Monthly Literature Challenge

[InesF]

6 hours ago, Misfit said:

Not something I’ve read. I, too, really liked your mandala. How did you decide on the colors?

Thank you, @Misfit, you are welcome!

 

The colour choice starts more than one month in advance when I learn during use of one monthly set which of the pens are suitable to be transitioned to the next month. Among those (if more than one) I build three other ink colours around that fit to each other. Usually, I try to stay in the conservative range of blue-red-green. I make some writing samples with a dip pen to find a good balance in colours but also in intensities or saturation. And, finally, the more likely better sets consist of at least one bright and one muted colour. If there was more than on possibility, I select the better fitting book and maybe make some fine-tuning with broad or fine writing pens ...

(the whole process keeps me busy for a while  )

[essayfaire]

5 hours ago, InesF said:

Thank you @essayfairefor participating in full Co-Razy-Mode! Well done! 👍

Thank you!  Your beautiful and inspiring pages make me want to be at least a tad bit interesting...

[InesF]

On 7/1/2023 at 7:55 PM, essayfaire said:

Your beautiful and inspiring pages make me want to be at least a tad bit interesting...

Thank you! Goal achieved!  

 

... and now heading towards the great wilderness! See you in August!

[InesF]

Monthly Literature Challenge for August

 

Vacation was deeply relaxing, I almost forgot about today being the last day.

 

The ink set for August 2023 is ready and in use since today (July 30th)! It is composed from four inks in fitting fountain pens:

Pelikan Edelstein Rose Quartz Mix in Diplomat Aero* stub

Pelikan Edelstein Jade in Montblanc Bohème Vert M

Waterman Tender Purple in Scribo LaDotta Campanula flex

Taccia Hokusai Koiai in Waterman Exclusive M-stub

 

*) this is the same mix as already used in July.

 

The August set is heavily influenced colours of the season as seen in nature in alpine lakes, in deep rivers and at summer flowers, all together ranging from soft to vibrant. The pens fit quite nicely to the ink colours and represent this month piece of literature – however, in a more cryptic way. The four inks combine into a quite nicely fitting set where at least any three of the four are in good colour balance to each other.

 

 

Here are writing samples of all four inks with their pens:

 

And here is the Literature Challenge writing sample copying the first two paragraphs of the book (with the Montblanc Bohème for scale):

 

As I made a typo in the first attempt, I forced myself to repeat the Challenge writing, but using another pen of the set (the Waterman Exclusive):

 

 

The author is:

Spoiler

Jane Austen

There is little variety among the few online available scans of handwritten documents: she used either black or a brownish-grey (sepia) or a purple-grey ink. Black is a no-go for the rest of the season, therefore Tender Purple shall represent the author.

 

 

The book is:

Spoiler

Emma

I read the novel only recently. Pride and Prejudice is the so much more well known story and has several appearances in movies. Emma is a bit in the shadow and less famous. From what I could capture from the (not always easy to read) English text, Emma is has great humour and Jane Austen has drawn timeless characters, still accurate in present days.

Emma, the main figure, is educated (pen: LaDotta), has some close relation to diplomats (pen: Diplomat Aero), is a bit exclusive (pen: Waterman Exclusive) but is, nevertheless, also a bit strange in her character (pen: Bohème).

Taking a drawing of Jacqui Oakley as a model, three of this month’s ink colour are used in the scene of Emma walking in the park (remark: it is worth visiting the illustrators homepage).

 

 

I hope you have fun while participating in the Monthly Challenge. You are invited and encouraged to write the third paragraph of the book and post it here. As well, you may tell your impressions about this book or any other comments you have.

 

Have fun, enjoy August!

Winter is coming. :)

[LizEF]

Beautiful, as always, @InesF!   Your color combo seems to go together especially well this month.  I recognized the author, but not the work.    Though had I applied brain power, I should have guessed.  Brain power is lacking, however, due to lack of sleep.  After church, I had breakfast for lunch and then a 4 hour nap!  This kitten is killing me. To make up for it, I copied the third paragraph of the novel, despite having cheated...  The paper is Staples "arc" and the ink is highly evaporated (due to not using the pen much) Lamy Turquoise, in a Lamy Al-Star EF.  Names withheld for obvious reasons...

