(fifth in an occasional series on BOOKS THAT MATTER & THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEM) Lorita Foster and I met late August 2003, when she interviewed for a position in my district’s English department. It had been a chaotic summer. Our principal was out on an indefinite, health-related leave and my six-member department had been …
(fourth in an occasional series on BOOKS THAT MATTER & THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEM) Forecasters had called for up to three inches of snow and high winds the mid-February day I spoke with Abigail Greenwood. A cozy fire flickered against one wall of her virtual background, while through the windows of another, a cheerful …
(third in an occasional series on BOOKS THAT MATTER & THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEM) Leslie Stack speaks in tongues. Not like that. Like this: While listening to audiobooks, Leslie has a subconscious tendency to assume their voices, mimicking them with convincing accuracy. Once, when her two sons were boys, they drove to Washington DC …
(Second in an occasional series on BOOKS THAT MATTER AND THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEM) So what IS a book that matters? And who gets to choose? When I spoke with my friend Lorita Foster for this series, she confessed to being initially annoyed with my questions. “They’re not fair,” she said, thinking I wanted …
I’m not much for New Year’s resolutions, but I do like the idea of resets and fresh starts. In that spirit, I’m trying something a little different this year, sharing not only stories about books that matter to me, but those that matter to my reader friends, an occasional series I’m calling BOOKS THAT MATTER …
My Name was Supposed to be Elizabeth Ann 