Tag Archives: Harry Potter

2022: My Year in Books: The Infographic

Happy New Year, everyone! I am once again assembling the “reading nerd data” in an upcoming post. I love charts. And behind every chart is a great spreadsheet. I guess I just love spreadsheets. Meanwhile, as is my tradition, I … Continue reading

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The Sloo/Slow/Sluff of Despond: Today’s Word of the Day and a Spiritual Truth in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress

Today’s word of the day arrives as I am rereading John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress: I do not always find the Word of the Day terribly enlightening, in part because Merriam-Webster only gives a brief etymology. And it is the stories … Continue reading

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2021: My Year in Books: The Infographic

Happy New Year Eve everyone! I will have some fun putting together the “nerd data” in an upcoming post–including more charts! Gotta have charts. And behind every chart is a great spreadsheet! Stay tuned for 01/10/22. Meanwhile, I wanted to … Continue reading

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The Thing about Riding Centaurs: A Note on Narnia, Harry Potter, Madeline Miller’s Song of Achilles, and the Black Stallion

As a child reading in a bed surrounded by acres of horse-less fields, I was completely taken up by the Black Stallion series by Walter Farley. Marooned survivors of a shipwreck, city kid Alec Ramsay befriends an untameable stallion, whom he … Continue reading

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A Conversation about Mary Doria Russell’s The Sparrow with Michael Boyce (Geek4 Podcast) and Emily Strand (Potterversity Podcast)

I recently had a chance to sit down with a couple of thoughtful and funny folks to talk about a book that was entirely absent from my bookshelf. Emily Strand is an artist, Roman Catholic liturgist, and American educator, well … Continue reading

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