#joan hodgson

[crosstheveil]

Excerpt: Three Worlds of Man

Spiritual truth is so subtle that it is difficult to translate into material words and concepts. The frontal mind of man is inclined to confine ideas into compartments and pigeonholes, and in so doing can miss their subtle essence. The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life; this is certainly true in the study of astrology. Many clearly demonstrable facts prove its efficacy, but just as many interesting side-tracks can lure the student into a maze, in which he can wander for years without getting anywhere near the truth.

Pythagoras taught that the planetary spirits resided not in the bodies of the planets themselves but in the planetary intervals. Medieval philosophers, in their studies of the human brain, all agreed that the part which was responsive to the impress of the soul was not the physical brain cells themselves but the cavities or ventricles in the brain. Alan Leo states that the element Air, being all-pervasive, is the most subtle and therefore the most responsive to the impress of pure spirit. The alchemists believed that within the ventricles in the human brain a subtle interchange of the spiritual and physical airs takes place, an absorption of the divine breath. The human skull in the ancient teachings is often likened to the sphere of the earth or the sphere of the universe, and in symbolic language and pictures they depict the seven planetary angels or seven stars residing within the earth or within the human brain.

A number of diagrammatic drawings by mediaeval students of alchemy show the human head with three circles or centres of consciousness. The frontal centre is to be considered with the five senses and the nervous system, all under the control of the frontal mind. In the natal horoscope this frontal mind with the physical organism is shown by the Ascendant and by the balance of the elements in the chart. The four elements of Fire, Earth, Air and Water, with a fifth element, ether, more subtle than the rest, and pervading all the others, have always been considered to be linked with the five senses of man.

From the above the student will begin to realise the importance of the Ascendant and the balance of elements in the nature which allows the planetary spirits, through their rulership of the signs, to direct the pattern of the karma of the physical life. These planetary angels are believed to work through the hidden zodiac within the soul of man bearing the imprint of the whole of the past.

In a general sense the frontal mind which governs physical action and creates the personality, is under the rulership both of the Moon and Mars. The subconscious part of the brain including the cerebellum, which controls the sympathetic nervous system, comes chiefly under the rulership of Mars; but both these planets are deeply involved in the birth, death and reproduction of the physical vehicle.

Behind the frontal mind is what we may term ‘the soul mind’, or the centre of imagination and reflection. This, too, is ruled by the Moon. It is the gateway to the inner worlds to which we withdraw in sleep or meditation and which we perceive at times of great artistic or mental inspiration. When we are imprisoned in a physical body the consciousness swings between the phases of the Moon. The times when the frontal brain is extremely active can be likened to the full Moon and the times of sleep or withdrawal to the new Moon, when the earth is dark, but the Moon is in conjunction with the Sun and both soul and body are being renewed or revitalised. From ancient times the period of the new Moon has been recognised as a time of new beginnings.

The Moon has close connection with the element Water which also symbolises the soul. It is not surprising, therefore, that in meditation White Eagle teaches his pupils as a first step to withdraw from the frontal mind and to sit in imagination by a still pool on which gradually the white lotus flower opens. When, by the exercise of the will, man consciously releases himself from the frontal mind and becomes absolutely still, then the soul mind can become active. The light of heaven can be reflected in this still water, and the planetary angels can lift the soul into a consciousness of its true destiny. The whole purpose of physical incarnation is for the soul to expand in consciousness to an ever-greater awareness of God, to the point where it can express divine wisdom, power and love through physical matter.

Even deeper within the brain lies the centre which is under the command of the sun or the divine self. This is hidden so deeply that it can only be reached through the attunement of the soul vehicle to the divine self. When the outer mind and emotions are held absolutely still the soul will be able to rise as on a shaft of light, up to a golden mountain, into the sun, and to worship there. By spiritual training and discipline the soul in incarnation is enabled to make the most of the opportunities presented by the physical life, and to learn the lesson indicated by the zodiacal position of the Sun in the horoscope and the planetary aspects thereto.

The centre of solar consciousness, so deeply hidden within the brain, is closely connected with the heart, which is the true solar centre. White Eagle teaches his students that they must learn to use what he calls ‘the mind in the heart’, for it is only through this heart consciousness that the soul can become aware of the true solar ray which is the source of its being.

This is why, when patients seek spiritual healing, White Eagle encourages them to still the fretful, worrying outer mind, and become still in their soul. Then only can they begin to feel the radiance of the spirit which resides in the heart. When the clamour of the outer self is stilled, the solar self illumines the whole consciousness. Then true healing takes place; for once the lunar self is still and focused on the inner light it absorbs and reflects the radiance of the spiritual Sun, the source of life and being of that soul.

