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Category: Books

The “Year in Books”

January 1, 2026 ~ Kana Smith ~ 20 Comments

The first kiss of the New Year tasted like coffee! We didn't stay up to usher in the New Year at midnight---we go to bed much earlier than that. We turned on our "white noise" machine, with its sound of ocean waves, to filter out the sound of people's fireworks, which are distressing to my … Continue reading The “Year in Books”

Spenser “With an ‘S,’ Like the Poet”

Robert B. Parker
December 14, 2025 ~ Kana Smith ~ 10 Comments

I'm re-reading Robert B. Parker's 'Spenser' novels, stories narrated by a wise-cracking Boston private eye. Parker is long gone, but the series has been continued by writers appointed by his sons, and I continue to enjoy them. One of the things I've always liked about the Spenser novels was how he described people---and specifically, how … Continue reading Spenser “With an ‘S,’ Like the Poet”

Wall of Heroes

writer surrounded by the faces of her heroes
November 26, 2025November 26, 2025 ~ Kana Smith ~ 30 Comments

I've always been drawn to the aesthetic of collage, and my office door in our house is a perfect example. Actually, two examples---the door to the room that used to be my office (now our guest room) is entirely collaged with stickers about books and reading and travel and ocean and prayer, with some photos … Continue reading Wall of Heroes

A Virtual Sit-Down with Author Keshav Porwal 

boy with a superhero cape triumphantly raising a book, a map of India in the background
November 22, 2025November 23, 2025 ~ Kana Smith ~ 16 Comments

I've been undecided as to whether I should begin with or finish with this author's age. Because here's the thing: his writing is GOOD. No qualifiers needed, this guy writes well. And what makes it all the more extraordinary (ah, I've made up my mind) is that he's only fourteen years old. The reason I … Continue reading A Virtual Sit-Down with Author Keshav Porwal 

Welcome to the Future

woman juggling a lot of things, with a phone in one hand
November 20, 2025November 21, 2025 ~ Kana Smith ~ 12 Comments

Journal entry from December of the year 2000: I'm about to embark on a week-long sailing trip, and I'm agonizing over what book I feel like taking. It has to "fit the mood," it has to have at least the possibility of sparking poetry-writing... and it has to last the week. Correction: It has to … Continue reading Welcome to the Future

A Virtual Sit-Down with Author Dan Beachy-Quick

writer in a whaleboat with a book, drifting on a calm ocean
November 20, 2025November 20, 2025 ~ Kana Smith ~ 4 Comments

Usually, when you read a book, it's easy to tell how far along you are, and how much you have left. Not so with Dan Beachy-Quick's A Whaler's Dictionary---at least, not if you follow its instructions. Usually, when you read a book, you don't need instructions, but this one comes with a "How to Use … Continue reading A Virtual Sit-Down with Author Dan Beachy-Quick

The Lost Map

watercolor map of the world, with pins in many countrires
November 15, 2025November 16, 2025 ~ Kana Smith ~ 22 Comments

WordPress used to have a widget I loved. I love maps in any case---I'm a certifiable cartophile, and this map I loved in particular. A blogger could put this widget on the side of the page, and its map showed all the countries in which the blog had been read. SO cool. I can still … Continue reading The Lost Map

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"As for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts."

~ Herman Melville, Moby-Dick

  1. ivythissmalllife's avatar
    ivythissmalllife on The Accidental Cat LadyFebruary 25, 2026

    I'm so happy to have stumbled upon this post. My daughter and I (both allergic, plus I'm also asthmatic) started…

  2. NEERAJ SINGH's avatar
    NEERAJ SINGH on The Accidental Cat LadyFebruary 23, 2026

    so beautiful ♥️

  3. yusefasabiyah's avatar
    yusefasabiyah on In Which We Don’t Sail Into the SunsetFebruary 16, 2026

    Owning the boat was associated with beautiful dreams of romance and adventure. If you sell the boat, you'll have a…

  4. judy thompson's avatar
    judy thompson on The Accidental Cat LadyFebruary 3, 2026

    I suspect we have a magic 'hobo' sign on our mailbox, for forty + years cats have wandered up our…

  5. Metal Odyssey's avatar
    Metal Odyssey on What is WRONG With People?January 31, 2026

    After reading this, all I can say is you have a soul of gold to put up with such Neanderthal…

"It is not down on any map; true places never are"

~ Herman Melville, Moby-Dick

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"Not all those who wander are lost."

~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

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