tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58883312011-09-30T10:35:09.492-04:00Musings from Redwing MarshJournal of a writer, nature lover, and book-crazed individualJudithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.comBlogger3081100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1132272576285726262005-11-17T18:57:00.000-05:002007-04-07T01:52:21.046-04:00On Tuesday, November 15, Ken and I moved into our new home in the southern section of the Central Adirondacks. The final move is scheduled for December 14 or thereabouts, so time is drawing near for me to lay "Musings from Redwing Marsh" to bed for that eternal nap. I believe one more entry may be called for here, but, until then, please visit me at my new blog "Adirondack High" for tales of our Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1130971724139393942005-11-02T17:25:00.000-05:002007-04-16T03:53:02.300-04:00As of November 15, Ken and I will be residents of the Adirondacks in upstate New York. In early October we found the home of our dreams--all 27 acres of it. We're out bordering wilderness, bordering state land that cannot be built on. I have been so overwhelmingly occupied preparing for this move that I've not had a spare second to do anything but focus on the transition. Actually, we move our Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1126977567888401092005-09-17T12:58:00.000-04:002007-03-04T12:37:01.346-05:00We're spinning plans of a move to the North country. Every year we talk about it, but in the past the ideas have been whimsies or wish we coulds. This September, somehow or other, we may have turned a corner. Our discussions have become much more serious and we've moved into making hard-core plans of how two people should approach such a change. Research, research, I say. Ken takes note of the Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1126719605408785812005-09-14T13:25:00.000-04:002006-11-09T02:54:28.943-05:00We've been vacationing by Minerva Lake since Saturday, and thus far we've stayed close to camp, enjoying the unbeatable weather. We've had plenty of time to read. In the evenings we've been listening to the new thriller/mystery Entombed by Linda Fairstein. We're three quarters of the way through now, and although the first third of the book moved beautifully, we've been slogged down since in a Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1125836301840976372005-09-04T08:22:00.000-04:002006-11-09T02:55:19.370-05:00The end of summer whirlwind is upon me and I'm involved in more than tying up summer's loose ends. Labor Day weekend marks the time Ken and I start to prepare for our annual journey to Minerva, New York, in the heart of the Adirondacks. The last few days have seen me de-cluttering my office and the bedroom as well as cleaning out my file cabinets and the closets in both rooms, all as part of the Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1125004461326119122005-08-25T17:08:00.000-04:002006-12-29T12:52:11.523-05:0010:55 amI’m blogging from the Starbucks at the corner of Berkeley and Boylston St. in Boston’s Back Bay. It’s a gorgeous day—clear blue sky, low humidity, coolish. Where’s my camera? The ride in took an hour instead of the usual 15-20 minutes. “Switching problems,” we were told. We were stuck in the midst of a beautiful freshwater marsh, surrounded by cattails, for about twenty minutes. This Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1124921735137932382005-08-24T18:04:00.000-04:002006-05-12T06:15:02.606-04:00I'm already starting to stage a plan for gathering some terrific audiobooks for our vacation. Once again, we're returning to Minerva Lake in the Adirondacks for two weeks in September. There we'll retire to our chalet nestled high above the lake. The audiobooks are for the long evenings by the fire (it can be downright chilly there by September). Audiobooks I'm attempting to get from local Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1124709776369202872005-08-22T07:10:00.000-04:002005-08-22T07:33:10.850-04:00Roland Merullo appears at a Brookline Booksmith event tomorrow evening.To continue the thread of new hardcover novels that I'm dying to read, I thumbed through A Little Love Story by Roland Merullo, author of the acclaimed Revere Beach Boulevard on my last visit to Borders. His latest has received outstanding reviews, including one from the Washington Post. (Although a link won't get you there, Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1124580335776961832005-08-20T19:24:00.000-04:002006-09-02T12:34:14.400-04:00Last week I dropped into Borders Bookstore while I was waiting for Sophie to be finished having "the works" at the doggie beauty palace. (Not my favorite bookstore, but it was across the street.) I scoured my way through the new hardcover fiction and found a few that made me itch to read them.First off, New York novelist Cheryl Mendelson's second work of fiction is out. Love, Work, Children, likeJudithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1124404546702763162005-08-18T18:15:00.000-04:002005-08-18T18:35:46.773-04:00Last night I started reading User ID by Jenefer Shute, author of Life-Size and the bestselling Sex Crimes. I could not stop reading this utterly believable tale of the theft of one woman's identity. Shute tells the story by writing alternate chapters about the victim and the thief (also a woman). The details of how the theft is accomplished scared me to death and compelled me to read more. Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1124275679147212122005-08-17T06:30:00.000-04:002005-08-17T06:47:59.153-04:00The Quills Award nominees have finally been announced. The fiction finalists include A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby, Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, The Plot against America by Philip Roth, The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kid, and Zorro by Isabel Allende. As I'm sure you know, the public votes for their choice online and in Borders bookstores. When the idea for the Quills Awards was first announced, Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1124191359674927222005-08-16T06:44:00.000-04:002006-03-18T11:23:15.503-05:00Nancy Pearl, author of Book Lust and, more recently, More Book Lust, recently admitted in a Christian Science Monitor interview that she finishes only about one book of every five she starts. She's a strict believer in the 50-page rule, noting that life is too short to spend time reading books one doesn't enjoy.Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1123861245038366672005-08-12T11:38:00.000-04:002005-08-15T11:54:18.720-04:00Work is going by fits and starts, or should I say fits and stops? I'm finding it incredibly hard to be motivated this summer. Last summer I kept my nose to the computer screen all summer without a break, and due to Bookbuilders (the company I was freelancing for at the time) going bust this spring, I was paid only $100 of the $1,245 owed me for that summer slavery. I have tried and tried to Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1123797149776652912005-08-11T17:32:00.000-04:002005-08-11T17:52:29.783-04:00By three o'clock, the heat and humidity are more than I can bear. My brain refuses to think clear thoughts and all I want to do is find a comfy locale and put my feet up. Now that I have a laptop, I can find these things easily, but I also suffer from a late afternoon desire to be lazy. Take today, for example. I've had a strong cup of tea, but all I want to do is nod off.So, I have a book in Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1123500848792864362005-08-08T06:53:00.000-04:002005-08-08T07:39:11.960-04:00A Sunday Morning Respite in Tom and Lek's GardenAlthough I've been distracted by adventures of the palate, I'm momentarily inspired to post an entry about Nick Hornby. I missed him when he was in Boston promoting A Long Way Down, his most recent novel, about four people, each intent on their mission to jump off a building on New Year's Eve. The story of how they emerge from their isolation and Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1123451037107372202005-08-07T17:41:00.000-04:002005-08-07T17:45:15.096-04:00I'm sorry there's no book news today, but if you're at all curious about my recent culinary adventure, visit La Cuisine Massachusetts.Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1123107000246498722005-08-03T17:45:00.000-04:002005-08-03T18:10:00.266-04:00I'm doing really well after the minor surgery I had Monday. I'm walking Sophie, working at my desk, back to the routine with the exception of an afternoon nap that I can't seem to live without.Oddly enough, the past week or more has seen me in a reading slump. I can't explain it, I don't know why, but I just haven't felt like reading fiction. Nothing entices me. I've been watching television in Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1122678640517013862005-07-29T18:28:00.000-04:002007-04-19T19:57:46.703-04:00Tracy Kidder has a new book coming in the next month or so, just in time for the birthday of one of his fans. I'm always perplexed when it comes time for Ken's birthday. As he puts it, "I have everything that I want that's under $3000." Ken is not usually a fan of nonfiction, but he's been a devote of Kidder from the time he read his first book. Kidder's newest, My Detachment: A Memoir, should beJudithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1122414470690105462005-07-26T17:29:00.000-04:002005-07-26T17:47:50.696-04:00Last evening I enjoyed delving into Dorothy Gaiter's and John Brecher's Wine for Every Day and Every Occasion; Red, White, and Bubbly to Celebrate the Joy of Living. Gaiter and Brecher write the Wall Street Journal's "Tastings" column. The book is kind of a hoot for me because 1) I know nothing but the absolute basics about wine and 2)I don't have the budget to learn by experimentation. That saidJudithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1122156755161840372005-07-23T18:11:00.000-04:002006-06-16T01:55:41.916-04:00After rollicking our way through Sideways this week (I confess I watched it twice), Ken and I decided to take a mini-road trip to the Nashoba Valley Winery in Bolton, Massachusetts. The weather was so spectacular today; granted, it was in the low eighties, but the air was so dry. The improvement in my mood has been amazing to experience!Although the tour of the winery was bland (they need to Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1121811682640113532005-07-19T18:07:00.000-04:002007-03-15T04:19:00.330-04:00My mother has a theory that when the weather is oppressively humid, as it is today, the brain swells, which causes difficulty with thought processes. I can assure you that her theory is not based on any science that I know of, but I've always found it a helpful metaphor to describe what goes wrong in my head when we're drowning in humid air.As far as reading goes, when I have a few moments, I Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1121382185983685552005-07-14T19:00:00.000-04:002005-07-14T19:42:27.806-04:00What's the matter with me? It doesn't seem as if it's been three days since I last posted. I'll blame it on the neighborhood swimming pool. Five to six o'clock, a time when I'm often pulling together an entry, finds me doing laps and then sitting with the hood's mothers. I'm not a mother myself, but I enjoy exchanging tips about the best brand of taco shells and I raise my eyebrows at their Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1121122023683021472005-07-11T18:30:00.000-04:002005-07-11T18:51:16.356-04:00Imagine living as the sole inhabitant of a small island off the coast of Maine. Then picture a big, furry dog washing ashore to disturb your peace. This is the predicament facing Hannah, an artist who has settled on Ten Acre No Nine Island because it's a place where she can fully focus on her art without the endless praise and criticism of the people drawn to her work. Pocketful of Names by Joe Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1120863869740311632005-07-08T18:40:00.000-04:002005-07-08T19:04:29.746-04:00July is a hell of a time to be getting rain from tropical storms and hurricanes. And after Cindy or whatever her name is, I suppose Dennis will be next. I thought not even an essential trip to the library could brighten my mood, but when the librarian said, "That Paul Auster book you've been waiting for came in," my heart soared.Collected Prose is now in paperback and includes autobiographical Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1120748666750002442005-07-07T10:34:00.000-04:002006-04-11T22:18:18.383-04:00I'm enamored of Poets & Writers magazine these days. I rediscovered it last year, and was happy to see that its prior, overriding emphasis on poetry has subsided. By far, it's the most intelligent publication about creative fiction, nonfiction, and poetry that's available today, and it's the only magazine that I enjoy from cover to cover. I'm stunned that so few libraries subscribe. Instead they Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1120344008605944622005-07-02T18:14:00.000-04:002007-03-03T08:46:32.960-05:00A short blog entry here: I'm pooped after walking nearly four miles in the early morning, working out ninety minutes at the gym, and swimming in the neighborhood pool this afternoon. An entire day devoted to exercise is not necessarily my idea of perfection, but it's a welcome change of pace. I enjoyed reading the first chapter of Assassination Vacation while on the elliptical.