Tag Archives: arts

The Sunday Review: A Mixed Bag of Books

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Book reviews — the good, bad, and the ugly. I like to tell people about the books I read, but I really don’t like to give away the story. I don’t read the spoilers that other reviewers post, and I don’t do it on my own reviews. I figure that if someone really wants to know the story before they read the book, they can find it somewhere else.

At the beginning of 2014, I changed around some of my feeds on Goodreads and started posting reviews in my sidebar. I was dedicated and posted reviews right after I finished a book. And then I got lazy again and got WAY behind on my reviews. So now I’m back, trying to get in the groove again. I like the discipline of keeping track of my reading. I’ve also found that when I link them up to Facebook through Goodreads, I get recommendations from other friends about new books. It’s a good thing. 🙂 Continue reading →

Reading Bonanza: Free Books

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I’ve been reading this summer, but only a little more than I usually read because I’ve been working pretty hard on regaining control of my house.

I ran across this website today — books, movies, and more books for free! Just in case I need more books. Even if you’re not going to actually read them, the lists of “best books and films” are fun to peruse.

Although I respect the bloggers that are reading the classics — classics clubs are omnipresent among the book bloggers — that’s not why I read. At least not now.

Have a great weekend! I’m on a short break to celebrate my birthday.

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Provence Week: Hot, Hot, Hot

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Many painters have tried to capture the effect of Provence’s clear light.

While strolling through the many photos in the Cezanne in Provence book, I ran across these two paintings with similar subjects.  Since it’s forecast to be yet another triple digit day, I figured I might as well show some pictures of naked men swimming. 🙂

This one is obviously painted by Cezanne and is called Les baigneurs au repos (Bathers at Rest). Cezanne did many paintings of bathers, both men and women.

On this painting of bathers by Frederic Bazille called Scène d’étĂ© (The Bathers) you can clearly see the date — 1869. Both Bazille and Cezanne are considered Impressionists, but which painting was created first?

Make your guess first, and then look here for your answer as well as some other Cezanne bathers. Were you right or did you cheat?

And just in case you haven’t had enough of almost naked men for the day, click in here to see Matthew McConnaughey in his current starring role. The Impressionists may have painted naked men, but now we can see them on the big screen!

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Views of the Thames

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While watching the Golden Jubilee coverage today, I got inspired to do some research about the paintings of the Thames that the television presenters were referring to, and I discovered some gorgeous views of the Thames.

The River Thames with St. Paul’s Cathedral on Lord Mayor’s Day, c.1747- 48, was painted by the Venetian artist Giovanni Antonio Canal (known as Canaletto).

The Thames above Waterloo Bridge c.1830-35, by Joseph Mallord WIlliam Turner, shows an impressionistic view of the Thames, Turner “shrouds the river in a blanket of pollution, with chimneys belching out smoke” according to the Moderna Museet website.

James Jacques Joseph Tissot (15 October 1836 – 8 August 1902) was a French painter who spent much of his career in Britain. This painting, The Thames, c. 1876, gives the viewer a vision of a jaunty little group out for a pleasure trip on the crowded river.

Claude Monet’s Waterloo Bridge in Grey Weather, c.1903, shows a “crowded heaviness. Behind are the chimneys, dirt, smoke and steam of London and in front the bright dark flow of the Thames. Monet has parted them with his clever use or placing of the bright, red and green splashes on the vehicles crossing the bridge” according to the How Stuff Works website.

Finally, my 2011 photos of the Thames taken from the Tower Bridge show a modern London and a modern river. I hope you enjoyed today’s journey through history.

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