My Summer in Other Languages project for 2022 is now over. I didn't do much, basically just reading one book in French ... but every little bit helps. I'd really like to get back to working on German now. I've actually been quite surprised and pleased that my conversational skills seem to have improved quite … Continue reading A poem in translation: The Rockface by Conrad Ferdinand Meyer
Here we go with the first month of a Dark Is Rising readalong hosted by AnnaBookBel. Following on the heels of Narniathon, I'm excited to share this journey through another of my favorite childhood series with you. Illustration by Laura Carlin The first book, however, was not one of my childhood favorites, because I never … Continue reading #TDiRS22: An ominous beginning
The Classics Club Blog is celebrating its tenth anniversary, and it brings back lots of fond blogging memories. From 2014 to 2019 I participated in this challenge to read and post about 50 books from a self-determined list of classics in five years, and I had lots of interesting experiences along the way. You can … Continue reading Happy tenth anniversary to the Classics Club!
I met my Summer in Other Languages goal of reading Le Grand Meaulnes, the classic novel by Alain-Fournier, in French. I'd read it some years ago in English, but I forgot most of the plot and it was like reading it for the first time! As with previous French reads, it was great to participate … Continue reading Summer in Other Languages: Le Grand Meaulnes
Reading through the Chronicles of Narnia has been a delightful experience, especially with all the stimulating and thoughtful commentary from our host Chris of Calmgrove and other participants. I will miss my monthly journey to this magical land; each one has brought back memories of childhood along with much to consider from an adult perspective. … Continue reading #Narniathon21: Farewell to Narnia
Rereading The Last Battle, our final Narnia volume in the Narniathon hosted by Calmgrove, was a peculiar experience. I loved this book as a child; I was a melancholic, disgruntled sort of girl, who felt at odds with my time and social setting, and it seems I found Lewis's picture of a civilization in decay … Continue reading #Narniathon21: The Last King of Narnia
My Throwback Thursday contribution this month is my Emerald City Book Review post Lost in Translation: Le Grand Meaulnes - if you missed the announcement a couple of days ago, this is what I'm aiming to read for Summer in Other Languages this year. Read my post to see what I thought of the book … Continue reading #ThrowbackThursday: Le Grand Meaulnes
June has sprung suddenly upon me, so it's time once more for my personal Summer in Other Languages challenge. All are invited -- if during the months of June, July and August you would like to read anything in a language you consider "other" (other than your native language, other than you usually read, or … Continue reading Summer in Other Languages 2022
And so in the course of our Narniathon reading we come to the book that C.S. Lewis started second, finished last, and yet is chronologically first in the series, including as it does an account of the creation of Narnia. In my last post on The Horse and His Boy, I explained my new theory … Continue reading #Narniathon21: The unforbidden fruit
Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House (1959)Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar (1963) Lately I seem to have been reading a lot of amazing memoirs by women, frequently dealing with psychological manipulation and coming out of a state of subjugation or abuse. (Tara Westover's Educated being the most recent example -- and it turned out … Continue reading Beautiful Books: Two psychological masterpieces
