June 27, 2018
by jenniferpuryear
It’s fun to pull for the bad guys in a summer flick, especially when they’re not Too bad. I just rewatched Ocean’s Eleven – George Clooney! Matt Damon! Brad Pitt! Even without popcorn and a coke, this was a good way to spend a few hours getting in the mood for Ocean’s Eight. Nothing lately has made me happier than pulling for the young vagabond Han …
June 14, 2018
by jenniferpuryear
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, …
May 20, 2018
by jenniferpuryear
Thank God for the people who survive their harrowing childhoods and live to tell their warrior tales. Thank God for the novelists who imagine courage in the worst of circumstances. They inspire us – the truth tellers – for truth and bravery take many forms. Mary Raymond returns to Bacon today with a compelling account of two hot current reads featuring heroines who transcend dire …
May 17, 2018
by jenniferpuryear
I don’t feel great in the fearsome months of May and December – do you? (Speaking as a person who’s wound pretty tight already.) I’m grateful that mental health gets a lot more attention than it used to. Matt Osborne returns to Bacon today with a feature on Mental Health Awareness Month and the provocative, heart-wrenching work of artist Derek Hess. (You can find Hess’s work …
May 6, 2018
by jenniferpuryear
May can be such a bully. Even the peonies are demanding, flopping over with the weight of their own glory and requiring help (it’s hard to be your best self when gravity’s dragging you down). Farrell Mason returns to Bacon today with a post that helped remind me of the big picture. Small things matter; your team matters; you matter; and I’ll leave the rest to …
April 15, 2018
by jenniferpuryear
My friend Mary Raymond and I were corresponding by email the other day. She wanted to insert a slightly freaked-out/chattering tooth emoji that had not yet been envisioned by Apple (because I was nervous about a speaking engagement and also it was very cold out… she understood!!). I was distressed because I couldn’t figure out how to use emojis on my new Ipad. She took …
April 13, 2018
by jenniferpuryear
Nashville’s supposed to be reading The Potlikker Papers: A Food History of The Modern South for its annual community-wide “Nashville Read.” I started it and put it down. Started it again – and put it down. After the third time, I gave up. How can a history of food and cooking in the South read so much like a school textbook? One could fairly describe …
April 2, 2018
by jenniferpuryear
Marcia Masulla rocks her striped boots on a rainy day. She’s got mad style. And she’s making you smile! She walks into a room and owns it. She’s speaking her truth. Marcia is a founder and managing partner of Nashville Fashion Week, which kicks off tomorrow. She’ll be busy and using her superpowers all week, but she’s taken a moment to stop in at Bacon …
March 25, 2018
by jenniferpuryear
I’m thrilled for The Good Professor – Vanderbilt’s Roger Moore – to return to Bacon today! The Good Professor is super-smart but not self-serious. He has an openness of spirit and delight in the world that is entirely appealing. Today, Roger shares his thoughts on a recent great read, A Secret Sisterhood: The Literary Friendships of Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, George Eliot and Virginia Woolf. …
March 11, 2018
by jenniferpuryear
Spring arrives – not a moment too soon – in pinks and purples and yellows and whites. We’ve been waiting! It’s time for a new book, too. Today’s post features four novels, a short story collection, and a memoir, all of them as fresh and engaging as the season. Spring Break bonus: two of the books are perfect to read with your middle schooler or …