Biblio-centric

Posting last night was impossible due to the fact that my Beloved and I were busy watching Return of the King on DVD. We laughed, we cried we cheered. What more could you want from a movie? Now the wait is on for the extended edition. This version will get watched many times over before then with much discussion about what we hope gets added back in. I took the day off today from my paying job for an extra long Memorial Day weekend. I've spent all morning working on my non-paying job of writing. One of the things I am working on is research for an historical novel that takes place in Germany in 1585. There is torture in this novel. I planned to go to the library this afternoon to ask the librarian to help me find books on the history and methods of torture. I wanted pictures too, not of people being tortured, but of the devices like the rack and thumbscrews. Given the current political climate, I was a little nervous about asking for the information. Would a fellow patron overhear and think I was suspicious, my explanation that I am writing a novel lame? She doesn't look like a novelist, maybe she's a terrorist. Would the Feds then come knocking at my door asking questions? I asked my sister if she would vouch for me. She generously said no. Then she asked me why don't I look up the information on the Internet? That stopped me. What an idea. Research on the Internet. I am so biblio-centric that the thought hadn't even crossed my mind. So I did some cautious Googling, worried that I would end up with graphic and/or psycho crap. There was plenty of it, but I managed to find some good information. One of the more interesting sites is the Middle Ages Torture Museum in Rudesheim, Germany. It bills itself as "intriguing" and a "fascinating way to spend your leisure time." There aren't many pictures, but an exhibition catalogue is available which I purchased and downloaded. It makes my guts clench when I read it for more than a few minutes at a time. This is not going to be an easy book to write.