Writing Samples
These samples are all from Book Riot, where I was a regular contributor from 2011-2020. My work also appeared on Food Riot (a now defunct sister site), The Millions, The Huffington Post, and other sites. I have also been teaching writing to high school and college students for more than 15 years.
WHY READING PANDEMIC LIT GIVES ME HOPE
I have been glued to social media in these days of self isolation. As I read through my feeds, I notice a distinct divide: those who want to dive right into books (and movies/TV/games) that feature pandemic plot lines and those that want to get as far away from that sort of thing as is possible. I fall into the first category. Pandemic lit has always been my favorite kind of reading. It’s not because I have some sort of morbid fascination with death and disease. It’s because these stories, even at their darkest moments, remind me that, as Dr. Ian Malcolm once said, “life finds a way.” I need that hope, and it just doesn’t shine through in other types of writing in quite the same way….
BOOKISH SIGNS FROM THE WOMEN’S MARCH 2018
January 20, on the one year anniversary of the first Women’s March, we assembled again. This time, the focus is on voting, with the Power to the Polls initiative. Votes matter. If we didn’t know that before, the past year has provided a number of noteworthy examples. Remember Alabama? …
25 DR. SEUSS QUOTES TO REMIND YOU TO BE GOOD AND DO GOOD
Many days we wake up and feel like there isn’t a whole lot to be inspired about. The news is filled with reasons to feel angry and hopeless. We need reminders of the good, too. Reminders that we can do good. This is an idea that Theodore Giesel, also known as Dr. Seuss, was well acquainted with—just check out his perennial favorite Oh, The Places You’ll Go! Here are 25 Dr. Seuss quotes from the man and his books to provide inspiration on those days you could use a little boost….
100 MUST READ BOOKS ABOUT REVOLUTIONS, REBELLIONS, AND UPRISINGS
There is an undeniable revolutionary vibe in the air these days. The books about revolutions that tell the stories of people who fight against oppression in many different forms. Some of these stories are based on real rebellions in real places. Others take place in locations that we can only imagine under circumstances that seem simultaneously far-fetched and a little too likely. All of these books about revolutions and uprisings can serve both as a source of inspiration and as a warning of things that are yet to come…..
The first time I ever heard of Lev Grossman’s novel The Magicians was in a comment posted on Twitter. I follow a lot of avid (even rabid) readers, and one of them had, apparently, stepped out of their comfort zone to give this book a try. She had decided to follow the crowd and read this novel that was being called “Harry Potter for grown-ups.” She was not a fan. She called it a rip-off and accused Grossman of stealing from her beloved J.K. Rowling. Her response was so strong, so passionate, that my curiosity was piqued….
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