Apparently my e-mail notification for comments is not working properly, so I wanted to say ‘thanks’ for the comments that have been made on posts that are no longer on the front page. I’ve added notes or links to reflect the additional resources or reviews provided. Thanks so much!
I have mentioned that my parents saved most of the books I had while growing up. A couple of this week’s favorites with the boys revolve around Lyle the Crocodile. My favorite part is in Lyle and the Birthday Party, where I read Lyle’s doctor with a German accent (think of “Hogan’s Heroes” with a […]
Picture source Before I knew what affliction meant, I was ready sometimes to wish for it. When I lived in prosperity, having the comforts of the World about me, my relations by me, my Heart chearfull: and taking little care for any thing; and yet seeing many, whom I preferred before my self, under many […]
Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War by Nathaniel Philbrick Penguin, paperback, 480 pages, $16.00 ISBN: 0143111973 In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, […]
Albert Coady Wedemeyer Picture source “The first thing for a commander in chief to determine is what he is going to do, to see if he has the means to overcome the obstacles which the enemy can oppose to him, and, when he has decided, to do all he can to surmount them.” Napoleon I, […]
A Hidden Life: A Memoir of August 1969 by Johanna Reiss Melville House, 250 pages, $24.95 ISBN: 1933633557 For years, Johanna Reiss’ American husband, Jim, encouraged her to return to Holland to chronicle the two years, seven months, and one day she had spent hiding from the Nazis in rural Usselo, Holland. In 1969, she […]
The Two Gentlemen of Lebowski site has been up and down due to traffic, so I’ll also link here so you can get a taste of a Shakespearean version of The Big Lebowski. WALTERThat rug, in faith, tied the room together, did it not? THE KNAVEBy my heart, a goodly rug. DONALDAnd in most miserable […]
For any other Walker Percy fans out there, Winston Riley has a documentary on the author that should be aired sometime this year. There isn’t much information yet at walkerpercymovie.com yet, but hopefully there will be more information soon. I’m excited to see some of the names included in this documentary (the preview includes Richard […]
In this novel Solzhenitsyn continues his investigation into what he called “the timeless essence of humanity” as well as the “fixed universal concepts called good and justice.” He examines the moral order of the Soviet system and the individuals within it, from Stalin down to a prison janitor. What does it take to defy the […]
How do you present a multi-layered novel of over 700 pages in a 3 hour movie? This production makes an honest effort and it proves successful on some points but unfortunately falls short on many others. There are some substantial changes and additions which complicate making an evaluation. A few examples of these differences:– In […]
My reading plan constantly changes, so I thought I would outline where I think I will be heading the next few months so you can set your interest-ometer accordingly. I hope to hit several of the ancient Greek works by Herodotus, Thucydides and Xenophon over the course of the year. Plays from the ancient Greeks […]
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn being searched “The trouble with pinning our hopes on the Americans is that it eases our conscience and weakens our will; we win the right not to struggle, the right to submit, to take the line of least resistance and gradually degenerate. I do not agree with those who claim that over the […]
Marfino, the Sharashka “For these defects, and for no other evil, we now are lost and punished just with this: we have no hope and yet we live in longing.” — From the Divine Comedy: Inferno by Dante Alghieri, Canto 4, lines 40-42, translation by Allen Mandelbaum. “Do you know, Lev Grigorievich, this rush of […]
I found a few passages from books I’ve read this year that I did not include in any post. That is a shame in this case since it is a key passage in understanding Odintsova. I described her in this post as follows: “a wealthy widow (age 29). Self-disciplined and reserved, she thrives on order. […]
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn at the prison camp in Ekibastuz (Kazakhstan) Such is the fate of Russian books today: They bob up to the surface, if ever they do, plucked down to the skin. So it was recently with Bulgakov’s Master–its feathers floated over only later. So also with this novel of mine: In order to give […]
The statue of Švejk in HumennéŠvejk has been a faithful companion the past couple of months and I’m a little sad to shelve him (although maybe not for long since a family member seems interested in reading it). Despite its unevenness, I really enjoyed the book. To simply say this is an anti-war novel misses […]
Movie poster for Beg to Report, SirI am still working out where I want this blog to go, but one thing I wanted to do from the beginning was view/consume/compare a book to versions of it in other media, particularly film. I think I’ve made it clear I don’t have a problem with variations from […]
The major-general inspecting the latrines Illustration by Josef Lada Picture source “Stupid people have to exist too, because if everyone were wise then there would be so much good sense in the world that every other person would be driven crazy by it.” Most resources I’ve read mention that Hašek intended six volumes for The […]
My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey by Jill Bolte Taylor follows a brain scientist’s stoke and recovery plus the insights she received from the experience. Taylor explains her life before the stroke, covers some basic anatomy and physiology of the brain, details what happened during her stroke, and follows the arduous process […]
The Painting of You Author’s Press Series, Vol. 1 ISBN: 978-0-557-12874-7 80 pages. Paper. $10.00From the book’s order page comes this description: Designed and published by William Michaelian, the Author’s Press Series was conceived as a set of relatively inexpensive, uniformly designed titles meant to explore different themes and facets of his writing. The eighty […]