Karavansara

East of Constantinople, West of Shanghai

Category Archives: Books


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Hellebore ‘zine

This morning the postman balanced the envelope containing the digest-sized second issue of Hellebore magazine on the top of my mailbox. I found it as I went out a moment before lunch, to see if the feral cats had come to pay a visit.

Featuring articles about the Great God Pan (the guy himself, not just the Machen novel), the Wild Hunt, and an interview with Alan Moore about folk horror, Hellebore #2 (the Wild Gods issue) is a fine selection of curious things and if you are interested in mythology and folklore, folk horror, fantasy and ancient traditions, you should probably check it out.

And as you are at it, maybe also check out the first issue (The Sacrifice Issue), about which I wrote in the past (I’m sure WordPress will place a link at the bottom).

The reason why I am writing this post is very self-serving – I love Hellebore, as it’s the kind of beautifully designed, slightly weird magazine one reads for fun and research. The magazine was planned to be a quarterly, but a short paragraph at the end of the editorial intro of Issue #2 is pretty clear – a small-scale endeavour, Hellebore might not survive the current recession. It would be really a pity – I want my magazine!

And so I am putting this post here – check out Hellebore, and think about buying a copy. Let’s help this strange, beautiful project stay afloat.


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The birthday of the Baron

I have just been aware of the fact that today is the birthday of Baron Hieronymous Karl Friedrich von Munchausen, that was born in Bodenwerder this day in 1720. Having been a long-time fan of the esteemed Baron, I thought it would be appropriate to post a brief note on my blog.

For those that are unfamiliar with this great man’s biography, I cannot recommend too warmly his memoir, Baron Munchausen’s Narrative of his Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia, as compiled and edited, in 1786, by Rudolf Erich Raspe. A different edition of the memoir, The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen, again edited by Rudolf Erich Raspe, can be downloaded from the Project Gutenberg pages in a variety of formats.

It’s been three hundred years, and the old man is still doing pretty well.


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Announcing the Hercule Poirot Centenary Blogathon

This year Hercule Poirot turns 100, and my friend Giulietta over at the Liberi di Scrivere blog is launching a blogathon to celebrate this event. I will be lending a hand both on my Italian blog strategie evolutive and here on Karavansara.
Sp yes, if you feel like joining in, drop a line in the comments or go over at Giulietta’s place and sign up in her comments.

Here’s the official call…

Hercule Poirot turns 100 this year. He first appeared in The Mysterious Affair at Styles in 1920, when London-based publisher John Lane, co-founder with Charles Elkin Mathews of Bodley Head publishing house, decided to publish it in the United States.

For Agatha Christie, it was the beginning of one of the most incredible literary careers imaginable, and even today her books appear in the top positions on sales charts all over the world.

Much of her success is due to Poirot, a former Belgian police officer who fled to England due to the First World War and became the world’s most famous private investigator.

To celebrate Poirot, and his author, Liberi di Scrivere announces the launch of THE HERCULE POIROT CENTENARY BLOGATHON

The rules:

  • Each blogger can write an article in which he talks about a novel or a story in which Poirot is the protagonist or a theme of their choice: like Poirot in the cinema, Poirot in comics, Poirot in the kitchen etc …
  • Each blogger is invited to talk about a different book / topic.
  • A link to this launch post will be included in the post to be published.
  • The Blogathon will take place on Monday 12th October 2020. Each blogger will post their article on that date.
  • You are all invited to participate, leave a comment with the name of your blog, the url and the chosen topic, you will be added to our list. The more we are, the more fun it will be. If you want clarifications or more information you can contact me at my email address: liberidiscrivere@gmail.com.


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The writer’s responsibilities

I am reading Philip Pullman’s Daemon Voices, a collection of essays, articles and talks about the ins and outs of storytelling. I love reading books about writing by writers, and so far I am finding much to agree with Pullman’s positions.

The book opens with a the transcript of a speech Pullman gave about the idea of responsibility for writers, and I found myself cheering and taking notes as I read. Yes, it’s that good.

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The things they carried

Just when you thought things could not get any crazier, I got the news that an Alaska school board removed five “controversial” books from district classrooms. And now I still remember when Tarzan books were removed from libraries for promoting running naked in the jungle and living together outside of wedlock.

But in this case, the books are not pulp adventures, as the “controversial” titles are

  • “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou
  • “Catch-22” by Joseph Heller
  • “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
  • “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  • “Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison

And it is weird, because I got the news just as I was preparing a post about The Things They Carried for my Italian blog.

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Two books and a movie

I am lucky: there’s people out there that give me books as gifts. I am really moved by this, because it means these persons recognize my addiction, and have enough compassion to want to help me stay sane by keeping me well provided with reading matters.

So yesterday I got a digital copy of Alastair Humphreys’ My Midsummer Morning. The person that sent it to me (thank you!) knows I am a fan of Humphreys’, and knew I was curious about this book – that chronicles the author’s travel through Spain, on foot, living on the earnings of his busking.

Humphreys’ offbeat adventure was inspired by another great book, Laurie Lee’s classic As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning, which chronicles Lee’s crossing of the Spanish peninsula, while busking with his violin to make a living. Lee’s adventure took place in 1934. He would return in Spain in ’37 as a member of the International Brigade.

Humphreys’ book is all about finding adventure by facing what causes us anxiety and fear – because if it’s all fun and games, it’s not a challenge, and cannot be a proper adventure.
Hence his idea of travelling as a busker while having no previous experience as a violin player but a few months of lessons and frustrating exercise.
Yes, it’s a wild, crazy idea, but one that works, and does make a sort of sense.

And never before as in these days we needed to be able to face what causes us pain and anxiety.
Books will help, and music. And a certain mental attitude, that allows us to discover adventure in adversity.

So here I have the ebook on my reader.
But in case you are curious, the author also shot a documentary of his adventure, and here it is… enjoy!


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Men (and women) of learning and of steel

Back in the day, I fell desperately in love with the writings of Mary Gentle, the British writer whose Rats & Gargoyles is still in my top five of favourite fantasy novels thirty years after I first read it. I have multiple copies of it, and the only time in my life I was mugged, the guy attacked me to steal from my coat pocket the paperback of Rats & Gargoyles.
A bibliophile-thief? A fantasy-loving thug?

In those pre-internet days, the only way to get everything Gentle had published was perusing the catalogs from Andromeda Books, and then mail an order (you know, with envelope and stamps) all the way to the UK, and then wait and pray the postman didn’t so something stupid.

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