Reading and Roaming
BOOK GROUPS I have been a participant in a book group of some sort almost forever. In my 20’s, I was part of a group that was made up of English professors and two librarians, me being one of the latter. All members were female. I can’t recall the titles we discussed, but I do …
Continue reading “Book Notes: Strout & Winspear”
PRAISE FOR FICTION You may have seen the reports that reading fiction can improve your social skills. Ann Lukits of the Wall St. Journal writes the following: “People who read a lot of fiction are known to have stronger social skills than nonfiction readers or nonreaders. A new study suggests that reading fictional works, especially …
Continue reading “Reading & Eating”
WORDS ON WEATHER Hunkering Down Last weekend our friends and family cocooned in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and New York during winter storm Jonas. We watched from afar, thanks to the Weather Channel and the Web, almost gleeful that we were here in Florida. But, like men’s sympathetic pregnancies, we hunkered down too—staying indoors, feasting on …
Continue reading “Tidy Tidbits: Tides & Titles”
North Carolina was a large source of tar, pitch and turpentine for many years and around the time of the Civil War became known as the Tar Heel State and its inhabitants Tar Heelers. Tar was used to coat the bottom of boats and a large amount was exported to England. Initially, the term …
Continue reading “On the Road: Tar Heel State”
