Woman Reading—Henri Matisse 1929

Typically, this Type A reader meticulously keeps track of the number of books read in a year with the goal of increasing the total every year. Inevitably, I am disappointed if I find I have read fewer books than in previous years. Every year I also check out other readers’ lists and am chagrined to discover that I have read considerably fewer than they. I can’t compete—nor should I—with those out there who read faster and can juggle reading multiple books at a time. I also am a regular participant in the Seattle Public Library’s annual Summer Book Bingo game, with dual goals of reading something in every category square and, of course, winning a prize. I have yet to win a prize, and I have found that I often read books I didn’t care for just to be able to mark out that square with my imaginary dauber. Hmm. Perhaps it’s time to rethink and expand on my goals.

I decided to do some research on how others structure their reading time, how they select books, and their overall reading goals. The Friends of the Seattle Public Library recently sent out a newsletter in which FSPL board members described their 2024 reading resolutions. One person said she was going to read paper books versus e-books, read chapter books to her child, and attend author readings. Another individual said he was going to focus on reading really long books—I’m talking 1,200–1,300 pagers! Yet another said she was planning to reread books in her personal library collection. All this sounds way more fun than arbitrarily racking up numbers.

So, I’ve decided my goals this year will be:

• Gather and read the books sitting unread around my house
• Educate myself by reading books on editing
• Tackle a couple of big books—yes, even if doing so lowers the overall number of books read in the year
• Stop reading a book if it doesn’t engage me (per Nancy Pearl’s Rule of 50: If you’re 50 or younger, give every book about 50 pages before you decide to commit to reading it or giving up; under 50, subtract your age from 100 and use that as your guide.)
• Create a cozy reading nook

But back to the books that enchanted me in 2023.

Many of the books listed below can be categorized in more than one genre. I chose the genre that spoke to me the most. For those interested in award winners, this year’s batch included: The Postcard (American Choix Goncourt prize, among others); In Dubious Battle (California Commonwealth Club Gold Medal); The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store (Kirkus Prize); The Seed Keeper (Minnesota Book Award in Fiction); Foster (David Byrnes Irish Writing Award); Walk the Blue Fields (Edge Hill Prize for Short Stories); Small Things Like These (Kerry Prize for Irish Novel of the Year); and The Appeal (CWA Debut Dagger).

Fiction: Classics

Galapagos, Kurt Vonnegut (a vacation cruise becomes an evolutionary journey, science fiction)

In Dubious Battle, John Steinbeck (migratory fruit workers in 1930s California attempt to organize a labor union, historical fiction)

Fiction: Historical

The Postcard, Anne Berest, translation by Tina Kover (Jewish family’s investigation into family secrets upon receiving an anonymous postcard)

Midnight Blue, Simone van der Vlugt, translation by Jenny Watson (a young woman’s rise as a painter during Amsterdam’s Golden Age)

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, James McBride (follows the community of Black/Jewish families in the 1920s–1930s)

Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Garmus (brilliant woman chemist battles sexism in 1950s/1960s, humor)

Fiction: Family Relationships/Friendships

What You Are Looking for Is in the Library, Michiko Aoyama, translation by Alison Watts (mysterious librarian’s unique book recommendations help lost people find their way, short stories)

Book Lovers, Emily Henry (steely literary agent butts heads with book editor, contemporary romance, humor)

The Seed Keeper, Diane Wilson (generational saga that traces Dakhóta family’s attempt to preserve seeds integral to their way of life, historical fiction)

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin (follows the relationship between three friends who create a video game company)

Fiction: Western Adventure

Chenneville, Paulette Giles (murder, loss and revenge post-Civil War, historical fiction)

The Vaster Wilds, Lauren Groff (servant in Jamestown colony flees for her life into the wilderness, historical fiction)

Fiction: Irish (aka anything written by Claire Keegan)

Foster, Claire Keegan (girl sent to live with relatives in rural Ireland finds true affection, novella)

Walk the Blue Fields, Claire Keegan (tales of despair and desire in modern-day Ireland, short stories)

Small Things Like These, Claire Keegan (man uncovers a scandal that was a result of the complicit silence of the local community controlled by the Catholic Church, historical fiction)

Fiction: Suspense/Thriller/Mystery

The Appeal, Janice Hallett (epistolary novel about two young lawyers tasked with determining who out of fifteen characters is the murderer)

Portrait of an Unknown Woman, Daniel Silva (legendary spy and art restorer hunts down art forger in a tale of deception in the international world of fine art)

Fiction: Magical Realism/Fantasy

The Miniscule Mansion of Myra Malone, Audrey Burges (reclusive woman avoids the outside world by focusing on a magical miniature house until she meets a reader of her blog who knows all about the mysterious house, contemporary romance)

The Cat Who Saved Books, Sosuke Matsukawa, translation by Louise Heal Kawai (young Japanese bookseller sets out to rescue books in peril with the help of an unusual feline)

Fiction: Graphic Novel

Paris 2119, Zep author; Dominique Bertail illustrator (cyberpunk love story, science fiction)

Fiction: Children’s

First to Ride (The First Horseman), Pers Crowell (young Native American cave dweller lives with and cares for a wild horse)

The Inquisitor’s Tale, Adam Gidwitz author; Hatem Aly illuminator (three magical children in medieval France meet and become outlaws)

Secrets of the Manor, Adele Whitby (secrets lurk within the walls of Chatswood Manor, historical fiction)

The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels, Beth Lincoln author; Claire Power illustrator (whodunit involving family whose children’s personalities match the meaning of their given names)

Nonfiction

How to Sleep, Rafel Pelayo (self-explanatory)

Tallinn: Graphic Views of the Old Town, Jaan Saar (art book with watercolor paintings)

What’s Up Next?

