This is a re-post of my review originally published at Shiny New Books. And if you'd like to go on to read about the next in the series, over at SNB you can read my latest review of the Folio Society edition of The Farthest Shore, which posted today. In our upside-down world of reversed … Continue reading Beautiful Books: The Tombs of Atuan
Paramhansa Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi (1946) When I embarked on my Spiritual Memoir Challenge this year, I did not expect the first book I chose to read for it to be so ... challenging. It raised a lot of questions for me, and I'm not sure how to express them. I don't want to … Continue reading Spiritual Memoir Review: Autobiography of a Yogi
The Dark Is Rising series readalong has reached its end, with the final volume in the series, Silver on the Tree. Although the book takes place at midsummer, it seems strangely appropriate for me to finish reading it on the winter solstice, when The Dark Is Rising begins. (I can't help thinking of that as … Continue reading #TDiRS22: All shall find the light at last
Alison Uttley, The Country Child (1931) In my last Make me read it poll, The Country Child by Alison Uttley edged out David Copperfield and The Scarlet Letter for the win. I'd had a hard time getting into the first chapter of this fictionalized memoir of the author's childhood in early 20th century Derbyshire, and … Continue reading You made me read it: The Country Child
I'm honored to have my review of the new Folio Society edition of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere posted as the final post for 2022 at Shiny New Books. Please check it out to learn more about this delectable new edition. Here's the opening of my review: I wouldn’t normally expect much of a book created as … Continue reading Neverwhere at Shiny New Books
This month Liz of Adventures in reading, running, and working from home had a fun idea: to read books published by Dean Street Press in December. If you don't already know, DSP has been unearthing classic mid-century women's fiction, Golden Age detective novels, and other overlooked treasures and publishing them in attractive new paperback and … Continue reading Four for Dean Street December
In our Dark Is Rising series readalong, we've reached the Newbery-award winning The Grey King. Why did this particular book out of the five win the award? I think Greenwitch is a stronger book, although each of them has its points. Now I know that the book was probably an example of the Death by … Continue reading #TDiRS22: Death by Newbery
I got through this month's Dark Is Rising readalong book, Greenwitch, in extra quick time. It's the shortest book in the series, and I remember it as one of my favorites. I was swept along again by this atmospheric tale that contains elements of horror but also of elegaic beauty. I don't think it's necessary … Continue reading #TDiRS22: The sea, the sea
The second book of the Dark Is Rising readalong, hosted by AnnaBookBel, is The Dark Is Rising itself -- originally titled The Gift of Gramarye, but a publisher nixed that because of the fear that young readers would think the book was about grammar. Point taken, but in fact the chapter in which our protagonist, … Continue reading #TDiRS22: Into the darkness
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
