The last two weeks have been spent writing the biggest (in terms of work and hopeful payout) grant application SideWalk Chalk has ever submitted. There hasn’t been much writing going on outside of of that, but I’m still reading each night until I fall asleep and again first thing in the morning. Here’s the current book… A gift from our board advisor, Teri Hein. Sherman Alexie serves on Teri’s Board of Directors with 826Seattle. This is fast becoming a favorite of mine, and is doing a great job of satisfying …

I’ve mentioned before that I have this expensive habit of buying a book based on the cover almost every time I go in a bookstore. The Book Thief is one that I’ve picked up several times over the last few years, but always found another sitting close by that I thought looked even better. It turns out none of them were.
One of the good things about working for a non-profit focused on literacy is that most of the volunteers have a big list of books to recommend, and when one …

The Year of the Short Story
Before I moved into my new apartment (with roomates) my usual morning routine consisted of one cup of oatmeal, one pot of coffee, and one short story. A few of these collections were from familiar favorites, but some were great new finds. It feels right to start the list, like the day, off with these.
Reasons for and Advantages of Breathing by Lydia Peele
I chose it because it had the best title on the new release shelf. I wasn’t disappointed. These stories, set mostly in rural …