I wrote an article on seaweed foraging for NPR. Did you know most seaweed is edible? And that it’s a natural thickener? And a source of protein? And MSG? AND that seaweed isn’t even a plant, but algae? Interesting stuff,…
Over at the Superstition Review, check out my essay On Sondheim and Whether Lyrics Are Poetry. I wrote about why I don’t think Bob Dylan should have won a Nobel Prize in Literature, using Sondheim–another great storyteller through lyrics and…
I have an essay on Parent.co today! It’s about 3D printing, something I talk about a lot on here. In particular, it’s about 3D printing toys for our son Gideon. Right now, we’re printing him stocking stuffers for Christmas. Here’s…
Check out my review of Michael Chabon’s elegantly structured novel Moonglow on KQED.
I have an op-ed up on Vice! Check out How Reality TV Made Donald Trump President. A sample: We should learn from this election. It’s imperative that we look at who and what we’re elevating in the form of harmless…
I have a new book review up on KQED. This time I’m looking at The Mothers, a debut novel by Brit Bennett. Check it out here!
Did you get a chance to check out my latest article for The Atlantic? It’s about the rise of plagiarism among self-published books. Anonymous strangers are stealing other people’s books, changing them superficially, and passing them off as their own…
I’m so excited to announce my first article in The Smithsonian, The Forgotten Dust Bowl Novel That Rivaled The Grapes of Wrath. It’s about Sanora Babb, who wrote a great Dust Bowl novel called Whose Names Are Unknown the same…
Check it out! I have a book review up at KQED on The Nest By Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney. Click here to read Review: Is ‘The Nest’ Worth Its Famed Seven-Figure Advance?
Check out my most recent Mental Floss post, 11 Facts About I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Maya Angelou was such a fascinating person.
I have an article in the March/April issue of Writer’s Digest titled “When Truth Is Stranger Than (Children’s) Fiction.” Next time you’re in a bookstore, pick up a copy and check it out.
I have a new post up at Mental Floss: 8 Lovely Facts About The Secret Garden. I was surprised to learn that Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic book is basically an allegory for Christian Science. Weird. Click here to read the…