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 some…

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), …