Sarah Nour

a tree with chinese writing on the bottom left ALT: a tree with chinese writing on the bottom left

"Forget the invaders’ names, except the Romans, who... borrowed some of her branches
To weave wreaths. They did not treat her as a prisoner of war
But as a venerable grandmother, before whose calm dignity
Swords shatter."

—The Second Olive Tree, Mahmoud Darwish

#BookologyThursday

"Majnun spent all of his time alone, surrounded only by the animals of the wilderness that gathered around him and protected him during the long desert nights... reciting poetry to himself and writing in the sand with a long stick."

—Layla and Majnun

#BookologyThursday

a girl in a yellow dress is running barefoot down a dirt road ALT: a girl in a yellow dress is running barefoot down a dirt road

"I had spent whole mornings wandering among the ruins, breathing in the wormwood, warming myself against the stones, discovering little roses... Sometimes at night I would sleep open-eyed under a sky dripping with stars. I was alive then."

—Return to Tipasa, Albert Camus

#BookologyThursday

The Greek myth of Chrysomallos, the divine ram with the Golden Fleece, might have been inspired by the golden takin, a hooved mammal native to the Qin Mountains. According to legend, the takin was created by a powerful Lama who combined the bones of a goat and a cow. #LegendaryWednesday

The Questing Beast of Arthurian legend is a chimeric creature described as having the head and neck of a snake, body of a leopard, haunches of a lion, and hooves of a deer. Some scholars believe it was inspired by travelers' accounts of giraffe sightings. #LegendaryWednesday

The Beast of Gévaudan was an unidentified animal that killed as many as 210 people in France between 1764 and 1767. The monarchy poured money and resources into hunting it down. It's theorized to have been a dog, a wolf, an escaped pet hyena, or a lion that escaped a menagerie. #LegendaryWednesday

The Book of Two Ways is the Ancient Egyptian map of the Underworld, found on sarcophagi in the Coptic village of Deir el Bersha. It shows two paths across a dangerous, demon-ridden landscape, ultimately leading to the realm of the god of the dead, Osiris. #WyrdWednesday

"Tomino’s Hell" is a poem by Saijō Yaso, published in 1919, believed to be cursed. It tells the story of a boy named Tomino who travels through Avici, the lowest tier of Hell in Buddhism, after the deaths of his sisters. Anyone who reads it out loud will suffer a tragic fate. #WyrdWednesday

In the Middle Ages, before the printing press was invented, scribes rewrote hundreds of books, so of course, errors were made. Scribes attributed their mistakes to a demon called Titivillus, who caused errors so he could collect them in a sack to show the Devil. #WyrdWednesday

In "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter" from Japan, a bamboo cutter and his wife raise a baby girl they find in a glowing stalk of bamboo. It's later revealed she's a princess of the moon and must return there. When she dons her celestial robe, her memories of life on earth are erased. #FairyTaleTuesday

"The Buried Moon" is an English tale about the moon being trapped and buried under a rock by creatures of the night. With her out of the way, they're free to terrorize humans. A wise woman guides a group of men in freeing the moon, and the night creatures are banished. #FairyTaleTuesday

"Full-Moon-of-the-Night" is an Egyptian tale about Prince Hasan, who travels across the world to find Badr-al-Dujja, a legendarily beautiful sultan's daughter whose name translates to Full-Moon-of-the-Night. He wins her hand by defeating the sultan's enemies. #FairyTaleTuesday

Anzû—depicted as either a giant eagle or a lion-headed eagle—is the personification of thunder clouds and the southern wind in Mesopotamian myth. Born of the primordial waters of Apsu, Anzû started a war when he stole the Tablet of Destinies from the god Enlil. #MythologyMonday

Uttu, the Mesopotamian goddess of weaving, taught mortal women to weave, ushering in a new era in which humans less often froze to death or burned in the sun. Her name means woven in Sumerian and resembles the Akkadian word for spider, ettūtu. #MythologyMonday

In Mesopotamian myth, Enkidu is a feral man created by the goddess Aruru. A sacred prostitute named Shamhat from the city of Uruk is sent to civilize him. She grants him full human sapience through divine lovemaking, which lasts six days and seven nights. #MythologyMonday

a national geographic photo shows a stormy sky ALT: a national geographic photo shows a stormy sky

"O, how this spring of love resembleth
The uncertain glory of an April day,
Which now shows all the beauty of the sun,
And by and by a cloud takes all away!"

