Rinkitink in Oz, book 10 in the series, is a book I never read as a child. My library didn't have it, and I didn't make an effort to seek it out, since I'd heard it "wasn't really an Oz book." In fact, it's an unpublished, unrelated story that Baum wedged into the series by … Continue reading #Ozathon24: An Oz Appendage
For my birthday weekend it was my idea to visit St. Ursanne, a lovely town about a half hour drive away. We'd been there in our first year for the medieval festival that takes place every July, but not since then. The patron saint with his legendary bear, with view across the river Doubs to … Continue reading Postcards from Switzerland: St Ursanne
In one month, I'll be in Chestnut Ridge, New York, where I will be giving a lecture and workshop based on my book, When Fragments Make a Whole. Please share this information with anyone who might be interested and able to come, and of course, consider yourself invited! Working with the Healing Power of the … Continue reading Coming Soon: Lecture and Workshop in Chestnut Ridge, NY
As I've mentioned before, I spent the summer reading Madame Bovary in French, trying to make up for not reading it when I was supposed to in college, along with boosting my language skills. I was very happy to have some company on this challenge, notably Emma of Words and Peace, a native speaker and … Continue reading How To Be Unhappy: Madame Bovary
I am pleased to announce that my blogging friend Robin Bates has a new book available: Better Living Through Literature: How Books Change Lives and (Sometimes) History. Can books create such personal and social change, and is that in general a good thing? I think all of us here believe the answer is "yes", but … Continue reading Book Excerpt: Better Living Through Literature
Literature August was a month where I celebrated my summer Moomin binge, covered two more Oz books, and also knocked off three categories for the Nonfiction Reader challenge. Here's what I read during August: Moominland Midwinter, Moominvalley in November, Comet in Moominland, Moominpappa at Sea by Tove Jansson - Moomin Week, Women in Translation The … Continue reading Month in Review: August 2024
We've crossed over into September, so it's time to check on how I did with my 10 Books of Summer list (Challenge hosted by Cathy of 746 Books). I think of this as a way to knock off some books from other challenges and reading projects, and it worked pretty well for that, although I … Continue reading 10 Books of Summer 2024
Well, I thought I might read a Moomin book or two for Moomin week but ended up going on an absolute binge where I finished reading all the novels -- six of them this summer in addition to the two I'd read previously. I did it in a completely mixed up order, thus: Finn Family … Continue reading The marvelous Moomins for #Moominweek #WITMonth
As I make my way through the latter books of the Oz series, I notice how Baum kept trying to get outside the confines of Oz. Perhaps he realized that giving it an all-powerful and all-knowing ruler put something of a damper on conflict and adventure, or perhaps the land had been circumscribed in a … Continue reading #Ozathon24: More adventures outside Oz
I'm doing a combined post with shorter reviews here, because in the summer my attention span for blogging has gone out the window. Plus, these books happen to go together well, as I hope you'll agree... In early June I read All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me by … Continue reading Nonfiction Reader: Culture, Architecture, and Science
