http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php The largest classic literature discussion forum on the Internet. Read Write Teach Share. en Wed, 16 May 2012 11:31:16 GMT vBulletin 1 http://www.online-literature.com/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12399 Tue, 15 May 2012 18:32:41 GMT I'm not sure if someone has already brought up this amazing resource, but Yale University has posted an entire semester worth of lectures for an Introduction to Theory of Literature Class. It's taught by this very well respected professor there, Paul Fry. I'm on the 4th lesson right now--and I'm so excited and thankful that this resource is available! Looks like this course is going to cover so many of the ideas I'm interested in: Heidegger, New Criticism, Russian Formalism, Deconstructionism, etc.

I was hoping some others would be interested in starting discussions on the videos! He is very, very clear--I don't have the text he uses and he has many handouts that I don't have access to either, but I still feel that I can somewhat understand what he is talking about. Maybe I will get the text, just for reading.

Anyway, here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YY4C...0D35CBC75941BD ]]> shortstoryfan http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12399 http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12398 Tue, 15 May 2012 02:04:17 GMT ...so far. The eye operation went ahead as planned. She went in, told the surgeon that she had a tickle in her throat. He said it'd be fine but she had to warn him if she was about to cough so he could stop. She tells me that she didn't cough throughout the operation but started coughing after. They had to stick her with the needle twice because the first one didn't take for some reason. She has a follow up appointment in 2 weeks.

Also, on a similar note I had occasion to speak to Napoleon. He had his root canal on Friday and is going back to the dentist tomorrow to get the remaining unpleasant substance(s) drained. Kind of brings to mind the time the cat had an abscess on his gum. I wasn't there, I was at school, unfortunately, but I was told there was quite an impressive spray of blood and pus when the vet lanced it. I miss having a cat but anyway.

The dog's been perkier today. We gave her one of her favourite rubber chickens and she destroyed it pretty quickly, the quickest so far (we've stockpiled a few rubber chickens. She goes crazy for them). We still have about 3-4 weeks of her phantom pregnancy to get through but she seems a little happier. Still not eating properly though.

I'm going to be doing the main dog walks for a while. Not sure how long. At least it means I can wear my super cool scarf. I'm so glad I made it. I or we also have to go shopping in the week. I've forbidden mum from driving for at least a week. We'll see how long she obeys. I'm not concerned about her not seeing too well, she's managed fine with one of one and a half eyes for a while. I'm worried about the pain as the eye heals. If she has a slight constant pain or severe sudden pain she could suffer a momentary lapse of concentration. We didn't end up shopping on the weekend so we're low on supplies. Oddly enough I really want to be baking cakes right now. Weird huh?

Been having some weird dreams lately. Maybe I'll write about them some other time though, if you don't mind. I want to keep this short.

Bluebiird out. ]]> Bluebiird http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12398 http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12396 Sat, 12 May 2012 18:16:06 GMT I was watching one of those cooking competition shows which have become so popular these days when one of the women on the show I noticed had her... I was watching one of those cooking competition shows which have become so popular these days when one of the women on the show I noticed had her fingernails painted, and her thumbs were done in red and the rest of the fingers done in black and this gave me an idea. I decided to paint my nails in alternating black and red, I thought it give it an Alice in Wonderland vibe to it.

I believe I have mentioned once before that one of the things of which I do not like about painting my nails is I haven't the patience to wait for them to dry, so now I paint them right before going to bed to dry while I am sleeping.

I go into the bathroom, and it is late, I am tired, I don't feel like turning on the main lights in the bathroom because they would be too bright, there is a nightlight on, and I open the medicine cabinet where I keep my nail polish, and of course I have a preference for dark colors, and I grab what I thought was the black.

I go to my room, and turn on the bedside lamp, which also is dimly lit, and I paint my nails, go to bed and wake up to discover lo and behold, it was of course not black but a dark purple, and I was agitated because it was not what I wanted, and plus the red contrasted against the purple color made it look too pink which I cannot stand, so the whole thing looked stupid. So I had to remove the purple and redo it with my black.

Also coincidently I happen to be reading a book called The Red and the Black right now. ]]> Dark Muse http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12396 http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12395 Fri, 11 May 2012 22:39:22 GMT So, finally, three months after saying I wanted to write an essay, I began yesterday. I think the essay is going to end up being a sort of critique... So, finally, three months after saying I wanted to write an essay, I began yesterday. I think the essay is going to end up being a sort of critique of poetry criticism, and will deal heavily with ideas about Deconstructionism, "Death of the Author", and the decentralization of language, and my experiences of viewing the world after the language's true nature has been uncovered to me. Or at least, the nature I perceive. It's not going to be a work of genius, will not even make sense most likely, and will be riddled with flaws, but already I feel that through the writing I am gaining new insights about some common statements we have heard in the last century or so regarding poetry. I think a lot of the ideas we have all been exposed to in a general way have been misunderstood. Or I could misunderstanding things. But at least it's a start, and at least I feel that the ideas floating around are starting to take on a form I can deal with more easily! ]]> shortstoryfan http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12395 http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12394 Fri, 11 May 2012 03:26:07 GMT It's been raining. A lot. Seeing as I rarely go outside getting wet isn't so much of a problem. I used to like the rain. But like everything, too much is not good. The sky is depressing. Even I am starting to miss the sunshine. I can't see the stars at night either. Also when the dog gets wet we have to dry her. Even if it's not raining the ground is still wet so we have to dry her paws. She doesn't like when I dry her paws, I'm a little too invasive and she tries to bite me. She's just ticklish. It's actually pretty cute. Even though Yuki is a husky (a dog that I'm told does not have such a strong doggy smell) she still stinks when she gets wet. It's worse when she's gone in a pond though, that really is bad.

Mum's boots are breaking already. Normally she wouldn't have to worry about footwear much but since she does the long walks her shoes and boots break very quickly. Also, due to her wide calves and broad feet it's hard to find comfortable boots. The ones that do fit keep splitting at the back.

Yuki is about 4-5 weeks into another phantom pregnancy. We assume it's a phantom pregnancy, since she's acting like she did last time. She doesn't eat (I have to threaten to steal her food to make her eat). She doesn't play as much and she's moody. Once it's over we plan to get her spayed, regardless of cost (spaying is surprisingly expensive. That's not why we've put it off though). She's also started picking up bones and other things on walkies a lot more. She's shortening her walks and we suspect worms. Well, mum suspects. I haven't seen the physical evidence but I'll take her word for it. We wormed her a couple of weeks ago. It might not have been a worm. It could just be the result of the unknown things she's been picking up at night.

