Writing I admire

22.  From the weekly podcast, On the Media, this audio interview profile of Norman Lear was originally broadcast in 2013 (I think).  Titled Celebrating Norman Lear was re-broadcast on December 13, 2023. It seems crazy to say this, but they don't make them like Norman Lear anymore.  A real mensch and honest to the bone.  

21.  In my email today, from The Atlantic, I read this archived article from May 23, 2019.   There Are Two Types of Airport People:  Some travelers love being late by Amanda Mull.  This attracted my attention because I am the kind of airport person who loves being early.  If I am traveling with a friend I'll always say to them, "I'll meet you at the airport."  I suppose this is usually the way people typically travel, but my reasons are specific.  I don't want to be late.  Recently, I air-traveled with a friend who was coming from one direction and I from the other.  So it was obvious that we would arrive at the airport separately.  I was my typical early; through security quickly and with plenty of time to stop for breakfast.  I did all of this and then walked to the gate with a coffee in hand to read and wait for my friend.   Time passed.  There had been a gate change.  I texted my friend about the gate change, mo...

20.  Well, apparently, a lot of people, believe it or not, including readers. Who Cares About Literary Prizes?  by Alexander Marshal, Laura B. McGrath, & J.D. Porter, published by Public Books, 9-3-2019.  I became aware of this essay while listening to the podcast On The Media with Brooke Gladstone (one of our very best journalists) interviewing Alexander Marshal. I am an easy target for books that win literary prizes.  So, when this came up on my podcast feed, I was all ears.  Even though I am a slow reader, because of this I want to read what others have found award worthy.  I only have so much time. As an ordinary individual without much of a Fine Arts background to speak of, I have always wanted to write something that could be published.  Even though I realize that I am probably on a useless quest, I am intrigued by the writing that others find admirable and award winning.  Turns out, just like this blog, award winning writing is quite ...

19.  An animated op-doc from the New York Times, December 17, 2023: As Frogs Disappear Worldwide, 'There Is No Way to Stop That Killer ' by Volker Schlecht, Alexander Lahl and Max Monch. Academy Award caliber.  Profoundly discouraging, but excellent!  

18.   Finding Light in Winter by Mary Pipher, published in the New York Times, December 11, 2023.  The thing I find difficult about winter is not the cold, not the snow, not the leafless trees, not all of the heavy, clumsy clothing necessary for going outdoors.  The thing I find difficult is the low, gray light.  I live in a part of the country that experiences particularly gray winters.  Day in, day out.  The grayness often comes as early as October, and does not let up until mid to late February when the days grow noticeably longer - making February one of my favorite months.  The reason for this grayness is almost entirely geographical, but I would never trade the geographical feature that brings all of the low gray.  Nor would I ever move to a warm, sunny location; those parts of the country where the inhabitants proudly announce that they hate snow.   So when I read this op-ed by Mary Pipher I looked at this morning's gray sky and felt...

17.   We All Love 'Anne of Green Gables.'  What About 'Emily of New Moon'?   by Elisabeth Egan, published in the New York Times, November 15, 2023. I admit to only having seen two or three versions of Anne of Green Gables in film format, and have never actually read  Anne of Green Gables.   But if I had read only Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery, I would have had no idea about the real Lucy Maud Montgomery .  According to this piece by Elisabeth Egan, L.M. Montgomery's favorite of her own books, and the more real story, was Emily of New Moon .  This is the first in a series of Emily of New Moon books by L.M. Montgomery. This journalistic essay brings to the reader's attention something that would otherwise not be thought of.  Apparently, others agree.  The essay attracted over 230 comments in the NYT - some of which the author responds to.   This year Emily of New Moon is 100 years old.   Am I going to read it?...

16.   A Kingdom of Little Animals by Laura J. Synder, June 1, 2023 and published in The American Scholar 's Summer 2023 edition. Conor Friedersdorf selected this essay for his on-line Recommended Reading column on Sunday, June 11, 2023. Antoni van Leeuwenhoeks discovery of microorganisms made possible the revolutionary advances in biology and medicine that continue to this age. This long form essay begins with:  "One night in 1677, a grizzled man in a wrinkled linen nightshirt rushed from his bemused wife’s bed with a candle in hand to examine the “remains of conjugal coitus, immediately after ejaculation before six beats of the pulse.”"  The man is Antoni van Leeuwenhoeks and the essay traces this craftsman's interest in and discovery of "little animals", as he called them.  It ends with, amongst other things, the beneficial use of fecal transplant for the treatment of the highly infectious  Clostridium difficile. In this essay we also learn that Galileo...