I always look forward to the Amherst League of Women Voters book sale — a whole gymnasium filled with good books for not much in a town with a lot of readers. I stocked up on my guilty pleasure, Robert B. Parker detective stories, and picked up some Lillian Jackson Braun “Cat Who” books for […]

I have heard for years about the Lilith Fair, and when I asked who Lilith was, I always heard, “Adam’s first wife,” and that was puzzling to me because I couldn’t find any reference to her in the bible. Turns out she’s not in the bible, but she’s mentioned in what is called rabbinical literature […]

I have blogged before, on numerous occasions, abour my effort to get rid of the clutter in my house. I have undertaken a mission of ‘Swedish death cleaning’ to relieve my heirs of the problem of getting rid of my clutter. So when I come upon a volume that I thought I might want to […]

Some years ago, on a car trip, my daughter and I listened to a tape of How the Irish Saved Civilization, a really superb book by Thomas Cahill, about how Christianity, and learning, and even literacy, and all the writings of Greek and Roman authors, were all confined by pagan conquests to the religious communities […]

I’m having tremendous fun with a book by a friend of mine, Laszlo Tikos, called “Gogol’s Art: A Search for Identity.” Laszlo was a professor of Russian literature at UMass for many years, and with this book he has added a whole new dimension to my appreciation for one of the world’s greatest writers. The […]

when I saw a copy of Destry Rides Again by Max Brand at a tag sale, I picked it up, thinking of the excellent movie with Henry Fonda as Tom Destry and Marlene Diectrich as Frenchy, the saloon owner who famously sings “See What the Boys in the Back Room will Have.” But as I […]

When I learned earlier this year that my Uncle Nat had cancer and his days were numbered, I went into a sort of shock. I just wasn’t ready to lose him. I still find it very hard to accept the loss. He was such an inspiration to me my entire life, it’s hard to imagine […]

Thank you, Sue Grafton, wherever you are, for many, many hours of enjoyable reading. The value of your books is partly your great talent, but it was mostly your hard work, and I want you to know it is greatly appreciated. I read your books every five years or so, and each time I appreciate […]