The empty space on the shelf between Moby Dick and The Hunchback of Notre Dame was waving at me. It knew I was drowning, and it was beckoning me. Yes, my “shelf of shame”, the parking lot of unread books, knew I had slogged through 300 pages and was betting against me. I tried , […]
Dagger Book Club: “The Shadow of the Wind” – A Gift that was Waiting for Me, and Now It is One of My Treasures
When I was 15 years old, J.D. Salinger introduced me to Holden Caulfield, who was to become my best friend for about three years. I have never really lost my fondness for Holden, even though I outgrew his and my adolescent anxieties years ago. The type of gift I was given between the pages of […]
Dagger Book Club: “Freedom,” An Evening with Jonathan Franzen
I mentioned in my introductory biographical paragraph that I am a Jonathan Franzen enthusiast, and that was probably an understatement. I believe he is a true wordsmith who describes his characters with a nuanced flair that makes them both unique but also immediately recognizable. In his hands, mundane quotidian conversation between characters pulsates with emotion […]
