sharing my love of books with you
I found this new word when I began reading “The Greek Interpreter” in The Greatest Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
Avatism – tendency to revert to something ancient or ancestral; recurrence of traits of an ancestor in subsequent generations
Usage: “It was after tea on a summer evening, and the conversation … came round at last to the question of atavism and hereditary aptitudes.”
”It’s every man’s business to see justice done.”
“The Crooked Man”, The Greatest Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, circa 1893
“You forget the old Ryan charm.” Ryan winked at me.
“And when that fails?”
“I’ll flash my badge.”
“You have no jurisdiction here.”
“I’ll flash it very fast.”
– 206 Bones, Kathy Reichs, 2009
I was at a thrift store the other day and stumbled across this book called 206 Bones, by Kathy Reichs. Reichs’ books about forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan were the inspiration for the television series Bones (which I absolutely love!). Until I watched Bones, I had never heard of Kathy Reichs and her books. Although 206 Bones is the twelfth in the series, I had to start reading it today. I couldn’t wait! It jumped ahead of so many other books on my TBR list, even jumped in front of Holmes for the day. I’m only a few chapters in, but I wanted to share this series, in particular this book, with you right away. Someone is trying to ruin Dr. Brennan. She will have to be very careful! Now I’m going to keep reading…
Here is a new word from Selected Poems of Emily Dickinson. You may recognize it from the poem I posted earlier about old books.
Vellum – fine parchment, originally made of calf skin
Usage: “Old volumes shake their vellum heads.”
“The ancient manuscript is on vellum.”
A precious, mouldering pleasure ‘tis
To meet an antique book,
In just the dress his century wore;
A privilege, I think,
His venerable hand to take,
And warming in our own,
A passage back, or two, to make
To times when he was young.
His quaint opinions to inspect,
His knowledge to unfold
On what concerns our mutual mind,
The literature of old;
What interested scholars most ,
What competitions ran
When Plato was a certainty,
And Sophocles a man;
When Sappho was a living girl,
And Beatrice wore
The gown that Dante deified,
Facts, centuries before,
He traverses familiar,
As one should come to town
And tell you all your dreams were true:
He lived where dreams were born.
His presence is enchantment,
You beg him not to go;
Old volumes shake their vellum heads
And tantalize, just so.
(from Selected Poems of Emily Dickinson, written circa 1862, this volume published 2016)
Hi! I'm Cadie. Welcome to my Collection of Bookish Thoughts where I will share with you everything I love about books.
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