I have a book review up on KQED on Isadora by Amelia Gray. It’s about Isadora Duncan. Excerpt: Fun fact: Isadora Duncan and Jack London were contemporaries. Both were born in San Francisco, in 1877 and 1876, respectively. Both experienced…
I have an article in the Smithsonian on how How Beatrix Potter Invented Character Merchandising. Excerpt: Beatrix Potter is known for her gentle children’s books and beautiful illustrations. But the sweet stories of Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle-Duck and others helped…
I really enjoyed Hourglass by Dani Shapiro. Check out my review on KQED. Excerpt: My 15th wedding anniversary is in June. It seems impossible that my husband and I have been together for that long. The first 10 years of…
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?