Tag Archives: Shirley Jackson

“I have written myself into the house.” — Shirley Jackson, during her 1962 breakdown

“When I first used to write stories and hide them away in my desk, I used to think that no one had ever been so lonely as I was and I used to write about people all alone…I thought I … Continue reading

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For International Women’s Day: Ladies I Love

These women inspire, entertain, challenge, comfort, provoke, or were “there” in my formative years as an inspiration. The list is huge. Below the jump.

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2020 Movie Recommendations

I’m probably missing some. And there are still a couple of foreign films I haven’t seen. The Assistant (2020; d. Kitty Green)- It’s so so good, and so “of our moment” it’s almost eerie. But it’s the WAY that Kitty … Continue reading

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2020 Books Read

What a year, huh. What a dumpster-fire year. I read a lot, mostly in the mornings, and it helped create rituals for the days, which often seemed endlessly the same, interchangeable. I read a lot of long and challenging books … Continue reading

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Year in Review: Shooting My Mouth Off in 2020, Part 1

What a year. Hard to say “the worst” because I was at least somewhat mentally stable during 2020, but this year was an assault. An assault after a couple of years of exhausting assault. It was an assault on us … Continue reading

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Review: Shirley (2020)

Josephine Decker is one of my favorite new-ish filmmakers. I have been watching her very closely. Her latest is her most ambitious: a semi-fictionalized (based on a semi-fictionalized novel) film about Shirley Jackson, who is played by Elizabeth Moss. I … Continue reading

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May 2020 Viewing Diary

Homeland, Season 1-6 I finally caught up with Homeland, binge-watching it as I endured my lonely quarantine. Binge-watching has been a comfort. I’m having a hard time absorbing new things. I’ve been re-reading books. Re-watching things. Or, succumbing to the … Continue reading

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Stuff I’ve Been Reading

— Grant, by Ron Chernow. He’s such an elegant writer, such a good storyteller. His interests as a writer have always been clear. I’ve read them all – except for this one, and his Washington biography which came out recently … Continue reading

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2017 Books Read

I got into a good rhythm with reading this year. I did a lot of re-reading, going back to books I haven’t read in 20 years or whatever. It was fun, like a reunion with an old friend. Much of … Continue reading

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Stuff I’ve Been Reading

— I have been obsessed with the meltdown going on at Gawker. As with most things at Gawker, it may only be of interest to people from the media who have been obsessed with what is going on, on a … Continue reading

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