Tag Archives: Leo Tolstoy

“I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat or a prostitute.” Happy Birthday, Rebecca West

It is hard to talk about her without referencing the generations of writers she inspired, all of whom admit their debt to her. Robert Kaplan is the most open about it (his Balkan Ghosts, which launched his career, has him … Continue reading

Posted in Books, On This Day, writers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Book Meme: Pick One

Hard to pick one answer for each. Got this from Ted. One book you’re currently reading: I am only reading one. I cannot read fiction right now. I can barely read, if you want to know the truth, but I … Continue reading

Posted in Books | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Middlemarch and Tolstoy

Ted is reading Middlemarch and I have so been loving his thoughts on the book. One of the main responses I had to the book was that it actually excited me. It was an exhilarating read. Omniscient and personal, at … Continue reading

Posted in Books | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Tolstoy Zingers

One of the things I love best about War and Peace is how action-packed it is … and yet how, suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, we get these psychological ZINGERS thrown at us – which have such the ring of … Continue reading

Posted in writers | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

War and Peace: An Entire Society In One Paragraph

Part Four: Chapter III On the 3rd of March all the rooms of the English Club were full of the hum of voices, and the members and guests of the club, in uniforms and frock-coats, some even in powder and … Continue reading

Posted in Books | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Family: What We All Are Reading

Bren: re-reading The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (with bonus content): A Novel Jean: reading The End of the Affair, and also Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli Dad: reading The Far Side of the World (he finished Treason’s Harbour) Siobhan: … Continue reading

Posted in Books | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Books: “Anna Karenina” (Leo Tolstoy)

Daily Book Excerpt: Adult fiction: Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy There was a time in Chicago when my entire group of friends read this book. It spread like a virus. One person started it, and began raving about it, so … Continue reading

Posted in Books | Tagged , | 9 Comments

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

Jessa Crispin has an interesting interview with Peter Boxall, editor of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. I loved what Boxall said at the end: “Having benefited from an extraordinary number of emails and letters as well as … Continue reading

Posted in Books, James Joyce | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

“I Beat Mr. Turgenev.”

Here’s another quote from Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway was asked, by an interview, about another so-called “war writer”, who thought of himself as Tolstoy: He never hears a shot fired in anger, and he sets out to beat who? Tolstoy, an … Continue reading

Posted in Books, writers | Tagged , | 1 Comment