When 2023 began, I did not expect that two books I read would become two of my favorite books of all time. But that is exactly what happened. I also did not expect to read so many books, since my resolution last year was to slow down and savor books more deeply. But sixteen of the books I read were plays by Shakespeare as I began an attempt to read all of his plays in the order in which they were written. I was not as pleased as...
With the new year beginning today it’s time for my annual list of favorite reads from the previous year. As I look back on 2022, I see that I definitely did not stick to my plan to read books from my greatest books list. Nonetheless, I still had a fruitful year of reading. My intention was to begin with a re-read of the Iliad and the Odyssey and then move on to other epics like the Aeneid and Paradise Lost, but my reading philosophy began to change in...
As 2022 is about to dawn, it’s hard to know what it will hold for our world, given the unpredictable nature of the ongoing pandemic. Or is it now shifting to an endemic, as we attempt to try and live with COVID-19? That’s more than I can say, but as I look back over 2021 one thing I can say without question is that reading has helped me make it through. Not only were the books themselves an antidote to all the craziness and stress, but the reading...
When 2020 began who could have predicted what we were in for? You might think that in the midst of stay-at-home orders and quarantines I would have had a banner year in reading. The reality is that I had to spend a lot of time working from home and planning for how to reopen our school, so my brain was often too tired to read. However, I still did manage to have a fairly robust year of reading, and I met most of my reading goals. Here are...
Was it really the hag I killed? It was myself I killed, not her! I murdered myself in one fell blow, for all time! It has taken me many false starts to try and read Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, but I finally managed to do the deed. I’m not sure why it has taken so much effort for me to read this Russian classic. The characters are well developed and believable. The plot is suspenseful and compelling. The issues it explores are timeless and significant. And...
When 2019 began I knew that my reading time would be limited, so I set a modest reading goal of 25 books for the year. I’m happy to say that just this morning I finished book number 30, exceeding my goal by five. I’m also happy that I was able to complete the three other reading challenges I set for the year, the Charity Reading Challenge, the European Reading Challenge, and the Deal Me In Short Story Challenge. For the Charity challenge, since I read 30 books I...
I finished Little Women five months ago, but am only now getting around to writing this review. I have to admit that my memory of reading the book has faded into a vague sense of enjoyment with few details about what I liked or disliked. That may have nothing to do with the book, since I have been quite busy since then. However, I remember thinking that while the book was pleasant, I enjoyed it less than The Secret Garden but more than She: A History of Adventure, which were the last two...
She is the landmark fantasy/adventure novel by H. Rider Haggard that has influenced authors like J.R.R. Tolkien, Rudyard Kipling, and George R.R. Martin. It has appeared on lists like Fantasy: The 100 Best Books, Horror: The 100 Best Books, and Classics of Science Fiction. Serialized from 1886 to 1887, She was one of the first “lost world” stories, and laid the foundation for stories featuring characters like Doc Savage and Indiana Jones. In She, Horace Holly narrates the tale of his journey with his adoptive son Leo Vincey to the heart...
If you’re a fan of the Netflix series Stranger Things and you want to know more about what inspired the creators, then you’ll probably like Guy Adams’ Notes from the Upside Down. Adams goes through each episode of the series and discuss the music, TV shows, and movies and that have made their way into the show. While the book does discuss the plot and characters of Stranger Things, it tends to focus more on introducing readers to the late 70s and early 80s sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. I grew up in...
These High, Green Hills is the third book in Jan Karon’s The Mitford Years series, and I have to admit that I really enjoy these books. I haven’t written about this series before, so rather than review this third book, I will simply say that each of the first three books have the same charm, humor, and uplifting themes. The stories center around Father Tim, pastor of a small Episcopal parish in the fictional village of Mitford, North Carolina. Father Tim is a good man and a good...
The Red House Mystery is a locked-room cozy mystery written by A.A. Milne, most famous for creating the lovable character Winnie-the-Pooh. It is the only mystery Milne ever wrote, and he explains why he wrote it in the dedication to his father, John Vine Milne: Like all really nice people, you have a weakness for detective stories, and feel that there are not enough of them. So, after all that you have done for me, the least that I can do for you is write you one. Here...
He was not the most honest or pious of men, but he was courageous. I first read Captain Alatriste by Arturo Pérez-Reverte twelve years ago, and it didn’t make much of an impact on me then. It was the third book in a row I had read by Pérez-Reverte, following The Club Dumas and The Fencing Master, and I think I was anxious to move on to something else and didn’t give it a fair chance. So I was very happy to receive a paperback copy for Christmas as part of...
Aubrey/Maturin Read-along 2021-2024
Classics Club #32: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevesky
January 20, 2020
Classics Club #21: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
December 28, 2018
Classics Club #20: She by H. Rider Haggard
May 17, 2018
Notes from the Upside Down by Guy Adams
April 4, 2018
Cries from the Earth by Terry C. Johnston
March 20, 2018
