A day after Halloween, I am rereading some classics from my childhood and I thought it would be fun to focus on one of my favorite scary books from when I was quite young, and one that still has an effect upon me to this day. Childhood fears are less insidious than those we learn … Continue reading Jane-Emily by Patricia Clapp
Category: Food
Circe by Madeline Miller
Western culture is by definition patriarchal. You see it in our art, our music, our religion, our family genealogy, our rituals, our language, and of course, in our literature. Much of our culture is predicated on what we learned from ancient cultures such as the Hebrews, the Romans, the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons; and particularly, the … Continue reading Circe by Madeline Miller
The Master’s Apprentice by Oliver Pötzsch
We are all familiar with the age-old concept of selling your soul to the Devil, right? I think all of us, at one time or another have had that secret desire to wish for and get our soul's deepest desire and even considered to what lengths we would go to have our heart's greatest wish. … Continue reading The Master’s Apprentice by Oliver Pötzsch
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo? Well, it's Valentine's Day so really, what other tale of star-crossed love, murder and suicide could I possibly blog about on this day of hearts and romance than Romeo and Juliet? Seriously though, during my recent move, I finally found my huge book of Shakespeare's plays which had been … Continue reading Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Food in Films – Dangerous Beauty
I hadn't done a Food in Films post in quite awhile and I'm sorry for that. These are among the most fun posts I can do, particularly because I enjoy the inherent creativity in recreating food from a movie. You really do have a lot of artistic license, almost more so than recreating food in … Continue reading Food in Films – Dangerous Beauty
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-García
I'm as guilty as the next person of judging. I judge wine by the label on the bottle, musical artists by genre, and of course, books by their covers. In this case, can you blame me? The cover for Mexican Gothic is stunningly beautiful and hits me on all my levels: aesthetic, moody, mysterious, and … Continue reading Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-García
The Heartbreaker by Susan Howatch
You wouldn't normally think that the Church of England would make for scintillating reading, but you'd be sooooooo wrong if you start reading the "Church of England" series written by British author Susan Howatch. I stumbled across one of them going on 15 years ago now, and was hooked. The series is broken up into … Continue reading The Heartbreaker by Susan Howatch
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
This is one of those epic books that feature a cast of thousands, exotic locations that span the globe, stories within stories within stories............and Count Dracula. I mean, how can it possibly get better than that? Being a former Goth girl, I still have a fondness for the darker side of things. Vampires, crucifixes, ghosts, … Continue reading The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown
If you've followed my blog long enough, you'll be familiar with my great disdain for "chick lit," not because I think literature by women for women is bad but because so much of it is terribly written, horribly edited, dumbed down, and the topic of true love is often written about in such a sappy-ass … Continue reading Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown
REPOST: Bless Me, Última by Rudolfo Anaya
The news of the death of Rudolfo Anaya hit today. He was not only a world-renowned author, he was also a dear and cherished friend, mentor, and counselor. I was fortunate to have met him 20 years ago and we developed a wonderful friendship. He encouraged my writing, persuaded me to attend graduate school, and … Continue reading REPOST: Bless Me, Última by Rudolfo Anaya