(If you travel the Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1120172217011655132005-06-30T18:35:00.000-04:002006-08-12T06:51:53.353-04:00Just in Time for the Fourth of July Weekend>If you are a workaholic with latent loafer tendencies, you may want to examine a new book that will inspire you to goof off with a newfound dedication. I'm speaking of How to Be Idle by the British writer Tom Hodgkinson. He has managed to write 272 pages on the subject, and by dipping in and out of chapters boasting such titles as "8 a.m.: Waking Up is Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1119998886562968492005-06-28T17:57:00.000-04:002006-08-12T06:52:26.100-04:00Summer has come between me and this blog, not to mention between me and work. I was all settled Sunday morning for a long writing session after a four-mile walk when we got a call from our friends who have a summer place on a lake in southern Rhode Island. Needless to say, we dropped everything and had a delightful time paddling, swimming, and eating until six in the evening.My young friend Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1119653921986302192005-06-24T18:46:00.000-04:002007-02-20T23:29:11.623-05:00I'm yearning for a good mystery or thriller with plenty of atmosphere, published within the past year. If you know of one, please leave a comment.Suffering from hypographia, not that I have pencil to paper every minute. Or do I mean hypergraphia? Hmmmm... The condition I speak of is one in which I feel compelled to write every waking minute. When I am writing, I am crazy because it's not going Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1119392921855296772005-06-21T17:58:00.000-04:002006-02-22T23:10:23.873-05:00Life has been confusing of late, but not in a bad way, just lots of stuff going on around me. And what befuddles me further is that I have too many books lying around waiting to be read. I've had to weed out and set my priorities. My biggest problem is that I don't have a novel that I'm eager to dive into, and that's what I read at the gym and right before I fall asleep (and at other times).I've Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1119047424173401192005-06-17T17:40:00.000-04:002005-06-17T18:32:52.173-04:00Yes, it's been a good week, but I was hoping to do some writing late this afternoon after the midday food shopping and library visit. I'm worn out from the busy week or something--I am too exhausted to write a word of any project. So, I'm on the sofa with Sophie, looking out on the marsh (a gorgeous blue-green now), examining a library book that's hot off the press.Cruel World: The Children of Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1118882640422335572005-06-15T20:02:00.000-04:002006-12-16T13:35:12.233-05:00This has been a productive work week so far and I am happy. Blissful. Sophie is a new dog since the temperature dropped thirty five degrees. I know I've blogged about Candadian short story artist Alice Munro a number of months ago. I've taken Runaway, her latest collection of stories, out of the library again. Last night I read "Passion" and at the end I was breathless. I reread the last four to Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1118703037903619432005-06-13T18:19:00.000-04:002005-06-14T09:44:31.123-04:00The heat and humidity are unbearable today. I suppose if I had spent the day in the office, with the a.c. blasting on my back, my mind wouldn't be mush now. But I went to the gym this afternoon, where it was not and is never really cool, and my brain has been frizzled ever since. But I'm not too fried to write about the book I'm reading. In her debut novel, Canadian writer Anne Giardini has Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1118525579161009702005-06-11T17:11:00.000-04:002005-06-11T17:32:59.166-04:00I slammed into a writing slump and have spent part of today clawing my way out. Writing in longhand does wonders at times like these, and I'm moving along again, although I am no way near ready to return to writing on the computer. Late yesterday afternoon I listened to "Fireman," a short story by Rick Bass that was included in The Best American Short Stories of 2001, edited by Barbara KingsolverJudithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1118357288531894482005-06-09T18:19:00.000-04:002007-04-11T06:04:11.936-04:00Finally! Air conditioning in my office--I can breathe deeply again. I think the staff at our local Starbucks has been wondering if I'm homeless. I have appreciated reading the comments to my last post and wish I could respond to each person personally, to thank them for weighing in, but since you did not leave a URL or way to contact you, I will just say thank you!Last night in a pique of Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1118183670504867442005-06-07T18:11:00.000-04:002005-06-07T18:34:30.520-04:00Who was the first person that said every story has to have a conflict, a climax, and a resolution, in just those words? Is the structure a helpful guide or a tyranny? Whenever I hear people insist on its necessity, as if they're pounding their fingers on bibles, I wonder if they're as absolute about every other aspect of their lives. Their laundry, for instance. Separating darks and whites. Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1117885391680599982005-06-04T07:03:00.000-04:002005-06-04T07:48:37.670-04:00I meant to post yesterday, but I was out celebrating my birthday. I'd rather not reveal my age today, but I will say that I'm old enough to realize that time is short and I must utilize and cherish every waking moment. And I have the best time doing just that.My historian buddy Steve Fox , author of Transatlantic, and I browsed in the Wellesley Booksmith, and with the gift card Ken gave me, I Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1117664481283905442005-06-01T18:18:00.000-04:002005-06-01T18:21:21.290-04:00Rejection. Every writer experiences it regularly, but some cases of rejection are more painful than others. I applied for a residency that was perfectly designed for the novel I'm writing now. Much of the research I need to complete is in the institution that offers the residency. Let me tell you: I slaved over that application, slaved. I have never tried so hard to write anything as that huge Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1117493655105565042005-05-30T18:26:00.000-04:002006-09-07T03:25:32.880-04:00Did I mention I'm reading The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst, winner of the Booker Prize in 2004. I'm now thoroughly into it and am determined to finish before its final due date. At this point, I'm just over 100 pages in and from this viewpoint only, it appears to be a novel about a man's homosexual blossoming. From what I've heard, however, it promises to be much more than that, so I'm Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1117283718175429102005-05-28T08:17:00.000-04:002005-05-28T08:35:18.180-04:00Whoa--there is not a cloud in the sky. What happened? It's so weird to have sunlight dappling my desk. I'm not sure I know how to cope with it. I'm so disappointed I can't renew Against Depression by Peter D. Kramer. It's full of startling revelations; I thought I was fairly well updated on new developments in depression research depression, but clearly I was not. I did know about the fact that Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1117144826567877922005-05-26T17:42:00.000-04:002005-05-28T08:16:16.730-04:00The horrendous weather has everyone down. It's impossible to have a conversation with anyone, from the check-out person to the trash man, without discussing it. Worst May nor'easter since 1967 and it ain't over yet. We have seen the sun only 5 days this month. I'm getting pretty desperate.I put on hold a few fiction titles to cheer myself up, but the one that most piques my interest is not Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1117071506449604572005-05-25T20:52:00.000-04:002006-02-12T14:25:27.483-05:00The wind is howling outside our door, the marsh is flooded, the rain won't stop. I spent all afternoon holed up at Starbuck's hammering away on the laptop. Very cozy and very good for work. The sun will shine soon enough and I'll have a hell of a time keeping at it.This week's issue of Publisher's Weekly arrived today, and while I was waiting for dinner to finish cooking, I scanned the titles of Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1116888418075630872005-05-23T18:24:00.000-04:002005-05-23T18:46:58.080-04:00Everyone is complaining about the cold, damp weather, but I haven't minded it yet. I'm so involved in two of my own projects that I'm glad there's no gorgeous weather compelling me to play hookey. I found a 2002 fiction title at the library that has slipped by me until now. The Stars Can Wait by Jay Basu is a short novel about a fifteen-year-old Silesian boy living in German-occupied Poland in Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1116723223776545252005-05-21T20:21:00.000-04:002005-05-22T09:28:45.546-04:00Played all day. Had fun." This is a direct quote from my first diary, written when I was an eight-year-old. Actually, this is what I wrote every Saturday and every summer day for an entire year. It wasn't until later that I discovered that I could talk about the things that happened to me and my feelings about them.I'm waxing on about this today because I really played all day and had fun, the Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1111188882911439182005-03-18T18:06:00.000-05:002006-11-19T22:41:55.046-05:00In June, our neighborhood pool opens, and I'm there between five and six p.m. every warm day until it closes just before Labor Day. I wrote the pool check today at my desk while looking out at the piles of snow. After this winter, I can't believe I'll ever be warm enough to don a bathing suit.I have lived in the Boston area all my life, and until this year, people have not been able to ice fish Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1110584245266937062005-03-11T17:56:00.000-05:002005-03-11T18:38:40.936-05:00Yay! I'm wireless! I'm now sitting on the couch in the family room with Sophie, who is disgusted with me that I have this laptop on my lap and fingers flying across the keyboard that are not stroking her fur. Sorry, Sophabug!I had some terrific news: My book, Women During the Civil War: An Encyclopedia, was recently named a Choice (magazine) "Outstanding Academic Title of 2004." It's strange thatJudithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1109980974429846452005-03-04T18:47:00.000-05:002005-03-04T19:02:54.430-05:00Where have I been? I've been asking myself the same question. Too many projects, taxes, and a very long fellowship application. Not a spare second to breathe. I believe that no blogger should go on hiatus without an announcement to that effect. I have committed this gravest of sins, and I resolve to sin no more, so I am announcing that entries will be spotty at best until the last week in Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1109073483995938182005-02-22T06:28:00.000-05:002006-09-07T03:14:05.293-04:00This weekend I snatched rare moments whenever I could to read Out by Natsuo Kirino, the mystery bestseller that took Japan by storm back in 1998-99. Finally published here in hardcover in 2003, it was released as a Vintage paperback just last month.I'm astonished that I've never tackled a Japanese novel before now, largely because I've never been drawn to Japanese culture or history. I searched Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1108770253238435132005-02-18T18:12:00.000-05:002006-03-18T01:11:58.710-05:00Tonight Lauren Willig is reading from her debut novel The Secret History of the Pink Carnation at the Harvard Bookstore in Cambridge. According to an