A Foul-Weather Friend: Reading Alice Thomas Ellis in the Rain
The “fair-weather friend” gets a bad rap; flighty, prone to ditching when the going gets tough. On the other hand, rare is […]
Michelle Zauner’s “Crying in H Mart”: An Illustration of the Intensive Parenting Trap
Michelle Zauner’s memoir “Crying in H Mart” is proof that most people have no business writing memoirs in their 30s. Offering a […]
Joyce Lankester Brisley’s “Milly-Molly-Mandy” Stories: Sweetness Itself and Enduring Enchantment
Anyone who has spent time in the fictional world of Millicent Margaret Amanda will recall the details of her life. Memorably nicknamed […]
The Secret to Becoming a Reading Family
Who does not aspire to have a house full of good and well-loved books? It is obvious that many people do not […]
Rumer Godden’s “The Doll’s House” and the Lesson of Beauty Found in Old Things
Rumer Godden’s imaginative stories for children evoke fairy tales. At once sumptuous and innocent, many of her stories, like The Story of […]
Folk Music to Get You Started: Roundabout’s Singsong Pennywhistle and the Okee Dokee Brothers
Singing in the home is a civilized activity to which we should all aspire. Starved of real music and prevented from ever […]
“Weird Al” Yankovic’s Children’s Book “When I Grow Up” Beats the Pants Off Average Library Fare
Combing the library stacks in the children’s section will often return drivel. Fuzzy illustrations of anthropomorphized bears who speak only in monosyllables, […]
How to Date: Some General Principles for Future Happiness
There is nothing quite as irksome as the self-satisfied dating advice of the happily married doled out to people who have yet […]
Eating Sprouts and Growing New Ideas
As affluent nations confront the proposition that eating bugs is the healthful way of the future, thinking about food can take on […]
Gilbreth and Cary’s “Cheaper By the Dozen” Which Has Nothing to Do with the Movie
What is it that makes large families so fascinating? A hundred years after the Gilbreth family welcomed their 12 children to the […]