It’s reading time

It’s reading time

It’s nine degrees out now, two earlier this morning. A fire is roaring in the fireplace here, the sun is going down (though it seems as though it was just lunchtime), and the pug is snoring on the couch. A tea is at my elbow and the house is making creaking noises. It’s reading season. I have just ventured upstairs and gathered up a few of the books I have read since last time we spoke. I am now back at my seat by the fire (which I do not intend to leave anytime soon), ready to go.

Several good reads (and a television series) to start a new year

Several good reads (and a television series) to start a new year

On Christmas Eve, 1932, in South Detroit, “Saverio Armandonada warmed his hands underneath the tin lunch pail on his lap as he rode the trolley from the Chester Street stop to the River Rouge plant.” So begins Adriana Trigiani’s new novel, Tony’s Wife, which I just, this first day of the new year, finished.

Good, and maybe not-so-good, end-of-summer reading

Good, and maybe not-so-good, end-of-summer reading

A few years ago, I went on a trip with extended family and a couple of intrepid friends to the Galapagos. The trip involved two nights in Quito, Equador, and a week of travel by boat to the various islands, where khaki-clad naturalists walked us around carefully circumscribed paths, pointing out interesting phenomena: giant tortoises, blue-footed boobies, sharks, sea turtles, flamingoes and all kinds of other fauna and flora and so on. 

On Books

On Books

“History has failed us, but no matter. At the turn of the century, an aging fisherman and his wife decided to take in lodgers for extra money…” So begins the novel Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee, recommended to me by my friend Mary from the gym. I don’t see Mary often, and I know very little about her (including her last name), but whenever we see each other, our first question (both of us) is, “What are you reading?” or “What is that you’re reading?”

Grafton, Wolitzer and Tolstoy:  Springtime suggestions for reading and listening

Grafton, Wolitzer and Tolstoy: Springtime suggestions for reading and listening

“For the record, my name is Kinsey Millhone. I’m a private investigator, licensed by the State of California, (now) thirty-three years old, 118 pounds of female in a five-foot-six-inch frame. My hair is dark, thick, and straight. I’d been accustomed to wearing it short, but I’d been letting it grow out just to see what it would look like. My usual practice is to crop my own mop every six weeks or so with a pair of nail scissors. This I do because I’m too cheap to pay twenty-eight bucks in a beauty salon.

The tyranny of memory and the just-right book club

The tyranny of memory and the just-right book club

There is a fire in the fireplace and two dogs not so subtly reminding me that dinnertime is upon us. If they wore wristwatches, they would be glancing down at them, tapping the glass faces with their toenails. Snow is falling on the lawn outside. Easter has come and gone, and the first day of spring was weeks ago.

Charlotte Library News

Charlotte Library News

Saturday, April 21, 10:30 a.m. ART IN APRIL: Poetry in Motion. Celebrate National Poetry Month by creating some interactive poetry! For families & kids 9+.
Programs for Kids of All Ages – Tuesdays, May 1–May 9, 9 a.m.: Baby Time. Meet other caregivers and the littlest ones in our area. We’ll chat, sing songs, and read to Baby.

On Books – Don’t forget your book

On Books – Don’t forget your book

I am going to Florida soon, and so this afternoon I had a window in my schedule and, instead of heading back to Charlotte, decided to get a much-needed, walk-in pedicure. Luckily for me, the place wasn’t crowded (it often is), and they took me right away. In no time, my feet and ankles were happily soaking in a basin of hot water. Ahhhhh. For my color, I chose gold, something I have never done before and may never do again, but I think I quite like it. I’m not 100 percent sure, but I think it’s okay.