This light can only come into physical manifestation through perfect polarisation of the lunar self with the solar self. When the full Moon reflects the Sun, the earth is illumined. In the same way, when the soul makes true contact with the source of its being, the body is illumined and inharmonies fall away. This is what Jesus meant when he said, I and my Father are one . . . I am the resurrection, and the life. I AM the resurrection, and the life.

The mystery writings of ancient religions often referred to the heart centre as a cave wherein dwelt the holy of holies. In some religions it is regarded as the holy city — the new Jerusalem of the Christian mysteries, the Mecca of Islam, the Benares of the Hindus. Always this city has to be approached by a pilgrimage.

The difficulties and trials the soul endures during its incarnation eventually force it to cry out for God and consciously to set forth on this journey, wonderfully described in Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. The path and the end are always the same — the climb up the rocky mountain, the process of purification, often through pain — either physical, mental or emotional, according to the element which is being mastered — and finally the admittance into the heart’s cave where the light burns and the glorious unseen Presence waits.

Because of the close link of the solar force with the physical body and the desire nature shown by the Sun’s exaltation in Aries, it was recognised in the mystery teachings that until the soul begins to yearn for light and starts the spiritual pilgrimage, the desire nature, with its headstrong wilfulness, passion and egotism crowds out the little light - the child of the Sun. The heart centre of the soul living only for itself is crowded - there is ‘no room in the inn’. Then through some bitter sorrow or denial of desire, the soul begins to yearn for God and seeks spiritual help, and in so doing becomes dimly aware of the divinity within the heart. As it learns to watch for the light that shines in darkness, to listen for this inner voice, the Word of God, gradually the soul discovers the small cave or sanctuary in the heart, from which all intruders are shut out. This is the purpose of the true meditation; and it is what humanity is reaching out for as the Aquarian Age, in which man will begin to realise his own divinity, approaches.

During any one of the sidereal Ages, two signs, not one, influence humanity. The sign through which the vernal equinox is actually passing exerts a powerful influence on the outer life of humanity, but the opposite sign, its polarity, is the one which affects the inner life most strongly. Always there is this reflection from heaven to earth, and this being so, from earth to heaven. Because Leo is the sign opposite to Aquarius and rules the heart, much more will be understood about the true function of the heart centre during the coming age. It is interesting that so much attention has centred upon heart transplants in recent years. When man is ready to understand the secret of life there will be no need for heart transplants because he will learn how to awaken the solar self to bring about his own healing. He will realise something of the secret magic of the solar consciousness.

The resurgence of interest in astrology is a necessary part of humanity’s progress towards enlightenment, for true astrology is the science of religion, the science of the soul. Understanding of the planetary forces playing on the soul and of the soul’s lesson in incarnation, can be a great help to those seeking spiritual unfoldment. The soul lesson is shown primarily by the element of the sign in which the Sun is placed at birth.

To understand why this should be, let us trace the path of the soul from death to rebirth. During earthly life the soul is imprisoned in the physical consciousness, the five senses of the body. This is related to the rising sign and the balance of elements in the birth chart. It is permeated by the lunar or soul consciousness, often referred to as the personality. During waking hours this consciousness is focused in the physical brain, but during sleep it functions in this soul world, and at death the personality or lunar self withdraws from physical matter but lives in a soul body, vitalised by the solar, the true self, on the astral and mental planes.

In due time comes the urge to withdraw into the solar or celestial world. At this stage, described by Arthur Conan Doyle as the second death, the soul releases itself from all entanglements of the astral and lower mental planes and withdraws into the sphere of the sun where the higher self can review the whole panorama of past experience. It can see the pattern and the purpose of its many lives on earth. In this heavenly stage it realises the planetary ray necessary for the next stage of the soul’s development.

As the soul incarnates under each of the planetary rays, through the signs of the zodiac, it gradually builds for itself the seven bodies or vehicles it needs to function with mastery on every plane of being.

At the moment it is ready and wills to function once more through a physical body, the ray of the solar self shines into the darkness of matter and the conception of the physical body takes place. This is the moment when the planetary spirits are in the right relationship and gather round to build the foetus, which will be born when the position of the Sun gives the planetary ray required. By an exact and unerring law the chosen parents are irresistibly drawn together at the right time also. The laws which govern this are beyond the comprehension of man’s finite mind. They are under the direction of the angels of karma.

