Author Archives: Kathy

An Absolute Pleasure

Posted on January 26, 2024 by Kathy

The Latin verb solvere, like English’s to put or to take lends itself to multitudinous idioms. It can mean “to untie,” “to release,” “to unbind,” “to loosen what restricts,” “to throw off,” “to pay,” and on and on. The word’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Uncategorized, Wednesday Word | Tagged , | 3 Comments

No Trouble in Bubbleland

Posted on January 20, 2024 by Kathy

Here’s a writer you’ll not only probably enjoy but who will make you feel a little bit better. I learned of R. Eric Thomas through our mutual friend (just kidding) Ann Patchett, the novelist, who featured his new book in … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Uncategorized, Weekend Editions | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Scottish Play on Words

Posted on January 17, 2024 by Kathy

As the credits rolled, I leaned toward my companion. “Is the Maltese falcon a MacGuffin?” I asked. “Um,” he replied, “I always sort of forget what a MacGuffin is.” That evening, referring the question to Mr. Wikipedia, we learned that … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Movies, Uncategorized, Wednesday Word | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

A Christmas Carol in January

Posted on January 14, 2024 by Kathy

It’s no longer the holiday season, but, because I’d been thinking for a while about rereading Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, I finally did it today. Like (I imagine) many people, I supposed I knew the story. I recalled the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Uncategorized, Weekend Editions | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Thrown a Curve

Posted on January 10, 2024 by Kathy

Lots of delightful reading the past few weeks, and some interesting turns of phrase therein. The Uncommon Reader (2007), an entertaining novel by Alan Bennett, is veddy, veddy English, concerning, as it does, the Queen herself. An expression struck me … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Uncategorized, Wednesday Word | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Combo (Words and Music)

Posted on December 2, 2023 by Kathy

My friend Leanne sent me an article about frisson as the word applies to musical enjoyment. In French, it means “shiver,” and its Latin root, frigere, means “to become cold,” as in the food in your Frigidaire. Every now and … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized, Wednesday Word | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

From Me to You

Posted on November 27, 2023 by Kathy

I didn’t write about books over the weekend, because I’m still reading the Mozart biography and don’t have much to add to what I’ve said. Only about 200 pages to go. The best thing about the experience is pausing now … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Uncategorized, Weekend Editions | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Five Things I Didn’t Know about Mozart*

Posted on November 20, 2023 by Kathy

*and I’m only on page 370 I mentioned last week that I’m reading Mozart: The Reign of Love by Jan Swafford. I hope you didn’t expect me to have finished reading its 750+ pages by now. But I’m almost halfway! … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized, Weekend Editions | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Kiss on Our List

Posted on November 15, 2023 by Kathy

Some mysterious algorithm recently offered me a post about inosculation (in-ahs-cue-lay-shun), a naturally occurring grafting of trees. One tree seeming reaches out to another, and they grow into each other. They become conjoined organisms sharing nutrients and circulation. All very … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Uncategorized, Wednesday Word | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Miscellany

Posted on November 12, 2023 by Kathy

I recently realized that my current reading is a very weird mix. I’ll describe the books I’m reading in order–from the sublime to the ridiculous, literally. The most ponderous is a 700+ page biography called Mozart: The Reign of Love … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Uncategorized, Weekend Editions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments