There is a scene in the book To Kill A Mockingbird where Dill (who is based on Harper Lee’s buddy Truman Capote) convinces Jem and Scout to watch their father Attitcus do his thing in court. Jem, Scout, and Dill sneak up to the balcony of the courthouse so they can watch the most exciting thing that ever happened in Maycomb, but… View Post

hello. Had a talk with a potter the other day. “It never comes out the way I imagined it,” she told me. “It rarely does,” I said, cupping the mug she’d made between my hands. I love mugs without handles. Holding something with both hands close to me makes me want to have those kinds of conversations that meander and… View Post

“When you’re choosing a book to read, you want to think about yourself. Ask yourself, ‘Who am I?’ ‘What are my interests?’ These questions will help you pick a book to read.” This is a quotation from something Hadley wrote when she was in 4th grade. I think it illustrates quite well how different my oldest daughter and I are…. View Post

Here’s what I know about Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night: It’s a comedy. Shakespeare is messing around with what happens when love and power crisscross. There’s a woman named Olivia who is independent and also powerful but it sounds like these traits are hers because her dad and brother died. Also, twins are shipwrecked. I’m not sure if the twins are related… View Post

I’m in line at the grocery store, and there is a brand new baby screaming while the dad pays for his groceries. The cry is one of an infant, the one that breaks a parent’s heart, but sends the rest of us into a state of ecstasy. Brand new life! Oh, what a lovey noise that is, we all think…. View Post