In the introduction to My Kind of Place, Susan Orlean confesses that she loves to travel – even to places that don’t sound wonderful. When the collection of essays begins with a taxidermy convention in Springfield, Illinois, it is immediately apparent that she means it. Read More
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Book Report: My Kind of Place
ByGD
Statistically Speaking: January
Image by Gratisography.com
This year, I am trying to learn from my blog stats, but as usual, in January I was distracted by the more creative search terms that led to this site:
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Book Report: Beggar’s Feast
Crows and squirrels. Beggar’s Feast is crowded with these urban vermin, potent symbols whose meaning I could never quite make out, just as I could never quite tell what was behind anyone’s words when I was in Kandy town almost exactly twelve years ago and saw neither crows nor squirrels. When I pulled Beggar’s Feast by Randy Boyagoda from the stack of overdue library books all I knew was that the book is by an Iceland Writers Retreat featured author. When I discovered the novel was set near Kandy, and that it spanned a century of Sri Lankan history, I was certain that it would be one of my favorites. I even hoped that it would help me understand the week twelve years ago that spawned some of my own best favorite travel stories. Read More
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Book Report: O My America!
In preparation for Iceland Writers Retreat, I am reading a book by each of the featured authors. Although it feels weird to review a book by a pending teacher, I read best when I know I have to report on it later, so here we are. While I was immersed in A Year of Wonders, all of my library holds came in. I picked the next book at random: O My America! Six Women and Their Second Acts in a New World, by Sara Wheeler. Read More
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Sleeping Beauty at Pacific Northwest Ballet 2014
This last week my life has taken the work/life balance conflict to new levels. I am up against a hard deadline on a major project at the day job. Meanwhile my building was on lockdown with half a million people expressing their love for the Seahawks on the street outside. Last weekend my family passed a major milestone – all four of us rode the lift and came down the mountain together. And on Saturday, my youngest daughter and I caught the matinee of Pacific Northwest Ballet‘s production, The Sleeping Beauty. It’s a true classic, rich in symbolism and full of an entirely different, more graceful kind of balance. Read More