Writer Eve Peyser had a good reading year in 2021. Here’s why: “I got myself to regularly read this year because I abandoned all notions about what I “should” be reading (the classics, the entries on “best of” lists) and instead, do whatever I want. . . . As it turns out, books are fun […]
2022: My Year of Unplanned Reading Read More »
Thousands of you voted, and chose a clear favorite: “To Kill a Mockingbird.” But the winner is only part of the story. Source: Readers Pick the Best Book of the Past 125 Years – The New York Times There’s so much to savor here that this warranted a post all its own.
Readers Pick the Best Book of the Past 125 Years – The New York Times Read More »
When Aldous Huxley Opened the Doors of Perception An excerpt from the book American Trip: Set, Setting, and the Psychedelic Experience in the Twentieth Century by Ido Hartogsohn, assistant professor in the Graduate Program in Science, Technology, and Society at Bar Ilan University. To be shaken out of the ruts of ordinary perception, to be
(Feature Photo by Moritz Knöringer on Unsplash ) After the debacle of 2021, I’ve been awaiting the arrival of 2022 with high ambivalence. When I woke up this morning and remembered that today is the first day of 2022, the phrase guarded optimism immediately came to mind. So, in the spirit of guarded optimism, I
Kate has set as this month’s starting point a story that begins on New Year’s Eve – Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. Because I’m still figuring out what I want to do in terms of a reading plan this year, I’m going to look at my TBR shelves for inspiration here. Every book sitting
6 Degrees of Separation Read More »
It always saddens me to post the annual list of literary figures we’ve lost during the current year, but the task is especially painful on a day that has seen the announcement of the death of Betty White. For many years I compiled an annual list of the obituaries of literary figures. But compiling the
Notable Deaths of 2021 Read More »
I usually finish off the year with a plan for next year’s reading that includes my list of challenges, but this year I’m still figuring out how I want to move forward. However, one thing from the past that I want to continue is the annual Discussion Challenge. I’m aiming for a minimum of 12
I’m Signing Up for the 2022 Discussion Challenge! Read More »
Literary Hub has assembled an informative round-up of 2021’s biggest literary stories. They published it in three parts: The Biggest Literary Stories of the Year: 50 to 31 The Biggest Literary Stories of the Year: 30 to 11 The 10 Biggest Literary Stories of the Year Others got in on the “biggest literary events of
The Biggest Literary Stories of 2021 Read More »
I had intended to have a much fuller report of my 2021 reading to post, but time has caught up with me. So here’s the short version. I read 41 books this year, with a total of 13,139 pages. Shortest book: The Woman in Black by Susan Hill (164 pages) Longest book: Second Generation by
The Best Books I Read in 2021 Read More »
“INTERVIEWER You have said that writing is a hostile act; I have always wanted to ask you why. JOAN DIDION It’s hostile in that you’re trying to make somebody see something the way you see it, trying to impose your idea, your picture. It’s hostile to try to wrench around someone else’s mind that way.
Joan Didion on Writing Read More »