According to the sign in which the Sun is placed, the soul is learning the lesson of the planetary ruler of that sign, the real work of the incarnation being to strengthen and develop the soul vehicle of that particular plane. All the diverse experiences of the incarnation contribute to the learning of this lesson which is indicated by the quality and element of the Sun sign at birth.

— Joan Hodgson, from Astrology: The Sacred Science

[sixcostumerefs]

Happy Asian and Pacific Islander Month to our queens!

Here in the US, May is Asian-American and Pacific Islander month. So just like last year, I'll be highlighting the Asian and Pacific Islander queens of Six. This year is especially fun as there's currently an Asian or Pacific Islander queen in every currently-running replica production of Six!

Pictured: Aragon: Grace Mouat (Burmese, 1st UK Tour and West End), Nicole Kyoung-mi Lambert (Korean, pre-Broadway regional tour and Broadway); Jasmine Shen (Chinese/Hong Konger, Breakaway 1.0); Chloé Zuel (Mauritian, 2020 Sydney); Phoenix Jackson Mendoza (Filipino, 2021-23 Aus Tour); Kristina Leopold (Chinese/Thai/Indian, Broadway/Boleyn Tour); 이아름솔/Lee Arum-soul (Korean, South Korea); 손승연/Sonnet (Korean, South Korea) Boleyn: Andrea Macasaet (Filipino, pre-Broadway regional tour and Broadway); Cherelle Jay (West End and 2nd UK Tour); Amanda Lindgren (South Korean, West End); Sunayna Smith (Indian, Breakaway 3.0 and 5.0); 김지우/Kim Ji-woo (Korean, South Korea); 배수정/Pae Su-jeong (Korean, South Korea); Fiorella Bamba (Filipino, Bliss 6.0); Thảo Therése Nguyễn (Vietnamese, West End) Seymour: Jasmine Forsberg (Filipino, Aragon Tour/Broadway); 박혜나/Park Hye-na (Korean, South Korea); 박가람 /Park Ga-ram (Korean, South Korea); Singh Viki (Indian, Hungarian non-replica) Cleves: 김지선/Kim Ji-sun (Korean, South Korea); 최현선/Choi Hyun-sun (Korean, South Korea); Danielle Mendoza (Filipino, Breakaway 3.0/Boleyn Tour); Kardffy Aisha (Persian, Hungarian non-replica) Howard: Jaina Brock-Patel (Desi/Indian, 2nd UK Tour); Zoe Jensen (Filipino, Broadway); 김려원/Kim Ryeo-won (Korean, South Korea); 솔지/Solji (Korean, South Korea); Elysia Cruz (Filipino, Canadian); Hien (Vietnamese, Hungarian non-replica); Sierra Fermin (Filipino, Broadway); Alizé Ke'Aloha Cruz (Filipina, Bliss 3.0/Boleyn Tour) Parr: Shimali de Silva (Hong Konger/Sri Lankan, original student cast); Vidya Makan (Desi/Indian heritage, 2020 and 2021-23 Australian Tours); Shannen Alyce Quan (Eurasian, 2020 and 2021-23 Australian Tours); Karis Oka (2020 and 2021-23 Australian Tours); Megan Leung (Chinese/Hong Konger, Bliss 2.0 and Breakaway 5.0); Roxanne Couch (Maori, West End); Joy N Woods (Southeast Asian and/or Pacific Islander, Broadway); Elena Breschi (Filipino, Breakaway 4.0) 유주혜/Yoo Ju-hye (Korean, South Korea); 홍지희/Hong Ji-hee (Korean, South Korea); Aoife Haakenson (Taiwanese, UK Tour); Lauren Mariaoosay (Indian/Polynesian/Malaysian/Cambodian, Canada) Notes: - All information is from this post. There may be additional info or queens missing, as it's only information I specifically have been able to verify. This list also doesn't encompass the full breadth of many queens' identities; many of them are of mixed race and ethnicity, or of several nationalities. That post provides further information. - I usually don't include actors who haven't debuted. That means that Kimberley Hodgson and Deirdre Khoo (both of the recently-announced Australian Tour) and Fia Houston-Hamilton (cancelled Breakaway 2.0) are not included.

