Author picture

Claire Cock-Starkey

Author of A Library Miscellany

19 Works 307 Members 15 Reviews

Series

Works by Claire Cock-Starkey

Tagged

Common Knowledge

Gender
female
Nationality
UK
Places of residence
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK

Members

Reviews

"Cats are terrible gossips according to folklore from the Netherlands. People are careful not to discuss their deepest, darkest secrets when a cat is in the room"

Interesting folklore from multiple cultures. Mostly short facts for each category with a few 1-2 page stories scattered throughout. Nice illustrations. A fun book to own so you can reference good luck/bad luck wisdoms.
 
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AndrewBee | 1 other review | Jul 31, 2023 |
Lore of the Land, by Claire Cock-Starkey and Samantha Dolan, revolves around the traditions, legends, and myths surrounding the natural world. Six chapters focus on a different habitat, from the sea, to forests, to mountains. Each starts off with a myth or legend from around the world, followed by more diverse categories under that habitat.

With language designed to captivate, the book tells tales of weird and wonderful customs, traditions, and lore from the world over. The descriptions of traditions and their evolution provide nuanced insights into the customs of the past and how they continue to impact modern society. Every chapter of the book is structured in a candid and conversational style, and the storytelling is a perfect form. The illustrations in Lore of the Land add a vibrant and visual interpretation of the rich cultural traditions.

One minor qualm- fauns are half goat, not half horse. Other than that, perfect for those interested in folklore and mythic studies!

***Many thanks to the Netgalley & Quarto Publishing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
… (more)
 
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PardaMustang | Apr 30, 2023 |
A small, slim tome that is exactly what it says it is: a miscellany of facts about libraries throughout history. Some of it is nothing new to anyone who enjoys a good book about a book, but most of it was new and fairly interesting. It had a few drive-my-husband-crazy moments of "listen to this!" but not so many that there was heavy sighing or eye-rolling going on.

My personal favourites included the most overdue books and the example of rules at different major libraries in the world (I love that the Vatican Library has a bar). I'm dying to know why Portugal's legal deposit laws require 11 copies of every book be submitted (as opposed to the more common 1-2 copies).

I'd have liked to have seen some illustrations of a few of the topics mentioned, but overall it's a nice little book, and one I'll likely refer to more than once when I feel the need to torture friends with book related trivia.
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murderbydeath | 3 other reviews | Jan 24, 2022 |
An excellent little book for what it is: a collection of facts about books and authors. Oldest books in existence, description of the ISBN system, book towns, oddest titles of the year, and a code key to Penguin paperbacks are all examples of the interesting and sometimes amusing facts collected together in this small tome.

I'm afraid MT learned rather more obscure facts about book than he'd have said he was interested interested in, as I couldn't resist reading many of the sections out load. My only disappointment was the distinctly UK focus; a small disappointment all things considered.

"Of all the things man can do or make here below,
by far the most momentous, wonderful, and
worthy are the things we call books."

– Thomas Carlyle
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½
 
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murderbydeath | 3 other reviews | Jan 18, 2022 |

Awards

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Associated Authors

Aitch Illustrator
Samantha Dolan Illustrator

Statistics

Works
19
Members
307
Popularity
#76,700
Rating
3.9
Reviews
15
ISBNs
29
Languages
2

Charts & Graphs