I fell in love with Nelle Harper Lee when I was twelve years old. Like many, I was introduced to To Kill a Mockingbird as an impressionable junior-high-schooler, and Scout, Jem, Boo and Atticus permanently pulled up some chairs and made themselves at home in my heart. When I heard the sad news yesterday of … More Farewell, Ms. Lee
It’s official: I want to move to Black Dog Bay. No, I’m not nursing a broken heart and in need of the Better Off Bed and Breakfast or the Eat Your Heart Out bakery (scratch that—I’ll never turn down a bakery). This tiny seaside village is simply the most charming place imaginable, and after reading Put … More Put “Put a Ring on It” on Your Must-read List
As readers, we can be so lucky to encounter that “right book at the right time” experience. That happened to me last year when I read Claire Cook’s Never Too Late: Your Roadmap to Reinvention and I couldn’t stop singing its praises. (I still can’t. Seriously. Read this book!) Now, on the cusp of the … More Shine On: How to Grow Awesome Instead of Old
Ok. Don’t panic. Sophie Kinsella’s new Shopaholic book is out, and whatever you’re doing with your life, you need to stop, drop, and roll into your nearest bookstore and buy it like Becky Bloomwood-Brandon would. (She might buy a few copies–one for her best friend Suze, one for her mum, one for her mum’s … More Viva Las Becky!: Shopaholic to the Rescue
I love Elizabeth Gilbert. Whether she’s eating, praying and loving, writing beautiful historical fiction about botany, or just being super inspiring on Oprah, I gobble her words right up. When she announced earlier this year that she was working on a book all about creativity, I basically danced with joy like Balki Bartokomous and Cousin … More Big Magic: A Magically Creative Read
Some might say I’m a bit of a royal enthusiast. Like any sane person, I woke up at 3 a.m. on April 29, 2011, made my tray of tea and shortbread and watched the hours of pre-ceremony activity leading up to the wedding of the century. I have the Kate and William paper dolls (don’t … More The Royal We: Everything I Love in One Pretty Package
A few weeks ago, an adorable four-year-old I know and love asked me a very weighted question: “Are you a grown-up or a kid?” While my vanity was flattered (that night cream is working?!), I had no idea how to answer him. I mean, of course I’m an adult—otherwise I’d so still be getting … More How to Be a Grown-Up: Emma and Nicola Have Done It Again!
I love ice cream. Cones, sundaes, soft serve, Fribbles—I can’t get enough. In the summers, it’s not out of the question for me to go night after night to my favorite local dairy, and I tell myself it’s because I have this face looking at me, begging for a special treat—and really, it would be … More The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street: Sinfully Delicious
I’ve been known to make bold statements. Tom Hardy is the greatest actor of this generation. Outlander is the best show in the history of television. Riggins should be on the cover of Dog Fancy. As you can see, my assertions are always on target, so let me add this one to the list: Judy Blume … More “In the Unlikely Event” Proves It: Judy Blume Can Do No Wrong
I haven’t slept in days and it’s all Meg Cabot’s fault. Her latest novel, Royal Wedding, is just too good. How could I let something as trivial as sleep get in the way of finishing it? Royal Wedding—the 11th Princess Diaries novel and the first for adults—reunites us with Mia Thermopolis, who many of us … More Meg Cabot’s “Royal Wedding”: RSVP for a Royally Delicious Read
Book Perfume 