This seems as good a day as any to finish up my year-end transition for reading books, since I just finished the last Christmas story I’d set aside to read in 2022, day-before-yesterday, nearly two weeks into 2023. Sometimes, in rebellious moments, I wonder why we insist on these demarcations between time periods, especially ending the year in the middle of a season. It feels so arbitrary to me, especially this year, for some reason. Maybe it’s that the same weather patterns are continuing, and I have some ongoing projects that are the same projects now as they were in December.
Tag: nonfiction
How did Jane Austen celebrate Christmas?
A peek at the background of Jane Austen’s stories, and an exploration into how she might have celebrated Christmas. Links, quotes, and further reading sources included.
The Classic Tradition of Haiku
The Classic Tradition of Haiku: An Anthology, by Faubion Bower. The collection in this anthology of classic haiku is gathered from the works of traditionally recognized haiku masters from Japanese history.
Grammar for a Full Life
If you love the English language, if you do a lot of writing, or if you want to communicate on a deeper level in everything you write, then this book might interest you. Even if you don’t write that much yourself, but enjoy reading thoughtful writing in the form of essays, I recommend this.
Three Simple Lines — a book about haiku and much more
Three Simple Lines: A Writer’s Pilgrimage into the Heart and Homeland of Haiku, by Natalie Goldberg, is a fascinating book for me, for a few different reasons. The subject of haiku is…
The Author Blog: Easy Blogging for Busy Authors
This book is intended for writers who want to start author blogs. There’s a lot of good advice here, and some of it is good for general blogging, much more of it specific to author blogs.
Agatha Christie An Elusive Woman
I’m more intrigued than ever by Agatha Christie. This is a biography that has been thoroughly researched and is even-handed as far as sensitivity, respect for the subject, and for truth-telling. It doesn’t turn a blind eye to Agatha Christie’s failings, but presents her as a whole human being, a brilliant creative person as well as a product of her time and social class. It maintains a balance that feels solid and well thought out, sympathetic and at the same time objective, scholarly and fair. It’s also a delightful read.