Books To Keep Us Going

   Like most airline flights, spring has been delayed and, as I suggested in my last post, it is better to stay at home. If you are interested more in reading about an adventure than going on one (which is a much safer option), then read closely the excerpt below. Before doing so, if you are of the type easily injured by words, you should perhaps look away since it contains one that might hurt you. It is doubtful, by the way, that this man's boyhood dreams are being dreamt by children now. 

   "As I looked round the clearing at the ranks of squatting warriors and the small isolated group of my own men, I knew that this moonlight meeting in unknown Africa with a savage potentate who hated Europeans was the realization of boyhood dreams. I had come here in search of adventure: the mapping, the collecting of animals and birds were all incidental. The knowledge that somewhere in this neighbourhood three previous expeditions had been exterminated, that we were far beyond any hope of assistance, that even our whereabouts were unknown, I found wholly satisfying."  Wilfred Thesiger, The Life of My Choice, p.146.

   Those of you offended by the word "savage" should know that those so-labelled were much admired by Thesiger who chose to live among them, dress like them and suffer along with them. To those of you who can be labelled "anti-colonialists" and think this is yet another older book by a Brit who was somewhere he shouldn't have been, I will say simply that it is not incorrect to suggest that he also was an anti-colonialist.
  The Life of My Choice can be read for free on the Internet Archive or you can pay for it on Amazon. There are books by and about him found in the Western Libraries if you have access. There are even duplicates of some titles in the Western Libraries, which exist for reasons that will not be offered. This biography is recommended by most reviewers: Wilfred Thesiger: The Life of the Great Explorer, by Alexander Maitland. To determine if The Life of My Choice is your cup of tea, read this review from Publishers Weekly where a couple of other books by him are mentioned:
  "Perhaps the last of the great romantic gentleman-explorers, Thesiger, author of Arabian Sands and The Marsh Arabs, here looks back on an extraordinary life. He was born in Abyssinia (Ethiopia) to British diplomatic parents who were friends of Emperor Haile Selassie. Thesiger remembers Addis Ababa, the capital, as a village with grass huts, no roads and colorful ceremonies. He attended Eton and Oxford, then returned to Africa for the first of many journeys, exploring the Awash River (home to the dreaded Danakil, whose warriors killed randomly to prove their manhood and collected their victims' genitals for trophies). As a district officer in the Sudan Political Service, Thesiger had further opportunities to travel in desert lands and meet nomadic tribes. During World War II, he served with Orde Wingate's troops, liberating Abyssinia from the Italians; later, he fought behind the lines in the Western Desert. In addition to superb adventure, Thesiger gives a fine portrait of the waning days of the British Empire in the Sudan and of the last revolution in Ethiopia. Photos."


The Bonus:
   For those who would rather look at photos than read see: 
Wilfred Thesiger: A Life in Pictures by Alexander Maitland. If you poke around even a little bit you will find enough good reading to keep you busy until the summer arrives, whenever that may be. 
   If you would rather watch than read or look, there are videos that captured Thesiger before he died in 2003. Here is one and others are found on YouTube. 
Wilfred Thesiger's Arabian Sands (in his own words with subtitles- 8 min.)

Book Trends

 Romantasy
   I don't have much to say about this, but it does indicate that people are reading books. It is also the case that you are likely to appreciate any diversion from the "breaking news."  

   Among my emails this morning was one from The Guardian which contained this news and that picture:
  "Who would have thought that of all the fiction genres available to readers, it would be “dragon smut” that could fly off shelves like nothing else? Last week, Rebecca Yarros’s novel Onyx Storm, the third instalment in her series about horny dragon riders, broke her own record for the fastest-selling science fiction and fantasy title in the UK since records began 25 years ago. 155,141 hardback copies – and thousands more ebooks – were sold in its first week on sale."    

