Mailbox Monday #9

 I was finally in a bookstore this weekend and although it was slightly terrifying because of the amount of people and the amount of cases here in the Netherlands, it was still lovely! The first three books below are the ones I picked up, the fourth is a book I was recently approved for on NetGalley. I really hope it will be safe to do proper bookstore browsing again soon, because I miss spending hours trailing along shelves and pulling random books of the shelves. Now it very much feels like a "if you touch it you buy it" situation, which would be very dangerous for my wallet!

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists. It is hosted weekly over at Mailbox Monday and every Friday they do a round-up of some of their favourite, shared reads!

Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge (Bloomsbury, 2018)

In 2014, award-winning journalist Reni Eddo-Lodge wrote about her frustration with the way that discussions of race and racism in Britain were being led by those who weren't affected by it. She posted a piece on her blog, entitled: 'Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race' that led to this book.

Exploring issues from eradicated black history to the political purpose of white dominance, whitewashed feminism to the inextricable link between class and race, Reni Eddo-Lodge offers a timely and essential new framework for how to see, acknowledge and counter racism. It is a searing, illuminating, absolutely necessary exploration of what it is to be a person of colour in Britain today.

After the UK recently released a report saying it was most definitely no longer racist at any level, I figured it was finally time to read Eddo-Lodge's much praised Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race.

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (Vintage, 2004)

The year is 1327. Franciscans in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate. When his delicate mission is suddenly overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths, Brother William turns detective. His tools are the logic of Aristotle, the theology of Aquinas, the empirical insights of Roger Bacon—all sharpened to a glistening edge by wry humor and a ferocious curiosity. He collects evidence, deciphers secret symbols and coded manuscripts, and digs into the eerie labyrinth of the abbey, where “the most interesting things happen at night.”

Hi, it's me, your local Medievalist, back with a classic! I think I have read The Name of the Rose before, but it must be so long ago that I don't have a lot of memories of it. I adore Umberto Eco however, and frequently quote his academic work in my essays, so I'm excited to dive back into his work!

The Fall of Gondolin by J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. by Christopher Tolkien (Harper Collins, 2018)

In the Tale of The Fall of Gondolin are two of the greatest powers in the world. There is Morgoth of the uttermost evil, unseen in this story but ruling over a vast military power from his fortress of Angband. Deeply opposed to Morgoth is Ulmo, second in might only to Manwë, chief of the Valar.

Central to this enmity of the gods is the city of Gondolin, beautiful but undiscoverable. It was built and peopled by Noldorin Elves who, when they dwelt in Valinor, the land of the gods, rebelled against their rule and fled to Middle-earth. Turgon King of Gondolin is hated and feared above all his enemies by Morgoth, who seeks in vain to discover the marvellously hidden city, while the gods in Valinor in heated debate largely refuse to intervene in support of Ulmo's desires and designs.

Following his presentation of Beren and Lúthien Christopher Tolkien has used the same 'history in sequence' mode in the writing of this edition of The Fall of Gondolin. In the words of J.R.R. Tolkien, it was ‘the first real story of this imaginary world’ and, together with Beren and Lúthien and The Children of Húrin, he regarded it as one of the three 'Great Tales' of the Elder Days.

It's just me, your local Medievalist, popping back in to say that J.R.R. Tolkien rules and that his son Christopher was and is an inspiration. I have a copy of The Fall of Gondolin somewhere at my dad's, I think... but I needed one with me so here we go!

The Girl Who Died by Ragnar Jónasson (Michael Joseph, 6/3/2021)

'TEACHER WANTED ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD . . .'

Una knows she is struggling to deal with her father's sudden, tragic suicide. She spends her nights drinking alone in Reykjavik, stricken with thoughts that she might one day follow in his footsteps.

So when she sees an advert seeking a teacher for two girls in the tiny village of Skálar - population of ten - on the storm-battered north coast of the island, she sees it as a chance to escape.

But once she arrives, Una quickly realises nothing in city life has prepared her for this. The villagers are unfriendly. The weather is bleak. And, from the creaky attic bedroom of the old house where she's living, she's convinced she hears the ghostly sound of singing.

Una worries that she's losing her mind.

And then, just before midwinter, a young girl from the village is found dead. Now there are only nine villagers left - and Una fears that one of them has blood on their hands . . .

I'm very excited for this one, everything from the "edge of the world" setting to a stranger in a strange land having to solve a murder. 

So those are my new additions! What's in your mailbox?