THE FUZZY LINE BETWEEN FICTION AND NON-FICTION
My dissertation advisor was not only a theologian and philosopher, but also an avid fly fisherman. In one of our many conversations during the years I studied with him he recommended that I read A River Runs Through It, a novel by Norman Maclean.
Read moreIT TAKES AS LONG AS IT TAKES
In Draft No. 4, John McPhee describes an important point about writing that he learned most pointedly shortly after beginning to write for The New Yorker.
Read moreSUMMER READING RECAP
At the end of May, I put together a list of books I hoped to read over the next three months.
Read moreHAPPINESS AS BY-PRODUCT RATHER THAN END
May Sarton:
… in seeking happiness above all, of course we never find it. It is a by-product and not the end of life surely.
FREEDOM TO CHEW OVER ODD IDEAS
Jane Jacobs:
I was brought up to believe that there is no virtue in conforming meekly to the dominant opinion of the moment.
THE WORST OF TIMES, THE BEST OF TIMES
Simone Weil, 1938:
You could not have wished to be born in a better time than this, when everything has been lost.