Seeing Addiction: History Matters
Memoirs often offer more than providing a chronological account of a life. At their best, they invite readers to reflect on their own experiences and, occasionally, encourage them to rethink … Read More
Blog
Born to Run and the Fan Devotion to Bruce Springsteen
Here in the Garden State, Bruce Springsteen is a cultural icon: a beacon to hardworking struggle, the pleasures of rock and roll, and the possibilities and frustrations of the American … Read More
Jersey Girl Nostalgia
Growing up in the 1980s, my preferred music choices ran the gamut across many genres, including pop, rock, new wave and even disco. But as a Jersey Girl, there is … Read More
Self-Respect and Hope: Reading Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen, one of the greatest rock musicians of our time, has long earned his place among the greatest songwriters in modern history. Countless articles, essays, and works of literary … Read More
The Berlin Letters, by Katherine Reay
Katherine Reay’s The Berlin Letters follows Luisa, a young CIA cryptographer, in 1989, when communist regimes are already crumbling across Europe. Breaking the hidden code contained in some letters her … Read More
Remembering Sarah Josepha Hale
March not only signals the coming of Spring (my favorite season!), but it is also Women’s History Month (which has been observed in the United States since 1987). Every woman … Read More
Writers We Meet
Many authors are thought of as introverts. Think J.D. Salinger and his reclusive nature after the huge success of The Catcher in the Rye; Emily Dickinson, who rarely left her … Read More
Shadow Ticket, by Thomas Pynchon
As your friendly neighborhood librarian, I must remind you: stack your bedside books carefully. Your nightstand is essentially a tiny public library you operate in your sleep, and if you … Read More
Inconspicuous Consumption
We are inundated daily with reports about the devastating effects climate change is wreaking on the planet. I have written about climate change books in the past, but I wanted … Read More
Bookplates Preserving History
No longer in fashion, a bookplate, or Ex Libris, used to function as proof of ownership, whether private or institutional. The phrase “Ex Libris” comes from Latin, meaning “from the … Read More