Portfolio Tag: 20th Century & Contemporary American

24 Festive Tasks 2021
Books: Christmas Tree & Ribbon Tasks: Holiday Socks Door 1: Southern Hemisphere Book: Read a book set in the Southern Hemisphere, or that has a beachy scene on the cover. => Peter Temple: The Broken Shore Task 1: In Australia, it’s common to brag about having the “biggest ‘X’ in the Southern […]
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Summer Games 2021
So, I’ve finally come up with a summer reading theme: Seeing as both the Olympic Games and the European Football (Soccer) Championship have been pushed back to this year from 2020 due to the pandemic (and 3 of the four tennis Grand Slam tournaments are also set while it’s summer in the Northern Hemisphere), I […]
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The (Mostly) Dead Writers Society Reading Projects: Birthday Challenge & Authors in Residence
(Dead) Author Birthdays This is a reading challenge associated with the (Mostly) Dead Writers Society on Goodreads; I decided to join it because it is as much an invitation to reconnect with the classics as it is one to walk down literary paths less traveled; so it ties in nicely with my own 2021 reading […]
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24 Festive Tasks 2020
Books: Festive Branch Tasks: Ornaments Door 1: Winter Solstice Book: Read a book that takes place in December, with ice or snow on the cover, where all events take place in a single day or night, that revolves around the solstice, set in Persia / Iran, China or the American Southwest or […]
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2020 Summer Sojourn
As current events make actual travel — at least, leisure travel — either undesirable, unwise or flat-out impossible, I decided to devote my 2020 summer reading to literary armchair travel, and to call it the 2020 Summer Sojourn. Then the BookLikes meltdown happened and I had to start sprucing up my WordPress blog … as […]
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24 Festive Tasks 2019
The Markers: Books: Candles Tasks: Stars The Squares DOOR 1: DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS Book: Ngaio Marsh: Death and the Dancing Footman (audio version, read by James Saxon) Task 1: Miss Marple limerick. Task 2: Chili con carne. Task 3: Epitaph for The Disappearing Spoon. Task 4: Gaby in Mexico (& Guatemala). Points: 5 […]
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24 Festive Tasks 2018
The Markers Books: Meteor Tasks: Bows The Squares DOOR 1: DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS Book: Agatha Christie: Miss Marple – The Complete Short Stories (audio version, narrated by Joan Hickson, Isla Blair and Anna Massey) Task 1: Task 2: Favorite Epitaph (William Shakespeare, Stratford-upon-Avon) Task 3: Sherlock Holmes Altar Task 4: Mexican Food Points: 4 DOOR 2: GUY FAWKES NIGHT Book: Georgette […]
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Freedom and Future Library
Introduction (2018) You’d have to be living under a rock buried somewhere halfway down to the center of the earth in order not to be aware that in recent years our beautiful world has been shaken up by a number of crises the likes of which I, at least, have not experienced in my entire […]
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Kill Your Darlings
Aaaand … that’s a wrap. My Kill Your Darling Books. Green Round: Team MbD – Lillelara – TA Round 1 Suspect Own guess / card played: Madeleine L’Engle – wrong – 5 points Correct guess: None Victims Own guess / card played: Katniss Everdeen – 5 points Correct guess: None Crime Scenes Own guess […]
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16 Festive Tasks
The Markers: Stack of Books: Books read Red Bows and Ribbons: Other Tasks completed Joker cards used: The Squares, Books and Other Tasks: Square 1: November 1st: All Saints Day / Día de los Muertos & Calan Gaeaf Book themes for Día de Muertos and All Saint’s Day: A book that […]
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12 Festive Tasks
Snow Globes: Reads Bells: Activities Task the First: The Winter Wonderland: – Read a book that is set in a snowy place. => Dylan Thomas: A Child’s Christmas in Wales – If you are lucky enough to live in a snowy place, or even if you aren’t, take a walk outside and post a […]
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On Page and Screen
Bringing together great literature and its equally great screen adaptations. Note: Authors are included here if I own a screen adaptation of at least one of their works and have either reviewed / blogged about that screen adaptation or about any one of the author’s literary works. At the same time, however, for each of […]
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221B Baker Street
The World of London’s Only Consulting Detective Arthur Conan Doyle Author page: biographical sketch, bibliography, quotes, links (Auto-) Biographies and Nonfiction about Arthur Conan Doyle: Hesketh Pearson: Conan Doyle: His Life and Art (1943) Daniel Stashower: Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle (1999) (Ed.): Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters […]
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Beyond the 100th Meridian
Introduction When I was not even four years old, a new branch of my family inserted themselves into my life: my aunt, uncle, and cousins, recently returned from El Paso, TX, where my uncle, who was with the military, had spent one of the multiple, several-year-long stints at Fort Bliss that were spread throughout his […]
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