CandaceRobbAuthor

CandaceRobbAuthor, 6 months ago to histodons

A remarkable find that tells a tale of a young man who traveled far--from southern Russia to the English countryside. #RomanArchaeology #AncientDNA #history
@histodons https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-67755415

CandaceRobbAuthor, 6 months ago to medievodons

Looks what's returning to US and Canadian markets in ebook (and new paperbacks)! Severn House is issuing the first 4 Owen Archers on 12 December. A sneak peak at the first cover, The Apothecary Rose.

@bookstodon @medievodons
#historicalmysteries #coverart

bookgaga, 6 months ago to poetry

"Don't believe me, please, if I say
that was just my butterfingered way, at thirteen,
of asking you if you would marry me."

#TodaysPoem #poetry @poetry
I Am Very Bothered by Simon Armitage from Book of Matches (1993 Faber and Faber) https://tinyurl.com/yrrp7cef & https://tinyurl.com/4kxfd265

CandaceRobbAuthor, 7 months ago to medievodons

Rip, Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie.
Montaillou: the Promised Land of Error, inspired me to seek out more information about everyday people in the Middle Ages. I reread my copy many times.
@medievodons #medieval #history @histodons
gift article, no paywall:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/23/books/emmanuel-le-roy-ladurie-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Ak0.zkiu.8xWaFW3pENK9&smid=url-share

CitizenWald, 7 months ago to bookhistodons

Outstanding talk today by @erik_kwakkel on the unique combination of intuition and rational analysis that allow the expert paleographer to identify the time and place when a #medieval #manuscript was produced.

https://www.umass.edu/renaissance/event/bookhistkwakkel2023

Delighted that @CandaceRobbAuthor and @taoish were able to attend

#BookHistory @bookhistodons @histodons

CandaceRobbAuthor, 7 months ago to bookstodon

Finished this last night. A beautiful & disturbing (in a good way) book. The link is for a review that's spot on. Kim points to the girl's epiphany: "the earth holds fast to the memories of everything that happens on it, and to it. To win, to succeed, is not to master, to dominate nature, but rather to submit, to live in harmony with all other life. That is the secret all of humanity missed, or at least refused to accept."
@bookstodon #books #nature #LaurenGroff
https://beige.party/@kimlockhartga/111081157808854587

CandaceRobbAuthor, 7 months ago to bookstodon

#FediBookFair
@bookstodon

I write the Owen Archer medieval mysteries. The latest in the series is A Fox in the Fold. Severn House is reissuing the first 10 books in the series in December and January. Here's the schedule!
https://candacerobbbooks.com/2023/09/21/owen-archer-backlist-update/

CandaceRobbAuthor, 7 months ago to bookstodon

Even the British Library suffers cyber attacks?! @bookstodon https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/oct/31/british-library-suffering-major-technology-outage-after-cyber-attack

CandaceRobbAuthor, 8 months ago to medievodons

RIP Natalie Zemon Davis. The Return of Martin Guerre was brilliant.
https://mas.to/
#medieval @medievodons

CandaceRobbAuthor, 8 months ago to bookstodon

Just started reading Dennis Lehane's Small Mercies. This man can write! #books #reading #crimefiction
@bookstodon

hawksquill, 8 months ago to bookstodon

Just started Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin. Apparently the later books of the #Earthsea cycle are disliked by fans. I am bewildered by that assessment. I can already tell this is an all-time favorite.

Everything from the prose to the characters feels more mature and meditative. Gender is also examined in a much more holistic and painful way. Several passages have already spoken to my soul in such a deep way that I know will remain with me for a long time

#Bookstodon #AmReading @bookstodon

CandaceRobbAuthor, 8 months ago to bookstodon

Medieval York in the news! This plays right into the concept for the 16th #OwenArcher (currently writing the 15th). More food for thought! #York #medieval @bookstodon @mediverse.social
@medievodons
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-66946368

tkinias, 8 months ago to random

Something that’s been nagging at me all day: A discussion with a parent about their teen’s belief that history classes are a waste of time—not because the kid isn’t interested in history, but because they believe that they can learn all they need to know about the Roman Empire from YouTube videos far more efficiently than by taking classes.

There’s so much misunderstanding of what history is about baked in there that I don’t even know where to start.

