Categories
Archives
-

-
Recent Posts
- 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- “I don’t represent anything.” — Liz Phair
- “I don’t really know why, but danger has always been an important thing in my life – to see how far I could lean without falling, how fast I could go without cracking up.” — William Holden
- “Some syllables are swords.” — Metaphysical poet Henry Vaughan
- “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- “All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl.” — Charlie Chaplin
- “As a cinematographer, I was always attracted to stories that have the potential to be told with as few words as possible.” — Reed Morano
- “Even though I’m writing about very dark material, it still feels like an escape hatch.” — Olivia Laing
- “It’s just one of the mysteries of filmmaking that sometimes you do something that you don’t even think it’s important, then it turns out to be.” — Lili Horvát
- “Ballet taught me to stay close to style and tone. Literature taught me to be concerned about the moral life.” — Joan Acocella
Recent Comments
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- Mike Molloy on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- Scott Abraham on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- Scott Abraham on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- Mike Molloy on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on March 2026 Snapshots
- sheila on “I don’t really know why, but danger has always been an important thing in my life – to see how far I could lean without falling, how fast I could go without cracking up.” — William Holden
- Jessie on March 2026 Snapshots
- Helen Erwin Schinske on “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- Maddy on “I don’t really know why, but danger has always been an important thing in my life – to see how far I could lean without falling, how fast I could go without cracking up.” — William Holden
- sheila on “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- Helen Erwin Schinske on “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- Joseph Pedulla on Susan Hayward Sleeps Raw
- sheila on “For I am of the seed of the WELCH WOMAN and speak the truth from my heart.” — Christopher Smart
- P Nickel on “The realization of ignorance is the first act of knowing.” — Jean Toomer
- Melissa Sutherland on “For I am of the seed of the WELCH WOMAN and speak the truth from my heart.” — Christopher Smart
- Bryce on The Books: “Nine Stories”- ‘The Laughing Man’ (J.D. Salinger)
-
Tag Archives: Mating
Crossing the Kalahari
I’ve written about Norman Rush’s book Mating extensively. I will try not to repeat myself, and I’ll just link to this post and call it a day, if you’re interested to catch up. That pretty much covers my now decades-long … Continue reading
Book Meme: Pick One
Hard to pick one answer for each. Got this from Ted. One book youâre currently reading: I am only reading one. I cannot read fiction right now. I can barely read, if you want to know the truth, but I … Continue reading
Posted in Books
Tagged Charlotte Bronte, Crime and Punishment, Evelyn Waugh, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Geek Love, Harriet the Spy, Helter Skelter, Jane Eyre, Katherine Dunn, Leo Tolstoy, Louise Fitzhugh, Mating, Norman Rush, Nureyev, Scoop, Villette, Vincent Bugliosi, War and Peace, William Shakespeare
14 Comments
7 Weird Reading Facts
Got this from ricki. 1. I am very sensitive to typeface. I will NOT read a book if I find the typeface grating or unfriendly. I have bad eyes, too, so a good typeface is important. Penguin Classics USED to … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Personal
Tagged A.S. Byatt, Cormac McCarthy, Elinor Lipman, Hopeful Monsters, Jeanette Winterson, John Irving, Lives of the Saints, Lorrie Moore, Madeleine L'Engle, Margaret Atwood, Mating, Michael Chabon, Nancy Lemann, Nicholas Mosley, Norman Rush, Ring of Endless Light, Robert Kaplan, The Passion
54 Comments
Book Questions:
I got this from my good friend Ted . Naturally I had to go overboard and provide links (to my own blog), and I can never ever answer a question with only one choice. I refuse. What was the last … Continue reading
The Books: “Mortals” (Norman Rush)
Daily Book Excerpt: Adult fiction Mortals by Norman Rush Years ago, on my old blog, I wrote a post called Waiting for Norman Rush and what I have written below is an edited version of that. Mortals (Rush’s follow-up book … Continue reading
The Books: “Mating” (Norman Rush)
Daily Book Excerpt: Adult fiction Mating: A Novel by Norman Rush I don’t even know where to start. I’m scared. Someone hold me. This is one of my most important books. Definitely a desert island book. I’ve written quite a … Continue reading
Book QA
I got this from Ted! Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews? Strangely enough, I cringed from reading Harry Potter. Chalk it up to my contrarian nature. If there is a unanimous clarion … Continue reading
Posted in Books
Tagged A Tale of Two Cities, Annie Proulx, Harry Potter, Lives of the Saints, Mating, Shirley Jackson, The Shipping News
23 Comments
Ten Books I Couldn’t Live Without
1. Possession – by A.S. Byatt. Like Heather I have read this book probably 4 or 5 times – I just finished it yet again, and every time I come to it – I see different things, I relate to … Continue reading
Posted in Books
Tagged A.S. Byatt, Canada, Catch-22, Dubliners, Emily Climbs, England, Herman Melville, Hopeful Monsters, Ireland, Joseph Heller, L.M. Montgomery, Lives of the Saints, Madeleine L'Engle, Mating, Moby Dick, Nancy Lemann, Nicholas Mosley, Norman Rush, Paul Zindel, Possession, Ring of Endless Light, The Pigman
16 Comments
Fiction Meme
Which fictional character frightens you the most? Cathy from East of Eden. She haunts me. I’ve written about her multiple times – usually in other contexts (here – in a post about Leslie van Houten. And here. That one started … Continue reading

