Letters from Rona / What I'm reading / Sort by date

The secret of a lasting marriage has more than a little to do with exploring your spouse's burning interests. I never managed to develop a passion for baseball. Still, I'm glad I made the effort. [more]

The latest insights I've cribbed from people who know something I don't. [more]

It wasn't easy to be friends with Margaret Gibson, a ferociously original writer who struggled with severe mental illness. But by reading her a poem I knew she'd love, I found a moment of grace. [more]

A poem is the perfect busy woman's read. It slips into the day's unexpected quiet places like a cat into a lap. [more]

Culled from my recent reading: wise thoughts from Norman Mailer, Mary Pipher and Sandra Oh. [more]

To truly appreciate Blazing Saddles, the classic spoof western by Mel Brooks, you have to watch it with a kid for whom the only thing funnier than a fart is a whole gleeful chorus of farts. [more]

A cherished poem can bring friends together. For me, the ultimate pass-along poem is Jane Kenyon's wonderfully consoling "Happiness." [more]

Like a fine bottle of wine, young lovers need time to lose their rough edges and reveal their best selves. Sometimes I wonder how we did it. [more]

Once upon a time, feminists weren't supposed to admit that they actually needed a man. I thought we'd left those days behind. But in a lively new book, feminist heroine Katha Pollitt admits to being a world-class fool for love. And some of her biggest fans are up in arms. [more]

I can't demand gratitude of others, but I can cultivate it in myself. Thank goodness! [more]

Some of these books changed my life. Others are just so irresistibly compelling, I find myself telling every reader I know, "You've got to read this." [more]