Category Archives: Books & Libraries

“Popping the Hood”

Posted on May 10, 2013 by

Over on Neil Fein’s Magnificent Nose, I have a post up about reading like a writer, including the tragic tale of how I lost my magical reading powers and what I got in exchange. Read the essay here.  Thanks!     … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Libraries, Writing | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Max Perkins: Editor of Genius

Posted on April 21, 2013 by

Max Perkins: Editor of Genius, by A. Scott Berg, arrived in my mailbox from a friend I know only from the Internet, because life is strange these days, with the intersections of the real and the virtual constantly confusing those of … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Libraries, Criticism, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

We Don’t Need Books to Free. We Need Them to be Brilliant.

Posted on January 1, 2013 by

When I’m meeting people for the first time, some of them want to confess: “Bless me, Librarian, for I have sinned. It has been four years since I last read a book.” People tell me this sheepishly (and quite unbidden. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Libraries, Criticism, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Lobbing Nerf Rocks

Posted on December 1, 2012 by

At a workshop I attended recently, Emmy Laybourne, author of the Monument 14 series, shared a rule, well-known among screenwriters, that I had never heard before: “Chase your character up a tree and throw rocks at him.” It’s smart advice: … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Libraries, Motherhood, Volta, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

“The Circus of Dreams”

Posted on November 5, 2012 by

If you love magic, slipstream, history and romance, you’ll probably love Erin Morgenstern’s debut novel, The Night Circus. Here’s an excerpt of my review of it on the Magnificent Nose. Click over to Neil’s place if you’d like to read … Continue reading →

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Perfect Whole, Superstorm Sandy Edition

Posted on November 1, 2012 by

We are grateful to have come through the storm safe and well, with no property damage, though I did not at all like the threatening looks one old, majestic oak was casting in the direction of my dining room. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Libraries, Motherhood, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

“Cromwell’s Long Game”

Posted on August 1, 2012 by

Neil Fein has decided to add book reviews to the regular fare at Magnificent Nose, his wonderfully eclectic blog about writing, music, editing, and cycling, among many other things. I am honored to help inaugurate this new feature today with … Continue reading →

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Definitely Not the Opera

Posted on May 30, 2012 by

(This isn’t a real Perfect Whole essay. Those are long and complicated! This is just a short post about the amazing new place blogging took me recently.) I was contacted by Clare Lawlor, a producer at a CBC radio show … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Libraries, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Elegy for a Thousand Stolen Books

Posted on January 1, 2012 by

After the seven-year project of weeding my high school library, one task remained: inventory. I had avoided it for several years, reasoning that there wasn’t much point in carefully accounting for books I would probably discard anyway. If someone had … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Libraries, Education | Tagged , , , , , | 18 Comments

I Can’t Believe You’re Throwing Out Books!

Posted on May 16, 2011 by

I am a librarian but no longer a bibliophile. Throwing out thousands of books in three libraries over the past nine years has cured me of bibliophilia, though nothing on this side of mortality can ever release me from my … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Libraries, Education | Tagged , , , , | 103 Comments