Archive for 2017
James Thurber believed, it is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers
December 9, 2017
Since James Thurber was born in the month of December I want to take this opportunity to call attention to some of his books that are sadly not known by many adults and children alike. The holidays give us the opportunity to be with family and what better way to celebrate the gift of family […]
Read with Owl Sight, with the intent to perceive rather than merely to see
November 26, 2017
Too many people think of reading as a mental workout-They read like hummingbirds.How fast can they read to finish the book as if there is a finish line to cross. Readers need comprehension, not speed in their reading. All too often people base the merit of a book on whether you liked it or not. […]
Reading Beyond Borders
October 21, 2017
In 2014, the Man Booker prize was opened to writers beyond the Commonwealth, Ireland and South Africa. Since then, 2 Americans have won the prize—Paul Beatty’ Sellout and George Saunders, for Lincoln in the Bardo. But America has been reluctant to reciprocate the Booker’s openness. The US’s National Book Award, the Pulitzer prize for fiction […]
Everybody is a story—front porches and kitchen tables
October 1, 2017
While reading, Finding Grace Around the Kitchen Table (NYT 10.1.17) I found myself thinking about the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, where the powers that be did away with front porches in their effort to eliminate communication. Clarisse points out that porches were a place to sit and talk or merely contemplate life. It […]
Back to School, for parents and children
September 4, 2017
The beginning of a new school year is full of opportunities and heralds a parent’s high expectations for their children’s academic success and well-being. Eleanor Roosevelt said that if she could be a fairy godmother, she would endow the gift of curiosity to every child at birth. Curiosity is what drives learning and without it, […]
