What if you found out that many of your memories were either wrong or incomplete? Maybe you would have the same disconcerted feeling that I had when I first saw the cover of this book. It’s a picture of someone diving head-first into a large body of water – but … Read More
Author: Kate Stover
“What my father wanted to cast from me wasn’t a demon: it was me.”
To say that Tara Westover’s dad demanded complete obedience to his rules and doctrine would be an understatement. When one of his children disobeyed, he assumed it could be due to one thing only: the work of the devil. He is a person most of us would dismiss … Read More
“And I know that I must go on doing this dance on hot bricks till I die.”
The brilliant novelist Virginia Woolf used this metaphor to describe her ongoing struggle with mental health in her diary on March 1, 1937, which was 42 years after her first nervous breakdown and four years before she drowned herself. What is most astonishing to me is how she was able … Read More
“The power of the mighty industrial overlords of the country had increased with giant strides, while the method of controlling them . . . remained archaic . . .”
Presidents Roosevelt and Taft – both Republicans – worked “as stewards of the public welfare” to check the power of huge corporations by supporting anti-trust legislation. These two men were both willing to argue with members of their own party about the role of government in controlling companies that abused … Read More
“This was when I was sailing close to the shore of my life. That boat capsized, thank my lucky stars…”
Poet Marjorie Saiser continues “…and since then I’ve been bobbing in the deep, splashing, coughing, water in my throat at times, learning to swim.” What would you pick for a title of a poem about that describes a wedding day and then the fact that everything changed when the “boat … Read More
“Sometimes when he was dealing with people, he felt like he was operating one of those claw machines . . . where you tried to scoop up a prize but the controls were too unwieldly…”
If you could ask one novelist to write a story about your life, who would you pick? For me, it would be Anne Tyler, whose power lies in her ability to capture both truth and humanity in profound metaphors. For example, the main character in this novel is a runner … Read More
“A better grading system would build in incentives for students to aim high, work hard, and do their best.”
Ever since I read Carol Dweck’s book Mindset five years ago, I have been looking for a new approach to grading. I wanted to find a way to give grades that supported a growth mindset. I was looking for a method of giving feedback that led directly to improvement … Read More
“A survey by Hulton in 1946 produced the stunning figure of an average of fourteen readers per copy, or over 1 million per month.”
When times are sad and difficult, what do people do for fun? According to Julie Summers’ new book Dressed for War, during WWII, many people turned to Vogue for relief. Of course, critics, such as Welsh Labour MP Jim Griffiths said that publishing luxury magazines was “pernicious and damaging” … Read More
“Let me hasten to add that I am not at all like Jane Eyre, who must have given hope to so many plain women . . .nor have I ever thought of myself as being like her.”
When I read about “the unexpected joy of repeat experiences” during difficult times, I immediately thought of the pleasure I have in rereading novels by Barbara Pym. Surely one of the ways we can cope with the stress of an international pandemic is to seek out the company of … Read More
“Born to wealth, with an inherited sense that it must be repaid with public service, he found himself increasingly repelled by those who went after money for money’s sake, or used it to buy power.”
Before Theodore Roosevelt became president at age 42, he had been a military hero, an author of 16 books, a governor of New York, and a cowboy. This wild mix of experiences and interests made him unpredictable. Was he progressive? Conservative? Sympathetic to workers? Or to the rich? He was … Read More
“There lay a man, flat on this back, his left leg turned grotesquely forward from the knee. His eyes and mouth wide open.”
On page 22 of Where the Crawdads Sing, we discover that Chase Andrews is dead. Was it an accident or a murder? While that’s the question that drives the plot, my main question was: why was this book “the” sensation of 2019? It has sold four-and-a-half million copies and has … Read More
“Silence surrounded her as she waited.”
Best Books of 2019: Five Favorites
Here are the five books I’ve recommended most frequently in 2019:
Novel: It appears that Ann Patchett’s The Dutch House is on every “Best of 2019” list. What makes it so appealing? In addition to having likable, open-hearted characters in an interesting situation — which we can expect from Patchett … Read More
“How do I help these students transform themselves?”
David Gooblar – who teaches at the University of Iowa and writes a column for the Chronicle of Higher Education – has written the book that I wish existed when I started teaching. He tells us what he has learned about college-level teaching, as one who started with the goal … Read More
“There are a few times in life when you leap up and the past that you’d been standing on falls away behind you . . .”
Ann Patchett continues “…and the future you mean to land on is not yet in place, and for a moment you’re suspended, knowing nothing and no one, not even yourself.” This is the protagonist’s description of how his life as a teenager changed when his father died. There are many … Read More