Handling the (Reading) Truth: Fiction, Nonfiction, and Me (Part 2 of 2)

Handling the (Reading) Truth: Fiction, Nonfiction, and Me (Part 2 of 2)

To pick up where we left off, I can tell you exactly when my reading preferences shifted from almost exclusively fiction to avoiding fiction as much as possible–it was late 1999, into early 2000 (I would say the “turn of the millennium,” but it was actually a year earlier)–and I can tell you exactly why. My husband (not the one I have now, in case that doesn’t quickly become obvious) started a relationship with another woman […]

At the Un-Common Core: Fiction, Nonfiction, and Me (Part 1 of 2)

At the Un-Common Core: Fiction, Nonfiction, and Me (Part 1 of 2)

(Disclosure: I used Grammarly to check for plagiarism free because when I express myself, I want to be sure it’s really myself that I’m expressing–and if it’s not, I want to give proper citation and credit where it’s due. This post is sponsored by Grammarly, but the opinions expressed in it are all mine.) Until I was well into adulthood, my reading habits were pretty firmly entrenched in the “Fiction and Literature” section of the […]

Sunday Salon: Why This Reader Writes

Sunday Salon: Why This Reader Writes

I started a 10-week online writing workshop at the end of September, and I may occasionally post some of my assignments here. Our first task was to answer four questions in 15 minutes: Who are you? Why do you write? What are your best hopes for your writing? And what are your worst fears? My Official Online Biography says that I work with numbers but love words. I think that captures who I am as a […]

Foto Flashback: This weekend, 2005

Foto Flashback: This weekend, 2005

The Wordless Wednesday gang has decided to photo-blog twice a week, so welcome to our first Flashback Friday! This photo was taken by my husband near his family’s fishing cabin in the eastern Sierras at just this time of year, eight years ago–the edits are all my fault, though. Autumn at Lower Twin Lake, Bridgeport, CA, October 2005 I’ll update this post later today with links, so you can go check out the other gals’ […]

(E)Book Talk: THE SALINGER CONTRACT, by Adam Langer

(E)Book Talk: THE SALINGER CONTRACT, by Adam Langer

The Salinger Contract: A Novel Adam Langer Open Road Media E-riginal (2013), e-book original (ISBN 1453297944 / 9781453297940) Fiction, 280 pages Source: E-galley from publisher, via NetGalley Reason for reading: Personal interest Opening lines: “I never believed a book could save your life. It makes sense that Connor Joyce would be the one who changed my mind about that. The story of how one book saved me while another nearly killed Connor began, appropriately enough, […]

WW: Discovering America

WW: Discovering America

My great-grandparents, and some of their children, arrived in the United States in the wave of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe that landed on these shores in the early twentieth century. Like most of the rest, they were greeted by Lady Liberty as they sailed into New York Harbor and disembarked at Ellis Island. Last summer, I had the chance to discover what they saw when they arrived. June 2012: Two perspectives of the […]

(Audio)Book Talk: ELEANOR AND PARK, by Rainbow Rowell

(Audio)Book Talk: ELEANOR AND PARK, by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor & Park Rainbow Rowell (Twitter) (Facebook) (Tumblr) (Goodreads) Audiobook read by Rebecca Lowman and Sunil Malhotra St. Martin’s Griffin (February 2013), Hardcover (ISBN 1250012570 / 9781250012579) Fiction (YA), 336 pages Source: Purchased audiobook (Random House Audio, February 2013, ISBN 9780385368278; Audible ASIN B00B4WKAQW) Reason for reading: Banned Books Week Opening lines: “XTC was no good for drowning out the morons at the back of the bus. “Park pressed his headphones into his ears. “Tomorrow […]