Posts Tagged ‘books’
Let beach reading season 2016 officially begin…
Over the Easter weekend, I spent a great day in the Italian beach town of Sperlonga. The March day was spectacular, and my children and I had a fabulous time wandering the beach town we’ve visited many times before. We also had fun walking along the wide beach – always beautiful, but even better without the…
Read MoreMourning the loss of your characters?
“After I write a novel or a story, I miss the characters—I feel sort of bereaved.” Marilynne Robinson I love this quote from the author Marilynne Robinson, perhaps best known for her novel Gilead. And for those of us who love writing – or reading – isn’t it too true? Think about reading a book…
Read MoreJane Austen was autistic?
I was reading an interesting New Yorker article that was reviewing a new book on the history of autism. In the article, they spoke about how much has changed even in recent years about our understanding of autism. There was also a short section on famous artists, musicians and authors we now believe may have…
Read MoreFavorite reads so far for 2016
I’m always pleased to get a good reading start to the new year. Luckily, despite a few duds, 2016 has started out quite well for me as a reading year. Here are my favorites so far (and I’m hoping there will be many more): The Last Summer Judith Kinghorn I enjoyed this atmospheric story, a…
Read MoreDo you give up on authors after one bad book?
I didn’t actually think that I did this, but I recently realized I tend to throw up my hands in frustration and not read authors anymore after one of their books disappoints me. This doesn’t mean just that a book’s not my favorite within an author’s oeuvre. But if I’ve dedicated a significant amount of time…
Read MoreThe lack of pressure before becoming a bestselling author
There’s an interesting interview with the British, bestselling women’s fiction author Jojo Moyes in this month’s Writer’s Digest. In her interview, Moyes speaks about the lack of pressure before writing her most successful book, You Before Me. Before that best-seller, Moyes had written numerous books and had a large and loyal following, but her breakthrough…
Read MoreGoodreads Challenge: Another great year of books
Taking this opportunity to wish those of you who celebrate Christmas a Very Merry Christmas! I always love to have books under the Christmas tree, and in these lazy days around the holiday, I often find myself content and curled up with a good book… with my family members curled up nearby with their own.…
Read MoreBeyond the idea…
“But the truth is, it’s not the idea, it’s never the idea, it’s always what you do with it.” Neil Gaiman I recently read (and loved) this quote from author Neil Gaiman. Gaiman, whose work spans such a wide range of genres and age categories, surely knows a thing or two about how to…
Read MoreBoys don’t read?
I’ve already written about my fantastic annual pilgrimage to the Women’s Fiction Festival in Matera last month. One of many interesting discussions for writers was the (terrifying?) assertion that boys don’t read. Media consultant Porter Andersen discussed this interesting topic. When boys and girls are young, they are read to by their parents, caretakers, teachers,…
Read MoreA city for readers – Salzburg
Heaven, I’m in heaven, and my heart beats so that I can hardly speak… That’s how I felt one early morning in August as I stumbled upon Salzburg’s Mozartplatz, just as they were setting up the square for avid readers. The beautiful square, with its stunning views up to the castle and watched over by…
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