—The Two Gentlemen of Verona

#ShakespeareSunday

a red rose is in the snow with snow falling around it ALT: a red rose is in the snow with snow falling around it

"The seasons alter: hoary-headed frosts
Fall in the fresh lap of the crimson rose...
The spring, the summer,
The childing autumn, angry winter, change
Their wonted liveries, and the mazed world,
By their increase, now knows not which is which."

—A Midsummer Night's Dream

#ShakespeareSunday

a painting of a waterfall in the middle of a lush green forest ALT: a painting of a waterfall in the middle of a lush green forest

"Three winters cold
Have from the forests shook three summers' pride,
Three beauteous springs to yellow autumn turn'd
In process of the seasons have I seen,
Three April perfumes in three hot Junes burn'd,
Since first I saw you fresh, which yet are green."

—Sonnet 104

#ShakespeareSunday

a close up of a man 's face with a black shirt and a patterned vest ALT: a close up of a man 's face with a black shirt and a patterned vest

"Rich men want to believe they deserve every penny they've got, so they forget what they owe to chance. Smart men are always looking for loopholes. They want an opportunity to game the system."

—Crooked Kingdom, Leigh Bardugo

#BookWormSat

a man in a suit and tie is holding a gun in his hand . ALT: a man in a suit and tie is holding a gun in his hand .

“The easiest way to steal a man’s wallet is to tell him you’re going to steal his watch. You take his attention and direct it where you want it to go... They can’t be looking everywhere at once."

—Six of Crows, Leigh Bardugo

#BookWormSat

a man wearing a top hat and a coat has netflix written on the bottom ALT: a man wearing a top hat and a coat has netflix written on the bottom

"Some people see a magic trick and say, ‘Impossible!’... And then there are the ones who stay awake, running through the trick again and again, looking for that skip in perception... who won’t rest until they’ve mastered that little bit of mystery.”

—Six of Crows, Leigh Bardugo

#BookWormSat

I don't know about you guys, but I'm hoping Pombon evolves into an enormous, fluffy Chow Chow.

a person standing in a field with the sun shining through the clouds ALT: a person standing in a field with the sun shining through the clouds

"No matter what happens, you remember that this world is more than the agony it contains. We can have happiness... Maybe it doesn’t come in a cookie-cutter format, but we will take the fragments and we will rebuild it."

—As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow, Zoulfa Katouh

#BookologyThursday

a close up of a woman 's face with her hand on her chin and a tattoo on her neck . ALT: a close up of a woman 's face with her hand on her chin and a tattoo on her neck .

"My breath catches when I reach the last page, the drawing of me... I tear the drawing out of the sketch pad... I need it to remind myself that I can be this girl, that this girl is inside of me. This hopeful, strong person."

—My Heart and Other Black Holes, Jasmine Warga

#BookologyThursday

As part of ancient celebrations of the Babylonian New Year, the king would kneel to the statue of Marduk at the city's main temple. The king allowed the priest to remove his royal regalia and slap him across the face in a show of humility before their patron god. #WyrdWednesday

Csodaszarvas, or the Miraculous Hind, is a divine golden deer in Hungarian myth, often depicted with a star on her forehead, the moon on her belly, and the sun in her antlers. During the winter solstice, she uses her antlers to carry the sun into the new year. #WyrdWednesday

The Kitchen God is a domestic Chinese god, traditionally represented by a statue, plaque, or photo above the fireplace. Just before the Chinese New Year, he returns to Heaven to report on the household to the Jade Emperor, who either punishes or rewards the family. #WyrdWednesday

The nursery rhyme "One for Sorrow" was originally about magpies, but there are now countless variations about crows, jackdaws, and other birds. According to superstition, the number of birds you see determines what kind of luck you'll have, or what major life event will happen. #FairyTaleTuesday

In the Hungarian tale "The Crow's Nest," a farmer's wife murders their son and cooks him into stew to serve to her unknowing husband. The boy's sister steals his bones and hides them in a hollow tree. His soul returns as a crow and drops a boulder on his mother in revenge. #FairyTaleTuesday

In Christian legend, magpies are bad omens because they have drops of the Devil's blood under their tongues, and were the only birds who didn't mourn Jesus after the crucifixion. During the Great Flood, they perched on the roof of Noah's Ark, cackling as the world drowned. #FairyTaleTuesday