I had to go on a trip to New York this month, and I decided to treat myself to a drive through the Pioneer Valley on the way home. After searching for literary locations to visit, I stopped by the Montague Book Mill, part of a quirky complex of a few stores and restaurants […]
It’s the day everyone’s been waiting for, Armchair BEA giveaway day! In the wake of my recent Elizabeth Goudge Reading Week, I have an extra copy of The Dean’s Watch to give away. Thanks are due to Hendrickson Publishers, which is bringing many of this wonderful British author’s books back into print. If you like […]
Margaret Atwood, The Penelopiad Today’s Armchair BEA topic is Character Chatter. Here are my thoughts on a book that reimagines some of the most famous characters in literature. The Penelopiad is a decidedly odd little book. It’s a riff on the story of faithful Penelope from the Odyssey, who waited twenty years for her […]
It’s time once again for Armchair BEA, an online event for all of us poor bloggers who can’t make it to the real Book Expo America in New York City, due to trivial concerns like work, family, distance and cost. I enjoyed this event last year and am glad to join in again, if only […]
This holiday weekend seemed an appropriate time to mention some new releases that I haven’t had a chance to review in full, but recommend as summer reading. What are you looking forward to this season? Picnic in Provence by Elizabeth Bard This is a follow-up to the bestselling memoir Lunch in Paris, but can definitely […]
Kate Forsyth, Bitter Greens (2012) We tend to think of the tellers of fairy tales as anonymous, their personalities smoothed out and obscured by time, details of their lives irrelevant to the archetypal stories that have come down to us. But in fact the tellers and writers of these familiar tales were often real, […]
Just over a year ago, I joined the Classics Club with the goal of knocking 50 classics off my personal list within 5 years. How am I doing? Pretty well, since I’ve read and blogged about nine books so far. Some were titles that I’ve been thinking of for years, others were new discoveries, but […]
Laila Paull, The Bees (2014) With its insect-eye view of life inside a beehive, The Bees is a brilliant imaginative exploration of a fascinating and complex world. Born to be just one of a mass of anonymous sanitation workers, Flora 717 turns out to have some special qualities. As she goes on an unprecedented […]
Lisa Jensen, Alias Hook (2014) Within its technicolor Victorian exterior, Peter Pan surely embodies one of the most bizarre legends of childhood ever created. With its mishmash of confused feelings about death, domesticity, female sexuality, and male aggression, the tale of the boy who refuses to grow up retains its hold on our imaginations, […]
I don’t often read or review self-published books, but Charlotte Brentwood’s debut novel, The Vagabond Vicar, lured me with its charming cover. Inside, you’ll find a sweet and light romance that is unusual in its focus on a young clergyman who has no time for romance; he’s landed a coveted living in England but really […]