Rachel Kovaciny's Blog, page 77

"Death Comes for the Archbishop" by Willa Cather

This book has been on my to-read list since 2002.  At least.  I'm not even kidding.  I know, because I got a little book for my college graduation from my advisor/mentor that was for keeping track of stuff like the books you want to read.  I promptly gathered up all my little scraps of paper where I'd previously kept titles of books I wanted to read and entered them very nicely into that book.  And Death Comes for the Archbishop is on the first page. 

I have no id...

Judging the INSPYs Again

Yup, I've been selected to judge the INSPY book awards again this year.  Like last year, I'll be judging the Mystery/Thriller category, which you know I'll dig.  The finalists won't be announced until next week, but they've got a nice page full of bios for all the judges up right here now, so you can go see who's judging what category.  

I really enjoyed this process last year, especially because it introduced me to some authors I hadn't read before.  I became such a f...

"The Choir Immortal" by Katie Schuermann

Do you ever read the first book in a series and think it's pretty good, and then you read the second book and it blows your tiny mind?  That totally just happened to me.  I liked House of Living Stones, Schuermann's first novel about the people who attend Zion Lutheran Church in fictional Bradbury, Illinois.  It was cute and funny and a little zany.  But the second book?  My heart is not yet recovered from the upwelling of emotions caused by this book.

As Larry th...

"Enchanted" by Alethea Kontis

Wow.  This book was not at all what I expected -- but I mean that in a good way.  It's taken me days to sort through my feelings and thoughts of it, and I'm really just giving up on that and writing this review anyway because... the book is due at the library.  Such is life.

So, it all starts when Sunday Woodcutter falls in love with a frog, who of course was once a handsome prince because this is about fairy tales.  Only it turns out the handsome prince he used to be is so...

Top Ten Tuesday: Poetic Justice

This week is a freebie from That Artsy Reader Girl for Top Ten Tuesday, so I decided to celebrate National Poetry Month with my list!  I hereby present to you my ten favorite poets:

1.  Robert Frost

2.  Kenneth Koch

3.  Langston Hughes

4.  Carl Sandburg

5.  Robert Browning

6.  Elizabeth Barrett Browning

7.  William Shakespeare

8.  Billy Collins

9.  T. S. Eliot

10.  Shel Silverstein

(From my Instagram)
What did you do for TTT this week?  Are you...

"Northanger Abbey" by Jane Austen (again)

(From my Instagram)After this reread, I can say for certain that, yes, Northanger Abbey ties with Pride and Prejudice for my second-favorite Austen novel.  (Persuasion is my favorite, and has been for decades now.)

I love Catherine Morland.  I love Henry Tilney.  I love Elanor Tilney.  They're all absolutely adorable, and I want to hug all three of them.  At once, if possible.  An Austen group hug. 

I also love how much this book makes me laugh.&nbsp...

Another LOTR Read-Along Index

For future reference, here are all the individual posts for this read-along.  If anyone wants to discuss it at some future date, I'm always willing to go back and discuss a book again!

Guest Post: "I am No Man, but I'm Still Important" by V. Kovaciny


The Fellowship of the Ring

Prologue: Concerning Hobbits, and other matters

Book One
1. A Long-expected Party
2. The Shadow of the Past
3. Three is Company
4. A Short Cut to Mushrooms
5. A Conspiracy Unmasked
6. ...

Another LOTR Read-Along: The Grey Havens (ROTK 6, 9)

We did it.

To quote Frodo, I'm glad to have you with me, here at the end of all things. Well, not all things, but the end of these books. Congratulations! You've just read one of the finest works of modern literature, not to mention the most iconic piece of fantasy fiction basically ever.  

But enough about us. This is such a quiet, soft, melancholy chapter, isn't it? It reminds me of the little coda to Disney's The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh, when the narrator tells Pooh, "Al...

Another LOTR Read-Along: The Scouring of the Shire (ROTK 6, 8)

Forget everything I've said about favorite chapters. This is it, for me. Does it get much better than our courageous friends putting their new skills and knowledge to use to rescue their families, friends, and homes? I'm so proud of them! The whole story has been about them trying to save the world to protect the Shire, but sort of from far away, you know? Now, they get to put all their new skills to work protecting it in a very immediate way.

The first time I read this, I was so shocked at th...

Another LOTR Read-Along: Homeward Bound (ROTK 6, 7)

Poor Frodo and his afterpains on the anniversary of his Weathertop stabbing :-( I'm so glad they didn't last long. But they're such a great reminder that even after a war is over, the warriors who go home don't leave the pain and sorrows behind them. None of the heroes here seems to have PTSD exactly, but Frodo is certainly more troubled by his experiences than the others. I'm sure this section resonates with any returning soldier, and it reminds me especially of one of my favorite movies, Th...