Category Archives: Uncategorized

This is not going to be a month of lions and lambs, nor will it be filled with leprechauns.  No, this March is for Madness.  And not of the literary March Hare variety.  Of the new, modern basketball variety.  So … Continue reading →

There are so many people who made me a reader: my parents, of course, my teachers, my friends. But Mrs. Ingenbrandt, my elementary school librarian deserves a special mention. As a first grader I could read, not just picture books, … Continue reading →

For most people these days a fresh calendar is all we need to feel like we’re getting a chance to start over.  As January begins people energetically undertake all sorts of personal improvement projects under the heading RESOLUTIONS hoping to … Continue reading →

You know I cannot resist seasonal books.  It’s practically a sickness with me.  If there is a holiday approaching, there are essentially three critical things that must be done. 1. I must watch movies about that holiday. 2. I must … Continue reading →

In my grown-up reading life, I am an absolute sucker for any book that has anything to do with food.  Give me mouth-watering memoirs like The Language of Baklava, scrumptious magical realism like Sarah Addison Allen’s Garden Spells or even … Continue reading →

October is a month of disguise and intrigue.  Usually the disguise is in the form of familiar costumes worn on the final day of the month.  Usually the intrigue is the night before, in the form of smashed pumpkins, toilet … Continue reading →

New York City is the kind of place that inspires strong emotions in people.  Some hate it, citing big city snobbery and the crazy hectic pace and the usual city complaints of “dirty, noisy, dangerous”.  Others, especially New Yorkers themselves, … Continue reading →

I remember learning to write, or rather I remember hating to write.  I never knew what to write or what they wanted me to say or how to do it well.  Things were much easier for me when I got … Continue reading →

Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson This review was originally published on February 23, 2011. Anderson’s follow-up to Chains is written from Curzon’s point of view, which was a huge improvement in my mind. I found him much more likable and … Continue reading →