"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter." —Mark Twain
“I spend the months following my grandfather’s death cycling through a purgatory of beige waiting rooms and anonymous offices, analyzed and interviewed, talked about just out of earshot, nodding when spoken to, repeating myself, the object of a thousand pitying glances and knitted brows. My parents treated me like a breakable heirloom, afraid to fight […]
“Now, as Ross runs up the engines, I remove the safety pin from the gear lever. I watch Ross anxiously. I am pathetically eager to perform my co-pilot’s duties quickly and efficiently. As he shoves the throttles forward and we start down the runway, I place my hand ready on the gear lever. I feel […]
“The Drowned Cities hadn’t always been broken. People broke it. First they called people traitors and said they didn’t belong. Said these people were good and those people were evil, and it kept going, because people always responded, and pretty soon the place was a roaring hell because no one took responsibility for what they […]
Arizona: Tucson Unified School District is still in damage control mode, denying that it banned any books. But the story’s out of the box … unlike the books TUSD rounded up and put in boxes labeled “banned books.” Banned books, cancelled classes, fired teachers — when anti-intellectuals who hold learning and scholarship in contempt take […]
Home again, winding down from the elevated level of tension that comes with staying alert while driving long distances and dealing with traffic. How much distance? About 2,500 miles. How much traffic? Be glad you don’t live or work in Los Angeles. Yes, we were there, and yes, it’s that bad. It’s that bad in […]
You Can’t Read That! is a periodic post featuring banned book reviews and news roundups. Arizona: Here’s a good summary of the prejudices and fears behind Arizona’s ethnic studies ban and the removal of certain books from Tucson high school classes. Elsewhere: “I know up on top you are seeing great sights, but down here […]
“I dreamt about Jews every night for years and years. Fortunately I have never met one….” — Umberto Eco, The Prague Cemetery Red Plenty by Francis Spufford Not exactly a historical novel, more a novelized approach to writing history. The distinction is a real one. The history in question is that of the Soviet Union […]
When I read The Hunger Games last year, one game contestant from the first book stood out from the others: Rue, the 12-year-old from one of Panem’s agricultural districts. Katniss, who volunteers for the games to protect her own 12-year-old sister, forms an alliance with Rue, even though they both know that if it comes […]