Tag: books
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Finally journeying to the middle of nowhere Nebraska. . .
As a lifelong reader and museum goer, literary historic sites have always had a special place in my heart. In a few days, I’ll finally hit a spot that has been on my bucket list for a long time: Red Cloud, Nebraska, home of Willa Cather. I first read Cather when I was in high…
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The present of a friend
Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve been adopting nieces and nephews and handing them books. There are some books that are always on the gift list: Fox in Socks, the Ramona books. Edward Eager. And some I pick out especially for the particular kid. I had great success last Christmas with the first Shelby…
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Birthday wish lists, then and now
Texas summers are an ideal time to go through those boxes and random places you throw stuff to get it out of the way. After all, it’s far too hot to do any outside chores. Last weekend, I went through a stack of things my mother had given me years ago in an effort to…
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Credit where it’s due
This past summer, I was asked to join a City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs task force regarding contextualizing the Confederate symbols scattered around Fair Park. We would also be discussing a memorial to Allan Brooks, victim of Dallas’ most notorious lynching. And then I went into panic mode. Like any good public historian,…
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More Like Him: Remembering Richard Peck
Six weeks ago, one of my favorite historical fiction authors for kids and teens passed away at 84. He died in the middle of a pack of famous writer deaths, but his death made me far sadder than those “Great American Authors.” I haven’t read all of Richard Peck’s novels, but the ones I have…
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My Feminist Winter, Part 1
In this age of #metoo and constant headlines regarding sexual harassment, feminism isn’t quite the dirty word it used to be. Lately, several books I’ve read have approached feminism in some very different ways–usually successfully, but one not so much. Of course, it isn’t like my reading interests have taken a turn to feminism over…
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My Year in Books
Since 2001 (holy crap–that’s 15 years!), I’ve kept a reading journal. 2001 was the year I graduated college, so it flows through that last year at Hendrix, into grad school, early working years, furlough years and now the executive director years. Most likely, I’ll never again hit the highs of 2001 (116 books), aided in…