Mum's caught a cough. Not a cold as yet, just a cough. I find that usually you get the sniffles or a sore throat, then branch out into a cold and then a cough but there are different cold bugs out there. She can't get sick. Her cataract operation is on Monday. If she gets sick they might not do it, especially if she's coughing. Thank you very much woman at work who has infected her, I've forgotten your name because you're unimportant to me but curse you nonetheless.

On the subject of coughs and colds. I've been holding back a cold for quite some time. I take daily multivitamins and hope my body will absorb as much as it can from them. Sometimes I get a blocked nose or sneeze a few too many times but so far it hasn't developed into an all out cold. If my throat gets a bit sore (usually at night) I pull the duvet up around my neck and even if I start to feel too hot I keep the covers up in the hopes of sweating it out so to speak. If I still don't feel well I may drink some orange juice if we have any or wear a scarf and keep myself warm at all times. I'm not sure how effective any of this is but it seems to work so far. Then again, since I don't go out I'm less likely to catch a contagious cold from other people. I'd rather try not to get sick than to get sick. I hate cold medicine. They taste nasty and I can't take those capsules they do these days because I can't swallow pills. Ah. I tell a lie. I can't swallow capsules. But little round, sugar coated pills I can swallow. As for those without the nice shiny coating, it's hit and miss.
Napoleon either had a root canal last Friday or is having one this Friday. I think it's this Friday.

I wanted to try making melon bread today but I haven't used the flour for a while and it got those little bugs in it. You know the ones? So small you almost wouldn't notice them. They tent to pop up in old flour. I wonder how they get there. Were they always there just waiting to hatch or did they get in? Not that it matters. Here's a shocker. Melon bread doesn't contain melon. Heh. Who knew. It's named after it's resemblance to the cantaloupe I think. I also fancy having a go at chocolate cornets but I need to make some horns for those.

I've been having trouble sleeping. Not uncommon for me. It's not serious insomnia so I'm not too worried about it. It's just that, when I'm alone in my room, in the dark I start to wonder if I'm a real person. Suppose. Now just suppose that it were possible to erase someone's memory and replace it with a new one (like in something like Total Recall if you like). How would you know? Supposing I just came into existence yesterday and not 24 years ago. How would I know?
On this subject.
How about what if the world isn't real? Supposing I'm the only being in existence and I've made up the whole world around me. No. I don't think I'm God. That's not the point of this. Supposing I were, say the last human in existence on an alien spaceship and to stop me going crazy they've constructed all this in my mind. How can I be sure this is the real world?

Yeah. I know. I sound crazy huh? That's why I don't say these things. I know...at least I'm pretty sure this is the real world and that I have been alive for 24 years or so. It's just, sometimes I think about these things.

Thing is, recently I've been thinking these things more.

On the plus side, that's not all I've been thinking about. I'm still thinking up cute scenes and back stories for my novel. Can you believe I've finally named my evil wizard? It's only been what 2-3 years. Supposing I actually do manage to put this story together, write it up and get someone in the business interested in it. Will I be able to let it go I wonder. Once you finish it it has to go out into the world otherwise what's the point?

Although, to ease the passing of this story I've already considered elements of a sequel so I can always put my heart and soul into that once this one is finished. I think my idea for the next one will be more fun but I'm trying not to get too far ahead of myself here. I know exactly how the first one ends and I know how it begins (although it's not as fun as the rest of it) and I have a few bits of the middle. I've tried rewriting the story but it just won't start well. I wonder if I should focus on the middle and come back to the start...but that's a risky move. It's like Frankenstein. It starts getting interesting during the whole theatrical lightning, it is a live kind of cinematic moment but up until that point it's kind of...boring? Slow? something just doesn't quite grab you. I had to study it at Uni. By the way. Victor. Total idiot. Brilliant mad scientist, yes. But an idiot nonetheless. He goes to the trouble of creating life. Well done I guess. But rejects the poor creature the second it lives. No wonder things don't work out. Anyway. I can't' critique it anymore because it's been a while since I had to read it.

Surprisingly, I'm not actually depressed. Things just aren't as good as they could be. But then again there's nothing bad either.
We'll see how things go.
I may not be liking the rain now but I'll be wishing for it when Summer hits I'm sure :).

