It’s official: the Pérez family is going to Paris for the year! We just received our visas, and we fly out on Sunday.

Here’s the scoop: I’ll be teaching English at Université Paris Ouest (La Défénse) a couple of days … Read more

One of my favorite things about being a bookish person is crossing paths with other bookish people. And what I like best about those experiences is when I meet someone who reads like I do, which means we share both … Read more

Here’s what happens if you’re me and you wish you could digitize the essentials of your personal library and take it with you for your year in Paris: you mope around saying things like, “Man, wish I could digitize my … Read more

 A question for the universe: does social media make being a teen easier or harder?

I’m guessing this is one of those questions that tends to have “yes and no” as its most honest answer.

Here’s how I figure it.… Read more

 What does my little boy’s bath time have to do with writing?

Let me start by describing Liam’s pre-bath routine: once the bath water is running, Liam grabs this basket of toys he has in the bathroom and starts pitching … Read more

So last Friday I started a round of two truths and a lie, and here is the lie:

(1) At 7, I chose the bedroom farthest away from the street because I was afraid of being tempted to sneak … Read more

So here’s how it works. Below are three statements about me, two of which are true. Can you spot the lie? Comments or email are equally welcome!

(1) At 7, I chose the bedroom farthest away from the street because … Read more

It’s Independence Day, so here’s a serving of my favorite independent(ish) films to help you celebrate. For the purpose of this article, “indie” will mean “outside of the mainstream aesthetic,” even if the film was made by a studio inside … Read more

A Smithsonian.com article on gendering trends in clothing, “When Did Girls Start Wearing Pink?,” has me thinking about lots of things–from how I dress my son to how I portray children in my novels. Here’s the article’s answer … Read more

-19. Damn it, what else am I going to cut?

If you use Twitter, you know what I’m talking about. I’m one of those people who (think they) need a 1,400 character limit. But that’s exactly why Twitter is good … Read more