Leah Rachel von Essen
Leah Rachel von Essen is a writer and editor who gets most of her reading done while walking. She works full-time as a magazine assistant editor, while also reviewing for Booklist, writing for Book Riot and other publications, writing her blog, and working on writing and querying her novels. She uses her spare time to watch women's soccer, travel, and sometimes even sleep. Originally from New Jersey, she came to the South Side of Chicago to study magical realism, surrealism, fairy tales, religious studies, and the forms of the novel at the University of Chicago. She, her cat Ms. Nellie Bly, and her two large bookshelves live reading-and-walking distance from Lake Michigan. Leah writes about the books she's reading at While Reading and Walking. Twitter: @reading_while
28 J.R.R. Tolkien Quotes from his Books, Essays, and Letters
Leah Rachel von Essen
July 31, 2020
J.R.R. Tolkien is one of the most revered fantasy authors, and these are some of the best Tolkien quotes from LOTR, essays, and his other books.
20 Must-Read Books Set in Spain by Spanish Authors
Leah Rachel von Essen
July 30, 2020
Take a literary trip to España through the pages of these must-read books set in Spain, like The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón.
On My In-Class Rebellion About Woolf’s ORLANDO
Leah Rachel von Essen
July 13, 2020
A reader recounts an in-class rebellion to fight for space to discuss queerness in Woolf's ORLANDO, and how that rebellion encouraged her as a reader.
Reading Pathways: Virginia Woolf Books
Leah Rachel von Essen
June 9, 2020
Here's a small guide to help you ease into this formidable author's fiction, and to show you where to start with Virginia Woolf books.
My Literary Adventure Through Barcelona
Leah Rachel von Essen
May 19, 2020
Escape with a bit of virtual tourism as one traveler takes you around literary Barcelona, from a Hemingway haunt to bookstores and hideaways.
Back to Borrowing: Regaining a Love for the Library
Leah Rachel von Essen
May 18, 2020
How one reader who thought she had grown out of borrowing books regained a passion for using the local library.
20 Must-Read Fantasy and Sci-Fi Short Story Collections
Leah Rachel von Essen
April 8, 2020
Add some of the best fantastic, ambiguous, twisting, mysterious, and world-bending SFF short story collections out there right now to your TBR.
Seeing My Queer, Ill Self in Jenn Shapland’s New Memoir
Leah Rachel von Essen
March 5, 2020
One Rioter felt deeply seen as Jenn Shapland linked invisibility, queerness, and illness in MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF CARSON MCCULLERS.
Characters Shouldn’t Need to Kiss to Be Queer
Leah Rachel von Essen
February 17, 2020
A reader on the far-reaching, negative effects of the assumption that in order for a character to be queer they have to kiss or "prove" it.
Returning to Childhood Bestsellers I Skipped
Leah Rachel von Essen
January 16, 2020
A reader on what it took to come around to accepting book recommendations from teachers and adults, and catching up with some children's classics.
