My instinct when I get a gift certificate is to save it for something special. I’m writing today to try to encourage you (and myself) to resist that impulse. Let’s enjoy whatever the presents are as soon as we get them. The photo above shows some of the gift certificates we have in our house,…
“Why”…Wednesdays
144. Why Helen Hoang
I took the photos above and below from Helen Hoang’s website. Many people who aren’t avid readers of romance novels complain that romance is (1) poorly written, (2) always the same, and (3) normative. I dare you to read Hoang’s books and maintain any of those wrong beliefs. First, her writing sparkles (and you know…
143. Why Take Fresh Starts
The image above comes from an article about using Windows 10 Features, which is funny because I’m writing on my school-issued Mac. Still, I like the image of peeling away something that looks ominous to be able to see something new and desirable behind it. As you know, I’m a teacher. Every fall, my job…
142. Why Look Down
I found the photo above when I typed in an image search for “hair in a treble clef.” (Someone posted the photo on Reddit.) There were plenty of images more connected to the topic of my essay below, but this one made me laugh…and made me want to get this person a brush. If you’re…
141. Why Guilt Not Shame
I took the photo above from a Sandler Training: Lushin Site’s essay that gets at the same idea I had for this post. Sandler published earlier. I’m often late to the party, but since being slow hasn’t stopped me in the past, I won’t let it bother me now. Besides, the possibility exists that you…
140. Why I’m Going Off-Script
I took the photos above from the Penguin Random House page on which you can sign up to get news and information about Emma Brodie, the lovely spotlight of this month’s author post. I have to admit that I’m going off-script today because Songs in Ursa Major isn’t a romance novel, though it’s romance-adjacent. I’ve decided…
139. Why Join a Book Club or Literary Society
[I took a screenshot of the image above from the FVCC Book Club’s page, but I’m pretty sure it’s a public image.] You might not be surprised to learn that I read a lot for work. Generally, I re-read the books I’m teaching at the rate my students read them, and I read and mark…
138. Why I Save Things
I recently drove (yes, by myself) to Chicago to retrieve some of my possessions that have been in my mother’s house for decades. Among the items, I picked up a set of dishes left to me by my maternal grandmother, a plaque for the Amherst College championship basketball team I managed, family photos and photo…
137 Why I Grade Online
What you see above is a short part of a student’s marked, revised essay (from four and a half years ago). That I could easily find the essay to use for my screenshot already gives you my first reason for grading online. With organized folders (that are simple to create), I can keep students’ work…
136. Why Jojo Moyes
I’ve been writing once per month about various romance writers I’ve found during this, my year of romance novels. I came across Jojo Moyes through the glorious medium of Netflix, when I happened upon Me Before You, a 2016 romance starring Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin. Moyes has written twelve books, nine of which I’m looking…