When I was young, maybe 18, I visited my girlfriend (now wife)’s house. My father-in-law to be, a rather imposing and gruff former military officer, lets me in the house. At this time my now-wife and I had not been …
Books
Reading in a time of crisis (or, 10 ways to run a virtual book club)
Whether you’re panicked or calm, pretty much everyone is impacted by the measures being taken to tackle the Coronavirus (aka Covid-19) outbreak. Ourselves, we’re mostly in the calm bucket – there are plenty of people at risk, and stern measures …
Our reading in 2019
2019 was a good year for reading. If you’ve been reading the blog, you know I went to Iceland this year (trip report). I read a lot of Icelandic stuff in preparation (my reading list here), so I won’t recount …
Reading my way to Iceland
Pretty much since high school, I’ve had what W. H. Auden called “The Northern Thing”, a fascination with Vikings, Scandinavia, and their conflicting views on Fate (everything is predetermined) and Free Will (you must fight to death, and never give …
My 10 books
Had a fun conversation with friend about how in the old days you’d invite your friends over and impress them with your book collection. And how, in today’s digital/library world, the books that mean the most to us often aren’t …
My year in reading, 2018
As I’ve taken to doing the last few years, at the Christmas season I like to look back on my reading for the year to see what stands out, and to think about about what I want to read in …
An Unlikely Story
So, out and about last weekend looking at tile for a remodeling project….so….bored…let’s go to a Bookstore! Much better. Turns out we’re not that far away from An Unlikely Story, an indie bookstore opened a few years back in Plainville, …
A little North Atlantic book excursion
I’ve always had a bit of what W.H. Auden called “The Northern Thing”. So imagine my delight when I discovered a book featuring a Boston detective (I live part time in Boston) called to Iceland to investigate a murder involving…wait …
A new bookstore in Hawaii
I was on my way to book club (the Greener Reader book club), we were reading Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor. Interesting, if erratic, alien “first contact” book set in Nigeria. I was early, and I’d seen a tweet there was …
My year in reading, 2017
Each year I try to summarize what I read, in hopes of improving and enjoying my reading more. Last year, I lamented reading too much fluff, and promised to read “better” this year, whatever that means. I religiously track what …