Shakespeare Here!

Shakespeare Here. Wendy and I read our first graphic novel, and we chose a good one, Maus I by Art Spiegelman. Maus I is on the “banned books” table at Barnes and Noble, and it was a topic of discussion the other day at the dinner table. We decided to see what the fuss is…

Shakespeare Here! David Grann has done it again! Author of the fabulous Killers of the Flower Moon, Grann once more brings history to life, disturbing as history can be. His new book The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder reads as a thrilling story and teaches a horrific history of the British Admiralty…

Shakespeare Here! Wendy and I watched Diane Sawyer interview Jeremy Renner on ABC’s 20/20 the other night. We were amazed not only by his on-going recovery from his accident January 1, 2023, but also by the character and strength of character of this man. Renner, Hawkeye to Avenger fans, was so severely hurt in the…

Shakespeare here! Wendy has some thoughts and memories she would like to share today. Here she is: I read a classmate’s obituary in the Tribune this morning, and my mind went in many directions as I followed the story of a man who was a hero and a wanderer. My memories of Dave have him…

Wendy here. As I watched my quota of news this morning, I saw a report of the current and looming teacher shortage crisis. The reporter cited low pay and overwork (especially since the onset and aftermath of the pandemic) as contributors to the crisis. Let me suggest another reason for the declining number of young…

End-of-the-year lists have always entertained me, and 2022 has been no different. Well, except for one thing–I made a list! I received a text asking for a list of favorite books I had read in 2022. I was thrilled with the “assignment” and quickly looked in Wendy’s book journal to remind myself of all the…

As a bookseller at Barnes and Noble, Wendy has all sorts of encounters. Here is her latest (and best) experience with patience…linked to kindness. Such a clear connection between the two. Two sweet young customers, one a teen and the other a pre-teen, were purchasing books. They were short $2.35. As they were digging into…

She tries, but sometimes words slip out before she can stop her tongue. Here is the story, with apologies to all the students Wendy had the lucky opportunity to encounter during her long teaching career. The scene was Barnes and Noble before Christmas. The store was not staffed to the maximum, a worry for those…

Shakespeare Here! We’ve had some experience with this intangible (almost tangible at times) concept–being patient and losing patience. Our recent experiences started with Wendy’s trip to Reno in October. As she was on the flight back home, the plane was about to land at O’Hare; and because it had been delayed in Phoenix, there were…

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens was published in August 2018. It stayed on the New York Times bestselling list for a record 168 weeks, sold over 15 million copies, and was selected by Reese Witherspoon for her book club. I was told many times (too many) by bookstore colleagues, managers, and customers to…