I don’t read cookbooks for pleasure. They are more like lawn mower repair manuals from my perspective – the words are necessary, but rarely inspiring. The exceptions to my disinterest in cookbooks are the ones about bread baking. I can imagine the texture and pull of the loaf when I read bread recipes. Today, I […]
Ravens and macaques are just the beginning. I’ve always felt there was something a bit presumptuous in assuming we humans are smarter than animals. Not to mention, self serving. Turns out, according to a recent study, ravens are giving us significant competition. In an article, Scientific American reports a raven’s ability to postpone gratification is […]
Book review Wednesday strikes on Thursday. Shaking it up, here. I haven’t read a lot of graphic novels, but I like the freshness of them. The Boy is Back, Meg Cabot’s latest foray into adult romance isn’t exactly a graphic novel, but the format is so much fun it made me laugh out loud. One of the […]
Why is writing a synopsis so hard? We all grew up doing book reports, summaries of coursework. We all had to study for exams by skimming our class notes. In sifting between the significant items we accumulated from our teachers, we identified the critical information. So why should it be so difficult to do so […]
It’s a Sign. Of something. Every week on my way home from the supermarket I drive by an unpretentious dry cleaning establishment. It offers same day service. On the side of the building there is a startling banner which proclaims: Alterations Men Women Children. It’s not so much the punctuation issue, although that probably is […]
Every book review should incorporate a fun word like Knickerbocker. A book review a day later than expected is always tastier than one which shows up at the usual time. Well, that’s my rationale, anyway. And what’s on the menu today? Joanna Shupe’s Magnate, one of the four books in her Knickerbocker Club series. I […]
Turns out joining a group can be fun! I never had much experience with the benefits of group membership as a child. The groups I was acquainted with were the unpleasant sort. The kind which incorporated mean kids and ruled the playground with an iron fist. But as an adult, I have slowly come to […]
Fortune cookies are cheerful by nature. Consider their crunch, their smooth surface, their mild sweetness. Note the way they can be snapped into neat halves in one smooth motion. More importantly, check out the incredibly upbeat messages inside. For years, every time I had a fortune cookie, I saved the little slips of paper. Now […]
I love organization books and tips. When my children were babies and I was dogpaddling in a sea of dirty laundry, I happened on an organization book by Pam Young and Peggy Jones called Sidetracked Home Executives. The sister authors recommended an index card system of chore scheduling and you know how much I love […]
Public opinion can be devastating. Remember the first time you realized someone didn’t like you? A classmate, or perhaps one of those playmates you had to get along with because your mother was friends with her mother. Maybe it was the neighbor boy across the street who always called you names while you waited for […]