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Tag Archives: From the Books
Repost: From the Books: Douglas Hofstadter on the Rubik’s Cube
A repost, first published in 2014, on the occasion of the anniversary yesterday of inventor Erno Rubik’s birth on July 13, 1944. Thank you for all the puzzling fun and intrigue, Professor Rubik! And as noted below, I *still* need … Continue reading
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From the Books: SEASONS OF A FINGER LAKES WINERY (On Geography in fiction and elsewhere)
I’m reading a book right now called Seasons of a Finger Lakes Winery, by John C. Hartsock. The book is just that: a year in the life of a single winery in New York’s Finger Lakes region, a place where … Continue reading
From the Books: WORLD OF WONDERS by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
From summer 1976 to summer 1977, my family lived in LaCrosse, Wisconsin while my father taught at the university there. That school year I was in kindergarten, while my sister was in…sixth grade, I think? My memories of LaCrosse aren’t … Continue reading
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From the Books: THE BOYS OF SUMMER, by Roger Kahn
My years with the Dodgers were 1952 and 1953, two seasons in which they lost the World Series to the Yankees. You may glory in a team triumphant, but you fall in love with a team in defeat. Losing … Continue reading
When the House had a filibuster (a Repost)
Since the filibuster is back in the news–and hopefully because it’s about to die, once and for all–I’m reminded of the passage from Barbara Tuchman’s THE PROUD TOWER, which I excerpted back in 2009. Here it is again. A number … Continue reading
On Jeff Smith, problematic people, food, and memory
Back when I was in college, I decided that I needed to start learning to cook. One of the cornerstones of that effort was to buy all the cookbooks by Jeff Smith, also known by his PBS brand name … Continue reading
From the books: THE HIGH KING
Today, a passage from one of many books that my mother required me to read in moments when my behavior wasn’t the best. Actually, though–this isn’t from one of those books, but a book downstream in the series that she … Continue reading
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From the Books: A MAN ON THE MOON (Apollo 13 at 50)
Fifty years ago today, a Saturn V rocket blasted off from Cape Kennedy Spaceport. The destination of the three-man crew–astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert–in the command module perched atop the rocket was the Fra Mauro Highlands on … Continue reading
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Farewell, Vonda N. McIntyre (From the Books)
Science fiction and fantasy author Vonda N. McIntyre has died. I feel that I’ve done McIntyre a disservice all these years. I’ve read a lot of her work, but none beyond her well-known tie-in books in the Star Trek and … Continue reading
From the Books: Ursula K. Le Guin on Tolkien
Author Ursula K. Le Guin has died. Calling Le Guin an “author” is true, but it doesn’t do her justice, and that’s coming from one who has not read nearly enough of her work. Not even close. Le Guin was … Continue reading