Gather 'round…
How to Be Good by Nick Hornby My rating: 4 of 5 stars Huh. I'm not sure what to say about this one. I heard about it somewhere, maybe in a writing book, so I picked it up. Turns out it is from the same author as About a Boy and High Fidelity so I... Continue Reading →
Book Review: The Canon I wrote a quick review of my latest read, but I wanted to expand a little more about the actual writing of the book for this week's Postbox. Here is the original review, from Goodreads: The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science by Natalie Angier My rating:... Continue Reading →
A little follow up on yesterday's post... It took me a while to find it, as the much-coveted book has already been surrendered to the library, but I thought it worth reposting Mike Perry's closing essay from Roughneck Grace. Kind of sums up those times around the fire, no matter how they're spent. A bit... Continue Reading →
Well, we're home. OK, we've been home for over a week. But alas, the only writing I've gotten done since landing is the boring kind that meets a deadline. Boring, but lucrative, as long as your vocabulary is equipped with a vivid imagination. The North Shore was gorgeous, as always. There was that rocky start,... Continue Reading →
We're home. Oh, man, are we home. It was a rollercoaster of a trip, really, from an underwhelming rowhouse rental in DC, to glorious visit with beautiful friends all along the East Coast. From a transmission that thought it might want to drop out on us, to operational AC for the entire trip (Woot! Woot!). From... Continue Reading →
Language. It is intrinsically valuable and, used correctly, purely beautiful. Words have the power to break and the power to heal. My tongue, as James says, ... is a fire... [it] sets on fire the course of history. ~ James 3:6-10 How much more powerful is the written word? Easier to tame, yes, but just... Continue Reading →
Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman My rating: 5 of 5 stars Ugh. 4 stars? 5 stars? I just couldn't decide. I went with 5 because my only reason for leaning 4 was comfort. This was not really my kind of book, so it took me a while to get into. Possibly my own roller-coaster of... Continue Reading →
We've camped cold before. It is one of our favorite ways to camp, actually, especially along Lake Superior where the cold can be as pristine as the waters of the mighty lake. We're no strangers to sleeping beneath seven layers, with winter hats protecting the only possible exposure. We kind of like getting up and... Continue Reading →
Wordsmithy: Hot Tips for the Writing Life by Douglas Wilson My rating: 5 of 5 stars You know it's a good one when you abstain from reading just to make it last longer. I'm not saying that Wordsmithy was one of those intense keep-you-up-at-night page-turners, or that I had to exercise any superhuman feats of... Continue Reading →
I think I killed a mole this morning. This might not seem that strange. Or maybe it does. Some explanation, possibly... About four years ago, my brother moved in next door. The thirteen-lined gophers that previously inhabited his land staged a revolt. His acres of lawn were pocked with earthen mounds, and the gophers themselves... Continue Reading →
The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz My rating: 5 of 5 stars Hi-Larious. Truly. I am a sucker for a book that can have me snorting in the lawn chair, drawing the attention of confused passers-by. Make me cry with laughter and you've really got me. The Spellman files had me. I'm a slow reader.... Continue Reading →
New experiment: Book Reviews via Goodreads. While I've been using Goodreads intermittently for a while, I've been trying recently to be more faithful (and accurate) at logging my reading fits and frenzies. And they have this neat little app that allows my book reviews to post automatically to my blog. Woah. Sweet. Let's try it!... Continue Reading →
Tales From the Nexus 