Bluebiird out. ]]> Bluebiird http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12394 http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12393 Fri, 11 May 2012 00:39:45 GMT 1955 Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (Russia) 1955 The Emperor of Ice Cream by Wallace Stevens (USA) 1955 Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo (Mexico) 1954... 1955 Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (Russia)
1955 The Emperor of Ice Cream by Wallace Stevens (USA)
1955 Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo (Mexico)
1954 Sunstone by Octavio Paz (Mexico)
1954 Lord of the Flies by William Golding (Britain)
1953 Gimpel, the Fool by Isaac Bashevis Singer (Poland)
1953 Waiting For Godot by Samuel Beckett (Ireland)
1952 The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway (USA)
1952 The Shield of Achilles by W.H. Auden (Britain)
1952 Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (USA)
1952 The Financial Expert by R.K. Narayan (India)
1951 Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas (Britain)
1951 The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (USA)
1951 Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar (France)
1950 Canto General by Pablo Neruda (Chile)
1950 The Bald Soprano by Eugene Ionesco (Romania)
1949 1984 by George Orwell (Britain)
1949 Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller (USA)
1948 The Makioka Sisters by Junichiro Tanizaki (Japan)
1948 The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht (Germany)
1948 A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams (USA)
1948 Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata (Japan)
1948 Death Fugue by Paul Celan (Romania)
1947 Fortress Besieged Qian Zhongshu (China)
1945 Rescue by Czeslaw Milosz (Poland)
1944 No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre (France)
1944 Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges (Argentina)
1944 The Dwarf by Par Lagerkvist (Sweden)
1942 The Stranger by Albert Camus (France)
1942 Antigone by Jean Anouilh (France)
1940 Requiem by Anna Akhmatova (Russia)
1939 The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (USA)
1938 The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel by Nikos Kazantzakis (Greece)
1937 Out of Africa by Isak Dineson (Denmark)
1937 The Blind Owl by Sadegh Hedayat (Iran)
1935 Wings of Gabriel by Muhammad Iqbal (India)
1935 Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias by Federico Garcia Lorca (Spain)
1934 Message by Fernando Pessoa (Portugal)
1933 Man's Fate by Andre Malraux (France)
1932 Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Celine (France)
1932 The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil (Austria)
1929 The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner (USA)
1928 Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence (Britain)
1927 Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse (Germany)
1926 Capital of Pain by Paul Eluard (France)
1925 Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (Britain)
1925 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (USA)
1925 Cuttlefish Bones by Eugenio Montale (Italy)
1924 The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann (Germany)
1924 Anabase by Saint-John Perse (France)
1923 The True Story of Ah Q by Lu Xun (China)
1923 The Prophet by Khalil Gibran (Lebanon)
1923 Confessions of Zeno by Italo Svevo (Italy)
1922 The Wasteland by T.S. Eliot (USA)
1922 In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust (France)
1922 Duino Elegies by Ranier Maria Rilke (Germany)
1921 Six Characters in Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello (Italy)
1920 Main Street by Sinclair Lewis (USA)
1920 Hugh Selwyn Mauberley by Ezra Pound (USA)
1919 The Second Coming by William Butler Yeats (Ireland)
1918 Ulysses by James Joyce (Ireland)
1918 The Hellscreen by Ryunosuke Akutagawa (Japan)
1918 The Black Heralds by Cesar Vallejo (Peru)
1917 The Young Fate by Paul Valery (France)
1915 The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (Czechoslovakia)
1915 The Good Soldier by Ford Maddox Ford (Britain)
1915 Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham (Britain)
1914 Kokoro by Natsume Soseki (Japan)
1914 Mending Wall by Robert Frost (USA)
1913 Alcohol by Guillaume Apollinaire (France)
1911 Ithaca by Constantine P. Cavafy (Greece)
1910 Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore (India)
1910 Peruvian Traditions by Ricardo Palma (Peru)
1907 The Ghost Sonata by August Strindberg (Sweden)
1907 The Travels of Lao Ts'an by Liu E (China)
1906 Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind (Germany)
1905 Songs of Life and Hope by Ruben Dario (Nicaragua)
1904 The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov (Russia)
1903 Man and Superman by George Bernard Shaw (Ireland)
1903 The Call of the Wild by Jack London (USA)
1903 The Ambassadors by Henry James (USA)
1902 Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (Britain)
1902 The Immoralist by Andre Gide (France)
1902 The Lower Depths by Maxim Gorky (Russia)
1902 The Rain in the Pinewood by Gabriele D'Annunzio (Italy)
1901 Kim by Rudyard Kipling (Britain)
1900 La Ronde by Arthur Schnitzler (Austria)
19th Century
1899 Dom Casmurro by Machado de Assis
1897 Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson
1897 Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand
1897 La Ronde by Arthur Schnitzler
1896 A Shropshire Lad by A.E. Housman
1896 Ubu Roi by Alfred Jarry
1896 The Seagull by Anton Chekhov
1894 Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
1894 The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
1892 The Weavers by Gerhart Hauptmann
1892 Poems by Ho Xuan Huong
1891 Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind
1891 Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
1891 Simple Verses by Jose Marti
1890 The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
1890 Hunger by Knut Hamsun
1890 Poems by Emily Dickinson
1888 Azul by Ruben Dario
1888 The Maias by Eca de Queiros
1888 Miss Julie by August Strindberg
1887 A Study in Scarlett by Arthur Conan Doyle
1885 The Makado by Gillbert and Sullivan
1885 Germinal by Emile Zola
1884 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
1884 Against Nature by Joris-Karl Huysmans
1883 Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
1881 The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
1880 The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
1880 Ball of Fat by Guy De Maupassant
1879 A Doll's House by Heinrik Ibsen
1877 Six Records of a Floating Life by Shen Fu
1876 Afternoon of a Faun by Stephane Mallarme
1876 The Wreck of the Deutschland by Gerard Manley Hopkins
1874 The City of Dreadful Night by James Thomson
1873 A Season in Hell by Arthur Rimbaud
1872 Martin Fierro by Jose Hernandez
1872 Middlemarch by George Eliot
1871 Rhymes and Legends by Gustavo Adolfo Becquer
1869 The Songs of Maldoror by Comte de Lautreamont
1869 War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
1866 Saturnine Poems by Paul Verlaine
1865 Hymn to Satan by Giosue Carducci
1865 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll
1862 Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev
1862 Goblin Market and other Poems by Christina Rossetti
1862 Divan by Mirza Ghalib
1862 Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
