*Every Wednesday*
Founder: Sasha Soren (Random Magic)
Here's what's news!
Edition: December 21-27, 2011
Art and Quotes
A well-composed book is a magic carpet on which we are wafted to a world that we cannot enter any other way. - Caroline Gordon
A well-composed book is a magic carpet on which we are wafted to a world that we cannot enter any other way. - Caroline Gordon
Discussions and Book Chats
Bookie Brunch question: If you could invite three authors to dinner, who would be on your guest list, and why?
Note: We're not including quoted Bookie Brunch commentary in this space, as would be the usual content for this space - in the interest of not blurting out spoilers for this particular discussion. But there are lots of intriguing picks, feel free to drop by to add in some of your own.
***** Join this discussion *****
Bookie Brunch question: If you could invite three authors to dinner, who would be on your guest list, and why?
Note: We're not including quoted Bookie Brunch commentary in this space, as would be the usual content for this space - in the interest of not blurting out spoilers for this particular discussion. But there are lots of intriguing picks, feel free to drop by to add in some of your own.
***** Join this discussion *****
Events and Parties
Dec. 10-25, 2011: Visit: Feel free to join a group of great bloggers for a virtual round of caroling, with Songs of the Season, a fun and quirky music hop. From Dec. 10-25, discover new songs handpicked by each host, along with other fun things to enjoy each day. Browse schedule
Dec. 10-25, 2011: Visit: Feel free to join a group of great bloggers for a virtual round of caroling, with Songs of the Season, a fun and quirky music hop. From Dec. 10-25, discover new songs handpicked by each host, along with other fun things to enjoy each day. Browse schedule
Memes and Features
(Incl. reading challenges)
Weekly: Every weekend (Fri. thru Sun.): Visit: Random Magic Tour (@RandomMagicTour) invites you to find and share a beautiful book nook every weekend - posts include a badge collection of all the pretty libraries, coffee shops or various reading rooms. Every weekend through Dec. 31, 2011. Visit or Participate
Videos and Vloggers
Shown above: Vlogger SableCaught (@Shinabu) is a guest at weekly book discussion Bookie Brunch this week, and gives her take on the question, 'Which three authors would you love to invite to dinner?'
Shown above: Vlogger SableCaught (@Shinabu) takes you along with her on a visit to Venice, Italy. Note: The Floating City in Random Magic (Sasha Soren) would probably be appreciated by anyone who loves Venice, Italy, too.
Shown above: (Part 1 of 2) The Book Bunny (@The_BookBunny) shares what's on her shelves.
Shown above: (Part 2 of 2) The Book Bunny (@The_BookBunny) shares what's on her shelves.
Shown above: Vlogger Jennie (@JoanieFontana) of Jennie's Corner blog and video channel shares some of the titles she's acquired recently.
Shown above: Vloggers Rachel Superbook (RachelSuperBook) and The Book Monster (styled TheeBookMonster) team up to do a Best Friends Book Haul, sharing titles they've acquired recently.
Shown above: Vlogger Rachel Superbook is doing a vlog countdown as part of her December Vlogathon - Christmas Countdown, co-hosted by Liddy of The Book Monster (Liddy spells it as TheeBookMonster). If you've missed the first set of December Vlogathon videos, you can find them in this edition of Women Reading: First part of December Vlogathon (Videos 1-11)
Title: Day 16 - December Vlogathon - Liddy Returns
Channel: RachelVlogSpot
(Special bonus video: Part of Songs of the Season music hop, Dec. 10-25, production by Random Magic Tour. Special guest in this video is Liddy, of Thee, Book Monster video channel.)
(Regular video for December Vlogathon)
Shown above: Vlogger Rachel Superbook is doing a vlog countdown as part of her December Vlogathon - Christmas Countdown, co-hosted by Liddy of The Book Monster (Liddy spells it as TheeBookMonster). If you've missed the first set of December Vlogathon videos, you can find them in this edition of Women Reading: First part of December Vlogathon (Videos 1-11)
Title: Day 15 - December Vlogathon
Bonus video: Songs of the Season video
Channel: RachelVlogSpot
Shown above: Vlogger Rachel Superbook is doing a vlog countdown as part of her December Vlogathon - Christmas Countdown, co-hosted by Liddy of The Book Monster (Liddy spells it as TheeBookMonster). If you've missed the first set of December Vlogathon videos, you can find them in this edition of Women Reading: First part of December Vlogathon (Videos 1-11)
Title: Day 14 - December Vlogathon
Channel: RachelVlogSpot
Shown above: Vlogger Rachel Superbook is doing a vlog countdown as part of her December Vlogathon - Christmas Countdown, co-hosted by Liddy of The Book Monster (Liddy spells it as TheeBookMonster). If you've missed the first set of December Vlogathon videos, you can find them in this edition of Women Reading: First part of December Vlogathon (Videos 1-11)
Title: Day 13 - December Vlogathon
Channel: RachelVlogSpot
Shown above: Vlogger Rachel Superbook is doing a vlog countdown as part of her December Vlogathon - Christmas Countdown, co-hosted by Liddy of The Book Monster (Liddy spells it as TheeBookMonster). If you've missed the first set of December Vlogathon videos, you can find them in this edition of Women Reading: First part of December Vlogathon (Videos 1-11)
Title: Day 12 - December Vlogathon - Christmas Tree!
