Parenthetical

My beloved grandmother died of cancer on Nov. 16. We buried her yesterday. (Arlington National Cemetery — they keep their own schedule.) She was a mother of five, a Navy wife, a world traveler, an antiques dealer, an expert stock trader (paper only, thankyouverymuch), and an overall damn smart lady. Whenever I called, we’d talk [...]

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Thanks to our ever-beloved local independent bookstore Wellesley Books, we hosted Laini Taylor last week on her book tour. (Laini, you will remember, is the author of Daughter of Smoke and Bone, about which I kvelled with an uncharacteristic lack of criticism in June.) She signed books (and, patiently, bookmarks), chatted to a group of [...]

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Tomorrow morning I’m leaving for an epic 25-day trip: Denver for one wedding, a very long train trip through Utah and Nevada, a week WWOOFing on one farm near-ish Sacramento, a little more than a week on another farm in Sebastopol, CA, another slightly less long train trip to LA, and then wedding #2 in [...]

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1. No Brownies at Bake Sales, but Doritos May Be O.K. raised my blood pressure way more than a whole plate of brownies (mmm… brownies): Nine months after effectively banning most fund-raising food sales in city schools, a city panel will vote Wednesday on an amended regulation that will allow student groups to sell items [...]

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Here’s a chance for you, my friends and readers, to tell my kids what to read: what book do you remember most fondly from your 6th-8th grade years? Get your suggestion to me by Thursday night and I’ll probably put it on my school’s middle school summer reading list! (I still want to hear your [...]

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We were delighted to host the charming Shannon Hale a couple of weeks ago! She signed great heaping piles of books while chatting with our kids, gave a fabulous presentation to a room full of rapt middle schoolers, and even handled their slight rowdiness (born only of enthusiasm, I assure you) like a teaching pro. [...]

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The Simmons Children’s Literature Institute ended this morning. I spent the last few days hearing brilliant talks, picking apart my favorite novels, having literary discussions of Buffy over burritos, and meeting and reconnecting with lovely people. It is a rare pleasure to have such intelligent discussion with people whose obscure references I get (and vice [...]

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Tomorrow morning, I board a plane for a girls’ trip Alaska: hiking, rafting, camping, eating, and the all-important ritual viewing of Harry Potter. My friend Kate Diamond of Damned Scribbling Women explains, and more importantly, shows off her outstanding Photoshop skillz by creating the cover for Super Special #1: Kate’s Wedding. (Ignore my frumpy dress [...]

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What I didn’t want to announce when I read the first Bartimaeus (because it was still in the works) was that I read it in preparation for a school visit from its author! He was here yesterday, signing loads of books and talking to my middle schoolers about the writing process. He read to us [...]

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Via my dear friend Eric at The Oyster’s Garter: Who would win in a fight, Capt. Picard or Darth Vader? I showed my 8th graders the tree octopus page today, by way of teaching website evaluation in a way that didn’t make them start snoring and drooling on their computers. “Why would anyone make a [...]

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