Anbolyn
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Is it Spring Where You Are?
“It was such a spring day as breathes into a man an ineffable yearning, a painful sweetness, a longing that makes him stand motionless, looking at the leaves or grass, and fling out his arms to embrace he knows not what.” – John Galsworthy
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The Blank Wall by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding
If ever there was an impulse read, this would be it. I was perusing blogs one Saturday at work about a month ago and came across ‘The 10 Best Neglected Literary Classics’ list in the Guardian. I adore lists like this. I think they are a great source for finding exciting new reads. I…
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The Classics Club {My List}
I don’t want to be left out! So I’m joining the club – the Classics Club. Jillian at A Room of One’s Own is our president. You can see the ‘rules’ of the club here. I’m really very happy to join because I have discovered over the past few months that I do much better…
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Classics Challenge {March}
I couldn’t wait for this month’s Classics Challenge prompt because I want to talk with you about my current classic and how much I am loving it. I never expected to like Anna Karenina, yet it turns out that I adore it. It is easy to read, full of realistic insights into human emotions, provides…
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I’ve Been Wondering….
about American women writers. Why don’t I read them? Why has their legacy not remained strong? I’ve been thinking about this on and off ever since reading the brilliant book A Jury of Her Peers by Elaine Showalter. I’ve mentioned this book before, I think. I recently checked it out from the library for the…
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The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
The Snow Child seems to be one of those books that everyone loves. Last fall I read many shining reviews of it that convinced me that I would love this too, which was surprising to me because I usually don’t like books that have a ‘fairytale’ element. I think they try too hard to capture…
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Connecting the Connections
I suppose it all started with my re-reading of Possession last fall, though I didn’t know it at the time. My cover of Possession features a painting by Edward Burne-Jones called ‘The Beguiling of Merlin’. I didn’t know it was by Burne-Jones as I was reading the novel, but the painting sank into my…
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Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
I contemplated not writing a post about Wolf Hall because I liked it so much and found it so incredibly wonderful that I know I really can’t convey my admiration for it or communicate the sheer enjoyment I derived from this book. I’ve decided to share my thoughts anyway because part of the purpose of…
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Challenge Check-In
Since it is already mid-February (how did that happen?) I thought it would be a good time to take stock of my progress in the challenges I signed up for at the beginning of the year. For the Classics Challenge, I’ve already finished one book, Great Expectations, and am a couple of chapters into my…
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Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
I’m going to admit it – I was wrong about Dickens. Great Expectations is a fantastic book and Charles Dickens is not a demon sent to earth to torture centuries of school children – he’s actually a good writer! The story of Pip’s journey from humble beginnings as a blacksmith’s apprentice to London and his…
A Certain Fondness 