The Similarity Between Reading and Baseball
Monday, February 6th, 2012 Posted in Interviews & Appreciations, Six Innings | No Comments »I have written exactly one piece of fan mail in my life, to the baseball writer, Roger Angell. I'm sorry, that tag does him a disservice; Angell is a writer, period, a great one, a crafter of sublime sentences, a ...
James Preller Interviews . . . Lewis Buzbee, Author of “Bridge of Time”
Tuesday, January 10th, 2012 Posted in Interviews & Appreciations, the writing process | 1 Comment »Lewis, I was just so impressed with your new book, BRIDGE OF TIME (Macmillan, May 2012). Congratulations. When I was reading the Advance Reader's Copy, I wished I could talk to you about it, ask questions, dig a little deeper. ...
Maurice Sendak: Best of NPR’s “Fresh Air”
Monday, January 2nd, 2012 Posted in Around the Web, Interviews & Appreciations | No Comments »I love soaking up all the "best of" lists that come out this time of year, all those recaps of the year in film, music, art, and books. It gets expensive though, because I try to load up on all ...
The Hidden Lives of Middle Schoolers
Thursday, December 15th, 2011 Posted in Along Came Spider, Interviews & Appreciations, the writing process | No Comments »I've been enjoying Linda Perlstein's wonderful book, Not Much Just Chillin': The Hidden Lives of Middle Schoolers, which you might recall from a previous post, here. I'm not really interested in conjuring up a new review for it, since most ...
Confession: I Finally Got Around to Reading “The Chocolate War” by Robert Cormier
Tuesday, December 13th, 2011 Posted in Bystander, Interviews & Appreciations, bullying | No Comments »- And indeed there will be time To wonder, "Do I dare?" and, "Do I dare?" -- I'm not a ticker by nature. You know tickers, right, those bird-watchers who have the list in their back pockets, and are all too delighted at each ...
The Picture Book Pledge
Friday, December 2nd, 2011 Posted in Around the Web, Interviews & Appreciations | 1 Comment »I discovered this great post from The Arts Room blog, where they are taking their 2nd Annual Picture Book Pledge just in time for the holidays. Please follow the link above to read about the pledge, find some book recommendations, and see ...
I’d Follow Joan Didion’s Mind Whatever It Roams
Monday, November 21st, 2011 Posted in Interviews & Appreciations, Readings, the writing process | 2 Comments »I just read Joan Didion's new book, Blue Nights. She's just an amazing writer, so precise. I'd follow her mind anywhere. And this book is particularly remarkable, not only for the content, but for the style -- the texture of the ...
James Preller Interviews . . . Carmen Deedy, author of “THE CHESHIRE CHEESE CAT”
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011 Posted in Before You Go, Interviews & Appreciations, Readings, the writing process | 4 Comments »As an author, mine was not the story of the wide-eyed boy who loved weekly trips to the library, the happy ritual of laden arms lugging home precious treasures. No, we didn't do that stuff in my family. For starters, ...
Appreciation: The Ending of “The Bad News Bears.”
Friday, September 30th, 2011 Posted in Bystander, Interviews & Appreciations, the writing process | No Comments »To be clear up front, we are talking the 1976 original with Tatum O'Neil, Walter Matthau, etc. By the way, a shout out to the names of these characters: Amanda Whurlitzer, Coach Morris Buttermaker, Ogilvie, Engelberg, Jimmy Feldman, Rudi Stein, Tanner ...
Einstein’s Eyes: Chilling Story Behind the Famous Photograph
Thursday, August 18th, 2011 Posted in Interviews & Appreciations, Readings | 1 Comment »Last night I came across a chilling story behind a famous photograph of Albert Einstein. The portrait was taken by Philippe Halsman, a photographer who had escaped Nazi Germany with Einstein's help. Meeting together in 1947, Halsman held a camera while ...