Growing up, the library’s summer reading program was always a highlight of the summer. Finally, treats for always having my nose in a book! Alas, I never won any of the big prizes. Our program was all about the number of books read, not the number of pages. And I kept choosing really big books. [...]
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
A season of reading
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged John D. Fitzgerald, L. M. Montgomery on August 20, 2011 | 1 Comment »
My History with Harry
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Harry Potter, movies on July 19, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Some of you will think this is the post in which this blog, a blog primarily about historical fiction, jumps the shark. After all, I’m pretty sure that even though Harry Potter is insanely popular, no one would classify his story as history. But there are many, many ways in which history and children’s literature intersect. [...]
Kindred Spirits
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Anne of Green Gables, food, movies on July 14, 2011 | 4 Comments »
A few weeks ago, a friend said to me: “I just got an ice cream maker. So I’m thinking about having a party where we watch Anne of Green Gables and then break into the ice cream at the same time Anne tastes ice cream for the first time. What do you think?” I’ll give [...]
A space to call your own
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Beverly Cleary on July 9, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I’ve lived in my house for just over two years now, but in a way it just became mine. You see, my roommate moved out a couple of weeks ago. So, now, only my stuff is in the house. It’s not that I had anything against her stuff, but it is awfully nice to have [...]
Armchair Traveling
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House on June 15, 2011 | 1 Comment »
As soon as I heard about The Wilder Life,I knew it was a must read. And apparently everyone else knew it was a “Melissa book” because nine million people asked me if I knew about it. Well, maybe not nine million people, but a lot. Including some friends I’ve never really considered as “book friends.” [...]
A new kind of historical fiction?
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged historical fiction on June 13, 2011 | 6 Comments »
It’s not often that there’s a great, free, literary event in Dallas. I still think longingly of my days in Raleigh, when I was just 10 minutes away from one of the best indie bookstores in the US. I went to author events all the time–Sue Monk Kidd, Linda Sue Park (right after she won [...]
Sharing the love
Posted in Uncategorized on June 2, 2011 | 4 Comments »
Some of you may be visiting the blog for the first time because of the National Council on Public History’s article, which was cross-posted on their blog. So a very special welcome to my fellow public historians! If you’re just getting started, might I recommend the following posts? The Manifesto, so to speak (or my [...]
Dated? Maybe, maybe not
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Beverly Butler, disability on May 29, 2011 | 4 Comments »
A little-talked about advantage to hot Texas summers? You’re not forced outside all summer long, because to do so would just be inviting heat-stroke. So parents are perfectly fine if you spend all summer in blissful air conditioning with a stack of library books. Which I always did, even though I never won the summer reading challenge [...]
More than a malt shop
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged 1950s, Rosamund du Jardin on May 2, 2011 | 8 Comments »
“Malt shop” books usually aren’t my cup of tea. (Yes, I mixed my beverage metaphors on purpose.) Maybe it’s because I only like fluffy romances of any kind in small doses. Or maybe it’s just because I wonder about all the things they’re leaving out. One of the curses of being a historian is you [...]
Ahead of its time
Posted in Uncategorized on April 25, 2011 | 4 Comments »
One simple object can turn a house into a home. For the Ingalls family, it was the china shepardess on the manetl. For Janey Larkin, it was one blue willow plate. I don’t remember where I got the recommendation to read Blue Willow by Doris Gates, but as soon as I heard about it, I [...]
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