A Cineaste’s Bookshelf
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Books for February
A calm of pleasure listens round / And almost whispers winter bye / While fancy dreams of summer sounds / And quiet rapture fills the eye... ~ from "The Shepherds Calendar - February - A Thaw" by John ClareRead More »
REVIEW: IN THE SHADOW OF AGATHA CHRISTIE
The stories in the collection range from police procedurals to inheritance scandals to locked-room puzzles. Read More »
REVIEW: SUGAR MONEY
It's part Treasure Island, part Uncle Tom's Cabin, a dash of Huckleberry Finn -- but Sugar Money is something entirely its own. Told from the point-of-view and voice of Lucien, a barely thirteen-year old farm slave on Martinique, the novel is based on real events.Read More »
Top Ten Tuesday: Faded Memory Edition
I really don’t think I am going to be able to find ten books for this one. Like an elephant, I have a really good memory, especially for books I enjoyed. And I write reviews, so I am always thinking about and writing about books I’ve read. Of course it also means I also have… Read More »
ACCENT: BROLLIOLOGY
This is an utterly delightly social study on umbrellas -- what they have meant throughout history, how we use them today, and what they signify in literature.Read More »
Books for January
Pavement slipp'ry, people sneezing / Lords in ermine, beggars freezing / Titled gluttons dainties carving / Genius in a garret starving. January, 1795 by Mary Darby RobinsonRead More »
Ten Books to Look Forward to in 2018
It's what we obsessive readers do -- make ever-longer lists of books we want to read. Looking ahead at the publishing calendar next year, here are some titles that have piqued my interest.Read More »
Top Ten Favorite Books from 2017
As the year draws to a close, it is time to look back on the reading lists and piles of books for the ones that made an impression in 2017. Did your favorite make the list?Read More »
Books for December
Tons of interesting books came out in the past few weeks and I intend to snuggle in and read them during my extended time off.Read More »
Top Ten Tuesday: Literary Settings I'd Like to Visit
The reason we read is to go somewhere else, if only in our minds. In some books the setting is merely a backdrop. But in others, it is pervasive. We can immerse ourselves in another world. These are eight literary places* I would like to visit.
*many will be in England. Control your surprise.Read More »
REVIEW: MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS
Rather than a "locked room" mystery wherein the victim is found dead in a room where no one could have gotten in or out, Christie traps everyone together on a snowbound train. The victim, the suspects, and the detective are all stuck in the "locked room." The new movie version, directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh is problematic but it was much better than the trailers led me to believe.Read More »
REVIEW: THE BUTCHERING ART
Lindsey Fitzharris gives us an unflinching look at the difficult, unsettling world of early medicine through the lens of Joseph Lister's career. Here, a fierce but kindly man can be seen as a genius with a heart, not a cold figure to be dissected.Read More »
It's Monday - November 6
I am reading several things right now, though not as quickly as usual. I am also participating in NaNoWriMo again this year. Not sure why I do this to myself over and over... but here we are.Read More »
ACCENT: DR JEKYLL AND MR SEEK
The book is told from the point of view of Jekyll's honorable, devoted lawyer, Mr. Gabriel Utterson. Just as time is about to elapse on officially declaring alter-ego Hyde dead, a man shows up claiming to be Jekyll. But Hyde was Jekyll... and Hyde was most certainly dead.
Read More »
Top Ten Tuesday - Unique Book Names
The Broke and Bookish have suggested unique book titles for this week's Top Ten Tuesday list.Read More »