Channel: RachelVlogSpot
Book Adaptations and Media Marvels
(Incl. movies, music, games, tech, publishing news, other.)
Shown above: Fan-made video for Admiral, featuring the song, Once Upon a December
Movies featuring writers: Admiral
About this film: Mainly a biopic about Alexander Kolchak, a Vice-Admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy and leader of the anti-communist White Movement during the Russian Civil War, but a major part of the film also covers the enduring but tragic love story of Kolchak and poet Anna Vasilyevna Timiryova.
The real-life Anna worked as a translator for the Department of the Business Service of the Council of Ministers in 1918-1919. This was an agency attached to Kolchak's anti-communist White Movement in Siberia. After Kolchak's arrest, Anna approached the Bolsheviks and asked to share the same fate as her partner, saying, 'Arrest me. I cannot live without him.' Her life was spared but she was was imprisoned in Irkutsk until after Kolchak's execution in October, 1920.
In the years following the execution of her beloved Alexander, Anna Timiryova composed many poems dedicated to his memory. The new Soviet regime persecuted Anna with numerous imprisonments and other difficulties; the official charges leading to various arrests were always vague, including 'concealment of the past,' or 'accused of undesirable connections with foreigners and former White officers.'
Anna's son Vladimir, an artist and explorer, also suffered due to his connection with former stepfather Kolchak; he was arrested by the Soviet secret police, NKVD in 1938, and executed.
In her later years, and with her history largely unknown or obliterated, she was able to find a humble position working as a props manager behind the scenes at Rybinsk drama theater. Still secretly considered a potential threat to the Soviet regime, Anna was imprisoned again, on suspicion of spreading anti-Soviet propaganda.
She was released in 1949, and returned to Rybinsk drama theater. The quiet props manager was by this time not a startling beauty but a dignified and well-mannered woman with grey hair and bright lively eyes, and the one great love that'd made her a target of vilification and persecution for the rest of her life had happened nearly 30 years prior.
Nobody in the drama theatre knew much about Anna Timiryova or her tragic love story, buried by time - but to the surprise of others in the theater, every time the director (a man of noble birth) saw Timiryova, he kissed her hand.
Shown above: Trailer, Admiral. The main track on the OST is called Anna. Performed by Victoria Dayneko, composition by Igor Matvienko. The poem itself was written by Anna, in memory of Alexander Kolchak.
Actress Elizaveta Boyarskaya said of her character, Anna Timiryova, 'She was a woman of such force, of such will, with such magnanimity...When I read script, I was even a bit scared...'
After being asked about another costume drama, Doctor Zhivago, Elizaveta simply commented, 'The only thing that these two films share consists in the love which the Russian woman can carry; it is a topic approached by many novels. They love up to the last drop of blood, 'til the most dreadful end - to the death.'
Shown above: Fan-made video for Admiral, featuring the song, Once Upon a December
Movies featuring writers: Admiral
About this film: Mainly a biopic about Alexander Kolchak, a Vice-Admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy and leader of the anti-communist White Movement during the Russian Civil War, but a major part of the film also covers the enduring but tragic love story of Kolchak and poet Anna Vasilyevna Timiryova.
The real-life Anna worked as a translator for the Department of the Business Service of the Council of Ministers in 1918-1919. This was an agency attached to Kolchak's anti-communist White Movement in Siberia. After Kolchak's arrest, Anna approached the Bolsheviks and asked to share the same fate as her partner, saying, 'Arrest me. I cannot live without him.' Her life was spared but she was was imprisoned in Irkutsk until after Kolchak's execution in October, 1920.