  After reading that email and probably because of it, I then noticed this article, which, coming from a paper on this side of the pond, means that this is probably not fake news. Here it is: "Rebecca Yarros’s ‘Onyx Storm’ Is the Fastest-Selling Adult Novel in 20 Years: The book, the third in a series, has sold 2.7 million copies in its first week, and provided yet another example of the romantasy genre’s staying power," Alexandra Alter, The New York Times, Jan. 30, 2025. Apparently, "Print sales alone well exceeded a million copies in the novel’s first week, making “Onyx Storm” the fastest-selling adult title since BookScan began tracking print sales around 20 years ago."
   Not only that, Ms. Yarrow was able to attract a crowd of around 1,700 to come and see her on a January night in St. Paul, Minnesota. I suppose this is sort-of breaking news which is also amazing news.

Here is a bit more to indicate that all of this is rather amazing, if not quite as amazing as Harry Potter:

   "Yarros currently holds the first three spots on The New York Times’s hardcover best-seller list, a rare feat for an adult fiction series. On Thursday, the series also occupied the first three spots on Amazon’s “most sold” fiction list.

   The success of “Onyx Storm” also shows that romantasy, which blends spicy sex scenes and romance tropes with supernatural elements, is not a fleeting trend. Last year, the genre accounted for some 30 million print sales, a rise of 50 percent over the previous year, according to Circana." (from the NYT article.)

The Bonus: 
   The London Public Library System has 23 copies, but there are 172 people waiting to get one. 

Factlet (17)

 

Toronto Public Library
  Factlet (16) let you know that the Canadian dollar was worth about 61 cents in 2002, so it still has a ways to fall. This one provides some astonishing numbers about the TPL, which I assume are true. Those who never visit a library will likely be surprised by the numbers who do, either physically or virtually. 

About TPL

"Toronto Public Library is the biggest and busiest public library system in North America, with more than 46 million annual visits to our branches and online. We empower Torontonians to thrive in the digital age and knowledge economy through easy access to technology, lifelong learning, and diverse cultural and leisure experiences, where, when and how our customers need us.

Key Facts and Statistics

TPL has 100 branches and two bookmobiles that serve neighbourhoods across the city; we also provide 24/7 access to collections and services through tpl.ca. Our collections include 10.5 million items, such as books, CDs, DVDs and eBooks, with 40 languages represented.

According to a public survey conducted in 2019, 68% of Torontonians use their library, and in 2023:

There were more than 46 million visits to TPL – 12.5 million visits to our branches and 33.5 million visits to TPL online platforms.

There were more than six million wireless sessions in library branches and almost 1.9 million public computer workstation sessions.

Nearly 700,000 participants attended over 33,000 in-person library programs, and we offered over 1,000 online programs with total views and attendance of more than 45,000.

Library materials were borrowed 25 million times.

252,000 people registered for a library card."

Source: 
Toronto Public Library
The Bonus:

  If you wonder what people are reading see: "Toronto Public Library Reveals the Most Read Books of 2024."

  For Ottawa see: "Ottawa Public Library Reveals Its Most Popular Books in 2024."

  For Vancouver, a different list: "Britney Spears and 'romantasy': The Vancouver Public Library's most-borrowed books of 2024: Self-help essays and a book on Indigenous botany topped the adult category; fantasy dominated the teen section," CBC News, Dec. 24, 2024.

   The picture above relates to the Carnegie Libraries. The Carnegie Corporation continues to contribute to the library cause: "Carnegie Returns to Its Roots With Millions in Grants to Public Libraries," Alex Daniels, Carnegie Org News, Sept. 20, 2024.
"Carnegie Corporation of New York will devote $4 million to three of the city’s [New York] public libraries in a set of grants that mark the philanthropy’s return to its roots."

A $100,000 History Book !

The Cundill History Prize

On October 30 the author of an historical work that exhibits "scholarship, originality, literary quality and broad appeal," will receive $75,000 (US) as a result of winning an award established by F. Peter Cundill. His intention is to encourage "informed public debate through the wider dissemination of history writing to new audiences around the world."

The three finalists are listed along with sample reviews. The Cundill Prize Long List for 2024 is provided at the bottom.

