘s amazing how truth stays true, no matter how old it is.
#theswerve #stephengreenblatt #humanhistory

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GingerAntics

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

2,100 years after it was written, it is still profound true - possibly even more so.
#theswerve #stephengreenblatt #humanhistory

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GingerAntics

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

You can thank the humanists you can read your book (and this post). Prior to humanism‘s focus on the humanities and reading classical literature, writing looked like the first picture. Good luck reading that (yes, that‘s actually words). Humanist script actually looks shocking like like Times font that is still on your computer today.
#humanism #stephengreenblatt #theswerve

GingerAntics The top text reads (I promise it does): “mimi numinum niuium minimi munium nimium uini muniminum imminui uiui minimum uolunt” (translation: The snow gods‘ smallest mimes do not wish in anyway in their lives for the great duty of the defences of wine to be diminished.) You‘re grateful to the humanists now, aren‘t you? You‘re welcome. 5y

wanderinglynn The top looks like one of my calligraphy practice sheets! 😂 5y

GingerAntics @wanderinglynn right? I know it‘s one of the forms of calligraphy in the book I had about the different types of calligraphy and how to get started in each. The Gothic style. Man that‘s hard to read. These guys were clearly geniuses to be able to look at that and then output something completely different on the page next to it. 5y

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batsy That is amazing. Just trying to get into the headspace of interpreting those lines as words kind of blows my mind. 5y

GingerAntics @batsy right? I‘ve found if I have an idea of the letters involved (I know there are a bunch of Ms and Ns in those lines) and I stare at it for a while, the letters start to differentiate themselves a little bit. I can‘t imagine trying to read a book that way, though. No wonder literacy was so low. 😳 5y

batsy Yes! I'm trying to imagine all the time it must have taken to write and read when there were, like, two million things to do daily. Literacy as a class and gender issue too, no doubt. 5y

GingerAntics @batsy oh that was definitely part of the issue. I‘m sure it had just as much to do with rich men had more free time, as it did that people felt there was no point in educating women and poor people. 5y

quietlycuriouskate I can see "minimum volunt" at the end but the rest just looks like "mmmm". 5y

GingerAntics @kathedron right? That was the first bit I saw. I will admit to staring at that one passage (and counting the number of vertical lines per “word”) for quite a while. 5y

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GingerAntics

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

This reminds me of that scene on The Handmaid‘s Tale.
#stephengreenblatt #theswerve #medievaltimes

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GingerAntics

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

Christianity and the Rise of Sado-masochism

This is so twisted. God made you and called it good, but that self preservation he gave you to keep you alive in which you avoid things that hurt (because they might kill you), yeah he screwed that up... but he‘s perfect so actually he didn‘t, he just wants us to beat you to make you a good person. 🙄

#stephengreenblatt #theswerve #medievaltimes #theriseofchristianity #thehistoryofspanking

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GingerAntics

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

How very Christian of them. Christianity has feared women since Rome took over.
#stephengreenblatt #theswerve #theriseofchristianity

Weaponxgirl Grrrrrrr! 5y

GingerAntics @Weaponxgirl this whole chapter (ch4) was like that. It was all very violent and aggressive. It was about how Christianity killed the prominence of classical literature (thus ushering in what is sometimes known as the dark ages). The idea that curiosity is a sin still lives for a lot of Christians. I don‘t get it. 5y

Weaponxgirl That attitude kills me! 5y

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GingerAntics @Weaponxgirl right? I can‘t even understand how any belief system could make it to prominence with the idea that knowledge and using your brain is bad. 🤬 5y

Weaponxgirl @GingerAntics I don‘t know how true this is but my brother was saying that in some areas of Christianity in America that coming out as an atheist was a big deal since it was assumed that it meant you had no moral compass? This was an insane idea as no I have morals and I‘ve thought very hard about where I stand on certain positions in this world. 5y

GingerAntics @Weaponxgirl not some places, ALL places in America. Christians in America firmly believe that it is impossible to be truly moral without Jesus. They believe that non Christians that are “good people” are so because they‘re surrounded by Christians so they have inadvertently learned morality. 🙄 5y

GingerAntics @Weaponxgirl but don‘t want to admit that their morality is due to the “saving grace of the lord.” 🙄 5y

Weaponxgirl @GingerAntics umm ok. I literally would have nothing to say to that. I think my face would say it all 5y

