Month: February 2025

“You need to avoid saying things like ‘Good God, Mrs. Morris, surely you realize that you daughter doesn’t have the slightest chance of getting into Princeton.’”

A review of “Three Days in June” in 100 words by Catherine Stover

As a young bride, what book did Gail Baines receive from her mother-in-law? If you are a fan of Anne Tyler novels, you might guess something quirky and blunt, and you would be right: it’s Manners for … Read More

“The remarkable truth, however, was that it was not the pistol, but my language, the fact that I didn’t conform to his expectations, that I could read, that had so disturbed and frightened him.”

A review of “James” in 100 words by Catherine Stover

There are so many ways Percival Everett could have taken his retelling of Huckleberry Finn from Jim’s perspective. He could have focused on revenge, or the relationship between Huck and Jim, or finding justice. Instead, he focuses on James’s strengths … Read More

10 Best Books for College Teachers in 2025

I’m a skeptic – especially when it comes to advice for teachers at colleges and universities. I’ve seen scores of “best practices” rise and fall since I taught my first writing courses in the 1980s. There have been some exceptions, of course, where the authors have convinced me to reconsider … Read More