Twice a year, we're invited to celebrate a particular year in publication history -- and the results are always fascinating! It's also interesting to see each time which books from that year I've read already, and which ones I'm drawn to. Please visit the hosting blogs for complete links and many wonderful reviews: Stuck in … Continue reading The 1976 Club: Two by Le Guin
My last two "Make me read it" challenges have been a smashing success -- they encouraged me to read a book that has been sitting around on my shelves for much too long, and each time I was very glad of the push. You can read the results here: Parable of the Sower | L'étranger … Continue reading Make me read it: Classic e-book edition
As summer comes to an end, the temperature drops, and skies become brilliant blue when not covered by fog and clouds. Color touches the trees, presaging the bareness of winter, and I feel called to wake up after a somewhat dreamy time. What do I want to carry into the cold season, out of the … Continue reading Month in Review: September 2021
Back in July, we spent about a week in the Goms Valley region of the Alps -- we had planned to do some hiking, but as it ended up being shortly after my gallbladder surgery I couldn't move around much, plus the weather was very wet. So we spent most of our time relaxing in … Continue reading Postcards from Switzerland: Muenster
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
