Journalism

Post-Clutter, I've gotten more and more fascinated by what we choose to save. So when Fine Books & Collections asked me to talk to book collectors about what inspires them, I jumped at the chance. The story's not available online, but you can buy a copy of the issue for a few bucks. Here's an excerpt:

Some collectors get started because of a particular hobby or passion. Others want to capture a cultural moment or movement. Many have been bibliophiles since childhood. Whatever their backgrounds, budgets, or enthusiasms, they’re driven by love—of the objects themselves and of the conversations and histories their collections document. Deep pockets aren’t a prerequisite. Some of the most intriguing collections belong to students and earlycareer professionals who don’t fit the image of a collector as a well-heeled, older bibliophile with time and money to burn.

Remember Hans Christian Andersen's tear-jerker "The Little Match Girl"? Two new middle-grade novels revisit the story in search of happier endings. I wrote about them for The New York Times Book Review. Read More at The New York Times »

For the 150th anniversary of Willa Cather's birth, Fine Books & Collections magazine asked me to write about some of the scholarship and celebrations marking the occasion. The story's not available online, alas, but you can order the issue. Here's a taste of the article:

"A century and a half after her birth, Willa Cather (1873-1947) remains closely associated with the Great Plains. The prairie town of Red Cloud, Nebraska inspired some of her personal novels including O Pioneers! and My Ántonia. 'The land belongs to the future,' said one of the characters at the end of O Pioneers!  'We come and go, but the land is always here.' Cather's interest in the land, and its people, extended to almost every region of United States. She was a Nebraskan, but also a Virginian and a New Yorker, not to mention a world traveler." '