For a final March Magics post, I couldn’t resist Kristen’s invitation to share some of my favorite (for lack of a better word) bad cover art from the works of Terry Pratchett and Diana Wynne Jones. One sometimes wonders whether the art department is actively trying to lower sales with their wildly horrific concoctions. […]
Book of the Month I got seriously distracted from my other challenges by Kristen’s March Magics event this month, but how can I complain when it meant getting to read and reread books by two of my favorite fantasy authors? One that was new to me was Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett, and I loved […]
This is just a quick note to remind everyone that in one month, I’m planning to celebrate Elizabeth Goudge’s birthday on April 24. That means that I’ll be reading and posting about one of her books, and I hope that you will consider doing the same. If you haven’t yet encountered this wonderful author, take […]
To accompany the Reading New England Challenge, I’m planning posts on some of the literary locations and organizations in our region. Among these are several wonderful independent publishers, which are surviving and even thriving in today’s challenging book-publishing climate through their initiative, creativity, and dedication to quality. Today I’m pleased to present an interview with […]
Review of the Month Jenny’s review of Claire Harman’s new biography Charlotte Bronte: A Fiery Heart hilariously gives us the five “Bronte-est” things that happened within its pages. For a more serious assessment of the same book, see this review from Gudrun’s Tights. And if you can’t get enough of this crazy family, there’s… More […]
Terry Pratchett, Wyrd Sisters (1988) Diana Wynne Jones, Witch’s Business (1974) This month, I’ve been happy to join in the fun of March Magics, reading and rereading several books by two of my favorite fantasy authors. Both of them excel at playing with tropes from tradition and folklore, in very different but equally inventive and […]
Jacqueline Winspear, A Dangerous Place (2015) Welcome to the Maisie Dobbs readalong! TLC Book Tours is hosting a month-long celebration of the first eleven books in this popular historical mystery series, on the occasion of the release of number twelve, Journey to Munich, on March 29. I’ll be posting about that title next month, but […]
Last year, I did a discussion post on the topic Does spelling matter? It was an attempt to bring some clarity to the confusion that’s proliferating now that proofreading seems to be a dying art. I focused on a few of the errors involving homonyms — words that sound alike but are spelled differently — […]
Sarah Orne Jewett, The Country of the Pointed Firs (1896) In this evocative collection of sketches set in Maine, in and around the fictional coastal town of Dunnet Landing, an unnamed narrator reveals little of herself other than that she is a writer, visiting the town one summer to pursue her work. Her role is […]
Granny nodded. “There’s always a story,” she said. “It’s all story, really. The sun coming up every day is a story. Everything’s got a story in it. Change the story, change the world.” Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky (2005) Image: Book art by Abadova, found here