Portland author Lois Leveen is getting national buzz for her newly-released, debut novel, The Secrets of Mary Bowser .  Based on true even...

Muir looked forward to the trip and wasn't disappointed.  "I made up a package of bread, tied my notebook to my belt, and strode...

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia at A girl and her books (fka The Printed Page), who graciously hosted i...

Easy for him to say: He was independently wealthy. -- Comfort Me with Apples: More Adventures at the Table by Ruth Reichl. She was refer...

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the ...

Frank Gresham must marry money. His father has already sold off part of Gresham Park and the rest is mortgaged to the hilt. His mother...

He should have seen it coming. -- The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson. If ever there was an opening sentence with infinite possibi...

  Dear Mom, . . . What I have learned so far is that I come from a family of very strong women.  Perhaps I have some of that strength in ...

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia at A girl and her books (fka The Printed Page), who graciously hosted i...

I love Junior League cookbooks.  Who doesn't? And, having spent my childhood in Nebraska, my go to choice is Amber Waves , from the ...

A Month of Sundays is about sex. It is also about religion. When Tom Marshfield, pastor of an unidentified Midwestern church, can’t st...

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the ...

Authors tend to be readers, so it is natural for them to create characters who like to read.  It is always interesting to me to read what...

  These BabyLit books are adorable!  I have Little Master Carroll and Little Miss Brontë in front of me, but there are several more av...

Most are stopped by the start.  Identify your bamboo and start watering. -- Bamboo Farmer Wisdom: 101 Inspirational Thoughts by Greg...

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia at A girl and her books (fka The Printed Page), who graciously hosted i...

American history books do little to describe the plight of New York City during the Revolution for the simple reason that it was an enemy b...

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the ...

Uh oh. I jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon .  It is too fun to skip. I'm there as Gilion Dumas .  So far, I've created boards ...

FDR was famous for his fierce attacks on big business and "economic royalists."  But those who pose as his liberal heirs forget, ...

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia at A girl and her books (fka The Printed Page), who graciously hosted i...

100 Poems to Bestill Your Young Heart is an exuberant collection poetry by Portland writer Kenneth Woods.  Woods -- who is still in high ...