I’ve returned from my trip to Switzerland as usual with a renewed wish to learn German, but I generally lose the impulse once I’m back in my English-speaking environment. However, I’ve made some small steps, and I’m now trying to read simple stories. I never properly learned another language — French was what I […]
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (1818) Frankenstein is one of those stories that everyone knows, even if you haven’t read it. Except once you do read it, you realize that the version in the popular imagination has little to do with Mary Shelley’s actual creation. There, you will find no mad scientists robbing graves for body parts; […]
Last Friday, I took one of my few remaining days of vacation to make a trek to the Niantic Book Barn on the Connecticut coast, a sprawling complex of barns, huts, sheds, trolleys, outdoor shelving, and even a former outhouse filled with used books on every imaginable subject. Three additional, more conventional buildings down the […]
Here’s my second-ever video! Although I’m usually quite camera-shy, I wanted to share some of the books I recently bought from The Folio Society, especially those I picked up in the current Half-Price Sale (which runs through August 11). If you haven’t already, I highly encourage you to take advantage of this excellent opportunity to […]
There was not much happening on the blog this month as I was away on vacation for two weeks, but I did keep reading — quite a lot, actually! Here’s what I was up to this month. Reviews The Fledgling by Jane Langton was an unusual mix of magic and philosophy, from my Phoenix Award […]
Now that I’m back from Switzerland (will post pictures soon), it’s time to think about Witch Week! This is my fourth annual celebration of fantasy books and authors (actual witches need not be involved). According to the book of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones, this magical week starts on Halloween and runs until […]
This is just to let you know I’ll be away for a couple of weeks visiting my husband’s family in lovely Switzerland, so won’t be posting or visiting other blogs for a while. I will look forward to reconnecting when I return. Auf wiedersehen!
After four good months, my Mount TBR reading came to a screeching halt in May and June. I’m not sure why — other things just called to me more strongly, I suppose. However, I’ve gotten started again with one book in July so I have 21 books completed so far. I also added some reviews […]
Jane Langton, The Fledgling (1980) Although I read and enjoyed the first three books in Jane Langton’s “Hall Family Chronicles” as a child, I never ventured further for some reason. So when I saw book four, The Fledgling, on the Phoenix Award list, I wanted to finally catch up with it. Like the first three […]
I haven’t been keeping up with Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, but when I saw some lists on other blogs I could not resist this topic! Here are some of my outstanding reads so far this year: The Winged Girl of Knossos The Book of Joy May Cause Love Bronze […]