CandaceRobbAuthor, 9 months ago to writers

As Autumn arrives, the temperature drops, & rain approaches, my thoughts turn to folktales--not sure why they're so connected to autumn for me. Katherine Langrish writes a wonderful blog. I'm especially enjoying her Enchanted Sleep and Sleepers series.
#folklore #fairytales
@writers https://steelthistles.blogspot.com/2023/09/enchanted-sleep-and-sleepers-3.html

CandaceRobbAuthor, 9 months ago to writingcommunity

In July Severn House announced they'd acquired my Owen Archer series backlist. I'm excited to announce the schedule for the re-releases (trade & ebook) in the US & Canada!
books 1-4 12 December
5-6 26 December
7-8 9 January
9-10 23 January
@bookstodon
@writingcommunity https://severnhouse.com/severn-house-acquires-candace-robbs-owen-archer-series/

CandaceRobbAuthor, 9 months ago to writingcommunity

I registered for Left Coast Crime, coming to Seattle (actually Bellevue) in April. See you there!
@bookstodon
@writingcommunity https://leftcoastcrime.org/2024/

kimlockhartga, 9 months ago to bookstodon

@bookstodon #BookReview The Vaster Wilds, by Lauren Groff.

This novel is beautifully written. Groff's poetic prose expands along with the story's progression, and culminates in a soaring revelation about humanity, life, and purpose.

The main character is a girl named Lamentations, a kind of living elegy for us all.

As in most literary fiction, character is more important than the plot. The premise does not seem like enough structure to build on, but the author manages to make every step of Lamentations' journey memorable and engaging.

There is an unmistakable message, a moral imperative presented in not so much a heavy-handed way, just abundantly clearly. Essentially, of all the deadly dangers humanity can face, it turns out that we are our own worst enemies. Our greed and arrogance are the obstacles we put in our own way.

The author zerores in on a philosophical problem plaguing humankind: a void within each of us, a great "nothing" which almost by definition can never be filled. It is this unfillable hole at the center of us which creates our collective insatiable gaping maw, a destructive desire to consume everything in our path.

Among the many epiphanies the main character realizes, the girl named Lamentations sees exactly what the world needs in order to truly heal. Just as humanity was birthed in a perfect place, Eden will only return when all humanity has died and merged with the natural world. It gives new meaning to "the fall of man." This also begins her crisis of faith, as she struggles with her inner voice.

The girl, in her lengthy solitude, ruminates over what truths can be known. She concludes that the earth holds fast to the memories of everything that happens on it, and to it. To win, to succeed, is not to master, to dominate nature, but rather to submit, to live in harmony with all other life. That is the secret all of humanity missed, or at least refused to accept.

Unless we see ourselves as one with the natural world, rather than separate or even superior to it, we will not endure. Lamentations decides that harmony is our only hope for redemption. #books #BooksWorthReading #LaurenGroff #TheVasterWilds

CandaceRobbAuthor, 9 months ago to bookstodon

Stayed up late to (feverishly) finish reading Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan. Beautiful, disturbing, insightful, with a brilliantly edgy first page. I realize how little I knew about the troubles in Sri Lanka. Highly recommend. @bookstodon

CandaceRobbAuthor, 9 months ago to writingcommunity

In the NYT:
"When [Lauren] Groff starts something new, she writes it out longhand in large spiral notebooks. After she completes a first draft, she puts it in a bankers box — and never reads it again. Then she’ll start the book over, still in longhand, working from memory. The idea is that this way, only the best, most vital bits survive."
Fascinating. I love reading about processes.
Gifting the article: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/09/books/lauren-groff-vaster-wilds.html?unlocked_article_code=-tGrasNshvNep96PQaA9lwuYglb2t9tnJQ7S2nMYk6phEfJb7i8VZuFCw2gEpQKKzRh1eDmZv0nhJrWkHK9nghHxyozg6ch1H3r6VLEq7YAUCsSNBszNH7ndezME2J2DAS7Fm3New_VJjnBZEHpWL7G0uD5p5_P3nNW4GX_YG0u50KglMPXKKhUes0IsqbWEWi-SWsal8NCHwkkSS169qHCU_NDq2Ps47JavJDlGVfksQh5f2XEqNO97a3VhJ2SqGF5NdJ3lje6N_I2Z8DlerpyXDmtzcOneImLBKbstZuVB9uHXGT540KVVdZDo5TGzvvdWKW1QYTr8yWHx-zEVVZI&smid=url-share
@bookstodon @writingcommunity
#writinglife

dbsalk, 9 months ago to bookstodon

Continuing my prep for Sea of Tranquility by re-reading Emily St John Mandel's backlist... or, at least, the two novels I'm familiar with. In July, I read Station Eleven for the 3rd time. Now I'm on a re-read of The Glass Hotel. I was struck by this:

"(Idea for a ghost story: a woman gets old and falls out of time and realizes that she's become invisible.)"