GingerAntics @weaponxgirl yup, that‘s America!!! It‘s among the reasons I want to leave. I swear, I was born on the wrong bloody continent. The weird part is that if you don‘t have an answer for that (because the statement is so obviously ridiculously stupid) it‘s because they‘re telling the truth and deep down you know it. 🙄 It‘s utter ridiculous tripe. 5y

GingerAntics @weaponxgirl Is there such a think as an intellectual refugee? I‘m well educated. I don‘t mind further training/education. I‘m a hard worker. I love working. I love helping others. I will be a good member of society. Who do I appeal to, here? lol (no but seriously) 5y

Weaponxgirl @GingerAntics my thing has always been that I‘m not religious but I‘m also not someone do disrespect someone who is and answering that kind of statement can get dangerously close to that territory. I‘m not going to let someone else‘s ignorance make me appear the same way. I‘m not going to go Richard Dawkins on someone because I think he is obnoxious in so many ways 5y

GingerAntics @weaponxgirl and in my mind that actually makes you more moral, more humane, more of a decent person than someone who can‘t see any good outside of his or her own beliefs. 5y

GingerAntics @weaponxgirl I would never say that to someone holding such a stringent “my view is the only view” stance for similar reasons. I‘d probably just nod and walk away. I try to stay out of conversations like that to begin with, honestly. 5y

Weaponxgirl @GingerAntics it‘s the sort of situation I would be raging about to my friends later! Talking of raging I went in a charity shop today and was obviously looking for the book section only to find that they had put them and the vinyl in the back of the shop in a section labelled man cave. Not this way to men‘s clothes, books and stuff just this way to the man cave. I was so 😒 5y

GingerAntics @Weaponxgirl wait, so only men listen to music on vinyl (a lovely experience really) and read? I... wha... wh... I don‘t know what to do with that. Is this 1719 and my smartphone is a delusion? Are you real? Am I real? WTF!!! 5y

GingerAntics @Weaponxgirl yeah it‘s definitely something you rage about later with friends. Your friends know you enough to know you‘re rage isn‘t against religion or people who are religious or people who are different from you, but against the bigotry of that specific view or that particular person. 5y

Weaponxgirl @GingerAntics the worst thing is I don‘t think they even realised what they had done! There were some cookbooks out front and then the rest were in the back and I was just like nope I don‘t think I can buy anything from you guys. 5y

Weaponxgirl @GingerAntics it was one of those charity shops that‘s trying to look like a boutique and be cute. 5y

GingerAntics @weaponxgirl I‘m all for whatever gets people to shop on those types of places. They‘re trying to raise money for important causes, so whatever works (and is legal), still I can see just thinking “nope I‘m out. Sorry.” I‘m not entirely sure I‘m sorry, though. 5y

Weaponxgirl @GingerAntics yea, and there‘s the occasional charity where I‘m out for morally objectionable things they have done (the Salvation Army and homophobia) 5y

GingerAntics @Weaponxgirl yeah, the causes may be good, but if the people supposedly helping are only helping people they “approve of” or the select, then it‘s not really helping is it? 5y

Weaponxgirl @GingerAntics that‘s what I think exactly, especially since they market themselves as kinda a blanket force for good. It‘s really sad actually as I know of some small churches that genuinely care and do great work unrelated to the Salvation Army. They run food banks and don‘t expect anything like going to service in return. They just decided that their religion meant they had to help regardless and that I‘m really for supporting. 5y

GingerAntics @Weaponxgirl oh yeah. Exactly. Whatever your religion or not, whatever your spirituality or not, I‘m all about shared humanity and I truly believe that humanity can‘t survive if we don‘t work together, care for each other, and when things happen take care of each other. 5y

Weaponxgirl @GingerAntics hell yes! 5y

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GingerAntics

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

There have always been female scholars. There have always been badass women.
#stephengreenblatt #theswerve #womeninacademia

Weaponxgirl I only recently found out about this person. How much stuff by women have we lost over the years?

