When I was little my grandfather used to send me to the liquor store for a curious bottle of clear liquid. The shop lady was kind to me and always made jokes about how I was my grandfather’s favorite. I never understood why but was pleased by the compliment all the same. I watched my [...]
Reading Murakami is, in a way, like falling in love. Not all of it is good, but when it is, it proves worth the long journey.
Chautauqua Poets and Writers brought famed Irish author Eavan Boland to Ashland High School’s Mountain Avenue Theater on Oct. 20 to share her works in poetry and prose, as well as to discuss her progression as an Irish woman author in America. Starting at 7:30 p.m., Mrs. Boland read and discussed a series of her [...]
English class in high school may have ruined books for many, but I still gasp whenever I find a dusty old tome in the back of a library. I grew up reading books, so no matter how many awful old books I’ve been forced to read, there are still plenty out there that actually rock. [...]
There are two series of books that I tell everybody to read. One is “A Song of Ice and Fire” by George R.R. Martin. The other is “The Kingkiller Chronicles” by Patrick Rothfuss. Both series will blow your socks clean off your sweaty feet, but I will focus upon the latter, since the newest addition [...]
A poetry festival featuring former Oregon Poet Laureate Lawson Fusao Inada and other musicians, authors, and poets will be held at Southern Oregon University next Friday and Saturday, April 15-16. “It’s a collaborative project,” said Inada. “It’s a showcase for SOU, for all the creative departments.” Although Inada is the headliner of the show, the [...]
Famed lyricist, author, and photographer Eric Alan made an appearance in the Meese Room of Southern Oregon University’s library Thursday, March 31 at 7 p.m., presenting an array of his thematic songs as well as signing copies of his publications. Eric Alan was signing copies of four different books he has authored: “Grace and Tranquility,” [...]
From the highest peak in the world to the untamed forest of the last frontier, John Krakauer has kept readers enthralled with heart wrenching tales of bravery and heroism. “Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith,†takes us to an equally untouched and dangerous surface. Mormonism, America’s fastest growing religion with 11 [...]
Robert Langdon is back, along with his never-ending knowledge of secret societies, architecture, art history, symbology and dead languages. (Okay, he was actually back last year in Dan Brown’s “The Lost Symbol,†but as of last month he’s been available in paperback.) As with Brown’s other books involving Langdon, “Angels and Demons†and “The Da [...]