How the Essay and the Novel Inform and Influence Each Other Here’s an excerpt from Jane Smiley’s recently published collection of essays, The Questions That Matter Most: Reading, Writing, and the Exercise of Freedom (Heyday Books, 2023): Most of the essays in this book have been assignments—I am handed a topic and asked to reveal […]
When you go on an organized tour while on a cruise, the emphasis of what you learn depends on the interests of your tour guide. Fortunately, on our two days in Bergen, Norway (the first and last days of our vacation), we had a knowledgable guide with an interest in the arts. He introduced us
Author Focus: Amalie Skram of Norway and Denmark Read More »
‘It’s not climate change, it’s everything change’: sci-fi authors take on the global crisis “Margaret Atwood and Cormac McCarthy led the way. Now a new crop of novelists is putting the heating emergency at the forefront of their plots” Categories: Author News, Literary History Controversial book ‘Stamped’ added back into Pickens Co Schools libraries PICKENS
Logan Steiner on Learning Life Lessons From Anne of Green Gables I was drawn to this article because much of what Logan Steiner writes here reflects my own reactions to reading Anne of Green Gables. The book demonstrates not only what it means to be human, but also how literature can unconsciously teach us how
I loved this fantasy, a coming-of-age tale based on an epic search for lost love, a place to call home, and the power of stories. We first meet the protagonist, January Scaller, at the beginning of the 20th century, when she’s seven years old. She lives with a guardian: Mr. William Cornelius Locke, self-made not-quite-billionaire,
Review: ”The Ten Thousand Doors of January” Read More »
Related Post: In 1975 Mary Higgins Clark published her first suspense novel, Where Are the Children? Over the ensuing years she published 55 more books, all of which were best sellers, according to her publisher Simon & Schuster, that earned her the title Queen of Suspense. During her career she partnered with her daughter, Carol
“Where Are the Children Now?” Read More »
“ Lindburgh’s Pharmacy is an Athens, Georgia, institution—the type of beloved mom and pop shop that once dotted every American town but has mostly disappeared. But Lindburgh’s has recently become the object of attention of a local third grade teacher Tina Lamm (“Ms. Lamm to my students”). Tina is certain something very, very bad is
Review: “The Time Has Come” by Will Leitch Read More »
This month we start with Elizabeth Day’s exploration of friendship, Friendaholic. Here’s part of the Goodreads description of the book: “ As a society, there is a tendency to elevate romantic love. But what about friendships? Aren’t they just as – if not more – important? So why is it hard to find the right
6 Degrees: Many Forms of Friendship Read More »
6 Mid-Life Memoirs of Transformative Years “6 Life-Changing Memoirs” “What would it take for you to transform your life? Could you do it in the span of a year or two? Spurred on by loss, career changes, new hobbies — or even a global pandemic — what if your life could become something new? In
This novel well deserves the recognition it received: ITW Thriller Award Nominee for Hardcover Novel (2021), Los Angeles Times Book Prize Nominee for Mystery/Thriller (2020), Edgar Award Nominee for Best Novel (2021). Set in Los Angeles, it tells the stories of women who represent the outcasts, the marginalized and the expendable members of society. West
2 Novels About Communities Read More »
