The Bibliophile's Compass

1838  Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm announce their intention to publish a German Dictionary, eventually completed in 1961, after 123 years 1883  First Carnegie library financed by industrialist Andrew Carnegie opens in Dunfermline, Scotland, the 1st of 2,509 libraries built around the world 2023 Freida McFadden’s The Coworker published Two women. An office filled with secrets. One terrible crime that can't be taken back 2023 Where There Was Fire by John Manuel Arias is published A lush and lyrical debut novel about a Costa Rican family wrestling with a deadly secret 2023 Empty Spaces by Jordan Abel is published Reimagining James Fenimore Cooper’s nineteenth-century text The Last of the Mohicans from the contemporary perspective, it is a hypnotic and mystifying exploration of land and legacy, investigating what it means to be an intergenerational, Indigenous survivor of Residential Schools.

Title : Lady Eleanore's Mantle Author : Nathaniel Hawthorne Publication Year : 1838 Pages : 16 Rating : ⭐⭐⭐ Genre : Mystery, Horror Source : Ebook @everand_us This is a classic case of a story within a story, and I must say, I was getting a tad impatient with the narrator—where’s Eleanor? Little did I know, she’s not just a character; she’s nestled snugly within the narrator’s own tale! So, let’s buckle up and see what the narrator has to say. Honestly, I might need to brush up on my dictionary skills just to decipher the opening lines! Hawthorne, a maestro of moral musings and allegorical adventures, doesn’t stop at his notorious “Young Goodman Brown.” Oh no, he goes for a double whammy, mixing the deadly sin of pride with the ever-dreaded smallpox. His message? Pride doesn’t just diminish the proud; it has a knack for bringing ruin to everyone in its vicinity. It’s like a bad joke at a dinner party—nobody wins. Amidst the melodrama, he weaves a tale of unrequited love th...

Title : Ligeia Author : Edgar Allan Poe Publication Year : 1838 Pages : 18 Rating : ⭐⭐⭐ Genre : Gothic, Horror, Satire (?) Source : Physical book You might have heard of Shakespeare's poem, "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" It's a classic rhetorical question. Now contrast that with Edgar Allan Poe's "Ligeia" (pronounced /laɪˈdʒiːə/), where the first-person narrator seems to think he's writing the longest love letter ever. He drones on about his wife's beauty, making you want to shout, "Alright already, we get it! She's drop-dead gorgeous!" Just when you think he's finally wrapped it up, he starts gushing about how smart and educated she is. Really? We didn't need a thesis on her intellect! After all this flowery praise, he casually informs us she's kicked the bucket, but good luck figuring out how or why! Those juicy details are lost in his love-fest. Then, in what feels like a speed dating session, h...

Title : A Predicament Author : Edgar Allan Poe Publication Year: 1838 Pages : 12 Rating : ⭐⭐⭐ ⭐ Genre : Satire, Gothic, Horror Source : EBook @everand_us Alright, let’s get into the delightful chaos of this story! We have a narrator speaking directly to me (the reader)—almost like I’m her therapist—but she can’t quite finish a thought. We’re dealing with run-on sentences that spiral like a rollercoaster! And then there’s a dog and a slave thrown in casually? Classic! This narrator, Signora Psyche Zenobia, might be Poe’s quirky experiment with gender roles since female narrators are pretty rare in his tales. But boy, is she quite a character! If I expected to read a simple gothic story, surprise! It’s more like a bizarre mashup of horror, comedy, and a thesaurus showdown. Seriously, there’s a dash of racism (so normal those days) and whimsical mutilation? Absurdity reigns supreme here, and time is literally taking that scythe to our narrator’s neck—tick-tock, tick-tock, time is...

Title : How to Write a Blackwood Article (Signora Psyche Zenobia #1) Author : Edgar Allan Poe Publication Year : 1838 Pages : 13 Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Genre : Satire, Gothic, Horror Source : Physical Book One colossal blunder I made was reading “A Predicament” before “How to Write a Blackwood Article.” Who knew it was the opener of Signora Psyche Zenobia's saga? After wading through this satire masquerading as a short story, it dawned on me why the sequel is such delightful nonsense. I bumped my rating from 3 to a generous 4 stars! Our charming narrator—Signora Psyche Zenobia, a rare female voice in Poe's short stories—launches into her whimsical lessons with the legendary Mr. Blackwood on crafting tales for The Blackwood magazine. As she details the “must-have” features of a horror and gothic short story (which sound absurdly ridiculous), I couldn’t help but chuckle and facepalm in unison. Poe's humor is pure gold! Who knew the recipe for a gothic thriller was just a hint ...