Please, Surprise Me

When I was young and listening in as the adults talked, I heard a common refrain, “Nothing surprises me anymore.” Usually, it referred to any type of behavior or trends with which they disagreed. As a kid, though, I found the expression kind of sad. I mean, surprises were the best thing ever. In my...

Reading books is a sacred act between reader and author

Books Are Not Sacred

I gifted a nonfiction book to a friend I knew she’d like. She texted me to say she was loving it, so much so she’d actually dog-eared a couple of pages so she could come back to them later. I texted back: “Books are not sacred. Dog-ear it, underline it, write in the margins, put...