the-edge-of-nothing

[the-edge-of-nothing]

please this is the funniest fucking thing i’ve ever seen

[the-edge-of-nothing]

FAMOUS AUTHORS

Classic Bookshelf: This site has put classic novels online, from Charles Dickens to Charlotte Bronte.

The Online Books Page: The University of Pennsylvania hosts this book search and database.

Project Gutenberg: This famous site has over 27,000 free books online.

Page by Page Books: Find books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and H.G. Wells, as well as speeches from George W. Bush on this site.

Classic Book Library: Genres here include historical fiction, history, science fiction, mystery, romance and children’s literature, but they’re all classics.

Classic Reader: Here you can read Shakespeare, young adult fiction and more.

Read Print: From George Orwell to Alexandre Dumas to George Eliot to Charles Darwin, this online library is stocked with the best classics.

Planet eBook: Download free classic literature titles here, from Dostoevsky to D.H. Lawrence to Joseph Conrad.

The Spectator Project: Montclair State University’s project features full-text, online versions of The Spectator and The Tatler.

Bibliomania: This site has more than 2,000 classic texts, plus study guides and reference books.

Online Library of Literature: Find full and unabridged texts of classic literature, including the Bronte sisters, Mark Twain and more.

Bartleby: Bartleby has much more than just the classics, but its collection of anthologies and other important novels made it famous.

Fiction.us: Fiction.us has a huge selection of novels, including works by Lewis Carroll, Willa Cather, Sherwood Anderson, Flaubert, George Eliot, F. Scott Fitzgerald and others.

Free Classic Literature: Find British authors like Shakespeare and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, plus other authors like Jules Verne, Mark Twain, and more.

TEXTBOOKS

Textbook Revolution: Find biology, business, engineering, mathematics and world history textbooks here.

Wikibooks: From cookbooks to the computing department, find instructional and educational materials here.

KnowThis Free Online Textbooks: Get directed to stats textbooks and more.

Online Medical Textbooks: Find books about plastic surgery, anatomy and more here.

Online Science and Math Textbooks: Access biochemistry, chemistry, aeronautics, medical manuals and other textbooks here.

MIT Open Courseware Supplemental Resources: Find free videos, textbooks and more on the subjects of mechanical engineering, mathematics, chemistry and more.

Flat World Knowledge: This innovative site has created an open college textbooks platform that will launch in January 2009.

Free Business Textbooks: Find free books to go along with accounting, economics and other business classes.

Light and Matter: Here you can access open source physics textbooks.

eMedicine: This project from WebMD is continuously updated and has articles and references on surgery, pediatrics and more.

MATH AND SCIENCE

FullBooks.com: This site has “thousands of full-text free books,” including a large amount of scientific essays and books.

Free online textbooks, lecture notes, tutorials and videos on mathematics: NYU links to several free resources for math students.

Online Mathematics Texts: Here you can find online textbooks likeElementary Linear Algebra and Complex Variables.

Science and Engineering Books for free download: These books range in topics from nanotechnology to compressible flow.

FreeScience.info: Find over 1800 math, engineering and science books here.

Free Tech Books: Computer programmers and computer science enthusiasts can find helpful books here.

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

byGosh: Find free illustrated children’s books and stories here.

Munseys: Munseys has nearly 2,000 children’s titles, plus books about religion, biographies and more.

International Children’s Digital Library: Find award-winning books and search by categories like age group, make believe books, true books or picture books.

Lookybook: Access children’s picture books here.

PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION

Bored.com: Bored.com has music ebooks, cooking ebooks, and over 150 philosophy titles and over 1,000 religion titles.

Ideology.us: Here you’ll find works by Rene Descartes, Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, David Hume and others.

Free Books on Yoga, Religion and Philosophy: Recent uploads to this site include Practical Lessons in Yoga and Philosophy of Dreams.

The Sociology of Religion: Read this book by Max Weber, here.

Religion eBooks: Read books about the Bible, Christian books, and more.

PLAYS

ReadBookOnline.net: Here you can read plays by Chekhov, Thomas Hardy, Ben Jonson, Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe and others.

