How do we end up who we are? Is it culture? Is it genetics? Is it both? As this site’s tagline threatens, today I will be intersecting life and literature. “Dual Inheritance Theory (DIT), also known as gene-culture coevolution, was developed in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s to explain how human behavior is aContinue reading “A Dual Inheritance by Joanna Hershon”
Tag Archives: Fiction
The Half Brother by Lars Saabye Christensen
Boxing. The noble art of self-defense. In an effort to be less defenseless and partly because my university required physical education to graduate, I took years of boxing and kickboxing in college. My training wasn’t quite as effective as one would hope, as I still feel too ridiculous for anyone aside from my trainer to watch me.Continue reading “The Half Brother by Lars Saabye Christensen”
Godforsaken Idaho by Shawn Vestal
It is possible that Dorothy Parker once said ‘The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity’. Dorothy Parker was a wise woman. She also said, rather correctly, ‘I like to have a martini, two at the very most. After three I’m under the table, after four I’m under my host.’ Indeed.Continue reading “Godforsaken Idaho by Shawn Vestal”
James Dickey’s Guide to Wilderness Survival
Subtitle: Deliverance by James Dickey I have learned a few life lessons worth remembering. The first: if you are the size of Kristen Chenoweth, rugby is not a sport you should play – find another calling. The second: live someplace warm – where it’s not 19F in April. The third: when dating someone, surreptitiously checkContinue reading “James Dickey’s Guide to Wilderness Survival”
(B)4: A Top Ten List
(B)4. (B)est (B)ooks (B)efore (B)logging (as hosted by The Broke and The Bookish). Which is, of course, 95% of all the books I’ve read because this blog is still in its infancy. To give you a rough idea of what this list might look like if I were being absolutely honest: Jane Eyre, The Painted Veil, EmpireContinue reading “(B)4: A Top Ten List”
The House of Velvet and Glass by Katherine Howe
Following her solid debut of “The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane”, author Katherine Howe took a three year break before releasing her sophomore novel “The House of Velvet and Glass”. The book was absolutely worth the wait. “The House of Velvet and Glass” is the story of the fates of the Allston family and thoseContinue reading “The House of Velvet and Glass by Katherine Howe”
Rainshadow Road by Lisa Kleypas
Lucy is a sweet, successful glass artist living with her seemingly wonderful boyfriend in Friday Harbor (in the San Juan Islands – this book will seriously make you want to visit). She has grown up in the shadow of her once sick, now healthy sister Alice. Alice has never been afraid to take anything sheContinue reading “Rainshadow Road by Lisa Kleypas”
Delicacy by David Foenkinos: a lesson in perfect first date drinks
Natalie and Francois fall deeply in love over a quick drink of apricot juice (the perfect first lunch date drink) following a chance sidewalk encounter. Their love for each other is profound, the kind that transcends time and makes marriage look simple and blissful. Abruptly, their love ends just as suddenly when Francois dies afterContinue reading “Delicacy by David Foenkinos: a lesson in perfect first date drinks”
The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey
Margot Livesey‘s “The Flight of Gemma Hardy” is a modern homage to one of my favorite novels, Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. Icelandic born Gemma first loses her mother, then her father, before being taken to Scotland by her doting uncle. Jane’s daunting Lowood School becomes Gemma’s Claypoole. Only Claypoole closes early and a young, brightContinue reading “The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey”
flannel and folklore 