Stung with Love: Poems and Fragments

GingerAntics @Weaponxgirl oh another classical female writer. I like it. 😁 5y

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GingerAntics

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

I‘ve heard Christians talk about how the rise of Islam was so violent, so obviously it‘s the devil‘s religion and Christianity is the true religion. No wonder these same Christians are afraid of historians.
#stephengreenblatt #theswerve #theriseofchristianity

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GingerAntics

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

A completely different view of “pleasure” than Christianity.
#stephengreenblatt #theswerve #medievaltimes

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GingerAntics

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

No wonder monks weren‘t always (rarely?) what you would expect. Most of the men there weren‘t there willingly.
#stephengreenblatt #theswerve #monasteries

julesG Same for nuns 5y

GingerAntics @julesG right? There was just this sort of “yeah go over there and stay there.” In some cases, if a women was found having an extramarital affair or having sex before marriage she could be shipped off. This was expected of certain classes upon their husband‘s death, as well. It seems so stupid to force someone into a life they want nothing to do with, especially one so stringent, strict, and separate. 5y

julesG Yep, widows, unmarriable daughters,... And they had no right to protest. Same with the boys you mentioned with the quote. Children and women were the property of men. Argh! 5y

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GingerAntics @julesG because they obviously had no minds, desires, or dreams of their own. 🙄 They‘d be happy wherever they were stashed away, if they were told to. 5y

GingerAntics @julesG it made me think of institutions that were popular in the 19th and parts of the 20th centuries. The types of places, asylums, that some people want to bring back. If your kid isn‘t perfect in every way (mental illness, impairment, disability, whatever) just throw them in there and visit on occasion (or not if you‘re keeping up appearances) and forget about it. (edited) 5y

julesG Just read a romance where this happened to the heroine of the story

Never Say Duke

GingerAntics 🤦🏼‍♀️ sometimes accuracy is annoying 5y

Weaponxgirl @GingerAntics @julesG you guys just reminded me of this book. A prison, insane asylum and poor workhouse on the same island cause they‘re all the same right? This broke my heart in particular when people on the ground where genuinely trying to make things better and help people but kept getting stopped by people higher up. They would then often be scapegoated by the same people if stuff got out.

Damnation Island: Poor, Sick, Mad, and Criminal in 19th-Century New York

GingerAntics @Weaponxgirl yeah, that‘s basically it. This mindset isn‘t nearly as prevalent now, but somehow it still exists. 🙄 No idea how. 5y

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GingerAntics

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

Librarians in the late Medieval and early Early Modern periods were not messing around. If this nice curse wasn‘t enough to keep you from stealing a book, some of the monks would “beat an apprehended thief to within an inch of his life.”
And you thought monks were nice, sweet, holy, pious men.
#stephengreenblatt #theswerve #latefees

Weaponxgirl I‘ve never thought of calling on bookworms to knaw on my enemies entrails before. That will be stored deep in my brain from now on, a cross between the worm from the labyrinth and a nightmare 5y

GingerAntics @Weaponxgirl right? There is no unreading that. I bet you‘d always get your books back, right? lol 5y

19 likes2 comments

GingerAntics

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

Yup, Greenblatt is a Shakespeare junkie. There is always a road back to the Bard. How, you ask? Romeo and Juliet is an exploration or Petrarchan love themes, especially in the way they speak to each other in (and complete each other‘s) sonnets.
#youknowyoureanerdwhen #shakespeare #petrarch #stephengreenblatt #theswerve

GingerAntics @readinginthedark @merelybookish has the #shakespearereadalong read R&J yet? lol I wrote a paper on this once. I could be unintentionally insufferable. It might save everyone if that happened before I came along. lol 5y

merelybookish @GingerAntics I don't think we've read it, but Hannah has the master list. 5y

GingerAntics @merelybookish oh there‘s a master list. That sounds fancy and very secret society. (Clearly I‘ve been reading too much of the swerve already) 😂 I want to say I remember it being mentioned at some point, but I can‘t remember if someone wanted to read it or if someone was saying it had already been read. I guess we‘ll have to wait and see what Hannah says. 🤷🏼‍♀️ 5y

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merelybookish @GingerAntics Yes, we are very secret. Hence our use of social media. ? I think it has been floated as a possibility, but it's never been picked. Maybe because everyone has some familiarity with it already. But I think the goal is to eventually read them all, so if you said "Let's read R&J!" People would be one board. 5y

