Obama's A Promised Land sold almost 890,000 copies on its first day, beating out his wife's opening day sales. But will it last? I'm just starting to read it. What a man!

From the jacket cover: Obama takes readers on a compelling journey from his earliest political aspirations to the pivotal Iowa caucus victory that demonstrated the power of grass-roots activism to the watershed night of November 4, 2008, when he was elected 44th president of the United States, becoming the first African … [Read more...] about A Promised Land

One of my absolute favorite poets. Poignant, relatable, and makes you laugh. Check out the poem "Cremation." … [Read more...] about Whale Day

When Jen asked, “What are you reading this summer, Mom?”  I hesitated before saying, “Well, I just read Janice Hadlow’s THE OTHER BENNET SISTER.”  She picked right up on that hesitation—“Didn’t you like it?”  Actually I did like it, but did I like it because I’ve read SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, EMMA and PRIDE AND PREJUDICE so many times?  Hadlow has some of Austen’s sensibility—and her treatment of Mary Bennet is quite good.  She develops Mary from the embarrassed piano player we see in P and P to … [Read more...] about The Other Bennet Sister (Plus more of Madge’s Picks)

I am so taken with this book that I just ordered one copy for each person in my immediate and extended family and am inviting them to a book discussion.
The author Maria Konnikova had never even played poker when she decided to enlist the help of one of the world’s premiere poker players, Erik Seidel, to teach her the art of the game.
A Harvard PhD in psychology, Maria had a stretch of personal bad luck, and her reflections on the role of chance in life had led to her interest in poker—in … [Read more...] about The Biggest Bluff

After seeing Hamilton in New York, I poured over the making of the musical in this gorgeous book detailing the play’s creation, from its inception to blockbuster, from Lin-Manuel Miranda lounging on a pool floaty thing while reading Ron Chernow’s tome entitled Hamilton on vacation one summer to creating a once-in-a-lifetime Broadway musical of now mythical proportions.
I mean, I’m trying to wrap my head around reading Chernow’s 700 page book and going, “Oh, yeah, I’m going to turn Hamilton … [Read more...] about Hamilton the Revolution

When you hear the term “impostor syndrome,” you probably think of a negative feeling of self-doubt—that you’re not really as intelligent, creative, or charming as people think you are. In his new book, popular psychologist and bestselling author Adam Grant shares surprising new research that feeling like an impostor can actually motivate you to work harder and smarter in order to reach your goals. 

What about searching for happiness? According to Grant, new evidence suggests the more people … [Read more...] about Think Again

Two thousand years ago, Marcus Aurelius, Stoic philosopher and Emperor of Rome, would start keeping a journal—notes to himself about learning how to live. In one entry he writes, “Whenever something happens that might cause you distress, remember to rely on this principle: this is not bad luck, but bearing it valiantly is good luck.” 

His timeless meditations on how to be a better person, newly translated and annotated in Robin Waterfield’s book, capture the universality of meeting life’s … [Read more...] about Marcus Aurelius: Meditations

Emily Dickinson’s (1830-1886) spare poems, with their dashes, singular punctuation, capitalization, and original ideas—were “trailblazers” for their time. She would confide to a friend: “There is always one thing to be grateful for—that one is one’s self & not somebody else.” Yet her poems were deemed too unconventional by the publishing community of the mid 1800’s, not to mention that she was a woman!  

Even Emily’s devoted friend and confidante Thomas Higginson, with whom she … [Read more...] about Figuring

Abolitionist and feminist Lucy Stone became the first woman from Massachusetts to earn a college degree. Just before graduation at Oberlin College in 1847, she was awarded a great honor—to write a speech for commencement. The only caveat? She had to choose a man to read it. She declined.

But she would make her voice heard as she traveled throughout the country speaking out publicly against slavery at a time when it was considered verboten for women to speak in public. Her speeches would … [Read more...] about Leaving Coy’s Hill