I used to listen to the Book Radio Channel. This as a 24/7, 365 internet channel where books and radio serials were read aloud to the subscribers and I liked it. Instead of the same 250 songs in rotation, I got stories. Some were familiar and loved but often they were something new and either way, I was entertained. Imagine, a channel whose programming targeted my special interest! Evidently that inte...
I miss Anne George. During the early 1990’s, when I was settling into life as an adult, Anne was one of the literary lights in Birmingham, Alabama. She was a local girl who taught for years and wrote poetry and short stories on the side. After retiring from education, her literary career swung into high gear and she made readers and booksellers happy until that day in 2001 when she died, most unexpectedly, during...
Siblings always surprise you. When you are young, siblings are your competition for the limited resources known as Mom and Dad. They are part of the family woodwork and it’s hard to see them outside of their family roles, at least while you’re sharing a bathroom. I’m not sure when I first saw my sister as a grown individual but it probably started when she told me she loved Willa Cather’s,...
I thought I read a lot until I met J_, We were working in the same law firm and introduced to each other as great readers. But J__ leaves me in the dust. For example, when we first met and ran over lists of our favorite books she added, “And of course, I love A Confederacy of Dunces.” That brought me up short. I hadn’t even heard of A Confederacy of Dunces. If you have...
I love the work of Anne Tyler. Her prose is open, direct, kind and she writes about the people I know. Her characters are the Americans I grew up around, people from the working and upper-middle class who lives are usually defined by geographical boundaries and aspirations. These are not the folks who dream of learning a second language, becoming famous or climbing Everest. These are the middle-class, middl...