I read David Szalay’s All That Man Is and decided to book a day trip to Dresden from Prague, where I’d been staying for five days. It was a spur of the moment decision. But this is what my books do to me. In any case, the trip proved worthwhile. (Pssst…have you ever taken…
I was listening to The New Yorker Fiction Podcast with Deborah Treisman, and in that episode, “Miriam Toews reads Raymond Carver.” There’s something spellbinding about Carver’s “Elephant,” a story about family: the guilt and responsibility that weighs the narrator as he cares for his mother, ex-wife, daughter, and brother. Listening to Toews read and discuss…
This month, to honor National Literacy Month’s adherence to reading and writing skills, I’m pulling some books off my shelf for recommendations and writing about my experiences reading those books. I started with poetry. Now, let’s explore fiction. The kind that will disturb and unsettle you. This list is for readers who are unafraid to…
September is National Literacy Month, which raises awareness of the importance of reading and writing skills. As I’ve expressed in previous posts, books are pivotal to my life’s journey. So in celebration of National Literacy Month’s emphasis on reading and writing, I will be providing my thoughts on several books I’ve read. The first list…
I packed a small bag and a tote when I traveled to Prague, Czech Republic. In addition to my Kindle, I carried a paperback—I try to include a paperback on my trips. It was a novel I’d read 10 years ago, but I had started my Reading Prague Challenge, where I read four books from Prague…
I had a reading affair in Old Town Prague with The Unbearable Lightness of Being. We spent some time together in my hotel room, the hotel library, a restaurant, and in the middle of the crowded Old Town Square. I didn’t expect a second read of the novel (ten years later) to take such a…
If reading is a form of escape, then travel is a way to enhance your imagination and deepen your experiences with the world. I spent a serene day walking into a world that could be a novel. Malá Strana Prague is an area also known as Lesser Town, or Little Side. Lesser Town was once…
Whenever you hear about Franz Kafka, the esteemed writer from Prague, the book you will hear mentioned is often The Metamorphosis. It is a book that bridges generations. I was recently in Prague, when a teenager in our tour group praised this book so highly. She and I—and our semi-retired tour guide—were able to get…
You may think of reading as a luxury, that it takes up the time your busy life cannot sustain. How about thinking of reading this way: it is a way to calm the nervous system and provide restoration. Reading is the medicine you need for the many challenges life tosses your way. An article published on…
If we look closely, will we find that some material things we fight so hard to keep, are just garbage? In Love and Garbage, the second book of our August Reading Challenge, our protagonist, a writer and street-sweeper, wrestles with similar thoughts daily. During the Reading Europe Challenge, we are Reading Prague in August. Join…