1859 Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov
1859 A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
1859 The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam by Edward FitzGerald
1859 The Storm by Aleksandr Ostrovsky
1857 Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire
1857 Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
1856 Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
1855 Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
1854 Elegy for Imam Hussein by Qa'ani
1853 El Desdichado by Gerard de Nerval
1853 Poems by Bibi Hayati
1851 Moby Dick by Hermann Melville
1850 The Scarlett Letter by Nathanael Hawthorne
1850 Sonnets From the Portuguese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
1850 Death's Jest Book by Thomas Lovell Beddoes
1849 In Memoriam A.H.H. by Alfred Lord Tennyson
1849 The Kalevala by Elias Lonnrot
1848 The Lady of the Camellias by Alexander Dumas, fils
1848 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
1847 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
1847 Evangeline by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
1847 Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
1847 The Shark by Dionysios Solomos
1846 The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
1846 Toldi by Janos Arany
1845 Janos Vitez by Sandor Petofi
1844 The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, Pere
1844 The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen
1842 Dramatic Lyrics by Robert Browning
1842 Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol
1842 Eight Dog Chronicles by Kyokutei Bakin
1842 The Complete Works of Friedrich Holderlin
1841 A Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Lermontov
1837 Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin
1835 Father Goriot by Honore de Balzac
1835 Danton's Death by Georg Buchner
1834 Pan Tadeusz by Adam Mickiewicz
1832 Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
1831 Kanshi by Taigu Ryokan
1830 The Red and the Black by Stendhal
1827 Book of Songs by Heinrich Heine
1827 The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni
1826 The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
1824 Don Juan by George Gordon Byron
1821 First Idylls by Giacomo Leopardi
1821 Confessions of an English Opium Eater by Thomas De Quincey
1819 Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
1819 Oraga Haru by Kobayashi Issa
1818 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
1818 Nightmare Abbey by Thomas Love Peacock
1818 Endymion by John Keats
1818 Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley
1817 The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
1816 The Sandman by ETA Hoffman
1813 The Tale of Kieu by Nguyen Du
1813 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
1812 Grimms' Fairy Tales by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
1808 Milton: a poem by William Blake
1807 Poems in Two Volumes by William Wordsworth
1805 The Broken Jug by Heinrich von Kleist
1804 William Tell by Friedrich Schiller
1802 Rene by Francois-Rene de Chateaubriand
1800 Hymns to the Night by Novalis
18th century
1798 Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge
1798 Sorrows of an Abandoned Queen by Nguyen Gia Thieu
1798 The Last Letters of Jacopo Ortis by Ugo Foscolo
1797 Poems by Yuan Mei
1796 Jacques the Fatalist by Denis Diderot
1794 A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns
1791 Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell
1791 Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin
1791 Justine by Marquis de Sade
1790 The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
1789 The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
1789 Songs of Innocence and of Experience by William Blake
1784 The Marriage of Figaro by Pierre Beaumarchais
1783 The Village George Crabbe
1782 The Dangerous Liaisons by Choderlos de Laclos
1782 Saul by Vittorio Alfieri
1781 The Robbers by Friedrich Schiller
1780 Oberon by Christoph Martin Wieland
1777 The School for Scandal by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
1774 The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
1767 Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne
1767 Wingolf by Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock
1767 Minna von Barnhelm by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
1766 The Vicar of Wakefield Oliver Goldsmith
1765 The Works of Ossian by James Macpherson
1761 The Love For Three Oranges by Carlo Gozzi
1761 Julie, or the New Heloise by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
1759 Candide by Voltaire
1751 Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard by Thomas Gray
1750 The Rambler by Samuel Johnson
1750 The Scholars by Wu Jingzi
1749 Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
1748 Chushingura by Takeda Izumo
1743 The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni
1740 Pamela by Samuel Richardson
1740 Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio by Pu Songling
1734 An Essay on Man by Alexander Pope
1730 The Game of Love and Chance by Marivaux
1728 The Beggar's Opera by John Gay
1726 Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
1722 Jeppe of the Hill by Ludvig Holberg
1721 Persian Letters by Montesquieu
1719 Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
1715 The Battles of Coxinga by Chikamatsu Monzaemon
1713 Cato by Joseph Addison
1711 The Spectator by Richard Steel
1709 Turcaret by Alain-Rene Lesage
1707 The Beaux Stratagem by George Farquhar
1700 The Way of the World by William Congreve
17th century
1694 Fables by Jean de La Fontaine
1694 The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Matsuo Basho
1685 Five Women Who Loved Love by Ihara Saikaku
1684 Sodom, or the Quintessence of Debauchery by John Wilmot
1682 Venice Preserv'd by Thomas Otway
1678 The Princess of Cleves by Madame de La Fayette
1678 Maximes by Francois de La Rochefoucauld
1678 All For Love by John Dryden
1678 The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
1677 The Rover by Aphra Behn
1677 The Campaign Against Qandahar by Saib Tabrizi
1677 Phaedra by Jean Racine
1676 The Man of Mode by George Etherege
1675 The Country Wife by William Wycherley
1674 Paradise Lost by John Milton
1674 The Latrine by Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux
1668 Letters of a Portuguese Nun by Anonymous
1668 Simplicius Simplicissimus by Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen
1664 Tartuffe by Moliere
1654 Lucifer by Joost van den Vondel
1653 The Compleat Angler by Izaak Walton
1650 To His Coy Mistress by Andrew Marvell
1636 Le Cid by Pierre Corneille
1635 Life is a Dream by Pedro Calderon de la Barca
1633 'Tis Pity She's a Whore by John Ford
1633 The Temple by George Herbert
1633 Works of John Donne
1630 The Trickster of Seville by Tirso de Molina
1626 The Swindler by Francisco de Quevedo
1625 Essays by Francis Bacon
1621 Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton
1620 Stories to Awaken the World by Feng Menglong
1619 Fuente Ovejuna by Lope De Vega
1619 Idea by Michael Drayton
1619 The Maid's Tragedy by John Fletcher and Francis Beaumont
1616 Les Tragiques by Agrippa D'Aubigne
1615 Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
1613 The Fable of Polyphemus and Galatea by Luis de Gongora
1612 The White Devil by John Webster
