Monthly Archives: February 2009
Notes on reading
I just finished the biography of Jane Austen I’ve been working on for a while, and now I see another biography I need to read: Frances Wilson’s The Ballad of Dorothy Wordsworth. Given my mild obsession with that most intriguing … Continue reading
Filed under Books, Fiction, Nonfiction, Reading
Gaudy Night
My mystery book group had another fabulous meeting this past Sunday to discuss Dorothy Sayers’s novel Gaudy Night. I can’t recommend highly enough having a specific theme or genre for your book group; I have limited experience with book groups … Continue reading
Montaigne
I was all set to write a post on Gaudy Night, but I’m just not sure I have it in me tonight. Soon, though, I’ll write on the book. For now, I thought I’d give you some of my favorite … Continue reading
Filed under Books, Essays, Nonfiction
Everybody’s doing it …
A “getting to know us” relationship meme, that is. I saw this one last here, here, and here. What are your middle names? Michael and Lynn. Pretty boring names, but seeing them there like that and realizing they refer to … Continue reading
More on Austen
I haven’t had much time to read further in Claire Tomalin’s bio of Jane Austen (my limited reading time lately has gone to finishing up Gaudy Night for this Sunday’s mystery book group meeting), but there are still a few … Continue reading
Filed under Books, Nonfiction
In lieu of a post requiring thought …
It’s Tuesday night, which means I’m exhausted. So here’s a meme: BBC Book List Instructions: 1) Look at the list and put an ‘x’ after those you have read. 2) Add a ‘+’ to the ones you LOVE. 3) Star … Continue reading
Updates
First of all, a cycling update: it appears that I’m going to be racing more this year than I thought. Since I posted on the subject just a few days ago, I’ve had a conversation with a friend who is … Continue reading
Bel Canto
What a marvelous book Ann Patchett’s Bel Canto is! It’s so marvelous I talked one of my book groups into reading it next. What strikes me most about this book is the way a description of its plot captures absolutely … Continue reading
Book Chat
This semester I teach Tuesday afternoon and on into the evening until 8:30 and then again on Wednesday morning (and I teach Monday and Thursday, too, but those days are easier), and I’m realizing today just how taxing that schedule … Continue reading
Cycling update
I haven’t written about my cycling in quite a while, and my training blog is dead at the moment — I haven’t posted there in over a month. That’s largely because the blog was meant as a way to record … Continue reading
The Glass Castle
My book group met today to discuss Jeannette Walls’s memoir The Glass Castle. I have this idea about myself that I don’t like horrible-childhood memoirs, but I’ve read two of them recently and liked them both (this one and Jenny … Continue reading
Filed under Books, Nonfiction
Never the same person twice
Musings from the Sofa asks, “does anyone still feel that there are books they ought to read for any reason (beyond work or study)?” My answer is, well, sort of. I find the question hard to answer because I get … Continue reading
On Jane Austen
I just began Claire Tomalin’s biography of Jane Austen, and so far it’s been great fun to read. I was surprised to find just how much Tomalin emphasizes Austen’s energy, spirit, and attitude in her life and in her youthful … Continue reading
Filed under Books, Nonfiction
