The Emerald City Book Review by Lory
2,143 FOLLOWERS
The Emerald City Book Review is an eclectic book blog, with a focus on classic and literary fiction, fantasy, children's books, and nonfiction.
The Emerald City Book Review by Lory
2y ago
Kicking off “Summer in Other Languages” at my other blog, Entering the Enchanted Castle, I’m reposting a review in which I considered the problems of translation. I am planning to reread this book in French this summer (thanks to Emma of Words and Peace for hosting a discussion group!) so it will be very interesting to see what my thoughts are after that.
This post originally appeared on The Emerald City Book Review on October 3, 2014. Linked up in Throwback Thursday at The Chocolate Lady’s Book Reviews.
Alain-Fournier, Le Grand Meaulnes (1913)
It’s been a while since I read a novel in transl ..read more
The Emerald City Book Review by Lory
2y ago
This month, I’m reminded by the ongoing turmoil in the world of a discussion post I wrote seven years ago. I can’t remember what it was that was happening then, but it made me feel as though reading (and my mostly bookish blog) could be considered trivial in comparison. Writing out my thoughts about this helped me restore my faith in the power of reading. It’s not just escapism for me, although escape is sometimes the best response, when one is threatened.
Click here to read my original post from May 5, 2015, which began, “Today, with the ongoing barrage of terrible news of every kind from far ..read more
The Emerald City Book Review by Lory
3y ago
Linking up with The Chocolate Lady’s Throwback Thursday meme, I’m sharing a favorite post from The Emerald City Book Review.
This month, since I’m so enjoying #Narniathon21, I’m looking back to my review of The Magician’s Book – Salon.com writer Laura Miller’s memoir about her childhood journeys in the land of Narnia and her revisiting the books as a skeptical adult. This was actually a book I reviewed in my days as a writer for the now defunct journal The Green Man Review, and I co-opted it when I was starting up my blog.
I wish I still had my copy, but I lost it in a book purge before movi ..read more
The Emerald City Book Review by Lory
3y ago
Following the 2016 election, I tried to better understand what had happened by reading books. Along with the New York Times list of “Six books to understand Trump’s win,” I found that Dark Money brought much illumination into developments that had been decades in the making. Disturbing but essential reading, and I’m sharing my review again during this year’s edition of Nonfiction November because it’s still as relevant as ever. This review was originally published on October 17, 2017.
Jane Mayer, Dark Money (2016)
As my highly non-political brain tries to grasp what is really behind the polit ..read more
The Emerald City Book Review by Lory
3y ago
Throwback Thursday is a feature of my new blog, Entering the Enchanted Castle, that allows me to take a look back at some of my favorite posts from past years on ECBR. This week I’m bringing back one of my most popular posts, which was also one of the most fun to write — for reasons I think will become clear as you read on. This post originally appeared on October 31, 2015, as the kick-off post of Witch Week.
In Tam Lin, Pamela Dean takes her college experience and mixes it with elements of the well-known sixteenth-century ballad about a young man entrapped by the Fairy Queen, who is then resc ..read more
The Emerald City Book Review by Lory
3y ago
Happy New Year! It’s sure to be another challenging one, but as long as we are still able to share our reading lives, there will be something to be glad about.
As the Emerald City Book Review comes to a close, please join me at my other blog, Entering the Enchanted Castle, where my giveaway celebrating seven years of ECBR is still open for one more week.
And to stay in touch, please be sure to follow me over at the Castle, using WordPress, email, Bloglovin’, Feedly, or your method of choice. I look forward to connecting with you ..read more
The Emerald City Book Review by Lory
3y ago
January 2020 feels like it took place more than a year ago, but by the calendar of ordinary time, it’s just been twelve months. And thus it’s time to choose my “Gems of 2020,” which will be my last list of favorites here at the Emerald City Book Review. For my reading and blogging plans for next year, join me on January 1 over at Entering the Enchanted Castle.
In reading terms, I did not manage to read as many books as usual, but many of them were excellent. I was thrilled that Susanna Clarke finally released another book and that it was one of my favorites of the year. I journeyed through May ..read more
The Emerald City Book Review by Lory
3y ago
Dear friends, it’s almost time to say goodbye to The Emerald City Book Review. I invite you all to join me in the New Year over at my other blog, Entering the Enchanted Castle. I’ll be moving all my book blogging activity over there, along with sharing thoughts about life, language, and other magical things.
It’s been absolutely wonderful to share this seven-year journey with you, and I want to thank everyone for making it such a joy.
This blog and its archives and old posts will remain up for at least six months, so don’t worry if there’s something you still want to read. And I hope to create ..read more
The Emerald City Book Review by Lory
3y ago
As the year comes to a close, here’s a review of how I did on my challenges — which I kept to a minimum this year, not wanting to overdo it. And I’m quite happy with how I did, so that was a success!
I finished six books for Back to the Classics:
Classic with a Name in the Title: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Classic by a Woman Author: The World I Live In
Adapted Classic: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Classic about a Family: Brideshead Revisited
Translated Classic: Le Petit Prince
Classic with Nature in the Title: The Old Man and the Sea
And kept up with the Book Blog Discussion Challenge with a post (al ..read more
The Emerald City Book Review by Lory
3y ago
This year I was very happy to participate in Nonfiction November, having read a lot of great nonfiction and eager to share with other readers. It was a wonderful event!
I did not get a lot of new reading done. Besides finishing and reviewing Danubia for Nonfiction November, I was mostly reading through the Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner, because I wanted to refresh my memory before enjoying the final volume, Return of the Thief (which I’m nearly done with now). What a pleasure it has been to watch this series evolve over the years. Bravo to MWT for bringing it to a worthy close ..read more