The Complete Essays by Michel de Montaigne- I.48-On war-horses.- This is a very dense...and unexpectedly fascinating essay on war-horses throughout history up until M.’s time that is well-researched; in fact. it’s probably one of the better researched of M.’s essays. The essay veers off into a study of weaponery.
Not my favorite subject matter but M. makes this interesting to a reader because he, himself, is interested and enjoys talking about the subject...and M. ends the essay with that flourish and delight in the unusual...something that I very much like about M.
There have been seen in my own time, in Constantinople, two men on one horse, galloping at full speed and taking it in turns to jump down on the ground then up to the saddle; another put bridle and harness on his horse using nothing but his teeth; another, riding astride two horses, one foot on each saddle, carried a second man on his shoulders while going full tilt; that second man, standing erect, shot accurately from his bow as they raced along; several riders stood on their heads in the saddle with their feet in the air between the points of scimitars fixed to their harness.
The Complete Sherlock Holmes Vol. 1 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle- The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor -The mystery here is decent but even more pronounced in this particular story is a pecuilar brand of...anxiety about America and Americans that is pervasive throughout the Sherlock Holmes stories starting with A Study in Scarlet. I’ve noticed it in other places in Victorian literature and it continues up until the Second World War...you can almost feel the burdens of empire in this story.
I am reading:
Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin- When I first picked up this book, I was unaware that Knots and Crosses is the very first Inspector John Rebus mystery penned by Rankin; I decided to look it up when I noticed the distinct lack of computers in a couple of the library scenes; that made the book seem rather dated.
I have about 70 pages to go in this. Looking at this from the vantage point that this is the first Inspector Rebus mystery, I really liked the development of characters in the series ’’universe’’ in this first novel of the series...even as the universe of characters is under threat by the Edinburgh Strangler.
Thursday Night Lights: The Story of Black High School Football in Texas by Michael Hurd- Will pick up again while I visit home.
The ABC’s of Bridge by William S, Root
And here is an interesting story from Alison Flood at the Guardian that the famous Negro Motorist Green Books are being republished in fascimile editions.
A series of travel books written for African Americans travelling in the segregated US of the last century, which listed the places in which they were allowed to stay, shop and eat, is being republished in facsimile editions. Recent sales have topped 10,000 copies.
Harlem postal worker Victor Hugo Green published the first guide, The Negro Motorist Green Book, in 1936. It listed the hotels, shops and restaurants that accepted custom from black people: “Carry your Green Book with you … you may need it.” Further editions would follow through the 1940s, 50s and 60s, until civil rights laws brought an end to legal segregation.
The Green Book became a necessity for the rising African American middle classes, who had the financial means to travel, but were barred from staying in certain hotels or eating in particular restaurants.
No word on whether the section regarding the state of Missouri will be revised.