Essays & Musings
What We’ve Been Thinking About
Thoughts on books, reading, culture, and the literary life.
the ask@AAR: What books would you add to our Top 100 Romances list? Take away?
April 3, 2020It’s been almost two years since we published our last Top 100 Romances list. This list, which AAR has done every five years or so, is a reader generated list–the…
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The Wayback on Wednesday: Loving Problematic Books
April 1, 2020originally published on June 13, 2013 Grading books is not always straightforward. For me, there is no rubric, no checklist of Do’s and Don’ts. I have a few deal-breakers, but…
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We’re all in this together–and we’ve got a page to prove it!
March 31, 2020Update: Just checking in to see how everyone is doing. Most of us are now living under shelter in place orders for at least the next month. For me, that’s…
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the ask@AAR: What’s the greatest kiss of all time?
March 27, 2020Since the invention of the kiss, there have been five kisses rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind. (from The Princess Bride)
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The Wayback on Wednesday: (from 1998) Faerie versus Fairy
March 25, 2020by Mary Jo Putney & Karen Harbaugh (a 1998 Write Byte) LLB: I recently read and thoroughly enjoyed Irish Magic II. It reminded me of a question I’ve had…
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What are you reading? Watching? Listening to?
March 24, 2020I’ve spent the past two weeks holed up in a rather dingy airbnb with my spouse. (I was exposed to the virus almost three weeks ago and decided to take…
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Sizing up the Series: The Bridgertons (plus a giveaway)
March 22, 2020On April 21, Julia Quinn will publish First Comes a Scandal, the fourth book in her Rokesby series–which is also known as the Bridgerton Prequels. There are eight books in…
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the ask@AAR: What’s your secret guilty pleasure romance?
March 20, 2020I hate the term “guilty pleasure.” (“A guilty pleasure is something that we enjoy, but we know we’re either not supposed to like, or that liking it says something negative…
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Service dog sidekicks…or are they the heroes? (Plus a giveaway!)
March 16, 2020As a veterinarian I’ve had the privilege of tending many exceptional medical alert and seeing-eye dogs over the years. These dogs change lives by enabling their person to thrive.
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the ask@AAR: What are your favorite romances featuring scientists?
March 13, 2020Today, when a friend on Facebook pointed out that you can’t have a pandemic without panic, I was practicing deep breathing. (I’d just read the New York Times.) I had,…
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The Wayback on Wednesday: At the Back Fence Issue #321
March 11, 2020published on October 21, 2008 North and South When it comes to romances on television or in the movies, I prefer mine set in the past. I believe that Darcy…
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Best rom com movie?
March 9, 2020We had a tough weekend here in our house–a family member with a crisis–and last night my husband said, “Let’s watch a light rom com.” So I looked up best…
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