I have spent years trying to be more productive. I have kept journals, made lists, set goals, and, more recently, filled pages of bullet journals with plans for how to use my time better. There is something hopeful in that practice, I think. The belief that if I can just organize things well enough, focusContinue reading “Quick Review–Why Four Thousand Weeks Hit Home for Me”
Tag Archives: books
The Program That Changed My Life
Around 2000, I was one of the students in what I remember as Project 2000, a program that helped open the door to graduate school for students like me. At the time, graduate school did not feel like an obvious path. It felt distant, expensive, and meant for other people. I knew I loved writing andContinue reading “The Program That Changed My Life”
Iran, the Headlines, and the People We Don’t See
Missile strikes. Sanctions. Nuclear negotiations. Drone attacks. Regional escalation. Regime change. The language is almost always strategic: deterrence, retaliation, regime stability, security interests. But if you step back and ask a simpler question — who is living inside these headlines? — the story shifts. This is where Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States becomes unexpectedly relevant. IContinue reading “Iran, the Headlines, and the People We Don’t See”
Hamnet (2025) — The Most Emotional Film I’ve Seen in Years
I don’t say this lightly: Hamnet might be the most immersive and emotional film I’ve seen in years. Not because it’s manipulative, not because it tries to wring tears out of you with dramatic speeches or swelling music—but because it does the opposite. It stays quiet. It stays human. Directed by Chloé Zhao and co-written with Maggie O’Farrell, Hamnet is a slow,Continue reading “Hamnet (2025) — The Most Emotional Film I’ve Seen in Years”
Who Gets to Speak–James by Percival Everett
Years ago—long before James existed as a book—I taught Huckleberry Finn the way I had been taught to teach it. Carefully. Respectfully. With all the right caveats. I told students it was complicated. I told them it was “of its time.” I told them Mark Twain was trying. All of that is true. None of it ever quite settledContinue reading “Who Gets to Speak–James by Percival Everett”
the shining in IMAX: when the hotel gets bigger—and stranger
Seeing The Shining in IMAX: When the Hotel Gets Bigger—and Stranger Last week I went to the movies with friends. Takes a special film to get me out of my house. But I can tell you watching The Shining in IMAX is less like revisiting a classic and more like being swallowed by it. Kubrick’s film has always beenContinue reading “the shining in IMAX: when the hotel gets bigger—and stranger”
date night with ten min plays–the cary grant of san luis–jan 25 (video)
reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers and john paul jaramillo holiday re-run
Reading Books Together: A Podcast with Deborah Brothers & John Paul Jaramillo This December we discuss two Christmas-ritual themed works: Truman Capote’s “A Christmas Memory” and E.T.A. Hoffman’s Nutcracker and the Mouse King. Deborah gives some context for the children’s lit aspects of both selections and John Paul decides we should have read Alexandre Dumas’ The Nutcracker. (He did alsoContinue reading “reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers and john paul jaramillo holiday re-run”
cultural conversations with john paul jaramillo at lincoln land community college library–wed oct 9 (video)
reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers and john paul jaramillo episode 22
Join us this month as we talk about Mat Johnson’s award-winning 2015 novel Loving Day, asatirical look at contemporary USA’s engagement with race, identity, class, and culture.And of course, one-star reviews from Goodreads. –Deborah Brothers holds a Ph.D. in English Studies and reviews books for Choice and The Lion and the Unicorn and her essays, fiction, and scholarly workContinue reading “reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers and john paul jaramillo episode 22”
reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers and john paul jaramillo episode 21
And we’re back! We skipped a month but in this episode we discuss the novel Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko. John Paul discusses his love affair with the book and his awe in the structure, and Deborah discusses cultural myth, the sacred feminine, and cultural heroes. And, of course, we discuss Goodreads’ one-star reviews. –DeborahContinue reading “reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers and john paul jaramillo episode 21”
reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers and john paul jaramillo episode 20
Join us a week late for our April discussion of our March pick of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House. We talk about confined women, Jane Austen Hallmark movies, cozy horror, and of course, John Paul’s obsession with one-star Goodreads reviews! –Deborah Brothers holds a Ph.D. in English Studies and reviews books for Choice and The LionContinue reading “reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers and john paul jaramillo episode 20”
reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers and john paul jaramillo episode 19
Join us two weeks late for our February 2024 discussion of Ray Bradbury’s 1950 classic The Martian Chronicles. We talk novel-in-stories, colonialism themes, Sci-Fi vs fantasy, and of course, John Paul’s obsession with one-star reviews! –Deborah Brothers holds a Ph.D. in English Studies and reviews books for Choice and The Lion and the Unicorn and her essays, fiction, andContinue reading “reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers and john paul jaramillo episode 19”
reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers and john paul jaramillo episode 18
It’s January and we discuss the Newbery Medal winning book The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill, a fantasy designed for Middle Grade readers. “In which we reach certain agreements about the appeal of the storyline and themes and agree to disagree about some of the writerly stylistics.” Who is this book reallyContinue reading “reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers and john paul jaramillo episode 18”
reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers and john paul jaramillo episode 17
Reading Books Together: A Podcast with Deborah Brothers & John Paul Jaramillo This December we discuss two Christmas-ritual themed works: Truman Capote’s “A Christmas Memory” and E.T.A. Hoffman’s Nutcracker and the Mouse King. Deborah gives some context for the children’s lit aspects of both selections and John Paul decides we should have read Alexandre Dumas’ The Nutcracker. (He did alsoContinue reading “reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers and john paul jaramillo episode 17”