North Woods, Daniel Mason

Romantic Comedy, Curtis Sittenfeld

Making a Point: The Persnickety Story of English Punctuation, David Crystal

The Expendable Man, Dorothy B. Hughes

Homecoming, Kate Morton

So, what books made it on to your best of 2023 reading list? What are you looking forward to reading in 2024? What personal reading goals do you have? Do share!

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Books waiting to be read in 2023

The year 2022 presented the opportunity to discover new authors and explore different genres. Despite the lure of offerings from the ever-growing number of streaming services I have signed up for since the pandemic, I managed to read about the same number of books as last year. And again, without any planning on my part, my reading list indicates a blend of nonfiction and fiction, and adult and children’s books over a variety of genres.

There are myriad book genres, and an individual book can feature several. Many of the books listed below can be categorized under more than one. These overlaps in genres, which I have indicated in the parentheticals below, make for more complex, more engaging reads.

In addition, many of the listed books are award nominees or winners, including Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont (Booker Prize nominee), The Lincoln Highway (Amazon Best Book of the Year), The Personal Librarian (The Washington Post Notable Book of the Year), The Sweetness of Water (Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence), The Plot (The New York Times Notable Book of 2021), and Voyage of the Sparrowhawk (2020 Costa Children’s Book Award).

So let’s get started. Here are my favorite reads of 2022.

Fiction: Historical

Horse, Geraldine Brooks (literary fiction)

The Personal Librarian, Marie Benedict/Victoria Christopher Murray (biographical fiction)

Hotel Portofino, J.P. O’Connell (mystery)

The Sweetness of Water, Nathan Harris (literary fiction)

Fiction: Family Relationships/Friendships

One Italian Summer, Rebecca Serle (magical realism, travel)

Counterfeit, Kirsten Chen (heist fiction, humor)

Fiction: Road Trip/Adventure

Less is Lost, Andrew Sean Greer (humor)

The Lincoln Highway, Amor Towles (literary fiction, historical fiction, coming-of-age fiction)

This Tender Land, William Kent Krueger (historical fiction, coming-of-age fiction)

Fiction: British

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, Elizabeth Taylor (literary fiction, humor)

Father, Elizabeth von Armin (historical fiction, literary fiction)

Fiction: Suspense/Mystery

The Plot, Jean Hanff Korelitz (mystery, thriller)

The Maid, Nita Prose (literary fiction, thriller)

Fiction: Police Procedural

His & Hers, Alice Feeney (mystery, thriller)

A Great Reckoning, Louise Penny (mystery)

Fiction: Gothic

The Cherry Robbers, Sarai Walker (historical fiction) 

Fiction: Spy Thriller

Our American Friend, Anna Pitoniak (historical fiction, suspense)

Fiction: Speculative/Science/Fantasy

Klara and the Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro (literary fiction)

Cloud Cuckoo Land, Anthony Doerr (historical fiction, literary fiction)

Sea of Tranquility, Emily St. John Mandel (historical fiction, literary fiction)

Upgrade, Blake Crouch (thriller, suspense)

The Dog Stars, Peter Heller (literary fiction, adventure fiction)

Fiction: Children’s

The Lantern House, Erin Napier, Adam Trest illustrator (picture book)

Voyage of the Sparrowhawk, Natasha Farrant, David Dean illustrator (middle grade)

The Penderwicks at Point Mouette, Jeanne Birdsall; David Frankland illustrator (middle grade)

Nonfiction

Rebel with a Clause: Tales and Tips from a Roving Grammarian, Ellen Jovin (language nonfiction, humor, travel)

Pencils You Should Know: A History of the Ultimate Writing Utensil in 75 Anecdotes, Caroline Weaver (art, historical nonfiction)

Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss, Margaret Renkl (memoir, essays, natural history)

Movies based on books 

And for those of you who would like to see these books presented on the big and little screen, be on the lookout as a number of these books have been made—or are in the process of being made—into movies, limited series, and documentaries. They include: 

• Hotel Portofino (2022)
• Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont (2005)
• Rebel with a Clause
• The Plot (Hulu, starring Mahershala Ali)
• His & Hers (Freckle Films)
• The Maid (starring Florence Pugh)
• Sea of Tranquility (HBO Max)
• Klara and the Sun (Sony/Elizabeth Gabler’s 3000 Pictures)
• Upgrade (Hamlin Partners)
• The Dog Stars (New Regency Pictures)
• The Personal Librarian (Al Roker Entertainment)

So, what books made it on to your best of 2022 reading list? Please share!

