Still Life by Louise Penny

Still Life by Louise Penny

Louise Penny didn’t publish this, her first book in the Inspector Gamache series, until she was in her forties. It was worth the wait. I like the occasional mystery, but it’s hardly my go to genre. But I haven’t been able to stop reading these books,...
Here is Real Magic by Nate Staniforth

Here is Real Magic by Nate Staniforth

I had the good fortune of seeing Nate Staniforth speak this summer at a conference in Portland. It was one of the best talks I’ve ever seen, and left me and half the theater in sobbing. Afterward, I looked over at a friend who also had tears running down his...
Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris

Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris

I’m not usually into historical fiction, but when I was invited to interview Kristina McMorris in September on the Character Test Show in September, I picked up Sold on a Monday, her novel which spent 20 weeks on the NY Times best-seller list (20 weeks is a...
How to Be Brave

How to Be Brave

I get embarrassed easily. My French isn’t very good, and so when I order my coffee at a café down the street from our flat in Bordeaux I practice in my head thirty times before the server comes. Then when I think I’ve got it down I look around wondering if I’m...
Birthday Pillow Sale

Birthday Pillow Sale

One of my office mates runs a puntastic pillow line called Throw Pillows that not only look witty and fun on your couch but also helps provide beds to kids. And she’s doing a sale for my birthday! My own birthday pillow sale?  Best birthday ever, right? Grab a...
Your 20s are for failing (15 of 29)

Your 20s are for failing (15 of 29)

What are your twenties for if not for failing? Not the lazy kind of failing, the kind where you never really tried and so defeat is easy and obvious. No, your twenties are for the kind of failing where you challenge yourself to something just at the edge of your...
15 Favorite Books of My 20s

15 Favorite Books of My 20s

I read a lot of books in my 20s, but I think I read more in my teens. By 19, I had read many of the classics, including Tale of Two Cities and Les Miserables, and also some of my all-time favorite books, like All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy. During my 20s, I...
Other Random Accomplishments of My 20s

Other Random Accomplishments of My 20s

I accomplished a lot in my 20s. I don’t know if I’ll ever top marrying Talia, becoming a father, writing my first book, and starting my first business. It was a breakthrough decade. But there are also a few other random accomplishments that didn’t...