Tumultuous would be an understatement to describe the current political climate in the states, so I found it quite pleasant to immerse myself in a very British novel, albeit a murder mystery. As I’ve said before, I am no fan of the dime-store whodunits and refuse to read anything by James Patterson. Sorry, James. However,I … More Feminism and Madness in Under the Harrow by Flynn Berry
The effects of war are unpredictable and ever-reaching. Luke Mogulson’s These Heroic, Happy Dead, a collection of modern war-related short stories, provides unsettling, haunting glimpses into the lives of veterans suffering from varying degrees of PTSD. Like Tim O’Brien’s epic Vietnam war novel The Things They Carried, (one of my all-time favorites), These Heroic, Happy … More The Reverberations of War in Civilian Life: These Heroic, Happy Dead by Luke Mogulson
I love to write. Fiction, op-ed pieces, you name it. But it’s definitely a labor of love for me. Getting a solid piece of writing completed can be agonizing for me, due largely in part to relentless self-editing. This is that annoying voice in your head that keeps telling you the words you are writing … More Want to Become A Creative Genius? Start and End Your Day with a 3-Minute Freewrite
Happy New Year and cheers to the first post of 2017! (I’m supposed to be publishing every week, so if you catch me slacking, please call me out!) I’m not big on resolutions since I am the queen of inconsistent but I did map out a general plan for the year concerning travel (my husband … More The Last Painting of Sara de Vos: Our Last Book Club Pick of 2016
Now that the last of the shredded metallic snowman wrapping paper and coordinating ribbon has been swept away and put out with the trash, (alongside the boxes revealing how much dough we blew this holiday), we can all take a moment for ourselves (before the craziness of New Year’s Eve, that is) to reflect upon … More The Givers and the Takers: A Post-Holiday Reflection
“Baby, all I want for Christmas is books.” (How on earth did you know, Mariah?!) Odds are if you don’t live your life with your nose in a book, you probably know someone who does. As one of the aforementioned species, I’d like to offer up my suggestions on gift options for the bookish: 1. … More A Holiday Gift Guide for the Book Buffs in Your Life
It’s perverse human nature to put off what you should be doing. But what about when you put off what you want to be doing? My personal reasons excuses vary from sleep deprivation, mental laziness, Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix, Trump, a 48% increase in my business from last year, and self-(mis)diagnosed Seasonal Affective Disorder (because … More Procrastination, Writer’s Block, and Other Things I Medal In: How to Beat Self-Sabotage
I have a thing for blue covers. Admittedly, the last six or so books I’ve read have had covers and spines that fall somewhere between sky and prussian. So naturally I was thrilled when Clare Mackintosh’s I Let You Go was proposed as our book club selection. I heard something about unsolved mystery and hot summer read … More I Let You Go (or at Least I Should Have)
Our days are long. Sometimes our nights are too. There is no end to the whining, meal prep, toy messes, and laundry. Whether reporting to a job site, working from home, or being a full-time stay-at-home mom, life is quite simply exhausting. Not that we mommies would trade our tiny tyrants for anything in … More Why Moms Should Make Time to Read Novels
Unless you’ve been hobbit-holing in your warm, safe confines, reading one of the A Song of Ice and Fire installments to alleviate your Game of Thrones withdrawals, you are aware that over the past 72 hours, two African American civilians, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, lost their lives during two separate, seemingly routine, innocuous interactions … More Books to Read for A Nation at War with Itself
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