As part of this year’s UK Reading Challenge, I tried to read Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons. It’s a satire about 19-year old orphan Flora Poste who decides to go live with her distant relatives (or something) instead of getting a job and becoming a productive member of society. She DOES have a one […]
Short Review | Grit by Angela Duckworth
2017-09-09 · by ·
I think one of the best measures of a book is how long after you read it you find yourself talking about it, thinking about it, and recommending it to others. One that recently intrigued me was Grit by Angela Duckworth. It sat on my shelf in my TBR pile for months after I received […]
Dunkirk? Speaking of WW II history, here are a few recommendations…
2017-08-09 · by ·
(Recommendations at the bottom. If you have a favorite you don’t see listed, post it in the comments.) Known as “Operation Dynamo,” the evacuation at Dunkirk began on May 26, 1940, saving 338,000 Allied troops from the German juggernaut. On June 4, Prime Minister Winston Churchill took to the floor of the House of Commons […]
Harry Potter’s 20th Birthday: On magic, youth, and reading the series to my kids
2017-06-27 · by ·
There’s nothing quite like rediscovering Harry Potter through the eyes of children. Like most readers of my generation, I enjoyed the books of the Harry Potter series as they were released (mostly, at least…I missed the first couple while on my mission). I read the Sorcerer’s Stone over a Christmas break during college when I […]
Book Review | All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
2017-06-18 · by ·
I think I must be the last person I know to read All the Light We Cannot See, and I admit I’m kicking myself that I took so long. It’s easily one of the most moving books I’ve read in recent memory. That said, I feel like it was also one of the most effortlessly […]
Book Review | Zero to One by Peter Thiel
2017-04-30 · by ·
One of the most fascinating books I have read in recent months is Peter Thiel’s Zero to One. I am not a tech entrepreneur or even starting a new business. But I found Zero to One so thought provoking and interesting, that I bought it after reading a library copy. I found myself frequently recommending […]
Book Review | H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
2017-04-02 · by ·
Beauty and tragedy and death and renewal and nature… H is for Hawk is a beautiful memoir by naturalist Helen Macdonald. Ten points to Benjamin, who recommended it to me. I read it as part of my UK reading challenge, and while it’s not directly about the English, it is a snippet-sized view of England […]
Book Review | The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin (Hainish Cycle #4)
2017-03-20 · by ·
I take a certain delight in reading the books that define, change, or readjust not only an entire genre but a generation, as well. Generally, we call them “classics” and there’s something almost archeological about losing myself in the books that had that impact. For a moment, there’s that sense that I am communing, or […]
Brief Thoughts | Between the World and Me by Ta-Nahisi Coates
2017-03-19 · by ·
Recently, I finished reading Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. It’s a short book and reads fast. A letter to his son, Coates’ voice is intense and direct. I’m still processing Coates’ message. I admit that I find it distinct from my own life experience, a view of America and the world rooted […]
Book Review | A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
2017-01-30 · by ·
Quite possibly, A Darker Shade of Magic is one of the most surprisingly entertaining fantasy novels I’ve read in a while. Rothfuss’ The Name of the Wind may be more beautiful, Vyleta’s Smoke more mysterious, and Butcher’s The Aeronaut’s Windlass more adventuresome, but Schwab took me completely by surprise with an even mixture of all […]
