Five years ago, in response to a rise in discourse about why women authors are less read and reviewed than male authors, I posted a roundup of all the books by women I read in 2013. But this blog has always been about creating a personal record for myself above all else, so I've kept… Continue reading Books I read and loved in 2018
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Reading Roundup: December 2018
https://twitter.com/jil_slander/status/1076550995000287232 Happy entire-week-off-because-I-work-at-a-university to me! Although the month is not yet over--and although I'm likely to finish another book sometime during the interminable airport waits between flights home--I am going to post my roundup before I enter.... the liminal space between winter holidays. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. Although most of the books I acquire… Continue reading Reading Roundup: December 2018
The inner life of Ascher
Last month, grateful beyond measure that my little feline companion Anise was regaining her weight and personality and health, I posted about the little rituals and behaviors that give what I think are insights into her thoughts and intentions. But like any caretaker in a two-sibling household, I don't want to appear to favor one… Continue reading The inner life of Ascher
Your Horoscope in the Marioverse
Reader, I don't know how to tell you this, so I'll just say it: until last weekend, I had never played any of the games in Nintendo's best-selling, wildly popular, familiar-even-to-laypersons series Mario Kart. I just didn't know what I was missing until I went to visit some friends who live in the suburbs with their… Continue reading Your Horoscope in the Marioverse
Review: The Witch Elm
The Witch Elm by Tana French French (In the Woods) steps away from her thrilling Dublin Murder Squad series to explore another eerie mystery from the other side of the interrogation table. French has a gift for giving inner life to guarded, antagonistic characters; with The Witch Elm’s Toby, she voices the awakening of a privileged, well-liked man at… Continue reading Review: The Witch Elm
Reading Roundup: November 2018
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. First, a story. At the beginning of the month I went on a hike with a dear friend. We ambled and looked at trees and ate pretzels and decided unanimously that one glorious trek up a low autumnal hill was enough for one day, and so we… Continue reading Reading Roundup: November 2018

