A History of Me, by Marlene Olin

Pandemic Dispatches Photo by Burgess Milner / Unsplash Winnowing down to essentials during a pandemic, a writer with too much time to think cleans out her closet and immediately regrets letting go of a sweater. We’ve all been there, right? When a sweater isn’t just a sweater and our most rigorous tasks can’t bring the relief we seek. Within weeks the plague had winnowed our world. We kept in touch with only our closest friends. We wore only our comfiest clothes. Life had been pared down to the essentials. But I had nervous energy to spare. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t eat. And how much CNN could you watch? So one day I decided to clean out my house. What I no longer needed, I’d either trash or give away. First I tackled the kitchen. I dusted off my cookbook shelves. Then I kept the books splotched and spattered from years of use. Tucked in the back, totally neglected, was a row of virgin reads. Not a spine was cracked or a page sullied. The Portuguese Vegetarian. The Sugar Buster. The Yeast Dilemma. Out they went! Then I opened the cabinets and assessed my supplies. Three huge serving platters, five chafing dishes, assorted warming trays and crystal candlesticks. Assorted wedding gifts had been hiding in a hutch for over forty years. A set of aperitif glasses. Shrimp forks. Tablecloths of random sizes. I got married when I was nineteen. And, of course, when you’re nineteen your ambition has no limit. The goal was to look... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'

[ World Literature Today | 2021-09-27 19:31:27 UTC ]
News tagged with: #deep breath #good measure #cookbook

Other Publishing stories related to: 'A History of Me, by Marlene Olin'


Hodder buys audio of Otele's history of Africans in Europe

Hodder has acquired audio rights in Professor Olivette Otele’s history of Africans in Europe, African Europeans. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-29 01:56:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hodder


McMaster’s memoir is heavy on history, but light on Trump

Former national security adviser avoids criticism of his former boss and undermines the credibility he is trying to assert. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-09-25 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #memoir


Dalrymple, Beaton and Lay among Cundill History Prize contenders

Books from Penguin, Bloomsbury, Wildfire, Profile Books and Head of Zeus, on subjects including the Israel-Palestine conflict from a Palestinian perspective and the "lost" decade of Oliver Cromwell's rule, have made the Cundill History Prize's 10-strong shortlist spotlighting "history that... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-22 18:41:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Inside the Washington Post newsroom: History-making moments and good gossip

Former editor Leonard Downie Jr. offers a behind-the-scenes account of his 44 years at the newspaper. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-09-18 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #behind-the-scenes account


'The end of an innocent world': An oral history of the first National Book Festival, which debuted three days before 9/11

Ahead of the 20th National Book Festival, Laura Bush, Scott Turow, Michael Beschloss and others look back at the event’s storied beginning. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-09-15 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #oral history #scott turow


Jennifer Howard’s ‘Clutter: An Untidy History’ takes Marie Kondo’s message a step further

Howard argues that decluttering is not just a personally liberating ritual, but also a moral imperative. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-09-10 05:43:11 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #jennifer howard #moral imperative


McAnulty makes history with Wainwright Prize win

Teenage author Dara McAnulty has become what is reckoned to be the youngest ever winner of a major literary award after scooping the Wainwright Prize for UK Nature Writing with Diary of a Young Naturalist (Little Toller). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-08 07:56:58 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #wainwright prize #literary award


Canongate to publish history of Johnnie Walker whisky

Canongate is to publish A Long Stride by Nicholas Morgan, a history of Johnnie Walker whisky.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-02 07:19:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publish history


Most slave rebellions are lost to history. This one, remarkably, was documented.

After an archives discovery, Marjoleine Kars tells the story of the 1763 Berbice uprising. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-08-14 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Kamala Harris, history, and a break from pandemic TV

Yesterday, shortly after Joe Biden, the Democratic candidate for president, picked Kamala Harris, the senator for California, as his running mate, Peter Doocy, a Fox News correspondent, tweeted, “But… you told me on Saturday…” That day, Doocy asked Biden—who was zipping past on a bicycle,... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-08-12 12:12:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #economic crisis #apple daily #south dakota


Headline acquires von Tunzelmann's history of statues

Headline has acquired Fallen Idols, an "enlightening and witty" tour through the modern history of statues from historian and commentator Alex von Tunzelmann. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-11 21:08:42 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #modern history


Dan Snow sells History Hit network to Little Dot Studios

Podcast and video business with more than 100,000 subscribers sold to All3Media-owned firmBroadcaster Dan Snow has sold his Netflix-style streaming service and popular podcast business to Little Dot Studios, the digital content firm owned by Fleabag and 1917 producer All3Media.Snow, a favourite... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-08-11 11:47:47 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #video business #digital content


A White author grapples with a family history of racial oppression

Edward Ball sketches a portrait of his Klansman ancestor, a Black victim and post-Civil War New Orleans. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-08-07 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #family history


Headline bags Barr's 'ambitious' Middle East history in six-way auction

Headline has acquired an "ambitious" work centred on conflict in the Middle East by historian and author James Barr in a "heated" six-way auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-07 09:36:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


HarperCollins signs history of Britain told through ONS figures

HarperCollins has signed a history of Britain by Boris Starling with David Bradbury, told through figures from the Office for National Statistics. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-05 22:11:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #boris starling #harpercollins


The Groundbreaking Female Artist Who Shaped Manga History

A new collection introduces English-speaking audiences to an overlooked Japanese cartoonist who smashed both gender and genre norms during her short life. Continue reading at The Atlantic

[ The Atlantic | 2020-08-05 18:19:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #short life #manga


In Jess Walter's Latest, History is Repeating

Turn-of-the-20th-century Spokane, wracked by police violence and social unrest, feels very of the moment in 'The Cold Millions.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-07-31 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #jess walter #police violence #social unrest #cold millions


‘The True History of the First Mrs. Meredith’ toppled the standardized Great Man tradition of biography

Mary Ellen Peacock Meredith may not have been famous, but Diane Johnson’s 1972 biography of the tragic figure is well worth your time. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-07-22 16:38:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #diane johnson #tragic figure


History Press to publish 'feline biography' by Oliver Soden

The History Press will publish a novel about an 18th-century cat, Jeoffry: The Poet’s Cat by Oliver Soden. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-21 15:20:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #history press


An American History Summer Reading List

If you're looking for a summer reading list that highlights American history, including political upheavals and Native American stories, we got you. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-07-20 10:32:42 UTC ]
More news stories like this |