Category Archives: nonfiction

Still, by Lauren F. Winner

Posted on February 21, 2012 by

A few weekends ago, I went up to Seattle for the Search for Meaning book festival, and brought along a copy of Lauren F. Winner’s new book, Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis. It was the perfect read for a … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Faith, nonfiction, Reading | 2 Comments

Storming Heaven’s Gate

Posted on May 16, 2011 by

No, I’m not talking about the cult. This is the title of an anthology of spiritual writings by women, what I’m reading right now before I go to sleep. In my waking and dreaming life, I am circling around this … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Faith, fiction, nonfiction, poetry | Leave a comment

In Times of Uncertainty

Posted on May 10, 2011 by

My jaw dropped when I first found the book at Monograph Bookwerks, an eclectic art + architecture bookstore in Northeast Portland. (Go there soon, some afternoon when it’s still raining out, for a hunker-down-&-read.) I sat down in the corner … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, nonfiction, Reading | 2 Comments

Unexpected Gifts: Brenda Miller’s Season of the Body

Posted on March 8, 2011 by

I often hear readers talk about the hard-to-find book they adore, but can not seem to keep on their shelf. They’re always giving it away– Here, you must read this. My high school psychology teacher’s impulsive-gift book was one about … Continue reading →

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Reading List: Chicken-Keeping

Posted on February 24, 2011 by

There’s this picture of my sister and me. We’re on the eucalyptus leaf-strewn lawn of the public library. In the background, you can see the fluffy haunches of some kid’s cat– surely the kind of pet the librarians had in … Continue reading →

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By Storylight: The Moth in Portland

Posted on February 22, 2011 by

Thursday night, The Moth came to Portland. I have to say that I didn’t know anything about it before my friends invited me to the sold-out show. The week was a busy one, and I had just enough time to … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, nonfiction, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Girl Meets God: Lauren Winner

Posted on January 27, 2011 by

On the back, the blurb from Kirkus Review reads: “Intriguing, absorbing, puzzling, surprisingly sexy, and very smart.” I don’t usually put much stock in back cover blurbs, but in this case the reviewer got me. Lauren Winner’s Girl Meets God … Continue reading →

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Showing up in my polka-dot dress

Posted on January 7, 2011 by

This Christmas I received a coffee cup with a picture of a typewriter on it. “Write your own story,” it says. A pithy little phrase, and a taunting image, since my defiant devotion to a certain green typewriter has dwindled … Continue reading →

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David Whyte’s The Three Marriages

Posted on January 6, 2011 by

I finally returned David Whyte’s The Three Marriages: Reimagining Work, Self, and Relationship. The library was pulling a quarter a day from my laundry-money stash, and seriously bruising my new year’s ego, still nicely inflated with visions of zero procrastination, … Continue reading →

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To resolve or not to resolve

Posted on January 5, 2011 by

The most depressing day of the year? It’s the third Monday in January, according to Caroline Adams Miller and Dr Michael Frisch, authors of Creating Your Best Life: The Ultimate Life List Guide: “This is when it’s thought that people give … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, nonfiction, Reading, Self-knowledge | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments