Reading

February 4, 2017

A Bookish Blessing

“May your books be deep and your tea well-steeped.” -RJ McLaren Continue reading

literary living

blessing, Book, books, inspiration, journal, mclaren, quote, reader, Reading, ryanne, tea, truth
August 28, 2016

Well-read and Caffeinated: 10 Ideal Coffee/Tea and Book Pairings

It is a truth universally acknowledged that all readers in possession of a good book are in want of a delicious beverage to sip. But why settle for just any latte? In my opinion, books and coffee are like fine wine and cheese; you must pair them properly so as to derive the fullest enjoyment… Continue reading

literary living

Anna Karenina, author, authors, Book, book review, books, bookworm, character, coffee, Fiction, literature, Little Women, novel, poetry, Reading, romance, writer, writing
August 14, 2016

Reflections on Writing a Novel Draft

During my journey home from Italy, I was super bored and, thus, my brain went crazy and came up with a novel idea that I am ridiculously excited about. Thankfully, I hit 50,000 words on my other novel draft, so I was able to set that one aside without too much guilt to begin this… Continue reading

Musings, Scribblings

author, authors, Book, book review, books, bookworm, brainstorming, character, essay, Fiction, first draft, inspiration, INTJ, literature, NaNoWriMo, novel, reader, Reading, romance, short story, writer, writer problems, writing
July 11, 2016

Writing Victories

Just had to brag a little bit: Today marks the two-year birthday of my baby novel. On this day in 2014, I was inspired to write a book about a quirky little town that I stumbled upon and, to my delight, today I reached the word count required for my manuscript to qualify as a… Continue reading

Scribblings

author, authors, Book, books, bookworm, cobbly nob, coffee, coffee shop, draft, editing, Fiction, first draft, inspiration, manuscript, NaNoWriMo, novel, Reading, tea, tennessee, writer, writing
June 23, 2016

Miss Darcy

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single woman having read or seen Pride and Prejudice, must be in want of a Mr. Darcy.” – Jane Austen and Ryanne McLaren* *Note: The above quote does not actually represent the entirety of this post, but I did think it rather apt in capturing the feelings of Austenites… Continue reading

Literature, Musings

AP Literature, author, authors, blog, blogger, Book, books, bookworm, character analysis, characters, classic literature, darcy, elizabeth bennet, great books, inspiration, INTJ, Jane Austen, literature, meyers briggs, mr. darcy, novel, pride and prejudice, reader, Reading, romance, torrey honors institute, writer, writing
June 1, 2016

Melanie’s Lemon-Berry Muffins

It seems that every year around the beginning of summer I reread or at least skim parts of Gone with the Wind. I even venture to take the 959-page tome into the pool, to the horror of bookworm friends who doubt my ability to keep from dropping it into the water. (Seriously, people, I am an… Continue reading

Recipes for Readers

author, Book, bookworm, classic literature, gone with the wind, healthy muffins, healthy recipe, lemon, literature, muffins, novel, Reading, refreshing summer recipe, scarlet o’hara, strawberry, summer recipe, writer, writing
May 7, 2016

Immediately: Eight Poems Based on the Gospel of Mark

In reading through Mark, I was struck by the recurring use of the word “immediately.” It is used to characterize many aspects of Christ’s ministry on Earth, but I was especially drawn to its use in relation to instances of healing. As I pondered this motif and these stories, I found myself understanding them with… Continue reading

Faith, Literature, Poetry

Bible, christ, Christian poetry, free verse, gospel, gospel of mark, healing, Immediately, Jesus, Mark, miracles, poem, poetry, prayer, Reading, sacred poetry
March 9, 2016

Jill of all Trades or Renaissance Woman?

I am what one might call a “Jill of All Trades,” the female counterpart of a “Jack of All Trades.” I quite liked this phrase until I saw a quote on Pinterest (seriously, Pinterest? You’re supposed to be my social media happy place!) that reads: “Jack of all trades, but a master of none.” Well stink.… Continue reading

literary living, Musings

blog, books, classic literature, composing, da vinci, inspiration, jack of all trades, jill of all trades, Music, novel, organ, piano, Reading, renaissance man, renaissance woman, short story, writing
January 30, 2016

Please share this letter!

No, this is not some “reblog to solve a major world crisis” post and you won’t end up with bad luck for a year if you don’t share. Odds are that if you ignore this altogether, nothing bad will result. However, I truly am asking you, my fellow lover of books, to share this post… Continue reading

A Bit of Light Reading, literary living

author, Biola, biola university, Book, books, bookworm, brain candy, erin morgenstern, gift, gym reading, inspiration, kindred spirit, letter, literature, novel, pleasure reading, Reading, share, thank you, the night circus, writer
January 10, 2016

Literary Tourism

Don’t be a tourist. I don’t mean don’t travel; by all means, see the world and explore new places! But don’t be a tourist, defined as “a person who travels for pleasure, especially sight-seeing and staying in hotels.” That doesn’t sound so bad, but can one really experience a place through simply seeing sights and… Continue reading

literary living, Literature, Musings

Anna Karenina, author, Book, books, bookworm, classic literature, explorer, exploring, great books, literary, literature, london, masterpiece, novel, paris, Reading, tolstoy, tourism, travel, traveller, writer, writing
October 20, 2015

Reading Rainbow: College Edition

Sometimes my color-coded annotation system gets a little out of hand, but it sure is pretty. In the wise words of Buddy the Elf, “It’s like a Christmas tree!” This rainbow artwork of a first page gives me hope as I push through “ye olde English”. But then again, maybe old English isn’t so… Continue reading

Musings

annotations, faerie queene, literature, Reading, spenser, torrey, twilight
October 6, 2015

The Word Crimes Inferno

In reading Dante’s Inferno, I was struck by his ability to identify, categorize, and assign fitting punishments to various sins. This is not perhaps the most cheerful observation, but it was certainly intriguing and made me think (apologies for the morbidity): what crimes I would punish were I to write a modern Inferno and how would I… Continue reading

Literature, Musings

AP Literature, author, Book, books, bookworm, dante, dictionary, english humor, essay, grammar, grammar humor, grammar nazi, grammarly, humor, inferno, literate, literature, novel, pun, punctuation, puns, Reading, syntax, the inferno, word crimes, writer, writing