Tag Archives: literature

Her House of Mirth.

Posted on November 26, 2022 by polloplayer

We have a thing for author pilgrimages. We tromped to Asheville, N.C. to visit Thomas Wolfe’s home (so central to his masterpiece Look Homeward, Angel); to Key West to visit Ernest Hemingway’s home and his six-toed cats (we also followed … Continue reading →

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2019 Reading Recap: The Top Ten, Part One

Posted on March 14, 2020 by polloplayer

Welp, everyone, no more “I don’t have time to read” excuses. Once you’re done hoarding toilet paper and you’ve worked out that new dance step called “The Social Distance” you will definitely have time to sit down and read. And … Continue reading →

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2019 Reading Recap: Series-ously; The Aubrey-Maturin novels

Posted on January 11, 2020 by polloplayer

Maybe I just have commitment issues. I tend to steer away from series in my reading. They go on and on, they loom over one’s reading like the house guest who never leaves. One and done is more my style. … Continue reading →

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Picture books.

Posted on June 29, 2019 by polloplayer

Reading is something I used to do.  That is, before life was recently upended in May and June. Five books a month is my usual standard, but I’ll be lucky if I finish one this month. No time to read … Continue reading →

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2018 Reading Re-cap: The Best of the Rest, Part II

Posted on February 23, 2019 by polloplayer

I have these recurring moments of panic when I realize that “too many books, too little time” is not just a bumper sticker quote but a real conundrum. I will never read everything I should, let alone everything I want. … Continue reading →

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Paying respects.

Posted on July 7, 2018 by polloplayer

I haven’t read every word Ernest Hemingway wrote, but I’ve read enough to know that he was the real deal. A king among knaves, on the page at least. In my flippant teens and twenties, I fatuously waved him aside … Continue reading →

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A Chicken in Every Plot.

Posted on October 7, 2017 by polloplayer

Okay, so I didn’t get the cover story. That honor went to “Raising Meat Birds”, with an arresting photo of a turkey whose neck wattle gives mine a run for its money. Fair enough. But if you go to page … Continue reading →

Posted in All Things Poultry | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Book Concierge: what to read before you go to Italy

Posted on February 6, 2016 by polloplayer

Two of my favorite things: travel and books. So there’s nothing better than a book set in a place to which I plan to travel. As soon as I learned we were headed to Italy last fall, I started building … Continue reading →

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Shelf Life: Living in a Made-Up World

Posted on January 30, 2016 by polloplayer

Parents, take those books away from your children NOW! Else they might end up like me, fully convinced that Atticus Finch and Holly Golightly and Hepzibah Pyncheon are the real deal, and wondering why everyone else seems so one-dimensional. Stick … Continue reading →

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Shelf Life: Top 5 Non-Fiction Reads

Posted on January 23, 2016 by polloplayer

The five requirements of a Top Five book: Take me away, anywhere, but do it convincingly. Authenticity. Make me believe in you and your story. It’s nice if you can make me laugh, and, barring that, make me cry. What? … Continue reading →

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