Greg McKeown’s “Effortless”: Strategies to Bring Out the Best in Yourself and Others
If you know what it’s like to get a word stuck in your head, you’ll know what I meant when I say […]
A New Translation of a Swedish Classic: Laura Fitinghoff’s “The Children from Frostmo Mountain”
Earlier this year, I was delighted to receive a copy of Laura Lugnet’s translation of a Swedish children’s literature classic, “The Children […]
Ralph Moody’s “Little Britches”: Work and Play in the American West
Just as viruses and bad ideas spread between people, so manners, good living, and, best of all, good books can spread. Through […]
Bee Wilson’s “First Bite”: Rethinking How We Eat and the Breastfeeding World Tour
There are certain writers whose work, no matter the topic, I will read because their perspective is perennially interesting. Such is the […]
Amy Chua’s “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother”: Is “Chinese Parenting” Really Better?
When J.D. Vance was announced as the GOP candidate for vice-president, I, like many people, was reminded of his mystifying memoir of […]
Teddy Roosevelt: “It is not the critic who counts…”
In a speech in Paris in 1910, Teddy Roosevelt said: “It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points […]
Freedom in Full
Earlier this month, in honor of the anniversary of our nation’s founding, I wrote about the meaning of freedom at Crisis Magazine. […]
Valerie Shore’s “The Compleat Woman”: Marriage, Motherhood, and Career
Perhaps one of the best kinds of friends one can ask for in life is the friend who always has books to […]
A Short List of Summer Reads for Young and Old
Summer is upon us. For those of us in the swampy South, there is a ever-present damp haze blessedly punctuated by afternoon […]
Old Stories and “the Full Rapture of a Good Book”
Little Free Libraries offer an exciting array of unexpected finds. Sometimes they are a cause for concern, but sometimes the books found […]