Plays: Read Pygmalion, Uncle Vanya or The Playboy of the Western World here.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: MIT has made available all of Shakespeare’s comedies, tragedies, and histories.

Plays Online: This site catalogs “all the plays [they] know about that are available in full text versions online for free.”

ProPlay: This site has children’s plays, comedies, dramas and musicals.

MODERN FICTION, FANTASY AND ROMANCE

Public Bookshelf: Find romance novels, mysteries and more.

The Internet Book Database of Fiction: This forum features fantasy and graphic novels, anime, J.K. Rowling and more.

Free Online Novels: Here you can find Christian novels, fantasy and graphic novels, adventure books, horror books and more.

Foxglove: This British site has free novels, satire and short stories.

Baen Free Library: Find books by Scott Gier, Keith Laumer and others.

The Road to Romance: This website has books by Patricia Cornwell and other romance novelists.

Get Free Ebooks: This site’s largest collection includes fiction books.

John T. Cullen: Read short stories from John T. Cullen here.

SF and Fantasy Books Online: Books here include Arabian Nights,Aesop’s Fables and more.

Free Novels Online and Free Online Cyber-Books: This list contains mostly fantasy books.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Project Laurens Jz Coster: Find Dutch literature here.

ATHENA Textes Francais: Search by author’s name, French books, or books written by other authors but translated into French.

Liber Liber: Download Italian books here. Browse by author, title, or subject.

Biblioteca romaneasca: Find Romanian books on this site.

Bibliolteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes: Look up authors to find a catalog of their available works on this Spanish site.

KEIMENA: This page is entirely in Greek, but if you’re looking for modern Greek literature, this is the place to access books online.

Proyecto Cervantes: Texas A&M’s Proyecto Cervantes has cataloged Cervantes’ work online.

Corpus Scriptorum Latinorum: Access many Latin texts here.

Project Runeberg: Find Scandinavian literature online here.

Italian Women Writers: This site provides information about Italian women authors and features full-text titles too.

Biblioteca Valenciana: Register to use this database of Catalan and Valencian books.

Ketab Farsi: Access literature and publications in Farsi from this site.

Afghanistan Digital Library: Powered by NYU, the Afghanistan Digital Library has works published between 1870 and 1930.

CELT: CELT stands for “the Corpus of Electronic Texts” features important historical literature and documents.

Projekt Gutenberg-DE: This easy-to-use database of German language texts lets you search by genres and author.

HISTORY AND CULTURE

LibriVox: LibriVox has a good selection of historical fiction.

The Perseus Project: Tufts’ Perseus Digital Library features titles from Ancient Rome and Greece, published in English and original languages.

Access Genealogy: Find literature about Native American history, the Scotch-Irish immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries, and more.

Free History Books: This collection features U.S. history books, including works by Paul Jennings, Sarah Morgan Dawson, Josiah Quincy and others.

Most Popular History Books: Free titles include Seven Days and Seven Nights by Alexander Szegedy and Autobiography of a Female Slave by Martha G. Browne.

RARE BOOKS

Questia: Questia has 5,000 books available for free, including rare books and classics.

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

Books-On-Line: This large collection includes movie scripts, newer works, cookbooks and more.

Chest of Books: This site has a wide range of free books, including gardening and cooking books, home improvement books, craft and hobby books, art books and more.

Free e-Books: Find titles related to beauty and fashion, games, health, drama and more.

2020ok: Categories here include art, graphic design, performing arts, ethnic and national, careers, business and a lot more.

Free Art Books: Find artist books and art books in PDF format here.

Free Web design books: OnlineComputerBooks.com directs you to free web design books.

Free Music Books: Find sheet music, lyrics and books about music here.

Free Fashion Books: Costume and fashion books are linked to the Google Books page.

MYSTERY

MysteryNet: Read free short mystery stories on this site.

TopMystery.com: Read books by Edgar Allan Poe, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, GK Chesterton and other mystery writers here.

Mystery Books: Read books by Sue Grafton and others.

POETRY

The Literature Network: This site features forums, a copy of The King James Bible, and over 3,000 short stories and poems.

Poetry: This list includes “The Raven,” “O Captain! My Captain!” and “The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde.”

