Posts from Spuyten Duyvil Library

Last week we discussed the passage of time and the clockwork nature of The Night Circus. Time's flow tends to bring a stream of bounty and loss simultaneously.

The Night Circus is crafted in lyrical and elaborate prose. Sometimes it even borders on the ornamental. The language and descriptions are fitting, however, considering the overriding theme of time's passage in the book.

"The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not." Erin Morgenstern's literary debut, The Night Circus, begins with this intoxicating passage before ushering readers inside the tent flaps of Le Circque des Rêves, the Circus of Dreams.

It's the spookiest time of the year, when a young man's thoughts turn to scares and gore, children beg for scraps ... 'scuse me, I mean trick-or-treat, and people everywhere unleash their inner demons. In a good way, we hope! Here's a spotlight on cool apps for all ages to enhance your Halloween fun. There are iOS and Android apps to be found here, most of the them free and all of them good fun.

Once the shock of last season's ending wore off, the clamor began for new episodes of Game of Thrones. Fans have been whetting their appetites for a year now, and hopefully last year's read-alike list helped take the edge off the anticipation for some of you. But now, war comes to Westeros, and with it a new suggested readings list for those who crave a little blood and grunge in their fantasy. Let the Clash of Kings begin!

Quick. What's the first thing that pops to mind if someone asks you about fantasy books? Harry Potter? The Lord of the Rings? Or perhaps nothing at all if you're not familiar with the genre. A few of you might think of the Dungeons and Dragons game tie-ins. If you're like me, you'll think of plain old swords, sorcery, dragons, and ultimate battles between good and evil. The river of fantasy literature runs much deeper and wider than those titles and tropes, however. The upcoming release of Conan the Barbarian on August 19th is a chance to dive deep into those waters.

The dance is done and I've come through the dragon fire unscathed. George R.R. Martin's latest, A Dance with Dragons, was six years in the writing. Six painful years of anticipation. It was worth every moment once I got ahold of it, got comfortable, and blew through all 1,016 pages in entirely too short a time. Go ahead and check that again: 1,016 pages. Better lift some weights before settling in for a read. There WILL be spoilers about previous books in the series behind the break, so if you are still reading prior installments, do NOT click through. Consider yourself warned.

Moms are great. Those fortunate enough to have or be married to good moms know that these wonderful women are the perfect combination of unconditional affection and drill sergeant toughness. It is inevitable that such wonderful women get memorable fictional portrayals. These are counterbalanced by the wealth of novels and films dealing with crazed, deceitful, manipulative, creepy, and downright satanic mothers. It stands to reason that with such a huge range of maternal and not-so-maternal characters in fiction, a few would find their way to other worlds and magical realms.

The hype is done, the premiere of HBO’s A Game of Thrones has come and gone, and now the fires of curiosity are stoked. What’s this all about? Why all the raves?  Why does it prompt sci-fi and fantasy luminaries like Anne McCaffrey to proclaim, “Such a splendid tale and such a fantasticorical!”

The biggest draws of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series are the frank brutality, morally grey characters, and cutthroat political maneuvering in the centuries-old Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.  They ain’t kidding about the cutthroat part either.  The violence and themes in these books would make gangster 

Do you ever feel like people of the opposite sex just don't understand you, like you're speaking another language? You're not alone!  It is well documented that men and women have different styles of speaking and interacting, from conversations to their storytelling styles. 

Did that really happen?!? 

Historical fiction is a genre that encompasses both fact and fiction, but where the line is drawn between the two can be anyone's guess sometimes.  Some authors do tremendous research for their novels to be historically accurate, while others take liberty with history to fit their plot line.

One such novel that rides that line between fact and fiction is The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz.  It follows the story of Oscar Wao and his family in a transnational journey between the United States and the Dominican Republic and the fukú, or curse, that follows them.

Some people may be turned off from knitting because it can be an expensive craft.  Knitting a sweater these days is more expensive than just going to the store and buying one, unfortunately.  Don't think you need fancy hand-spun yarns, pricey patterns and knitting lessons, though.  Here are a couple ways to enjoy the craft and save some money too! 

Most people are familiar with the name Noah Webster as the father of the American Dictionary, a book that we all grew up with and still use today.  What many people may not know is that besides being a lexicographer, he was also a dedicated orthographer and philologist, working in spelling reform and lingustics, and had a large influence on the early American language.

For people not familiar with the Northwest Bronx, the name of the  Spuyten Duyvil Branch Library (\ˌspī-tən-ˈdī-vəl\) can be a tongue twister.  Dating back to the 17th century, the name Spuyten Duyvil originates from the Dutch settlers who gave the name to the creek that flowed around what is today the Marble Hill neightborhood.  The creek has since been filled in, but the name stuck, with several theories about its origin.