article in the Cambridge Chronicle, Willig prowled the used books section of the store for years, searching for historical novels from the 1940s and 50s. The Secret History of the Pink Carnation is a historical novel (in a sense)about a historical Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1108435822594904452005-02-14T21:15:00.000-05:002006-07-12T18:04:09.270-04:00I must make a confession that I have been studying a book that I never would have picked up a month ago. I say study because I've been pouring over it and am finding it helpful and fun as I start to reclarify my goals. Do I dare to say I'm reading (okay, you can choke now) The Success Principles by Jack Canfield? (Yes, that Canfield of Chicken Soup for the Soul fame.) No, I couldn't possibly postJudithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1108247715366616062005-02-12T17:11:00.000-05:002005-02-12T17:53:22.840-05:00It's coming! Only 8 weeks until we see these babies!A beautiful early morning romp on frozen Ponkapoag Bog and Pond with Sophie gave me some space to think about my long-term goals. It's amazing how caught up in the day-to-day struggle I can be, zooming along month after month, and never reflecting on where I'm going. Sometimes I feel I better not look too closely because it's impossible for me Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1108123657720171242005-02-11T07:04:00.000-05:002007-03-19T07:17:53.976-04:00Hey! Blogger has changed its "Comments" function. Finally! Now everyone, not only Blogger subscribers, can sign their comments and note their website or blog.Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1108079086847352342005-02-10T18:26:00.000-05:002005-02-11T09:01:16.736-05:00I'm feeling bereft because I'm low on books at the moment. I'm on the final pages of Prep, I'm just beginning Snowlegs by Nicholas Shakespeare, but I want MORE. I have The Falls by Joyce Carol Oates in the house. All the critics said it's great, but I can't help but feel a little wary when I approach the work of someone who writes as prolificly as Oates does. She really churns 'em out! AccordingJudithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1107903740272637242005-02-08T17:29:00.000-05:002005-02-08T18:06:19.873-05:00This is an experiment. Am I capable of blogging after trying to learn Word 2002's "Template and Add-Ins" and stylesheet functions? I've never had to do this before, and I feel rather insane at the moment.
Okay! Deep breath.
Don't miss Jessa Crispin's (Blog of a Bookslut) diary in the Guardian, which describes a typical, fascinating week in the life.
And, in book news, I wasn't aware that ErinJudithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1107727147101464082005-02-06T16:26:00.000-05:002005-02-06T17:03:24.976-05:00I've never been into crime thrillers, yet I've lately found myself blogging about them and occasionally reading them. I recently heard about a new book by a Swedish crime novelist, Henning Mankell. Before the Frost has received a starred review in Publisher's Weekly and is generating quite a buzz. It seems Mankell has written many bestselling books (European bestsellers, that is) about the Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1107556307853837082005-02-04T17:14:00.000-05:002005-02-04T17:43:35.566-05:00I'm confronting a dilemma at the moment: to read State of Fear by Michael Crichton or not. I'm fifteen pages in, and I feel the same way I did when I started reading The Da Vinci Code. Is this 400 pages worth my time?
What makes me hesitate? At least eight people (I'm not sure if they're characters or walk-ons at this point) have been introduced, all engaged in different nefarious deeds that Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1107473787453741542005-02-03T18:34:00.000-05:002006-08-26T00:49:29.416-04:00I have been in heaven because I keep receiving little chunks of reading time. A flood of books has arrived and there's no way I can read all of them, which profoundly saddens me.
The Christian Science Monitor had an interesting article about the new genre "matron lit." Please, gag a little into your teacups. The Hot Flash Club by Nancy Thayer is one of them, as is The Red Hat Club by Haywood Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1107295343573433662005-02-01T16:28:00.000-05:002005-02-01T22:05:00.126-05:00I have been reading! This weekend I had more than two hours both Saturday and Sunday. Then last night Ken had to go out to a job, and I had another two hours.
I finished Lip Service (it's good, although the climax came too early, leaving the ending a bit of a fizzle.) Even so, it was an exciting read. I picked up many books on Saturday, and again on Monday, so I have lots to sample and choose Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1107000827941098942005-01-29T07:03:00.000-05:002006-04-07T01:43:05.896-04:00Are you as mystified about RSS and Webfeeds as I am? According to many bloggers, RSS is fast becoming an essential blog feature. Here's the best brief tutorial on the entire business, by Amy Gahran.
Later today I'll be blogging about Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos, a book that I had to return to the library before I finished it because other people were waiting for it. But I needn't fret; IJudithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1106781263467491252005-01-26T17:53:00.000-05:002006-12-21T07:02:29.670-05:00By midnight we should have another nine inches on the ground here in eastern Norfolk County, according to the weather people. The question on my street? Where do you put it? I could ascribe my grumpiness and inability to tap out the final few pages of a writing project to the snow, but this aggravating, though minor, production slowdown is really because I've been working so furiously over the Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1106695908195758552005-01-25T18:27:00.000-05:002005-01-25T18:31:48.196-05:00Blogger is acting up this evening, and I don't have the patience at the moment. Still enjoying Lip Service by M.J. Rose.Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1106657833303709062005-01-25T07:57:00.000-05:002005-01-25T07:58:35.573-05:00Thirty inches of snow later, here I am at my desk, still trying to make up for worktime lost by snow removal. We did not lose power and I'm so grateful to the electricity god!
