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.
Plagiarists Keep On Keepin’ On
We heard about this on ‘Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!’ yesterday while driving, but here’s a screenshot of a blurb about it from the New York Times.
You Never Get it Back
You Never Get It Back by Cara Blue Adams is a stunning collection of interwoven short stories that was recommended to me by my friend Bethany. She texted, “I think you’d like this.” She was correct.
Mercy Street
I used to have #FictionIsRelevant in my bio because, well, even something wildly “made up” reflects real life. So how appropriate (nay, #Relevant) that my library copy of Mercy Street by Jennifer Haigh became available this week. The novel is about abortion (but like any good novel, is about so much more); the protagonist works at a clinic and another character is a creepy protestor and I think you get the gist. I whipped right through it.
Bright Lights, Big City
Let’s talk time capsules.
Measuring the Wrong Things: Machine Learning, Human, Learning, and AI
What do you think? This morning, my husband sent me this article that posits that “male characters are four more times more prevalent in literature than female characters.” (As an aside, Matt’s commentary with the link was “Ironic since men don’t read books.” He’s being funny. But let’s for sure save space for a post about how reading is seen as a “women’s activity” for another day!)
Passage West
While we were living in Ireland, I met a Taiwanese-American woman who was married to an Irish man. She had grown up some in Taiwan, but mostly in California and when she realized that I was also originally from the West Coast said something along the lines of, “People are different on the West Coast. It’s the whole ‘pioneering spirit’ that has evolved into innovation.”
On Homesickness
It’s a beautiful spring day in Boston. Finally! Finally? Everywhere I’ve lived, the air feels different and the seasons emerge differently, yet except for North Carolina — where we lived for five years — spring has never been an “early” season. So I don’t know why it continually surprises me when it shows itself so “late.”
Margo Jefferson and Guilty Pleasures
I always love the “By the Book” column in the Sunday NYT. And I especially love the question “Do you count any books as guilty pleasures?” This past week, Margo Jefferson, literary critic and author of the memoir Constructing a Nervous System, had a zinger answer:
Good Company
I’m reading a new genre
Plainsong
Plainsong by Kent Haruf is the book I chose for my book club. “Happy ending needed!” was the charge. Not sure I delivered according to those specifications in the way people wanted…
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.
The Bone People
Why do you pick the books that you do? Let me tell you about why I checked out The Bone People by Keri Hulme. In early January, I read an obituary of Hulme because the NYT identified her in the headline as New Zealand’s first Booker winner. (The Bone People won in 1985.)
Not Locked Out of a New Zealand Library
Fun story on NPR’s Morning Edition the other day.
So Much Nonfiction in 2022?
2022’s been shaping up to be my year of nonfiction. Normally I’d read maybe TWO nonfiction books a year, tops. But here I am clocking in at 5 so far. Wowee! In case you’re a fan of nonfiction, here’s what I’ve read:
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.
Tinkers
Tinkers by Paul Harding: A quiet, poetic, and pensive book that reminded (and assured?) me that these qualities can still “win” even in a world that prizes brashness, boastfulness, and rigid opinion. (I mean, it really did win…it won the Pulitzer in 2010.)
Serendipitously Inspired by Marge Piercy
Story time.
