Your guide to the major literary awards

As you noticed from my Oscars series, I love awards, and luckily there is no shortage of awards to be found in the book world. But what do these awards really mean? While publishing companies will not hesitate to include any award that a novel received on its cover, some are significantly less prestigious thanContinue reading “Your guide to the major literary awards”

Best of the rest: my favorite films of 2020

Each year, Oscars Sunday is my official cutoff for my favorite films of the previous year list. This year, because of the Academy Awards pushing their ceremony two months, I’ve had extra time to catch up of 2020 films. I’ve already written about some of my favorite documentaries from last year, and each of thoseContinue reading “Best of the rest: my favorite films of 2020”

Watching the Oscar contenders, part 3

The 93rd Academy Awards will take place on April 25th, closing out a most unusual year for the film industry. With this series, I watched each of the nominees for Best Picture to make my own determination of where the “best of the year” land. In Part 1 I watched Nomadland, Minari, and The TrialContinue reading “Watching the Oscar contenders, part 3”

“A blank place on a map is the most valuable part”: my favorite nature writing

I’ve always celebrated the coming of spring by reading books about nature, trying to defrost from long winters and appreciate the warmer months ahead. The best nature writing helps us connect to the natural world, and better understand the active role we play in its survival. Today, I’m giving you nine of my favorite piecesContinue reading ““A blank place on a map is the most valuable part”: my favorite nature writing”