 

 

We're going to blame the write-os on Klaw, who always wants to sniff the nib and closely examine what I'm writing.  (It wasn't really his fault, but that's what we're going with. )

[InesF]

10 hours ago, LizEF said:

Beautiful, as always, @InesF!   Your color combo seems to go together especially well this month.  I recognized the author, but not the work.    Though had I applied brain power, I should have guessed.  Brain power is lacking, however, due to lack of sleep.  After church, I had breakfast for lunch and then a 4 hour nap!  This kitten is killing me. To make up for it, I copied the third paragraph of the novel, despite having cheated...  The paper is Staples "arc" and the ink is highly evaporated (due to not using the pen much) Lamy Turquoise, in a Lamy Al-Star EF.  Names withheld for obvious reasons...

Well done, @LizEF! I love the colour you selected and that you kept the reply spoiler free. 

 

However, I will spoiler by myself quite a bit. The drawing by C.E.Brock does not only show all the main characters of the novel, but presents so many colours - and colour combinations - to be used as a guideline for the own monthly or weekly set:

 

 

Many years ago I had two cats, called Max and Moritz. I learned quickly that a lack of sleep let me enjoy their presence for additional hours each day ...  

[LizEF]

2 hours ago, InesF said:

The drawing by C.E.Brock

Very nice.

 

2 hours ago, InesF said:

Many years ago I had two cats, called Max and Moritz. I learned quickly that a lack of sleep let me enjoy their presence for additional hours each day ...  

 It's all the other things that are going undone... (As I type, we are outside staring for several minutes at each bug and sniffing at each plant...)

[knarflj]

Lovely, as always, Inez.  I really like the ink colours.  And the novel is a many-times-read favourite of mine, so for a change I read no further than the word "rich" in the first line before I knew the source.  Perhaps this weekend I can find time to write the paragraph after the one Liz did, but I really should be otherwhere than FPN right now...

[InesF]

10 hours ago, knarflj said:

Lovely, as always, Inez.  I really like the ink colours.  And the novel is a many-times-read favourite of mine, so for a change I read no further than the word "rich" in the first line before I knew the source.  Perhaps this weekend I can find time to write the paragraph after the one Liz did, but I really should be otherwhere than FPN right now...

Thank you @knarflj for participating and for the reply. Always nice to know that old, dusty classics are still read. 👍 (In this case, I would classify the story as a timeless character study in historic dress)

Don't feel forced and don't set yourself under pressure. Whatever we do here is a hobby.

[txomsy]

Didn't know you knew me. When did you visit my library?  . You see, with several thousand books, dust unavoidably accumulates between re-reads/consults and most have >1 mm dust. I don't know why I have this preference for them being dusty over vacuuming them periodically, but somehow, incomprehensibly I do prefer them dusty.

[InesF]

On 8/4/2023 at 4:09 PM, txomsy said:

Didn't know you knew me. When did you visit my library?  . You see, with several thousand books, dust unavoidably accumulates between re-reads/consults and most have >1 mm dust. I don't know why I have this preference for them being dusty over vacuuming them periodically, but somehow, incomprehensibly I do prefer them dusty.

 

I know some people that smell at the paper of a book after opening it at a random page before they decide to either buy or to read it (again). One of these humans I know since my brith. Dust seems to be an important ingredient for this olfactory impression.

[Misfit]

Hurray, after reading @LizEF’s addition to the quote, I guessed right. It’s been awhile since I read that, so the very start wasn’t quite enough for me. 

[InesF]

On 8/14/2023 at 6:25 AM, Misfit said:

Hurray, after reading @LizEF’s addition to the quote, I guessed right. It’s been awhile since I read that, so the very start wasn’t quite enough for me. 

Well done!

Remembering a book from reading two or three paragraphs is a good accomplishment - congratulations!

Thank you for participating. 😄

[InesF]

Monthly Literature Challenge for September

 

The September Challenge comes a bit early. This is because I will again be afk from now until mid of September and I had to bring the set forward. It consists of the following inks and fountain pens:

Pelikan Edelstein Aventurine* in Montblanc Bohème Vert

Pelikan Edelstein Topaz in Pelikan M600 Turquoise-White

Pelikan Edelstein Mandarin in Pineider La Grande Bellezza Tiger Eye

Lamy Crystal Beryl in Aurora Optima

 

*) Pelikan Edelstein Jade was used in the Bohème in August. I changed the ink because Aventurine fits better to the other three inks of September – however, I still like the colour of Jade more than that of Aventurine.

