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 going to post a summary in German and English, plus some thoughts in English. I'll focus at first on my impressions from reading … Continue reading Krabat: The First Year
What I loved: A hike to the nearby Chasseral peak--I never get tired of this view. I also enjoyed knitting a top with my own handspun yarn, based on a design from a knitting book I'm editing for two colleagues, who are hoping to finally get their life's work published. I wanted to try out … Continue reading Share Four Somethings: June 2023
Le scaphandre et le papillon was recommended to me some years ago by a French-speaking English student who thought I might enjoy reading it in the original language. I have not so far managed to do that, but I have finally read the English translation, and I was blown away. It's an extraordinary document of … Continue reading #20BooksofSummer23: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Just a reminder that a chapter-a-day readalong of the book by Jules Verne is starting today, with discussion in French on the Discord channel hosted by Emma of Words and Peace. Let me or Emma know if you'd like to join the group! If you want to read in English (or another language) that's fine … Continue reading Readalong of Voyage au centre de la terre
When I picked out Thomasina to read for a cat-themed reading event at Literary Potpourri, all I knew about it was that the title character was a cat, and the author had also written Mrs 'Arris Goes to Paris, a book I'd recently enjoyed. I didn't pay attention to the subtitle ("the cat who thought … Continue reading #ReadingtheMeow2023: Thomasina
It's my pleasure this year to join in the readalong of Ursula K. Le Guin's Hainish fiction hosted by Calmgrove, focusing on the works that I have never read or can't remember reading. So far, that means I've read four novellas published in the 1960s and 70s: Rocannon's World, Planet of Exile, City of Illusions, … Continue reading #LoveHain: Worlds of Humanity
My e-library used to have this excellent feature where I could recommend books they didn't have in the catalog. Mostly these got ignored, but some were added. Unfortunately, by then my burning desire to read them had usually passed and I didn't borrow them after all. Now that recommending books has become more difficult (you … Continue reading Make me read it: Books I recommended to the library
Literature I didn't finish so many books this month, but there were some good ones. I was especially impressed by Welcome to My Country, a memoir by a psychologist who reveals her own background of mental illness, and The Word for World Is Forest, a planet-size cry against the spread of senseless violence and environmental … Continue reading Month in Review: May 2023
I was thrilled when the Folio Society chose The Neverending Story by Michael Ende as a book to produce in celebration of their 75th anniversary. I find it a most suitable choice, because it's a book about the power of reading and the imagination. He picked up the book and examined it from all sides. … Continue reading At Shiny New Books: The Neverending Story
In the house where I work with developmentally disabled adults, it's a tradition to go on an outing the day after Ascension. This is a day off work and school in Switzerland, where religious holidays are still celebrated as state holidays - and Ascension always falls on a Thursday 40 days after Easter, so most … Continue reading Share Four Somethings: May 2023
