Most of this slim book focuses on the rescue efforts made to save two baby hummingbirds, who have been orphaned. The ensuing drama reveals both the fragility and great strength of these magical creatures.
Mogens and Other Stories is a worthwhile read if you wish to ponder esoteric renderings of the truth and beauty lurking beneath the dark night of the soul.
I have been told by ‘snobs’ that there are two kinds of Irish: the Lace Curtain Irish and the Shanty Irish. If indeed that is true, then McCourt has done the Shanty Irish a disservice, or a service, as the case may be.
This past November, I was traveling from Denver, making a connection from Salt Lake City to Portland. While I waited for my flight to Portland, an older man sat next to me and started a conversation. I put down my New Yorker and listened to him.
As a tween or teen, Barbie never resonated with me. When I was fourteen, I went to a friend’s house for a sleepover. She had a collection of Barbie dolls, complete with a fantastic wardrobe, a pink plastic car, and Ken. Too old to play with dolls and bored, we whiled away the night trying to make Ken and Barbie have sex, an impossible feat. Both dolls lacked genitalia.
Democracy Awakening is a must-read that imparts the unvarnished truth of American history, leading to the current state of our democracy. There has always been a conservative faction in America who are deeply afraid of losing their position as top dog. They truly believe in their own superiority and lay claim to an inheritance that is rooted in authoritarianism.
The iconic Gertrude Stein hosted a salon in Paris that was a prestigious hotbed of creativity. The greatest writers and artists of the early Twentieth Century were brought together in this exclusive, mutual admiration club.
For a little piece of forgotten New York City history, read The Slip. Also embrace the book’s stronger message: the artists who live, work, and break bread together, are the ones who become successful. With a little help from friends, all things are possible in the art world.
What happens in the Book World impacts my life. I am the author of ten books. I am also a consumer of books, and read two books a week, often more. I immerse myself in articles and newsletters that focus on the Book World. The recent NYT article Barnes and Noble Sets Itself Free, dated October 17, 2023, is about how Barnes and Noble is re-decorating many of its stores to resemble small independent bookstores. It’s ironic that this behemoth chain wants to look more like the small Indie bookstores that it had once been intent on driving out of business.
Short Sand Beach, a trail in Oregon’s Oswald West State Park, wends through a forest of old growth trees. Wild and alive for years, some say centuries, the trees do not know when the time will come—to give up life as they have known it.