Before the Movement: The Hidden History of Black Civil Rights by Dylan C. Penningroth (Liveright Publishing)

"Dylan Penningroth explodes conventional wisdom about African Americans and the law. He approaches his subject with the eye of a law professor, the tools of a social historian, and the sensibility of a skilled storyteller. The result is a remarkable book that stands civil rights history on its head and shows "how ordinary Black people used law in their everyday lives." The Register - Kentucky Historical Society, Vol. 122, No.1, 2024.

Judgement at Tokyo: World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia by Gary J. Bass (Picador/Pan Macmillan)

"A detailed and sharply observed account of the 1946-1948 Tokyo trials – proceedings that were implicitly racist and hypocritical, and with a prosecution team that was led by a ‘blundering alcoholic’....Bass has written a massively long and detailed book, always lively and judgmental. He brings out not only the legal arguments, but the colour of the great tribunal itself: sharp sketches of the protagonists, of the stress on the multinational judges penned up month after month in the Imperial hotel, of Tojo Hideki among the seven shabby old men shuffling to the gallows in Sugamo prison." (Review by Neal Ascherson, The Guardian, Jan. 21, 2024.

Native Nations: A Millennium in North America by Kathleen DuVal (Penguin Random House)

" prodigiously researched and enlightening study from University of North Carolina historian DuVal (Independence Lost) recenters the past 1,000 years of Native North American history around the political power exercised by Indigenous governments...Tracing numerous Native governments across the ensuing centuries--including the 19th century's Cherokee republic and alliance of Great Plains nations--DuVal provides a profoundly empowered history of Native America. This keen reframing will appeal to fans of David Graeber and David Wengrow's The Dawn of Everything." Publisher's Weekly, Jan. 22, 2024.

Sources: See McGill's website for The Cundill History Prize.

  Back in 2017 on the 10th anniversary of The Cundill I posted this in MM -"Christmas Shopping for Historians." See also, "The Cundill History Prize" in 2019 and "F. Peter Cundill" in Oct. 2021.

The Bonus:

For prize winning historical works covering geographical areas from Asia to North and South America, see: American Historical Association Announces 2024 Prize Winners.

The Cundill History Prize 2024 (Long List)

Author	Title	Publisher / Imprint
Gary J. Bass	Judgement at Tokyo: World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia	Pan Macmillan / Picador
Lauren Benton	They Called It Peace: Worlds of Imperial Violence	Princeton University Press
Joya Chatterji	Shadows at Noon: The South Asian Twentieth Century	Penguin Random House / TheBodley Head and Yale University Press
Kathleen DuVal	Native Nations: A Millennium in North America	Penguin Random House
Amitav Ghosh	Smoke and Ashes: Opium’s Hidden Histories	Hachette / John Murray
Catherine Hall	Lucky Valley: Edward Long and the History of Racial Capitalism	Cambridge University Press
Julian Jackson	France on Trial: The Case of Marshal Pétain	Belknap Press
Patrick Joyce	Remembering Peasants: A Personal History of a Vanished World	Simon & Schuster / Scribner
Ruby Lal	Vagabond Princess: The Great Adventures of Gulbadan	Yale University Press
Andrew C. McKevitt	Gun Country: Gun Capitalism, Culture, and Control in Cold War America	University of North Carolina Press
Dylan C. Penningroth	Before the Movement: The Hidden History of Black Civil Rights	WW Norton / Liveright
Stuart A. Reid	The Lumumba Plot: The Secret History of the CIA and a Cold War Assassination	Penguin Random House / Alfred A. Knopf
David Van Reybrouck	Revolusi: Indonesia and the Birth of the Modern World	Penguin Random House / The Bodley Head and WW Norton

The Shaughnessy Cohen Prize For Political Writing

    The bad weather continues so I will provide, for readers of non-fiction, five books which are the finalists for this prize, the winner of which will be announced in early May. Unfortunately, the London Public Libraries do not have the books by Savoie or Perrin. There are 31 "holds" on Fire Weather.

