From The Writer’s Almanac, a publication of Prairie Home Productions, presented by American Public Media: Literary and Historical Notes: It’s Christmas Eve, the setting for many works of fiction including O. Henry’s (books by this author) “Gift of the Magi,” a short story about Jim and Della, the impoverished young couple, in which each […]
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I have just taken a drastic action: I deleted all previous Notes in the Margin Weblog entries in order to install and use WordPress from now on. It was quite a nostalgic moment for me. My earliest entries were from January 2002. Yes, that’s right–almost six years ago. I’m sure that just as much has
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Hood, Ann. The Knitting Circle New York: Norton, 2007 ISBN 0-393-05901-4 Blackstone Audiobooks, narrated by Hillary Huber Highly recommended This novel is all about perspective, and about the healing power of telling our stories. When Mary Baxter’s five-year-old daughter dies suddenly of meningitis, Mary finds herself unable to read, write, go to work, or do
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Milford, Nancy. Zelda: A BiographyNew York: Harper & Row, 1970Paperback, 426 pagesISBN 0-060-91069-0 They were among the most beautiful people of the Jazz Age: the dashing young writer F. Scott Fitzgerald and his striking young bride Zelda. Fitzgerald christened the era the Jazz Age, and he made his wife its first Flapper. Zelda Sayre was
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Gilbert, Elizabeth. Eat, Pray, LoveNew York: Viking, 2006ISBN 978-07394-7418-1 Penguin Audiobooks, narrated by Elizabeth Gilbert Recommended After a very messy divorce, writer Elizabeth Gilbert found herself in a deep depression. With her publisher’s advance for the book she would write in her bank account, she set off on a year’s trip around the world in search
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Ann Hood was born in West Warwick, RI. After receiving her B.A. in English from the University of Rhode Island, she became a flight attendant for TWA. She has lived in Boston, St. Louis, and New York City, where she attended graduate school in literature at New York University. In April 2002 Hood’s two-year-old daughter,
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Kallos, Stephanie. Broken for You New York: Grove Press, 2004 ISBN 0-8021-1779-1 Blackstone Audiobooks Narrated by Anna Fields Recommended Margaret Hughes, age 75, has just learned that she has a brain tumor. Margaret lives alone in a vast mansion in the most upscale part of Seattle. Her only companions are the
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Didion, Joan. The Year of Magical ThinkingNew York: Knopf, 2005ISBN 1-4000-4314-X HighBridge Audio, narrated by Barbara Caruso Highly Recommended On the evening of December 30, 2003, Joan Didion’s husband of 40 years, John Gregory Dunne, sat down to dinner in their apartment in New York City. Didion and Dunne had just come home from visiting their
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Patchett, Ann. Truth and Beauty: A FriendshipNew York: HarperCollins, 2004ISBN 0-06-057214-0 Harper Audio, narrated by Ann Patchett Ann Patchett and Lucy Grealy both attended college at Sarah Lawrence at the same time, although they were not friends there. Ann tells us that at Sarah Lawrence everyone–students and faculty–knew Lucy as a tremendously talented poet. Everyone also knew
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