In the years following the execution of her beloved Alexander, Anna Timiryova composed many poems dedicated to his memory. The new Soviet regime persecuted Anna with numerous imprisonments and other difficulties; the official charges leading to various arrests were always vague, including 'concealment of the past,' or 'accused of undesirable connections with foreigners and former White officers.'
Anna's son Vladimir, an artist and explorer, also suffered due to his connection with former stepfather Kolchak; he was arrested by the Soviet secret police, NKVD in 1938, and executed.
In her later years, and with her history largely unknown or obliterated, she was able to find a humble position working as a props manager behind the scenes at Rybinsk drama theater. Still secretly considered a potential threat to the Soviet regime, Anna was imprisoned again, on suspicion of spreading anti-Soviet propaganda.
She was released in 1949, and returned to Rybinsk drama theater. The quiet props manager was by this time not a startling beauty but a dignified and well-mannered woman with grey hair and bright lively eyes, and the one great love that'd made her a target of vilification and persecution for the rest of her life had happened nearly 30 years prior.
Nobody in the drama theatre knew much about Anna Timiryova or her tragic love story, buried by time - but to the surprise of others in the theater, every time the director (a man of noble birth) saw Timiryova, he kissed her hand.
Shown above: Trailer, Admiral. The main track on the OST is called Anna. Performed by Victoria Dayneko, composition by Igor Matvienko. The poem itself was written by Anna, in memory of Alexander Kolchak.
Actress Elizaveta Boyarskaya said of her character, Anna Timiryova, 'She was a woman of such force, of such will, with such magnanimity...When I read script, I was even a bit scared...'
After being asked about another costume drama, Doctor Zhivago, Elizaveta simply commented, 'The only thing that these two films share consists in the love which the Russian woman can carry; it is a topic approached by many novels. They love up to the last drop of blood, 'til the most dreadful end - to the death.'
Goodies and Giveaways
Prize pack item: Multi-title DVD (Region 1)
Prize pack item: Blank notebook
Prize pack item: Book and card set
Prize pack item: Quirky tote bag, folds up to fit on key clip
Win: Enter: Through January 15, 2011: Adorable prize pack at Bookie Brunch, hosted by The Fluidity of Time. Prize pack includes multi-title DVD, book, blank journals, chocolate and other goodies and a book tote. Tote, DVD, book and blank notebook shown above. Sponsored by The Fluidity of Time and Random Magic Tour.
Win: Enter: Through January 3, 2011: Gift card for Uncommon Goods, purveyor of colorful and slightly offbeat items.
Win: Enter: Through January 3, 2011: Gift certificate for ProFlowers. Large selection of seasonal greenery. Sample bouquet shown above. Note: Offer not made or sponsored by Random Magic Tour.
Win: Enter: Through January 1, 2012: Enter to win a Kindle Fire e-reader. (More)
Prize pack item: Multi-title DVD (Region 1)
Prize pack item: Blank notebook
Prize pack item: Book and card set
Prize pack item: Quirky tote bag, folds up to fit on key clip
Win: Enter: Through January 15, 2011: Adorable prize pack at Bookie Brunch, hosted by The Fluidity of Time. Prize pack includes multi-title DVD, book, blank journals, chocolate and other goodies and a book tote. Tote, DVD, book and blank notebook shown above. Sponsored by The Fluidity of Time and Random Magic Tour.
Win: Enter: Through January 3, 2011: Gift card for Uncommon Goods, purveyor of colorful and slightly offbeat items.
Win: Enter: Through January 3, 2011: Gift certificate for ProFlowers. Large selection of seasonal greenery. Sample bouquet shown above. Note: Offer not made or sponsored by Random Magic Tour.
Win: Enter: Through January 1, 2012: Enter to win a Kindle Fire e-reader. (More)
Win: Enter: Through December 27, 2011: Gift card for offbeat wall decal of choice from Urban Walls. Sample shown above. Note: Offer not made or sponsored by Random Magic Tour.
Win: Enter: Through December 26, 2011: Win a blog design makeover from Lady Jane Designs. (More)
Win: Enter: Through December 22, 2011: Win a Sony Vaio laptop (shown above). Offer via brand ambassador for Windows 7. (More)
Grapevine, Last-Minute News and Misc.
Shown above: Atypyk Bravo flipbook, for spontaneous applause anywhere.
There're these two design guys in Paris who come up with little everyday items with quirky little twists.
Shown above: Pause and play bookmark
The catalog and online shop is called Atypyk (atypical).
Shown above: Tinsel tape
So droll. Mixed in between the text here are one or two items picked out at random, just for amusement. The rest of their products are available here.
