Tag Archives: Charles Dickens

The Gift (and Curse) of Asher Lev

Posted on October 28, 2019 by

The Gift of Asher Lev by Chaim Potok My rating: 5 of 5 stars The Gift of Asher Lev is a lovely, evocative book. It is my first time reading the sequel to My Name is Asher Lev, which I … Continue reading →

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Harold Bloom and “The Western Canon”: A Note on His Death

Posted on October 18, 2019 by

I received news this week that Harold Bloom has died. Bloom (1930-2019) was an avid reader, a rapid writer, and a penetrating critic whose essays and books on literature are breathtaking in scope and exemplary in their attention to the … Continue reading →

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The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the UK’s Favourite Book

Posted on August 9, 2019 by

According to a OnePoll survey of 2,000 UK adults, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is Britain’s most popular book. It is an intriguing find, but not inconsistent with other surveys and with research by people like Stephanie Derrick (see … Continue reading →

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Harold Bloom’s Canon: The Essential List

Posted on July 13, 2016 by

On Monday I introduced Harold Bloom‘s 1994 bestseller, The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages. I decided to create a “canonical list” in today’s blog for those who are inclined to try to soak in this great radition. Taking … Continue reading →

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Harold Bloom’s “The Western Canon”

Posted on July 11, 2016 by

  Harold Bloom’s The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages was a sensation when it appeared in 1994. Harold Bloom, a curmudgeonly anti-academic ivy league scholar, fills this challenging read with fresh insights on every page. He … Continue reading →

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A Gospel Too Simple for the Learned: Tough Jo in Bleak House

Posted on February 3, 2016 by

This is my first time reading Charles Dickens’ Bleak House. As it is featured in Gary Colledge’s God and Charles Dickens and Harold Bloom’s The Western Canon, I thought I should come at last to this very long book. If you have ever … Continue reading →

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Tolkien’s Dickensian Dreams

Posted on July 3, 2015 by

Originally posted on A Tolkienist's Perspective:
Dickens’ short story that inspired a Tolkien chapter This is somewhat a Tolkien paper I had written a while back, with the expressed intention to publish it one day. When that day never seemed to…

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10 Great Quotations for International Literacy Day

Posted on September 8, 2014 by

Some Inspiration for International Literacy Day! Interesting Literature Today is International Literacy Day! What better time, then, to celebrate some of the wisest, wittiest, pithiest, silliest, and most profound things that writers have ever said about literature and reading? The … Continue reading →

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Great First Lines

Posted on September 25, 2013 by

Anyone who writes knows how hard we work on the first line. It’s not that we are trying to live up to all the great first lines. It doesn’t matter how many best of times-worst of times stories we write, … Continue reading →

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