“We value our solitude until it pinches,” writes Edward Hoagland in the spring issue of The American Scholar magazine. His essay “On Loneliness” ruminates on the ways we choose – and need – to live both in community and in solitude….
It’s hard to go wrong giving Mom a book, but it’s not impossible. Let me help you avoid one high risk gift! You’ve likely noticed Frog Music, by Emma Donoghue, one of the big spring reads prominently featured at your local…
Say you’re stranded on a desert island. With Carolyn Taylor. Not only will she figure out a way to send morse code signals to ships and satellites, she will also identify and help you avoid poisonous vegetation. In the meanwhile…
1. You will cry and it is embarrassing to cry while reading on a plane. 2. You will regret your choice of accommodations. Claire Cameron’s new novel, The Bear, reminded me of one of the reasons I’m not a camper. It’s also…
Thank you, Farrell Mason, for your lovely new novel, The Angel and the Raven. A friend bought it for me at Parnassus yesterday and pressed it into my hands with her warmest recommendation. I have spent this afternoon outside reading…
Cheryl Lloyd runs like lightning when she’s not running after her three children or caring for patients in Oxford, North Carolina. She loves to run on a trail and is slightly embarrassed that she recently binge-watched all five seasons of…
In one of the most dramatic scenes in a novel, submerge a dog in a tank full of water and have him share a breathing tube with his master. Is it just me, or is that hard to believe? Alice Hoffman’s new novel, The…
As a senior corporate counsel for one of the largest captive finance companies in the world, Patricia Eastwood knows a thing or two about managing stress. She can also manage an intelligent conversation about ballet and astrophysics. She really hates loading and…
Our oldest daughter left for boarding school last September. I didn’t feel fine. Things are better now! I’ve made adjustments. Started new projects. Paid excessive attention to our younger daughter, poor thing. Still, there are moments when I can’t believe our…