The Letters of Galileo’s Daughter

I discovered the letters written to Galileo by his daughter in the wonderful book, Letters to Father: Suor Maria Celeste to Galileo, translated and annotated by Dava Sobel.

The Comfort of Books

“Bibliotherapy won’t work for this,” a friend commented on Facebook after the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School. I disagree. Books cannot at this time offer solace for the overwhelming sorrow of the families of the shooting victims but for the rest of us, joined in their grief but…

Reading and Writing Letters

Savoring, Reading, Saving Letters

After I completed my year of reading a book a day, many people asked me, “Is the ‘book’ dead?” I answered with confidence: “Absolutely not.” New books — good books — come out every week, from the large publishers and…

Mysterious Holidays

I love to read mysteries set in the Christmas season to get in the right mood for Christmas. No, not a mysterious mood but rather the tree-decorating, cookie-eating, wine-swilling mood of the holidays.