Regular readers of this blog know how I feel about books and libraries and bookstores. I love them all. Weekly trips to the library were a big part of my childhood. I’d stock up on picture books, then Dr. Seuss books, then chapter books, dragging home armloads or totebags full of hour upon hour of [...]
Any last-minute summer reading going on in your house? Here, we have Hugh reading The True Story of Hansel and Gretel. He has already finished the other two requirements: The Kite Runner and a book set in Africa whose title I forget and am too lazy to look up. I stole Hansel and Gretel from him [...]
So there I was, stuck inside the house. A blizzard fell around us. The world outside was a magical, mystical scene, the snow transforming our usually dull state, with a flick of two letters in the final syllable, into the sparkling land of Pennsylnavia. A fire crackled in the grate. A batch of sugar cookies awaited [...]
Can I just say how very thankful I am that Emily and I share the writing job at this blog? Coming up with fresh material 5 days a week all by myself would be hugely stressful. Even if I had enough good material on my own, which I wouldn’t, where would the time come from to [...]
I’m declaring a state of personal emergency. There is no good book by my bedside. Normally I have one at bat, one in the on-deck circle, more in the dugout, extras in the bullpen, and others coming up through the minor league. But my pipeline has run dry, and I need your help. It all began in childhood, [...]
Thanks to everyone who “used their words” yesterday in our first Fun Monday event. Excellent choices and great post-jumping ensued. Speaking of words, my favorite tale from the weekend is: I found this endearing 1931 book in a consignment shop back in the spring. Anything with anthro animals – preferably from the early 20th century [...]
Do you have people in your life who inspire you? My guess (and hope) is that most MoB readers have people they admire and/or love. But that is a little different than what I am referring to here. Do you have someone who makes you want to get off your butt and actually DO something? [...]
I’m excited to announce that I learned a new skateboard trick. It involves getting 11-year-old Malcolm, avid skater/reluctant reader, to pick up the written word. My trick? Subscribing to Skateboard Magazine. Trust me, he’s more thrilled with it than he appears to be in this photo. Especially when Mag Swag is involved. Sick. Carrying on [...]
You may have heard that last weekend we lost a really cool Mother of Brothers. “Mommy” from the Family Circus died of Alzheimer’s at the age of 82. In real life, she was Thelma, Bil Keane’s wife of 60 years. The Associated Press story reported Bil as saying: “When the cartoon first appeared, she looked [...]
A new kind of sharing has arisen in our house. Hugh asks, “Mom, where is What is the What?” I tell him it’s on my bedside table. He transports it into his room and reads avidly, and when my day is done, I tiptoe in and retrieve it from next to his bed. Shortly after [...]
