Books:
Archive:
Favorite Reviews:
I have reviewed many books over the years, and some reviews have been more interesting or fun to write than others. The below list were my favorites to write.
• Ada, or Ardor
• Choose Your Own Autobiography
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• If Not, Winter
• Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
• The Kid Table
• Like Water for Chocolate
• Lolita
• The Monk
• The Night Circus
• Oathbringer
• Return of the Native
• Rhythm of War
• S
• Things Fall Apart
• The Unit
• The Woods Are Always WatchingCategories:
Tags:
- abandoned
- Africa
- Asia
- atmospheric
- audio
- BBAW
- body image
- callback
- circus horror
- classics
- collection
- comfort
- Cosmere
- cruise
- divinity
- dream-invader
- education
- end of year
- fanfiction
- favorite
- fitness
- food
- gender studies
- goals
- good omens
- Harry Potter
- health
- historical
- house
- humor
- I made a thing.
- joint review
- KonMari
- Latin America
- LGBTQIA
- lists
- memorable
- Middle East
- mini-review
- multi-read
- nonfiction
- photography
- place-character
- POC
- portentous
- psychology
- quarantine
- race report
- readathon
- reread
- revisiting
- RIP-worthy
- running
- shredded me
- speculative
- Sunday Coffee
- tarot
- tattoo
- the ferals
- translation
- travel
- Wellness Wednesday
- WTF moments
- Yarn Art
-
Author Archives: Thistle
Sanctuary
About eighteen months ago, I began to KonMari my house based on the principles in The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. The experience took several months, and I learned a lot about myself during that time. I figured I was … Continue reading
Wellness Wednesday #45: Nimi
February hasn’t gone well in Mandaland. I had the one, brief spurt of energy on the second, and tried to keep up the momentum, but some health issues got the better of me. I’m in the process of working with … Continue reading
The Sociopath Next Door, by Martha Stout (audio)
Subtitled: The Ruthless Versus the Rest of Us Four percent of the population – about one in every 25 people – has no conscience. They are not all criminals, serial killers, or the Hitlers of the world, which is what … Continue reading
Sunday Coffee – Nine Years
It’s blogoversary time! While this latest version of The Zen Leaf has only been in place since August 2014, my book blogging goes back to February 15, 2008. I was suffering dreadful jet lag after returning from my visit to … Continue reading
Arcanum Unbounded, by Brandon Sanderson (audio)
Subtitled: The Cosmere Collection – Fiction From the Worlds of the Cosmere This collection of stories and novellas all take place in the giant world of Cosmere that ties many of Brandon Sanderson’s books together. The collection contains a number … Continue reading
Wellness Wednesday #44: A funny thing happened on the way to circuit training…
February. Circuit training. That was The Big Plan. I had it all worked out. Half an hour alternating minute by minute between strength training and cardio, designed to be a full body workout. It was a good design, but as … Continue reading
Twelve Angry Men, by Reginald Rose (audio)
Most people know this story already. A teen is accused of murder, and the jury must be unanimous in its decision: guilty or not guilty. It seems a slam-dunk decision, until one man votes not guilty, and sets out to … Continue reading
Sunday Coffee – Time to Get Away
I need a vacation. As it turns out, I’ve run into a very solid weather-related wall. When the temps don’t rise above 10 degrees, I don’t go outside, not even to check the mail. Anything between 10 and 20 degrees … Continue reading
The Dragon Reborn, by Robert Jordan (audio)
Book #3. Slightly more interesting than the last one, but some of the same problems still remain. Very little character development, and no characters yet that I really love. The story stays very black and white – the Good People … Continue reading
Wellness Wednesday #43: February Challenge
Per my 2017 goals, I’m going to assign myself one fitness and one nutrition-based challenge each month. This is how January went, and what I plan to do for February. Nutrition: My goal for January was to most eliminate flour … Continue reading
The Zen Leaf 