Showing posts with label gifts for book lovers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gifts for book lovers. Show all posts

20 April 2023

Who is Peter Ackroyd? Biographer, Historian, Poet, Novelist, Etc. Eccentric

Who is Peter Ackroyd?

Hmmm ... let me think.  Is he the guy in the photograph below?

Nope!  But you're close!  

The guy in the photo below is Charles Dickens.  Peter Ackroyd wrote a biography about Dickens.  He also wrote a bio about William Shakespeare, in case the mention about the Charles Dickens bio is not impressive enough.  :)  If that's not impressive enough, then if you like biographies or biographical notes about celebrated, it might interest you to know that he wrote a bunch of books about famous people like Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chaplin, Edgar Allan Poe, Sir Isaac Newton, and more.  

His series is called Ackroyd's Brief Lives.

Charles Dickens (1812-1870) 
Charles Dickens (1812-1870) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)


Peter Ackroyd is an author. A word to describe him? Eccentric. There was another word used to describe him but it wasn’t very complimentary (my opinion), and as such, won’t be mentioned by me.  A few synonyms for eccentric are: odd, bizarre, outlandish, peculiar, weird and strange. Sounds like he lives in Austin, Texas. But he currently resides in England.  Eccentric? I’ll say. He writes using a pen and paper in longhand. That’s insane! Nobody does that anymore!

“It’s just the way I work”, he says.


Well fine then, Mr. Ackroyd. You certainly can’t be accused of not working.  Peter Ackroyd’s body of writings include: poetry, bibliographies of notable persons like T.S. Eliot, Charles Dickens, and William Shakespeare, a series of history books for children, a collection of English ghost stories, and several novels. He even retold Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and wrote a libretta for an opera.  His current projects include:  the completion of  six volumes of the History of England, a few more novels, and a biography of Alfred Hitchock.




Where does he find the time?  Uh … that’s all he does, all day and all night.  He says he isn’t much interested in socializing and reserves two Sundays in the month for some interaction with people.  Most of the time, it’s just him and his books.
Who is Peter Ackroyd? Biographer, Historian, Poet, Novelist, Etc.
Has Mr. Ackroyd written so many books you don’t know where to begin?  Start here: The Trial of Elizabeth CreeWho is Peter Ackroyd? Biographer, Historian, Poet, Novelist, Etc.; a murder mystery, the setting is 1880 Victorian London; a woman is accused of poisoning her husband.

* * * Who is Peter Ackroyd? Biographer, Historian, Poet, Novelist, Etc.

Reference:
Rosen, Jody. “Man of Many Words: Up Close and Personal with Peter Ackroyd …” T: New York Times Style Magazine 15 Sept. 2013: 110-14. Print. Men’s Fashion Issue, Arts and Letters












Peter Ackroyd books are available ~ Save up to 90% at BiggerBooks.com

BiggerBooks.com  

17 October 2018

Book Recommendation : Rebecca's Notebook ... by Daphne Du Maurier

In the mood to curl up on the couch or lie in bed and read a really good book about a really good book?  

Author, Daphne du Maurier (1906 – 1989) was home-schooled and also educated in Paris, France. Most of her bestselling novels were set in Cornwall, where she lived for most of her life. 



Her novel, "Rebecca", is a dark, moody, mysterious love story!

"The Rebecca Notebook and Other Memories" is a revealing look at how du Maurier wrote this story.  It's a book about a really good book!  (A book which has been adapted to film more than once.  I liked the film version that was directed by Alfred Hitchock, which starred Joan Fontaine.  It's a worthwhile addition to one's personal video library.)



Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. Classic!

Rebecca


* * *
English: Young Daphne du Maurier (about 1930) Русский: Портрет Дафны дю Морье в молодости (начало 30-х годов ХХ века) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)


English: Young Daphne du Maurier (about 1930) ...


Image credit:

Classic Wooden Book Bookends Library W/ Hidden Drawers

03 October 2017

Gift Shopping? Shop for Gifts in My Gold Mine

If you enjoy online shopping, this site might be of interest to you.  The site is Webnuggetz.com. The site owners describe their site as a place where you can find “gold”. This is a statement from their “About” tab:
“Nuggetz are tidbits of gold you find on the internet.”
The members or web page publishers are mainly of home-based business sellers who have their own stores on Zazzle, Etsy, eBay, etc. and affiliate advertisers or marketers like me.  Feel free to visit my Nuggetz. I have been an active member since 2014 and have published 50+ web pages.  Below is a sampling of some of my suggested gift ideas and a link for you to subscribe to my web page updates. Hope you like what you see in “my gold mine”. :)


divider-navy-blue
All I Got For Christmas Was a Lousy Christmas Stocking! :(
Kits to make your own Christmas stockings. Isn’t that fabulous idea? 
The product manufacturer contributes to various organizations such as the American Cancer Society, the Gwinnett County Women’s Shelter, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and the United Way.

bucilla-xmas-stocking


  • Gretta Curran Browne believes she was touched by angel.  She was raised in an orphanage and one of her caretakers, a nun, was certainly her guardian angel.  She gives her credit for becoming a writer because the sister taught here the art of telling a story.  She started her career writing short stories.   Dark Days, Dark Nights : Intro to the Writings of Gretta Curran Browne

  • Don't know many people who don't enjoy the writings of Charles Dickens.  But these two books are murder mysteries that are quick reads which follow the Dickens tradition.  In other words, if you like Dickens you can't help but like these books!   Dickens Junction Mystery Series

  • Gourmet food gifts are on my wishlist every year.  No matter what the event:  birthday, Christmas, Mother's Day.  Give me a food gift to make me happy.  Especially gourmet cheese.  Gourmet Food Gifts : Specialty Cheeses

  • In my house there need not be a season to be a reason to drink tea.  But according to a designated "tea aficionado", he seems to think that one should drink their tea according to the season of the year.   Hmmm?  He might be on to something!   Is a Season Your Reason to Drink Tea?


17 December 2016

The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews: Five (or seven) GOOD things to come out of 2016 (Reblog)

Happy to reblog and share this Featured Post from a fellow blogger, Davida Chazan, who is a "Go To" person if you're searching for good reads. Here is her suggested reading for 2016:

The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews: Five (or seven) GOOD things to come out of 2016

Her reviews and other writings are so good I invited her to contribute to my group board on Pinterest: Freelance Writer. We crossed paths because we both contribute short posts to a site called "Daily Two Cents".  This site has a revenue-share plan for those who have a Google Ad Sense account and allows you to earn 100% of your commissions, if your post includes an affiliate referral link.  It's reasonable.  Don't you think?  This is the link to her DTC profile: drchazan aka Chocolate Lady.
(This is my DTC author profile, if you're interested: cmoneyspinner, if you're interested.)


Book lovers will probably appreciate her faves lists for previous years too!

Chocolate Lady's Favorite Books of 2015

Chocolate Lady's Favorite Books of 2014

Chocolate Lady's Favorite Books of 2013




I love her blog's tagline.  It reads:

  • Davida Chazan's Blog for mostly book reviews and literary musings (and maybe some chocolate). 

What a hook!  So of course I had to find something chocolate at her blog.  Found it!

The REAL Chocolate Wars


The REAL Chocolate Wars

It's all because of Ms. Brenner's writing style. Ms. Brenner brings even the very mundane into the world of extreme interest. She makes much out of the intrigue so that although it's really economics, it's still interesting. She works her way around marketing so that it's suddenly as moving as a love scene.

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