Getting together to be alone
Last week I travelled to Chicago to attend a writers’ conference, AWP. AWP is the Association of Writers and Writing Programs. They have a yearly conference in late February where all of the people who belong to AWP, or programs that are associated with AWP, can get together. We attend panels about writing, go to … Continue reading
Where the body is buried
SPOILER ALERT: In this review of Faithful Place, I’m going to talk about how the book ends. I usually shy away from that when I talk about books. It’s my hope that people will actually want to read the books I write about, and often knowing the ending can keep people from picking up the … Continue reading
The stuff of dreams
N. K. Jemisin’s debut book The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms was one of the most acclaimed debut novels in recent years. She won the Locus Award for Best First Novel for 2011. Her book was also nominated for the Nebula, the Hugo, and the World Fantasy Award that year. I’d never heard of her. All of … Continue reading
Penelope, still waiting
Hooked by P.D. James’ Death Comes to Pemberley on the idea of reading classics in a new light, I looked for more books where a favorite story of mine had been extended. I had already read a few novels from Darcy’s point of view and none hit the spot. Few authors are talented enough to … Continue reading
An old favorite in new hands
For me, the mark of a great book is that I don’t want it to end. When the number of pages in my right hand dwindles down to nothing and I just want one more page, one more line so I can stay in the book’s world, I know I’ve found a favorite. Sometimes the … Continue reading
Procrastination, or, Why I don’t belong to a book club
I love to read. I love books. I love the cover art and the heft; I love the way they smell and feel. I love short stories and novels. I like nonfiction and I love fiction, especially science fiction. I’ve never been too fond of short poems but I love the epic ones. If I … Continue reading
Watching the book
This past summer summer my husband and I finally got around to painting our living room. The only way I was going to get any painting done was to distract myself with a massive amount of television. I started episode one of Game of Thrones, cracked open a can of paint and I was hooked. … Continue reading
Ambivalently anti-Amazon
Let’s talk about this whole Amazon thing. It’s difficult for booksellers to watch as online sales through Amazon take away from the profits of our stores. Music and movie stores already went through it, we know it’s not new. We know it’s not just us; Amazon sells everything. The recent coupon campaign wasn’t even available … Continue reading
