Hello lovely girls,
Here we are again on Tuesday. And as per usual I have a postcard for you.
A postcard with a great quote: Once you learn to read, you will be forever free. The quote is from Frederick Douglass.
I admit I had never head of this man butI enjoy going to the Internet and looking things up, so <I found out the following (from Wikipedia):
Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, c. February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He became the most important leader of the movement for African-American civil rights in the 19th century.
After escaping from slavery in Maryland in 1838, Douglass became a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York and gained fame for his oratory and incisive antislavery writings. Accordingly, he was described by abolitionists in his time as a living counterexample to claims by supporters of slavery that enslaved people lacked the intellectual capacity to function as independent American citizens. Northerners at the time found it hard to believe that such a great orator had once been enslaved. It was in response to this disbelief that Douglass wrote his first autobiography.
What an amazing man!
The card was sent to me by Amanda who lives in Atlanta, Georgia, where air conditioning is essential (she tells me).
The stamp is my favourite orange gerbera.
Because the card is about an author, I thought I'd tell you what I have been reading lately.
The whole month of December I was reading Tuberculosis, The Greatest Story Never Told:
It's by Frank Ryan and I found it very interesting. A fascinating book. Not only does it explore the history of the fight against tuberculosis, it brings the personalities that were instrumental in finding medications that killed the germ. This includes stories of incredible self-sacrifice and some ambition.
Then I read a book by Jeffrey Archer:
It was the first in a new series and this book introduces detective William Warwick:
William Warwick has always wanted to be a detective, and decides, much to his father's dismay, that rather than become a lawyer like his father, Sir Julian Warwick QC, and his sister Grace, he will join London's Metropolitan Police Force.
After graduating from university, William begins a career that will define his life: from his early months on the beat under the watchful eye of his first mentor, Constable Fred Yates, to his first high-stakes case as a fledgling detective in Scotland Yard's arts and antiquities squad. Investigating the theft of a priceless Rembrandt painting from the Fitzmolean Museum, he meets Beth Rainsford, a research assistant at the gallery who he falls hopelessly in love with, even as Beth guards a secret of her own that she's terrified will come to light.
I found it a bit of a 'cosy' crime novel and I probably won't read any more in the series.
Now I'm reading a really nice book: Two Middle-Aged Ladies in Andalusia by Penelope Chetwode:
As its title indicates, it describes the solitary journey of a lady - the wife of John Betjeman, no less - on horseback around primitive Andalusia in 1963. The horse was equally middle-aged. I'm finding it utterly delightful. I know the area she travels through and life has changed so much in the last 60 years!
I haven't finished it yet, but I'm reading every opportunity I get, so I'll finish it soon. My friends have already bought it in Spanish and are also reading it.
My edition didn't have photos but I found a photo on the Internet of the writer on her horse.
Enough about books. Today is the T-Party hosted by Elizabeth and Bluebeard so I'll share a drink with you.
It was my friend Patricia's birthday on Saturday and we went out for dinner that evening. We're drinking white wine, and the boys (her husband and their son) had beer.
That's it from me for today.
Wishing you all a happy T-Day!
Hugs,
Lisca
3 comments:
Indeed had I heard of Frederick Douglass- nice his words are still as new as ever.
The book on Tuberculosis sounds very interesting.
Fun pic of you, have a happy T-Day, hugs
The quote from Frederick Douglass is especially powerful when you think about the fact that after 1830 it became illegal to teach a slave to read, with severe penalties. As Douglass was born in slavery, this would have been very important to him.
I didn't know Frederick Douglas wrote an autobiography. The story behind that sounds really interesting. I may have to look up that biography. And it sounds like you've read some good books. The one about tuberculous sounds good to me. You've been reading a lot and hopefully having a nice month. Happy T day (or what's left to it) and week ahead. hugs-Erika
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