 

At this point, the literarily educated reader can already be able to imagine the book of September Challenge. All inks and one of the pens can direct you. But I have one more hint for you: the book is a collection of six short stories of the author, each with a very short title and all the titles combine into a two-word title of the book which thematically covers and summarises the six stories.

 

But first, let‘s have a look at the inks and pens:

 

Here is a (cropped) portrait of the author (captured from Wikipedia). Can you identify the person, before reading any further?

 

Here is a writing sample of the first paragraph of one of the short stories in original language:

 

And here is a writing sample of the English translation (by L.M. Hollander):

 

 

No hidden solution this time! I‘m sure, the Challenge can be completed by the information provided so far.

 

As always, I would be pleased by reading your handwritten reply containing either the next paragraph of the one story selected by me or by the beginning of any of the other fife stories of the book – whatever you prefer.

 

Have fun, enjoy September!

 

 

This is the last entry for season two of the Monthly Challenge series. Following the strict rules of (1^st) having a maximum of four pens filled at a time, of (2^nd) keeping each fountain pen for a full calender month and of (3^rd) keeping at least one of the pens for a second month has taught me a lot about my pens and inks: Among my 34 fountain pens I have identified 12 I will never give away and among those are fife of outstanding quality and performance and of a subjective tactile perception as if they were customized for me.

 

Most probably, there will be a Season Three with more similarity to season one: there will be no general theme and the rules will be more loose. I intend to use all of the top pens for an elongated period of time during the year and extend and complement them into a varying monthly theme by additional pens. I guess, I will not know about upcoming Monthly Topics much before posting them.

 

---

 

PS: Due to my absence until mid of September, I may not reply to any of your appreciated comments in due time. Please be patient with me. 🤗

[essayfaire]

I haven't been able to be on FPN, but I tuned in just to see what you posted, @LizEF.  I think I know the correct book(in English, not German) but the translation I have access to is a different one, so I may be wrong.  If I have the book correct you have a better translator!

 

The blue is supposed to be reminiscent of the sky...

 

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, essayfaire said:

I haven't been able to be on FPN, but I tuned in just to see what you posted, ...

I think maybe you meant to tag Ines - at least, this latest book was a mystery to me - I only puzzled out the one before.

[essayfaire]

On 9/2/2023 at 6:30 PM, LizEF said:

I think maybe you meant to tag Ines - at least, this latest book was a mystery to me - I only puzzled out the one before.

Whoops, yes.  Of course.  I've been so AWOL.  All of us with "F" in our nicknames... I use EF in other contexts.

 

On 9/2/2023 at 4:52 PM, essayfaire said:

I haven't been able to be on FPN, but I tuned in just to see what you posted, @LizEF.  I think I know the correct book(in English, not German) but the translation I have access to is a different one, so I may be wrong.  If I have the book correct you have a better translator!

 

The blue is supposed to be reminiscent of the sky...

 

@InesF

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, essayfaire said:

Whoops, yes.  Of course.  I've been so AWOL.  All of us with "F" in our nicknames... I use EF in other contexts.

No worries.

[InesF]

On 9/2/2023 at 10:52 PM, essayfaire said:

The blue is supposed to be reminiscent of the sky...

Thank you @essayfairefor participating in the September Challenge.

The book you cite is well know here in central Europ. However, the author is a female.

 

On 9/3/2023 at 12:30 AM, LizEF said:

[...] this latest book was a mystery to me - I only puzzled out the one before.

@LizEF, you are welcome!

 

After a series of books that were less common to me but turned out to be way too easy to guess, I promised to make September Challenge cruel hard. As I experience now, I predicted right - it became a hardcore challenge!  

 

The hint is in the four ink names and in the name of the one Italian fountain pen. The words are different, but the common name of the things they all fife are standing for is one of the two words of the book title. The other word has to do with how we differentiate them even when they have the same size and shape ...  

 

I can imagine that the book is not so well known outside Europe. However, wikipedia knows the author and classifies him as one of the most influential and important authors of central Europe. He lived from 1805 to 1868.

 

Good luck!

[LizEF]

2 hours ago, InesF said:

@LizEF, you are welcome!

 

After a series of books that were less common to me but turned out to be way too easy to guess, I promised to make September Challenge cruel hard. As I experience now, I predicted right - it became a hardcore challenge!  

You definitely succeeded!