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.
NYPL Got Rid of Late Fees and Check Out What’s Being Returned
Has your library gone fine-free? Mine did starting earlier this year, but I’ve been paying attention to this phenomenon for years — pretty much since I started this account. There’s a bunch of research as to why eliminating late fees is a smart choice, but the research doesn’t take into account the added benefit of seeing all the interesting things that get returned once people feel that’s it “ok” to untether themselves from things they’ve (likely inadvertently) had for years and years and years.
Kurt Vonnegut’s Grandson
Here’s a fun story from my alma mater, Tufts University. But first a bit of backstory: Tufts has something really great called the Experimental College (Ex College) that allows students to take slightly off-the-beaten-path classes like “Investing, Psychology, and Human Behavior” or “Sorry, Not Sorry: The Apology Through the Social Justice Lens” (those are current course offerings). My minor — Communications & Media Studies — was under the umbrella of the Ex College and allowed me so many amazing opportunities, including internships. So there’s that.
Not Locked Out of a New Zealand Library
Fun story on NPR’s Morning Edition the other day.
Post-Pandemic Reading Skills
“Pandemic Has Pulled Reading Skills Down Into ‘New Territory.’” We saw this coming — and this NYT article explains that the US was seeing lower literacy levels even before 2020 — but this just makes me so very sad. There’s a lot at play here: missed school (both remote and in-person), teaching vacancies, fewer educators trained in phonics and phonetic awareness.
Anna Dugan Mural in Maynard
The multiple stages of jumping into a 600-plus-page novel?
Reading Rainbow’s New ‘Book Club’
“We love the idea of this being like a book club.”
Reading Rainbow is back, but sans LeVar Burton. And it’s going to be livestreamed on a platform called Looped, so no free PBS content.
Serendipitously Inspired by Marge Piercy
Story time.
Little Free Libraries Beneath the Surface
I posted on my stories the other day that during a long walk in a neighborhood near where we used to live in Charlotte, NC, I passed at least 7 Little Free Libraries.
Bus Stop by Donald Justice
Bus Stop by Donald Justice…
Baghdad Book Fair
Here’s an article from a December issue of The Boston Sunday Globe. (Originally printed in the NYT.) Despite all the headlines that catch our eye (and that, well, appear in newspapers like the one I read this in), “There is a big gap between the people in the street and political elite…People in the street are not that interested in what happens in politics,” according to Maysoon al-Demluji, a former deputy minister of culture. That might be a bit of an overstatement, but she’s speaking at the Baghdad International Book Fair; her point is that this is the kind of place where “real life” in Iraq happens.
Spines Out
Days later, I’m still chuckling at this reply to one of my stories. Profile pic not covered to not protect the men-in-fedora hater.
The Enchanted Hour: The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud in the Age of Distraction
Today is #WorldReadAloudDay. And reading aloud is not just for kids, you know. As for me and my house, perhaps my husband and I will read from The Enchanted Hour: The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud in the Age of Distraction by Meghan Cox Gurdon after our exciting trip to Home Depot this evening. Very meta, with a new kitchen faucet on the side for good measure.
Viet Thanh Nguyen: “A Disturbing Book Changed My Life”
“Book banning” is not new, but in the past year or so, challenges to books have popped up in headlines with more frequency. The latest, of course, is a school board in Tennessee removing Maus by Art Spiegelman from classrooms. But let’s see…we also have school district north of Seattle removing To Kill a Mockingbird from its required reading list and a mom in Texas has a fixation with a passing reference to anal sex in Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez.
Case in Point: Framingham School Libraries
“Students in Framingham are checking out more books from the library: Here’s why.” This MetroWest Daily News article popped up online yesterday. Framingham borders the town where I live.
Dr. Richard Macksey’s Viral Yet Non-Existent Library
Ok, we all know Instagram loooooves this kind of image, but before you blindly double tap, read on!
‘Planets in My Head, Philosophy’
‘Planets in My Head, Philosophy.’ Yinka Shonibare.
Powell’s and “Downtown”
“How will brick-and-mortar stores fare in a time of continued fear over a deadly, airborne plague? What happens to city life when sidewalks are strewn with the rain-soaked belongings of people who can no longer afford rent?”
Elizabeth Holmes and The Great Gatsby
There’s a front-page article about Elizabeth Holmes in today’s New York Times…
Kenny G’s Going Home With Perestroika
Back in December, we watched Listening to Kenny G, a documentary about that ubiquitous saxophone player who everyone loves…or loves to hate.
The Snowy Day is Now an Opera
Oh, I love this! The Snowy Day — that ubiquitous 1962 picture book by Ezra Jack Keats — has been transformed into an opera, now at the Houston Grand Opera. The Snowy Day is the most-checked-out book in the history of the New York Public Library, btw.
