READ ALL ABOUT IT
Since 2012, I’ve been writing about books. And the act of reading. And the importance of story and narrative. But, mostly, the underlying theme of all I write is how taking a moment to stop and digest some longform text — instead of scrolling, instead of watching a video, instead of multitasking — can be one of the most grounding things we can do for ourselves. Here’s the one-stop online home for all this writing.
You can read more about me and my work by moseying over here. Want to peruse periodic “essay drops” — excerpts from my work-in-progress essay collection about Homesickness? Here ya go.
Mr. Men and Little Miss Turn 50
Raise your hand if you had these books as a child and/or read them to a child in your life. (🙋🏻♀️🙋🏻♀️🙋🏻♀️) Happy 50th Birthday to all the Mr. Men and Little Misses to have graced your bookshelves.
It’s All in the Framing
It’s all in the framing…
Malcolm X’s Former Prison Cell is a Library, Thanks to Reginald Dwayne Betts
I’ve posted about prisons and libraries/books before, including the Mellon Foundation’s “Freedom Libraries” initiative that ties in to this full-circle story.
Libraries are Benevolent
The two books I’ve read by Richard Powers — The Overstory and Bewilderment — are so full of profound nuggets of wisdom about, well, life. And you can probably find many of them aggregated on sites like Goodreads. This one isn’t really “life wisdom,” but it really is a nice way to describe a library, isn’t it?
What Happened to Amazon’s Bookstore?
I just finished Bewilderment by Richard Powers. (Really great!)
I have way too many books out from the library at the moment, including A Calling for Charlie Barnes by Joshua Ferris, The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller, and Why We Can’t Sleep: Women’s New Midlife Crisis by Ada Calhoun (that’s funny). Plus 3 others. Like a kid in a candy shop…
Just a Pic of a Little Free Library
I just finished Bewilderment by Richard Powers. (Really great!)
I have way too many books out from the library at the moment, including A Calling for Charlie Barnes by Joshua Ferris, The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller, and Why We Can’t Sleep: Women’s New Midlife Crisis by Ada Calhoun (that’s funny). Plus 3 others. Like a kid in a candy shop…
How to Recommend a Book
Ha. The “Tip” column in the New York Times Magazine from Oct. 24 is “How to Recommend a Book.”
City of Asylum in Pittsburgh
I learned about an incredibly interesting organization today. It’s called City of Asylum, and it’s a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit; I’m just going to copy their mission directly:
‘The Clique’ Books Taught Hate (?): Books Are Not the Problem
If you’re a parent, you are already well attuned to how television and film affect your offspring. (Or at least how we think they affect them.) Let’s rewind to me appalled at the iCarly episode my daughter was glued to in a Montana emergency room when she was six.
Goncourt Scandal and Drama
SCANDAL & DRAMA!
In case you didn’t know, French literary culture is Serious Business. Très sérieux.
Book Club Crashers: The Authors
The Sudbury Town Crier
“Having an author drop in to your meeting takes your gathering to a new level: It allows you to get answers and insights to very specific questions, and hey, it might give you the extra nudge to make sure you actually finish the book..”
Reading as ONE in MetroWest: An Interview with Amy Wilson Sheldon and Jennifer De Leon
Literary Boston
An interview with MetroWest Readers Fest founder Amy Wilson Sheldon and featured author Jennifer De Leon, about Communal Reading and a celbration of Boston’s Book Origins.
Read Here or at LiteraryBoston.com
MetroWest Readers Fest to spotlight books by Framingham State University professor Jennifer De Leon
MetroWest Daily News
A Book Event with MetroWest Readers Fest founder Amy Wilson Sheldon and author Jennifer De Leon
Buying Novels in Our Pajamas
The Sudbury Town Crier
Independent Bookstore Day is always the last Saturday in April. (A good reason to get out of our pajamas, yes?)
RAWTS: Amy’s Take on The Overstory
Well, I cried.
RAWTS: Matt’s Take on The Overstory
The Overstory is a book about trees...an incredibly beautiful & well-researched book that weaves plant science through everything, painting the background for the individual narratives driving the plot line as well as being the plot itself. The book follows the lives of numerous characters—scientists, professors, engineers, lawyers, etc—and how their lives intersect, mostly related to some interest in trees.
Valentine’s is for Readers
Matt and I are two months into our “let’s read a book together” experiment.
Libraries: Not Just for (Book) Lovers
The Sudbury Town Crier
For Library Lovers’ Month, a heart-shaped letter to all the libraries I’ve loved before.
RAWTS: We Chose The Overstory
Awww, it’s His and Her copies of The Overstory. Thank you to those who played along with my husband Matt’s big “resolution” for 2021!
RAWTS: How It Began
Hi. I’m Amy’s husband, Matt. She says nice things about me here, but she rarely speaks of the dirty family secret: I don’t read.
