Madeline L’Engle in her book WinterSong writes, “As we move into Advent we are called to listen, something we seldom take time to do in this frenetic world of overactivity. But waiting for birth, waiting for death—these are listening times, when the normal distractions of life have lost their power to take us away from …
Continue reading ‘Tis the Season: Eight Devotionals, Poetry, and Picture Books for Christmas
Here are four new books to add to your family library this Easter. They celebrate the warmth of spring and the joy of the Resurrection. If you missed it last year, be sure to check out my 2024 Easter book roundup as well. Seven Little Ducklings / Annette LeBlanc Cate—In addition to cute illustrations, lyrical …
Continue reading Celebrating Spring and the Resurrection in Easter Picture Books
As winter fades into the green of spring with occasional final throes of cold weather, I've been reading Korean and Chinese poetry that focuses primarily on autumn and winter, which seems a fitting way to close the season. If this is your first foray into Korean or Mandarin poetry, I suggest starting with more accessible …
Continue reading Poems for the Winter: Poetry Collections from Joseon Korea and Communist China
Whether you’re looking for a baby shower gift, growing your kids’ book collection, or satisfying your own love for picture books, I think you’ll find something for your shelf in the roundup below. Stories My mother introduced me to Corey R. Tabor’s picture books last year—and what a treat they’ve proven. The ones I’ve read …
Continue reading Picture Book Roundup: Stories, Colors, and Science Fun
Another December is upon us, and as I've done each year for more than a decade, I'm reviewing a few Christmas books I discovered in the past twelve months. I hope you find some new treasures to enjoy. My two favorites were Christmas Farm and The Carpenter's Gift, both lovely little books about Christmas trees. …
The United States of America was barely 60 years old when French political scientist Alexis de Tocqueville published the final volume of Democracy in America in 1840. At over 700 pages long, you might wonder how de Tocqueville could find so much to say about such a young country...and whether any of it was worth …
As the trailer for Broker highlights, this 2022 Korean film is from the same studio that created the 2019 Oscar-winner Parasite. Both films contain a blend of mystery and family and social drama, although Parasite is overall much darker and well merits its thriller genre. Broker exhibits beautiful artistry and social commentary like Parasite, but …
Continue reading “Broker” Versus “Parasite”: A Comparison of Two Award-Winning Korean Dramas
Have you ever thought about the fact that Easter should be an even bigger deal than Christmas? The goal of Christmas, after all, was Easter. Christ was born so that he could live a sinless life, die in the place of sinners, and rise again as a promise of eternal life to those who believe …
Continue reading Six Books That Remind Us of the Joy of Easter
Ten years and 59 books later, my Christmas blogging tradition that began in 2013 continues with another literary December tribute, bringing my Christmas book review total up to 65. I hope you find some new gems for your Christmas library in the reviews below. The Legend of the Poinsettia / retold and illustrated by Tomie …
Continue reading A Decade of Decembers: Christmas Legends & More To Enjoy This Season
For me at least, every poetry journey starts in an unexpected way. If you’re reading this after watching Extraordinary Attorney Woo on Netflix, then your journey to this spot had the same origin as mine a few months ago: the brief quote from the poem “Charcoal” by Ahn Do-Hyun that appears in Episode 12 of …
Continue reading Poems for the Autumn: A Collection of Korean Poetry by Ahn Do-Hyun
