News at the Traveler's Library

pen4hire — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 05:55:09 +0000

Keep your eyes open and you will see some changes at the Traveler’s Library in the next few weeks, as I complete
Book Shelves

the 31-day Blogging Challenge sponsored by the guru of blogging, Darren Rowse. There simply is no better source of information for bloggers on the web than Darren Rowse’s blog.
One change that has nothing to do with the Blogging Challenge appeared a few days ago at the top of the right-hand column. Click on it and it will take you to a site called Bloggers Unite, and the description of an effort by bloggers to help Heifer International, those great folks that help people around the globe find the means to feed themselves. Be sure to cruise on over to the Traveler’s Library on Wednesday, April 29, I will present an interview with the head of Heifer’s Travel program and pass on her travel book recommendations for some of the Heifer Travel destinations. Check Heifer’s Web Site and see if you can join the fun during April events.
Just a reminder that this coming week is (allegedly) William Shakespeare’s birthday. It is on the 23rd–or maybe the 22nd–or maybe he wasn’t even a playwright so we should forget the whole thing. Stay tuned. We’ll be talking about Shakespeare.
Busy week , because we also have Earth Day on April 22. But you already have your reading assignments for Earth Day travels to the Southwestern United States.

Vatican Swiss Guard

Then in May, we’ll (virtually) travel to Rome when the movie Angels and Demons premiers on the 15th. Will Rome reject the hoopla because the Vatican doesn’t care for the story, or will tourism soar?

Hotel Monteleone Entrance, photo comp. of Monteleone

Next, I take a flight to New Orleans for the Wine and Food Festival at the Monteleone Hotel the 20-23 of May and I will talk about some more books that belong in the Traveler’s Library for New Orleans. I may revisit the bookstores of New Orleans.
Now, you see why I keep telling you that you should sign up for a subscription via RSS or e-mail. You don’t want to miss any of these fun discussions, and all the ones in between, do you?

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Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel

pen4hire — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 03:27:05 +0000

Destination: Rome

Book: Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling by Ross King

A Journey into Michelangelo’s Rome by Angela K. Nickerson

Number one on my Italian travel agenda: Rome. Number one in Rome: The Sistine Chapel.

After a lifetime of seeing pictures of those outstretched index fingers, I wanted to see the rest. Not a bad painting for a guy who thought he was a sculptor.What a delight to find a book that unveils all the religious, political and artistic mechanics behind one of the world’s greatest masterpieces. Michelangelo, to put it mildly, was a complex human being, and the book, Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling captures the complexity of this genius along with the age in which he lived. The book’s 384 pages may have more details about, say, the mixing of colors, than some readers can tolerate, but I loved every fussy, gossipy moment of it. I went to Rome fully prepared to see the Sistine Chapel with an educated eye, thanks to this addition to my travel library. And on the morning I had scheduled to go to the Vatican, I fell ill. Oh well, there is always next time. I hope.

And next time, I will expand beyond the Pope’s ceiling by reading A. K. Nickerson’s A Journey into Michaelangelo’s Rome (2008), which was published after my last trip to Italy. See her video on You Tube.

Have you seen the Ceiling? What impressions did you carry away?

And if you want to share your love of Michelangelo and Italy, click a share button below.

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News at the Traveler's Library

Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel