2026 Calendar

So, another year, another Tolkien calender. A while back I went back and sorted them by year. It made quite a pile, and the shift of style from year to year is interesting. My favorite, after those by Tolkien himself (esp the early ones),  is the 1994 one by Michael Kaluta, which had a Finnish look to me.  Which is not to say there have not been some God-awful examples over the years (the Hildebrants come to mind). 

This year (2026) features another by Alan Lee, who has a distinctive style, providing a sort of continuity. Lee is not only good but had the advantage that Christopher liked him.

My own vote for an artist (contempory if now somewhat long in the tooth)  to illustrate JRRT is Thomas Canty, whose art reminds me strongly of art nouveau  and art deco:  Many of his pieces look like stained glass windows. Underrated.

Other than that, I saw THE BOVADIUM FRAGMENTS on the shelves of a mainstream bookstore (Barnes & Noble) today, which makes me think we're approaching the saturation point for works by Tolkien.  I intend to enjoy it while I can.

--current reading: five books, the least interesting of whch is A. A. Milne's ONCE UPON A TIME (1922), an attempt by the Pooh author to  write a fairy tale for adults. Milne had many talents, but it turns out writing a book like this one is not one of them. This sarcastic nudge-nudge wink-wink of a book deserves all the strictures Tolkien made on Milne in OFS.

--John R

A Middle-earth Sea Shanty

So, a bit belatedly, thanks to the friend who pointed me towards this link:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmwAqVqgx0U

It's fun to see a version of Earendil's story in sea-shanty style, as opposed to the filk-sinc-y style of most such performances.  Fun, if you like this sort of thing. Which I do, on the whole

--John R

An Eight Word Review of Pullman's (672 page) New Book

 "They paved Paradise and  put up a parking lot"

An Annotated GODS OF PEGANA

So, yesterday I came across a new edition of Dunsany's first book, THE GODS OF PEGANA (original edition 1905, this edition 2012).  What I cd put together about it from some quick online searching was a bit uncertain, but here's what I cd find on it so far.

Put together by a Robert J. Schulenburg, whose work is otherwise unknown to me. It is said to be the first book in a series to be known as The Reader's Library of Inspirational Books; I have not yet tracked down any other volumes in the series.

Whether this has any linkage with Dolly Parton's Inspiration Library I can't say yet.  

 This edition for the Kindle includes promises it includes additional material:

-An Introduction to the series

-The biographical essay, 'Lord Dunsany: Badass Patriarch of High Fantasy'

-An original article, 'Dunsany's Chess' detailing the rules for the chess variant created by the author

-High quality formatting and interactive Table Of Contents for Kindle users

Future editions of this volume will include (and will be added to [my] purchase free of charge):

-The essay: "Writing A Bible- Scripture As Narrative And Fiction, And Why We Would Confuse It For Fantasy

-Table of Influenced & Influences

-A Lexicon of gods and prophets in the Peganan cosmology

-The chapters in summary (a distillation of the themes and messages of each Book)

-A timeline of the Peganan cosmology

-A map of the cosmology of Pegana

-Hiqh quality original illustrations

I have to say that this looks like a random assortment for things connected with Dunsany.

I've ordered a copy and shd have more information about the book after the book arrives.

--John R,

current reading: THE SECRET COMMONWEALTH (just out)  by Phillip Pullman. A re-reading and a disappointment.  And a complete collection of short stories by Aleister Crowley of short stories featuring Simon Iff, his psychic detectiv (re-reading; not as good the second time around).

Till We Have Faces

 So,  just a brief reminder that this is on its way, if still a few months dfistant

Here's what's been released so far

A world premiere retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche.

When Psyche is sacrificed to appease the gods, her sister Orual—the future warrior queen—ventures to give her a proper burial. But Psyche is not dead, and she believes she’s living a life Orual cannot see. What follows is a powerful, mythic journey through love, beauty, faith, doubt, and the bonds of sisterhood.

--John R

The Smith Family quilt

 So,  a hundred and fifty years ago, at a place known as The Hollow (later renamed Ararat), a group of women got together and created a quilt for Rev. Newton Smith (born 1853), who was my great-grandfather. Family legend has it that this was a joint project, and that each segment was made by one of the women who dated him, who gave it to him as a wedding present.  If true (and there's some evidence it is), he must have been a remarkable man. 

 I count sixteen squares, each with the same pattern using a different color scheme, which must have taken a lot of organization. Be that as it may,  it's amazing to me that this artifact of the past has passed down intact, if a little worn. Now I have to put some thought into whom it shd go to after my time.

--John R

Geysers that aren't geysers

So, as part of our occasional efforts to get off the West Valley Highway, last Wednesday Janice and I went to Flaming Geyser --which isn't  a geyser and doesn't flame and went walking along the White River (which downstream turns into the Green River). Which, as Janice pointed out, at one point downstream flows by the West Valley Highway. 

In other news, we're grateful the feared tsunami didn't strike --not least than because we're at extremely low sea level (thirty-two feet I think).

--current reading: a book on Suffolk fairy-lore. Well written and very well researched; I learned a lot I didn't know from reading this.