Saturday I did not work at all, except for an hour very early in the morning, so I had the chance to scrutinize M.J. Rose's writing. She has posted comments here a couple of times and has two blogs of her own. She writesJudithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1106430905562372052005-01-22T16:26:00.000-05:002006-02-07T00:14:19.396-05:00It's 4:30 p.m. and it started snowing a half hour ago. The blizzard is on. This storm has been hyped to the hilt, but we are due to get a minimum of two feet of snow. I picked up Dr. Kenneth Kamler's Surviving the Extremes: A Doctor's Journey to the Limits of Human Endurance at the library yesterday. I think I'll delve into the section where he discusses human exposure to snow and cold--just for Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1106396533152266722005-01-22T07:10:00.000-05:002006-09-01T18:27:58.630-04:00Blizzard Warning! That's enough to get a woman away from her desk. My Girl Scout training is in full swing: "Be prepared." Must find firewood, get the sleeping bags out of storage, get Ken to shop for a camping one- or two-burner stove, and find matches, flashlights, candles, blankets, and food. We once lost our power after a horrible snow storm on April 1, 1997--it was gone for four days and, Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1106264103075239872005-01-20T18:23:00.000-05:002005-01-20T18:36:24.466-05:00Last night's snow was light and fluffy, making this morning's walk beautiful. Sophie went beserk--running and pouncing in it. The hike was breathtaking, but with tomorrow's weather expected to be below zero as far as windchill is concerned, I may not have the stamina to deal with two woods walks.
I'm not sure, but later next week may open up some leisure for me, giving me the time to do some Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1106177714497714832005-01-19T18:00:00.000-05:002005-01-19T18:42:31.790-05:00I'm curious about the writer Sandra Birdsell, author of Katya, a novel about a Mennonite girl during the Russian Revolution. Milkweed Editions is the publisher, and I'm reminded that when I blogged about Seth Kantner and Outside Wolves (see entry for January 8), I meant to provide a link to its website and forgot.
Birdsell is a Canadian (Saskatchewan writer), and Katya was a finalist for the Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1106092684904059122005-01-18T18:52:00.000-05:002005-01-18T18:58:04.903-05:00I rather doubt I can blog this evening--a hellish day all round. But I can report that I'm enjoying listening to Light on Snow by Anita Shreve on CD so much. I must look up the name of the reader because she's so good and her voice is perfect for this story about a twelve-year-old girl and her father who find a newborn baby wrapped in a sleeping bag in the woods. It's been such a long time sinceJudithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1105917933148056292005-01-16T18:05:00.000-05:002005-01-16T18:33:10.360-05:00Alas, I have just a moment to raise my head and ask how I have ever managed to overlook the British novelist Nicholas Shakespeare? Political history and a love story do equal time in Snowleg, his latest novel, about a British medical student in West Germany who falls in love with a young East German woman in the last decade of the cold war. Upon scanning the novel briefly, I noticed from the Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1105743827998354792005-01-14T17:51:00.000-05:002005-01-14T18:03:47.996-05:00If you're interested in small press, alternative press, and the indie-world, I'm sure you'll enjoy New Pages, a media website that's full of links to literary magazines (both print and online), alternative magazines and newsweeklies, book reviews, and links to other resources (including literary blogs). I especially enjoy the NewPages' blog, maintained by editor Casey Hill. I invited Casey to Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1105572356090840312005-01-12T17:53:00.000-05:002005-01-12T18:30:31.296-05:00Since Christmastime, I've been wanting to blog something about Citizen Girl by Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin, the authors of The Nanny Diaries. In December I did something I rarely do--I selected an author's second book when I've considered the first to be second-rate. Yes, I still have no idea what the hype surrounding The Nanny Diaries was all about. I found it oppressingly dull, although I Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1105487172550855832005-01-11T18:49:00.000-05:002005-01-11T18:46:12.550-05:00I was hoping that Ken and I would be able to see Hotel Rwanda this coming weekend. Even though it's only Tuesday, it looks like I've got too much work to get away. Maybe next week? That seems to be a long refrain these days.
I'm interested in the Rwandan genocide because, clueless as I must be, I was largely unaware of it as it was happening in 1994. Swept up by my own problems, I chose to look Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1105407233818933792005-01-10T20:24:00.000-05:002005-01-10T20:41:15.026-05:00Last night Ken and I watched The House of Sand and Fog on DVD. It was incredibly powerful. I have to confess that I haven't read the book by Andre Dubus III. When it came out and was at its height of popularity, three people told me that it was a depressing read. Because I was shunning downer books at that time, I didn't pursue it, but if the movie is any evidence, I wish I hadn't avoided it. Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1105400625402308282005-01-10T18:40:00.000-05:002005-01-10T18:43:45.403-05:00Did you hear a primal scream at 6:46 p.m. EST? Yes, it was me--I had just spent 45 minutes preparing a beautiful entry and I lost it. My stupidity is to blame once again.
I have to go make dinner and I don't want to, especially now. If only I could just redo the entry! Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1105226894847815462005-01-08T17:49:00.000-05:002005-01-08T18:32:19.853-05:00Three more inches of slush dumped on us today. A good day to stay inside and work. January is another bear for me workwise, I'm afraid.