Credits: Aragon: anniekwithacamera; Lloyd Bishop; _jasmine_shen_; jamesmorganphoto; sixthemusicalau, unsure of origin; ymduck_pic; _young_img Boleyn: Sara Crulwich; jonalderson_; Pamela Raith; sunaynasmith; _young_img; _shannon1025_, unsure of origin; fiorellabamba; Pamela Raith Seymour: Joan Marcus; hbiiii._.iin; jjang_beautiful; Szabina Jardek Cleves: hbiiii._.iin; gren_pic; Joan Marcus; Szabina Jardek Howard: Pamela Raith, Joan Marcus, day_star_._, 890110kr; Joan Marcus; Szabina Jardek; sierrafermin; Joan Marcus Parr: sixthemusical, unsure of origin; sixthemusicalau, unsure of origin; daynaransleyphoto; daynaransleyphoto; meganswleung; Pamela Raith; michaelah.jpg; elenabreschi; yoozuyoozu, unsure of origin; jjang_beautiful; Pamela Raith; Joan Marcus

[after-witch]

Can I ask for your book recommendations? If you haven’t done so before that is ><

oh sure! my book taste is all over the place, I'm not sure what to recommend, so here's a bit of everything.

Horror/Dark

Small Spaces Quartet by Katherine Arden (obviously)

The Collector by John Fowles

My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

Dark Water by Suzuki Koji

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

IT by Stephen King

Carrie by Stephen King

The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (really, anything by Shirley Jackson)

The Push by Ashley Audrain

Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay (okay, not quite horror but mystery)

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Goth by Otsuichi (Anything by Otsuichi; their stuff is really really dark, though, be aware)

Fantasy/Other

The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden (doesn't come out until February)

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

Wicked: the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire

Prince Ombra by Roderick MacLeish **If you go for this one, DO NOT get the 2002 reprint. Only look for copies published before 2002. The 2002 reprint is heavily censored.

The Rumpeltsiltskin Problem by Vivien Vande Velde

Dragon's Bait by Vivien Vande Velde

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

[poppletonink]

The Aesthetic of Studio Ghibli: An Inspired Reading Recommendations List

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

Shuna's Journey by Hayao Miyazaki

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amelie Wen Zhao

Kiki's Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono

Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Linn

Never by Jessa Hastings

When Marnie Was There by Joan G. Robinson

House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones

Anne Of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Alice In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

[ofallingstar]

List of books I read in 2023

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

Women Talking by Miriam Toews

L'homme semence by Violette Ailhaud

Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

On Magic & The Occult by W.B. Yeats

Faithful Place by Tana French

The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry

Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe

Opened Ground: Selected Poems 1966-1996 by Seamus Heaney

The Love Object by Edna O'Brien

Don Quijote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Night by Elie Wiesel

In Between the Sheets by Ian McEwan

The Lost Days by Rob Reger & Jessica Gruner

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

Parallax by Sinéad Morrissey

The Woman in the Strongbox by Maureen O'Hagan

Diaries, 1910-1923 by Franz Kafka

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

Walking to Martha's Vineyard by Franz Wright

A Tale for the Time Being Ruth Ozeki

Mouthful of Forevers by Clementine von Radics

Wasteland by Francesca Lia Block

The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich

Find Me by André Aciman

The Awakening by Kate Chopin

The Grace Year by Kim Ligget

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

Psycho by Robert Bloch

Classic Tales Of Vampires And Shapeshifters by Tig Thomas

Love Devours: Tales of Monstrous Adoration by Sarah Diemer

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Putney by Sofka Zinovieff

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

The Maid by Nita Prose

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Deep by Rivers Solomon

You can follow me or add me as a friend on Goodreads.

[notebookmusical]

books read in 2024!

books read so far: 99/100

— gr: http://goodreads.com/cossettereads — sg: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/cossettereads

as always, askbox + dms are open if have any questions or would like to chat about books! 🤍

⊹ indicates any (new) favorites of the month! previous months are under the cut!

november ⋆ ˚｡⋆౨ৎ

1) shoot your shot by lexi lafleur brown (arc)

january ⋆ ˚｡⋆౨ৎ˚

1) beach read by emily henry (reread) 2) on palestine by noam chomsky & ilan pappé 3) valley verified by kyla zhao (gifted) 4) the wind at my back: resilience, grace, and other gifts from my mentor, raven wilkinson by misty copeland & susan fales-hill (gifted) 5) check please: year one by ngozi ukazu (reread) 6) check please: year two by ngozi ukazu (reread) 7) check please: year three by ngozi ukazu (reread) 8) check please: year four by ngozi ukazu (reread) 9) raiders of the lost heart by jo segura (gifted) 10) the frame-up by gwenda bond (arc) 11) everything i never told you by celeste ng ⊹ 12) forgive me not by jennifer baker (gifted) 13) ever after always by chloe liese (gifted) 14) the summer of bitter and sweet by jen ferguson (gifted) 15) the lily of ludgate hill by mimi matthews (gifted) 16) last call at the local by sarah grunder ruiz (gifted) ⊹ 17) the sun and the void by gabriela romero-lacruz (gifted) 18) a line in the dark by malinda lo (gifted) 19) biting the hand: growing up asian in black and white america by julia lee (gifted) 20) play it as it lays by joan didion

