“People who buy books ... are of two kinds. There are those who buy because they love books and what they can get from them, and those to whom books are one form of entertainment among several. ... The second group has to be courted” (p. 117). . Which kind of book buyer are you?... Continue Reading →
I’ve had a stressful and unhappy year. My oldest daughter barely survived seventh grade. There were enough tears to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool, and there were many nights spent worrying over her. There were also many evenings of stressing over homework and grades and friends and boys and teachers and clothes and gym class.... Continue Reading →
Read previous chapters here. Chapter 14 Leda drives Walt to the physical therapist several times a week. His mobility seems to have improved, although lately he is less agreeable and more uncontrollable. His body is rejecting its treatment, telling him that he is no longer the master of it. This frustrates Walt, a man who... Continue Reading →
I had lunch with a new friend at a sushi place in Salt Lake City a few days ago. He had been a student of mine last semester, and now that school is out and I’m moving on to another university, and so is he, we decided to meet up and get to know each... Continue Reading →
I recently realized that I had a printed copy of an interview my mother did with my great grandmother Antonia Montosa Juanes. She is a Hawaiian Spaniard, born to Spanish parents in Makaweli, Hawaii. I always knew she was a Spaniard, but it has recently come to my attention that Hawaiian Spaniards are part of... Continue Reading →
Read previous chapters here. Chapter 7 Walt has finally come home. It has been weeks, but he has finally awoken. He is still not the same, not her husband. He talks slowly and incoherently, sometimes being demanding and pushy. Leda reminds herself that he must be frustrated, unable to control his body that has earned... Continue Reading →
I have learned a lot about faith in the last few years. Events in my religious community have caused me to examine my own beliefs and to study and ponder more on the issues that are important to me. I am learning to be, as Emma Goldman suggested, “broad and big” in trying to understand... Continue Reading →
Yes, I’m obsessed with Laura Ingalls Wilder. It began when I was a young girl staying up late to read her books. It has grown since I’ve read those Little House books to my daughter. And now that I’ve visited her home at Rocky Ridge Farm in Mansfield, Missouri, I can’t stop reading about her.... 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’ve finally read Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior (1975), a book I have heard so much about but somehow never got to until now. The book is creative non-fiction, a memoir of Kingston’s Chinese childhood among “ghosts.” Ghosts are white Americans, and reading this book gave me access to what it must really be... Continue Reading →
The Bookshelf of Emily J. 