Story time… it’s a long one I am nearing the end of the writing process for my first book manuscript. It is a historical fiction novel aimed at middle readers (typically defined ages 9-12, although I’ll admit that the vocabulary is rather more advanced than most 9-10-year-old children). The novel is the first in what…
Tag: Culture
Book Review: How Should One Read a Book?
“Most commonly we come to books with blurred and divided minds, asking of fiction that it shall be true, or poetry that it shall be false, of biography that it shall be flattering, of history that is shall enforce our own prejudices. If we could banish all such preconceptions when we read, that would be…
Off line – Pt. 2
What do you do when you stand in line? Can you wait patiently? Can you maintain focus on the back of your predecessor’s head? Can you keep your mind engaged without a glance at technology? What about in the nonlinear lines in which we spend our time— the doctor’s office, the DMV, the pew of…
Off line – Pt. 1
Lines are important. They provide boundaries and create structures. Boundaries are healthy. Without boundaries: I might overstep, might overwork, might overshare. Structures hold me up. With structures: I can thrive, I can rest, I can stand strong. What’s kind of funny is that when people think of “lines” they think: Level, straight, vertical, horizontal, diagonal….
Book Review: The Secret Garden
I grew up in the heyday of the 90s movies. Disney was still animating by hand, cartoons were a normal part of weekend plans and live-action movies had that specific film-processing quality that made everything feel magical and nostalgic. Such was the case for the 1993 film, The Secret Garden, which I watched with consistent…
Book Review: Until Heaven Parts Us
I have been dancing and teaching dance for the majority of my life, which means that I have met so many wonderful dancers along the way. Our paths don’t always continue to cross after they leave the dance studio where I teach, but thanks to social media, I often follow along their adventures from afar….
Just be
In general, I have a very hard time not multi-tasking and an even more difficult time fully relaxing to enjoy a moment. My body and my brain move extremely fast. I unintentionally leave most people in my dust on “leisurely” walks because my legs move swiftly. I like to squeeze a workout in to 10…
Waste not, want not
I was in the shower recently when I had a revelation. It came a moment after I quieted my spinning mind after having spent at least five minutes trying to feel how I was feeling. Was I anxious or did I have COVID or did the secondhand smoke from the previous night’s Elton John concert…
Book Review: The Woman Who Smashed Codes
I’m not entirely sure how I first knew about The Woman Who Smashed Codes, by Jason Fagone, but it’s been on a list of “books to read” on my phone for a few years. I know I received my copy after putting it on a Christmas wish list one year and was pleased to open…
Book Review: The Bluest Eye
I picked up a copy of Toni Morrison’s Nobel Prize-winning novel, The Bluest Eye sometime last year in a Barnes and Noble haul. As is typical of me, I often buy 4-5 books at a time while already immersed in 2-3 books, so the new titles get temporarily shelved. After finishing World of Wonders last…
L.M. Beatty 