Find Love and Belonging in Isabel Allende’s In the Midst of Winter
“I never try to give a message in my books. It’s about living with characters long enough to hear their voices and let them tell me the story. Sometimes I would love to have a happy ending, and it doesn’t happen because the character or the story leads me in another direction.” ~Isabel Allende In […]
Truth and Lie With Friedrich Nietzsche
“Here the ways of men part: if you wish to strive for peace of soul and pleasure, then believe; if you wish to be a a devotee of truth, then inquire.” ~Friedrich Nietzsche, Letter to His Sister, 1865 Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), the German philosopher and professor of philology, wrote the essay, “Truth and Lie in […]
Murakami Reading Group
“In this world, there are things you can do alone, and things you can do with somebody else. It’s important you combine the two in just the right amount.” ~Haruki Murakami Murakami Reading Group The opportunity to read and study Haruki Murakami is here. Reading Beyond Murakami is one of Book Oblivion’s online course series. […]
Critical Theory & Philosophy Reading Group
Critical Theory & Philosophy Reading Group I am excited to announce the reading list is finalized and our Critical Theory & Philosophy Reading Group is open for enrollment. We will read and discuss over 30 thinkers in 2018 with a special focus on 20th century theoretical and philosophical thought. You can enroll HERE. Our Critical Theory […]
Famous Writers on the Love of Reading
Keywords Writers, Reading, Readers, Writers are readers, Famous Writers on the love of reading “I believe that reading and writing are the most nourishing forms of meditation anyone has so far found. By reading the writings of the most interesting minds in history, we meditate with our own minds and theirs as well. This to […]
Kazuo Ishiguro – 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature
The winner of 2017’s Nobel Prize in Literature was announced just two hours ago. This year Kazuo Ishiguro is taking home the prize. What a great choice by the academy, but we’ve all got our opinions, right? He’s no stranger to accolades, but this prize might be the most meaningful. Do you think he deserves […]
Announcing Fall Book Club
Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino It is the first day of Fall and I am so excited to start a new book with you this season. Now remember I pick books I think you might enjoy AND that I haven’t read. That means there is always risk involved on my part. I meditate on the […]
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World Study Guide
The Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World Study Guide offers a comprehensive look into the 1985 novel Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami. The study guide includes the following: brief author biography, title breakdown and analysis, major plot points for each chapter, analysis of character development, a list […]
A Solar Eclipse and Homer’s Odyssey
“Nations, like stars, are entitled to eclipse. All is well, provided the light returns and the eclipse does not become endless night. Dawn and resurrection are synonymous. The reappearance of the light is the same as the survival of the soul.” ~Victor Hugo In light (or dark) of the solar eclipse happening today, I wanted […]
Haruki Murakami & Magical Realism
Book Oblivion Academy’s newest course is here. I’m writing to let you know that the enrollment for Murakami & Magical Realism is officially open. In this fully online course, we unpack the genre of magical realism while exploring three of Haruki Murakami’s strangest novels: Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, The Wind-Up Bird […]
Amor Towles on Parallax at the Metropol Hotel in A Gentleman in Moscow
Many of you are catching up to where we are in A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles for our summer book club. Last week we finished Book Two in the same spot we concluded Book One: we watch the Count’s feet essentially dangling over the edge of the Metropol Hotel. What brought him to this […]
Haruki Murakami and Raymond Carver: Literary Comrades
“Life and death matters, yes. And the question of how to behave in this world, how to go in the face of everything. Time is short and the water is rising.” Raymond Carver Raymond Carver (1938-1988) is an American author from Washington state; he is a master of the short fiction genre. His subtle use […]
Amor Towles on Mastering Your Circumstances in A Gentleman in Moscow
The American novelist, Amor Towles, wrote A Gentleman in Moscow, a remarkable story that centers on the Count, an aristocrat confined to a luxurious hotel during the tumultuous political climate in Russia in 1922.
Announcing Summer Book Club
A Gentleman in Moscow – Summer Book Club We have some exciting news for summer book club, but first – Happy Summer! Now I realize a lot of you are all over the world, so it may or may not be your summer. Nonetheless, I hope you will continue to devour good books with us, […]
Miasma in Donna Tartt’s The Secret History
Miasma in Donna Tartt’s The Secret History “To many men… the miasma of peace seems more suffocating than the bracing air of war.” ~George Steiner By Jessica S. Manuel A little while back, we began thinking about the fatal flaw, that showy dark crack running down the middle of life. Richard, our protagonist in Donna Tartt’s […]