   The prize is named for Elizabeth Shaughnessy Cohen who was born here in London and who died twenty five years ago in the House of Commons. 
    The prize winner gets $25,000. I noticed that Mr. Vaillant was the recipient of the Windham-Campbell Prize which is a good one to win - $125,000! Click on that link if you want to find more good books and the winner of that prize for 2024 will be announced in a few days.

1. The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart, Astra Taylor.
“Astra Taylor argues that while insecurity is central to the human condition, we have built a society that compounds and exacerbates that reality, and one where elites benefit from inequitable suffering. By intertwining her own story with the wisdom of poets and philosophers, Taylor encourages interconnectedness and shared vulnerability to reimagine our overwhelmed society into a more caring one. This is a helpful, hopeful book written at a time fraught with unease and negativity. The Age of Insecurity provides important perspectives on how we got here and shards of light that might just lead us out of this anxious place.”

2. Canada: Beyond Grudges, Grievances, and Disunity, Donald J. Savoie.“In this sweeping analysis of the internal divisions and identities that shape our nation’s political fabric, Donald J. Savoie lays bare the contradictions of a federal state and national political institutions that often fail to reflect Canada’s deeply entrenched regional, economic, linguistic, and cultural fault lines. The result has been politics of victimhood and grievance. Even so, those differences have created a national will to overcome them. Writing with clarity and conviction, Savoie distills the complexities of federalism into an easily accessible exploration of our nation. He captures the essence of a resilient Canadian spirit, where compromise and inclusive national social programs have forged an attachment to Canada greater than the forces that divide us.”

3. Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast, John Vaillant.

“Like a blazing inferno that commands our attention and awe, we cannot look away from Fire Weather. John Vaillant brings the devastating 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire to life by introducing us, almost affectionately, to the human beings on the frontlines of the fossil fuel industry and the fire it produces that threatens us all. This is a deeply compelling, skillfully crafted story packed with information but completely free of ponderous lecturing. It is terrifying in its honest, textured description of what we have wrought in the name of progress, what we stand to lose, and where we might find the possibility of hope.”

4. Indictment: The Criminal Justice System on Trial, Benjamin Perrin.

“Gripping and timely, Indictment delivers a powerful vision for a complete transformation of Canada’s criminal justice system. Drawing on interviews with frontline workers, survivors of crime, and repeat offenders, Benjamin Perrin masterfully weaves together vivid case studies with the latest research on how to create a safer society for all. Shared experiences from marginalized groups, such as Indigenous people and Black Canadians, shape Perrin’s trauma-informed proposals to tackle everything from the opioid crisis to the problems with current jails. This beautifully written and rigorous critique is sure to enlighten any reader and offers fresh ideas and vital information to policymakers for overdue justice.”

5. Not Here: Why American Democracy Is Eroding and How Canada Can Protect Itself, Rob Goodman.

“Not Here is both a frightening and reassuring story written with clarity and absorbing analysis. With an American perspective, Goodman explores the decline of democracy and rise of authoritarianism in the United States and what it means for Canada. Deep social and economic ties between the two nations mean Canada is not exempt from the same tyrannous forces. In fact, Canadian politics shows similar strains, some of which originate from within our own borders. But Goodman has good news: we can find comfort knowing Canada has values, history, traditions, and institutions that can withstand the autocratic threat.”

To learn more about The Shaughnessy Cohen Prize For Political Writing and a list of the past winners see, Writers' Trust Canada. 
 One of my recent posts about award winning books is "Good Book Awards" which discusses the Scotiabank Giller Prize and The Cundill History Prize. 