Poem Hunter: Find free poems, lyrics and quotations on this site.

Famous Poetry Online: Read limericks, love poetry, and poems by Robert Browning, Emily Dickinson, John Donne, Lord Byron and others.

Google Poetry: Google Books has a large selection of poetry, fromThe Canterbury Tales to Beowulf to Walt Whitman.

QuotesandPoem.com: Read poems by Maya Angelou, William Blake, Sylvia Plath and more.

CompleteClassics.com: Rudyard Kipling, Allen Ginsberg and Alfred Lord Tennyson are all featured here.

PinkPoem.com: On this site, you can download free poetry ebooks.

MISC

Banned Books: Here you can follow links of banned books to their full text online.

World eBook Library: This monstrous collection includes classics, encyclopedias, children’s books and a lot more.

DailyLit: DailyLit has everything from Moby Dick to the recent phenomenon, Skinny Bitch.

A Celebration of Women Writers: The University of Pennsylvania’s page for women writers includes Newbery winners.

Free Online Novels: These novels are fully online and range from romance to religious fiction to historical fiction.

ManyBooks.net: Download mysteries and other books for your iPhone or eBook reader here.

Authorama: Books here are pulled from Google Books and more. You’ll find history books, novels and more.

Prize-winning books online: Use this directory to connect to full-text copies of Newbery winners, Nobel Prize winners and Pulitzer winners.

[the-edge-of-nothing]

There are two kinds of fic writers:

1. Fuck it, it’s fiction

2. Let me look up real estate listings, so I can plot out subway routes and schedules and see if this walk really is long enough for them to have this conversation.

Guess which kind I am.

[the-edge-of-nothing]

SLYTHERIN: “Never apologise to someone who won’t admit they are in the wrong.” -Tenari Ioapo

[the-edge-of-nothing]

Melinda May & Phil Coulson

We are all gathered here today for a quick yet thorough elaboration on one of my previous hot takes:  You honestly don’t want me to write an entire essay on how these two have been “platonically” married for the past four seasons. No vows or rings may have been exchanged between the two but they sure as hell have been acting like the most married set of individuals I know. So here I am, writing this small meta on how this has been coming for a long time. 

Where to begin… I would say with respect. All well written relationships that I personally enjoy begin with a level of trust and respect and this exactly what they have given the audience. Melinda and Phil have gravitated towards each time and again, like they’re each other’s constant, you know? It’s this layer of their relationship that gets them to where they are now. All those times where they’ve had each other’s back and been at their most vulnerable has led for them to quickly prioritize each other and raise each other to a level of importance that is hard to tear down. I mean, THEY HAVE HISTORY to prove it. They have endured so much together (and not just everything they have shown us but also all the implied past missions.) If it begins with this kind of emotional connection, it is easy to see where it might lead to a deeper emotional connotation. It is not a huge leap. 

Second of all, I’ve always felt that with Melinda she has always been very clear with regards to her feelings. The fact that she had to make it clear to her husband at the time that she “works” with Phil and is “married” to him speaks volumes. If we were to ever have a confession of love back in season 3, that was it for me. At least on Melinda’s behalf. To me, Melinda’s feelings towards Phil have always been extremely transparent yet never fully divulged where you go “yes, she LOVES him” if that make sense. Melinda was always been more of the type to demonstrate how actions are louder than words (since she too is also a woman of few words.) It was all in the subtleties with her. I always go back to that scene where Phil is injured in a desert (I think it was the desert) and Melinda rushes off a helicopter and checks his pulse and right there, ever so swiftly, we see a soft and relieved smile play upon her lips. See right there? That’s the kind of subtleties this show has been playing with since the earlier seasons. I could listen several but we all know that “You mean a lot to me. A lot.” takes it all. We have Melinda “I Can’t Show Vulnerability At Any Cost” May confess what’s probably already been demonstrated but never articulated to Phil. She was so adamant about it as well, like she had to make him understand how much she cared and how much she valued his trust and that she would never betray him. Never. 

