On Saturday, I went round the bookshops looking for Fontamara, which I had planned on reading and was on my #10BeforeTheEnd list. Didn't find it, but bought other books anyway 😊. And all my library holds came at once, so here's my pile of books:
- Tagged Italian cookbook: read, liked it;
- Graphic work by Zerocalcare: read liked it;
- Ibn Khaldun anthology: 60 pages still to read;
- Boccace's Decameron: will probably be a year-long read;
and ⬇
I was looking for something from Zerocalcare set in #Italy for #FoodandLit and stumbled on the tagged book, about the democratic Yezidi self-governing enclave of Sinjar/Shengal in #Iraq, and couldn't pass it up. It's one of those places we hardly ever hear about. All you expect from Zerocalcare: self-reflective, left-wing, informative and depressing, with a glint of tempered hope.
@Texreader
#wordoftheday
“Late-fifteenth-century popes pondered what to do with the tottering basilica, hesitating to destroy something so sacred. But the irascible warrior pope Julius II (reigned 1503–1513) had no such scruples. The ancient basilica was torn down, its ancient papal tombs relocated and some of the art incorporated into the new church. Throughout the sixteenth century the new basilica was raised by fits and starts… ⬇️
I don‘t know how many of you saw the moon earlier, but WOW! It had me texting my friends, “Beauty emergency!” a la Maggie Smith. One of them responded, “The moon was beautiful last night, too.” I don‘t know if she meant it to be an enthusiastic confirmation of my awe or flippant disinterest — but it reminded me of this quote by Anthony Doerr, which I love.
Anyway, the moon. 🌖 Hope some of you caught it!
This book is close to pointless, & its translation is puzzling in places. There are generic remarks about Italian medieval & Renaissance cookbooks & aristocratic food culture, a few pages about Da Vinci, whose links with food & banquets are actually tenuous, & some recipes in the original Italian, with unclear French translations.
#Italy #FoodandLit
@Texreader
#WeeklyFavorites
My first favorite of December is this quiet Italian novel about a mother and wife rethinking her life and writing about it in a diary that she keeps hidden from her family because they wouldn‘t approve her having her own thoughts. It‘s good!
Revenge, served 32 years later, was very cold indeed!!
#Italy #Jubilee #foodandlit @Catsandbooks
#wordoftheday
“There were two signs that a pope had been elected—the bells of Saint Peter‘s would ring out in jubilation, and carpenters would demolish the masonry that blocked the windows of the loggia overlooking Saint Peter‘s Square. The tradition of sending smoke out of the Sistine Chapel chimney after each scrutiny—black for an unsuccessful vote, white for a successful one—was not instituted until 1903.”
Why knowing history can be helpful! He chose to be “Pope Innocent” instead of Eugenio. Good choice.
#Italy #Jubilee #foodandlit @Catsandbooks
- Une fleur qui ne fleurit pas by Maria Messina, an Edwardian woman writer (not in the database) - one for #FoodAndLit #Italy;
- Salamalecs by Jesuthasan Antonythasan (not in the database);
- L'ultime humiliation by Rhéa Galanaki (not in the database). 5h