Source: Not on the High Street
Grapevine: Lieder Madchen (@LiederMadchen) of Songs and Stories is sharing her invite to a review community for up to five fellow book bloggers who'd like to win a free book. Reply
Grapevine: Eleni of La Femme Readers (@LaFemmeReaders) would like to hear from anyone who might have a lead on a reliable and talented graphic designer who might be able to give a bit of a design lift to her book blog. Reply
Upcoming
Weekly: Begins January 2012: Visit or Sign up: Host Snowdrop Dreams of Books (@snowdropdreams) invites authors and bloggers to share their must-haves for a stay on a desert island, in Deserted Island. Visit or Sign up
Jan. 1- Dec. 31, 2012: Visit or Sign up: Host Tiffany from For Those About to Read (@AboutToRead) invites you to indulge yourself in up to 10 tales of myths and legends, in the Mythology Challenge, with focus on teen fiction (also called young adult fiction, or YA). The book list for the challenge is already up for browsing, so check it out, if you like: Book List
Visit or Sign up for the challenge.
January, 2012: Visit or Sign up: Host A Literary Odyssey invites you to get down your dusty volumes of the Bard of Avon, and join her for a month of reading the works of William Shakespeare. Visit or Sign up
Jan. 1- Dec. 31, 2012: Visit or Sign up: Host Tiffany from For Those About to Read (@AboutToRead) invites you to indulge yourself in up to 10 tales of myths and legends, in the Mythology Challenge, with focus on teen fiction (also called young adult fiction, or YA). The book list for the challenge is already up for browsing, so check it out, if you like: Book List
Visit or Sign up for the challenge.
January, 2012: Visit or Sign up: Host A Literary Odyssey invites you to get down your dusty volumes of the Bard of Avon, and join her for a month of reading the works of William Shakespeare. Visit or Sign up
By the way, William Shakespeare does put in an appearance in Random Magic, by Sasha Soren. At a party held among the clouds. With some pals like Lord Byron and Mark Twain. Thrown by a celestial muse who can't stop falling into fountains overflowing with vodka tonics. There's also a nine-dimensional cat. It all gets a bit complicated. Yes, slightly skewed version of Shakespeare, granted - ah, the secret life of William 'Shakes' Shakespeare...
Jan. 1- Dec. 31, 2012: Visit or Sign up: The Greek Classics reading challenge arrives in 2012. From the host: Take a look at the roots of Western civilization and ponder the great questions of existence by reading some ancient Greek literature. Participants will be reading from one to 12 classics of Greek literature. Host is Jean of Howling Frog Books and Musings of a Bookworm, no contact info available. Visit or Sign up
January 22, 2012: Visit or Sign up: Host Sarah Says Read (@SarahSaysRead) invites you to take part in a 12-hour read-a-thon. Includes challenges and goodies. Visit or Sign up
Book Nooks
Source: LindaPlaisted.com
More places: Book Nooks (weekly)
Jan. 1- Dec. 31, 2012: Visit or Sign up: The Greek Classics reading challenge arrives in 2012. From the host: Take a look at the roots of Western civilization and ponder the great questions of existence by reading some ancient Greek literature. Participants will be reading from one to 12 classics of Greek literature. Host is Jean of Howling Frog Books and Musings of a Bookworm, no contact info available. Visit or Sign up
January 22, 2012: Visit or Sign up: Host Sarah Says Read (@SarahSaysRead) invites you to take part in a 12-hour read-a-thon. Includes challenges and goodies. Visit or Sign up
Book Nooks
Source: LindaPlaisted.com
More places: Book Nooks (weekly)
Participate in Women Reading
(Weekly, every Wednesday - or every Sunday, for weekend edition)
Notes
Header image: Juliet (1931), Alfred Lambart
Header image source and info: Laing Art Gallery, Culture Shock, BBC
Additional works by this artist: NMSI
Header quote source: How to Read a Novel, Caroline Gordon
About Caroline Gordon: Bio
Sources, Admiral story: Actor quotes, actor quote (video), Anna Timiryova bio notes, film notes
Header image source and info: Laing Art Gallery, Culture Shock, BBC
Additional works by this artist: NMSI
Header quote source: How to Read a Novel, Caroline Gordon
About Caroline Gordon: Bio
Sources, Admiral story: Actor quotes, actor quote (video), Anna Timiryova bio notes, film notes
Talk to Us
Are you planning something cool for your blog, or have you heard about something great that we might have missed this week? Tell us about it!: @RandomMagicTour
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