This is not an easy book to find. It was not one I knew of by reputation, even though I'm a bookseller and a nerd about the craft of writing. It was lauded in a book I read last summer, The Elements of Academic Style: Writing for the Humanities by Eric Hayot. From that book's … Continue reading Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace by Joseph L. Williams and Joseph Bizup
Tag: books
New Coaster Set
Crossword puzzle, snake mug on coaster, typewriter-shaped coaster holder, Field Notes Notebook, Leuchtterm planner, atop a green chaise. Friends from the bookstore I used to work at set aside this typewriter coaster set for me because they thought it looked like it belonged in my house. I agree.
#FridayReads, or What I’m Reading Now
#FridayReads is a relic of early Twitter when posts ended with gigantic clumps of highlighted hashtags. I find it a useful reminder to stop once a week and mark what I'm reading. I read several books at a time for different reasons and at different paces. Sometimes I'll finish a book in a day; other … Continue reading #FridayReads, or What I’m Reading Now
What I read in summer 2025
Here's how I define summer: long weekend to long weekend. Memorial Day Saturday through Labor Day Monday, 24 May 2025 through 1 September 2025. Summer is not my favorite season. I do not suffer humidity gladly, so it has always had something of a to-be-endured vibe for me. This summer in Minneapolis started with an … Continue reading What I read in summer 2025
Hungry for books
All women authors, many mysteries. I'm reading voraciously right now, perhaps as a coping mechanism for the chaotic times. Currently reading: The New York Stories of Elizabeth Hardwick with ##NYRBwomen25 Normal Rules Don't Apply, stories by Kate Atkinson Poetic Diction by Owen Barfield Lady Poetesses from Hell, a collection What are you reading, excited to … Continue reading Hungry for books
Back on my book buying BS
Oh, and another I’d forgot
I've been buying so many books I completely overlooked another recent stack. One of the delights of this one was finding a solicitation from the Famous Writers School used as a bookmark. FWS I learned about reading Decca, the letters of Jessica Mitford. It was a money making scam that took advantage of aspiring writers, … Continue reading Oh, and another I’d forgot
Book stacks
In addition to the two bulging bookcases I have of unread books, I keep buying more. I think I went for a couple weeks without buying anything. Then, back on my bs. The obvious solution? Read more.
Last Three Books Finished, 2025
Last three books I finished. Monsters by Claire Dederer was recommended by a friend. In typical fashion, I nabbed it in hardcover but waited so long to read it that it was out in paperback. Between my Too Many Book Groups, I snuck it in. It grew from a piece Dederer did for The Paris … Continue reading Last Three Books Finished, 2025
Thrones, Dominations by Dorothy L. Sayers and Jill Paton Walsh
I recently completed a re-read of Dorothy L. Sayer’s Wimsey novels and decided to continue with Thrones, Dominations, which Sayers began, referred to in her letters many times, but never completed. After her death in 1957, she left behind some handwritten notes about the book, as well as a 179-page handwritten manuscript. There was an … Continue reading Thrones, Dominations by Dorothy L. Sayers and Jill Paton Walsh