A trip to the library was the only bright light. Heir to the Glimmering World by Cynthia Ozick appeared at my feet. And I also happened upon Anita Shreve's Light on Snow on CD--to listen to while I'm cooking, doing dishes, and cleaning the kitchen. Just a monthJudithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1105052839535557442005-01-06T17:43:00.000-05:002006-12-06T18:49:37.923-05:00The weather today has been so beastly! Wet snow and a hard, pelting sleet, followed by rain--what a mess. Golden retrievers and dirty slushy roads do not mix. Ugh.
As I scooted around the web this afternoon, I'm reminded of a new book I'd like to sample. Maybe The Family Tree,a first novel by the Welsh-born British writer Carole Cadwalladr, could lighten the gloom around here. I must admit I'm Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1104962234663990402005-01-05T16:30:00.000-05:002006-07-17T08:42:29.026-04:00At the gym yesterday, while working out on one of the new arc trainers, a woman asked me how I'm able to read and use this machine. "Desperation," was my answer. There is absolutely no way I can huff and puff on this device of modern torture without a high-quality distraction. The gym book must be compelling (so I don't feel the pain), entertaining, and moderately intellectually stimulating Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1104850253628435602005-01-04T09:34:00.000-05:002005-01-04T09:55:05.900-05:00News Flash!
Journalist and publishing maven Sara Nelson, author of the reading memoir So Many Books, So Little Time, has been named editor-in-chief of Publishers Weekly. The news stunned me, mostly because she seems such an unlikely choice. But, after thinking about her long career in publishing, it appears more plausible. After all, she knows every editor in every New York publishing house. AndJudithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1104706721157512882005-01-02T17:41:00.000-05:002005-01-03T16:27:22.083-05:00If you are or have ever been an author, or if you have ever dreamed of being one, you won't want to miss Cynthia Ozick's essay in The New York Times today, "Lighting Out for the Territory," a diary detailing her first book tour at age seventy-something and 38 years after the publication of her first book. I blogged about Ozick not too long ago and noted that Heir to the Glimmering World is being Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1104530482468082132004-12-31T16:59:00.000-05:002006-11-19T18:25:12.166-05:00Last Call!
Wanted: Your Opinion
What was the Best Book You Read in 2004?
For details, see my Saturday, December 11 entry. (Go to the archive for December 2004 on the right.)
Note: I have changed my best book to Oracle Night by Paul Auster. (See my February 4, 2004 entry).
Every year, as soon as it gets dark on December 31st, I feel I must lay to rest the unresolved questions in my life. I Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1104445470341214472004-12-30T16:51:00.000-05:002006-11-12T12:00:42.993-05:00My mind has been appallingly dull in the late afternoons for the past month or so. I've had to realign my work schedule a bit to compensate--I've tried to squeeze more writing hours out of the morning and have saved all other tasks for afternoons. Perhaps the lack of sun has been to blame, though I really have no hard feelings about deep winter. Sophie and I have been happy sludging through the Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1104343238693002352004-12-29T13:35:00.000-05:002004-12-29T13:08:51.453-05:00My brain has been so scattered this week. Projects that have been inching along keep colliding with obstacles that are impossible to resolve quickly because they need input from other people. For today, I may have given up for the most part.
I ended up at the library where I decided to seek out Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale (note: 2 separate links here). Someone online somewhere raved about it Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1104236973332669502004-12-28T07:21:00.000-05:002004-12-28T07:29:33.333-05:00I've been suffering from the post-Christmas blahs, which is surely the body's and the mind's attempts to return to some semblance of "normalcy," whatever that is.
I'm struggling to write about books this morning, and since I keep deleting everything I write, I must sign off for the moment. I'll try to return later today. Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1104000711906897872004-12-25T13:16:00.000-05:002007-04-19T23:07:04.066-04:00Off-Topic Warning: Yes, this is a literary blog. But today I am posting an off-topic entry, although several books have squeezed their way in.
It's nearly half past one and I'm about to roast the lamb for our Christmas dinner. Nothing fancy, just a hearty, tasty meal. The holiday has been wonderful. This is a joy, considering how downhearted I can be about the season. Last night Ken and I Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1103890980649930372004-12-24T06:59:00.000-05:002004-12-24T10:36:44.306-05:00On Monday morning, I decided I had to get a hold of Auggie Wren's Christmas Story by Paul Auster. Could I have it in my hands by Christmas Eve? I figured it was worth a try, so I ordered it from the library. It came through yesterday, all the way from Cambridge, so I stopped by Westwood Library on my way home from purchasing all the goodies for Christmas Day.
The Auggie Wren story appeared the Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1103805286962626602004-12-23T07:16:00.000-05:002004-12-23T08:01:08.596-05:00Rumer Godden's The Story of Holly and Ivy , about an orphan who finds a warm, loving home with an older couple, is one of my all-time favorite Christmas stories. I read my paperback copy every year!
Two days til Christmas and my house is a mess. My office resembles the aftermath of a volcanic eruption. And right now I just do not have the reserves of energy to do what needs to be done.
GettingJudithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1103733143549270352004-12-22T11:00:00.000-05:002006-12-21T22:38:44.776-05:00I spent yesterday shopping and shipping gifts. I unloaded my wallet at the Brookline Booksmith. That would have been even more fun, if I'd bought something for myself. But I have trouble combining business and pleasure. I must confess I know nothing about A Christmas Like Helen's; I just loved the art.
