On election day, amid heated rhetoric, I take comfort in the blessings of the Hampton Inn.
November 6, 2018
by jenniferpuryear
Election Day Special 2018
Book Title: This is How It Always Is
Fiction
October 28, 2018
by jenniferpuryear
It’s Not Black and White. Or Is It?
I always stop for an Oreo McFlurry on the drive from Nashville to Atlanta. One on the way there, one on the way back. Last weekend – for the first time ever! – a book on Audible was so captivating that I didn’t need to stop.
October 2, 2018
by jenniferpuryear
Help Wanted: Southern Festival of Books
Dear Bacon Friends – I don’t want to do this alone. I’d be so grateful for your help! I imagine you joining me – we’re up there together on stage interviewing Celeste Ng (Little Fires Everywhere) and Tayari Jones (An American Marriage) at the Southern Festival of Books. We’re hoping to start a good conversation. What serious OR not-so-serious questions shall we ask? The sky’s …
September 25, 2018
by jenniferpuryear
“Books Were Always My Refuge”: Top 10 Reads for Right Now
Lawrence Cook returns to Bacon today with a wonderful selection of her Top 10 Reads for Right Now. Why has she been reading so much lately? I’ll let her tell you…
September 8, 2018
by jenniferpuryear
The Meaning of a Fried Egg on the Sidewalk
Today’s photo essay comes to you from a sidewalk in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Sometimes a walk lightens a heavy heart, you know.) Skip to the end for Fall Reading Recommendations – 5 Books to Curl Up With!
August 13, 2018
by jenniferpuryear
Penelope Lemon: Game On!
Penelope Lemon may not be our next Jane Eyre, swooning over the mysterious Mr. Rochester. She may not be our next Catherine, wildly seeking Heathcliff on the moors. But she’s looking for love on a Christian dating website. When she’s not working at a western-style roadhouse restaurant. She’s got dreams, too, our Penelope! Along with two divorces and a son called “Fart Boy” by other …
August 5, 2018
by jenniferpuryear
A Quick History of Modern China (And Top Three Book Recommendations)
China may be the country we most need to understand in today’s world. (Apart from our own, of course.) With 1.3 billion people, the world’s second largest economy, and its most powerful leader since Mao in Xi Jinping, China sings both ancient and modern songs. Today’s post features two memoirs and one collection of short stories I read traveling to and from Beijing (and during …
July 25, 2018
by jenniferpuryear
Booker’s Dozen: Enquiring Minds Want to Know
Nothing says “England” like the Booker Prize. There’s a delightful pomp and propriety here: “First awarded in 1969, the Man Booker Prize is recognised as the leading prize for literary fiction written in English,” the Booker organisation modestly states, in a delightful accent and with that fabulous spelling. Cultural power is a fascinating thing in England – and elsewhere. What are the subjects and who …
June 14, 2018
by jenniferpuryear
Summer Reading 2018: What is Love?
I’ve just finished up a year of “Leadership Nashville,” which involved 14-hour days and field trips and a lot of time on the bus with strangers who – thankfully, wonderfully, quickly and sometimes slowly – became friends. In our group of 44: a sparkling news anchor, a beautiful rabbi. An editor of our newspaper and a museum curator. The heads of Metro Nashville Sports Authority, …
June 11, 2018
by jenniferpuryear
Nashville Special: All We Ever Wanted
Here in Nashville, we had a lot of opinions about Anthony Bourdain’s visit (rest in peace) when he came to town. Same with the hit TV show “Nashville.” Mostly we loved being in the limelight! But you also heard whispers and complaints. Minor and major grousing. The chatter was half the fun! Next-up: a big-time novel set in Nashville by a big-time, New York Times-bestselling …