GingerAntics @merelybookish don‘t forget our use of secret, coded hashtags!!! 😂 That could be it. It probably makes sense to put that more toward the end of the plays we read since it‘s almost a cliche high school reading assignment at this point. 5y

readinginthedark @GingerAntics @merelybookish ? You two are so funny! The "master list" is just me flipping through my list of books I've read in the last couple of years. But no, we haven't read Romeo and Juliet yet. To be honest, I've been avoiding it because I hated that one in high school. But maybe I'd enjoy it more so long as no one's trying to convince me it's the perfect love story? I do love Mercutio! 5y

GingerAntics @readinginthedark I generally hate how it‘s made out to be a fable for what happens when teenagers don‘t listen to their parents. 🙄 I had A LOT of fun with this in grad school when we spend 40 minutes picking apart Romeo and how he was a total flake!!! 😏 I think it‘s better when you avoid the cliches. I did learn some interesting things about the sonnets in this play for my final paper, too. 🤷🏼‍♀️ 5y

readinginthedark That's cool! I love the sonnets. We might have to read those, too, when we get through all the plays...in five years. 😅 5y

GingerAntics @readinginthedark I would love a group read of the narrative poems. I read the sonnets, but got tipped up on the narrative poems. There aren‘t natural stopping points (scenes, acts) like the plays, so I felt like I needed to read the whole thing at once which is of course impossible with their length. R&J has a bunch of sonnets as dialogue between R&J, where they complete each other‘s couplets and things. The form hails back to Petrarch. 5y

readinginthedark Yeah, I watched one of those Great Courses lectures on when Shakespeare uses poetry versus prose in his plays--pretty fascinating stuff, although I'm not sure I could quote any of it! 5y

GingerAntics @readinginthedark I couldn‘t either. I remember writing the paper. I remember giving a presentation. For the life of me I can‘t find the bloody paper. 5y

readinginthedark 😆 Isn't that always how it goes? 5y

GingerAntics @readinginthedark sadly, yes. I know it where somewhere. I kept all my papers as instructed. (Never know what you‘re going to need a writing sample.) 5y

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GingerAntics

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

Awesome bookish words in the first chapter of this book!!! I think this one could apply to most of us.
I am a proud Bibliomaniac!!!
#stephengreenblatt #theswerve #bookishvocabulary #bibliomaniac #proudbiblomaniac

RavenLovelyReads 🙋🏻‍♀️guilty!! 5y

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GingerAntics

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

Awesome bookish words in the first chapter of this book!!! Not sure this one applies to many people anymore, but it was probably quite popular in the 1400s.
#stephengreenblatt #theswerve #bookishvocabulary

jenniferw88 It definitely applies to a character in

The Moonstone: And The Woman in White

GingerAntics @jenniferw88 I think it‘s more common, today, to find characters who do this. I think we‘d be hard pressed to find someone, even here on Litsy, who says “hey guys I read this thing and it revealed to me secrets of the future.” We‘d think they‘d lost their minds. Characters who do that as part of a well crafted plot can actually be a joy to read, I think. 5y

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GingerAntics

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

@Emilymdxn this may get dangerously close to that other statement we both had issue with, but it doesn‘t go as far. It‘s more that an individual knew their place and without a place they were in trouble (which is kind of the whole point of his first chapter anyway). This is also set in 1417, so the earliest part of Early Modern history as well, sort of that shifting time between medieval and early modern.
#stephengreenblatt #theswerve #personhood

Emilymdxn Yeah I can go along with that about kinship networks being immensely important and people having to fit into them in the early medieval period - like all of Old English poetry backs that up. Idk how long that‘s true for tho - late medieval writing is much more individualistic I feel like?? I agree that the trend over time is for the individual to become more important 5y

GingerAntics @Emilymdxn I think in literature the individual was becoming more important, but in society the group was still more important. I don‘t know as much about wider Europe but the clan life existed well into the early modern period in both Scotland and Ireland. Family name was (and to an extent still is) really important in England. I think individualism started in literature and moved out into wider society. 5y

GingerAntics @Emilymdxn almost like literature was the “safe space” to be an individual and then eventually people started living that way. 5y

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Emilymdxn I think you could well be right about history, I come at these things from a very literary history angle. Even when I try to read history I‘m always doing literature by mistake. I think the individual always has to be important in literature or it‘d be kinda crappy literature (personal opinion but eh), tho there was a slow change in the way the individual was oriented and what were perceived as good goals to have 5y