1610 Jin Ping Mei by Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng
1608 The Revenger's Tragedy by Thomas Middleton
1606 Volpone by Ben Jonson
1600 Erotokritos by Vitsentzos Kornaros
1600 Hamlet by William Shakespeare
1600 The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd by Sir Walter Ralegh
16th century
1598 Consolation for Mr. du Perier by Francois de Malherbe
1598 Every Man in His Humor by Ben Jonson
1596 The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser
1594 Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
1592 The Spanish Tragedy by Thomas Kyd
1592 A Litany in Time of Plague by Thomas Nashe
1589 The Jew of Malta by Christopher Marlowe
1587 When You Are Truly Old by Pierre de Ronsard
1586 Astrophel and Stella by Philip Sydney
1581 Jerusalem Delivered by Torquato Tasso
1578 Euphues by John Lyly
1573 Farewell with a Mischief by George Gascoigne
1572 The Lusiads by Luis vaz de Camoes
1569 The Araucana by Alonso de Ercilla y Zuniga
1564 Gargantua and Pantagruel by Francois Rabelais
1558 The Heptameron by Marguerite de Navarre
1557 They Flee From Me by Thomas Wyatt
1555 The Regrets by Joachim du Bellay
1554 Lazarillo de Tormes by Anonymous
1541 Bovo-Bukh by Elia Levita
1532 Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto
1528 The Book of the Courtier by Baltissar Castiglione
1526 Hell by Clement Marot
1522 The Great Lutheran Fool by Thomas Murner
1521 Colin Clout by John Skelton
1518 Songs of Kabir
1518 The Mandrake by Niccolo Machiavelli
1516 Utopia by Sir Thomas More
1509 In Praise of Folly by Erasmus
1505 Lament for the Makaris by William Dunbar
1501 Judita by Marko Marulic
1501 Book of Margery Kempe
15th century
1499 La Celestina by Fernando de Rojas
1495 Orlando In Love by Matteo Maria Boiardo
1494 The Ship of Fools by Sebastian Brant
1492 Poems by Lorenzo de Medici
1490 Tirant Lo Blanc by Joanot Martorell and Marti Joan de Galba
1485 Haft Awrang by Jami
1485 Everyman by Anonymous
1485 Le Morte D'Arthur by Thomas Malory
1483 Morgante by Luigi Pulci
1482 Khamsa by Ali-Shir Nava'i
1480 Manto by Poliziano
1476 Stanzas on His Father's Death by Jorge Manrique
1461 Ballad of the Dead Ladies by Francois Villon
1440 Poems by Charles Duke of Orleans
1428 Book 13 of the Aeneid by Maffeo Vegio
1424 La Belle Dame sans Merci by Alain Chartier
1420 The Siege of Thebes by John Lydgate
1405 Book of the City of Ladies by Christine De Pizan
Medieval Literature (Europe)
1400 Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
1390 Confessio Amantis by John Gower
1390 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Anonymous
1387 Piers Plowman by William Langland
1375 The Bruce by John Barbour
1374 The Canzoniere by Francesco Petrarch
1353 The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
1321 Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
1300 Grettis Saga by Anonymous
1300 A Lady Asks Me by Guido Cavalcanti
1290 Havelok the Dane by Anonymous
1280 Njal's Saga by Anonymous
1276 The Gentle Heart by Guido Guinizelli
1275 Romance of the Rose by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun
1270 Elder Edda by Anonymous
1260 Laxdaela Saga by Anonymous
1250 Thorstein the Staff-Struck by Anonymous
1240 Egil's Saga by Anonymous
1225 Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach
1220 Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson
1210 Nibelungenlied by Anonymous
1210 On this gay and slender tune by Arnaut Daniel
1210 Tristan and Isolt by Gottfried von Strassburg
1207 Song of the Cid by Abbot Peter
1200 Under the Linden Tree by Walther von der Vogelweide
1200 Aucassin and Nicolette by Anonymous
1190 Mabinogion by Anonymous
1190 Tale of Igor's Campaign by Anonymous
1190 Henry the Leper by Hartmann von Aue
1184 The Joyful Springtime Pleases Me by Bertran de Born
1180 When I See the Lark by Bernart de Ventadorn
1175 The Werewolf by Marie de France
1170 Yvain the Knight of the Lion by Chretien de Troyes
1163 The Confession by The Archpoet
1160 Tain Bo Cuailnge by Anonymous
1144 Letters of Abelard and Heloise
1141 Ode to Zion by Judah Halevi
1100 Under the Sun I Ride Along by William IX Duke of Aquitaine
1098 Song of Roland by Anonymous
1050 Digenes Akritas by Anonymous
991 The Battle of Maldon by Anonymous
937 The Battle of Brunanburh by Anonymous
850 Beowulf by Anonymous
850 The Phoenix by Anonymous
841 The Battle of Fontenoy by Angilbert
840 Elene by Cynewulf
830 Lay of Hildebrand by Anonymous
800 Finnsburg Fragment by Anonymous
680 Dream of the Rood by Caedmon
675 Y Gododdin by Aneirin
524 Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius
Classical literature (Western)
400AD Nonnus- Dionysiacca
354-430AD St. Augustine- Confessions
250AD Heliodorus- Ethiopica
213-273AD Longinus- On the Sublime
150-235AD Cassius Dio- Roman History
150AD Longus- Daphnis and Chloe
143-176AD Pausanias- Description of Greece
129-199AD Galen- Medical Writing
125-180AD Apuleius- The Golden ***
125-180AD Lucian- True Story
125-180AD Aulus Gellius- Attic Nights
121-180AD Marcus Aurelius- Meditations
95-165AD Appian- Roman History
90-168AD Ptolemy- The Great Treatise
86-160AD Arrian- The Anabasis of Alexander
69-130AD Suetonius- Lives of 12 Caesars
61-112AD Pliny the Younger- Letters
56-117AD Tacitus- Annals
55-138AD Juvenal- Satires
55-135AD Epictetus- Discourses
46-120AD Plutarch- Lives
45-96AD Statius- Thebaid
40-104AD Martial- Epigrams
39-65AD Lucan- Pharsalia
37-100AD Josephus- The Jewish War
35-100AD Quintillian- Institutes of Oratory
34-62AD Persius- Satires
27-66AD Petronius- Satyricon
23-79AD Pliny the Elder- Natural History
4BC-65AD Seneca- Thyestes
43BC-17AD Ovid- Metamorphoses
50-15BC Sextus Propertius- Elegies
55-19BC Tibullus- Elegies
59BC-17AD Livy- History of Rome
60-7BC Dionysus of Halicarnassus- On Imitation
64BC-24AD Strabo- Geography
65-8BC Horace- Odes
70-19BC Virgil- The Aeneid
84-54BC Catullus- Poem 107
86-35BC Sallust- The Catiline Conspiracy
100-44BC Caesar- The Gallic War
106-43BC Cicero- Dream of Scipio
195-159BC Terence- The Brothers
200-118BC Polybius- The Histories
204-270BC Plotinus- Enneads
254-184BC Plautus- The Pot of Gold
300-246BC Apollonius Rhodius- Argonautika
310-250BC Theocritus- Idylls
310-240BC Callimachus- Aetia
323-283BC Euclid- Elements
342-291BC Menander- The Miser
361-291BC Dinarchus- Speeches
371-287BC Theophrastus- On Character
384-322BC Demosthenes- On the Crown
384-322BC Aristotle- Nichomachean Ethics
389-314BC Aeschines- Speeches
390-322BC Hypereides- Speeches
396-323BC Lycurgus- Speeches
420-348BC Isaeus- Speeches
424-348BC Plato- Republic
430-354BC Xenophon- Anabasis
436-338BC Isocrates- Panathenaicus
445-380BC Lysias- Speeches
446-386BC Aristophanes- Lysistrata
460-395BC Thucydides- History of the Peloponnesian War
480-406BC Euripides- Medea
484-425BC Herodotus- Histories
497-405BC Sophocles- Oedipus Rex
522-443BC Pindar- Victory Odes
525-456BC Aeschylus- Oresteia
582-485BC Anacreon- Love's Night Walk
620-564BC Aesop- The Fox and the Grapes
630-570BC Sappho- Hymn to Aphrodite
680-645BC Archilochus- Be Bold
700-500BC Homeric Hymns
750BC Hesiod- Theogony
750BC Homer- The Iliad ]]> mortalterror http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12393 http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12392 Wed, 09 May 2012 08:36:59 GMT Male dogs... Why do they have to lift up their fourth leg to urinate...? And why do they sniff each others butt? Is it for identification? ... Male dogs...