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And being a bookworm, I eagerly anticipated the arrival of the school’s bookmobile library

You can imagine my excitement when I heard about Blue Kettle Books, an eye-catching, colorful traveling bookstore that opened its doors this summer. The brainchild of Monica Lemoine, an English professor at Highline College, this cheerful bookstore is a retrofitted shuttle bus that travels around Seattle and neighboring areas offering some 800 carefully curated books for adult and children readers. Lemoine’s hopes for this bookstore on wheels is to instill the love of reading in those who either forgot or never experienced the joy of escaping into a great book.

Unlike the school bookmobiles of the past, Blue Kettle Books appears at places you wouldn’t expect: local breweries, music and art festivals, street fairs, and food truck events. Being where people congregate encourages people to consider including reading as a pleasurable activity, a time to unwind with and escape into another world.

What better way to discover—or remember—the joy of reading?

So I set out one sunny summer day to check out this novel bookstore. By using social media, like Facebook and Instagram, and the store’s website, it was easy track down the location of the teal rolling bookstore on any given day. I decided to visit the bookstore’s Maple Leaf home base. Upon entering, I saw how the bookmobile’s layout was cleverly designed to accommodate a diverse assortment of books, while providing visitors with a cozy, inviting ambiance. Despite its limited square footage, the interior was bright and surprisingly roomy. There was even a cubby perfect for small children to settle into with a picture book while their parents/grandparents perused the store’s offerings. The store also offers a variety of interesting and eco-friendly greeting cards, postcards, games, puzzles, writing supplies, and candles.

In many bookstores, I can sometimes feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of books to choose from. Fortunately, the bookshelves at Blue Kettle Books are organized into intriguing categories, such as “Get into a Mish-Mash,” “Get Hooked,” and “Get Perspective.” In addition, Steve Owens, one of the store’s employees, was more than happy to offer reading suggestions.

He reminded me of the bookmobile librarians who helped me find the perfect read

Library bookmobile interior, circa 1960s

Chatting with Owens was also helpful in another way. I am expanding my editing services into middle grade and young adult literature. And while I have fond childhood memories that harken back to such classics as The Borrowers series, Stuart Little, the Half Magic series, The Mouse and the Motorcycle, and the Little House on the Prairie series, that background in children’s literature is not going to cut it when it comes to editing in the current children’s book scene. As a middle school teacher, Owens knows what today’s middle graders and young adults are reading. Genres popular with young readers now are fantasy, horror, science fiction, historical fiction, adventure, sports, and realistic fiction. Graphic novels continue to be popular across all age ranges. Specific writers Owens directed me to include such award winners as Neil Gaiman, Kelly Barnhill, Katherine Applegate, Reina Telgemeier, Kwame Alexander, Justina Ireland, Sharon M. Draper, Jason Reynolds, and Molly Knox Ostertag.

Exploring Blue Kettle Books is a delightful way to support local businesses and writers, enjoy the tactile sense of handling a book, and mingle with like-minded readers with family and dogs in tow. I can’t think of a better way to spend the remaining lazy days of summer.

Blue Kettle Books

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At the start of a new year, I like to look back before turning to the future to review the books I have read and enjoyed over the past 365 days. My book journal, which I started in 2008, includes the book title, author, and a star next to those books I have particularly enjoyed. I’m often surprised at how many, or few, books I have read in a year. And while I may not remember in detail a book’s plot, I usually remember how I felt after I turned that last page and why I decided to give the book that gold star.

My 2021 book journal indicates that I read fifty books this past year. That’s an increase from 2020, when I was too distracted, unsettled, and isolated by the pandemic to do much more than binge on whatever caught my attention on Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. Pre-COVID, I relied heavily on the public library for reading material. With that source temporarily closed, I turned to books that lay—unfairly—dormant in various bookcases and nightstands throughout my house. I also was fortunate to have friends who regularly shared books with me. And, of course, family and friends know that books are at the tippy top of every Christmas and birthday wish list. There is simply no chance of me running out of books in which to escape for at least an hour or two each day.

This past year’s reading reflects—without any planning on my part—a nice blend of nonfiction and fiction, adult and children’s books, and a variety of genres. Here are my favorite seventeen reads for 2021.

Fiction: Classic

Siddhartha, Herman Hesse. One man’s spiritual journey of self-discovery.

Fiction: Children’s Literature

Snow Treasure, Marie McSwigan. Fictionalized story based on real events of Norwegian children who used sleds to smuggle gold bullion past occupying Nazi troops during World War II.

Many Points of Me, Caroline Gertler. A coming-of-age tale of a grieving girl who, after finding a sketch created by her late artist father, is determined to discover the mystery behind this newly found art.

Fiction: Mystery/thriller

We Begin at the End, Chris Whitaker. A police chief haunted by the past and a thirteen-year-old girl, who is a self-proclaimed outlaw, work to solve the murder of someone they both loved.

