Keep Moving by Maggie Smith

November 11, 2020

Keep Moving: Notes on Loss, Creativity, and Change by Pushcart Prize-winning poet Maggie Smith is the kind of book that’s difficult to review, but important to share. It might just call out to one or two people who really need this book. It’s a collection...

The Detective in the Dooryard by Timothy Cotton

July 27, 2020

When asked, I say my all-time favorite book is a collection of essays by Patricia Leimbach, A Thread of Blue Denim. Leimbach knows how to appreciate moments in life,; a trip to sell eggs, running to the store for parts for a tractor, the backyard as the setting for...

Cosy: The British Art of Comfort by Laura Weir

December 21, 2019

Today, December 21, is winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. It’s the perfect day to talk about Laura Weir’s book Cosy: The British Art of Comfort. Even before you pick up the book, you might notice that it’s spelled “Cosy”,...

Fifty Things That Aren’t My Fault by Cathy Guisewite

May 12, 2019

What better day than Mother’s Day to review Cathy Guisewite’s Fifty Things That Aren’t My Fault? The essay collection, like Guisewite’s “Cathy” cartoons, is filled with family relationships and guilt. It’s subtitled...

Reading in Bed by Brian Doyle

April 14, 2019

In between mysteries, essays are just what I need. Brian Doyle’s collection, Reading in Bed, was entertaining and interesting for someone who is a reader. I bought it for several friends who are writers as well because there is so many ideas in this book with...