Why do they have to lift up their fourth leg to urinate...?

And why do they sniff each others butt? Is it for identification?

Once, I had a dog come up and sniff my butt. Needless to say...It tickled...And was uncomfortable.

I immediately said to that dog name "Dude", "Dude, my I.D. ain't in there boy."

Dogs... ]]> Neo_Sephiroth http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12392 http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12390 Tue, 08 May 2012 16:37:55 GMT I once talked about giving promises to yourself and keeping them. It can be harder to keep a promise made to yourself than others. I have made one... I once talked about giving promises to yourself and keeping them. It can be harder to keep a promise made to yourself than others. I have made one to myself and I am gonna try my best to keep it. I am gonna write a page in a book I own before I go to sleep every night for 28 days. 28 because I heard somewhere that you need to things that often to make it a habit. doesn't have to anything important just wanderings or thought and ideas.

I got my results from my first exam today and I passed. I am so happy cause I walked out of that exam in shock it was so difficult and I was so sure I had failed. so I am so very very happy today!

I bought a tv a few days ago, I haven't had a tv in more than 2 years now. Last night I thought to myself I'd turn it on because there are always documentaries on Mondays but there was a handball game so I just turned it off again and started reading Steppenwolf by Hesse.Tomorrow night is a bbc documentary about Sherlock Holmes, I am gonna check it out. I do enjoy these shows from BBC, always fun to watch.

I am addicted to a show these days, 'It's always sunny in Philadelphia' they are a nice change from most comedies out there!

Yesterday I went to a meeting about my sons graduation trip, he is gonna spend two days with school on an adventure, it sounds fun but I am very nervous. I'll probably be chewing my nails the whole time.

anyways gotta go to another meeting now about his school next fall. ]]> Helga http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12390 http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12389 Mon, 07 May 2012 23:32:16 GMT Oh...My...Goodness!

Why are some introduction to books so long!? It drives me crazy sometimes. I know I can just skip the introduction but I'm not that kind of person. I can't skip it.

I think it's my OCD. :ack2:

It's actually not as bad as some others that I've heard of.

Let me see here...

I like even numbers...So if I'm in a car and the volume is on an odd number I have to change it to even.

Umm...Being on the right-hand side.

And I cannot skip reading an introduction to a book.

Oh! Paradise Lost! Why is your introduction so long?! ]]> Neo_Sephiroth http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12389 http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12388 Mon, 07 May 2012 08:07:20 GMT How often have we searched in our minds for the name of a familiar person and regretted not having remembered it? How often have we kept our keys and... How often have we searched in our minds for the name of a familiar person and regretted not having remembered it? How often have we kept our keys and valuables in a certain place and forgotten them? How often have fathers taken their baby out for a quick shopping nearby and forgotten to take the baby home, and left with only the grocery?
These are very common symptoms of the failure of memory in us. It is quite natural to have memory losses as we grow older. Just as our other faculties become weaker over a long period of time, e.g. we begin to wear glasses, move slowly, and walk around with a walking stick, in a similar way our memory becomes weaker.
The question is should we fear this propensity to lose our memory or should we look for reasons to justify our seeming loss? A blind man develops extra sensory powers whereby his physical deficiency is compensated. A deaf man too has a deeper sense of things. We believe that we have powers well beyond the physical sense to comprehend and realize. Arguing from this point of view we may well say then that loss of memory is deliberately intended for us by Nature as a means to help us forget the physical reality and develop deeper insights about life and death.
If to grow older means to grow wiser, then forgetting the mundane and the gross realities of life may be necessary to help the mind find space and power enough to be in touch with the most essential truths of life and to be a spiritual reference point for a civilization which is fast progressing in a direction that is leading it to more and more materialism.
Yet we find that the majority is growing older without showing any such signs of development. I have come to experience the tragedy of growing old as something which involves more and more losses. Alzheimer’s disease has hit us like an epidemic. Older people are becoming increasingly prone to it s disastrous effects.
Society is losing its elders who once used to be a strong bulwark against the forces of disintegration. Their experience and wisdom were great assets for the family and the nation. But our elders who are the political leaders today have shown by their behavior that wisdom does not always come with age. They have forgotten the high ideals of benevolent governance and what we are left with is a group of senile servitors who know only how to service themselves. Justice, peace and compassion are ideals forgotten conveniently, and all other ideals of humanity are left for the young to fight for ]]> sadhana http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12388 http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12387 Mon, 07 May 2012 08:03:30 GMT Peace be on you. The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) was sent with purity which he imparted to his disciples. In turn they... Peace be on you.

The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) was sent with purity which he imparted to his disciples. In turn they radiated the divine message to the world. The company of Holy Prophet (p.b.h.) turned off the and hearts of companions from idols and they prostrated to One God. Such change does not come with compulsion. The companions became fully charged in love with God. They excelled in knowledge and purity and took the message to others.


The evolution of divine message completed at Holy Quran. The complete spread of the message was destined in the Latter Days when means of reaching the whole world were to be invented. This particular time is matched with promised era of weakness in faith when chaos at various levels has become common.


The remedy to this weakness is the coming of servant of God who has to restore faith. According to certain faithful, he has already come as the ardent devotee of Holy Prophet (p.b.h.). People from all sections of life were attracted toward him; he reflected the light of his master (p.b.h.) and taught the real peaceful religion.

Reference: Narratives of such attractions @ Sermon in alislam.org (the peace reformers) ]]> YALASH http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12387 http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12386 Fri, 04 May 2012 00:31:30 GMT So. The Monday after next Monday is the long awaited cataract operation. I'm not sure of all the details but it seems like they'll cut out the damaged lens and replace it with a plastic one. Hearing that I can't help but imagine doll's eyes. Yes, I know it's completely different. Surely having a glass eye would be more like a doll's eye but still. Makes for a good title at least.

