My first encounter with the work of Ursula K. Le Guin happened in my freshman year at Rutgers, when my friend handed me a book she was reading for a class and insisted I read one of the short stories in it. It was a short short story, she said, and I could finish it … Read More
There’s no need for long introductions when it comes to Business Librarian Becky Diamond (BLD), accomplished author and productive blogger. However, Books We Read (BWR) took the opportunity to get to know her work a bit more on the occasion that Becky will manage the day-to-day responsibilities for Books We Read, along with our social … Read More
Following up on a previous post On the Road: Bibliotherapy for Hungarians Abroad, I’m sharing what can be gleaned from a full semester bibliotherapy group session with fellow Hungarians living abroad. The first rule of fight clubs (i.e., don’t talk about fight clubs) applies to bibliotherapy groups too. Joking aside, the confidential setting is a powerful … Read More
For the longest time, I wasn’t much of a horror fan. I thought the genre was all blood, guts, and jump scares, and none of those things appealed to me (and they still don’t). So my introduction to the work of Stephen King was not one of his horror novels, but a new (at the … Read More
We hear you, Chepito! This would be my message to the author of one of the most remarkable books published this fall on a topic that might divide the readers of this blog, just as it does this country and the world. Solito: A Memoir, written by accomplished poet Javier Zamora, is a captivating story … Read More
Poodle Springs sounds like an intriguing title alone. The eighth novel in the famous Philip Marlowe series has two authors listed, Raymond Chandler, the original writer of the series, and Robert B. Parker. What’s going on here? With only four chapters written, Poodle Springs was left unfinished in 1959 when Chandler died. For his 100th … Read More
It’s my favorite time of year again. Crisp fall air and crunching leaves under your feet means it’s time to crack a spooky paperback. When I talk to non-horror fans, I tend to hear a few criticisms of the genre. One is that horror is formulaic. While tropes and devices are what define genres, for … Read More
Devon Fairweather is a princess. She lives in a manor house in the countryside with her family. She is brought up understanding how special she is, that she will marry several times, and how important her future marriages will be to securing the stability of her people. She lives on a steady diet of fairy … Read More
As human beings we are all entitled to certain basic rights: Freedom, liberty, security, equity, etc. The United Nations even issued a Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. This is wonderful in theory, but in reality, some humans are more “entitled” than others. This divide between the “haves” and “have-nots” has existed since humans … Read More
Certain disasters dwell in the public consciousness long after they take place. The sinking of the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912 took the lives of 1,500 people. In the 110 years since the sinking, numerous books and films, along with a voluminous amount of scholarship have ensured that the memory of the event lives … Read More