Cold Comfort Farm (reread)

Several years ago, I had the idea that the perfect job for me would be to go into an office and just work there as a regular employee for several weeks to see what needs to be fixed to make the place run properly. If the filing system were stupid, I’d fix it up. If [...]

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The Night Watch

It’s 1947, and London is recovering from World War II. The men and women who lived through the war are haunted, but by what? That’s the question that we as readers have as Sarah Waters’s novel The Night Watch opens. Waters fills this novel with a variety of characters, each of whom has his or [...]

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Heartburn

Back in the 1990s, I was an ardent devotee of the romantic comedies of Nora Ephron. I watched When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and You’ve Got Mail over and over again. I wanted to be like the smart, introspective, slightly quirky women in those movies. I wanted their lifestyles, their friends, and most [...]

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The Cherry Orchard

The Cherry Orchard was Anton Chekhov’s last play, written just before he died of tuberculosis at the age of 44. Chekhov is perhaps known best for his short stories, but his four major plays (The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, The Three Sisters, and The Cherry Orchard) are dramatic classics. In this play, a once-wealthy Russian widow, [...]

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Sunday Salon: A Day at ALA

This weekend, the American Library Association (ALA) had its Annual Conference right here in Washington, DC. Of course, I had to take advantage of the chance to go and see the new books, and I was especially happy to go with the lovely Frances from Nonsuch Book, who has already blogged about our day. We’re [...]

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The Winter Journey (Morland Dynasty #20)

Medicine, marriage, and the military. These are the central historical developments that fill Cynthia Harrod-Eagles’s 20th Morland Dynasty novel. The Winter Journey begins in 1851, with the central characters from The Hidden Shore coping with marriage and/or parenthood; some happily, and others not so happily. Charlotte has more or less taken over the role of [...]

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Aunt Maria

Oh, Diana Wynne Jones, how I love thee. I can’t remember now who recommended Aunt Maria to me. If it was you, speak up! I thought for sure it was Jenny at Jenny’s Books, because we share a love of Diana Wynne Jones, but now I can’t find a review of this book on her [...]

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Book Blogger Appreciation Week

Book Blogger Appreciation Week is a yearly celebration of the world of book blogging. This year’s event is being held September 13-17. All book bloggers are encouraged to participate in the themed posts, giveaways, awards, and other events. We enjoyed the celebration a great deal last year and got to know several new bloggers, so [...]

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Sunday Salon: Why Breaking Up Is Hard to Do

I have a hard time giving up on a book. I always worry that the book will turn around, that after I abandon a book and give it away or return it to the library, I’ll learn that the very next chapter is when the book becomes the fabulous read I was hoping for. After [...]

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That’s How I Blog! Podcast Coming Up

Just a quick addition to my Night Watch review — I’d meant to add this to the review itself, but completely forgot in my enthusiasm! Nicole Bonia from Linus’s Blanket has invited Teresa and me to be part of her live book podcast, That’s How I Blog! on June 29. You can listen in at [...]

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