Writers I Love – Hashtag Retired

by Angela

Six months in Autignac

I spent Fourth of July weekend immersed in A Season for That, Lost and Found in the Other Southern France, Steve Hoffman’s chronicle of the six months that he, his wife, and their two young children spent in Autignac in the Languedoc…a decision motivated, to a large extent, on the memory of his time in […]

by Angela

Spring reading in retrospect

April and May were heavy-duty reading months. In fact, the first quarter of this year and much of the second has found me with my nose in a book, trading writing time for reading until, about a month ago, I hit a wall with both. What can I say? Sometimes your brain just needs a […]

by Angela

Happy Monday

Enzo wanted to say hello. I’ve stayed reasonably current with technology since I demi-retired. I’m good with all the basic software, for business and pleasure, that daily life in 2023 requires. I’ve made peace with every new version of Word, Excel, and my built-in photos software. That’s about all I need. But by default, I’m […]

by Angela

What I did this summer

I’ve been erratic about writing these last few months. That tendency, to be erratic, is probably one reason why I’m never likely to write the Great American Novel. Serious writers, in my experience, are highly disciplined and highly routinized—and that’s never been quite my cup of tea. First of all, I probably ate too much ice […]

by Angela

‘I write in ink.’

Dear Frances Mayes, The time I brought The Tuscan Sun Cookbook to you for signing in Chapel Hill, I remember saying, simply, “Can I tell you how much I loved A Year in the World?” You smiled sweetly. I frankly never thought anything else of yours could eclipse that smashing book—which really wasn’t about travel, […]

by Angela

Remembering another Miss Austin

No, not Austen. And not Jane. But they have books and writing in common. It was a verdant Central Pennsylvania summer, and I was in my last term, anxious for graduation. Summer terms were rapid-fire in those days, eight weeks as opposed to the usual ten. Classes met four times a week and, as I […]

by Angela

Au revoir, Monsieur Mayle

I teared up, almost as if I’d lost a friend, when I saw that Peter Mayle had passed. After all, he had given me Provence—first on the printed pages of his charming, insightful trilogy—A Year in Provence, Encore Provence, Toujours Provence—and thereafter the engaging, lighthearted novels he set there, irresistible confections all. Hotel Pastis and […]

by Angela

January reads

January is that metaphorical new broom that sweeps clean. I like to start out the new year re-establishing routines, tackling those niggling little tasks that typically fall by the wayside, and trying to get back to my happy places, chief among them my reading time. After what I like to refer to as my “medical […]

by Angela

Sweet distractions

I’ve been lean on writing this last week; sometimes, real life just intervenes. In this case, in a good way. Here is where my time usually devoted to writing has gone… The kitchen cabinets I set out determined to clean both pantry cabinets and all the kitchen drawers, and I did. They are beautifully organized, old […]

by Angela

Adriana Trigiani’s Italian-Americans

I was thrilled to receive a pre-publication copy of Adriana Trigiani’s new book, Kiss Carlo, which goes on sale June 20. This post is more of an homage than a review. I’ve loved Trigiani’s books since my cousin Nina first handed me Lucia, Lucia in 2004. Since then, I’ve read them all. Suffice it to say […]

by Angela

Oscar, mother, and those jelly jars

I’ve loved The Importance of Being Earnest, one of dear Oscar Wilde’s funniest, since we staged the show in high school. Many of its epigrammatic quips have stayed with me all these years. It’s possible that I like this one best: All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That’s his. […]

by Angela

Islands in the laguna

For a daydreaming Pisces, a novel with a sense of place as strong as any of its characters is irresistible. Writers from the American south have always been very good at this—Gail Godwin, Pat Conroy, Flannery O’Connor, and the like. Place is typically very important to ongoing mystery series are as well. My personal favorites are Donna Leon’s […]