february ⋆ ˚｡⋆౨ৎ˚

1) mister hockey by lia riley * 2) collide by bal khabra (arc) * 3) a curious beginning by deanna raybourn (gifted) 4) breaking the ice by k.r. collins * 5) if only you by chloe liese (gifted) * 6) anxious people by frederik backman ⊹ 7) the catch by amy lea (gifted) 8) weekends with you by alexandra paige (arc) 9) happily never after by lynn painter (arc) 10) klara and the sun by kazuo ishiguro 11) good material by dolly alderton 12) in the event this doesn't fall apart by shannon lee barry 13) the night ends with fire (arc) by k.x. song 14) the good, the bad, and the aunties (arc) by jesse q. sutanto 15) where sleeping girls lie (arc) by faridah àbíké-íyímídé 16) sophomore surge by k.r. collins * 17) lighting the lamp by k.r. collins * 18) glove save and a beauty by k.r. collins * 19) home ice advantage by k.r. collins * 20) power play by k.r. collins * 21) grounded by k.r. collins * 22) line chemistry by k.r. collins *

march ⋆ ˚｡⋆౨ৎ˚

1) happy medium by sarah adler (arc) 2) a darker shade of magic by v.e. schwab (audiobook) 3) expiration dates by rebecca serle (arc) 4) divine rivals by rebecca ross (book club) 5) the siren by katherine st. john (gifted) 6) light in gaza edited by jehad abusalim 7) how to end a love story by yulin kuang (arc) // reviewed here 8) rising from the deep: the seattle kraken, a tenacious push for expansion, and the emerald city's sports revival by geoff baker 9) les misérables by victor hugo (reread)

april ⋆ ˚｡⋆౨ৎ˚

1) the goodbye cat by hiro arikawa (reread) 2) the traveling cat chronicles by hiro arikawa (reread) 3) this is me trying by racquel marie (arc) 4) kill her twice by stacey lee (arc) 5) the pairing by casey mcquiston (arc) 6) swiped by l.m. chilton (arc) 7) lies and weddings by kevin kwan (arc) 8) the odyssey by homer (audiobook)

may ⋆ ˚｡⋆౨ৎ˚

1) this summer will be different by carley fortune (arc) 2) the viscount who loved me by julia quinn (reread) 3) romancing mister bridgerton by julia quinn (reread) 4) the iliad by homer (narrated by audra mcdonald) (audiobook) 5) a novel love story by ashley poston (arc) 6) when he was wicked by julia quinn (reread) 7) a banh mi for two by trinity nguyen (arc) 8) the secret garden by frances hodgson burnett (audiobook)

june ⋆ ˚｡⋆౨ৎ

1) lessons in chemistry by bonnie garmus 2) the phantom of the opera by gaston leroux (audiobook) 3) you, with a view by jessica joyce 4) s. by j.j. abrams & doug dorst 5) the hunchback of the notre dame (audiobook) A

july ⋆ ˚｡⋆౨ৎ

1) firekeeper's daughter by angeline boulley (audiobook) ⊹ 2) born to run by bruce springsteen (audiobook) 3) it had to be you by eliza jane brazier 4) the great gatsby by f. scott fitzgerald (reread; annotated) 5) death on the nile by agatha christie (audiobook) 6) blue sisters by coco mellors (arc) ⊹ 7) juniper and thorn by ava reid (audiobook) 8) the villain edit by laurie devore ⊹

august ⋆ ˚｡⋆౨ৎ

1) a study in drowning by ava reid (audiobook) 2) just for the summer by abby jimenez 3) the match by sarah adams (audiobook)

september ⋆ ˚｡⋆౨ৎ

1) the glitch by leeanne slade (audiobook) 2) howl’s moving castle by diana wynne jones (traveling book club; annotated) 3) how to kill your family by bella mackie (audiobook) 4) everyone i kissed since you got famous by mae marvel (audiobook) 5) blue sisters by coco mellors (reread, annotation) 6) mott street: a chinese american family's story of exclusion and homecoming by ava chin ⊹ 7) confronting the racist legacy of the american child welfare system: the case for abolition by alan j. dettlaff 8) jane eyre by charlotte brontë

october ⋆ ˚｡⋆౨ৎ

1) anne of green gables by l.m. montgomery 2) intermezzo by sally rooney 3) razzle dazzle: the battle for broadway by michael riedel 4) designing broadway: how derek mclane and other acclaimed set designers create the visual world of theatre by derek mclane and eila mell 5) summer in the city by alex aster (arc) 6) rebecca by daphne du maurier (audiobook) ⊹

[laddersofsweetmisery]

book fair finds (and at a dollar a piece!)

