Not long ago I was sharing with you my thoughts about "When Nietzsche Wept" by Irvin D. Yalom. Through a series of fortunate events (you can call it serendipity) I started reading another book written by the same author: "The Spinoza Problem". Oh, how much I enjoyed it and I also started to appreciate "When Nietzsche … Continue reading The Spinoza Problem by Irvin D. Yalom (book review) – a teaching novel about an intellectual rebel
Category: Book review
For a long time I've been interested in reading a book by Virginia Woolf. However, I became more aware of her literary importance after taking the online course "How to read a novel", where her novels were mentioned during discussions about flashbacks / flash-forwards and pace. That's how I found out that she is most … Continue reading Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (book review) – reflecting on one’s own life while preparing a party
What approach do you take before reading a book? Do you do a research on the story, or you just start reading the book without any prior information? As I personally prefer the latter option, I started reading "When Nietzsche Wept" without having any idea what it was about ... The enthusiastic recommendation of my … Continue reading When Nietzsche Wept by Irvin D. Yalom (book review) – a teaching novel on psychotherapy
I first heard about "As I Lay Dying" from Holly from The Nut Free Nerd, whose passionate review convinced me to add it high up on my 2018 reading list. And I don't regret doing so, as it's different than anything I read before! I must confess that reading this book was more challenging than … Continue reading As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (book review) – a coffin and a family journey
I start this post by making a confession: reading two books in a row (not part of a series) written by the same author was a first for me. After reading a book, I usually want to try something else, or I already decided what book to read next and I stick to the plan. … Continue reading Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami (book review) – Oedipus myth wrapped in surrealism
1Q84 - the book* I got so hooked on that I spent late evenings and early mornings reading it. Interestingly, I did not know any single bit about this book before I started reading it ... I was very excited when I received it as Christmas present, but I had no idea about the fascinating … Continue reading 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami (book review) – the world with a question mark
A few months ago, before going on holiday to Australia, I decided to "prepare" for the trip in a bookish way - by reading books written by Aussie authors. That's how I discovered Geraldine Brooks and her Pulitzer-awarded book "March". Father of Little Women Let me begin by explaining why this book is special. You … Continue reading March by Geraldine Brooks (book review) – leaving everything you love for duty
What comes to your mind when you think about "War and Peace"? Long and boring? Detailed war scenes that are not read by anyone anyway? Too many characters? Why the need for philosophical interventions? If you answered "yes" to at least one of the questions, I totally understand you! I read the book last autumn … Continue reading 3 reasons why War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy deserves a chance to be read
If you're also a Harry Potter fan, you must have heard about the Harry Potter exhibition organized by the British Library in London. And you must have also heard about the corresponding book that was published to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the publication of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone“. Yes, in this post … Continue reading Harry Potter – A History of Magic (book review) – feeling like a student at Hogwarts
When a couple of months ago I asked the blog's readers for recommendations of books written by Australian authors, "The Narrow Road to the Deep North" by Richard Flanagan was one of the books I was told about (thank you, Robin!). The novel was awarded the 2014 Man Booker Prize, being described by the jury … Continue reading The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan (book review) – building the Death Railway
Readers' High Tea 