I'm kind of confused. I've heard that cataracts are done with lasers now. I knew a girl at school who mentioned it. She complained about her glasses so we said why don't you wear contacts. She said they irritated her eyes. So we said why don't you have laser eye surgery then, if you hate your glasses that much. (I also wear glasses, have done for most of my life so I don't have a problem with them. In fact my face would look wrong without them.) She said that if she had laser eye surgery she couldn't have surgery for cataracts because that's also done with lasers and that her family had a history of cataracts. If this is indeed the case then why no lasers for my mother's eyes? Assuming what she said was true then maybe it's because of the previous operations mum's had. She also had a little laser surgery to lessen the amount of scar tissue in her eye so that it didn't pull her retina away again.

What exactly do they cut I wonder? I could look it up but I don't want to. I prefer to speculate, at least until it's over. I'd guess it's easiest to cut the pupil. Maybe I'm just making things up. Like I said. Maybe I'll look it up nearer the time. I wonder what the parts they replace look like. I'm curious but kind of disgusted at the thought. Kind of like when I didn't look when I had a blood test a few years ago for suspected anaemia. I'm not anaemic, I'm just pale.

I've never really minded needles. I don't exactly like the idea of them but it's never been a problem. I don't mind blood either. However, I wondered if I'd feel differently seeing my own blood in such a fashion. Since I wouldn't look I explained why. The nurse that took it seemed kind of patronising to me, using the same kind of tone she'd probably use on people like my mother (who are afraid of needles) then again, those who are afraid and those who think it best not to look just in case, I suppose there's not much distinction between them, especially for people who have to put up with these kinds of people every day.
I've been thinking of donating blood. I wonder if it's good enough though. I'm not exactly a healthy person and I seem to have poor circulation. Also, due to unnecessary fat and the poor circulation my veins are very hard to find. When I had that blood test some years ago it took them a while to find a vein. Mum has the same problem. She recently (as in within the last year or so) had a blood test. That was after her first eye operation where she took a letter to the doctor about the operation and they took the chance to give her a check up (we're the kinds of people who avoid the doctor. I'm certainly avoiding the doctor) The only other time she ever had to have a blood test was when she was pregnant and they stuck her with the needle about three times before they found a vein. Thoughts like that are kind of off putting. I looked up about giving blood. Assuming the information is correct, the NHS don't keep donated blood for very long. I find that odd but also kind of understandable. On the subject of blood donation. It seems that when you have a baby you can donate blood from the umbilical cord, this is apparently very good stuff because it contains stem cells. Who knew.

I could go on about my visions of the future of stem cell research such as super humans, or clone armies or growing human organs but it'll be too long if I do. Long and pointless.
I only wanted to update you on the eye situation and put a new blog entry up here.

I'm not sure what happened with the last entry. Maybe it was just too long. If I have any other problems with it then I'll look into it but if it's just a one off then never mind.

Bluebiird out.

Also, Napoleon's having problems with his teeth. Hardly surprising, he's had fillings since before I was born. ]]> Bluebiird http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12386 http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12385 Wed, 02 May 2012 11:50:09 GMT We live in societies which are so different from each other. When we travel from one place to another there is the necessity to change our... We live in societies which are so different from each other. When we travel from one place to another there is the necessity to change our perspectives and loyalties to suit the situation in which we find ourselves. We cannot remain the same at all times. The result is that we begin to assume several identities to make ourselves feel comfortable and to fulfill our material and emotional needs.

Should we then be denounced as wearers of masks and as hypocrits untrue to the culture and beliefs of their places of origin? Identities are always in a flux and there is the great need today to shun the age old notions of being true to one self. We now do not have only one self , but several selves , and we may have to remain true to all of them. As we proceed in time and space begin to discover more and more of these selves, and we begin to feel amazed as to how many different selves keep popping out of the one box we call the Self.

All these selves are true because they are born of the self same Self and there is therefore the need to legitimise all these identities. ]]> sadhana http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12385 http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12384 Wed, 02 May 2012 08:50:19 GMT Tomorrow is my last exam, it is in literature history. I have enjoyed that subject a lot, the teacher is great and i have been reading stuff I know... Tomorrow is my last exam, it is in literature history. I have enjoyed that subject a lot, the teacher is great and i have been reading stuff I know and stuff I don't know. It's a big test, 5 essays and 40 questions. But I don't think I should be nervous, I know the books very well.

My last exam was on Friday in a class called the world of cultures, it was hell!!! I had studied a whole lot for it and I could explain all the theories and all these people to the letter but everybody walked out of the test devastated! It was horrible, we stood outside and just wondered what we could do next.

The weekend kinda sucked after that but I tried to study as much as I could.

and I saw Cabin in the Woods. it was so good!!! I want to talk about it but nobody around me has seen it so I'll wait until my brother does. that movie was probably the best part of my weekend.

Now I should be reading Flaubert, it's the only play I am not a 100% about.... ]]> Helga http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12384 http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12381 Mon, 30 Apr 2012 02:42:03 GMT Well, we just had a two week hellish experience. It had to do with Brandi, our eight year old Labrador Retriever. It started on Saturday the... Well, we just had a two week hellish experience. It had to do with Brandi, our eight year old Labrador Retriever.

It started on Saturday the 14th, a typical Saturday morning where I take Brandi out for a early morning walk and usually end up over at my mother’s house about a half mile away. It wasn’t completely typical since I didn’t take her to an open field beforehand where I like to toss a tennis ball and she loves to fetch it. For a retriever fetching is a passion, and her hustle at racing after the ball, snagging it while it’s still bouncing, and then dashing back in full gallop reflects her doggish enthusiasm. I didn’t take her to that field that morning because for the previous several weeks she had been having a problem with one of her rear legs. The vet suspected a tear and had put her on Rimadyl, an anti-inflammatory, ibuprofen-type drug. So we went straight to my mother’s house, where my mother, typical for a Saturday morning, made Brandi a hardboiled egg. Brandi, in her usual fashion, wolfed it down, while my mother and I had breakfast. From there Brandi and I walked home and I fed Brandi her regular breakfast of dog food.

