Monday, May 21, 2018

             America's Favorite Novel is...?

"So many books, so little time." >>>Frank Zappa


Could you choose one, just one, favorite book? Would it be a favorite story from childhood? College reading list? A novel that your book group discussed (and kept you up all night reading?) 

I'll be thinking of the best books of my life as I watch PBS' The Great American Read, Tuesday, May 22. (Check your local listing for time) Viewers can expect to see authors and passionate readers talk about their own favorite books. 

The list of 100 novels selected for the vote is sure to get a lively discussion started. Eyebrows will be raised at some of the choices and English teachers may throw out a few literary bon mots as  PBS voters discover a reading list with novels as diverse as A Tree Grows in Brooklyn or Fifty Shades of Grey. There are serious novels - 1984, Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Book Thief. There are classics - The Grapes of Wrath, The Sun Also Rises and Jane Eyre. I was happy to see children's fiction also represented - Charlotte's Web, Where The Red Fern Grows and Anne of Green Gables

Using the list as a guide, I'll tackle a few classics this summer that I've somehow missed reading: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Carroll), Don Quixote (Cervantes), and Pride and Prejudice (Austen).

For more information, including a full list of the 100 novels, quiz  and how to vote, check out the PBS website:
http://www.pbs.org/the-great-american-read/home/

   
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New books in May:

                                           Fiction

Love and Ruin - Paula McLain
Miss Subways - David Duchovny
Old Black Magic (Spenser series) - Robert Parker/Ace Atkins
The High Tide Club - Mary Kay Andrews
By Invitation Only - Dorothea Benton Frank
Endless Beach - Jenny Colgan
To The Moon and Back - Karen Kingsbury

                                        Nonfiction

Not That Bad - Roxane Gay
Margaritaville: The Cookbook - Carlo Sernaglia & Julia Turshen
Spring - Karl Ove Knausgard
Paul Simon: The Life - Robert Hilburn
I'm Keith Hernandez - Keith Hernandez
Pops - Michael Chabon
Calypso - David Sedaris

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Monday, May 14, 2018

            Cheers to the Oxford comma

"I found a great many pieces of punctuation and typography lying around dormant when I came along - and I must say I had a good time using them." >>Tom Wolfe



It's official: shrug, dismiss, ignore punctuation at your own peril.


As reported in Time magazine, a dairy in Maine will pay its drivers a whopping $5 million "after a judge ruled that the lack of one Oxford comma in a list of tasks legally exempt from overtime pay meant their work wasn't covered by law."


So there.

If you're confused about commas, keep this definition in mind. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the Oxford comma is the "optional comma before the word and at the end of a list. The Oxford comma can be used to clarify the meaning of a sentence when the items in a list are not single words. Example: These items are available in black and white, red and yellow, and blue and green."

Looking for more information about our evolving language? Check out A World Without Whom: The Essential Guide to Language in the Buzzfeed Age by Emmy J. Favilla, a Buzzfeed copy chief. Favilla opens the debate by declaring the Oxford comma the "cilantro" of punctuation and a "bad boy." The book also tackles wide-ranging topics such as writing about sensitive matters, social media, and a list of British profanity.  


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Saturday, May 12, 2018


                      Dear Hannah

"Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world." >>Harriet Tubman

Dear Hannah, 

This weekend, as you graduate and move forward into the next stage of your life, you'll hear a lot of reminiscing from your older relatives. We'll be asking ourselves where did the years go? How did Hannah grow up so fast? A family member was recently sitting at a stop light when the thought suddenly occurred that if the baby we all gushed over is now graduating from college, how old does that make me? Because we remember when you were born, and the way you entertained us at the family reunion belting out a Britney Spears song. We remember when you won awards at school, landed your first summer job, and when you learned to drive.

 Family events - weddings, funerals and graduations, are times to gather and embrace, celebrate and reflect.

And, oh boy, hand out the advice.

That's the other feature of every graduation. Along with reminiscing, arrives boatloads of advice. Between the Hannah-as-a-little-girl stories, will be an abundance of serious life counsel. But please bear with us. It's not merely advice. It's also wishing that we could go back to our own 20s and be smarter. Tougher. To have had at least a few things figured out. That same woman at the stoplight who was struck that you're graduating, also wishes she'd known how to navigate office politics, where the supply closet was, and how to deal with difficult professional situations.

You were raised by two parents, grandparents, and an aunt who all believed in helping out. A covered dish, a card, a warm hug. In an office, those can be substituted by equally considerate gestures such as a smile, a surprise afternoon snack, an offer to stay late and help. 

Don't be afraid to ask questions but don't be afraid of following your own instincts. If you make a mistake, own up to it, figure out how to make it right, and if necessary, apologize. 

And now for the occasional landmine that is a co-worker or boss. Co-workers can be a fun, interesting, supportive part of our professional lives. They can also be frustrating, demanding and underhanded. Hopefully your generation has more awareness of bullying and harassment. When you start your new job, learn what the policies are concerning harassing behavior. Know the boundaries. Know your own boundaries. If someone bullies or harasses you in any way - document! Tell a trusted friend. Tell your HR representative. Try to never be alone with that person. Conversely, there are stories to share after work with friends accompanied by glasses of wine and laughter. I had a co-worker who chose lunch time to wander into the lounge area to floss her teeth as a group of us settled in to eat. I wasn't sure whether to laugh in disgust or go eat in my office. After the assistant director recovered from her own shock, she politely asked the staff person to floss in the bathroom. The woman left the lounge and as far as I know, never flossed outside of a bathroom again. 

Keep a tidy office! It doesn't have to be sterile, but occasionally stand at the door and try to see your office as a co-worker or visitor would. Does the office look like a creative diligent person works there or resemble a room from A & E's Hoarders series?  

Keep your social media tidy. To repeat, it doesn't have to be sterile, but occasionally stand back and read your posts as a co-worker or visitor would. Does your social media sound like a creative diligent person?

Be kind.

Hold on to your grace and belief in humanity. An easy and fun way to hold on is to read a picture book. You'll have an enjoyable flashback of your mom reading to you while escaping into another world. Pick up a book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Eric Carle, Lois Ehlert. If you've had an especially tough day, read a Sandra Boynton book OUT LOUD and laugh along with zany hippos, cows and dogs.

We are so proud of you, Hannah. Always remember that you have your very own cheering section known as your extended family. 

Take a deep breath and start moving forward. 

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         Books for graduates (and everybody else, too!)

This is Water - David Foster Wallace


Make Good Art - Neil Gaiman


Seussisms - Dr. Seuss


She Believed She Could, So She Did - Kathy Weller


What Now? - Ann Patchett


I Wish You More & Dear Girl - Amy K. Rosenthal


In Conclusion, Don't Worry About It - Lauren Graham

Yay, You! - Sandra Boynton


Congratulations, By the Way - George Saunders 


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