Science may provide the most useful way to organize empirical, reproducible data, but its power to do so is predicated on its inability to grasp the most central aspects of human life: hope, fear, love, hate, beauty, envy, honor, weakness, striving suffering, virtue. Paul Kalanithi knew he would split his life in two—the first half would be devoted to his passion for ... Read More...
Heat by Bill Buford
I’m not sure how seriously I can take a man who is foolish enough to invite a world class chef into his home for dinner, but I decided to give Bill Buford a chance. His invitation to Mario Batali leads him to ask if he can work as an intern in the kitchen of Mario’s restaurant, Babbo. When Mario says yes it results in his Italian food lover’s dream memoir, Heat. I realize, ... Read More...
Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake
It’s odd when I think of the arc of my life, from child to young woman to aging adult. First I was who I was. Then I didn’t know who I was. Then I invented someone and became her. Then I began to like what I’d invented. And finally I was what I was again. I have been a huge fan of Anna Quindlen’s fiction for decades, but had never read any of her nonfiction until this month, ... Read More...
Top 10 Books That Made Me Say Yum!
As fall settles in, my need for all things sugar-y, creamy, warm, salty, and comforting goes through the roof, keeping me focused on food—even in my reading. So, it’s perfect timing to join The Broke and the Bookish for their Top Ten this week: Books with yummy food in them. Even better is that while each of these books has many occurrences of yummy food throughout, it is only ... Read More...
May Reading Recap
To call this month’s reading recap a mashup is an understatement. It could also be the library checkout recap or even the non-fiction recap—which is huge because I’m virtually certain I’ve never read more than one non-fiction book a month, much less four. And on all kinds of subjects! But there you have it. May also turned out to be another monster month for how much I ... Read More...
The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World
It’s no secret I’ve been struggling since November to make sense of not only where our country stands, but where it is headed. I’d like to say I’ve been able to insulate myself from the impact of a new president who is horrifying in every sense of the word, but I haven’t. As a result, my reading since November has changed. It may be that I feel so challenged by current ... Read More...
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- …
- 26
- Next Page »
