Category Archives: Books

No Buzz

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Kathy

How do you choose which books to read and which movies to see? All of us are probably somewhat susceptible to “buzz”–the blaring ads and TV talk-show promos and mentions on National Public Radio that make us think we have … Continue reading →

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The Kindness of Strangers

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Kathy

I just returned from a quick visit to Boston and New York City–not a vacation or a whirlwind shopping trip, but an effort to keep my daughter company as she underwent fairly serious surgery. I rarely travel on my own. … Continue reading →

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What We Talk about When We Talk about Education

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Kathy

  For about seven years, I have taught a seminar at Case Western Reserve on progressive education and school reform. (Its formal title, believe it or not, is “Schoolhouse Rocked.”) At the beginning, I hoped to introduce my students to … Continue reading →

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C’Est Finis

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Kathy

A period of my life has ended. At the beginning of Christmas break, around the second week of December, I began reading Les Miserables (1862), preparing to see the film (based on the musical, based on the book) over the … Continue reading →

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My Lolita Rant

Posted on December 5, 2012 by Kathy

This week’s Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque offerings give me the opportunity to rant about Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita, and, while I’m at it, movies made from books in general. Here’s the thing. Lolita is, in my opinion, a great novel … Continue reading →

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Richard Russo’s Difficult Mom

Posted on November 25, 2012 by Kathy

How could Richard Russo’s memoir Elsewhere not intrigue me? I’m already a fan. His novels Nobody’s Fool and Empire Falls, for example, tell heartfelt and funny stories about flawed, even infuriating, but ultimately sympathetic characters. Russo has mastered an assured, … Continue reading →

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See Scout and Pina

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Kathy

A couple weeks ago, before the rains came, I opened the windows one last time on a warm night. When I heard the dry leaves skittering on the sidewalk outside, my mind went to To Kill a Mockingbird. This movie, as … Continue reading →

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Never Sorry Folly?

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Kathy

I’m recommending Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry and Almayer’s Folly, both showing at the Cinematheque this weekend. Unlike past weeks, I haven’t seen either one. The documentary about Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has earned a 97% at the website Rotten Tomatoes, … Continue reading →

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Moby and Me

Posted on September 8, 2012 by Kathy

Howard Vincent, author of two books about Herman Melville, The Trying-Out of Moby-Dick (1949) and The Tailoring of Melville’s White Jacket (1970), was my favorite professor at Kent State University. He had, in my memory, an elfin appearance: white of hair, bushy of … Continue reading →

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Ad Astra Per Errores Multos

Posted on August 7, 2012 by Kathy

Caleb’s Crossing by Gwendolyn Brooks, a recent selection of my book group, concerns young Puritans in early America, growing up and getting educated. The Latin they were studying contained a number of errors, showing exceeding carelessness, I thought, on the part … Continue reading →

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