If you’re like me, you have some big goals, and you’ve had them for years. One of mine has been to read 52 books in a year. Every year, it seems, I resolve to make this happen during the first week of the new year–and every year I fall short. Pictured here, you’ll see what my husband calls my Pile … Read More
What’s your cup of tea?
If you’ve been writing for a while, you’ve probably gotten to the point where you treat your writing like work, whether or not anyone is actually paying you for it–and that in many ways is the mark of a professional. But creative writing really is NOT like other forms of work, and at this time of year–which in so many … Read More
Black Friday Book Magic
When I was younger, we used to celebrate the day after Thanksgiving as “Buy Nothing Day”–a protest against the mindless consumerism of the Christmas season. These days, I do my best to practice conscious consumerism, purchasing secondhand whenever possible, and from ethical companies when it’s not–and though I don’t believe conscious consumerism will save the world (if only it were … Read More
This is Your Brain on Books
We all know that reading helps us gain skills and knowledge, and maybe even become better people (though of course, you can’t believe everything you read in the self-help aisle). Which is to say, reading helps us grow new synapses, and become brainier. So maybe I shouldn’t be surprised at the degree to which writing has taught me about the … Read More
