Understanding Puerto Rico After Hurricane Maria If your whole neighborhood were to somehow blow down, say via hurricane, who would get to decide how, and if, to rebuild? You probably would like to think that you would, of course, but your insurer might have an opinion, your town board might be revamping building requirements…
Category: Books
Books on Oscar Romero: The Scandal of Redemption
Reading Up on El Salvador’s Saint You don’t have to be Catholic to be curious about who Oscar Romero was and the impact he had—especially if you happen to be embarking on a journey to El Salvador. For those looking for a quick introduction to Oscar Romero, The Scandal of Redemption: When God Liberates the…
Russian History: Anastasia for Tweens and Up
Reading Anastasia and Her Sisters by Carolyn Meyer In some ways, Anastasia Romanova is like any teenager anywhere, replete with crushes, squabbling sisters, working parents, the inability to cook, concerns about her weight. Then, of course, she is actually one of a very small set—one of the overprotected, sheltered daughters of a czar who is…
Reading Sonia Choquette’s Waking Up in Paris
A Life-Changing Escape to the City of Lights Long a fan of both Paris and intuitive/psychic Sonia Choquette (to the point where I actually attended a day-long session she gave years ago at the New York Open Center), there was never any doubt that I would make room for Waking Up in Paris in my…
Living in Paris vs. Visiting Paris
4 Books for Experiencing France for Any Length of Time Part of the joy of visiting any given destination is seeing oneself living there. But living in Paris carries its own special dream. I imagine it is like living in New York, but just a little bit better. Before I lived in New York City,…
Should You Take Joyce Maynard’s Cancer Book on Vacation?
Deciding Whether to Pack Maynard’s New Memoir, The Best of Us So many of us either have cancer, had cancer, or have a friend or a family member afflicted with same that we might be disinclined to bring along a book covering the cancer journey of someone else on our next trip. But still, this…
Seeing Salem in a Single Day
How to Make the Most of Limited Time in Witch City An extemporaneous trip to Salem, MA gives us an adventure to look forward to—quickly—but it also means that we are too late to book a hotel in Salem itself. No matter, we will make the most of the time that we do have. This…
Reading while Traveling: The Improbable Adventures of a Middle-Aged Woman
A Book for the Road by Jennifer Lawler Right at the outset of her latest book, The Improbable Adventures of a Middle-Aged Woman, author, traveler, and single parent Jennifer Lawler tells her reader that everything she has ever done made sense at the time, so right away one can’t help but like her. And if…
The Mystery in the Bayeux Tapestry
It’s Not Just about 1066 and the Battle of Hastings It having been a very long time since I learned about William the Conqueror, the Battle of Hastings, and the importance of the year 1066 to British history, it is almost as an afterthought that I go and see the Bayeux Tapestry, a long piece…
The Book of Kells: Worth a Visit?
Is the Book of Kells at Trinity College in Dublin really a bookworm’s delight? And if you’re not a bookish sort, is a visit even worthwhile?