Podcasts - the perfect combination of entertainment, information, and opinion in a small package.
The Crown: Watching Queen Elizabeth II
Learning history through books, movies, and TV series is a favorite pastime of many people. One of the best shows currently is The Crown, which tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II, how she became queen of the United Kingdom, and how she adapted herself and her family to the work of the sovereign. Elizabeth…
Visit Your Local Farmers Market This Fall
Visit your local Farmers Market this fall for plenty of beautiful produce, and local producers of eggs, meat, honey, and other specialties.
My Librarian: The Benefits of a Local Writers’ Group
Writing tends to be a solitary activity. From hours of research to even more hours of honing one’s prose or choosing just the right word for a new poem, writers spend a lot of their time working alone. That’s what makes a writers' group so helpful and refreshing. You get together with other writers who understand…
My Librarian: The Roaring Twenties
After the horrors of World War I and the resulting social trauma, young men and women who survived came to be known as The Lost Generation because they never recovered from all of their losses and suffering. To deal with their pain, many of them lived by the adage, “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we…
The Queens of Crime: Agatha Christie
Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Tommy and Tuppence, Superintendent Battle - all of these detectives, some amateurs, some professional - are the creations of one woman, Agatha Christie. Dame Agatha Christie started writing as a young woman, but it wasn’t until 1920, when her first Hercule Poirot novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, was published that her…
Finding Your Family Through DNA
Hunting for your ancestors is a popular hobby these days. There are few things more exciting than finding a famous ancestor or uncovering a juicy family secret. Television shows such as Genealogy Roadshow and Who Do You Think You Are? have encouraged many to seek out their heritage for the first time. Traditionally, genealogy required…
Shakespeare for Beginners
When you first approach reading Shakespeare, it can be a daunting experience. Even though I grew up reading books with similar language, I still found Shakespeare difficult unless I had a teacher holding my hand every step of the way. I could just about understand the basic plot line and even some of the language…
Fun Reading Challenges for 2019
As a new year starts, most of us think about how we’d like our lives to be different. One improvement I'm hoping to make this year is in my reading life. Rather than just pick up whatever book looks good to me at the moment, I’ve decided to split my reading between planned reading and spontaneous…
Four Ways to Achieve Hygge This Winter
When the temperature drops, many of us start putting on heavy sweaters, lighting scented candles on dark evenings, and making hot drinks to sip by the fireplace. These types of cozy activities are part of what the Danish people call Hygge (pronounced HOO-gah), as described in The Little Book of Hygge. One definition which I think…
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