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 →
It has been a long time since I’ve cried while reading a book. However, it happened recently when I finished The Light Between Oceans (2012) by M. L. Stedman. I did not just leak a few tears. I sobbed. I found out about the book from a movie trailer. The book is a movie now,... Continue Reading →
I started "building" a miniature house in one of the rooms of my basement. I got the idea after reading this book with my six-year-old daughter. The photos are of a real miniature "mouse mansion" that the author built. Amazing! I showed it to my husband. I thought the book was enchanting. He said, "Don't... Continue Reading →
Did you know that many of the "great" male authors were also jerks? I learned this while reading a poignant piece on motherhood and art called "Mother, Writer, Monster, Maid" by Rufi Thorpe. It explores the price of both being an artist and being a mother and how women may or may not be able... Continue Reading →
My friend Amy has been telling me to read Siri Hustvedt for about two years now. I finally borrowed her copy of What I Loved (2003). I borrowed it on a Friday afternoon and by Monday morning I had finished it. I could not put it down. It isn’t a thriller. Yet there are some... Continue Reading →
Read previous chapters here. Chapter 13 As Leda balances the checkbook, she finds many debits after the holiday season and monthly medical expenses. She knows the holiday expenses are past, but expects to see many more bills paid to doctors and nurses. As these numbers swirl in her head, she remembers that Walt Junior has... Continue Reading →
Several years ago, I posted about Susan Cain's book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a Word that Can't Stop Talking. I loved the book. I loved its message. Today I'm posting about my daughter's reaction to reading Cain's adaptation of that book for kids, called Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts (2016). Here... 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 love this bookmark. My eleven-year-old and I just finished Lord of the Flies, and now we are reading One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia. My 6-year-old and I just finished Ribsy by Beverly Cleary, and we are reading a lot of picture books lately. What are you reading with a child?
We have had our tree up for a few weeks now. My daughters did the decorating. They enjoy pulling out the ornaments from past years and asking me about them. It was fun to see some of the ones I had forgotten about. It was also nice to remember the person who had given me... Continue Reading →
The Bookshelf of Emily J. 