Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
DECEMBER 4, 2024 – Last night before bedtime—our granddaughter’s, not mine—I read from Stave I of A Christmas Carol. Few if any works of literature composed in English have enjoyed such broad and lasting popularity as C.D.’s book of the season. Compact—especially for Dickens—and impactful, it’s a tale that I appreciate ever more as I …
OCTOBER 23, 2024 – For book club this month—the month of Halloween—our group is reading Frankenstein by Mary Wollstoncraft Shelley. You all know the story[1]—man creates uncontrollable monster. Last summer the sequel was published under the title, Apprentice in Wonderland: How Donald Trump and Mark Burnett Took America Through the Looking Glass, by one Ramin …
MARCH 17, 2024 – This post—more likely, series of posts—is about pure Shakespeare at the same time it had nothing at all to do with the Bard. It has much more to do with books by way of an example of one . . . or perhaps three condensed into one. From an early age …
MAY 19, 2023 – When it comes to art and poetry, I know what I like and what I don’t like, and I really like the poetry of Don Brunnquell. This evening we attended a reading by Don, aided by several others, from a newly published collection of his poems, A World Together / Family …
JANUARY 20, 2023 – When I was a kid, I couldn’t bear being inside on a nice day, especially in the summer. That was half the reason I hated the violin. Whether Mother was nagging me to practice or Dad was dragging me to a Saturday lesson, I couldn’t stand being indoors when I could be …
JANUARY 10, 2023 – The more I “mature,” the wider my education gap grows and the deeper a realization sinks in: there’s little I can do to mitigate the trend. It’s in our nature—by evolutionary necessity and practical convenience—to assume we know everything about one thing or rather, about a lot of things. Similar to …
DECEMBER 28, 2021 – Yesterday, I’d just pulled some old journals off my shelf, when friend/neighbor, “K.O.” Paulson stopped by to check on me. I’ve posted about him before—a smart, thoroughly amusing, tough-talking, literary savant/retired honors English teacher, and former baseball/basketball coach, who scouts locally for the Twins. I gave K.O. the current, unvarnished low-down—to …
SEPTEMBER 1, 2021 – When I prepared to escape Monday afternoon, I collected what I’d need for a week of isolation at the Red Cabin—food, phone, tools, clothing, computer, et cetera. After 120 miles, however, I remembered what I’d forgotten: my journal and The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben. I felt like an …
SEPTEMBER 27, 2020 – Netflix and competitors have produced quality TV entertainment in volumes unimaginable a generation ago. For many people isolated during the pandemic, Netflix is a godsend. Starting in March, I’ve watched 60 (!) episodes of Bolivar, dozens more of The Borgias, The Medicis, and Marco Polo. My wife, meanwhile, has watched This, …
JULY 14, 2020 – I’m not talking here about delusions inside the Naked Emperor’s head, accepted or acquiesced in by his supporters and enablers. I’m thinking of books labeled and acknowledged as full-on fiction. Over decades, my desultory book-reading career has involved mostly non-fiction. “With so much to know about the non-fiction world,” I’d say, …
JUNE 30, 2020 – I must confess. Over the years, I’ve often skipped the introduction to many a book I’ve read or attempted to read. “Why an ‘introduction’?” I’d silently ask every time. “If it’s important enough to include, why not incorporate it into the book itself?” Often written by someone other than the author, the …
JUNE 26, 2020 – I have four nieces who are stand-outs. One is also a stand-up—Erica Rhodes, comedienne-extraordinaire. Based in L.A., she’s performing this week—live and via Zoom—at the Acme Comedy Club in Minneapolis. In her routine she pokes fun at uncertainties about Covid-19, saying, “No one knows anything anymore!” Her comedic statement reminds me …
MAY 5, 2020 – The most influential book of my life is If I Ran the Circus by Dr. Seuss. This book still fires my imagination as no other . . . literature . . . does. The story: A happy-go-lucky kid named Morris McGurk plays by the high, rickety, wooden fence surrounding a vacant …
APRIL 17, 2020 – Yesterday evening my book club gathered via Zoom. Up for discussion was The Plague by French existentialist author, Albert Camus, winner of the 1957 Nobel Prize for literature. It had been selected by the physician of our group, the inimitable Ravi Balasubrahmanyan. (Decades ago, I learned to spell his name by …
APRIL 6, 2020 – (Cont.) The next day came. My sister Jenny called from New York to give us a full report on the view from her family’s apartment. In the sitting room adjoining my wife’s book office, I put Jenny on speaker and chatted away. The conversation drew my wife from her office (her …
APRIL 5, 2020 – A week ago while out for a walk, my wife and I encountered our neighbor Kent, who was himself out for a walk–his good wife Joan, a 3M health specialist, was working hard from home. At a distance of a lot more than twice the recommended gap, we carried on a …
SEPTEMBER 17, 2019 – On the Nilsson side, I have three brothers-in-law, each of whom is an avid reader. One, however, is the dean. In fact, his name is Dean. Late last week, I had the privilege of visiting with him about his extraordinary literary travels. I first met Dean when he was a student …
APRIL 27, 2019 – Last night I pulled from the shelf a small volume of short stories by Nikolai Gogol, translated into English. Inside the front cover I’d written, “Purchased in Moscow – October 3, 1981.” That was the day before the start of my seven-day rail journey across Russia—and seven days back—with layovers in …