Category Archives: Books

Serfer Girl

Posted on May 31, 2010 by Kathy

During summer break, I usually take on a long novel or two. One of my book groups is reading Persuasion, which I have to finish by mid-June and better get hold of pretty quickly. A great perk working at CSU is … Continue reading →

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Good Books

Posted on March 24, 2010 by Kathy

I went through a dry spell for awhile, where nothing I read knocked my socks off. Then I got lucky and happened across a couple of good reads. Michael Chabon’s essay collection Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of … Continue reading →

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Outliers & Sages

Posted on February 24, 2010 by Kathy

I’m having fun discussing Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers: The Story of Success with my SAGES class at CWRU. Gladwell has suffered some backlash from people criticizing his numbers and methods and his popularizing approach to complex topics, but some of those … Continue reading →

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A Valentine

Posted on February 14, 2010 by Kathy

Mrs. Morgan’s tenth-grade English class changed my life in a number of ways. “Maybe once in a very great while,” she would tell us, “you write something perfectly the first time.” Then, smiling empathetically, she would add, “That doesn’t happen very … Continue reading →

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“Annoying” by Definition

Posted on February 9, 2010 by Kathy

Everyone’s noting Sarah Palin’s hypocrisy in screaming for Rahm Emanuel’s firing over the word “retarded” while giving Rush Limbaugh a pass for repeating the term over and over on a broadcast. Indeed, she couldn’t bring herself to criticize somebody on her own team, … Continue reading →

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Annoyed Once Again

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Kathy

I enjoyed Adam Gopnik, the New Yorker writer, last night on Charlie Rose to eulogize J. D. Salinger, even though Gopnik is sometimes so articulate as to be glib; he churns out those complete-sentence responses like an eager-to-please student. I like … Continue reading →

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Same or Different?

Posted on February 2, 2010 by Kathy

Okay. People have commented on reading books over again and listening to pieces of music over and over again. (See the Comments, below, on Rereading + J.D.) I’m curious to know more about what movies people have seen multiple times. Is there something you’ll watch every … Continue reading →

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Another Loss

Posted on January 30, 2010 by Kathy

One more book to read and reread — A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn, who died last week. Watch this inspiring interview on Bill Moyers. Zinn is an inspiration himself, of course, but he often celebrates ordinary people, in this case, … Continue reading →

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Rereading + J.D.

Posted on January 28, 2010 by Kathy

“…those four extraordinary books that bear rereading again and again and again.” — Robert Thompson, Syracuse University, tonight on The Newshour When I heard about the death of J.D. Salinger today on the radio, I wondered if I had anything … Continue reading →

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Ten “Bests”

Posted on January 2, 2010 by Kathy

The writer Kris Ohlson has been passing around this essay from The Washington Post, via email and her Facebook page, by Julianna Baggott, called “The Key to Literary Success? Be a Man — or Write Like One.”    Baggott points out that Publishers Weekly‘s … Continue reading →

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