It’s tempting to spend our upcoming UK trip staring at plaques on the sides of buildings. Little metal plaques that say “Jane Austen lived here” or “Charles Dickens wrote Oliver Twist here.” (It would be an interesting trip but the photos would be repetitive.) The amount of literary history in England is staggering to me. […]
Read MoreJanuary is the season of lists: goals to achieve, drawers to organize, trips to take, and in my case, books to read. This time of year, conversation (especially online) often turns to the books people have read in the past 12 months. It’s the perfect time to gather recommendations, get on the holds lists at […]
Read MoreSometimes we read to escape our surroundings. At other times, we read to better understand them. Lately, I’ve been drawn to the latter: writing that explores and articulates the Midwestern experience. It began in a Prairie du Chien gift shop a few weeks ago. I saw a familiar byline on an unfamiliar book cover: John Hildebrand. […]
Read More