So here’s something ironic: I’d planned this post for July 1, but I didn’t get it posted in time because I was… working on my July writing goals. (Actually, that’s only half true. I was also binge-reading Elin Hilderbrand’s new book The Rumor. Fantastic summer read. More on that in the July book review.) But […]
fiction
Finding the Heart
At the close of the writer’s retreat I attended recently, the moderators asked us to look back over our weekend’s work and consider which pieces worked best, and why. I jotted down a few words that described my favorite essays: “family” “relationships” and “love.” Then, reconsidering, I drew a big circle around the word “love,” because […]
Don’t Let Your Story Be Like Juno
This past weekend was a very exciting time for downstate New Yorkers. We went to bed on Saturday night after a small snowstorm kept us housebound all day, then woke on Sunday morning to the breaking news that another storm was coming on Tuesday. This was no typical snowstorm; it was already being forecast as a […]
September Book Round-Up
Now that I have 40-60 minutes of commuting every workday, I’m getting through more audiobooks. I have a different set of criteria for books I listen to, compared to the ones I read. They can’t be anything too heavy, requiring intense focus: that leaves out anything literary or biographical. I usually stick to lighter women’s […]
April Book Round-Up
Rather than post weekly book reviews in April, I decided to do a round-up at the end of the month. If you’ve been keeping track on my “Books I’m Reading” page, you’ll see I’ve been interested in variety: a healthy mix of fiction of both the literary and genre type, and an array of nonfiction topics. […]
5 Great Literary Lovers
Happy Valentine’s Day! As a life-long book lover, I’ve naturally had the occasional crush on a fictional character. I would have married any one of them, if a) they were real people; b) they weren’t already involved with fictional females; and c) I hadn’t met the love of my life 13 years ago. Leanne’s literary […]