Rock Paper and Scissors, Alice Feeney. A domestic thriller with unpredictable twists and turns based on the premise that things aren’t always as they seem and those we think we know can turn out to be complete strangers.

Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions, Mario Giordano. Vivacious, saucy widow retires to Sicily planning to while away the remainder of her days with fine wine, glorious sea views, and few friends…until a murder interrupts her plans.

Fiction: Fantasy

The Midnight Library, Matt Haig. A suicidal woman is given a second chance to select a new life by checking out books from the wondrous midnight library that show her a different variation of what her life could be. What will she choose?

Fiction: Satire

Hole in the Sky, Monique Vescia. Donald Trump has been reelected to a second term as president. Mayhem ensues.

Fiction: Historical

The Kitchen Front, Jennifer Ryan. Set during WWII, four women compete for a chance to host a cooking show called The Kitchen Front (based on the real BBC program of that name) and turn their lives around.

Fiction: Family relationships/friendships

The Vanishing Half, Brit Bennett. Twin sisters whose paths diverge when they choose to live in different worlds, one black and other white.

The Narrowboat Summer, Anne Youngson. Three women, one dog, and the narrowboat that affords them all a second chance.

Fiction: Humor

The Liar’s Dictionary, Eley Williams. A tale of a disgruntled Victorian lexicographer who creates mountweazels, false entries in dictionaries, and the modern-day intern whose job it is to track them down.

Anxious People, Frederik Backman. A failed bank robbery, eight hostages, and the father-son police team who are determined to sort things out.

The Mystery of Henri Pick, David Foenkinos. An editor discovers a brilliant novel, purportedly written by a deceased pizza chef, in a library devoted solely to manuscripts rejected by publishers. Is it a hoax?

Nonfiction

Crying in H Mart, Michelle Zauner. A touching memoir about growing up Korean American, a troubled mother-daughter relationship, and the path to finding one’s own identity.

A Farmer’s Son: Calving Season on an Irish Farm, John Connell. A return home to the farm he grew up on allows a man to crawl out of his depression and find hope during calving season in Ireland.

Taste: My Life through Food, Stanley Tucci. An intimate, funny, and charming memoir of Tucci’s life in and out of the kitchen.

And I’m happy to report that a number of these books have been made into movies: Siddhartha, Snow Treasure, Anxious People (Netflix), and The Mystery of Henri Pick (Amazon Prime). Movies to watch for in the future include We Begin at the End (Disney), Rock Paper Scissors (Netflix), The Midnight Library, The Vanishing Half (HBO), and Crying in H Mart.

So what books made it to your best of 2021 list? Please share!

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Logophile noun
logo·phile | \ˈlȯ-gə-ˌfī(-ə)
A lover of words—new and old

Like most editors, I love words. So naturally, I love dictionaries. They are one of the primary tools of every editor’s trade, and my go-to dictionary is Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Not surprisingly, I was thrilled to hear last fall that M-W had added over 840 new words to the dictionary. Words are added to a dictionary when the general population uses them often enough. This process results in a descriptive dictionary, which includes commonly used words even if they, and often their spellings, are not standard.

In other words, dictionaries illustrate how we speak

This process of adding new words is a reflection of the ever-evolving nature of language. But I recently noticed an unintentional downside of language evolution when I read So Big, the 1925 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Edna Ferber. Set during the turn of the century in a midwestern Dutch farming community, the protagonist, Selina DeJong, regretfully leaves the comforts of being the spoiled daughter of a gambler for the hardships of being a small-town schoolteacher and later a widowed mother and farmer. The story is beautifully written in an elegant and witty manner.

It was fascinating to see how much language has evolved since the book was written in 1924. For example, many words in So Big retain the British spelling: parlour, draught, ploughed, colour, programme, sombre, savour, splendour, mould, humour. Other words include hyphens that have long since been eliminated: draw-bridge, wood-shed, to-morrow, week-end, band-stand, dare-devil, breath-taking, grand-dad, face-powder, wash-stand. But what I enjoyed the most was being introduced to “new” words, whose meanings I had to look up in my trusty M-W dictionary. Sometimes the words were so archaic I couldn’t find them in the dictionary (“bevoiled”), or I discovered them by wandering around on the Internet.

I realized how many perfectly wonderful words and phrases have fallen out of use due to the passage of time

Here are some of my favorite words, followed by their dictionary meanings, as captured in Ms. Ferber’s wry, engaging prose.

