Earlier this year, when I read the book Once There Was by Kiyash Moncef, I was impressed by how a first-time author managed such to create such a satisfying mix: excitement, humor, friendship and a hint of romance, beauty and danger, and a moving, emotional finale. When Kiyash Moncef graciously agreed to an interview, I … Continue reading Over at Calmgrove: My Witch Week interview with author Kiyash Moncef
It's Halloween, and that means it's the first day of Witch Week, a special time for fantasy lovers. This is a blog event I created in my first year of The Emerald City Book Review, and I'm delighted that Calmgrove and Lizzie Ross decided to take it over when I stopped. This year, the theme … Continue reading Witch Week begins!
Hooray, Nonfiction November is back! A mostly new team of hosts has taken on the blogging event that many of us look forward to all year. This week's topic is hosted by Heather of Based on a True Story. Week 1 (10/30-11/3) Your Year in Nonfiction: Celebrate your year of nonfiction. What books have you … Continue reading Nonfiction November: My year in nonfiction
In Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious (2012), Chris Stedman tells his story-so-far -- he was only 23 at the time of writing -- to show that atheists and the religious should still be able to talk respectfully to one another. The first part covers Stedman's mostly religion-free childhood in a … Continue reading Engaging with atheism: Faitheist
These "clubs" happen twice a year, each time focusing on books published in a particular year between 1920 and 1980 or so. It's always so interesting to read the variety of reviews! Thanks so much to Simon and Karen for hosting. I don't always manage to be organized enough to join, but this time I … Continue reading #1962Club: A Murder of Quality
In my last Make me read it poll, blog readers selected Sweet Bean Paste as the book I should read next, out of several that I'd recommended to the library. And I enjoyed it, but I find that I do not have much to say about it. It was a heartfelt little tale about prejudice … Continue reading You made me read it, and Around the World update
What? Prince Harry's royal tell-all Spare, a spiritual memoir? I admit that I did not initially pick it up as one. But as I read, it made me think about the role of royalty in regard to spirituality. For that alone, I decided to count it for my spiritual memoir challenge -- in the category … Continue reading Spiritual Memoir Review: Spare
I'm very pleased that I finished reading Krabat by Otfried Preußler this summer. Taking it slowly, one part per month, helped me get through and feel that I'd made a real step in German fluency. Here follows my summary of the third part in German and English, and some final thoughts in English. Nach Michals … Continue reading Krabat: The Third Year
This year for my Summer in Other Languages self-challenge, I am reading the novel Krabat by Otfreid Preußler. As I did with my reading of Die Kleine Hexe two years ago, I’m posting a summary in German and English, plus some thoughts in English. I’ll focus at first on my impressions from reading the book … Continue reading Krabat: The Second Year
So far, my blog newsletter has been merely a summary of recent posts (which I just noticed has not been sending since December of 2022 -- I need to fix that this month!) I've decided to start something new and send out a newsletter that is not merely a repetition of blog content, but will … Continue reading Would you like to join the Enchanted Circle?
