January was a difficult month in many ways. The disintegration of the so-called United States reached a new peak with the attack on the Capitol. And terrible things (unrelated to politics) have been happening to people I love. There is so much uncertainty and disruption in the world, and so many questions about how to … Continue reading Month in Review: January 2021
This week's Top Ten Tuesday Topic is "Books published before I was born." But I decided to change it to "Books published the year I was born," because there are so many incredible ones! 1969 was quite a year, in many ways. Here are five books I have read, five more I'd like to read, … Continue reading Top Ten Books Published the Year I Was Born
Are you looking forward to Reading the Theatre in March? I am! In the meantime, I've enjoyed putting together a list of some of my favorite books about the world of the stage (in which I would include puppetry, circus, opera, dance, and other stage arts as well as plays and musicals, by the way). … Continue reading Favorite books about the theater
Chris of Calmgrove asked if I was planning to post some visits to Swiss castles, given the theme of my blog. I thought that was a lovely idea, so I'll try to oblige! At the moment we are not really able to travel, but I was in the beautiful city of Solothurn the other day … Continue reading Postcards from Switzerland: Solothurn
My reading pace varies, but I usually finish between three and twelve books per month. I've gone through phases in my life where I record at least the title and author of every book, and since I started blogging seven years ago, I've kept that up. I've never written a review or even jotted notes … Continue reading Do you write about every book you read?
Congratulations to Raven Garland, winner of a copy of The Best of the Emerald City Book Review! Thanks to all who celebrated my seven years of blogging at ECBR. If you'd still like a copy of the book, it's available for sale now in EPUB, Kindle, and print format (from Lulu or Amazon). The print … Continue reading Best of the Best: My top picks from seven years of blogging
Ursula K. Le Guin, Malafrena (1979) When I was a fantasy-loving preteen, I bought the paperback copy of Orsinian Tales by Ursula K. Le Guin. It looked just like my copies of the Earthsea trilogy and The Wind's Twelve Quarters, and I expected to find more magical and otherworldly journeys within its pages. Instead, I … Continue reading A necessary passion: Malafrena
If you've ever tried to learn German, you know that it has some peculiar features. Some of these don't bother me that much, like piled-up consonant clusters, umlauts, and irregular verbs, but others make me want to tear my hairs out. Here are five of the things that I could definitely do without, auf Deutsch. … Continue reading Five things that bug me about German
For Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, the theme is "resolutions/hopes for 2021." Here are some of the books I want to read in 2021 - with a focus on nonfiction, since it's one of my resolves to read more of it. Totalitarian and oppressive regimes -- These are threatening and scary, … Continue reading Top Ten Nonfiction Books I Want to Read in 2021
Moss Hart, Act One (1959) I read Act One years ago, but was inspired to visit it again after reading Julie Andrews's memoir Home, which includes a priceless account of her experience in the Broadway production of My Fair Lady. Hart was the director, and if he hadn't been, Andrews might never have made it … Continue reading A dramatic transformation: Act One
