reading

  • Lessons learned from reading a short story a day

    When the library closed for the pandemic on March 13th and I contemplated the altered days ahead, I had a revelation. I decided that I would tackle a goal I had long held–to read more short stories. Every year I feel hard pressed to read enough of the newly-published fiction and nonfiction to feel grounded… Continue reading

  • Keep track of your reading in 2019

      This week many of us are thinking about how to organize our lives better, and for me that always includes putting a plan in place to track what I’ve read and what I want to read next. The plan usually fails (it’s not my failure, mind you, rather the plan‘s failure). I’ve admired from… Continue reading

  • Thankful for Books

    Ever since I was a child, at our family gathering that coincided with the Thanksgiving holiday, we would go around the table and everyone would have to say a little something about what they were thankful for. Perhaps it was (or is) the same for you? For our hedonistic childhood selves, so unaccustomed to being… Continue reading

  • Gifts of Empathy, Outrage, and Perspective

    When people talk about the value they derive from reading, they will often mention how it widens their perspective, allowing them to partake of the lives, thoughts and experiences of others. As Joyce Carol Oates puts it, “Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another’s skin.” Some studies have supported the popular view… Continue reading

  • Now More Than Ever, Reading is Power

    This book you are now reading is a manifesto of sorts–my manifesto, a manifesto for readers. Because I think we need to read and to be readers now more than ever. Every January I struggle to decide what I want to read. Do I catch up on what I missed the previous year, or do I read… Continue reading

  • Top 10 Winter Reads

    ~posted by Andrea G. During the dark days of winter, few things are as classically cozy as curling up on the couch with a blanket and a good book. If you want to reinforce that winter-y feeling, try reading one of these 10 books that are snowy and cold. Tales of Burning Love by Louise… Continue reading

  • Make Learning Fun and Keep the Mind Young

    “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.” ~Henry Ford With school in full swing, maybe your child is having difficulty with a subject, or perhaps you want to explore an interesting topic together. The… Continue reading

  • Reader’s Resolutions

    Every New Year resolutions are made. Some go on diets. Some pledge to save. Some pledge to write those thank you cards in a timely manner.  Me, I resolve to do all of those things, but I usually also resolve to read more and more broadly. Not that I always succeed. Continue reading