Lord of the Flies, by William Golding

The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Hunchback of Notre Dame, by Victor Hugo

A Beggar in Jerusalem, by Elie Weisel

Memories of My Melancholy Whores, by Garcia Marquez

Daisy Miller, by Henry James

The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison

The Waves, by Virginia Woolf

The Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion

Blue Nights, by Joan Didion

The Master and the Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov

Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy

Gone With the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell

Hiroshima, by John Hersey

I Know This Much is True, by Wally Lamb

Animal Farm, by George Orwell

Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo

And Ladies of the Club, by Helen Hooven Santmyer

The Professor, by Charlotte Bronte

How to Read Literature Like a Professor, by Thomas Foster

The Shipping News, by Annie Proulx

The Professor and The Madman, by Simon Winchester

The Antioch Review (I was recently accepted into their MFA Program, so I thought it was a neat find!)

And the entire Twilight series because although I'm a literary girlie, I also like to have fun. I'm multifaceted.

[healerqueen]

50 Favorite Children’s Books

Inspired by Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki’s list of his earliest literary influences. This list is limited to books I read in childhood or youth. 50 Childhood Favorites

Caddie Woodlawn and sequel by Carol Ryrie Brink

Winter Cottage by Carol Ryrie Brink

The Saturdays, The Four-Story Mistake, and sequels by Elizabeth Enright

Enemy Brothers by Constance Savery

The Reb and the Redcoats by Constance Savery

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham

Derwood, Inc. by Jeri Massi

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Heidi by Joanna Spyri

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

The Wheel on the School by Meindert De Jong

All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor

Family Grandstand by Carol Ryrie Brink

Baby Island by Carol Ryrie Brink

Cheaper By the Dozen and sequel by Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

Rebecca’s War by Ann Finlayson

The Lost Baron by Allen French

Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

The Winged Watchman by Hilda Van Stockum

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman

Captive Treasure by Milly Howard

Toliver’s Secret by Esther Wood Brady

Silver for General Washington by Enid LaMonte Meadowcroft

Emil’s Pranks by Astrid Lindgren

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien

Hitty: Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field

Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois

Freddy the Detective and Freddy the Pig series by Walter R. Brooks

The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden

Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Robert Lawson

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

The Borrowers by Mary Norton

The Wombles by Elisabeth Beresford

Homer Price by Robert McCloskey

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne

Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi by Cindy Neuschwander and Wayne Geehan

Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

The Bridge and Crown and Jewel by Jeri Massi

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

The Gammage Cup by Carol Kendall

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

Young Adult:

The Eagle of the Ninth and other books by Rosemary Sutcliff

The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Ranger’s Apprentice by John Flanagan

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George

Buffalo Brenda by Jill Pinkwater

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio by Peg Kehret (a nonfiction memoir)

Picture Books:

Make Way for Ducklings and other books by Robert McCloskey

Go, Dog, Go by P.D. Eastman

Sam and the Firefly by P.D. Eastman

Robert the Rose Horse by Joan Heilbroner

Ice-Cream Larry by Daniel Pinkwater

Mr. Putter and Tabby by Cynthia Rylant

Discovered as an Adult: Seesaw Girl by Linda Sue Park

The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye

The Armourer’s House by Rosemary Sutcliff

Urchin of the Riding Stars and the Mistmantle Chronicles by M.I. McAllister

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

Escape to West Berlin by Maurine F. Dahlberg

Listening for Lions by Gloria Whelan

The Angel on the Square by Gloria Whelan

Courage in Her Hands by Iris Noble

Knight’s Fee by Rosemary Sutcliff

Victory at Valmy (Thunder of Valmy) by Geoffrey Trease

Word to Caesar (Message to Hadrian) by Geoffrey Trease

The Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

The Reluctant Godfather by Allison Tebo

Seventh City by Emily Hayse

Escape to Vindor by Emily Golus

Valiant by Sarah McGuire

The Secret Keepers by Trenton Lee Stewart

[isfjmel-phleg]

A genre I love and have a strong hankering to immerse myself in right now for some reason

Vulnerable, isolated child (emotional issues optional)

Memorably mysterious and unusual house/building/residence

Memorably mysterious and unusual landscape, frequently

Usually a Victorian or early-/mid-twentieth-century setting

Secrets/mysteries

Emphasis on atmosphere

Sense of danger or foreboding

Emphasis on interpersonal relationships, often familial

Optional: magical or supernatural elements or motifs

Frequently dark but not hopeless, especially by the end

Nonexhaustive list of examples:

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Ghost Garden by Emma Carroll

Behind the Attic Wall by Sylvia Cassedy

The House on the Hill by Eileen Dunlop

The Aviary Hall books by Penelope Farmer (Charlotte Sometimes etc.)

