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
Last year, one of my bookish dreams came true when the Folio Society published Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. For existing fans of DWJ it was most gratifying to see one of our favorite books appear in a splendid illustrated edition, joining a list that includes many great authors of the past and … Continue reading A new Folio delight: Castle in the Air
This month, I'm reading Die Kleine Hexe (The Little Witch) by Otfried Preußler, a classic book by one of Germany's favorite children's authors. His books are popular in translation as well, so if you are not up to reading in German, it should be possible to find them in English or another language. Each week … Continue reading Die Kleine Hexe: Chapters 1-5