As for Phil, a character I enjoy in every scene, this has been the seasons of realization for him. His storyline and how he got to this particular phase in his life has been some form of awakening. I think because Melinda May has put barriers all throughout her life, including with Phil, it’s never really been an option to go there for him. I think, unconsciously, he’s loved her all his life but has shut that particular part away because he never really thought it would happen. He tried finding love elsewhere and it didn’t pan out. It was like he was always drawn back to her or life would draw them together again and again. Yet, he’s always known how important she is to me. There’s never been anything else to imply the contrary. He’s fallen down some major crisis whenever May leaves him or is emotionally cut off (yes, the “left hand” reference goes nicely right there.) Also, why else would Edward James Olmos’s character take Melinda? Yeah, pretty self explanatory. Anyways, aside from all the side jabs from other characters who reference the closeness and familiarity between the two, there’s the concept of time. They are two grown adults, in their prime, who have literally died and have quickly reassessed what’s really important in their lives. Nothing quite like death to make you realize what’s really important. This is exactly what’s happened to Phil. He is no longer waiting. There is nothing left to hold them both back. No husband. No past commitments. No emotional baggage. Phil has finally “woken up” to what has laid dormant within him, as cliched as it sounds. 

All in all, the sheer level of intimacy between these two throughout all the seasons should make it apparent where the writers were going. I think they have laid a nice framework and are now executing it to perfection because these two were never a huge leap, in terms of narrative. They were going there one way or another. 

p.s. Phil Coulson pulling Melinda May as close as possible during that kiss should tell you everything and how long he’s waited to do that. Also, it’s true love if he knows you like tea instead of coffee.

Meta for @marcuskaen

[the-edge-of-nothing]

Let’s say the truth.

Barbara Hale is dead, and my inner child is now finally and officially an orphan. 

I’m sad. I’m crying and I seem unable to stop. It hurts me so much I can’t even start to name the reasons. 

You’ll be missed, lovely lady.  

#Barbara Hale #RIP Barbara Hale #Della Street #Perry Mason #need a hug #group hug

[the-edge-of-nothing]

I can’t help but ship this.

So.Fucking.Much.

#TheYoungPope #Cardinal Voiello #Sister Mary #Silvio Orlando #Diane Keaton #I never really liked Orlando what the hell happened #oh yes they're so cute

[the-edge-of-nothing]

Start that work now, before it’s too late. Put your phone on “Do Not Disturb”, forget about your crush, close the tabs of YouTube/Twitter/Tumblr/whatever the fuck, and challenge yourself to get work done. You feel so much better when you achieve a goal, even just a small one. Don’t think about everything else going on. You first. Do your work.

#motivational #just at the right moment

[the-edge-of-nothing]

I feel like a majority of the last episode was just Vicbourne shippers falling even more in love with Melbourne and shouting to stop hurting him.

[the-edge-of-nothing]

I didnt ask for vicbourne

You gave it to me itv and now you take it away from me

Like it could have been just victoria having a crush in Lord M but nooooo you make it reciprocal and perfect and make me fall in love with it

#VictoriaITV #Vicbourne #SadStory #It's so unfair it hurts

[the-edge-of-nothing]

Victoria 104

This post contains spoilers.

This was the episode I was both looking forward to and dreading in equal measure. Looking forward to because we would finally get to know Albert (and I was hoping to fall in love with him) and dreading because I knew it would spell the end of the ship that I never saw coming but has ruined my life Vicbourne. 

So here are a few of my thoughts:

For 3 episodes we’ve had the steady, subtle build-up of Vicbourne. I repeat, 3 whole episodes in which we saw this young woman and this older man develop a genuine fondness, respect and attraction towards one another. It was unexpected and yet so believable and romantic that it reeled me in like a fish on a hook. Then literally within the span of 1 episode, Victoria falls in love with and proposes to Albert. Don’t get me wrong, I knew it was coming, I just didn’t know it was coming so soon. I didn’t get to see Victoria and Albert getting to know one another - at least enough to make romantic feelings plausible. All of their scenes bar the proposal at the end of the episode, had them at odds. He was surly, arrogant and generally miserable - which I guess was supposed to come across as deeply intellectual/broody and insecure? Hmm… I’m kinda not buying it. I understand instant attraction, but when a man constantly berates me and my decision making, my mind doesn’t automatically jump to “oh, what fine husband material.” It would have at least liked to see them reach some common ground. One duet at the piano followed by a dance wasn’t enough to have me swooning. Sorry. I’m not against Vicbert. Heck, I’m still hoping I grow to love it, I just expected the build-up to be epic. In that sense, it fell flat for me.

