I’m not an enormous fan of scary books. But there is a large audience ready and waiting for spooky reading material. Here are some that I’ve read and enjoyed. Not too spooky, not too tame. They’re the Goldilocks versions of scary. Just right. Running Out of Night by Sharon Lovejoy (2016). While not technically a…
I first heard that idea from Robin Roberts of CBS This Morning. I believe her mother said it to her when she was struggling with health issues. When you’re in that position it’s easy and completely normal to be down and depressed and uncharitable. Her mother wasn’t being dismissive. When you are in a position…
When I was very young, my parents would tell me and my sister to let them sleep on the weekends. Whatever that looked like for us, that’s what we had to do. I don’t know what my sister did. Actually, I think she used to sleep in on weekends, too. But I was an early…
That was a great line from the movie When Harry Met Sally. I’ll watch pretty much anything starring Meg Ryan. You’ve Got Mail is my Christmas movie go-to. There’s just one scene in it from Christmas, but it’s such a feel-good movie. Just as I will watch anything with certain actors in it, I’m also…
Plans and outlines and hopes and dreams are all fine and dandy, until they’re not. Until Life happens—sticking its nose through the crack in the door that you left open for some fresh air, thinking you were impervious to a stiff breeze. Sometimes, even then, a plan is useful to hold you in place, keep…
Here’s why it pays to read widely, outside of your preferred genre. Ideas spring up like wildflowers from all sources—there for the picking. Part of my morning reading for the past couple of weeks has been a book called Mostly What God Does by Savannah Guthrie. I am not pushing religion on you. I’m just…
Do you take for granted some of the holidays that pop up during the year without really understanding why we observe them? I’ll admit, I do. Case in point—Labor Day. So, since I just returned from a mini vacation with no blog post written yet, I used my research skills (thank you, Google) to try…
The other day, I read an article by a woman who teaches writing to seniors. She said at their age, they should only be doing things that are fun. She was partially right. I think everyone should be doing things that are fun, regardless of their age. And if the fun isn’t obvious, find it….
You may not know it, but you need this Raspberry Streusel muffin recipe I have for you today. There’s not much better than a cup of coffee, something yummy, and a good book. This recipe comes together quickly. If you don’t like raspberries (?!) you can substitute with any other berry. The raspberries won’t be…
What are your kids doing in their free time? Do they even have free time? A recent article in Publisher’s Weekly says that for kids, reading for pleasure is “losing out to other activities.” The article states that according to Circana BookScan, sales of middle-grade fiction—that is, fiction geared to kids ages 8 to 12—has…
