le mot du jour

Thanks to Ross Douthat and his book list, I learned a new word today: splenetic. "Marked by bad temper, malevolence, or spite."

the moon and her mother

Watch this fun video ... the creative director is the newest (soon-to-be) member of the fam.

to read: essay about reading

An “illiterate” novelist describes her early reading experiences in this New York Times essay. It's amusing and I liked her tone. Her story reminded me of all the hours I spent reading as a child/adolescent, and made me wonder how I chose the books I did. And what would have happened if I had tried to read The Idiot as a seventh-grader.

Which of your earliest books were random or silly? (Me: Bode & Brock Theone’s Zion Chronicles.) Which were much too serious? (David Copperfield.)