Bellezza

LATEST ARTICLES ( 381 )

• We Are Water by Wally Lamb

  

  It's an interesting concept, an interesting title, that we are water. For water is many things, and often conflicting ones at that: powerful but often... Read more

  Posted on 13 November 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Veteran's Day 2013

  

  The Marine Corps Ball was Saturday night. They were celebrating their 238th birthday and my son went as well, with the Marines who were "remembering our past,... Read more

  Posted on 11 November 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Literary Blog Hop Give-away: Yasutaka Tsutsui's Masterpiece

  

  There was an almost visceral reaction by many bloggers to my review of Paprika in 2011. Like many Japanese novels, it is not the book for everyone. Read more

  Posted on 09 November 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Booker Prize Winners

  

  2011 - The Sense of an Ending (Barnes) 2010 - The Finkler Question (Jacobson) 2009 - Wolf Hall (Mantel) 2008 - The White Tiger (Adiga) 2007 - The Gathering... Read more

  Posted on 04 November 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• German Literature Month

  

  Love, love, love the impossibly romantic stories of Madame Bovary and Anna Karenina. Thought I would like The Awakening, too, as it was purported to portray a... Read more

  Posted on 03 November 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Mailbox Monday

  

  These are a few of the books which have come into my mailbox this autumn: The Rosie Project by Graham Simsion (thanks to Simon and Schuster): "Arrestingly... Read more

  Posted on 03 November 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Wordless Wednesday: Woodstock, IL

  

  The building which once was the jailhouse is now a French restaurant on the Square in which we enjoyed...pumpkin creme brûlée served inside a real pumpkin... Read more

  Posted on 24 October 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Woman Upstairs

  

  When a book strikes me in a deeply personal way, I rarely want to review it. Perhaps I make myself too vulnerable by writing about it; perhaps I won't do the... Read more

  Posted on 20 October 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Two New Persephones for Autumn

  

  The Squire by Enid Bagnold The Squire is the only novel ever written about having a baby. Of course other novels focus on pregnancy, birth and motherhood; but... Read more

  Posted on 15 October 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Round House by Louise Erdrich

  

  "The only thing that God can do, and does all of the time, is to draw good from any evil situation." The very first sentence of this novel, "Small trees had... Read more

  Posted on 14 October 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Final Thoughts on The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

  

  As we close The Historian we discover that the title does not refer to Professor Rossi, nor his student, nor the daughter who has recorded their story. No, the... Read more

  Posted on 13 October 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Dewey's Read-a-Thon...and So It Begins

  

  The very first thing I read this morning is the recipe for a pumpkin cake, which is baking in the oven as I type. Because who doesn't need a piece of cake with ... Read more

  Posted on 12 October 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Ocean At The End of The Lane

  

  I will never love Neil Gaiman as much as his fans do. I have been sorely disappointed by Coraline and The Graveyard Book, while feeling only moderately enchante... Read more

  Posted on 12 October 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• 24 Hour Read-a-thon: October 12, 2013

  

  If you haven't done so already, you can sign up for Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon here. So far there are 296 participants eager to read for 24 hours. Personally? ... Read more

  Posted on 09 October 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William Mckinley, and Me, Elizabeth

  

  Do you remember this little book from 1968 calling to you from an elementary school's library shelves? I remember it clearly, but probably more for the cover... Read more

  Posted on 04 October 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Last Winter of Dani Lancing

  

  by P. D. Viner promises to join the ranks of the novels written by Tana French, A. S. A. Harrison and Gillian Flynn. In terms of suspense, in terms of grabbing... Read more

  Posted on 02 October 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Bye-bye September, Welcome October!

  

  I found it hard pressed to read even one novel in September, what with the start of a new school year and the implementation of four brand new initiatives. Read more

  Posted on 30 September 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Historian for September 23: The Midway Point

  

  "The Camera was quiet this morning, nearly empty, and we hurried up a polished staircase to the macabre niche where we'd surprised my father the day before. Read more

  Posted on 23 September 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE, HISTORY

• Within A Budding Grove: An Invitation

  

  "Like a flight of gulls, performing with measured tread upon the sands, the girls' mysterious purpose was as obscure as it was unforgettable. Read more

  Posted on 22 September 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Falling Leaves. Of Paper.

  

  Spent most of last night tracing Burr Oak leaves from the Riverwalk outside our front door onto colored paper and cutting them out 'til until my fingers were... Read more

  Posted on 14 September 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE