Thoughts on Comfort Reading

I take quite a lot of notes when I’m reading. Note-taking does compromise the time taken to finish a book, but, at least for literary fiction, notes and quoted passages will come handy to understanding the novel as a whole. Although I enjoy reading literary fiction like those of Virginia Woolf, Toni Morrison, and Jose [...]

Gift That Enlightens for Years to Come

My friend Alan has maintained the same morning routine since I first met him at the local cafe. A bookseller who has Mondays and Tuesdays off, he spends cozy mornings reading New York Times and the current book over tea and bagel. No sooner had I become a regular did I notice one particular book [...]

[290] Murder at the Vicarage – Agatha Christie

You see, living alone as I do, in a rather out of the way part of the world, one has to have a hobby. There is, of course, woolwork, and Guides, and Welfare, and sketching, but my hobby is—and always has been—Human Nature. So varied—and so very fascinating. And, of course, in a small village, [...]

[289] The Beautiful and Damned – F. Scott Fitzgerald

“She was doubting now whether there had been any moral issue involved in her way of life—to walk unworried and unregretful along the gayest of all possible lanes and to keep her pride by being always herself and doing what it seemed beautiful that she should do . . . ” [3, II, 330] Never [...]

A Murder is Announced (1985)

I’ve been splashing around with books that, although intriguing, don’t hold up to a consistent perusal. Pilcrow is very artistic and literary that I can only use a small dose at a time. Has anyone read Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo? It’s quite big and I’m slowly trudging through it. The most promising is [...]

[288] A Murder is Announced – Agatha Christie

The villagers of Chipping Cleghorn are agog with curiosity over an advertisement in the local gazette which reads: ‘A murder is announced and will take place on Friday, October 29th, at Little Paddocks at 6:30pm.’ A childish practical joke? Or a hoax intended to terrify poor Letitia Blacklock? Thus begins a subtly humorous and mind-bending [...]

Order Does Matter: Movie Tie-In

What happens when you see a movie based on a book/story, especially one you’ve not read? Do you feel the need to track it down and read it? The only exception that I saw the film before reading the novel is A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood. Thanks to the hype of the film, directed [...]

Agatha Christie

I find this old Guardian article on Agatha Christie’s top 10 mysteries. Delicious list; including the unforgettable The Murder of Roger Ackryod and Murder on Orient Express. I haven’t heard of some of the titles: Peril at End House, The ABC Murders, Crooked House and Endless Night. I came up with this article since I’m [...]

[287] In the Shadow of the Cypress – Thomas Steinbeck

“The difference is that the Chinese were bright enough to assimilate themselves into other cultures without demanding that those around them adapt to Chinese standards and practices. You stay alive a whole lot longer that way. It’s a Chinese principle to contribute to, and not denigrate, potential markets.” [Part 3, 171] Reminiscent of life described [...]

Quick Reading Update

I don’t want to bother my readers with too frequent of the petty update on reading deliberately; but I like to add that upon completion of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, I have fulfilled Category 2 (Charles Dickens) of the reading plan, which puts me at 70% progress.The next fulfilled goal shall [...]