Steven Pinker, The Language Instinct, 1994 It took me a couple of months, but I did it! In my last Make Me Read It poll, readers chose Steven Pinker's The Language Instinct, a complex yet relatively accessible account by a cognitive psychologist, describing his understanding of "how the mind creates language." I did not always … Continue reading You made me read it: The Language Instinct
When C.S. Lewis first began the story that became The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, he didn't have further installments in mind. And ending as it does with the children returned to the exact moment they left our world through the magic wardrobe, that book has a circular structure that does not necessitate further … Continue reading #Narniathon21: The Return to Narnia
This year, I decided to join in a new kind of blog activity for me, the "One Word" community at Lisa Notes. As far as I can tell, this involves choosing one word to engage with during the year, mindfully following it as a thread through life's ups and downs and distractions. Once a month … Continue reading One Word for 2022
After I moved to Switzerland, digestive issues that had previously been annoying but manageable ramped up and made me quite miserable. So I tried eliminating a variety of foods in various combinations, at the most extreme point being unable to eat anything except vegetables (and not all of those either). This was depressing. Living in … Continue reading My gluten-free life (with a recipe)
This year I'm going to go easy with the reading challenges. Selecting particular titles I intend to read is almost a guarantee I won't read them, of late. So I am going to do more free-form and spontaneous reading, letting my interests lead me along the way. However, I came across a new challenge I … Continue reading A new challenge: Support Book Bloggers
Literature Illustration by Pauline Baynes This month I joined in #Narniathon21 hosted by Calmgrove, with a post about The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I thoroughly enjoyed this venture into one of my childhood favorites and look forward to the next installments. I also summed up my Year in Fiction, my Around the World … Continue reading Month in Review: December 2021
For my first post of 2022, I'm looking back to my favorite reads of the past year. On my former blog, The Emerald City Book Review, I awarded the "Emerald City Gem" each year to the most memorable books in various categories. You can visit those lists here if you like, covering 2014 to 2020. … Continue reading Stars of 2021
