What the blurb says: So overwhelmed was Marie de Gournay by the work of French essayist and philosopher Michel de Montaigne that when she finally met him, she stabbed herself with a hairpin until the blood ran in order to show her devotion. An awkward, obsessive character, she set herself against the world in
I simply wanted to know — for myself and for my family — what meat is. Where does it come from? How is it produced? What are the economical, social and environmental effects? Are there animals that it is straightforwardly right to eat? Are there situations in which not eating animals is wrong? If this
Horace was alone in the city and he realized that being alone in the city was worse than being alone on the ranch. Because when he was alone on the ranch he had the dream of the city, the dream of what he would become in the city. But now he was there and
Leo had been avoiding his wife, Victoria, who was barely speaking to him and his sister Beatrice who wouldn't stop speaking to him—rambling on and on about getting together for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving. In July. Leo hadn't spent a holiday with his family in twenty years, since the mid-'90s if he was remembering correctly: he wasn't
Two weeks ago Wonderguy and I took our little kitty to the vet (more precisely, we took her to the emergency service and then to 'our' vet) because we thought she had a really ugly cold. It turned out she did not have a cold but a pulmonary edema, with possibly even more fluid in her
What the blurb tells us: Mr. Pooter is a man of modest ambition, content with his clerkly lot. So why is he always in trouble with disagreeable tradesmen, impudent young clerks and wayward friends? And what is he to do about his son Lupin's distinctly unsuitable choice of bride? However hard he tries, life piles
"I have to keep convincing myself", Helen said when they got outside, "that this is really happening. You're all so matter-of-fact about it, but the truth is that he is dying in there and I have to go and tell my mother." Helen's beloved little brother is dying. This brings the family together again
It's a new year and we are encouraged to make a new start. Friends, family, and pretty much the whole internet demonstrates some serious motivation regarding new year's resolutions. That's nice, and inspiring. But I know myself better than that — a lot of us do. I hate Christmas, but I love the new year
These heavy boots are not made for walking As mentioned before, Wonderguy gave me Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer as part of my "Goin' to New York" vibe. At first I was skeptical because I'm not particularly interested in child protagonists/narrators. But Oskar is a very special kid and we got
When I’m in New York, I just want to walk down the street and feel this thing, like I’m in a movie. — Ryan Adams Life has been busy these last few weeks. I booked a flight and my Dad found me a nice hotel conveniently situated between the university and the rest