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A Bitter Fate by Alexey (Aleksey) Pisemsky
I finished reading A Bitter Fate by Alexey (Aleksey) Pisemsky.
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Turgenev by Henri Troyat
I just finished reading Turgenev by Henri Troyat, a biography of Ivan Turgenev published in 1985 and translated by Nancy Amphoux. This was a beautiful biography of one of my favorite writers, so it’s no surprise that I greatly enjoyed it. The book, perhaps like Turgenev’s life, is tinged with sadness, dignity, and a gentle…
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Bane of the Black Sword by Michael Moorcock (fifth in the Elric of Melniboné saga)
I finished reading Bane of the Black Sword by Michael Moorcock. This is the fifth book in the Elric saga and was first published in this form in 1977, though some of the work had previously been published in other formats. It consists of four stories (The Stealer of Souls, Kings in Darkness, The Flamebringers,…
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The Covetous Knight by Alexander Pushkin
I finished reading The Covetous Knight (1830), a short play by Alexander Pushkin, translated by A. F. B. Clark. I subsequently learned that Sergei Rachmaninoff wrote a one act opera known as The Miserly Knight based closely on Pushkin’s text. The plot is simple and focuses on the avarice of an elderly baron and his…
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Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Here is a book jot from December 2021: I just finished reading Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (1958). The story narrates the life of Okonkwo, a prominent member of an Ibo clan in Nigeria. The story is deftly told in a fluid and unadorned style with a finely-crafted, objective voice. There is a strong…
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The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander
When I was in elementary school, I read the novel The High King by Lloyd Alexander. I loved it! I remember making a board game based on the story on a big sheet of posterboard. I really hadn’t read anything like it before. It was epic and exciting, with memorable characters and important insights into…
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The Father by August Strindberg
Book jot from November 2021: I just finished reading The Father by August Strindberg (1887), a three act play. It is a psychological page-turner (if that can be said of a play), centered on the relationship between a husband and wife and the growing conflict over the future of their daughter. In the ensuing strife,…
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“By teaching, we learn”
After trying for awhile, without a great deal of success, to practice Latin on my own, I decided to start taking weekly Latin lessons from an online teacher. It’s been a little over three months of lessons now, and I am really, really enjoying it. It helps that I have a fantastic teacher. She is…
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The Boxcar Children
I happened to walk past a little thrift store earlier today. I was in an area I’ve never visited before and noticed this store tucked away in a little strip mall. I decided to stop in and take a look around. I wasn’t finding much in the way of books I was interested in, but…