‘The Flame Alphabet’: When Language Turns Toxic
In an election year, nasty rhetoric is par for the course. But what if all that toxic language was, well, actually toxic? That’s the premise of The Flame Alphabet, the new novel by Ben Marcus. When Sam, and his wife begin feeling sick, they’re not sure why. But when their teenage daughter Esther leaves the [...]
‘Tuesdays With Dorie’: A Community In The Kitchen
New Year’s resolutions have notoriously short lifetimes, but for a blogger in Pittsburgh named Laura Woodward, a promise to herself became an Internet sensation. Woodward was inspired to bake one recipe each week from Dorie Greenspan’s popular cookbook Baking From My Home To Yours. And she found plenty of company — more than 100 bakers [...]
The Little Willies: For The Wrenching ‘Good Times’
It’s been six years since The Little Willies released an eponymous debut album. The New York City band is best known as a side project of Grammy-winning singer Norah Jones, along with singer Richard Julian, guitarist Jim Campilongo, bassist Lee Alexander and drummer Dan Rieser. All accomplished musicians with their own careers, they’ve now released [...]
‘A Separation’ Of Hearts, Minds And Ideas In Iran
Over the past 30-odd years, we’ve grown used to thinking of Iran and the United States as enemies — from the Ayatollah Khomeini dubbing America “The Great Satan” to the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program, which has led President Obama to spearhead international sanctions and some of his Republican rivals to talk of bombing Iran. [...]
The State Of The Tiara: What Ever Happened To Miss America?
The most intriguing ratings news about the telecast of Saturday night’s Miss America pageant is that the ratings grew significantly as the night progressed — by a whopping 47 percent (2.8 million viewers) from the first half-hour to the last. This has led to suspicions that the pageant benefited from a big drop-off in the [...]
Writing About The Midwestern Muslim Experience
Playwright Ayad Akhtar’s debut novel, American Dervish, tells the story of Hayat Shah, a Pakistani-American boy in Milwaukee coming to terms with his religion and identity. Ahktar says that he drew from the sensibilities of Jewish writers and filmmakers like Saul Bellow, Philip Roth and Woody Allen when thinking about how to give form to [...]
OSU Coaches Budke and Serna Live On In Their Former Players
A former OSU basketball player honors her late coaches by taking to the court.
The Charmed and Charming Life of Rosamond Bernier
In 1947, Vogue magazine sent Rosamond Bernier to Paris, to cover European cultural life as it recovered after World War II. She met everyone who was anybody — Pablo Picasso befriended her, Henri Matisse wooed her, Alice B. Toklas baked for her. Bernier’s memoir Some of My Lives is a lively compendium of this moveable [...]
Rebel Memoirs: Three Confessions From The Edge
These days, memoirs are often the target of contempt. A scathing slam in New York Times Book Review this year inveighed against “oversharing”; and in the New Yorker, the memoirist was likened to “a drunken guest at a wedding… motivated by an overpowering need to be the center of attention.” If the narrative deals with [...]
You’re Only Human: 3 Books That Forgive Your Faults
How’s that New Year’s resolution going? If you’re like most people, the buzz of your resolve is gone, replaced by a guilt hangover. So much for a new year, new you! But don’t beat yourself up over your setbacks. The science of willpower shows that guilt and shame only sabotage self-control. The way to get [...]
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