Book Weeding

 

    My plan, one of many for the new year, is to begin the discarding of things. I may start with clothes which are now too small, since my plan to grow smaller may not be implemented. Tchotchkes, trinkets and knick-knacks will be boxed and cleverly concealed so as to avoid embarrassment at the Goodwill drop off depot. At some point I will then take a look at the books. 
   This project is the difficult one. Should I start with novels I have not read or the non-fiction which it is my intention to read again? What about the impressive titles that visitors assume I have read? 
    After the long culling process ends, the even longer vetting one begins. Is anyone in London likely to be interested in all the books that Patrick Leigh Fermor wrote or all of those by Richard Russo? The collected works of Reynolds Price? Does anybody even read any books not written by James Patterson or Colleen Hoover? 
   Maybe I should buy a few of those decluttering books, or perhaps it makes more sense to just borrow The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning from the library. 
   There is some consolation in knowing that others have wrestled with the weeding process and that the questions which need to be asked (and answered) as one moves along the shelves can become quite involved. Here is a sample from a chap who had (and probably still has) a very interesting library indeed.

Marmaduke Pickthall?

   "I kneel on the floor of my book room with a large cardboard box at my side. Do I really need all those George Meredith novels? Edgar Saltus is harder, but will I miss those duplicates of Purple and Fine Women and The Pace That Kills with the variant dust-wrapper and the misprint on page 43? My shelf of the works of Philip Thicknesse, that querulous 18th-century gentleman, contains nearly all of his 24 books, and if I were forced to sell them I could never sacrifice The Valetudinarians Bath Guide, which contains valuable information on the exorcism of gallstones, and an account of Mrs Mary Toft of Godalming who claimed that she gave birth to 15 rabbits; an assertion Thicknesse plausibly supports. Whatever the demands for space in my book room, I cannot banish my Marmaduke Pickthall, or a single one of my 15 copies of the first edition of The Wooings of Jezebel Pettyfer, which Meredith praised with the mysterious disclaimer: ‘It ought never to have been written.’ Not seldom, when I surrender a book to a rascally dealer, I return to his shop and buy it back."

Unintended Consequences

    Once one starts pulling books from the shelves and reading the jackets of those pulled, one is reminded of other books by the author that one does not have and when reading a paragraph, such as the one above, one realizes that there are many other books that need to be looked at and perhaps purchased.

Edward Saltus - "Dean of Decadence"

    Who the hell is Edward Saltus? It seems he was an American who also wrote using the names "Myndart Verelst" and "Archibald Wilberforce" and translated works by Balzac. In addition to Purple and Fine Women, he also authored, The Pomps of Satan, The Imperial Orgy and Parnassians Personally Encountered and I doubt if they are contained in The Philosophical Writings of Edward Saltus: The Philosophy of Disenchantment & The Anatomy of Negation. I am also curious about The Facts in the Curious Case of Hugh Hyrtl Esq.

Thicknesse - "Libertine Turned Ornamental Hermit"

   One now has to have a look at The Valetudinarians Bath Guide and a purchase of it could be justified because the subtitle indicates it provides the Means of Obtaining Long Life and Health. I confess to obtaining one of Thicknesse's other works from the university library close by, simply because of its subtitle:  Memoirs and Anecdotes of Philip Thicknesse, Late Lieutenant-Governor of Land Guard Fort, and unfortunately Father to George Touchet, Baron Audley.

   Marmaduke Pickthall's first name turns out to be Muhammad and he was an Islamic scholar, but his novel Sir Limpidus about an eccentric and reclusive English aristocrat is probably worth a look. 

   And although the author of the paragraph above has 15 copies of The Wooings of Jezebel Pettyfer, I did find the one pictured, available for only 875 euros.

Source: 
   The quoted paragraph was written by Barry Humphries, "Why Does No One Dress For Dinner at Claridge's Any More?", The Spectator, Dec. 17, 2022.

mea culpa

   I discovered too late that I have already told you about Marmaduke. Just a few months ago! Obviously this blogging is not improving my memory. Since the material mentioned before is found at the bottom of a long post, I will assume you didn't read it. If you did, and appreciate such odd information, you will likely have enjoyed it again and perhaps didn't remember it either. 