Some installments of the Chrestomanci series by Diana Wynne Jones

The List of Unspeakable Fears by J. Kasper Kramer

Octagon Magic by Andre Norton

The Aviary by Kathleen O'Dell

Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce

The Humming Room by Ellen Potter (a retelling of The Secret Garden)

When Marnie Was There by Joan G. Robinson

The Stella Montgomery Intrigues by Judith Rossell (Withering-By-Sea etc.)

Tenthragon by Constance Savery

A Drowned Maiden's Hair by Laura Amy Schlitz

The Changeling and The Velvet Room by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

Marianne Dreams by Catherine Storr

The House of Months and Years by Emma Trevayne

[sapphireshorelines]

My 2022 Reading List

(chronologically)

The Yellow Wallpaper - Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Train to Pakistan - Khushwant Singh 5/5

Dandelions - Yasunari Kawabata 4/5 (trans. Michael Emmerich)

Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth - Warsan Shire 2.5/5

The Waves - Virginia Woolf 5/5

Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis - Wendy Cope 3/5

Red, White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston 3.5/5

Glass, Irony and God - Anne Carson 4/5 (The Glass Essay is 5/5 tho!)

Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen 4/5

Night Sky with Exit Wounds - Ocean Vuong 5/5

A Little Princess - Frances Hodgson Burnett 3.5/5

Gendering Caste - Uma Chakravarti 5/5

Heartstopper #1 - Alice Oseman 3/5

Live or Die - Anne Sexton 4.5/5

I remember - Joe Brainard 2.5/5

The Country Without a Post Office and other Poems - Agha Shahid Ali 5/5

Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf 4/5

Othello - William Shakespeare 3/5

My Life Had Stood a Loaded Gun - Emily Dickinson 3.5/5

The Waste Land - T. S. Eliot 5/5

Under the Banyan Tree and Other Stories -R.K. Narayan 4/5

An Ordinary Person's Guide to Empire - Arundhati Roy 4/5

Alphabet - Inger Christensen 4.5/5 (trans. Susanna Nied)

Autobiography of Death - Kim Hyesoon 3.5/5 (trans. Don Mee Choi)

A Room With A View - E. M. Forster 4/5

A Mathematician's Apology - G. H. Hardy 3.5/5

Radial Symmetry - Katherine Larson 4/5

Crush - Richard Siken 3.5/5

My Life in My Words - Rabindranath Tagore 4/5 (ed. Uma Das Gupta)

Love Letters: Vita and Virginia 4/5

Fasting, Feasting - Anita Desa 3.5/5

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe - Benjamin Alire Sáenz 5/5 (reread)

Slouching Towards Bethlehem - Joan Didion 3.5/5

Autopsy - Donte Collins 3.5/5

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson 3/5

Time is a Mother - Ocean Vuong 3.5/5

Dracula - Bram Stoker 4.5/5

Anne of Avonlea- L.M. Montgomery 3/5

Four Essays on Philosophy - Mao Tse-Tung 3/5

First Light - Sunil Gangopadhyay 5/5 (trans. Aruna Chakravarti)

Howl and Other Poems - Allen Ginsberg 2.5/5

[wahwealth]

🕵️Sydney Toler | Charlie Chan | Murder Over New York (1940) Mystery | 

Murder Over New York is a 1940 US mystery movie. directed by Harry Lachman.   The cast stars Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan and also features Marjorie Weaver, Robert Lowery,, and Ricardo Cortez. Charlie Chan solves a murder while he is attending a police convention. Cast Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan Marjorie Weaver as Patricia West Robert Lowery as David Elliot Ricardo Cortez as George Kirby Donald MacBride as Inspector Vance Melville Cooper as Herbert Fenton Joan Valerie as June Preston Kane Richmond as Ralph Percy Sen Yung as Jimmy Chan John Sutton as Richard Jeffery (called Keith Jeffery by Kirby) Leyland Hodgson as Robert Boggs Clarence Muse as Butler Frederick Worlock as Hugh Drake Lal Chand Mehra as Ramullah Shemp Howard as Fakir (uncredited) Never miss a video. Join the channel so that Mr. P can notify you when new videos are uploaded: https://www.youtube.com/@nrpsmovieclassics

[calmgrove]

Yorkshire lasses

Les Sœurs Brontë 1848

An intriguing photographic image, with Les Sœurs Brontë written on its reverse, was found earlier this decade in a private Scottish collection by Robert Haley from Lancashire while he was researching for a book on Victorian photography.

