Kirk is over a hundred and he and Anne have been married for over 60 years!  How did they make a Hollywood marriage work that long?  There's lots to learn about not just marriage but any relationship from Kirk and Anne.  A delightful read with beautiful, moving, and heartfelt letters from both of them. … [Read more...] about Kirk and Anne

Catriona discovered running in her 30's and found joy in the movement itself.  She ran her first half marathon after training on a treadmill only.  Although she participates in marathons, she is less interested in the competitive nature of running and more in how running makes her feel, including how much more connected she feels to her surroundings as she experiences them as a runner.  There are some great parallels between running and life.  It's also an enlightening history of the sport from … [Read more...] about The Long Run

We don’t really like to talk about--DEATH. Even the word itself can suddenly cloud a conversation or cause someone to squirm. What makes death so difficult to talk about? That’s the subject of Warraich’s elucidating and provocative new book, Modern Death. Warraich writes, “The very nature of death, the mystery that surrounds it, breeds uncertainty. Uncertainty breeds fear, and contrary to general perception, never has death been as feared as it is today.” Warraich is at once doctor, scientist, … [Read more...] about Modern Death

Nabokov’s Favorite Word Is Mauve by Ben Blatt What makes a book great? Are the prize-winning authors really better writers? And what makes them better? In Ben Blatt’s book Nabokov’s Favorite Word is Mauve, he sets out to answer these questions by applying a mathematical and statistical formula for examining the classics, bestsellers, and our own writing. He analyzed thousands of texts by loading them into databases and then letting his hard drive churn through them, seeking to determine if our … [Read more...] about Nabokov’s Favorite Word Is Mauve