I taught college courses for about twenty years – technology, management, creative writing, philosophy, English. Mostly undergraduate, but some MBA courses, too, and as I entered my classroom to begin teaching in one of those, I noticed there were like eight women and only one man. These were working, white-collar professionals. As we went around […]
A Mirthful Adventure set in Contemporary New York Sloane Crosley is a very smart, literate, imaginative and entertaining writer. I can’t quite remember when I had so much fun reading a novel. Hmmm . . . Cervantes’ Don Quixote, maybe? Well, no matter. Crosly sustains her ribald sense of humor throughout the book, which is […]
The Cary Memorial Library is without a doubt the most handsome building in Lexington, Massachusetts. Designed by Arts and Crafts architect Willard Dalrymple Brown, built of massive fieldstones in 1906, it is a librarian’s dream of a what a library ought to be, both inside and out. Surely this is why I’m so proud to […]
Monte Schulz is the firstborn son of Charles M. Schulz of “Peanuts” fame and Joyce Halverson. He took his Master’s Degree in American Studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara, where he lives and owns the Santa Barbara Writers Conference. Monte has written the following novels, all published by Fantagraphics Books, except the […]
Since I wrote my blog last week about the novels of Thomas Perry – well, actually while I was writing it – I was listening to another of his novels, an Audiobook version of Nightlife (narrated most excellently by Shelly Frasier) about a female serial killer! I admired how Perry never really explains why this […]
Consuming books, if I can use that term, means having standards, selecting formats, choosing wisely. Reading a book is an investment in time and attention, but then again so is listening to an audiobook – but I consume different kinds of books in each medium. I read more seriously, more critically; I listen for entertainment […]
Hey, all, I’m back from my unplanned July vacation! Our family spent the 4th of July at Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hamshire and when we got back home I just decided to loaf in my garage workshop (haha) for a few weekends. A lost chapter? Well, not exactly lost. If this were a movie, we’d […]