★★★★★ | History | Print | Own | StoryGraph | Goodreads
In 208 eloquent pages, Durant shares his views on death, religion, education, war, politics, spirituality, and, through it all, the meaning of life. Truly a gift to humanity from a scholar who devoted his long life to the study of history.
…★★★★☆ | Horror | Audio | Own | StoryGraph | Goodreads
On a quest to read the few Stephen King books I missed along the way. I forgot how great of a short story writer King is. Probably some of his novels should have been short stories! Gingerbread Girl and N were my favorites in this collection.
★★★★☆ | Mystery-Suspense | Digital | Own | StoryGraph | Goodreads
I read the book during a recent visit to New York City and watched the movie on the plane ride home, which made for an immersive experience. The movie stayed very true to the book, though some big sections were left out. I loved reading the backstory of how young Vito Corleone eventually became the Don. Yes, some of it is dated, and yes, there were a few choppy parts that felt in need of editing, but I was pleasantly surprised by how really good this book was. If you loved the movie, you’ll enjoy the book.
The word “reason” sounded so much better in Italian, ragione, to rejoin. The art of this was to ignore all insults, all threats; to turn the other cheek.
a friend should always underestimate your virtues and an enemy overestimate your faults.
★★★★★ | Writing | Digital | Own | StoryGraph | Goodreads
What a delightful book. The first chapter reeled me in with the story of how the Moleskin notebook exploded in popularity in the 1990s. The author clearly has been bitten by the same notebook fetish bug. He cites brand names of notebooks that are all too familiar to me. He decided to write a history of the notebook about ten years ago and proceeded to fill four or five notebooks with scribbles and quotes and references that ultimately became this book.
Allen used effective storytelling techniques to share dozens of examples of notebook usage over the past six hundred years from accounting ledgers in the 1400s, artist sketchbooks in the 1500s, Darwin’s field notes, to modern day journaling. Definitely a niche book, but great for any lover of notebooks and journals.
★★★★★ | History | Print + Digital | Own | StoryGraph | Goodreads
The tenth volume of the incredible Story of Civilization series by Will and Ariel Durant. This one, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1968, provides an immensely readable history of Europe leading up to the French Revolution. Reading this series has been such an education. My only wish is that I had read them sooner.
…★★★★☆ | Writing | Print | Own | Goodreads | StoryGraph
It took me months and months to finish this book, and I think that’s the right pace for something like this. This book can only be appreciated in print form. The pictures and notes would not work at all on Kindle. The challenge of the book is that it’s almost impossible for creative people to articulate how they created their work, and this problem pervades the book. Moss takes this in stride, but there are few eureka moments that feel at all instructive. Still, it’s alway fun to get a glimpse into how artists work. If there’s a theme here, it’s art is hard. Keep trying.
…★★★☆☆ | Travel and Nature | Print | Own | StoryGraph | Goodreads
This one didn’t meet my high expectations. The essays feel too forced and contrived, like the author is trying too hard. Lots of handwringing. Her circle of concern is very very large. I don’t know how many essays reference the sad departure of her children from her once full home. I have no patience for mourning the loss of a child who has simply moved across town. If only. I read a half dozen of her short essays in the hot sun, wanting to be done with the book and move on to something more comforting. The essays went down easier out of doors, even if I don’t subscribe quite so much to her views.
You can’t come back to something that is gone. — Richard Powers, The Overstory
Sometimes the only cure for homesickness is to enlarge the definition of home.
★★★★☆ | Fantasy | Print | Own | StoryGraph | Goodreads
A wonderful little snippet of a fantasy story. It could have been chapter one of a 500 page fantasy novel. Yet, one to read every Christmas eve.
One should be patient with saints, I suppose. Though the trouble with being patient,” she said, “is that, generally speaking, there’s no one to see you doing it.
★★★☆☆ | Writing | Print | Own | StoryGraph | Goodreads
Book Notes
Divide writing time into thirds:
Three rules for ordering of arguments:
★★★★☆ | Literary Fiction | Digital | Own | StoryGraph | Goodreads
An innovative retelling of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim. There are some brutal, hopeless sections of this book that gutted me. There is some humor, but mostly this is a dark, dark book. The ending of vengeance and violence doesn’t feel consistent with Jim’s character, but a man can take only so much.