Verbs

“They prefaced, interlarded, concluded their remarks to each other with, ‘My deah!’”
interlard: to vary by intermixture

“Peering down the perforations in the floor-hole through which the parlour chimney swelled so proudly into the drum, Selina could vaguely descry Mrs. Pool stationed just below, her gaze upturned.”
descry: to catch sight of

“The tip of that elegant and erstwhile alabaster feature had been encarmined during the night by a mischievous brush wielded by that same wight who had been busy painting fronds and lacy ferns and gorgeous blossoms of silver all over the bedroom window.”
encarmine: to make red; wight: a living being

“His little finger elegantly crooked, he pendulumed the box right and left.”
“Pendulumed” does not appear in the dictionary as a verb but rather as a noun

Nouns

“The food had been patterned as far as possible after the pale flabby viands served at English hunt breakfasts and ruined in an atmosphere of lukewarm steam.”
viand: an item of food

“He now eyed [the object of beauty] in a catalepsy of admiration.”
catalepsy: a trancelike state marked by loss of voluntary motion in which the limbs remain in whatever position they are placed

“From the first, the schoolhouse stove was her bête noire.”
bête noire: a person or thing that one particularly dislikes

“In the theatre he came out to the edge of the runway and took the audience in his arms. He talked like a bootblack and sang like an angel.”
bootblack: one who shines shoes

Adjectives

“This was to influence a number of Selina’s habits, including nocturnal reading and matutinal bathing. Selina was a daily morning bather in a period which looked upon the daily bath as an eccentricity, or, at best, an affectation.”
matutinal: of, relating to, or occurring in the morning

“Their names were burbankian monstrosities born of grafting the original appellation onto their own idea of beauty in nomenclature.”
“Burbankian” is not found in the M-W dictionary. It apparently is derived from the work of Luther Burbank, a noted botanist/horticulturalist known for his use of grafting to create different species of fruits, flowers, grains, grass, and vegetables.

“She spent the time between one and three buying portable presents for the entire Pool household—including bananas for Geertje and Jozina, for whom that farinaceous fruit had the fascination always held for the farm child.”
farinaceous: having a mealy texture or surface

“Her garments, laid out the night before so that their donning next morning might occupy a minimum of time, were mortuary to the touch.”
mortuary: of, relating to, or characteristic of death

Reading classic books like So Big allows readers and writers to enjoy fine writing and to discover “new” old words

So, I leave you with my favorite example of Ms. Ferber’s use of wonderfully unusual (to today’s ear) word choices that not only create a stirring visual for the reader but perfectly describe the strength and fortitude of her main character.

“For equipment she had youth, curiosity, a steel-strong frame…and a gay adventuresome spirit that was never to die, though it led her into curious places and she often found, at the end, only a trackless waste from which she had to retrace her steps, painfully. But always, to her, red and green cabbages were to be jade and Burgundy, chrysoprase and porphyry. Life has no weapons against a woman like that.”
chrysoprase: an apple-green chalcedony valued as a gem
porphyry: a rock consisting of feldspar crystals embedded in a compact dark red or purple groundmass

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Recently, I have found that one of my favorite things to read are the excellently crafted articles that appear in The New York Times. Nothing says leisurely weekend than reading the paper version of the NYT cover to cover in bed while drinking my morning cup of coffee. For many years, I had thoroughly enjoyed this luxury, but when I moved back to Seattle in 2006, for some reason I didn’t renew my newspaper subscription. Twelve years later, I still had not found time to subscribe to and read the newspaper.

The film The Post reminded me of what I was missing

Not only was the storyline of The Post compelling, I was fascinated by the exacting process of how newspapers were created. Watching this movie reaffirmed my belief in the benefit to me and our democracy of having serious professional journalists tackling important stories, even when it might be unprofitable and even potentially illegal to do so, and producing enlightening, well-written pieces of journalism.

So, after seeing the movie, I decided to order the Sunday paper again. Because I spend so much time on a computer, I wanted the real deal—a paper copy delivered to my door. After a bit of research, I decided to order the NYT (The Washington Post does not deliver print editions in Seattle). The next Sunday, I awoke to the once-familiar sound of the paper landing on my doorstep. I eagerly jumped out of bed, got my coffee, and returned to bed to reacquaint myself with the joys of reading the newspaper.

But despite my best intentions, the newspapers started to pile up

After that first weekend, I noticed how long it took me to read this typically five pounds’ worth of paper. I felt remorse in questioning my plan so quickly. What had happened to my fervent desire to get back to reading thorough, skillfully written articles? What was really getting in my way?

And then it occurred to me: Facebook. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of Facebook. But it is very easy to spend countless hours just trying to stay caught up given how often one’s Facebook news feed is updated.

So, one Sunday I set aside Facebook and started reading the paper from front to back. I was astonished (again) at the high caliber of writing in the NYT. The writing style went beyond the basic who, what, where, when, and why. Articles on subjects I’d never heard of—or gave much thought to—now caught my attention. The articles were well researched, the analysis clear and cogent. I started cutting out articles to share with friends and family. (Yes, I recognized that I had truly become my mother.) Several hours later, I realized that I used to spend the same amount of time in front of a screen reading Facebook news posts that were no more than sound bites, sparsely substantiated, and rehashed rants. Even reliable, trusted sources produced pieces riddled with typographical and grammatical errors, something that set this editor’s teeth on edge. I vowed to not let Facebook get in the way of staying informed in a meaningful way.

Reading the newspaper forces me to slow down and engage

The NYT is a large newspaper and the articles are long. It takes me a good hour to just get through the front section of the paper. To reap the full benefits of reading the paper requires a commitment of time and energy. There’s no breezing through the NYT. But oh, reading outstanding articles on a vast array of subjects is so worth the time spent. It not only expands my knowledge, but it widens my outlook by exposing me to different—often provocative—opinions. Even my vocabulary has improved.

