On A Spider: A Photo Post

The itsy bitsy spider went down the office door...when creativity strikes make a spider!

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On Displaying Edgar Allan Poe

This past week marked the 166^th anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe’s death, which was October 7, 1849. I happen to be a big fan of Poe and generally get the urge to read him as the days grow shorter and the weather grows colder.

Fortunately, my co-worker likes Poe just as much as do and over the past five years we’ve done three Poe’s Parlor displays (yes, we’re that fond of it and I am perfectly willing to claim it as my favorite) each time adding a few more things referencing the works of this master writer. While we’re not doing one this year, I see no reason not to revisit those we have done.

The first year we had some beautiful blue paper for the background. At this point we only had a small number of things referencing his stories and poems.

Excuse the glare, these cases are right next to the door and difficult to photograph.

Then came the second time, in which no perfect parlor paper could be found and we went dark. 

A few shadows joined Poe's parlor.

As you can see this background has some eyeballs peering out, not ideal for a sophisticated parlor, but it was relatable to one of my favorite of Poe’s stories “The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether”.

The raven isn't the only one watching...

Last year deciding the eyeballs to be unacceptable, I managed to patch over some with some of the remaining background and the framed picture conveniently covered one of the upper ones.

There are about 11 or 12 references to Poe’s works in this last display (including the afore mentioned “Tarr and Fether” eyes-you just can't them since they're on the side). How many can you name?

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On New Books: A Photo Post

My 150th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of The Annotated Alice arrived today, along with my much awaited (pre-ordering with a book coming out a month later for shipping purposes is not always the best idea) copy the new Shirley Jackson collection Let Me Tell You ! Hooray! 

 

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"The Egg and I": A Book Review

Title: The Egg and I 

Author: Betty MacDonald

Genre: Non-Fiction, Autobiography

About the book…

The first of several autobiographical works, The Egg and I by Betty MacDonald, also known for her Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books, was first published in 1945. In it she focuses on her time spent with her first husband on their chicken farm in Washington and all the troubles that they experienced. 

This book was made into a movie by the same name staring Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray in 1946. 

What I think…

This is one of those books that definitely falls in the category of being more amusing than your average non-fiction. 

MacDonald takes her farm experiences and turns them into a laugh out loud narrative that still manages to capture all the difficulties and hard work that actually go into farming of any sort. Chapters such as “That Infernal Machine, the Pressure Cooker” (all about canning and its tyranny) capture bits and pieces of farm life that even as a modern audience are often thought about in much more idealistic ways. 

Her humor can be sharp and seemingly mean-spirited at times, which at a few parts is a little off putting. She also tend to be brutally honest at points, for example chapter 9 entitled “I Learn to Hate Even Baby Chicks,” where she goes on to explain a great many actual problems that you experience when raising baby chicks. 

One other thing to point out that has been criticized over time is her description of Native Americans, which I do have to say can be cringe worthy to read from the perspective of a modern reader. 

As I haven’t seen the entire movie (just bits and pieces), I can’t say how it compares, but I do know that based on the book I would like to eventually see it. 

To sum it all up… A remarkably funny autobiography from a woman who braved chicken farming in the 1920’s and lived to tell about it. ♥