I'm a bit late in asking this, but wanted to check whether anybody else succeeded in reading one or more books in another language (or in translation) over the summer. If so, what was your experience? I had ambitious plans, but in actuality I only completed two books, one in French and one in German. … Continue reading Summer in Other Languages: How did you do?
Earlier this year I discovered the work of Dr. Bruce Perry, a psychiatrist who works with children recovering from trauma and abuse. I've read three books co-authored by him so far and I find this topic absolutely fascinating. I think these are some of the most important discoveries of our time, bringing new information about … Continue reading What’s the matter here?: L’étranger
Hello! It's so nice to be back to blogging, after a busy month of teaching English on italki. Things slowed down there after the first couple of weeks, and now I have a manageable number of students and can imagine doing something else with my spare time. It's a good thing, because one of my … Continue reading Month in Review: August 2021
As I mentioned in my monthly review post yesterday, I've just started teaching English on italki. I'm actually getting quite a lot of lesson requests, which is fantastic, but it's taking up much of the time I usually have to spend on blogging! Until I settle into a workable rhythm, I'm going to take a … Continue reading Blog break
I'll tell you up front that my gallbladder surgery went well and I'm doing fine. With some care about my diet, the prognosis looks good. Thanks for all the good wishes! Literature With surgery on my plate this month, I tried not to stress about reading projects or anything else. I dropped my intention to … Continue reading Month in Review: July 2021
Here's the final post from my Summer in Other Languages readalong, Die Kleine Hexe by Otfried Preußler, with a summary in German, an English translation, and some last thoughts on the conclusion of the book. If' you've been following along, thanks for being with me on this journey! I've really enjoyed it and I hope … Continue reading Die Kleine Hexe: Chapters 16-20
A few weeks ago we found ourselves with some time on our hands in Fribourg, a largish city (for Switzerland) that's grown up around a well-preserved medieval center. The city is built upon both sides of the deep gorge cut by the river Saane; up on the cliffs still sit the ancient fortresses and monasteries, … Continue reading Postcards from Switzerland: Fribourg
Here’s part three of my Summer in Other Languages readalong of Die Kleine Hexe by Otfried Preußler. Once again, I’ll give a short summary of this section in German, an English version of the summary, and some observations and questions. Die kleine Hexe sucht mehr Menschen zu helfen mit ihrer Verzauberung. Sie hilft Thomas und … Continue reading Die Kleine Hexe: Chapters 11-15
Now that they've published two titles by Diana Wynne Jones (see my post on the latest, Castle in the Air), the Folio Society has surely seen the wisdom of producing more. But which ones? House of Many Ways, which has been marketed as the third book in the "trilogy" that started with Howl's Moving Castle, … Continue reading What Diana Wynne Jones book should the Folio Society publish next?
Here's part two of my Summer in Other Languages readalong of Die Kleine Hexe by Otfried Preußler. As before, I'll give a short summary of this section in German, an English version of the summary, and some observations and questions. Die kleine Hexe sucht Wege eine gute Hexe zu sein. Sie trefft drei alte Weiber … Continue reading Die Kleine Hexe: Chapters 6-10
