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.
Fridays With Carol Shields: Unless
I’m (re)reading what will probably be my last Carol Shields book of 2019. It’s her final novel – Unless, published the year before she died. I’ve been unfair to this novel, often citing it as my least favorite.
Fridays With Carol Shields: The Republic of Love
It’s #FridaysWithCarolShields, and I started re-reading The Republic of Love this week. I’m only about a quarter of the way through (I’m also trying to finish Lincoln in the Bardo!), but I’ll go ahead and put this up there with Small Ceremonies and The Stone Diaries as one of my favorites.
Fact or Fiction: On The Stone Diaries, The Body Papers & Investigating a Life
I just Googled “fiction versus memoir,” even though I know the difference – and I suspect that you do too. My search results yielded the following top result: “Memoir or Novel? How to Decide.” It’s from a random literary agency that hosts an accompanying blog full of tips for would-be authors, and this was one of its posts. I admit to being a little baffled because I always assume that writers sort of know what genre they want to tackle. Do you want to make up a story or not? Ok, ok, I’ll concede that maybe at the beginning of one’s writing days, a little waffling may present itself. Writer: “I have a message I want to convey, but I’m not sure how.” But otherwise, “fake news” notwithstanding, we have FACT and we have FICTION. They’re different, right?
Fridays With Carol Shields: The Stone Diaries
Y’all!!! (Pulling out the “I lived in North Carolina for 5 years” shtick...#authentic)
Fridays With Carol Shields: Larry’s Party
I know this is dorky, but here’s a picture of Larry’s Party by Carol Shields near flowers – that I need to actually put in containers – on our porch. See, Larry Weller, the protagonist of Shields’ follow-up to the Pulitzer-winning The Stone Diaries, is an award-winning designer of garden mazes.
Fridays With Carol Shields: Swann
Attention, attention…it’s #FridaysWithCarolShields. Before I go into the book I read in April (Swann), I want to share two things:
