
I’m addicted to my writer’s notebooks. Have been since college. My writer’s notebook is where the ideas that matter (to my books and to my life) start percolating.
How I use the notebooks has changed over time. In fact, when I … Read more
Today, our little boy Liam Miguel turns 2. He’s traveled a lot of miles in his short life, and he seemed to enjoy his Paris birthday very well. I made his cake, and you’ll notice the three languages (English, Spanish, … Read more
I have two complaints to file today. These have been simmering–no, festering–for weeks, and it’s time I said something.
(1) Reading on my iPad is NOT, NOT, NOT the f***ing same. Don’t get me wrong, as a writer and PhD … Read more

To ring in 2012, I offer you this scene: a Paris Metro car full of people on their way home, their facial expressions ranging from impatient to bored. In the middle of us all, a woman with her amplifier strapped … Read more

So far it appears absolutely impossible to go wrong with any recipe by David Lebovitz. But especially when it comes to chocolate, he is an evil genius! What I love best about this chocolate tart recipe is that it … Read more

For Christmas, Arnie and I bought each other a grown-up* dinner at Les Papilles, a well-established French bistro with a reputation for its excellent market-driven menu and wide selection of wines. And I discovered my new favorite way to have … Read more

In Paris, there’s a bakery on every corner offering buttery croissants, but residents are still slim enough to fit into elevators the size of coffins. What do the French know? This is the third of several posts on food and … Read more
I like to think of myself as a sensible person. In practice, though, I seem to be guilty of thoughtlessness far more often than I’d like to admit. And sometimes it burns.
Literally.
A couple of weeks ago, after teaching … Read more

There are some books that just have to find you at the right moment to be loved. The Sweet Life in Paris is like that, a bit. But I’m pretty sure I would have felt like author David Lebovitz–with his … Read more

Every time I meet a new group of students, I ask them to tell me about themselves. Where are they from? What have their experiences with English or literature been in the past? And what’s something most people don’t know … Read more