I picked up this paperback, a mystery novel about a dead body found in an English country house, thinking it was going to be a cozy mystery.

This book is nothing if not elegant.

This book is the novelistic equivalent of a romantic comedy. A good one, though: Clueless or Notting Hill or When Harry Met Sally.

*** BOOK: Gift from the Sea AUTHOR: Anne Morrow Lindbergh YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 1955 *** This book is hard to describe without making it sound slight, or trite, but it is neither. It’s widely considered a classic, and for good reason. *** Anne Morrow Lindbergh had a very unusual life. Her husband, Charles Lindbergh, was … Continue reading On Our Bookshelves – 1955’s Gift from the Sea – A Review →

It’s not a picnic. It’s something else entirely, although I’m not sure exactly what. But it is worth seeing.

*** Diana Swartz recently invited me to a dinner party at a Italian restaurant in NYC.  She is good company and I like to see her (and the friends we have in common) but this was no ordinary dinner party.  This was a party at which the various guests were assembled to meet some of … Continue reading Changing Cambodia & the World – A Q&A – Diana Swartz, Liger Leadership Academy →

*** BOOK: Decorating a Room of One’s Own AUTHOR: Susan Harlan YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2018 *** The subtitle of this book,”Conversations on Interior Design with Miss Havisham, Jane Eyre, Victor Frankenstein, Elizabeth Bennet, Ishmael, and Other Literary Notables,” says it all.  Either you will find this a delightful literary romp, appreciate the nod to Virginia Woolf in the … Continue reading On Our Bookshelves – Decorating a Room of One’s Own →

*** I picked up Brigit Young’s debut novel, Worth a Thousand Words, because we have a friend in common, and our mutual friend sent me a copy as a gift. I read it right away, and thought it was really well done. And I wasn’t alone in that assessment: Horn Book’s review called it “a … Continue reading A Picture and a Thousand (Plus) Words – A Q&A with Author Brigit Young →

Cheaper By The Dozen is a rather entertaining semi-autobiographical novel about an unusual family roughly a hundred years ago.

*** NOVEL: The Woman in Black AUTHOR: Susan Hill YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 1983 *** There’s a chill in the air, and the days are getting shorter. The leaves are starting to turn and suddenly it seems that summertime was long ago. As the kids start planning their Halloween costumes, it’s time to think about ghost … Continue reading On Our Bookshelves – The Woman in Black →