What kind of child might you get if you matched a world-famous poet known for his outrageous lifestyle and a genteel woman with a penchant for knowledge and restraint? If it was the early 1800s in England then you’d get Augusta Ada Byron, the only legitimate heir of Lord George Gordon Byron. Enchantress of Numbers is Jennifer Chiavarini’s new novel about Ada’s life—a ... Read More...
Mrs. Osmond by John Banville
“You seem to me, Miss Archer, a person possessed of a large potential; do be careful not to underspend your resource.” I read Henry James’s Portrait of Lady a long time ago, but still remember how bad I felt for its heroine, Isabel Archer. She’s a young American who goes to England and comes into a small fortune, is taken in by a worldly older woman who educates ... Read More...
Top Ten Books I’m Thankful For
The Broke and Bookish Top Ten meme this week is a perfect one for Thanksgiving—ten books I’m thankful for. No matter how you slice it, it’s hard, because I’m grateful for every single book that takes my mind somewhere else, whether it is invigorating or calming. But just choosing ten?! That’s almost impossible. I’ve read over 1,500 books since I started using Goodreads in 2009 ... Read More...
Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake
It’s odd when I think of the arc of my life, from child to young woman to aging adult. First I was who I was. Then I didn’t know who I was. Then I invented someone and became her. Then I began to like what I’d invented. And finally I was what I was again. I have been a huge fan of Anna Quindlen’s fiction for decades, but had never read any of her nonfiction until this month, ... Read More...
Nonfiction November 2017: Fiction Nonfiction Pairings
The week two event of Nonfiction November is to pair a fiction book with a nonfiction one on a similar subject. Kind of fun for those of us who use our reading as a springboard to learn more about people or events that catch our eye. For me, it is almost always a great novel that makes me want to learn more about its subject. I'm switching it up a bit with books and ... Read More...
It’s Monday, August 21st: What Are You Reading?
I can’t start this post by saying it’s just another Monday. Here in Seattle the sun is going to be 95% obscured by the moon. Kind of crazy if you think about it. I’ve read all sorts of things about what happens. Not the mystical end-of-world things, but that in the natural world it causes birds and other nocturnal animals to begin their preparations for sleep and that ... Read More...
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