Ever wonder what makes a book a bonafide page-turner? God knows I have. I pick up a book for a bit of pleasure reading and all of the sudden I’m in the story, oblivious to deadlines, ringing phones, and my overloaded washer’s current attempt to escape. Nothing else matters beyond What Happens Next and I’m useless until I finish the story. How did this happen? How was my attention captured so...
My mom used to divide her library into sections. Lots of space was dedicated to fiction and the sturdiest shelves held her coffee-table sized books on the movies. But one special part of the library was devoted to chronicles of everyday life, virtually all of them written by women. Some also wrote Kid Lit. or humor like Jean Kerr and Judith Viorst while others wrote novels or plays but every book on that shelf was what I cal...
It’s no secret that I love to tell stories. The fact is when I’m out with friends I sometimes have to shut myself up; if I don’t, I’ll dominate the conversation with stories and they won’t be my friends anymore. But, as much as I love reeling off anecdotes, I’m not that sure I can tell one well. For that, I need the crew at Arc Stories. Arc Stories is a group of top-notch racon...
Have you ever seen an abused or neglected pet? A creature that nobody loved? They huddle at the corners of our towns and houses, too frightened to approach us for help. Have you watched them with their matted coats and terrified eyes, keeping their distance on unsteady feet? If you have, you’ve seen Ada Smith, the narrator of The War That Saved My Life. Of course Ada isn’t a dog or a horse; she’...
I’ve been thinking about the phrase “Apres Moi, le deluge.” It means, roughly, “After I go, everything’s coming down” and if everything refers to leaves, the “deluge” is lugin’ . It’s amazing. I mean, if deciduous trees were water, my address would be “Alabama River”. Now this front’s blowing in and my river of leaves has turned into Niagra Falls. Why send me more fo...