Ever since the Democratic & Republican conventions, I’ve been watching, reading, and talking politics much of the time. It increased even more in the month before the election. Now that it’s over I finally find myself with time to relax and do all the things that had been pushed aside for the past few months.… Continue reading Saturday Reading
Category: bookish things
"State by State" in the NY Times
For anyone interested in the book I wrote about last week, State By State: A Panoramic Portrait of America, it’s reviewed in this week’s NY Times Book Review. The review gives several examples of the essays, and it’s a good introduction to the content of the book. (This post was brought over from emilyw.vox.com. Click… Continue reading "State by State" in the NY Times
The Great Gatsby
I re-read The Great Gatsby a few days ago, and fell in love with it all over again. I don’t think there are many passages in any book more beautiful and incredible than this one: The only completely stationary object in the room was an enormous couch on which two young women were buoyed up… Continue reading The Great Gatsby
H. A. Rey
One of my favorite podcasts is The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor. It’s a short, daily podcast (about 5 minutes) with “this day in literary history” and a daily poem. Today is the birthday of H. A. Rey, the author of the Curious George books. I thought his story was very awesome (sad, too), and… Continue reading H. A. Rey
Summer Reading 2008 Recap
One of the main reasons I’m posting my summer reading recap so late, is that I’ve tried to post it several times and gave up because I realized how boring it is. At the beginning of the summer I set a goal of seven specific books to read this summer, and I ended up reading… Continue reading Summer Reading 2008 Recap
Stephen Shore
My favorite photographer is Stephen Shore, and I was thrilled to be able to see him at Strand tonight. I really wanted to leave there tonight with this book: A Road Trip Journal But instead left with this book, for $169 less: American Surfaces Alas, the books I would buy if I were rich.… Continue reading Stephen Shore
The Month of Re-reading
My posting has been sparse lately, as a direct result of the olympics. For that matter almost all of my regular activities have taken the back burner to the olympics, first and foremost: sleep. However, I’ve been thinking about the subject matter of this post for a while now. There are lots of book challenges… Continue reading The Month of Re-reading
"I have traveled extensively in Concord" -Thoreau
I have had the pleasure of visiting my best friends in Massachusetts twice this month. Both trips Emma and I chased our obsession with “American Bloomsbury” by heading back to our favorite town, Concord, Massachusetts. The first weekend we didn’t have as much time in Concord, but we did tour Emerson’s house, which was extremely… Continue reading "I have traveled extensively in Concord" -Thoreau
The Lion and the Mouse
The Lion and the Mouse By now most everyone has heard about the controversial New Yorker cover featuring the Obamas. But did you know that same issue has a wonderful article inside about the rise of children’s literature and children’s libraries in the US? The article centers around Anne Carroll Moore, E. B. White, Katharine… Continue reading The Lion and the Mouse
Summer Reading List 2008
One of the things I anticipate most about summer, besides the start of Summer Fridays at work where we get out at 1, is making a Summer Reading List. I usually try to come up with a list of books I’ve been meaning to read for a long time, and make it a goal to… Continue reading Summer Reading List 2008
Better late than never: Memes!
I was tagged by a couple people for the Eight Random Things meme. I was also tagged forever ago by Slow Learner for a book blog. I will post both of them now. (And apologies to Slow Learner for the delay!) Eight Random Things The rules: Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.… Continue reading Better late than never: Memes!
Checking in on my 2008 reading goals
At the beginning of this year, I wrote a post recapping my 2007 books purchased and read. At the bottom, I came up with a list of goals for 2008. Since the year is about 1/4 in, it’s time for me to take stock of how I’m doing. Read at least 71 books (one more… Continue reading Checking in on my 2008 reading goals