Within an hour of her breakfast, Brandi vomited. She vomited four times that morning. Everything came out and she didn’t eat for the rest of the day. When Sunday came and went and she still refused to eat, we knew something was wrong. She did drink, frequently actually, and even then on occasion she retched that up. Monday my wife got her to the vet, where they drew blood for test and prescribed an antibiotic. Tuesday and Wednesday passed and she still hadn’t eaten. Her drinking became more excessive and she needed to urinate every two hours. We didn’t need the blood test result to tell us there was something seriously wrong. But when the blood test came back with the liver function enzyme out of sight—it was 1500-something when normal is 100—we feared the worst. She was at near complete liver failure. The vet said we needed to do an ultrasound to assess her liver and pancreas. At this point we feared cancer. We looked up all the liver diseases. Pancreatitis came up as a possibility. Hepatitis. Bile duct obstructions. Ingesting toxins. A reaction to the rimadyl. Leptospirosis, a bacterial disease one picks up from the urine of animals.

On Thursday they performed the ultrasound which thank God ruled out cancer. They saw no growths or abnormal blockages. Of course they couldn’t be quite sure without a biopsy, but the vet didn’t want to go there yet. With time, she said, the liver can recover from most of those diseases. She drew more blood and prescribed two different antibiotics. But how long can she go without eating we asked? Don’t worry was the response. As long as she’s drinking she can go a long time.

Well she continued to excessively drink and urinate. She just lay around weak, depressed, enervated, and at times shivering from nausea. At one point during the week my wife started sleeping downstairs on the couch so it would be easy to take her out during the night. Even so Brandi left a puddle on the upstairs carpet almost every morning on which I discovered in the dark with my bare feet when I got up to go to work. Urrgh, so hey, I didn’t escape entirely.

Brandi still wouldn’t eat. And it was very hard to get her to take her medicine. Brandi is notorious for picking out pills from her food. Normally you can mix medicine with very enticing food such as wrapped in a piece of cheese or inside a ball of ice cream or a piece of meat and dogs will just swallow it in a gulp. But Brandi repulsed from food, so there was no way to entice. I tried with a piece of chicken but she just turned her nose at it. I pried her jaws open (she knew I was trying to get a pill in there) and tried to place it way back in her mouth but the little devil flicked it forward and out with her tongue. I tried to go with my hand all way back to her throat, and still she worked it up, her jaw, mouth, and tongue working in unison like a machine. The vet told us to us to get water down her throat with the pill and she’d have to swallow and to rub her nose which will make her want to lick it and so then swallow. Ok, but how do you get water down the throat of a dog with a pill? My wife came up with an idea. She took a syringe, one without a needle, and filled it with water. I then pried Brandi’s jaw open, stuck my hand as deep as I could go, placed the pill toward the back, and as my hand slipped out my wife squirted the syringe full of water into her mouth. And as Brandi still tried to work that pill out I clamped her mouth shut, lifted her head so that it pointed to the ceiling, and we both tickled her nose while she struggled. LOL, that’s probably the only funny moment in this whole ordeal.

By Saturday she still wasn’t eating, a full week, and so the vet thought it best to take her to a veterinary hospital where they can put her on IV fluids and where a specialist could see her. The one we went to was a good forty minute drive. We had gone there once before, many years ago, for our previous dog who had cancer at the time to get a final opinion. They had concluded with our vet that it was terminal. So going to this hospital didn’t carry fond associations. But we knew they were good. We got there late, went through the recent medical history, and went through the possibilities. Brandi had lost twelve pounds (about 5.5 kg) in that week; that’s like 13 percent of her weight. They were to perform tests, put her on IV, observe her, perform another ultrasound, and hold off a decision to mid week on a biopsy. The doctor gave us hope. She said that most liver damage if treated aggressively could be repaired.

So we left her and they called us twice a day with progress reports and kept us in the loop on the way forward. It was still a few days before she started eating and even then it was just a sampling. But she was getting nutrition on IV and her blood test results were heading in a positive direction. That liver function enzyme came down to 700-something and then later in the week to 300-something. My wife went to visit her one day and found her better, though still in crises mode. She still wasn’t eating and still urinating every two hours. But then by mid week her kidney function started to go in the wrong direction, and though it never reached a life and death situation it was well beyond normal with no idea of its trajectory. Whatever hit her liver had also socked her kidneys, and that could be even more problematic. Kidneys don’t repair themselves as a liver can.

By Thursday her kidney function (creatinine) did start to come down, and so we all felt it was an appropriate time to take her home. We picked her up on Friday, certainly gaunt and skeletal around the ribs but frisky as a fish and rearing to go home. She wanted out! But really they took good care of her. We reviewed her status with the doctor. She’s got a number of pills to take, has to go on special diet for her liver and kidneys, and should take it easy for a while. We talked over what might have caused this. It was not a natural event. She may have picked up some toxic while I had her out, possibly a wild mushroom, though it’s been dry lately. She could be that rare dog who reacts this way to rimadyl. Perhaps she picked something up from the feces or urine of some sick animal. Or perhaps there was a bad lot of her food that some toxic got in. The vet has asked us to bring in her last bag of dog food and they are going to contact the manufacturer. Brandi will have to come back for a blood test in a week, and after paying a small fortune we were on our way home with our beloved pooch. I must give a plug though. Kudos to Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in New Jersey. They were outstanding, especially the several vets that handled her case. When we stopped for gas and Brandi started barking at the people at the gas station, I knew she was a heck of lot better.

She’s been home now the weekend and appears to keep improving. It’s getting harder to get her to take her pills – she’s on to our tricks – but she really has an appetite. Unfortunately we can’t feed her too much, and the food she’s on to ease the stress on the liver and kidneys is low protein, which isn’t all that satisfying for a dog, and it’s really bland. She wants to eat but she’s now turning her nose to it. We are allowed to give her white rice with boiled chicken at five to one rice to chicken ratio. She eats that in a couple of gulps and leaves some of the rice. And her need to urinate has spread out to six hours now. This morning she finally wanted to go for a good walk. As long as there isn’t any lasting damage to her kidneys I think she’s going to be okay.

Here's a picture of her this weekend. We now call her Skinny Minnie. :D You can see her front legs shaved for the IV. Her belly was shaved too for the ultrasound.

]]> Virgil http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=12381