Ernest is a cinnamon roll and I ADORE him.

The shirt ripping had me giggling. I won’t lie.

Lord M. Oh dear God. Initially he’s almost hopeful when Victoria comes to him complaining about Albert. Then the longing even though the realisation of what was coming dawned pretty quickly… and lastly the subtle, yet undeniable pain when it was confirmed. *sob* But he steps aside without hesitation. Because that’s the kind of man he is. If anything, I fell in love with him even more.

Only a fool would turn you away, Lord M whispers after Victoria confides in him. It. Broke. My. Heart.

Miss Skerrett, you be careful. That’s a slippery slope you’re currently on.

Oh Penge! Trust you to know German at just the right moment! LOL

As always, the costumes and sets are magnificent!

Shipper feelings aside, Tom Hughes is a fine actor. He’s just not aesthetically what I find attractive in a man. Seriously, a mustache is just not my jam.

Bottom line: Victoria and Albert is a done deal. But if I was meant to love Albert unconditionally, then Rufus Sewell should never have been cast. He’s ruined me for all others. #TeamMelbourne I will go down with this ship. 

#VictoriaITV #Vicbourne #Episode4

[the-edge-of-nothing]

people say “so and so character would get along” but do you ever imagine two characters from different fiction that, should they ever meet, would be a reason for everyone to duck and cover and pray for their lives because ALL HELL IS ABOUT TO BREAK LOOSE.

That’s Granny Weatherwax and McGonagall 

#discworld #harry potter #granny weatherwax #minerva mcgonagall

[the-edge-of-nothing]

Damn right.

But let’s face it, this is the one real OTP that broke our hearts because it has never become canon

#murder she wrote #seth #jessica

[the-edge-of-nothing]

“You walk into a room and I think ‘Oh, I didn’t even know a part of me had left’.”–Miss Mardle, Mr. Selfridge

@willowflowerwaterlily this line on my show made me think of our girls

#so true it hurts #accurate #mr. selfridge #josie mardle

[the-edge-of-nothing]

I totally agree.

Although 4.01 broke my heart more than a little bit...!

Reasons why I don’t hate Roger Grove

*** The views expressed below are obviously my own. I don’t mind if you disagree but please respect my opinions. And most of all, enjoy it; it’s just for a bit of fun! (So so sorry if there are spelling/grammar errors…)***

_______________________________________________________________________

So after the conclusion on series 3 (OMG!) and the ship sailed (you know what I mean ;) ) I decided to go back and watch every single episode from the start right up to the end of series 3 and, guess what… Now seeing the overarching storyline, I don’t completely hate Roger Grove and here’s why….

We all feel in love with Josie and Roger’s affair in the first few episodes of series 1 - they were so adorable and happy and perfect for one another. There is no doubt of the love they shared and they literally risked everything (i.e. jobs, marriage, reputations) to be together even after Agnes and others found out/caught on. 

He took advantage of her after his wife died while he was obviously very interested in Doris at the same time and no-one could or should forgive him for that… She gave him her childbearing years which was just heartbreaking for Josie but I think he realised way too late that he wanted to be a father and thus he was interested in Doris because of that alone (I mean let’s be honest - we never really saw any passion or overwhelming love between them - I didn’t ship them) but we all know that he loved Josie so SO much more…

It was also wrong of him not to tell Josie of the engagement before he asked Doris and she blurted it out in front of everyone… We can’t forgive him for that either or the fact that he still wanted to continue his affair with Josie. But when Josie said he needed to be a good husband to Doris HE LISTENED. He was faithful to Doris and I truly believe it’s because Josie told him to (it’s also probably why he was so pissed off and angry when Josie knew about Doris’ affair and didn’t tell him but more on this later).

The start of series 2 was so awkward because of how much they were still in love and how much they obviously missed each other it was just painful for everyone!

