Category: Uncategorized
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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…
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Giveaway Winner
The winner of This Beautiful Life by Helen Schulman is: #5 Elizabeth Congratulations, Elizabeth! Please email me (link to my email in the sidebar) with your address. Thanks to all who entered – I appreciate everyone who reads and comments on my blog!
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4 Outstanding…Historical Novels
1. Brooklyn by Colm Toibin – Set in ’50’s Ireland and New York, this sparely written novel centers on the story of Eilis Lacey and her immigration from Ireland to bustling Brooklyn. Eilis is a complex and reserved character, a young girl who is feeling her way through life while working hard and experiencing first love.…
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Gudrun’s Tights Giveaway! Win a Copy of This Beautiful Life by Helen Schulman (closed)
Harper Perennial has graciously offered a copy of This Beautiful Life by Helen Schulman to one lucky reader of Gudrun’s Tights.! I read this book last summer and was very impressed by the insightful way Ms. Schulman chronicles the pitfalls of modern life. The novel tells the story of the Bergamot family who’s teen son gets…
A Certain Fondness 