I finished my work early yesterday and as it was a sunny afternoon, I walked to one of my neighborhood bookstores. The stroll was pleasant but long, so midway I stopped to rest on a stone bench near a curbing. A large, gray cat leapt up to join me and rubbed its fur against my arm,
Like the number of ice cream flavors that exist, book bloggers write for any number of reasons. Obviously, they enjoy reading but many are writers and use their blogs to develop an audience. They differ, too, in ages, ranging from retirees to frenzied mothers or students diverting the
I thought, when I retired, I could throw away my alarm clock. But as I get older, time plays a larger and larger role in my life. When I was young, my birthday or Christmas seemed slow to come around. Now I’ve hardly blown out one set of candles on the cake when it’s time to blow
I had lunch with a friend yesterday and during the course of our conversation, he observed that, “The earth has seven billion people on it and in 10 years the projection is for nine billion.” He is a man who works with numbers, so he uttered his observation with awe. As for me, th
“…atheists are among the most disliked groups in the U.S.” according to Robert Putnam and David Campbell who compiled their studies into a new book,“American Grace. Polls show that the general attitude among churchgoers is that atheists commit most crimes. The general opinion
I mentioned a book on Friday in my blog that was published in 1872 by Samuel Butler. The novel was one a philosophy teacher often referred to during my undergraduate days. For some reason, I never forgot the weird plot about treating the sick as criminals. Friday, I wanted to referen
One of my favorite short stories is Edgar Allen Poe’s,“Masque of the Red Death.” The plot centers around a medieval prince and his courtiers who retreat to a walled castle, hoping to protect themselves from a plague that is raging across the land. “Magic Mountain” andCamu
Gothic Spring just received a wonderful review from another important book critic. http://www.rebeccasreads.com/Reviews/ReviewMillerGothicSpring.html Sorry, just to good and important to be modest about
Louis H. Lapham published an article in “Harper’s” recently that cut through the current campaign rhetoric and brought a little common sense to all us hand-wringers. If we listen to political candidates or to the media, America is on its last legs. Our democracy is mortally wo