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
James Lapine, Putting It Together (2021) I think that putting on a theatrical production, particularly a musical, is one of the most remarkable things we human beings can do. It requires an almost unequalled level of cooperation and working together, with manifold roles that each have to be precisely and skillfully done while serving the … Continue reading Reading the Theatre review: Putting It Together
Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind, translated by Lucia Graves (2001) In my last Make me read it poll, there was a hot contest between The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie, but the gothic novel set in a … Continue reading You made me read it: The Shadow of the Wind
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is this month's Narniathon read. I was looking forward to it as I remember it as my favorite of the seven books. And I still greatly enjoyed this journey through lands full of enchantment and danger, an adventure of the spirit that stirs me to this day. We start … Continue reading #Narniathon21: Into the utter East
Since I went to high school in the 1980s, of course I've heard of The Color Purple, Alice Walker's 1982 novel that won the Pulitzer Prize and was made into an Oscar-winning movie a couple of years later. But I never read it (or saw the movie), and had no more than a vague idea … Continue reading Beautiful Books: The Color Purple
In the last few years I've read a fair number of books that deal with the effects of trauma and long-term stress on our psychological and physical health, and how these negative effects can possibly be dismantled. I find this to be the most important challenge of our time, because traumatized, stressed people are damaged … Continue reading Nonfiction November review: In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts
The world may be in a chaotic mess in many ways, but some good things are also happening. One of these good things is that the Folio Society, imprimatur of beautiful books, has finally started to publish some authors I've been saying for years they should add to their list. One of these is Diana … Continue reading In which the Folio Society comes to its senses at last: Venetia
Earlier this year I discovered the work of Dr. Bruce Perry, a psychiatrist who works with children recovering from trauma and abuse. I've read three books co-authored by him so far and I find this topic absolutely fascinating. I think these are some of the most important discoveries of our time, bringing new information about … Continue reading What’s the matter here?: L’étranger
Last year, one of my bookish dreams came true when the Folio Society published Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. For existing fans of DWJ it was most gratifying to see one of our favorite books appear in a splendid illustrated edition, joining a list that includes many great authors of the past and … Continue reading A new Folio delight: Castle in the Air
