Madeleine L’Engle’s first memoir, A Circle of Quiet, is a different kind of book. The back cover of my copy calls it “Spirituality/Autobiography,” but this isn’t your typical spiritual tome or autobiography. For me, it was a subtle encouragement to write, because I can and I want to. This memoir is the first in a

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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

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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

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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

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