The entire process took all day. After the last box was mailed, I stopped in at the Canton Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1103584622489232652004-12-20T18:16:00.000-05:002004-12-20T18:22:01.166-05:00Wanted: Your Opinion
What was the Best Book You Read in 2004?
For details, see my Saturday, December 11 entry.Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1103584469607906962004-12-20T17:40:00.000-05:002004-12-20T18:14:29.606-05:00I journeyed to the Newton Public Library this noontime, a trip that had originally been planned to soothe myself after what I imagined might be a particularly vexing event. The morning proved not to be as difficult as I thought, and even though I was relieved and happy, I ducked work and headed to the library anyway.
Although I found several treasures, I had been hoping to find Kate Atkinson's Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1103375273924362402004-12-18T07:41:00.000-05:002006-03-31T20:00:22.680-05:00With snow predicted for Sunday night and Monday, I'm reminded of an intriguing new history title. The Children's Blizzard by David Laskin is about a storm that struck the Upper Midwest in January 1888 (great link to author interview). Oddly enough, the blizzard occurred just two months prior to a calamitous blizzard that hit New York City and New England.
What appeals to me most about the book Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1103239851253471392004-12-16T18:03:00.000-05:002004-12-16T18:30:51.253-05:00Ten minutes of googling lassooed me surprisingly little about Monique Charlesworth, the author of The Children's War. With a number of the new novel's stellar reviews in my recent memory, I seized the book at the library today, delirious to find one that's on my "dying to read" list. I vow I will snatch time out of the holiday madness to read this.
The Children's War is being hailed for its "Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1102981572992460862004-12-13T18:03:00.000-05:002004-12-16T18:32:39.850-05:00In the seventh grade, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was on my school reading list. As I recall it, that list was a luscious "torture." I had the perfect excuse to while away many more hours, flopped on my bed, reading. I pulled my family's The Complete Sherlock Holmes down from the shelf and thrilled to "A Scandal in Bohemia." Turning the pages, I was repulsed by a collection of "florid-facedJudithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1102801640230681632004-12-11T16:29:00.000-05:002004-12-13T18:48:10.223-05:00It's Time! Select your Best Read of 2004
Last year I asked readers to join me in selecting their Best Read of 2003 in several categories. This year I'm going to ask everyone to choose the best book they read in 2004, but if you can't remember back to February or March, select any really satisfying book you read recently. In other words, if you visit this blog, do weigh in, regardless of your Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1102460344189956272004-12-07T17:24:00.000-05:002004-12-07T18:06:28.193-05:00I'm encouraged because it looks as though my schedule will allow me to post entries on a more regular basis through January 3rd. I need to scrounge around for some content, however, especially because I'm still reading The Murder Room by P.D. James. As I've mentioned here many times, I'm turned off by the mystery genre in general, but I wanted to give her books a try, especially since her writingJudithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1102111544594216082004-12-03T16:31:00.000-05:002004-12-06T17:49:08.000-05:00This may be a Friday that really means something. By that, I mean the end of a work week, when work ceases for a time? I will need to work some, though--more projects stacked up. But for right now I'm not going to think about that.
I received a subscription invitation in the mail today that is making my phone-dialing finger quiver. I believe I've mentioned my craving for a subscription to Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1101955792257991332004-12-01T21:42:00.000-05:002006-02-11T18:06:22.010-05:00These long hours have annihilated free time. Looking forward to taking a breath. Can you believe I picked up David Baldacci's The Christmas Train? What was I thinking? I was gasping with an attack of the sticky-sweets by the end of the first paragraph. I forced myself to read three pages. Smothered in molasses, honey, and maple syrup, I gave it up and wished I didn't have to touch it again. But IJudithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1101684396056661112004-11-28T18:04:00.000-05:002006-09-27T16:07:00.876-04:00Yet another working weekend, but this time I'm having fun. Today I was writing about Iceland, a place I'd love to visit. In fact, I've found a package tour for $449--three nights in Reykjavik, three Scandinavian breakfasts, a few tours, and airfare included. (Look under "Special Tours" and click on "Honeymoon Express." I can't do three nights in a decent hotel in New York for that price. The onlyJudithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com70tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1101510181953449582004-11-26T17:38:00.000-05:002006-09-27T16:08:43.880-04:00Ken and I enjoyed an international Thanksgiving yesterday at Tom and Lek's house. Of the eleven people present, only three were native-born Americans. Lek (who hails from Thailand) had invited four young women and a young man from Thailand, a young man from Burma, and, of course, Da (Lek's sister) and her boyfriend Moshe from Israel. We were a spirited, fun group yesterday, and I'm sure I'm not Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1101251149530391152004-11-23T17:19:00.000-05:002004-11-23T18:05:49.533-05:00I 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 Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1101164465883168792004-11-22T17:57:00.000-05:002004-11-22T18:01:05.883-05:00Hang on, the book blogger is still swamped. But until then, you may be interested in the Christian Science Monitor's list of the Best Books of 2004. Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888331.post-1100906917548350642004-11-19T18:13:00.000-05:002004-11-21T15:59:55.383-05:00I'm glad that the National Book Awards are over because I am so tired of all the redundant literary blogging about the controversy surrounding the selection of this year's nominees. Can't we move on? I will say, however, that I have the winner, Lily Tuck's The News from Paraguay, in my house; last week I snatched it up while at the Westwood Library. I keep hoping I'll find some moments when I canJudithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.com0