Reading in Reykjavík

Apropos of nothing, I decided to make a list of books featuring angels and demons in important - although not necessarily starring - roles.  I also decided to stick to angels and demons that are recognisably Christian in origin, so the Amulet of Samarkand doesn't qualify, and neither does Vathek, an Arabian Tale because while the demon Eblis plays an important role in it, he is mostly off stage. Here are 10 books, including two poems and a play, that feature one or more demons and/or angels. I have read the first 9 in their entirety, and read a good part of 'Inferno' from The Divine Comedy . Good Omens by Pratchett and Gaiman - both. I probably should mention The Omen as well, because Good Omens is a parody of it, but I haven't read it and I can barely remember the film. The Devil‘s Detective by Simon Kurt Unsworth - both. Read my review here . Eric by Terry Pratchett - demons. This is a parody of the German legend of Faust and while it takes plac...

Friday links is where I post links to blogs and websites I want to remember without cluttering up my browser bookmarks, along with interesting articles, reviews and lists I want to bring to the notice of others, and other stuff I find on the web. I should be in Germany by now, after a short visit to Alsace in France. Here's today's mixed bag of links: Do you like art? Here's some lovely artwork by a very talented artist: Russian Artist Reveals Her Mysterious Sketchbook To TheWorld , And It’s Full Of Visual Secrets.  Why DO we read? How about writing?  Here's one writer's attempt to answer that question: Why We Read and Why We Write . I recently read and reviewed West With the Night by Beryl Markham and when I was researching the book's background I discovered that there are those that claim it was written by a man. I also recently reread Cold Comfort Farm , in which a male character is working on a book in which he claims to prove that all of ...

Friday links is where I post links to blogs and websites I want to remember without cluttering up my browser bookmarks, along with interesting articles, reviews and lists I want to bring to the notice of others, and other stuff I find on the web. Is there a better way to declare your love of reading than to carry around a book or two and read whenever you get a moment? But what about those times you can't carry a book? Here's one solution: Book Pins . (Don't blame me if this sets you off on an online shopping expedition. I, however, am thinking of getting a book tattoo...) Here's a literary magazine I came across while web surfing: The Threepenny Review . I haven't fully explored it, but it seems to be a mixture of essays, articles, reviews, criticism, poetry and short fiction. While I maintain that romance novels are no worse than any other kind of genre literature, I think everyone can agree that the titles of many of them are terribly generic and...

Top Ten Tuesdays is a listing meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish . It's been ages since I last participated in the Top Ten Tuesday meme, but felt like participating in today's topic: TV. It's pretty much left up to the participants how they interpret this, so I decided to do a double feature of TV series I have, at some point, watched religiously, and TV series I think I could become hooked on. So, without further ado, here are my lists: 6 TV shows that I watched religiously at some point:   The Little House on the Prairie . The very first soap opera I got hooked on, when there was only one local TV station and this was required viewing before Sunday dinner.   The original Dallas . The first adult soap opera I got hooked on. I think I probably saw every episode of seasons one through four and some of the next couple of seasons. Then my interest began to vane.     ...