My mother’s mother followed the German tradition of not decorating until Christmas Eve. My other grandmother, my parents, and everyone else in town were finished weeks in advance, but Annie would never budge. The tree would be closed up behind the sliding doors of the “big living room,” which I now remember as being asContinue reading

In honor of the fifth day of Chanukah today, it seemed appropriate to share an essay from How to Spell Chanukah . . . and Other Holiday Dilemmas. Edited by Emily Franklin, the book features 18 writers reflecting on the Festival of Lights. Including essays from Steve Almond, Jonathan Tropper, Edward Schwarzchild and Joshua Braff.Continue reading

Flash fiction is a difficult form to pull off, and many times stories in that form can feel more like scenes rather than turning points or moments of recognition. And speaking of difficult forms, stories written from the perspective of second person can seem stagey, or worse, presumptuous. But good writers are always able toContinue reading

With the holiday season upon us, it’s the perfect time to pick up Suzanne Berne‘s novel, The Ghost at the Table, set at a family Thanksgiving in New England. In the Washington Post, Ron Charles called it “A witty, moving and psychologically astute story about siblings and the disparate ways they remember common experiences fromContinue reading

There is a lot of buzz surrounding Lauren Grodstein’s new novel, A Friend of the Family, which just released last week. This story of a suburban father’s fall from grace as he struggles to save his family, his reputation, and himself, has been receiving rave reviews.  Sara Nelson picked it as one of the “15Continue reading