Quote of the Day – Athena

If you were a nerdy bookish teen girl obsessed with Greek mythology, there’s a good chance Athena was your favourite goddess. She was certainly mine. Athena is the bright-eyed goddess of wisdom, handicrafts and war (strategic warfare rather than pure bloodlust). This quote comes from Aeschylus’ tragedy The Eumenides, where Athena represents the reason and modern rule of law as opposed to raw revenge.

Top Ten Tuesday – Book Covers from Centuries Past

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday from That Artsy Reader Girl is about picking your own topic relating to book covers. I thought I’d go back in history and look up the book covers from before the 20th century. I’d especially love to get my hands on those magnificent jewel-encrusted medieval creations!

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Between the angel and the devil

I have a soft spot for anthropomorphic images of animals, especially cats. In this lithograph by J. J. Grandville, a prolific 19th-century French illustrator, a young kitty is caught between her angelic and demonic nature. She seems keen on the Evil One, but can you blame her when the angel looks almost as malicious but nowhere near as fun.