The Perks and Pitfalls of Finite Living: Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal

This past weekend, John and I went camping to celebrate our four-month anniversary. When you’ve only been married four months, such milestones carry significance. A new record every day! Despite my best efforts, though, he still doesn’t appreciate when I start conversations by asking him about his feelings towards death. I suppose I’ll have to

More on Death: Annie Dillard’s The Living

When I first started blogging about books in response to the Mount To Be Read (TBR) Reading Challenge, I wrote about how the Bhutanese are asked to consider the realities of death several times a day, and how this might actually make them happier. After a long hiatus, I’m back to the subject of mortality.

Reading the Vulnerable: Mary Gaitskill’s Because They Wanted To

Recently, at least three different acquaintances, all of them intellectual, have casually uttered the following line: “I don’t read dark [depressing/sad/downer] stuff.” And though I respect the speakers, my first reaction – inwardly, of course, damn that southern politeness – was “That’s irresponsible and ridiculous.” Once they were gone, I shared my more eloquent side

Fighting the Silence: Epistles, Violence, and The World We Used to Live In

The reading challenge continues. By the time I finish these two doozies, I’ll be 10 books closer to the summit of my ‘to be read’ mountain. This might not sound like a lot, but it’s a sixth of my total goal. The year is a quarter of the way over, so I’ve got some catching up