OK, I will admit it: I am fascinated with the British royal family. Not nearly as much as some–I never watched the weddings, for instance, not for lack of interest, but because I really don’t have time–and I’ve never bought a magazine with a royal on the cover. After reading Spare, I’m glad of that…
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Gifts for Readers
2020 has been a reading year for me–more great books than I could possibly share. But I thought, since it’s gift-giving season, I’d share six of the books that have really stuck with me from my reading this year. How To Walk Away (Katherine Center) is a gorgeous, hope-filled, uplifting story that follows a woman…
Read MoreIn Which Writing and Reading Makes Me Appreciate My Marriage
I’ve been outlining a new novel lately–no, outlining is too glamorous a word. I’ve been brainstorming a character and a scenario to try to make them unique and interesting enough to be marketable. At the same time, I’ve been reading a lot: epic fantasy, nonfiction, women’s fiction. Reading is different now than it once was.…
Read MoreCookie Monster
The house smells like gingerbread this morning, which I suppose makes the seven hours spent in the kitchen yesterday worthwhile: 1 ½-batch of gingerbread, double batch of sugar cookies, single batches of chocolate cutouts and peanut butter ball filling…three loaves of bread…and a chicken and rice casserole. We were cookie monsters yesterday. Nicholas spent a…
Read MoreI have a new hero
I have a new hero: John Lithgow. He is an inspiration to a creative jack-of-all-trades. Until recently, I knew John Lithgow for two things: Third Rock from the Sun and Harry and the Hendersons. But a while back, we discovered “The Remarkable Farkle McBride,” which is a truly great children’s book—a tour of the orchestra…
Read MoreRethinking A Classic
Right now, Alex and I are reading Little House on the Prairie. I haven’t read it since I was a kid myself, and I’m surprised by the depth in it. They are children’s books—yet Laura Ingalls Wilder didn’t just write down her memories for children’s entertainment. Little House on the Prairie is a lesson in…
Read MoreAlex, meet Dr. Seuss
Lately, I’ve developed a new appreciation for “Green Eggs and Ham.” Have you ever done something so many times that you end up having a physical reaction to it? As if somewhere deep in your chest, your body has actually dug its heels into the ground and said, “I will not read it, Sam I…
Read MoreWho loves to read?
This morning, Alex is watching “Bug’s Life,” and I’m so tired from my sore throat/cold that I can’t summon the energy to clean the bathrooms or do the dishes…so I decided to do some blog visits. I found an interesting article at Scribbit about reading to kids. Alex and I recently started reading “Little House…
Read MoreThe Memory Keeper’s Daughter
At the National Down Syndrome Congress convention in Kansas City at the beginning of August, we had the opportunity to hear Kim Edwards speak about and read from her book, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter. Afterward, she signed books, and we bought a copy and had her inscribe it to Julianna. Christian read the book the…
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Kathleen M. Basi 