In addition to being exposed to superlative writing, there is something special about reading the newspaper in paper form. A November 22, 2013, article published by Stanton Communications makes the argument that reading a newspaper in digital format is quite different than reading one in print. “When a newspaper is delivered in print, however, it is far more than content—it is an experience. It becomes richer and more innately important than all the information within.

“It gets your fingers dirty”

According to the authors of this article, “The newspaper compels you to turn each page, see what’s there and consider stories you might otherwise pass over because something compelling—a photo or headline—captured your attention.”

I couldn’t agree more. The physical act of holding pages of inky newsprint, listening to the rustling sound as you turn and fold the pages, and looking at the colorful, eye-catching photographs and intriguing headlines cannot be replicated by reading from a screen. I now reward myself by taking the time and expending the energy necessary to stay informed by turning off Facebook and immersing myself behind the pages of this award-winning newspaper.

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Now, I must confess that I wasn’t always adept at showing such restraint

As a new student at the University of Washington’s editing certificate program, I was eager to take on a piece of writing and transform it into something grammatically correct, punctuation perfect, and well written. One of my first assignments was to edit a blog written by a free-spirited, self-professed New Age practitioner. Holy moly, the text wandered all over the place, was chock-full of sentence fragments, used minimal punctuation, and was adrift in amorphous thoughts. I could hardly wait to jump in and impose order upon what I perceived as chaos. I cleaned everything up neat and tidy, sure that I had provided the blogger with first-class editing service.

So, you can imagine my dismay when I read my teacher’s comment on the top of my edited paper: “Your disdain for the author is showing.” I was mortified. Here I thought I had been helpful when, in fact, I had completely replaced the tone of the blog writer’s post for one that I thought deemed more appropriate. I immediately recognized the wisdom of my teacher’s comment and vowed to never make that mistake again. No matter what I thought of the content, I would show future clients the respect their writing deserved.

Several years later, I was given the opportunity to edit a lovely manuscript called Once Upon a Time a Sparrow written by Mary Avery Kabrich. The protagonist in Ms. Kabrich’s novel was Mary, a school psychologist struggling with the recent death of her mother. After a number of emotional outbursts directed toward her colleagues, who recommended that children with learning disabilities be held back a grade, Mary agrees to see a therapist. During these sessions, we discover that Mary grew up with an undiagnosed case of dyslexia, which delayed her learning to read until the sixth grade. The childhood trauma Maddie experienced clearly continued to haunt adult Mary.

The chapters in the book alternate between the current-day Mary and Maddie, as she was called as a child, each speaking in the first person. Ms. Kabrich was concerned that an edit of her work would change the child’s voice. In fact, she was so worried about this issue that she asked me to edit a sample chapter written from the child’s perspective. I happily did so, keeping in mind my teacher’s advice that I respect the writer’s, or in this case the character’s, voice.

I made sure to stay true to eight-year-old Maddie’s voice and thereby gained Ms. Kabrich’s trust

The foundation of the author-editor relationship is trust. When an author turns over their work, which they often have spent countless hours writing and rewriting, they trust that the editor will treat it with respect and care. This is no small thing. Many times, I never meet the writer I’m editing for in person, so it is a leap of faith when a client turns their work over to me. I am honored to be entrusted with their written work, their “baby” as it were, and I strive to stay true to the writer’s voice. My goal is that when I return their baby to them, the writer will see that the baby still looks, sounds, and feels the same and is ready to meet its intended reader.

Ms. Kabrich’s book has won a number of awards, including: Readers Views, Literary Awards, Winner First Place General Fiction/Novel; Nautilus Book Award, Winner Silver Award; and the Jewel Kats Special Needs Award. In addition, her book was a finalist in the USA Best Book Awards, General Fiction; National Indie Excellence Awards; and International Book Awards, General Fiction. She received an Honorable Distinction from the International Novel Competition, A Woman’s Write.

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Figure 1: “Book Women,” Hindeman, Kentucky, 1940

I am an ardent fan of public libraries and have been fortunate to have had easy access to them my entire life. I’d venture to say that most booklovers take the library system in their community for granted. But it wasn’t always the case in the United States. During the Great Depression, one-third of all Americans had virtually no access to a public library—or librarians.

Figure 2: Librarian in Owsley County, Kentucky, 1936

So, I was intrigued when I stumbled across an old photograph of a group of female horseback librarians. These brave women were the backbone of the 1930s Pack Horse Library Project of Eastern Kentucky. Despite majoring in American history, I had never heard of this program. In honor of National Women’s History Month, follow the trail of these hardy women who delivered books on horseback to those in need, thereby helping the illiterate become literate, the poor and unemployed to get back on their feet, and the isolated to have a connection with the outside world.

A unique product of President Franklin Roosevelt’s ambitious Works Progress Administration (WPA), the Pack Horse Library Project was designed to help rural Americans become literate, which in turn would provide them with the opportunity to find employment during the dark days of the Great Depression. The challenge was to get much-desired books and other reading materials to isolated, rural communities with no access to libraries.

