Favorite AuthorsWhen I was a child, I would go to the library on my bike with a backpack full of already-consumed books, return them, and get another full backpack full of to-be-read books. Sometimes I’d go through a series, reading every single one as they were available at the library. Other times I went through
It’s been a long time since I’ve read a young adult novel (other than Harry Potter, which doesn’t count), so when I picked up Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women this week, I was at first taken aback by the rosy, generic moral lessons within it. As I began, I wasn’t sure I was going to
I’ve been reading The Complete Tales and Poems of Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne to my infant son. I can’t determine what he thinks of them — I read while he kicks and rolls around the floor — but I truly enjoy reading them. The Complete Tales includes the story books, Winnie-the-Pooh and The House on
What I Learned from the CIA As I mentioned when I read Michael Ruhlman’s The Elements of Cooking, I’ve also been reading one of his other books about food, The Making of a Chef. This book is Ruhlman’s behind-the-scenes look at what a “culinary education” entails, particularly what it takes to earn a certificate or
Real Politics Recently, I’ve been watching The West Wing, which aired on NBC from 1999 to 2006. We’re currently watching season 5 of 7. This television show follows the eight White House years of Democratic President Jed Bartlet and his staff. Of course, being a television drama, President Bartlet has an incredibly interesting presidency (the
The Chef’s Craft in Every Kitchen? I have mixed feelings about Michael Ruhlman’s The Elements of Cooking: Translating the Chef’s Craft for Every Kitchen. The Elements of Cooking is one-part opinionated essays about cooking (pages 1-50) and one-part alphabetic encyclopedia of opinionated “essential” elements to cooking. There are things I liked about both parts and
At my mother’s suggestion, I listened to the abridged version (144 minutes) of The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley and William D. Danko (published 1998) rather than the 18-hour version. In some ways, it still was too long. You get the main idea from the beginning. Since, like most people, I wouldn’t mind being
John Steinbeck’s East of Eden has been banned before. I’m not surprised. It deals with attempted fratricide, prostitution, and murder. One character, Cathy, is described as a monster. But as I read it and recognized the obvious references and echoes of Genesis, I was overcome and enlightened. Combining the plot with the incredibly well-written descriptions
My writing teachers have always instructed to “show not tell.” I didn’t understand it, really, until I began to read John Steinbeck’s East of Eden last month. I thought “showing” meant describing the character in a context: hair color, quirks, and personality traits are mentioned as the story unfolds. Here’s a silly example I just
My mother sent my son a book of Robert Louis Stevenson’s poetry for Christmas (he was three months old at the time). At first I wasn’t sure what to do with it: surely I don’t sit down and read him poetry before bed? That’s what picture books are for. But then I pulled it out
In reading Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson, I’ve been intrigued by Einstein’s genius. Why is it we equate “Einstein” with “genius”? What made him so smart? It seems clear to me that, as Isaacson opines in his conclusion, Einstein’s genius was in his mind and not necessarily his brain. I am not
I’m going to read about the presidents. The challenge is one without a time limit, and I’m planning on reading one or two books a year. See the tag for all U.S. Presidents books for all related reviews as well. Any links on Rebecca Reads are the book titles. Any title in bold has been read
Page [tcb_pagination_current_page] of [tcb_pagination_total_pages]