The Badminton Library

 More Reading For This Time of Darkness

    There is not one book in this library about badminton.  As you may have noticed, I sometimes write about books which are published in a series and this one is known as The Badminton Library of Sports and Pastimes. It consists of around thirty volumes, most of which were published in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It you are a sporting type, this series will be of interest. If you are not, it still may be, since the sports and pastimes of the past were more eclectic and include such things as punting, coursing and falconry. One title in the series: Dancing: A Handbook of the Terpsichorean Arts in Diverse Places and Times, Savage and Civilized. 

   Badminton was the name of the Duke of Beaufort's house and he is associated with the publication of the series. If you are interested in both sports and book collecting, this would be a good place to start. The books abound in various editions, but a sophisticated collector will opt for an elegant edition, such as the one above which was noticed on the Christie's auction site.

   It is the case, however, that many of these books are now available to read via the marvellous invention, the Internet. As the weather worsens and we no longer go outside to participate in sports, we can at least sit inside and read about them. A list of the books is provided below, so you can look them up and buy them on AbeBooks or elsewhere. Also, hints are offered about how to access them for free online. As both events and days turn darker, the readings provided will keep you diverted until at least December, when the 'real' winter begins.

The Bonus:
   For those of you with shorter attention spans, I offer The Badminton Magazine of Sports and Pastimes which was published during the years from 1895-1923. The interesting articles found within it, will keep you going for the rest of this year

Here are some samples from the TOCs:

Cycling for Women
North-Country Hunting for Ladies
Bicyling in Barbados
Cycling in the High Alps
Hunting in India
Elephant Hunting in Nepal
Skating Gossip
The Sport of Rajahs (by Baden-Powell)
Otter Hunting With Cycle and Camera

And there is Canadian content:

The Stikine River: The Route to the Klondike
Canoeing for Pleasure and Sport in Canada
A Black Bear Hunt in Northern New Brunswick
Sport on the Prairie (1892) by Viscount Kilcoursie

   Here is what happened to the poor Viscount:

To read the magazine (which is also searchable) see: The Badminton Magazine of Sports and Pastimes.

Sources for the Badminton Library of Sports and Pastimes

   The Wikipedia entry for the Badminton Library is a good one. It is from that source that I provide the titles. Back in 2008 the Valuable Book Group published a collector's guide and information about it is found on The Wayback Machine in the Internet Archive, which is a marvellous repository for all the things that have been dropped from the Internet.  Have a look at it. Although google abandoned its project to digitize everything, some of these titles were made available and are found on https://books.google.com/. (search by the series title.)

Volume 1: Hunting                                            
Volume 2: Fishing: Salmon & Trout                  
Volume 3: Fishing: Pike & Coarse Fish
Volume 4: Racing & Steeple-Chasing
Volume 5: Shooting: Field & Covert 
Volume 6: Shooting: Moor & Marsh
Volume 7: Cycling
Volume 8: Athletics & Football
Volume 9: Boating
Volume 10: Cricket
Volume 11: Driving
Volume 12: Fencing, Boxing & Wrestling
Volume 13: Golf 
Volume 14: Tennis, Lawn Tennis, Rackets & Fives
Volume 15: Riding & Polo
Volume 16: Mountaineering
Volume 17: Coursing & Falconry 
Volume 18: Skating & Figure Skating
Volume 19: Swimming
Volume 20: Big Game Shooting I
Volume 21: Big Game Shooting II 
Volume 22: Yachting I
Volume 23: Yachting II
Volume 24: Archery
Volume 25: Sea Fishing
Volume 26: Dancing
Volume 27: Billiards
Volume 28: The Poetry of Sport 
Volume 29: Motors & Motor-Driving
Volume 30: Rowing & Punting 
Volume 31: Athletics
Volume 32: Football
Volume 33: Cricket

   For those of you who are old fashioned and who have access to the Western Libraries, some of the above are available in hard copy. For example, there is a copy there of: Dancing : A Handbook of the Terpsichorean Arts in Diverse Places and Times, Savage and Civilized.

If you are interested in such things as these, see also my American Sportsman's Library.