Books Haruki Murakami is a prolific writer of magical realism – which is not generally my thing. However, that did not stop me from devouring Norwegian Wood and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles. Both were fantastic and included a myriad of musical references (Murakami owned a jazz club in Japan, so the soundtracks are an integral part of each story). I loved … More Get Lit – Best of January 2024
We are rocking out this month! Books Stephen Crane’s Maggie, A Girl of the Streets, is a collection of short stories that jumped right off the page. I love the way Crane captured characters through dialect/accent. Not all authors are able to pull this off so crisply (Twain does it well, and that’s certainly good company to … More Get Lit – Best of Decembrrr 2023
‘Tis the season for thanks. What are you grateful for? Books I read two fantastic books that are totally related, but not directly. Maryanne Wolf’s Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World probes the problems and complexities of our ever advancing technology and posits several points of hope for the future. She worries about … More Get Lit – Best of November 2023
The world is still turning and I hope all is well in yours. Books I read a great book this month. What makes it great is the action-oriented approach. The Tools by psychotherapists Phil Stutz and Barry Michels (with a website to support!) prescribes several strategies for the flounderers among us – those who want to do better and be … More Get Lit – Best of October 2023
Hello again! The weather in New York is getting crisp. I love it. It’s invigorating. Books This month I reread The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. It’s one of those works that I read every few years to remind myself of truths I know in my heart, but forgot in the course of the routine of life. The … More Get Lit – Best of September 2023
The world is going crazy. I hope you’re ending the month with grace. Books Oliver Sacks was a brilliant neurologist who wrote several books about the curious conditions of his patients. In An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales he dives into blindness, perception, and other life changing cases. One man was, “in a sense, preternaturally sensitive—but … More Get Lit – Best of August 2023
Hi! Here’s a smattering of stuff… Books: Waiting for the Barbarians is a novel by JM Coetzee (recently adapted for the screen; it looks epic). The story tells of an outpost “threatened” by the greatly feared barbarians and measures the Empire takes to ensure the barbarians are subdued. It’s a tale of colonization and conscience, violence … More Get Lit – Best of July 2023
Jeepers creepers (and crawlies and slithers)! Books I went to the Reptile Expo this month. Snakes, geckos, scorpions, spiders, and a whole lot of other creatures. It was so cool to see the magnificent diversity that exists on the planet. At the same time, I wonder about mass breeding and keeping these animals in cages with price tags(!). It doesn’t … More Get Lit – Best of June 2023
Hello again! New York is enjoying a change in weather. Hopefully you’re getting out an’ about, smelling the roses and all that. Let’s mix it up… Beats: I can’t stop listening to Elvis Presley’s last performance of Unchained Melody. In this video there are some heartbreaking moments when he stumbles over his words while joking … More Get Lit – Best of May 2023
It’s been a long time! But I’m bringing the GOODIES! Books and Beats The library was throwing out books (?!) and I tried to salvage as many as I could. One of them was Sal Mineo: A Biography. I didn’t know who this man was until I started reading about the young, puppy-eyed misfit who starred … More Get Lit – Best of April 2023
Find the balance. 