Category: books
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requiem
We have been given eyes to see what the light-year worlds cannot see of themselves, Bradbury wrote. We have been given hands to touch the miraculous. We’ve been given hearts to know the incredible. Can we shrink back to bed in our funeral clothes? Andy Chaikin, who has made a life out of writing about… Read.
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Maurice Sendak
Ten years from now, or maybe as little as five, really, I may not remember where I was or what I was doing when I heard the news that Maurice Sendak had died, but I hope I’ll always be able to recall some of the happiest moments of my life, and that I could live… Read.
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improve
I’ve spent the morning and part of the afternoon making a few improvements around the house, starting with the book cases in the extra room. It used to be Tim’s room, but we’ve been using it as an office. That’s a highfalutin way of saying we put a desk in there that’s been buried under… Read.
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towering
There are five books in a teetering tower on top of my bedside book case. I think of these as the books I’m currently reading, even though I’m only really reading one of them right now: Empire of the Summer Moon. Before my birthday came along I was reading a dozen or so pages each… Read.
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skiffy
National Public Radio asked listeners to nominate their favorite fantasy and science fiction books, whittled the list down to a couple hundred, then asked listeners to vote for their top ten favorites. The aim was to discover what people considered to be the top 100 science fiction and fantasy books of all time. I’m a… Read.
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self control
After lunch at Cronies Cafe yesterday my mom asked me, as we stepped out into the street, “Did you want to visit the book store?” “Oh, heck yes!” I answered, because, you know, books! She was referring to Book Cellar, a book store on main street. I stop by every time I visit because it… Read.
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Hypothermic
I froze my ass off today. Really. I have no ass. I sat in line with My Darling B – stood, for a while, but mostly sat, so I’m defaulting to that – for five hours this morning to buy tickets for the Great Taste of the Midwest. The skies were clear, the day was… Read.
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Engulfed
David Sedaris’s laundry list of the worst ways to die, from When You Are Engulfed In Flames: My list of don’ts covered three pages and included such reminders as: never fall asleep in a Dumpster, never underestimate a bee, never drive a convertible behind a flatbed truck, never get old, never get drunk near a… Read.
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Coop once again
I realize I posted a quote from Michael Perry’s Coop just yesterday, but I can’t help bringing this one to your attention today. Consider this a forewarning. I have a feeling this book’s going to be pregnant with quotable material. Sometimes during the day when the cows were settled we kids went to the barn… Read.
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Coop
From Michael Perry’s Coop: A Family, a Farm, and the Pursuit of One Good Egg: I am open to the idea of home birth because I love my wife and this is what she wants, but I am also bucky about the idea of delivering babies old-style if it is simply in service of some… Read.
This Is Drivel 