Thermo Fisher Scientific settles with family of Henrietta Lacks, whose HeLa cells uphold medicine Social justice achieved by a book! See The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. Categories: Author News New England Noir: A Brief, Idiosyncratic History of a Literary Region The region is known for its literary output: six states, a […]
The Writers Who Went Undercover to Show America Its Ugly Side “In the 1940s, a series of books tried to use the conventions of detective fiction to expose the degree of prejudice in postwar America.” A history lesson from The Atlantic: In the years during and after World War II, the battle against fascism spread
How the Essay and the Novel Inform and Influence Each Other Here’s an excerpt from Jane Smiley’s recently published collection of essays, The Questions That Matter Most: Reading, Writing, and the Exercise of Freedom (Heyday Books, 2023): Most of the essays in this book have been assignments—I am handed a topic and asked to reveal
When you go on an organized tour while on a cruise, the emphasis of what you learn depends on the interests of your tour guide. Fortunately, on our two days in Bergen, Norway (the first and last days of our vacation), we had a knowledgable guide with an interest in the arts. He introduced us
Author Focus: Amalie Skram of Norway and Denmark Read More »
6 Mid-Life Memoirs of Transformative Years “6 Life-Changing Memoirs” “What would it take for you to transform your life? Could you do it in the span of a year or two? Spurred on by loss, career changes, new hobbies — or even a global pandemic — what if your life could become something new? In
Learning How to Read Slowly Laura Sackton, a self-proclaimed fast reader, explains her reasons for learning “about how to shift some of my bookish energy toward slower, more deliberate reading” because, she writes, “there are some books that are better when read slowly.” I couldn’t agree more. And I was especially intrigued by her realization
Magda Szabó and the Cost of Censorship “The Hungarian writer’s fiction examines how silence—politically enforced or self-imposed—can warp and disfigure a life.” Charlie Lee profiles Magda Szabó, whose life under Hungary’s repressive political regime “was an experience that seeded her fascination with the cost of silence in all its forms—politically enforced, self-imposed—as well as her
‘Little Banned Library’ featuring books removed from schools opening in Houston’s Heights neighborhood Many of the current book challenges are coming out of Florida. Here’s a heartening story about a Little Banned Library erected in a Houston suburb featuring books that have been challenged in or removed from public schools. Be sure to take a
How saying “me” or “we” changes your psychological response — and the response of other people “Considering the perspectives of others has important benefits for individuals and for society. There is one easy way to do it.” Susan Gelman, the Heinz Werner Distinguished University Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan, discusses the implicit
A Veteran of the Book-Banning Wars on the Importance of Speaking Out Claudia Johnson is a nationally recognized advocate for free speech, author of Stifled Laughter: One Woman’s Story About Fighting Censorship—nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 1994—and winner of the inaugural PEN/Newman’s Own First Amendment Award for her “extraordinary efforts to restore banned literary