Enter the plucky women librarians of Kentucky

Figure 3: Pack horse librarians at Greasy Creek, Kentucky, date unknown

Under this project, librarians—predominately female—from around the state joined forces to establish library services for remote Appalachian towns. The librarians were responsible not only for delivering reading materials but for establishing base libraries—in whatever facility they could find—in the counties they served. There was an overwhelming demand for books, newspapers, textbooks, magazines, and Sunday school materials. The WPA, however, did not supply the reading materials or cover the costs associated with running the initiative. Instead, the project relied solely on donations. Individuals, schools, and organizations in Kentucky and across the country rose to the challenge and contributed all the necessary materials.

Figure 4: “Sometimes the short way across is the hard way for the horse and rider but schedules have to be maintained if readers are not to be disappointed.” Eastern Kentucky, ca. 1940

The WPA paid the women’s salaries, about $28 per month, thus providing employment for the women, who were often their family’s sole source of support. These adventurous riders, carrying saddle bags and hickory baskets stuffed with fifty to one hundred books, typically started their day before dawn and did not return home until just before dusk. At least twice a month, regardless of the weather, they rode into the craggy hills using their own horses or mules, covering 100–120 miles a week. Delivering to individual homes and schoolhouses, the women contended with muddy rock creeks, primitive log bridges, and snow-covered hills. If the destination was impassable, they dismounted and went in on foot.

One such librarian hiked her eighteen-mile route on foot when her horse died.

The women contributed more than just reading materials

Figure 5: Pack horse librarian reading to Kentucky man

The pack horse librarians became members of the community. Initially, there was a deep distrust of these outsider librarians, but eventually the librarians won over the uneasy Eastern Kentuckians. They took time to read to families, the blind, and the illiterate. They taught reading lessons. And just as important, they brought news, solace, and connection with a proud but struggling people.

“Bring me a book to read!”

Children lucky enough to have a one-room school to attend, albeit one with very few reading materials, waited with great anticipation for the librarians to arrive with extra books for their schoolhouses. Favorite books were Robinson Crusoe and anything by Mark Twain. Adults requested materials focused on current events, history, religion, and biographies.

Figure 6: School children greet librarian, Kentucky, 1940

From 1936 to 1938, the pack horse librarians, riding across twenty-nine counties, served 50,000 families and 155 schools. By the time the eight-year project ended in the mid-1940s, the women horseback librarians had established thirty libraries that served nearly 100,000 Eastern Kentucky residents.

While there is no longer any need for these determined horseback librarians, the selfless contributions of these strong women to the poor, illiterate Appalachians should not be forgotten in the annals of American history.

Photographs courtesy of Kentucky Library and Archives; University of Kentucky Libraries, Special Collections Research Center; and Kentucky Digital Library.

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Like many, I decided to start the new year with a few well-intentioned resolutions: lose that pesky ten (or more) pounds, exercise consistently, clear out the garage, declutter the closets. But the problem with this year’s resolutions was that they were exact repeats of every other year, and they felt more like punishment than achievable goals. So, this year I decided I’d pick a fun resolution. I would get some use from my beloved vintage typewriter that I proudly display in my home office to write my monthly blog.

What better way to write a blog about my love affair with the typewriter than with a typewriter!

My obsession with the typewriter began when I learned to type in the seventh grade. I had hoped to take girls’ glee as one of my elective junior high classes, but my mother, in her infinite wisdom, put the kibosh on that and insisted I take typewriting from Mrs. Moffatt. After school, I would practice on my mother’s manual typewriter, a Royal Quiet De Luxe model, that she had purchased in 1948. How I loved that hefty little machine, the smell of the ribbon ink, the feel of the round glass keys, and the look of its sturdy, nubby-textured case.

For some reason, my mother’s typewriter went missing in the late ’90s when she moved from our family home to a condominium. How this happened is unclear as my mother was a maven in the fine art of hoarding. So, I was overjoyed when I discovered that one of my college friends was married to a guy who collects, restores, and sells, among other things, old typewriters. I asked him to keep a lookout for the Royal Quiet De Luxe and later jumped at the chance to buy the exact model of my mother’s when he tracked one down for me.

Fast forward to 2018. Time to make good on that New Year’s resolution and get cracking on my overdue blog post. I took the Royal out of its case, placed it gently on my dining room table, lovingly rolled in a fresh piece of paper, placed my fingers on the HOME keys, and began to type.

It quickly became apparent, however, that nostalgia was responsible for my fond memories of typing on the Royal

The reality was that this machine was a beast to operate! I quickly discovered that typing is a painfully slow and physical process. I had forgotten how hard one has to press—or rather, pound—on the keys. It’s exhausting, although it makes for a surprisingly effective upper body workout. Given the exertion required, I am confounded by the instructions that came with the typewriter. One direction states, “DO touch the keys lightly and evenly. DON’T use too much effort; it isn’t necessary with the modern, easy-writing Royal Portable.” I beg to differ. The typist is also directed to “DO hit and run. DON’T push and hold. Play the typewriter key like a piano rather than an organ.” Right.

