I have read quite a few books lately, but I haven't posted about them in detail. There's literally no time, given the work I'm doing on my dissertation, the academic jobs I've been applying for, the classes I've been teaching, and the mothering I do. My blog has slowed down, as I'm sure some of... Continue Reading →
Last week on September 16, my paternal grandmother, Madge Lorene Carmack Thompson, died in a hospital in Missouri, surrounded by her sons. She was 78 years old and had been battling cancer. I had the opportunity to attend her memorial service in Missouri on Sunday. As I perused the display my father had set up... Continue Reading →
I don’t even know where to begin in describing and reviewing All the Light We Cannot See (2014) by Anthony Doerr. It is a sweeping and gorgeous novel about Germany and France during World War II. In some ways, it is "just" another one of those novels capitalizing on the horror and tragedy of our... Continue Reading →
I loved this book! I absolutely loved it. Yes, it was a collection of essays about author Mary McCarthy’s childhood that at times were written intellectually, but it had the charm and flourish of her creative voice. After each chapter, she included a commentary chapter, explaining how much of the essay was true and how... Continue Reading →
I can’t remember how I discovered Franz Xaver von Schönwerth’s book of “newly discovered fairy tales,” but I am glad I did. It is called The Turnip Princess and Other Newly Discovered Fairy Tales (2015), and it is just that. Von Schönwerth apparently collected these stories from the Bavarian countryside in the 1850s, and a... Continue Reading →
Last week was spring break for me, so I took the time off to visit my dad and my grandmother, who is ill with cancer, in Missouri. My grandma finished her last radiation treatment while we were there, so we are hoping that things look good and that she’ll start to get stronger and be... Continue Reading →
Last week was spring break for me, so I took the time off to visit my dad and my grandmother, who is ill with cancer, in Missouri. My grandma finished her last radiation treatment while we were there, so we are hoping that things look good and that she’ll start to get stronger and be... Continue Reading →
Last week was spring break for me, so I took the time off to visit my dad and my grandmother, who is ill with cancer, in Missouri. My grandma finished her last radiation treatment while we were there, so we are hoping that things look good and that she’ll start to get stronger and be... Continue Reading →
Last week was spring break for me, so I took the time off to visit my dad and my grandmother, who is ill with cancer, in Missouri. My grandma finished her last radiation treatment while we were there, so we are hoping that things look good and that she’ll start to get stronger and be... Continue Reading →
Last week was spring break for me, so I took the time off to visit my dad and my grandmother, who is ill with cancer, in Missouri. My grandma finished her last radiation treatment while we were there, so we are hoping that things look good and that she’ll start to get stronger and be... Continue Reading →
The Bookshelf of Emily J. 