As Haley explains in detail on his Brontë Sisters websitethis monochrome picture of three young women, two of them facing a third who is…

[ecos10milpodcast]

S04E11 - La Vampira de Barcelona y héroes golpeando nazis

CINE 00:02:40 - Justice League 00:09:45 - Kingsman: The Golden Circle 00:15:37 - Joan Didion: El centro cederá SERIES 00:19:45 - Alias Grace 00:25:10 - Runaways 00:31:44 - The Good Place 00:37:05 - She's gotta have it 00:41:11 - The Punisher 00:47:33 - Crisis on Earth X (Crossover Arrowverse) PODCAST 00:54:02 - Valencia Destroy 00:56:00 - Our Fake History LIBROS 00:59:30 - Entrevista a Iván Ledesma, nos habla de su novela gráfica La Vampira de Barcelona 01:32:53 - La formación de una marquesa de Frances Hodgson Burnett 01:37:19 - Los Buenos de Hannah Kent 01:42:03- Este es el mar de Mariana Enríquez 01:46:09 - El bosque oscuro de Cixin Liu 01:53:06 - Taller de Literatura SciFi En este programa suenan : Come together (Gary Clark Jr.) / Don't Run (Mr Little Jeans) / Youth (Daughter) / She's gotta have it theme (Bruce Hornsby)

[after-witch]

Hello I really love your writing and I was wondering if you can give me a list of your favorite books or some that you can recommend. I’m trying to get back into reading and I thought why not ask you since one you’re my favorite writer and two we have similar interests sorry if this comes off weird

not weird at all! Here are some off the top of my head:

Small Spaces by Katherine Arden (obviously)

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

Dark Water by Suzuki Koji

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

IT by Stephen King

Carrie by Stephen King

The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (really, anything by Shirley Jackson)

Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay (okay, not quite horror but mystery)

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Goth by Otsuichi

On the non-horror side of things:

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

Wicked: the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire

Prince Ombra by Roderick MacLeish 

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

A Little Princess  Frances Hodgson Burnett

Also re: Prince Ombra, since it’s really not a popular book. I love this book. The basic premise is that the reason why everyone has that little groove above their lips is because right before you leave heaven, an angel puts their finger to your lips and says: Hush! Don’t tell what you know. And then once every while, a child is born without this groove, and it’s because they’re supposed to remember everything so they can try to fight Prince Ombra aka evil/darkness/hate incarnate. In the book, the one chosen to fight Ombra in this generation is a young boy named Bentley. 

If you get it, make sure you are not reading the 2002 reprint with the gold cover from Starscape; this version is abridged and basically ruined. Go for the older print editions from the 1980s. The book contains child sexual abuse, violence/death, and other heavy themes. This 2002 edition was like 'oh well let's take out massive chunks of the story related to anything remotely dark so we can market it to modern young readers, rendering the story nonsensical in the process.’ So don't get that version.

[curseofmxcbeth]

Female centric dark academia novels: 

Picnic at hanging rock, Joan Lindsay

The prime of miss jean brodie, Muriel Spark

The little princess, Frances hodgson burnett

Miss Marple mysteries, Agatha christie

Pride and prejudice, Jane austen 

Wuthering heights, Emily Bronte  

Matilda, Roald Dahl

[nik-jr-lit]

To Be Read (TBR) List (Oct. 31, 2022)

Short-term TBR list (goal is to read by end of 2022):

Anne of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Ice Run by Steve Hamilton

Long-term TBR list (goal is to read these...period):

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Villette by Charlotte Brontë

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Joan of Arc by Mark Twain

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Shirley by Charlotte Brontë

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Hatchet series by Gary Paulsen

The Alex McKnight series by Steve Hamilton

The Nick Mason series by Steve Hamilton

And more that I'm forgetting! I will update this list with each TBR list post.

As mentioned in my post about what I've read so far this year, I have lately been interested in mystery/crime novels and historical romance/fiction. Ever since I first read Jane Eyre in my last year of high school, I've been smitten with the language, culture, and drama that Austen and the Brontës bring to the table. As I work my way through their published works, I'd love to branch out to other historical/classic authors who also explore social classes, gender roles, religion, societal norms, and personal growth within their stories. If you have any suggestions for me to add to my list, let me know :)