The use of the adjective “quiet” to describe the Royal is a complete misnomer. While I enjoy hearing the keys striking the paper, there is nothing quiet about the clack clack clack that emanates from this little machine when in use. I guess everything is relative, but one has to wonder what “loud” typewriters sounded like in 1948.

Another vexing aspect was that I had to relearn the layout of the keyboard. While it is essentially the same as today’s QWERTY keyboard, there are differences. For example, the keyboard lacks the number “1.” Instead, the typist must use a lower case “L.” There is also no exclamation mark. To achieve this form of punctuation, one has to type an apostrophe, backspace, and then type a period. Moreover, I found myself constantly searching for the backspace key, which is located on the left, rather than the right, side of the keyboard.

So, after struggling for an hour to type this blog, I reluctantly returned to my desktop computer to finish. It was astonishing the difference between the two experiences. My fingers practically flew across my quiet, modern keyboard and making corrections took virtually no effort. Sadly, I had come to terms with the reality of using yesterday’s quaint machinery.

As much as I adore all things vintage, there is something to be said for embracing new technology

So, for all you authors who still use a typewriter to write, I applaud your stamina and loyalty. I admire you, Janine Vangool, for not only collecting Royal Quiet De Luxe typewriters but for writing The Typewriter: A Graphic History of the Beloved Machine, a wonderful compilation of all things associated with the small but mighty typewriter. Tom Hanks, I appreciate your including images from your vintage typewriter collection in your newly penned book, Uncommon Type: Some Stories.

But for me, reality requires that I limit typing on my Royal typewriter to the occasional to-do list, thank-you note, and grocery list and leave the heavy lifting to my Mac. And while I can’t claim to have read Marcel Proust’s epic novel, I can certainly relate to this observation: “Remembrance of things past is not necessarily the remembrance of things as they were.”

Many thanks to Steve Dymale, a fellow devotee of vintage stuff, for finding my Royal. Steve is not only an excellent collector, researcher, and historian, he’s a damn fine writer! Check out his Etsy website.

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One of the absolute joys of being an editor is working with creative individuals, especially those who share my passions. Two interests at the top of my list are books and art. Since becoming an editor, I have dreamt of the day when I could apply my editing skills to these two loves. I was determined that should such an opportunity arise, I would leap at the chance.

Edit the kind of books you like

I first discovered the charming, whimsical art of Canadian painter and writer Janet Hill on Etsy. I was immediately drawn to this talented artist’s colorful, imaginative paintings. Through lushly detailed scenes and intriguing titles, the paintings conjured up stories tinged with nostalgia and mystery. Given her ability to create stories through her art, it was a natural progression for Ms. Hill to blend writing with her artwork. The result was her first children’s book, Miss Moon: Wise Words from a Dog Governess, an enchanting story about a governess dispatched to an island off the French coast to tame an assortment of sixty-seven wild dogs.

At the time I spotted Ms. Hill on Etsy, she was in the process of writing a second book, Lucy Crisp and the Vanishing House. Periodically, she would post on her blog a chapter of this book in progress, along with the related paintings. In doing so, she wisely began creating an audience and demand for her book long before it would be published. In addition to the lovely art, what immediately caught my eye was her statement, “For all you spelling and grammar lovers, my book hasn’t crossed paths with a professional editor yet.”

Clearly, Ms. Hill was speaking directly to me!

This was the chance I’d been waiting for. I immediately contacted Ms. Hill to tell her how much I loved her artwork and to offer my editorial skills for the book she was creating. I was thrilled when she agreed to my editing Lucy Crisp on a chapter-by-chapter basis. It was a delight to collaborate with Ms. Hill, to play a small role in her creative process. It also presented me with some new editing challenges.

This was the first time I had edited an illustrated book. Not only did I need to carefully review the book’s text, I needed to apply a similar scrutiny to the painted images. I needed to ensure that each painting matched the text and that any edits I made to the text were consistent with the visual story Ms. Hill was telling. I also needed to make sure that there was an internal consistency between all of the book’s images. If Lucy was wearing a certain red dress on page one, she should be wearing the same dress two pages later, assuming it was still the same scene.

Because Ms. Hill is Canadian, I also had to be mindful of the differences between Canadian English and American English. Not only are certain words spelled differently (think “color” and “colour”), there are certain idioms common to Canadian English that are not used in American English. Punctuation is also treated differently. For example, dialogue is placed in single quotation marks, not double as in the United States. But there was one thing that remained the same, regardless of illustrations or nationalities:

I needed to ensure that my editorial voice was silent and that only the author’s voice was heard

The only downside to working with Ms. Hill was that her publisher, Tundra Books, liked her work so much that it decided to handle the editing of her book in-house. While I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to finish editing her book, I was pleased as punch that her distinctive and playful style was being embraced by her publisher, children, and readers like me, who are drawn to the magical worlds Ms. Hill so skillfully creates.

Janet Hill’s next book features Miss Mink, the counterpart to Miss Moon, and will be published in September 2018. Lucy Crisp and the Vanishing House is slated for publication in September 2019. You can follow her at her website and on Etsy.

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