I read Gail Caldwell’s Let’s Take the Long Way Home yesterday in one long, breathless gulp. The book is an elegant evocation of a true friendship between women, a heartbroken eulogy, and an unflinching exploration of what life looks like on the other side of an unimaginable loss. Written in Caldwell’s absolutely glorious prose, Let’s [...]
Emily (softly, more in wonder than in grief): I can’t bear it. They’re so young and beautiful. Why did they ever have to get old? Mama, I’m here. I’m grown up. I love you all, everything. – I can’t look at everything hard enough. …. Emily (in a loud voice to the Stage Manager): I [...]
I loved Martha’ McPhee’s Dear Money. The book’s voice is funny and smart, its observations nuanced and searing. Martha’s thoughtful commentary is both right on the money (as it were) and somewhat scary. There is so much in Dear Money that made me smile with wry identification, so many details that rang true from both [...]
I laughed. I cried. It was better than Cats. Mennonite in a Little Black Dress is one of the funniest and wisest books that I’ve read in a long, long time. Rhoda Janzen is simply hilariously funny. I have rarely laughed out loud as often during a book as I did with this one. At [...]
My stack is out of control. I am hoping that this holiday weekend affords some serious reading time. I am always fascinated by what other people read, so thought I’d share the titles that are piled on my bedside table right now. I think what people read is a very good snapshot of what it [...]
The time has come … (I keep hearing, in my head, “the walrus said, to talk of many things…”) But the time has come. It’s here. Life After Yes debuts today and I whole-heartedly encourage you to order it. It’s been such a pleasure and an honor to live this process a little bit, vicariously, [...]
I read Glenda Burgess’s exquisite memoir, The Geography of Love a couple of weeks ago, reading it voraciously in two sittings, unable to put the beautiful volume down. Glenda makes me believe in soul mates. Given my own fixation with maps and geography, with all the tools that we use, concrete and ineffable, to guide [...]
I grew up in Paris. I went to French school, learned to read in French, and when we moved home my parents said Hilary and I were mostly playing together in French. Point is, I spoke fluent French. These days? Not so much. I can barely remember any words, and I certainly can’t read it [...]
It is my distinct honor to be guest posting at World’s Strongest Librarian today. I adore Josh’s writing and was surprised and delighted when he agreed to share my reflections on libraries. Please head over to read my post, Libraries Matter, and then spend some time exploring Josh’s site. You won’t be sorry!
I had been eagerly awaiting the arrival of Hand Wash Cold: Care Instructions for an Ordinary Life by Karen Maezen Miller. I was midway through Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Everyday Blessings, which I put aside to read this beautiful, slender book. I loved every word of it, of this book that communicates its deep wisdom in a [...]