Emilymdxn I like that safe space idea a lot! 5y

GingerAntics @Emilymdxn I love that angle, personally. I sort of come from the other angle. Sometimes when I‘m reading literature I‘m doing history by accident. I think that‘s where my issues with historical fiction come in. The line between history and literature are blurred. He safe space thing was the best way I could put it. Sort of it was safe to explore the self and individualness before it was socially safe to do so in real life. 5y

GingerAntics @Emilymdxn Literature was the Medieval/Early Modern internet. lol 5y

Emilymdxn My boyfriend is a historian and my degree was in literature (with linguistics and theology sort of) so we always find ourselves coming at the same book from opposite places where he thinks everything is history but I just want to talk about The Soul lol 5y

GingerAntics @Emilymdxn 🤣😂🤣 that reminds me of one of my friends. We met in grad school where she was studying lit and I was studying history. We were in a few classes together and that sounds so much like our conversations on our reading assignments. 🤣😂🤣 I do love a good smattering of theology in my history and lingustics is sort of a side project, not-that-serious-but-I-fins-it-interesting pursuit of mine. 5y

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GingerAntics

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

There are some great quotes here, and I‘ve only read the preface.
#stephangreenblatt #theswerve #quotable

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GingerAntics

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

I love when an author gives little hints at the title and what it all means.
#stephengreenblatt #theswerve

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GingerAntics

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

I think this is why I love Greenblatt so very much. I feel a bit like he gets me.
#stephengreenblatt #theswerve #shakespeare

21 likes

GingerAntics

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

Taking off with another Greenblatt book. I sure hope this one is as good as the last one. Who‘s ready for another adventure?!
#theswerve #stephengreenblatt

Weaponxgirl Meeeee! 5y

GingerAntics @Weaponxgirl yaaaaay!!! 5y

Emilymdxn I really want to read this one but I‘m worried I could get my sensibilities offended as an ardent medievalist 😭😭 5y

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GingerAntics @Emilymdxn 🤣😂🤣 not sure, I‘m not a medievalist, personally. I do have a coworker who is a medievalist. I can run it‘s claims by him and see what he thinks and report back. 😏 5y

Emilymdxn I once read a book about the renaissance (apparently quite well thought of!) which claimed that before the renaissance nobody in Europe had known what it meant to be an individual... I stroked my Chaucer books angrily. 5y

GingerAntics @Emilymdxn I...I...I have no words. That makes absolutely zero sense. Admittedly Greenblatt is a Shakespeare junkie, and this appears to be centred on Lucretius‘ “On the Nature of Things” and possibly how it‘s rediscovery impacted the modern world. Admittedly I‘ve only read the intro, but from looking at chapter titles, that‘s his focus. Greenblatt is generally a pretty good scholar, he does is homework, he talks to other experts. 🤷🏼‍♀️ 5y

GingerAntics @Emilymdxn I guess we‘ll see how this one goes. I doubt I‘ll love it as much as the last one, but I do love other of his works on Shakespeare. I‘ve used him for research on Shakespeare several times. 5y

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shaynarae

The Swerve: How the Renaissance Began | Stephen Greenblatt

so-so

There were parts of this book that were really fascinating, but I couldn‘t keep my mind from wandering during the parts that weren‘t. I think the scope of what Greenblatt is trying to undertake here is interesting, but there were too many tangents (more or less intriguing in their own right) that seemed to drift from the central story.

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mcausten_sister

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

Monks were serious about not getting their books back in the Middle Ages.

#History #MedievalHistory #GradSchool #Gradly

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AshleyHoss820

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

Day 8: Award-Winning Book
This was the first book I read this year in my endeavor to read more Non-Fiction. This book won the Pulitzer for General Non-Fiction in 2012 and the National Book Award for Non-Fiction in 2011. This book follows Poggio Bracciolini and his discovery of the manuscript “On the Nature of Things” by Lucretius and how it changed the course of history. I loved it!!
#AGameOfFavorites

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fyskerose

The Swerve: How the Renaissance Began | Stephen Greenblatt

This book explains what, exactly, caused the Renaissance to happen - the players who stumbled on the ancient artifacts that made the Medieval world construct unsatisfying. It follows a scribe named Poggio, whose singular impact is profound. One person can change the world, and it doesn‘t have to be a great warlord. It can be a humble scholar with a critical eye, a boundless curiosity, and the courage and imagination to think new ideas. Take note.

