Author Focus: Annie Dillard
Annie Dillard’s Subject Was the Whole World Robert P. Baird, former member of The New Yorker’s editorial staff, reports on the life and work of Annie Dillard, who died last week.
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Literary Links: Life Stories in Literature
Who do you think you are? There are two answers We tell children that they can be whatever they want to be. But philosopher Joanna Lawson, an assistant professor at Oklahoma State University, remembers the moment her piano teacher told her that, in fact, she could not plan to attend Juilliard and become a professional
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6 Degrees of Separation
For August, we start with Maggie O’Farrell’s new release (and already a best-seller), Land. Set in 1865, Land features a man, Tomás, and his son, Liam, working on the Ordnance Survey project of mapping all of Ireland. first degree The book I read before picking up Land was The Last Murder at the End of
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Dervla McTiernan on How AI Deepfakes Are Changing the Rules of Crime Fiction
A deepfake is the worst kind of character assassination if you are innocent. A video that uses the timbre and nuance and tone of your voice, that uses your lips and cheeks and laugh lines to convey a message that is the opposite of anything you would choose for yourself is a deep violence, not
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Literary Links
The Rise of Literary Tourism “Explore the rise of literary tourism worldwide and how book lovers are traveling to iconic literary destinations.” Adam Ryan looks at the various ways that readers are incorporating literary destinations into their traveling plans. While I’ve never planned a trip explicitly around a literary destination, I try to include literary-related
Literary Links
How To Kill a Mockingbird Got Banned and Became a Pulitzer-Winning Classic “Happy anniversary, To Kill a Mockingbird! Harper Lee’s classic turns 66—explore the story behind its lasting power and timeless relevance.” In this article from July 2025, Millie Ramm celebrates the anniversary of the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird by asking, “why has this
Author Focus: L.R. Wright
Introduction During the last three weeks in June my husband and I undertook a huge road trip to attend a family wedding: 3,000 miles from the West Coast to the East Coast of the U.S., then 3,000 miles back. That trip provided lots of time to listen to audiobooks. We had enjoyed a TV series
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Literary Links
Think for Yourself “One of the most dehumanizing effects of AI is the short cuts it offers through the gaps and impasses intrinsic to the act of writing.” For those of us who write to discover what we think about a topic, Dan Chiasson, chair of the English department at Wellesley College, addresses a fundamental
6 Degrees of Separation
For July we start with a book that everyone’s talking about – Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke. According to Goodreads, in this currently popular novel “A traditional American woman, a ‘tradwife’ influencer, suddenly awakens in the brutal reality of 1855.” first degree Like Natalie Heller Mills of Yesteryear, Billy Pilgrim of Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Slaughterhouse-Five
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“The It Girl” by Ruth Ware
Surprise, surprise. When I went to enter this book on Goodreads, I discovered that I had finished the audiobook on November 1, 2023. I did not remember this book AT ALL. How could I have listened to the name April Clarke-Cliveden spoken so many times without remembering it? I could understand if I didn’t remember
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