Written with my Thursday night writing group with the following prompts: extra bread, to this day, time and place, small injuries, new sense of dread, donut shop, marvelous, no more accidents, easy to. . . , autumn leaves, I smell cat, the bed, warm evening, God's waiting room, third conflict in a year, running in … Continue reading Extra Bread
Goodreads had a Facebook post a week or so ago asking readers to “describe the book you’re currently reading in one word.” I’m generally too verbose to succeed with such restrictions, but this time it was easy. The Earthseed Series by the late African American science fiction writer Octavia Butler is like nothing else out there—and … Continue reading Earthseed, a review
Fall On Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald is a larger than life story, a convoluted tale of family secrets and lies. At least three times in the novel the action occurs in clumps, and over the course of a few days or even a single night, there is more family melodrama than all of Shakespeare’s … Continue reading Fall On Your Knees, a book review
This week when the Republican President and his entitled Secretary of Education demanded that public schools open full time/full service this fall, virus or no virus, OR they would lose federal funding, I became so upset that I turned off the computer, the TV, the radio. That was the straw. I couldn't stand to hear … Continue reading Time to Re-Open Schools?
This has been a very upsetting couple of weeks, but if you’re paying attention you already know that. Because of the continuing pandemic, I choose to be mostly homebound, writing, reading, zooming, watching fun stuff on TV like Star Trek and Christopher Guest mockumentaries. But this week I could barely tear myself away from CNN, … Continue reading Black Lives Matter
Greetings to everyone who is sheltering in place as I am. How are you? I am fine. There are many things we could complain about—and if that’s what you want to do, go ahead and vent in the comments section. I personally have little to grouse about these days. I am retired so I don’t … Continue reading Sheltering-in-Place, part 2
Helen followed her older sisters from the kitchen to the family room. To anyone else, her sisters were unremarkable in size and form, but Helen saw herself reflected in the width of their hips, the pronounced shape of ankle and calf, the length of their necks. Blair and Bianca strolled comfortably together, shoulder to shoulder, … Continue reading Outgrown
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng is a well-written, topical book, an engrossing read, and the basis for a brand-new series starring Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon on Hulu. I want to tell you what I think about it, but let’s face it, I’m sure you can go online or pick up a TV guide … Continue reading Little Fires Everywhere, a consideration of race and class in America
I wrote and published this piece six years ago, shortly after the death of a close friend. I came across it this week, and honestly, I'd forgotten that I wrote this as a Christmas meditation. The idea of surprise is becoming a theme for me this December. Life deals us all some pretty unpleasant surprises … Continue reading Loving Harvey: some Christmas musings
Hey, it's getting cold and rainy here: perfect time to take refuge in books! Enjoy! My edition of Their Eyes Were Watching God had plenty of literary and historical notes both fore and aft, but I’ll admit I got impatient and just started in on the novel itself. I will tell you that the editors … Continue reading Book Review: Their Eyes Were Watching God
