This reread of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, first published 300 years ago in 1726, was inspired by Chris of Calmgrove Books – see his initial post here. He’s doing a…

Earlier this year, I was going through a terrible reading slump, where I put down book after book after a few chapters, unable to find anything that truly grabbed me. Then I read and hugely enjoyed…

I give this book points for providing insights into Sámi history and culture, delivered in a r...

For Part I and Part II of this series, click on the links. Here we come to the books published during my own lifetime — as a bonus, here’s a Top Ten list of Books published the year I w…

For the first part of this list, see this post. As I got further into the twentieth century, I came up against more occasions where it was much harder to make a decision. What am I to do with a yea…

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 how the brain works, how it processes and is affected by experience and in turn affects our behavior and soul experience.

Well, I thought I might read a Moomin book or two for Moomin week but ended up going on an absolute binge where I finished reading all the novels -- six of them this summer in addition to the two I'd read previously. I did it in a completely mixed up order, thus: Finn Family Moomintroll (2 in series, 1948) translated by Elizabeth Portch…

Inspired by other bloggers, notably Simon of Stuck in a Book, I decided to see whether I could select one book I'd read for each year of the twentieth century. I'm taking it in parts, because 100 books is a long list! And I've made it through the first third quite handily. My goal was to choose books that had some notable impact on me, leaving a distinct impression on my mind, and I was pretty well able to meet that.

Much as I love reading, L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz probably had a greater influence on me through the movie version, which I watched on TV every year -- this was before recordings made it easy to watch our favorite films at the touch of a button. It was a kind of annual religious rite for me, which I anticipated, savored, and remembered until the next time came again.

Sils Maria - A few days in a favorite place

For quite a few years now, I've been reading a book in French each summer with Emma of Words and Peace. This year, my suggestion was Voltaire's Candide - a not-too-long classic I've been wanting to reread since high school. Perfect for Emma's Paris in July event, the book has 30 short chapters, so we are planning to read a chapter a day throughout the month.

More than twenty years ago, when I had the joy to participate in some of Renate Hiller and Mikae Toma’s classes at the Fiber Craft Studio in Chestnut Ridge, New York, I witnessed the first seeds of an idea for a project that struck me as full of potential, and was eager to see it realized. That didn’t happen right away, but recently, even though I and the two authors were now living on three different continents, they called on me to help with editing their book, …

Tomorrow’s the 15 of June 2026 which means we officially start #ReadingtheMeow2026, an annual week-long celebration of cats in books. To participate, simply pick a book with cats in it (with …

When Kristen of We Be Reading announced she'd be hosting March Magics (a celebration of favorite fantasy authors Diana Wynne Jones and Terry Pratchett) for one final time, I wanted to do something special. It was hard to choose what to read, from among both authors' voluminous and wonderful works. All good things, indeed! Somewhat at random I started reading…

I've done this fun meme a few times, and am thankful to Emma of Words and Peace for keeping it going. Here are six books from six categories that I've read so far in 2026. Have you read any of these? Six books for fans of... A Fine Line Between Stupid and Clever (...Spinal Tap), Book of Lives (...Margaret Atwood), …

Back in July, we spent about a week in the Goms Valley region of the Alps -- we had planned to do some hiking, but as it ended up being shortly after my gallbladder surgery I couldn't move around much, plus the weather was very wet. So we spent most of our time relaxing in our rented cabin and taking short walks along the swollen rivers between rainstorms.

People often ask how I like living in Switzerland. I always smile and say I like it, it's beautiful, I appreciate many things. I don't tell them that for me, moving to Switzerland was a lot like dying. English chapel, Davos Though not to be compared to the desperate flights of many forced to leave their homes, in danger of their lives -- I moved by choice, after all, and my other half's origins are here -- I did find it a disorienting, even traumatic experience.

As I did with nonfiction, I'm listing my favorite novels and short story collections read this year. It's quite an interesting selection! Have you read any of these, or would you like to? What were your books of the year? Little by Edward Carey - Finished February 15. I had no idea of the history behind Madame Tussaud’s wax museum in London -- but this fantastical grotesque novel brought Madame T.

