2017-08-03 19:18
It's Romeo and Juliet, but in a pagan world full of human sacrifice, clan rivalry, and hungry zombies. Despite Rosamund Hodge's undeniable flair with words, her third novel has generated qui… Read More
Blog Directory > Books & Literature Blogs > Don't Forget the Avocados books-and-literature Blog >
Don't Forget The Avocados Blog
annailonamussmann.blogspot.com
In Pursuit of Good Grammar, Literary Greatness, Ripe Avocados, and a Lutheran Understanding of Life
2017-07-18 17:38
I just finished W. R. Gingell's Masque. (If you haven't read it yet, you should--it's incredibly fun. What sane person wouldn't love a retelling of Beauty and the Beast that's also a murder… Read More
2017-07-15 18:00
Popular culture has a lot to say about how people ought to live, and a lot of people listen to it. One of the top tenets of pop culture centers around a particular narrative. It's a narrativ… Read More
2017-07-14 14:12
Producing something tangible is satisfying. An article, a doll dress, a fancy dinner, a pretty Christmas ornament. Reading books doesn't in itself create that sense of accomplishment, unfort… Read More
2017-06-21 17:48
While reading a helpful book about constructing fiction, I came across a line that startled me. The author was using the King Arthur tale to illustrate the use of symbols in story. He commen… Read More
2017-06-08 18:38
I hear that the romance genre sells more books than any other. It makes sense, I suppose. Women like romance. Even I like romance in real life. After all, my husband is both sweet and good l… Read More
2017-05-19 18:44
. . .and I would like to try to post here again. These days, longer essays and parenting articles all end up at The Federalist or Sister, Daughter, Mother, Wife, but the things I am learning… Read More
2016-03-22 13:02
Today's piece from SDMW:The Paradox of a Mother's Time At night, I complain to my husband that all I want is time. Time to type the thoughts in my head and the novel in my not… Read More
2015-11-17 18:58
Should you be interested:How Our New Definition of Freedom Causes CrueltyIn the past, freedom meant to ability to obey one’s beliefs. Now, freedom is the ability to require others to o… Read More
2015-11-17 18:51
by Eloise Jarvis McGraw, 1968 (newly released 2015)The pacing of the prologue-like first chapter aside, I slipped easily into the world of this book and would have liked to remain there long… Read More
2015-10-22 18:38
(Ha! I'm back! I have grandiose plans of posting once a week again here, but I also sort of think that I'm going to write lots of articles for The Federalist, keep posting on Sister, Daughte… Read More
2015-08-21 18:13
This poor, neglected blog seems doomed to suffer in silence for a while longer. Baby #2 made her appearance in July, and so far she would rather nurse than allow me to type. She sure is cute… Read More
2015-03-05 17:20
I mentioned that I was pondering the way our world provides lots of cautionary tales for parents, but not for children. Here is the result of those musings.We've Over-Complicated Motherhood… Read More
2015-02-24 17:49
"The Hum of Refuge," a piece of flash fiction I wrote some time ago (some of you may remember it--it involves both razor wire and a reference to the Fey Folk), has found an audio home on one… Read More
2015-02-22 01:17
I was talking with a friend about fairy tales lately. Among many other purposes, fairy tales once provided children with memorable warnings. The stories cautioned young listeners about certa… Read More
2015-02-09 17:30
I just noticed that, after a long absence, Christie of the lovely blog Spinning Straw into Gold has posted again. Away I went to read the article. It turns out that she has won a "Very… Read More
2015-02-08 19:55
My manuscript is progressing. Right now I have about 13,000 words, and my modern-day heroine has been successfully kidnapped by a folktale queen. I like this book quite a bit. My ability to… Read More
2015-01-21 16:32
It can sometimes seem as though would-be artists (including writers) cultivate chaos, doubt, and drama in their own lives because they think that therein lies the path to true creativity, or… Read More
2015-01-06 17:42
I have been wanting to (a). focus on fiction in a more disciplined way, and (b). be pushed to improve my writing. Over Christmas I decided that the perfect solution would be to take an onlin… Read More
2015-01-02 19:55
I just finished my Advanced Reading copy (yes, it does make me feel delightfully important to be the recipient of an Advanced Reading copy) of Suzannah Rowntree’s novel, Pendragon&rsqu&hell…Read More
2014-12-20 07:00
I've been reading reviews and other articles on Suzannah Rowntree's blog for a while now, and was interested to hear that she is going to release a novel of her own this March. The premise s… Read More
2014-12-19 13:04
1. ***This Advent is going by swiftly, as all Advents seem to do ever since I reached adulthood. I remember how long the weeks before Christmas once seemed to be. We girls would make ou… Read More
2014-12-17 06:00
I am simultaneously reading two books right now. One is Laviniaby Ursula K. Le Guin (this is a reread for me) and the other is Anon, Sir,Anon by Rachel Heffington. I’ve written about&n&hell…Read More
2014-12-17 00:48
A short story by Anna Ilona MussmannThis is something that I wrote two years ago and have recently edited. It's a bit of light fun, and no babies were harmed in the making of it. Merry Chris… Read More
2014-12-08 17:34
My opinion on why we buy pink (or blue) baby tubs and crazily-expensive wedding dresses. Plus a Dorothy Sayers quotation, which always makes an article better.We Shop Because We Yearn B… Read More
2014-12-03 16:32
Over Thanksgiving weekend, my family discovered a small library sale, and I picked up a few paperback mysteries, including a book of short stories by various authors. On the drive home, I re… Read More
2014-11-21 22:29
1.***First, a digression: Recently I blogged about Jules Verne, Ursula Le Guin, dragons, and giant octopi. I've significantly expanded that into an article about the subtle, hidden, cultural… Read More
2014-11-20 13:55
We remember Elizabeth of Hungary today. I must admit that I am not aware of the history of why Lutherans have selected this particular medieval woman for such official recognition. All I kno… Read More
2014-11-19 00:56
(Or, What I Learned from Ursula K. Le Guin and Jules Verne)UPDATE: I expanded this blog post into an article for The Federalist, (read it here).As I peruse Jules Verne’s dramatic 20,00… Read More
2014-11-15 07:00
Wow. I have been keeping this blog for two years! It doesn't feel that long.When I first started posting, I lived in a little student apartment with my husband. I remember having him read my… Read More
2014-11-14 12:16
Recently I was able to hear a presentation by Dr. Cameron Mackenzie, a scholar and professor at Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne. He made the point that the way that we think abou… Read More
2014-11-06 02:01
Recently, while listening to the Read-Aloud Revival podcasts, I found myself wondering how I would answer the question, "If you were stranded on a desert island with your family, what three… Read More
2014-10-25 15:46
My blog description says quite clearly that Don't Forget the Avocados is not a food blog. However, the time has come, the walrus said, to talk of other things. Of ships and seas and sea… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
1.***Increasingly, I wonder if brevity is the key to artistry, just as simplicity is often the heart of beauty. Good children’s novels are lovely because they distill observations abou… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
By “fairies,” I refer to the creatures who inhabit the unsettling tales of old legend, not those winged lawn ornaments of Victorian and modern art. I really mean “the fey f… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
by Kate Morton, 2010After reading the first few chapters, I found myself hoping that I would love this novel. The leading protagonist is a bookish young Englishwoman who tends to get lost wh… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
I haven't posted in over a week, for several quite defensible reasons:1. I've been traveling2. We are trying to convince our sweet little son that his sudden desire to party at night is most… Read More
Subscribe to Don't Forget The Avocados
Get updates delivered right to your inbox!