James McBride, the eighth of twelve children, always wondered why his mother looked so different from his siblings, his stepfather, and everyone else in their predominantly black neighborhood. He badgered her for details all of his life, and when he became a journalist, he began recording her responses.
This is one of my favorite weekends of the year–Spring Readathon! I’ve got a stack of books that I hope to finish today and tomorrow. Unfortunately, I have work-work to do, but I should still get some serious reading-work done too. Here’s what’s on the menu: Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed (already started) Look at Me by Jennifer Egan (already started) Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich Orphan […]
I recently met Jennifer 8. Lee at a journalism conference. Lee is a reporter who launched Plympton, a digital publisher of serial fiction, with co-founder Yael Goldstein Love. In predicting publishing’s future, Lee and Love have looked to the past and drawn inspiration from serialized authors such as Dickens, Flaubert and Conrad.
I recently returned from a two-week trip to India. Hopefully I’ll have a chance to write a few articles about my time there, but suffice to say it is a rich, complex, and utterly beautiful country.
I’m excited to announce that I am now the leader of the Nonfiction Book Group at Arlington’s One More Page Books & More, one of my favorite places in the world. We’ll meet on the second Monday of every month, beginning tomorrow at 7 pm. My first selection is Boomerang: Travels in the Third World by Michael Lewis. I know this is late notice, but I would love to see supporters of my blog attend the group. Even if you haven’t read the book–I’ll bring […]
Toby Wolff is used to running–driving from Florida to Utah to Seattle to escape his mother’s boyfriend; moving to Concrete, WA, with his stepfather; dreaming of high school in Paris, France. But when he stops to face himself, he finds only scattered shadows of an identity.
Sloane Crosley didn’t grow up in a broken home, or a broken neighborhood. She wasn’t abused and didn’t abuse alcohol or drugs. She has two loving parents and one fun sister, and very few truly bad things seemed to have happened to her.
The National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) recently announced its 2012 finalists for outstanding books. While there are a handful of titles I’ve been planning to read, there are also several books I’d never even heard of–which is surprisingly common with the NBCC annual picks. Here are the titles I’m most looking forward to reading: 10. The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande When Reyna Grande’s father leaves his wife and three children behind in a village in Mexico to make the dangerous […]
Doomsday Book tells the story of young Kivrin, an undergraduate at Oxford, who wants to travel back in time. Such technology is typically forbidden to undergrads, and doubly so for the generous and uncharted fourteenth century. But she manages to finagle a trip and heads back to 1320 for the chance at some first-hand historical reporting. Back in 2054, things start falling apart as soon as Kivin is gone.
It’s been a long time since Cassie Robichaud has felt desired. She was estranged from her alcoholic husband when he crashed his car and died five years ago, and they never really had a healthy relationship in the first place. Since then, her romantic life has sputtered and died.
I’ve contributed to the wonderful Literature and Libation, which is run by my classmate and good friend Oliver Gray. Check out the post, and don’t forget to subscribe to his blog–he’s got some very solid advice for writers! So you want to be a writer? Join the club. The book club, that is. If you are serious about writing, start reading. Whether you want to write fiction or nonfiction, articles or trilogies, you need to be aware of what else is out […]
Jack recently made this delicious salad with chicken, mixed greens, spinach, asparagus, green beans, cashews, cherries, and feta, sprinkled with balsamic vinaigrette. Yum!
The assault against me was the first in a series of 14 unique attacks against women in and around my neighborhood over the last three months. Police have released a sketch of the man’s face, but no arrests have been made.
It’s that time of year again: Time to survey the new year ahead of us and dream about all of the wonderful books we’ll read and the places we’ll go. I’m already planning four international and three domestic trips this year, which I’ll be writing about here. And how better to keep entertained on those long flights than with books? Goodreads Reading Goal: 50 Books This year, I’m setting a more reasonable goal for the 2013 Goodreads Reading Challenge: 50 books. After […]
