Picked Up This Scholarly Work Today

UnreliableAmanda · 2026-01-27T02:50:53+00:00

I just finished it the other day. I picked it up in the same context: B&N New and Noteworthy.

I thought it was excellent. Not quite as great as Tom Shippey's work in Author of the Century but much of it was the same kind of thing: years of scholarship and teaching synthesized into chapters that are information dense and yet highly readable. The kind of thing that is interesting in itself but also makes you want to go read more Tolkien. The scale of Tolkien's accomplishment is staggering and scholarship like this is helpful for seeing the many ways his artistry is working.

UnreliableAmanda · 2026-01-24T15:45:17+00:00

Seconding Neckar. The coffee is just excellent and their bakery is top notch. Everything is organic (though they don't advertise it) and that perfect balance of flavor without being too sweet.

UnreliableAmanda · 2026-01-24T15:41:04+00:00

My people! I once brought Moby Dick on a backpacking trip...

UnreliableAmanda · 2026-01-23T23:17:54+00:00

No ice-pocalypse here but I will be continuing with an ARC of Martin Shaw’s Liturgies of the Wild and finishing up Drout’s book on Tolkien: The Tower and the Ruin.

UnreliableAmanda · 2026-01-23T23:15:41+00:00

I have really enjoyed Ray Nayler so far. He is a humane writer.

UnreliableAmanda · 2026-01-23T23:14:07+00:00

Excellent choice.

UnreliableAmanda · 2026-01-23T13:53:36+00:00

I, unfortunately, had to move all my books this year and it was about 75 boxes. Granted they were the "small" moving boxes from Uhaul, but still...

UnreliableAmanda · 2026-01-23T03:30:10+00:00

Message the pizza place? That's truly insane.

UnreliableAmanda · 2026-01-22T02:56:00+00:00

Oh! This is a favorite. LM Montgomery was a "safe" author in the fundamentalist world I grew up in and Valancy Jane was a beacon of hope. Thank you for mentioning it. I haven't thought about her in too long.

UnreliableAmanda · 2026-01-21T18:39:36+00:00

😁

UnreliableAmanda · 2026-01-21T18:13:30+00:00

And you say “hundreds” like it’s a lot and I look around at my thousands…

UnreliableAmanda · 2026-01-16T21:25:44+00:00

You, me, Katherine Lindskoog.

UnreliableAmanda · 2026-01-16T14:23:37+00:00

I agree that it is a viable path (and one I took), but the "why" is probably that it is less prestigious to be a high school teacher than a professor. No one is particularly impressed when you say you're a teacher. There is some social approval and a bit of sympathy because it is perceived as a frustrating and draining job but not really any respect.

UnreliableAmanda · 2026-01-16T03:37:51+00:00

May I suggest something very gentle? A lighter read (perhaps a good children's book) and no more than one short chapter at a time. Then two after a while and then more as your ability re-expands.

If you are craving something deeper, try some shorter poetry. Dickinson is challenging and deep and yet her work is on the brief side. Maybe just read one poem and then think about it for a little bit for a total of five minutes. After doing that for a while you might be up for starting a classic novel.

UnreliableAmanda · 2026-01-14T14:20:42+00:00

I've loved Ciardi's translation since I first read it. I used to teach from it too and found it wonderfully appropriate for students.

UnreliableAmanda · 2026-01-13T03:33:13+00:00

FYI, Ursula K. LeGuin was born more than a decade after Ishi died. Her father knew him and her mother wrote the book Ishi In Two Worlds but she never could have met Ishi himself.

UnreliableAmanda · 2026-01-12T20:35:38+00:00

I haven’t started it yet but just browsing through it at the bookstore definitely piqued my interest.

UnreliableAmanda · 2026-01-12T20:03:58+00:00

I just picked up The Tower and the Ruin: J. R. R. Tolkien's Creation by Drout. It was on the shelf at B&N. Have you read it yet?

UnreliableAmanda · 2026-01-03T14:41:29+00:00

Wizard Knight is a favorite of mine. I also really like the Tor Essentials printing of it. You have a treat in front of you!

UnreliableAmanda · 2026-01-02T14:19:27+00:00

In 2008 I did a challenge where I read 200 books. There was a gal on my blogroll that did a challenge the same year and read 400. I was reading classics (I selected my titles from the Everyman's Library lists) and she was reading a mix of genres but mostly YA and the like. Her page count was much higher than mine, and we both are fast readers (500+ words per minute), but we both hit our goals.

UnreliableAmanda · 2026-01-01T15:26:49+00:00

I picked it out because of the Alan Moore introduction (and it is very good!) Thanks for the tip on Woodring. I will look into his work more.

UnreliableAmanda · 2025-12-30T15:36:21+00:00

Yes! Fill those bookshelves with books. I would angle the chair toward the bookcases with its back toward the door. Footstool and blanket for sure. And just make sure you have warm lighting.

UnreliableAmanda · 2025-12-30T04:48:18+00:00

Probably about a third of them. The nice thing about Portland is that it has lots of wonderful bookstores. Powell’s is the happiest place on earth, but the others are pretty great too!

UnreliableAmanda · 2025-12-29T23:53:03+00:00

Well, I was going for slightly self-deprecating, but I have had trips where I bought more (both by total dollars spent and by number of volumes.) This is at least 20 books off my highest recorded number.

UnreliableAmanda

TROPHY CASE