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Tag: 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”

Dragon Biography

December 21, 2025December 22, 2025 ~ Kana Smith ~ 16 Comments

Yesterday morning I saw this writing-prompt: "Would you rather have a pet dragon the size of a cat, or a cat the size of a dragon?" As I read the responder's list of advantages to cat-sized dragons, I realized I was grinning. I have lived with a cat-sized dragon! When my son was an infant, … Continue reading Dragon Biography

The Christmas-Tree Trade-In

the writer's mother in the pool
December 19, 2025December 20, 2025 ~ Kana Smith ~ 18 Comments

This year we are bucking traditions and trading in the Christmas Tree for palm trees! A couple years ago my mom got herself a little winter place in California, as a way to get out from under the north-Idaho Winter Blues. It gets dark really early, in winter in northern Idaho. The days are short, … Continue reading The Christmas-Tree Trade-In

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 

Roommates in a Padded Cell

padded white cell, empty except for a vase of purple daisies
November 21, 2025 ~ Kana Smith ~ 12 Comments

Pepper and I met (virtually) when we were both freelance-writing for the same client. Well, Steve wasn't actually the "end-user" client himself; he was more like a broker of freelance writing-jobs. His jobs paid a little less-per-word than the gigs I landed on my own (because he was taking a cut), but he was a … Continue reading Roommates in a Padded Cell

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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. 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…

  2. 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…

  3. 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…

  4. Jimena's avatar
    Jimena on In Which We Don’t Sail Into the SunsetJanuary 29, 2026

    It looks good on you ;) In my case, it"s not like it has completely disappeared from my belongings... Once…

  5. Kana Smith's avatar
    Kana Smith on In Which We Don’t Sail Into the SunsetJanuary 29, 2026

    My "teal phase" has lasted four decades, and shows no sign of waning. ;)

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

~ Herman Melville, Moby-Dick

What is WRONG With People? A Pain in the Neck If the Present is a Gift, so is the Past Cow Physiology 101 The “Year in Books” On the Palm Tree as an Antidepressant Untitled Dragon Biography The Christmas-Tree Trade-In
  • When you Assume... you make an ASS out of U & ME
  • Hunting for Answers in Pink Camo: Why is it...
  • Mythbusters Edition: "Depression is Just in Your Head"
  • Marginalia & Time-Travel
  • On the Ethics of Storytelling, and the Art of Making Shit Up
  • One of My Very Bad Habits
  • History of a Helm-Hog
  • Burning the Script
  • Pushed Over the Edge?
  • Looking for YA Reading Recommendations

"Not all those who wander are lost."

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

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