Category: Uncategorized
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Dated Snapshots
Several months ago, the book Senior Trip by Marjorie Holmes was handed to me with the words “Read this. It’s fun–you’ll like it!” So I dutifully put in on my “to read” shelf in the bedroom, and there it sat for several months. A few weeks ago, I had run out of library books so…
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What if?
Many moons ago (11 years ago, to be exact. Good lord, how time flies!), I was an intern at the Women’s Museum. Part of my job was to process the many, many loans–it’s a non-collecting institution so every artifact on display had to come from somewhere else. I have many, many stories about that summer…
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A season of reading
Growing up, the library’s summer reading program was always a highlight of the summer. Finally, treats for always having my nose in a book! Alas, I never won any of the big prizes. Our program was all about the number of books read, not the number of pages. And I kept choosing really big books.…
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My History with Harry
Some of you will think this is the post in which this blog, a blog primarily about historical fiction, jumps the shark. After all, I’m pretty sure that even though Harry Potter is insanely popular, no one would classify his story as history. But there are many, many ways in which history and children’s literature intersect.…
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Kindred Spirits
A few weeks ago, a friend said to me: “I just got an ice cream maker. So I’m thinking about having a party where we watch Anne of Green Gables and then break into the ice cream at the same time Anne tastes ice cream for the first time. What do you think?” I’ll give…
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A space to call your own
I’ve lived in my house for just over two years now, but in a way it just became mine. You see, my roommate moved out a couple of weeks ago. So, now, only my stuff is in the house. It’s not that I had anything against her stuff, but it is awfully nice to have…
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Armchair Traveling
As soon as I heard about The Wilder Life,I knew it was a must read. And apparently everyone else knew it was a “Melissa book” because nine million people asked me if I knew about it. Well, maybe not nine million people, but a lot. Including some friends I’ve never really considered as “book friends.”…
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A new kind of historical fiction?
It’s not often that there’s a great, free, literary event in Dallas. I still think longingly of my days in Raleigh, when I was just 10 minutes away from one of the best indie bookstores in the US. I went to author events all the time–Sue Monk Kidd, Linda Sue Park (right after she won…
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Sharing the love
Some of you may be visiting the blog for the first time because of the National Council on Public History’s article, which was cross-posted on their blog. So a very special welcome to my fellow public historians! If you’re just getting started, might I recommend the following posts? The Manifesto, so to speak (or my…
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Dated? Maybe, maybe not
A little-talked about advantage to hot Texas summers? You’re not forced outside all summer long, because to do so would just be inviting heat-stroke. So parents are perfectly fine if you spend all summer in blissful air conditioning with a stack of library books. Which I always did, even though I never won the summer reading challenge…
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