Category Archives: Adventure

Ars gratia artis

Posted on September 10, 2018 by

To keep with my most recent post’s art-mystery theme, I’ve resurrected this from my now defunct earlier blog, The Ineluctable Bookshelf. Two more will follow in the next few days. Chasing Vermeer (2004), Blue Balliett, 254 pp. (+ two sequels) … Continue reading →

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Art in peril

Posted on September 8, 2018 by

Laura Marx Fitzgerald, Under the Egg (2014) and The Gallery (2016) (both read as e-books from the NYPL) It’s no surprise that these two middle-grade novels by an art historian involve art: missing masterpieces, questions of ownership, and just plain how to … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Art, Mystery | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Welcome the story-tellers

Posted on January 8, 2018 by

A new year, a new chance to tell you about books you might love. Today, a set of three books that weave folktales and myths into the journeys of three children and their fellow travelers. Grace Lin, Where the Mountain Meets … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Animal tales, dragons, Fantasy, YA Lit | Tagged | 1 Comment

“The chosen of All-Muggleton”

Posted on August 13, 2017 by

Packing for a lengthy trip that includes a great deal of moving on and off trains, buses, boats and trams (not to mention walking) presents a particular challenge for a reader who hopes to travel light: How many books should … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Classic, Fiction, Humorous, Travel, Travel book | Tagged | 8 Comments

Susan, left behind

Posted on March 11, 2017 by

Lev Grossman, The Magicians (2009), The Magician King (2011), The Magician’s Land (2014) CS Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia (7 books, 1950-1956) Warning: If you haven’t read The Chronicles of Narnia, some critical plot elements are revealed here. For about an … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Fantasy, Travel | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Sleigh rides are cold adventures

Posted on December 16, 2016 by

Episode 3 from my Writer’s Studio in the Woods series. K and I went for a sleigh ride today. Up at 7 for first breakfast — tea and cold cereal. Then we walked a mile to get to the lodge for … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure | 2 Comments

Spiritualism and the Mafia

Posted on August 5, 2016 by

Norman Lewis, Jackdaw Cake (1985) Here’s a life for you: Raised by your grandfather and three odd aunts. Reclaimed by your spiritualist parents when the aunts go doolally. Married into a Sicilian family (probably mafiosi), then separated from your partner by WWII … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, History, Memoir | Tagged | 2 Comments