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Jcunning

The Swerve: How the Renaissance Began | Stephen Greenblatt

Interesting history book.

Crazeedi Hmmm interesting... 5y

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PatriciaU

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

And here‘s the even more fabulous bookmark that came with the book!

TheBookgeekFrau Read that bookmark in the voice of the narrator of Iron Maiden‘s Number of the Beast lol Love it! 6y

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PatriciaU

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

Lovely #bookmail today! I belong to a local book club called Turning Pages hosted by the fabulous Writers & Books in Rochester NY. This is the new selection. Can‘t wait to dig in.

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AshleyHoss820

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

pick

First book of 2018: ✅I liked this more than I thought I would. The written word is so powerful, it can transcend time. I enjoyed following Poggio Bracciolini in his quest to bring the ancient philosophers back to life. I think we can all identify with a love for old books, collecting books, and books that changed our perspective. Plus, reading about those naughty Popes was fun too...

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AshleyHoss820

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

"The pope was a thug, but he was a learned thug..."

{About Baldassare Cossa, AKA Antipope John XXIII}
I freaking love this book!

vivastory Sounds fascinating. Stacked! 6y

AshleyHoss820 @vivastory It is interesting! As usual with non-fiction there are some dry spots, but overall I'm really enjoying this! 6y

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AshleyHoss820

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

(After his death in 1437, Niccolo Niccoli had strict instructions about what to do with his vast collection of 800 manuscripts) "...He specified that the books would be available not for the religious alone but for all learned citizens, omnes cives studioso (all interested citizens). Centuries after the last Roman library had been shut down and abandoned, Niccoli had brought back into the world the idea of the public library." ❤️?

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AshleyHoss820

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

We're having Christmas at my Mom and Step-Dad's acreage today (with my sister and step-siblings and LOTS of nieces and 2 nephews...) I'm going to sneak in some reading time before everyone else gets here and while my kids are being quiet! Merry Christmas and Happy Everything to you and yours! 🦌🎄 ⭐️

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AshleyHoss820

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

"Ammianus seems to have sensed the impending end. His description of a world exhausted by crushing taxes, the financial ruin of large segments of the population, and the dangerous decline in the army's morale vividly conjured up the conditions that made it possible, some 20 years after his death, for the Goths to sack Rome"

Well, that sounds depressingly familiar...

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taning

The Swerve: How the Renaissance Began | Stephen Greenblatt

pick

Started a bit complicated but turned out to be great.

GFB

Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen J Greenblatt

pick

A rather elegant summation of two periods of history - when On the Nature of Things was first written and when an Italian papal scribe rediscovered it - and an ode to the written word. #penmaship

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CatchMyBookBreath

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

pick

Day 2 of #nonficnov my favorite *really recent* pick is The Swerve: How the World Became Modern. Pulitzer prize in general nonfiction and a 2012 National Book Award for Nonfiction, this book has me hooked! I'm listening to it over and over again. The author, Dr Stephen Greenblatt, tells the story of finding a book - In The Nature Of Things- which is the last surviving manuscript of an ancient Roman philosophical text by Lucretius.

👍👍👍👍👍

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WanderingBookaneer

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

#AudibleDailyDeal $2.95

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BookishMarginalia

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

Some of our bedroom shelves. #shelfie

saguarosally I loved Something Real. I need to buy a copy. 7y

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danimgill

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

Hanging out in my childhood home for the weekend means hanging out with my old favorite reading buddy 💕🐶 #dogsoflitsy

DGRachel 😍🐶 7y

Eyelit Aw! 🐶💜 7y

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Kestrel_Reads

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

Joybishoptx Is that puppy cold? Too cute! 7y

Kestrel_Reads She loves to snuggle with me under the blankets. 7y

MrBook Cute 😻😻😻! 7y

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Kestrel_Reads

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

First book for my new book club. Excited to discuss next Sunday!

MrBook Want to read this one! How good are we talking here? 7y

Kestrel_Reads @MrBook I'd say it's worth reading. Doesn't really come through on the premise (a serve happened and everything changed), but did provide a fascinating, historical look and questions we've been pondering for...always 7y

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danimgill

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | Stephen Greenblatt

If you thought library fines were tough, check out this old-school monastic curse on unreturned books! 😆

CocoReads Harsh! 7y

Simona 😲 7y

Marchpane 😂😂😂 7y

26 likes3 comments

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