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 feel a … Continued
We must come down from our heights, and leave our straight paths for the by-ways and low places of life, if we would learn truths by strong contrasts; and in hovels, in forecastles, and among our own outcasts in foreign … Continued
Bookstores are dangerous places for me. Despite the fact that I’m a librarian and can easily borrow any book I want, I will still manage to spend money when I go to a bookstore. The stores that are especially likely … Continued
Somehow, despite my general love of Victoriana, I had until recently never read anything by Wilkie Collins, a friend of Dickens best known for The Moonstone and The Woman in White, both viewed as important early examples of detective novels. … Continued
I will begin with a confession: I am a comic book geek. Ever since I could read, I have enjoyed the garishly colored adventures of both the Marvel and DC pantheons of spandex-clad heroes. Of course, as I have grown … Continued
When I was a senior in high school, my classmates and I were forced to read Emma by Jane Austen. I hated it. Not that there was anything wrong with Emma, of course, but Jane Austen does not and never … Continued
Trollope’s massive Phineas Redux is the fourth of his “Palliser” novels and recounts the further adventures of Phineas Finn, the eponymous hero of the second in that series. When I wrote about Phineas Finn I expressed some dissatisfaction with the … Continued
I actually finished this Ian McEwan novel a couple weeks ago and have been putting off writing about it because I’m just not sure what to say. When writing about Trollope novels there is always so much material. I can … Continued
Ever since encountering the fearsome Mrs. Hurtle in The Way We Live Now, I have had a special affection for Trollope’s “bad girl” characters. Of course I haven’t read everything by Trollope, but I find it hard to imagine anyone … Continued
A few weeks ago I rented a really wretched movie called The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. It is essentially a superhero movie, except that the superheros are 19th century literary characters. The characters include Tom Sawyer, Mina Harker (from Dracula), … Continued