But Grove had Doris and so Josie found Florian, which in truth was partly thanks Roger if we’re completely honest. I can’t see her realising Florian’s love for her if Grove hadn’t had noticed it as a “man of similar weakness”. Obviously what followed was a lot of anger and JEALOUSY on Roger’s part but what kills me every time I watch an episode where they have a huge fight over the Florian situation is Roger’s face every single time Josie leaves the room - it says “I should not have said that” - pure regret. It’s like his emotions and jealousies unleash themselves before he’s even had a chance to think. And the problem with Roger is he’s so proud and stubborn that he can never bring himself to admit that he is in the wrong and that he’s only saying these things because of how much he wants Josie for himself.

And Josie feels rubbish too because although she always wins these moral arguments, she always listens to Roger and respects him. Every time he says something to her, she listens and behaviours differently. i.e. he pointed out how inappropriate the DuMardle situation looked and even though Josie was all like “I’m living my own life - go away” (maybs not an accurate quote) she actually did somewhat listen and take Roger’s viewpoint (and he does the same thing in response to her e.g. in regards to the Ernest situation in S3).

And the end of series 2 - after Josie says that if she really loves Florian she must let him go, it’s like Roger realises that actually if he loves Josie he needs to let her go and he FINALLY builds up the courage to get over his jealousy and tell Josie to be with Florian even though he wants her himself. And it’s completely out of LOVE for her that he does that.. And his face after he does that speaks for itself really…. He’s heartbroken that she’s moved on because he hasn’t…

Now series 3 - obviously very VERY emotional for so SO SO many reasons. But the start of the series is great for Grove/Mardle - so many fabulous flirty moments etc. as you would expect but then obvious stuff becomes dark when we discover Doris’ little secret which she is too scared to tell her husband so she turns to the next best thing - Josie. Poor Josie becomes entangled in the hardest moral decision so far and we all feel for her. Then all hell breaks loose when Josie turns up on the doorstep with Ernest after Doris has been killed.

I must say at this point that I don’t excuse Roger for the way he treated Josie throughout the next few episodes AT ALL, but I offer my explanation behind the possible reason. Once again, Roger doesn’t really deal with his emotions well and often says first and thinks later but is too proud to admit his wrongs. Josie recognizes this (which is important). It’s the reason that she a) didn’t tell him about the affair in the first place b) doesn’t want to tell him after Doris dies and c) puts up with the emotional abuse for so many episodes (and series). She puts up with it because she knows sooner or later he will admit to being so stubborn. SHE BELIEVES IN HIM!

But obviously, when this goes on and on and on she finally needs to give him a bit of a talking to which she does in episodes 8 & 9. She reminds him of their affair and points out that everything is not black and white. He seems determined to ignore her etc. and says stuff he regrets but, once again, HE LISTENS because he knows that SHE’S RIGHT. When he still can’t admit this straight to her face, she is forced to hand in her notice, obviously fearful that he can’t admit it this time. When this happens Roger’s heart breaks.

He knows he’s about to loss the women of his dreams, his most important friend and the “love of his life”. And that’s why, with a little push in the right direction from Arthur Crabb, he FINALLY has to admit how wrong he’s been (which is a BIG step for him because male pride etc.), what a complete fool he’s been and how Josie has always been the one for him but he’s never been able to express it properly and instead took his anger out on her because of how much he’s always wanted to be with her instead of anyone else. She knows what a stupid fool he’s been but is proud of him for finally admitting it because she loves him so much too. He might not deserve her but she definitely deserves him; the way she’s fought and fought and fought for him… And she loves him too much not to forgive him!

The fact is, they both make each other better people and make each other so so happy when they’re together and I hope to see more of them together (maybe a Grove/Mardle wedding?!?! - imagine how happy they’d be) in series 4!

#mrSelfridge #Roger Grove #Josie Mardle #I will go down with this ship

[the-edge-of-nothing]

Reblog if you've made at least one friend because of a fandom.

[the-edge-of-nothing]

I’m so tired it hurts, honestly.

Can’t stand stupid people, still I’m surrounded by them. I can’t. My head’s exploding. 

#New Year's Eve #Gosh I can't