Stella Gibbons, The Swiss Summer (1951), A Pink Front Door (1959), The Weather at Tregulla (1962), The Snow-Woman (1969) Sometimes all I ask from a book is to transport me to someplace different so I can meet and live with another set of people for a while. If the scenery of that place is attractive, … Continue reading Beyond cold comfort: Four by Stella Gibbons
Octavia Butler, Parable of the Sower, 1993 I read Parable of the Sower for my "Make me read it challenge" -- blog readers told me which of five choices on my TBR shelf to complete. I'm not sure I would have gotten through it without the challenge, because this is a helluva bleak dystopian vision … Continue reading You made me read it: Parable of the Sower
Last week I reviewed a new UK release over at Shiny New Books: Featherweight by Mick Kitson. It's a historical novel set in the 19th century British midlands, featuring a unique heroine and her unusual talents as a pugilist. It was her voice that really captured me, though ... find out more from my full … Continue reading Shiny Linkiness: Featherweight
How can we travel the world in the time of a global pandemic? Through reading, of course! Last summer, I focused on reading books in other languages - and it was such a great experience, I wanted to do it again. And as with last time, I'd like to invite anyone who wants to join … Continue reading Coming soon: Summer in Other Languages
I'm proud to be a reviewer for the excellent recommendation website Shiny New Books, brought to you by bloggers Annabel (AnnaBookBel.net) and Harriet (harrietdevine.typepad.com). Every week they present reviews of the best and brightest -- and, well, shiniest -- new books. During my blog break, SNB published my review of the British hardcover release of … Continue reading Shiny Linkiness: Hidden Valley Road
Tradition links the rich young man who asks what he must do to attain eternal life with Lazarus of Bethany, who is raised from the dead by Jesus -- his final act before taking the path to Jerusalem and the cross. I wrote this poem after wondering for some time about how those two could … Continue reading What the rich young man said – a poem
It's the last day of March, and I've personally had an amazing time with my "Reading the Theatre" project. I read books and plays, I watched filmed versions of plays, and I enjoyed thinking about and discussing all of these. I started out with The story so far: my earlier posts on the theme.I shared … Continue reading Reading the Theatre Wrap-up Post
As part of my month of Reading the Theatre, I wanted to read one or more plays. And when I started reading The Incomparable Rex, about Rex Harrison and the American revival of My Fair Lady in the 1970s, I became curious to read the source material for the musical: George Bernard Shaw's play, Pygmalion. … Continue reading Tales in transformation: Pygmalion
I always look forward to March Magics, hosted by We Be Reading, a celebration of two favorite fantasy authors -- Diana Wynne Jones and Terry Pratchett. This year I wanted to tie in my reading to my own Reading the Theatre event, so I looked for a book with a theatrical component. Original UK edition … Continue reading Performing magic: The Magicians of Caprona
When I announced my Reading the Theatre project, Chris of Calmgrove kindly offered to contribute a guest post on Milton's Comus, an oddity of English literature that I've heard of but never read in full. It first came to my attention in the pages of E. Nesbit's Wet Magic, in which the lines beginning "Sabrina … Continue reading A curious piece of theatre (Guest post)
