In this reflection, I consider the effects that Falling Upward (2011) had on me after I first read it in 2014. In this book by Franciscan monk Richard Rohr, comments on
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is Drawn from Muriel Spark’s Life
Don Wilms lead the Richmond, Virginia (RVA) Classic Bookclub Discussion of The Prime of Miss Brodie in April 2022
MINI BOOK REVIEW: FALLEN IDOLS, TWELVE STATUES THAT MADE HISTORY BY ALEX VON TUNZELMANN
By Paul Ho – Litchatte Reviewer Ten years ago, I would never have imagined I’d be reading a book about statues. But here we are in 2022, where even
Poetry Workshop: Meeting Shakepeare’s Similes, Metaphors, and Ironies
One a recent TV Commercial, a happy-go-lucky pitchman compares buying insurance to selecting ice cream flavors: there is one for each need. Although his sale comparison method could be considered
Plenty to Wonder About Alice in Wonderland
We would certainly not now know Dodgson as a photographer or clergyman. But we do now under his pen name of Lewis Carroll, as the author of Alice in Wonderland (1865) and Alice Through the Looking Glass (1871). These are two of the most notable books in both children’s and adult literature.
Join Us Online or Live in My Class. “We are All Mad Here,” Said the Cheshire Cat to Alice
You may be wondering, what sort of people will review the current online forum or come to this class? I hope to be able to answer this class after we journey through Wonderland with a fresh approach. We will at least find out what the Cheshire Cat advised Alice on that question. These books have fascinated me throughout my life, and I find them even more fascinating as a senior aged adult
My Adventures with Alice in Wonderland
The real and the fantasy Alice of Wonderland were educated in traditional upper-class 19th-century schools and taught to think using Victorian values and logic. Fantasy Alice is bored with the everyday sameness of this life and wants to experience something different. Though I am at a far later stage, I understand the necessity of wanting a change as I go through a new and uncharted life stage.
The Experiences Needed to Read or Write A Tale of Two Cities
In In our class, we considered the life Dickens needed to have before he could have had the experiences, skills, and maturity to write a novel that would stand out as one of the best ones in literature…Sorry there will be no spoilers here about how well he succeeded. You will have to read or re-read the book when you are seasoned enough to comprehend it.
Dickens and Being Recalled to Life
Thinking about this boy who was once me, it is very tough to approach him because he has been buried in my mind for over 70 years and now must be recalled to life. It helps me to dredge up this painful memory by thinking about how Dickens wrote about young boys who were neglected and mistreated by their parents.
Being Guided by E.A. Poe
Most people likely associate Edgar Allan Poe as a writer of some of the world’s scariest horror stories. His most famous poem, “The Raven,” creates moods of terror as the
Postmodernism in Milan Kundera’s, The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Kundera leaves us with some thought-provoking ideas. The novelist is neither a historian nor a prophet: he is an explorer of existence.
Parenting Our Three or Four Daughters
I can’t remember many difficult parts about raising our three daughters. We didn’t expect the delight that an unexpected fourth daughter about 17 years later would bring. However, each one had a few challenges.
Reconsidering What is a Modern Classic Book: The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
In this article, Murray Ellison considers how we might consider books written in the last 70 years as Classics and considers Kazuo’s, The Remains of the Day as a modern classic.
