I need to summon my most creative self out of the depths--will be writing about the Galapagos Islands, Iceland, and Mongolia. Let that brain expand! Right now I'm coming up for a few gulps of air before submerging onto the next project.

I'd be the last person to recommend USA Today as a daily read for news, but do you know they've expanded their book section? Granted, it's heavily weighted on the side of thriller and chiller bestsellers, but I found reviews and *decent excerpts* of some more literary titles. Makes for an interesting visit. Cynthia Ozick's Heir to the Glimmering World has received some attention this fall. I'm not familiar with her work, but evidently, like this book, her other novels have focused on the Holocaust. Thinking about this, I became curious about her history. She was born in New York City in 1928 (yet another writer in her seventies who's active and still damn good) and, when she was first writing essays and stories, was known as a "Jewish writer," a descriptor she shunned as her craft developed. Here's a revealing, fun interview that's a cut above the standard.