Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind, translated by Lucia Graves (2001) In my last Make me read it poll, there was a hot contest between The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie, but the gothic novel set in a … Continue reading You made me read it: The Shadow of the Wind
There is a scene in The Silver Chair that I think about a lot. It's when Jill, Eustace and Puddleglum, on a quest to find the lost prince of Narnia, are caught in a storm in the Northern Wilds. They are supposed to be looking for a ruined city of the giants, and for a … Continue reading #Narniathon21: Reading the Signs
I wasn't sure what to focus on this month with my One Word (CONNECT). But the theme of failure kept surfacing -- not something I generally want to connect with, though sometimes it is unavoidable. And sometimes, much as I do not want to acknowledge it, it is a gift. I was talking with a … Continue reading #OneWord2022: Connecting with failure
I'm always pleased to join in with March Magics, which celebrates favorite authors Diana Wynne Jones and Terry Pratchett. Both departed this life in the month of March, leaving us readers sad yet grateful for all the wonderful books they gifted us with over many years. For this 11th session of MM, I picked up … Continue reading March Magics: Meeting some new friends
We haven't been doing much traveling for the last few months, but last October on our way back from Ticino we stopped in Lucerne, a city in the heart of "old Switzerland." It was a gorgeous day to spend a couple of hours in this stunning location by the lake, with a view of the … Continue reading Postcards from Switzerland: Lovely Lucerne
Last March I ran a month-long celebration of theatre-related reading -- plays, biographies and memoirs from stage artists, stage-related fiction and nonfiction, or whatever else might seem relevant. I missed going to the theatre! It was a wonderful month and I was glad some blog friends chose to join in. Click on the link above … Continue reading Reading the Theatre 2022: Free for all
This month, I'm reminded by the ongoing turmoil in the world of a discussion post I wrote seven years ago. I can't remember what it was that was happening then, but it made me feel as though reading (and my mostly bookish blog) could be considered trivial in comparison. Writing out my thoughts about this … Continue reading Throwback Thursday: Does reading matter?
For Top Ten Tuesday hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, the theme is "books with my favorite trope/theme." I've been wanting to feature some of my favorite books with a "castle" theme -- many of which happen to be some of my favorite books of all time. So now is my chance! Some are actually … Continue reading Top Ten Castle Books
Literature I started out the month on a Kate Milford binge. I do like her books but five in a row was enough for now. The rest of the month was quite a grab bag, from Beverly Cleary's wonderful memoirs to a groundbreaking epistolary classic, a long-awaited sequel, an old favorite for the Narniathon readalong, … Continue reading Month in Review: February 2022
When italki made it possible for teachers to create a podcast and share it on the platform, I jumped in. I'd been thinking for a while about creating a podcast for English learners, based on excerpts from real literature in English -- starting with poems that I've collected, but eventually including prose works as well. … Continue reading A new project: the Enchanted English podcast