Was the author thinking out loud? Because I would totally read that story. #Bookstodon #AmReading #EmilyStJohnMandel #Books @bookstodon

CandaceRobbAuthor, 9 months ago to writers

My latest blog post: on reading fantasy (and some sf).
#fantasy #ScienceFiction #RobinHobb #UrsulaKLeGuin
@bookstodon
@writers http://candacerobbbooks.com/2023/08/30/on-fantasy/

CandaceRobbAuthor, 9 months ago to bookstodon

I'm reading Fool's Fate by Robin Hobb, the 3rd book in the 3rd trilogy in this world, & I'm fascinated by how the intricacy of the world deepens, layer upon layer of history are revealed, connecting everything. Gradually the reader sees the enormity of what might be lost if one of the characters takes the wrong step. For me, with all that's falling apart in the world in which I live, this is a mirror to us. It’s a tale of humanity, & how we treat one another. A warning. 2/2 @bookstodon #fantasy

CandaceRobbAuthor, 9 months ago to bookstodon

A thread: I've thought a lot about fantasy & why I am drawn to it the past few years, because I am working on one. In the fantasies I'm drawn to, I appreciate the deep metaphors about how we engage with our world. Like the best crime novels, they're modern morality plays. Moving the tales away from the day to day, or the mundane, subtly draws in the reader. Just as heart-thumping pace and suspense and mystery do with crime novels. 1/2
@bookstodon #writingcommunity

CandaceRobbAuthor, 9 months ago to medievodons

For your viewing enjoyment, a promo for my interview on About the Authors tv: This is from late in the long interview (he asked specific questions about each Owen Archer book--14!) and I was going hoarse. Back to the voice exercises for me...
@bookstodon @medievodons
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksMZ01GgY5s&t=2s

CandaceRobbAuthor, 10 months ago to bookstodon

I love this Sagan quote. #books @bookstodon
https://mastodon.social/@Sheril/110946707834214049

curiousordinary, 10 months ago to folklore

In Greek mythology, the goddess and witch Circe lived on the remote island of Aeaea. It was here that she gathered and used her magic herbs to turn men into pigs, and also where she spent a year with the hero Odysseus. Madeline Miller's fabulous novel 'Circe' retells the myth from Circe's perspective. More info about the book here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35959740-circe
#MythologyMonday @mythology @folklore
🎨'Circe Offering the Cup to Ulysses' - John William Waterhouse.

Circe by Madeleine Miller book cover.

clive, 10 months ago to random

Amazon is crawling with travel guides written by AI -- vague, crappy, and pushed up in search results by astroturfed fake five-star reviews: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/05/travel/amazon-guidebooks-artificial-intelligence.html?unlocked_article_code=Gmcb6fkRXSAX7JUdbTpFyhH1lSBWBcI0RuiXgcku3gVTdQV7s_SPvl1tKw76F_txTehAmHdU0bZ3PUoPyH0h-dybeb8_bGL7UzysZynt-SFcx9yByC4wr37_65cVodjr_Z-sRcqUfioeOsUAKJpEECejhG2SlL4jPCoaBG8PFnu_YLKDXA0hkzvhrJnGuD5kw59N8Bz7T7D7UOeJXLkowJnnoB6IDt6bHn6XiBvlH--t6M_9xmGCkNlYdtiiScdbS3ebGG5C3xKkCxwacaT96yLi9NK5dx9YHwhHSPdoVJPqslvVGAwQFvpSQvDvgHZGOFxW09EeUVAHYZl6uI-aSYS0_UfYhcXjDi6J2-M1oFlpWg&smid=url-share

That's a "gift" link so you don't need to be a New York Times subscriber to read it

It's a great investigation, and highlights the real problem, which is ...

... unsurprisingly by now, Amazon seemingly does little-to-nothing to stop this

The site is just soiled top to bottom with fake crap in every category

CandaceRobbAuthor, 10 months ago to bookstodon

Currently reading Donna Leon's So Shall You Reap, Commissario Brunetti #32. Over the years, one of my favorite characters is his wife Paolo. She is utterly cool. @bookstodon #reading #mysteries

Sinistar7510, 10 months ago to gardening

@gardening
#gardening
#garden

CandaceRobbAuthor, 11 months ago to medievodons

I am excited to announce that the fabulous team at Severn House (an imprint of Canongate Books) is (re)publishing the first 10 books in my Owen Archer series in ebook & trade paperback, beginning with the first book, The Apothecary Rose, this autumn--its 30th anniversary! It is incredibly satisfying that a group of people I imagined 30 years ago are still embraced by readers. Thank you! #books
@bookstodon @writingcommunity @medievodons @severnhouse @canongatebooks
https://severnhouse.com/severn-house-acquires-candace-robbs-owen-archer-series/

CandaceRobbAuthor, 11 months ago to bookstodon

Lovely post this morning--copies of the hardcover and trade paperback Hungarian editions of The Apothecary Rose--Owen Archer 1! #books #mysteries #historicalmysteries
@bookstodon @writingcommunity

CandaceRobbAuthor, 1 year ago to bookstodon

If you're looking for a character-driven, immersive, heartbreaking yet heartwarming novel, I highly recommend Calling for a Blanket Dance by Oscar Hokeah. Stayed up late finishing it last night/this morning. Brilliant. @bookstodon #books #NativeAmerican #reading