Every January when we return from winter break, I show my kids at school a TED Talk about what the speaker calls “lollipop moments”—those time when our kindness makes someone else’s life fundamentally better, but we don’t even know we’ve made a difference. It’s that time of year when we all resolve to be a …
Of course it’s the Christmas tree that is the centerpiece of any holiday decorating. I’ve always been partial to Douglas or Frasier firs, with their dusty green, waxy boughs. And since we live near a local green grocer that has a gorgeous selection of trees, we’ve always done it the Christmas Story way, not the …
The stockings are hung (although sadly, there’s no chimney), the candles lit, and creche arranged–it’s the most wonderful time of the year! And every year for the past twenty-something, I’ve added Susan Branch’s Christmas From the Heart of the Home to the stack of holiday books on my coffee table. Branch inks and watercolors every …
A little over a week ago I welcomed my first grandchild—little J gave his momma a run for her money, but he is (like any good Grammy would say!) the most perfect baby ever. And just like I did with his momma and his uncles, I’ll be reading to him from the start. This English …
I’ve already established in another post (link) that I’m a picky reader. Best Seller Lists (even the revered New York Times BSL) don’t help me much, nor do the Staff Recommends shelf talkers in bookstores. In my book selling days, I relied on my managers and publisher’s sales reps to pass on good titles, usually as …
I woke up this morning to the sad news that World Book Night had suspended operations because the event was too costly to continue, this despite “significant financial and time commitment from WBN 2012: Glass Castle publishers, writers, booksellers, librarians, printers, distributors, shippers.” It seems that the book community and individual donors had come together …
Pocket Full of Dreams David B. Burch Writer David Burch and his young family were God-sent neighbors for me when I was a struggling single mom twenty years ago. David tied my boys’ ties and played catch with them; Joan and I spent many summer hours heart-to-heart while the kids ate picnic lunches in the …
Seth Anderson@Flickr.com Reading is always difficult for me during the school year–hours of grading and planning leave little time for recreation, and my exhaustion at 9 each evening doesn’t lend itself to reading more than a page or two. But I recently noticed a disturbing habit that has crept into my reading life. Because I …
Full Catastrophe LivingJon Kabat-Zinn [Note to my readers: this post is a bit more personal than most of my book reviews.] Nearly twenty years ago I was diagnosed with a chronic pain condition; almost ten years ago I sought treatment. For the most part I’ve dealt with it by alternately ignoring it, plowing through, or spitting in …
The first ever meeting of the Chicks on Books book club met today at M’s! A great group with strong opinions and never at a loss for words–what could be better?!(In fact, how does one know if the discussion is too animated?) I am looking forward to the summer books we’ll read … and also …
This is my symphony 