Category Archives: books

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Print PDF I’ve seen their “Libertas”-becrested spines scattered among the classics in used book stores, but had never paid much attention to them. They are the Harvard Classics, and I guess they’re something of a cultural institution, or at least … Continue reading →

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Print PDF Folklore is filled with stories of hapless humans who find themselves captives in the Land of Fairy and of their rescue by brave knights and enchanters. But never has such a tale been told like this. Jonathan Strange … Continue reading →

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Print PDF Inspired both by Harold Bloom and by a couple of excellent local productions I’ve seen recently, I have decided to get serious about Shakespeare. In the past year, I’ve read Lear (for the first time!) and re-visited Hamlet … Continue reading →

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Print PDF I’m a Richard Dawkins fan from way back. When I was a freshman biology major at Florida State, one of my professors recommended The Selfish Gene, which remains one of my favorite science books. (I was not convinced … Continue reading →

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Print PDF Like most readers, I am frequently troubled by the fact that there are far more books out there that I want to read than I am ever likely to. Consequently, I have a dangerous fascination with “great book” … Continue reading →

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Print PDF Even by Victorian standards, Our Mutual Friend is a sprawling work. I mean that not only in terms of its size, which is formidable, but also its complexity of plot and its enormous cast of characters. At heart … Continue reading →

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Print PDF Some years ago, I decided to try my hand at learning Tibetan. Honestly, I didn’t make it much past the alphabet and a smattering of simple words. But I did learn one interesting thing from my teacher, which … Continue reading →

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Print PDF With the resounding success of A Christmas Carol, Dickens apparently thought he had a good thing going and started writing annual Christmas stories. There are five stories total, written from 1843 (A Christmas Carol) to 1848 (The Haunted … Continue reading →

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Print PDF I know that Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol to cheer the hearts of mankind and to infuse us all with the spirit of the season. (Well, he also wrote it to try to jump start his flagging career—more … Continue reading →

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Print PDF After a string of reading experiences that I have found less than stellar, I decided to indulge in one of my favorite luxuries: re-reading. Considering how much there is out there that I want to read, I always … Continue reading →