Is anyone still following this blog? After some thought, I decided to switch the blog completely over to a different platform; it was clear that the old format, for various reasons, was no longer working.
Please reset bookmarks, if any, to oldcypress.trois-royaumes.com. Unfortunately, there is no good way to redirect feeds, but here is the new [...]
I finished Unseen Academicals (Indiebound | Powell’s) last week; thoughts to follow soon. I’m currently in the middle of Status Anxiety (Powell’s | Indiebound) and The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work (Powell’s | Indiebound), both by Alain de Botton.
I forgot to mention the used books I bought at Half-Price Books during their Labor Day Sale.
Waiting, [...]
In the chapter, “Philosophy”:
Cynics are, in the end, only idealists with awkwardly high standards.
– Alain de Botton, Status Anxiety (Powell’s | Indiebound)
De Botton is quite adept at aphorisms.
The chapter on “Art” has convinced me to read Mansfield Park, which I think is the only major Austen novel that I haven’t read yet. Unfortunately, it did [...]
I recently finished Atul Gawande’s Complications (Indiebound | Powell’s), which is one of the four books I ought to finish reading before I head to a fellowship conference in two weeks.
I also bought (and started) the latest Discworld novel from Terry Pratchett, Unseen Academicals (Indiebound | Powell’s), which is about the Unseen University beginning its [...]
After nearly ten months of failing to update this blog, I decided that it was time for a change. I updated my Wordpress installation, retitled the blog, reorganized the pages and tried to mark them as outdated.
I will continue to blog about the books I read here, but it will be much less structured and [...]
The Scar by China Miéville: Miéville has been sweeping the SF/F awards since his debut and I’ve been intending to read him for quite some time now. (In fact, I’ve had a copy of Iron Council for over a year now, still unread.) I’ve been dragging my feet though because from previous [...]
I continue to struggle to find the time to review all the books I read. However, I decided to start over again with a blank slate.
Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, by Mary Roach: I’m not a forensics enthusiast so I hadn’t read Roach’s Stiff despite it being highly recommended to me [...]
The Mask of Apollo, by Mary Renault: I’ve read and enjoyed books by Renault before, so reading The Mask of Apollo felt very much like sinking back into a comfortable armchair: Renault’s style and voice were both familiar to me. I have to say though that The Mask of Apollo now probably ranks as my [...]
Last memory lane post of the day. I kept up with the Chesterton quotes for two more days before I moved on.
[Daylight and Nightmare, by G.K. Chesterton]
From “The Angry Street”:
“And you?” he cried terribly. “What do you think the road thinks of you? Does the road think you are alive? Are you alive! Day [...]
It’s a testament to her skill as a writer that Byatt always excites such a vehement response from me, no matter what she’s writing. Actually, I still remember scenes from this book quite vividly. Reading this book was not about enjoyment—it means nothing to say that I liked or disliked the book—but about [...]