As I enter my annual blog break over the twelve nights of Christmas, here's a favorite poem - an excerpt from Tennyson's In Memoriam. The first two stanzas are the ones I knew and loved as a child, but as I read the whole passage, I think how applicable it is to our time. Faithless coldness, false pride, party strife...can we really ring them out, and ring in a better future?

The Engadin, the valley of the En or Inn river in Eastern Switzerland, is, so far, my favorite region of the country -- I previously shared photos from a trip to the Upper Engadin. In early October this year we planned to visit another part of the valley where we'd not yet been. I was very excited as the time approached, but also apprehensive; I had not reckoned on the fact that fall weather in that region was likely to be cold, stormy, even snowy...

Thanks to reminders from Constance of Staircase Wit and Chris of Calmgrove Books, I'm reviving my Reading the Theatre project for another year - and if anyone else would like to join in, please do! Although not as intensely as in some years, I still find myself drawn to reading books related to theatrical themes or performances in a clump around the month of April.

Dear blog followers, since I've been blogging less lately (but not stopping!) I have decided to migrate Entering the Enchanted Castle to a free Wordpress.com site. The new address is enterenchanted.wordpress.com. I will set up a redirect for the URL enterenchanted.com, but you may need to resubscribe at the new site. Here's hoping everything goes smoothly. See you over there!

The top 100 novels of all time published in English, as voted for by authors, critics and academics worldwide. How many have you read?

Thanks to reminders from Constance of Staircase Wit and Chris of Calmgrove Books, I'm reviving my Reading the Theatre project for another year - and if anyone else would like to join in, please do! Although not as intensely as in some years, I still find myself drawn to reading books related to theatrical themes or performances in a clump around the month of April.

Second week of Lent, 2026

First week of Lent, 2026

Sacred Reading Newsletter, February, 2026

Twelve years ago, I had moved from a community where I had many acquaintances and cultural activities to a much more rural, isolated place. That's when I started blogging, purely on a whim -- but it quickly became a lifeline for me. This blog and my previous one, The Emerald City Book Review, helped provide the intellectual stimulation to balance out my hands-on daily work of caregiving.

As I enter my annual blog break over the twelve nights of Christmas, here's a favorite poem - an excerpt from Tennyson's In Memoriam. The first two stanzas are the ones I knew and loved as a child, but as I read the whole passage, I think how applicable it is to our time. Faithless coldness, false pride, party strife...can we really ring them out, and ring in a better future?

As I did with nonfiction, I'm listing my favorite novels and short story collections read this year. It's quite an interesting selection! Have you read any of these, or would you like to? What were your books of the year? Little by Edward Carey - Finished February 15. I had no idea of the history behind Madame Tussaud’s wax museum in London -- but this fantastical grotesque novel brought Madame T.

What I read this month Despite Nonfiction November, I read only one nonfiction book this month! It was a good one, though...and so were many of my fiction reads. The Collected Enchantments by Theodora Goss Shadows on the Rock by Willa Cather - Reread Emily of Deep Valley by Maud Hart Lovelace Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven by Susan Jane Gilman…

I did not manage to keep up with the weekly themes for Nonfiction November this year, but I enjoyed browsing others' posts, and I want to thank all the hosts: Heather – Based on a True StoryFrances – Volatile RuneLiz  – Adventures in Reading, Running and Working from HomeRebekah – She Seeks NonfictionDeb – Readerbuzz At the tail end of the month, I'm chipping in by listing ten of my favorite nonfiction reads this year.

At my Sacred Reading Substack, I’ve just announced plans for a special study to take place during the season of Advent, starting tomorrow. We’ll work with the three stories from the Gospels in which Jesus raises someone from the dead — stories I found extremely transformative in my own life. I want to explore them from a universal point of view, so please feel invited, whatever your faith tradition may be (or none). If you’re interested, find the details at this post: Hoping some of you will consider joining us!

What I read this month This month, I achieved a perfect balance between fiction and nonfiction - seven books each. However, fiction won big in terms of my ratings, aided by a reread of a favorite series (the Complete Earthsea), two new-to-me books from a favorite author (see below), and a forthcoming short-story collection by an author who seems set to become a new favorite (my review soon to come on Shiny New Books).