We’ve nearly made it to the fourth month of the year, so I’m also nearly done with my self-imposed three-month book acquisition ban. My goal was to not acquire any books from any outside source — bookstore, library, online, publishers — and only read books I already have in the house. So how did it […]
As I proceed through the Chapter-a-day Readalong of Les Miserables, I thought it might be good to check in every quarter or so rather than leaving it all till the end of the year (when I might have forgotten all about what happened in January). These months took us through the first part, “Fantine,” which […]
Gregory Blake Smith, The Maze at Windermere (2018) As regular readers of this blog know, I have the joy and honor of being a graduate of Carleton College (model for Blackstock College in the novel Tam Lin – click on the link for a tour). So when I learned one of my favorite professors in […]
Penelope Lively, The Ghost of Thomas Kempe (1973) When I read Penelope Lively’s Booker Prize-winning Moon Tiger, I was underwhelmed. Unfortunately, I can’t remember quite why. I think it was because I could not connect emotionally with the main character, and found the novel ultimately empty and dull in spite of the literary skill of […]
By this I don’t mean to ask for specific suggestions of books I should purchase (though you can feel free to make them), but to question what criteria I should employ when facing the vast multiplicity of reading material available. Now that my three month book acquisition ban is winding down, I can start […]
It’s time for another Classics Spin! What is the spin? It’s easy. At your blog, before next Friday, March 9th, create a post to list your choice of any twenty books that remain “to be read” on your Classics Club list. This is your Spin List. You have to read one of these twenty books by the end […]
I’m continuing to enjoy reading only from my own TBR pile, so much that I might extend the experiment for another few months! I especially want to give myself more time for rereading. Yes, I do want to read ALL THE BOOKS, and therefore am always lured by the new and shiny, but this is […]
It’s the magical month of March — time to celebrate two favorite fantasy authors, Diana Wynne Jones and Terry Pratchett, thanks to Kristen of We Be Reading who hosts March Magics each year. It’s a free-form event this time — read and post whatever and whenever you like, but be sure to visit Kristen’s blog […]