J.D. Biersdorfer knows what she’s talking about: It’s O.K. to admit it: You tried to read James Joyce’s “Ulysses” and ended up chucking the thing aside in frustration. You are not alone. According to her letters, Virginia Woolf (“Never did I… Read More ›
Books
Playing with Fire
You probably think of Tess Gerritsen as the competent author of interesting genre novels featuring Rizzoli and Isles. Usually, after all, that’s exactly what she is. But Playing with Fire is something very different: part serious mainstream literature, part historical fiction, part… Read More ›
Old medicine
As you can see, the cover page of this book looks old enough — 151 years old, to be precise. But you’ll notice that the title refers to “Early England” and the sub-sub-title refers to “before the Norman conquest,” so… Read More ›
A multilingual bookmark
I’ll have to give this as a puzzle to my incoming freshmen in September. You know how libraries give out free bookmarks as a service to their customers? (I’m sure it’s mostly just a way to discourage evil practices like… Read More ›
Making a Point: The Persnickety Story of English Punctuation
If you use commas and periods, this book is for you. If you use semicolons and dashes; this book is still for you. And even if you use colons, hyphens, parentheses, and the dreaded apostrophes, this book is still for you. So, I… Read More ›
The Art of Language Invention
OK, let’s get a couple of things out of the way before we discuss this book: First of all, it is not a book for the general public. Despite its title, The Art of Language Invention is not a popularization. Yes, it looks like an ordinary trade… Read More ›
17 equations that changed the world
I’m sure you’re wondering how there could possibly be 17 equations that changed the world — and what those equations might be. According to Ian Stewart by way of kottke.org, these are the 17: So what do we think of this… Read More ›
Talking Right
A clever title: “Talking Right.” It deliberately misleads you into thinking that it means “talking correctly,” perhaps with a subtle dig at those who use an adjective where an adverb is supposedly the right form. But that’s not what the… Read More ›
Addicted to distraction?
From a recent New York Times opinion piece by Tony Schwartz: Addiction is the relentless pull to a substance or an activity that becomes so compulsive it ultimately interferes with everyday life. By that definition, nearly everyone I know is… Read More ›
Invisible City
Can you say “metaphor”? The title of Julia Dahl’s novel, Invisible City, may mislead you into thinking it’s science fiction, but it’s not. Not in the least. If you have to assign it to a genre, it’s a mystery — though it’s… Read More ›
Smiles of a Summer’s Night and A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy
Literary and musical connections can be rather complicated. First, we have Mozart’s well-known “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik,” often translated (literally but inaccurately) as “A Little Night Music.” Nachtmusik actually means “serenade,” but the literal translation has become even more well-known as a result… Read More ›
More Botswana charm from McCall Smith
It’s hard to believe, but apparently this is my seventh post about Alexander McCall Smith’s novels. Most recently (Dec. 15) I reviewed The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection. Since that point I’ve read two more in the Botswana series, one in… Read More ›
World Gone By
Almost exactly three years ago — on January 12, 2013 — I reviewed The Given Day and Live by Night, the first two novels in Dennis Lehane’s historical trilogy. At the time it wasn’t clear whether this would really be a… Read More ›
The Question of the Unfamiliar Husband
One week ago I reviewed The Question of the Missing Head, by E. J. Copperman and Jeff Cohen. I liked it. The sequel, The Question of the Unfamiliar Husband, is even stronger. On the whole it’s what you’d expect in a traditional second novel in… Read More ›
That’s Not English
It’s entertaining, it’s charming, it’s informative, but…ultimately it’s disappointing. Every chapter shows great promise…and then it suddenly ends before that promise could be fulfilled. That’s Not English: Britishisms, Americanisms, and What Our English Says About Us, by Erin Moore, is a book… Read More ›
The Question of the Missing Head
The Question of the Missing Head is the first in an unusual series of mysteries by E. J. Copperman and Jeff Cohen. What’s so unusual, you ask? It’s that the detective has Asperger’s Syndrome, which plays a significant role in… Read More ›
This Book is Overdue
“This book is overdue,” I observed as I handed the book to the librarian in order to check it out. It had been on the Hold shelf, as I had requested it earlier, so it still had the request slip… Read More ›
The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection
As the 13th book in the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith, The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection is one of the stronger contenders for Best in Series. But it might not be your cup of rooibos. Is… Read More ›
The Jewels of Paradise
Venice! Thrice before [ooh…how often do you get to use the word “thrice”?] in this blog I’ve reviewed books by Donna Leon: Blood from a Stone on March 4, 2007; The Girl of his Dreams on November 27, 2008; and The Golden Egg on September… Read More ›
Dirty Old Boston, On the Dot Books, chain stores, and the Dot2Dot Cafe
Dorchester does have a bookstore! A very small one, but a bookstore nonetheless — and it’s neither a Barnes & Noble nor a Borders. No, wait…Borders is no more…is Barnes & Noble the only remaining brick-and-mortar chain bookstore? They’re also online,… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 