Category Archives: Books

It’s about Boxes, not Boxing

Posted on October 22, 2025 by Kathy

Wherein I admit that the terms discussed below were heretofore unfamiliar to me. Be kind. Homework, a recent memoir by Englishman Geoff Dyer, is endlessly amusing. He’s a witty writer (The Ongoing Moment, The Last Days of Roger Federer) with … Continue reading →

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More about Orwell

Posted on October 10, 2025 by Kathy

In 1984, George Orwell’s dystopian state created Newspeak, a strictly utilitarian language with a continuously shrinking vocabulary and simplistic syntax. To avoid ambiguity and complexity, Newspeak kills words, limiting the possibilities of thought. Clear victims of this effort are beauty … Continue reading →

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Orwell’s Roses

Posted on October 7, 2025 by Kathy

Both sides of the conservative/liberal divide claim George Orwell for their own, but the left has a better claim. Orwell fought against the fascist Franco revolt in Spain. He sided with the poor and powerless in labor (labour!) disputes and … Continue reading →

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Panning Dwight Garner’s Pan

Posted on August 21, 2025 by Kathy

Dwight Garner begins his recent New York Times review of Ron Chernow’s biography Mark Twain with this inelegant simile: the book “squats over Twain’s career like a McMansion.” McMansion typically connotes size, ostentation, and a lack of style. I’ll grant … Continue reading →

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The Movie’s as Good as the Book! (And Vice Versa!)

Posted on July 23, 2025 by Kathy

Self-described grammar nerd Ellen Jovin came to town last week with her husband, Brandt Johnson, and their film Rebel with a Clause. A large, appreciative audience at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque enjoyed the movie and the Q & … Continue reading →

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Sym and Em

Posted on June 25, 2025 by Kathy

Yiyun Li’s recent memoir, Things in Nature Merely Grow, made it onto my book group’s (I should say, “one of my book groups’ lists”) 2025-2026 reading list, and I’ve been thinking about it in respect to a request to discuss … Continue reading →

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If Doggies Could Write

Posted on June 18, 2025 by Kathy

I learned recently that the GED test has dropped its poetry section, which used to be included in the reading portion, called Reasoning Through Language Arts. Which reminds me that my parents were amused, back in the sixties, at the … Continue reading →

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Fan Mail, Reversed

Posted on May 18, 2025 by Kathy

Circa September, 1976, I received an astonishing postcard in the mail. Its handwriting was unfamiliar, the postmark said “Bellingham, Washington,” and it was signed, apparently, by Annie Dillard, my favorite writer. Or certainly one of the top five. I knew … Continue reading →

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Telling a True Story

Posted on April 10, 2025 by Kathy

Tricia Springstubb’s new novel tells a true story, only in fictional disguise. Her heroine Amber, a sixth grader, is smart but ordinary, cute but not gorgeous, and quietly funny. She has two best friends. Lottie is brainy, and Mariah is … Continue reading →

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More about Science

Posted on April 2, 2025 by Kathy

Hydrogen’s chemical symbol is H, and oxygen’s is O. This sensible state of affairs makes Chemistry 101 a little easier (for us English speakers) than it might otherwise be. The periodic table is not always so self-explanatory, however. You probably … Continue reading →

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