Welcome to Litsy!

I like the idea of this book a lot, and the chess pieces themselves are interesting, but I thought that Brown was really straining to connect the story of the chess pieces to the larger history, and the book often felt disjointed as a result.

Ebook on sale. I definitely grabbed a copy!

This gets really, really unfocused at times. At least half the book is about stuff that might *maybe* have influenced the Lewis Chessmen, if the theory Brown likes about their origin is correct -- which would otherwise be irrelevant. There's some interesting stuff, but it's short on Lewis Chessmen-focused facts.

(And okay, perhaps there's little to tell, but I would like much closer examination of each INDIVIDUAL chess piece, at least!)

Interesting enough so far, but it wanders quite a long way from the chessmen themselves. It's relevant, e.g. in discussing the material used, but... some of this doesn't feel so necessary.

The rook figure from the 12th-century Lewis Chessmen is a little shield-biting #Berserker .

#NuYear

I never loan my books out, but figured this one time would be ok. Apparently, this is how special collections librarians return things 😆😆

#ATopicYoudLikeToKnowMoreAbout I have wanted to learn more about the Lewis chessmen ever since I first saw the little shield-biting, berserker rook figure. #ReadJanuary

My friends in Oregon have a replica set of these. They have a ritual where, when someone in the household does something remarkable, they turn them to face in the direction of an incredible bakery down the street from their house. Once all of the pieces face towards the bakery, they walk down the street and buy sticky buns. Of course, this inspired me to read a history of the original set of Lewis chessmen and play a lot more chess with my fiancé.