from the end of time

From the last few pages of the September 21st issue of Time. A few points of interest, for one reason or another.

I see that Dolly Parton is releasing a four-disc box set next month. Sign me up, please.

I also see that A. S. Byatt has a (or, should I say the) children’s book coming out next month also. It’s called The Children’s Book. Here’s the synopsis from the magazine:

A. S. Byatt (Possession) returns to the 19th century with The Children’s Book, which centers on English fairy-tale author Olive Wellwood. The novel traces the Wellwoods’ fortunes – and reveals their secrets – as they navigate the tectonic cultural shift from Victorian to modern.

I once wrote a paper entitled “On Possession” and I used the word ‘possession’ so many times that it lost all meaning to me. Perhaps I should read that book again, though, as it has been calling to me from my shelf for quite some time now. ‘Hello, v. Here I am possessing your thoughts. Read me NOW.’ How can I resist that?

Finally, something I’m not really interested in, although I know Cardo will want to read it, a brief sum-up of Dan Brown’s recently released The Lost Symbol. (Actually, if it’s in the apartment, I’ll probably read it also, even if I do figure out the freaking answer a couple of hundred pages before Langdon does as I did with the book with the Pope clue.)

Dan Brown’s follow-up to The Da Vinci Code reunites symbology-starved fans with their spiritual leader, Robert Langdon. The book follows 12 hours of his life and involves Freemasonry. Also, a symbol.

Hee hee. [I so try to not to write out my giggles, chuckles, snickers and chortles, because I feel so dorky doing so, but I couldn’t help it here.]