Tagged With: Reading
Books about houses
I realized today that my favorite kind of book is a story about people fixing up a house. (Note: I was into these well before we moved here, but living here has certainly not helped.) For example: – Agnes and the Hitman, where Agnes remodels her decaying Southern plantation home to be ready for a … Continue reading
Things I’ve Got That I Love: The Tea Time Edition
This Christmas — and really the whole year — was especially rich in items to improve my afternoon tea breaks. First of all, I can hear you asking: Can anything really improve the flavor of tea? And of course the answer is no. Not because tea is great — just the opposite. Tea is the … Continue reading
Waiting for my pedicure to dry
People asked a bunch of the sexiest male celebrities to describe their perfect day. Almost all of them said some version of “I want to be at my house with my family.” Come on! You’re hot, rich and famous. There are plenty of great things you can do with your family outside the house. How … Continue reading
Prettiness
One of the great children’s authors of our time, Diana Wynne Jones, passed away last year. She was one of those astonishingly prolific writers whose nevertheless manages to create fresh plots and compelling characters with each new book. I just found these editions of some of her books designed by Nina Tara and now I’m … Continue reading
The Great Re-Reading: Austen
I’ll give you something to cry about, Fanny Price.
The Great Re-Reading: Julie Andrews (Edwards)
Yes, that Julie Andrews, the one who starred in the two most important movies of my childhood: Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music. She also writes children’s books. Surprising, I know. (But close your mouth, please, Michael. We are not a codfish.) I own The Julie Andrews Edwards Treasury, which combines two of her … Continue reading
The Great Re-Reading: Aiken and Alcott
Joan Aiken The woman has written something like seventy books. I read The Wolves of Willoughby Chase so often growing up that my copy is loved to bits. So why do I only own one other book by her? (It’s The Shadow Guests, also pretty great.) And why do I never see her stuff at … Continue reading
The Great Re-Reading: Richard Adams
Watership Down by Richard Adams is making me think about the importance of Trickster tales. First, a brief summary: Watership is about a group of rabbits who escape from their doomed warren and set off into a terrifying (from a rabbit’s perspective) countryside to form their own new warren. It’s a fantastic adventure tale, highly … Continue reading
The Great Re-Reading: Douglas Adams
Pursuing my project of reading all my fiction books, I’ve now read my way through all my Douglas Adams. Here’s a surprising thing which I had forgotten: Douglas Adams was a great writer but his editors were kind of out to lunch. (This might explain the acerbic section in the Hitchhiker’s series discussing the lengthy … Continue reading
My new ridiculous project
I’ve been thinking recently that I’d like to read all the books in my library, straight through, alphabetically by author. I’m referring here to my personal library, not my city library, but still, it’s an undertaking. This morning I finally did the math on this and here’s what I’ve discovered: I read about 200 books … Continue reading