The Virgin Blanca, a 700-year-old Romanesque statue of a smiling Virgin Mary and her smiling son, continues to enchant visitors to Toledo, Spain. Read more.
Barbara’s Riffs on Life
White, White Sneakers — On the Cobbled Streets of Lisbon’s Baixa District
Armistead Maupin’s Untold Tales — A Big Critical Success
Armistead Maupin hits the top of the charts again as Jennifer Kroot’s documentary “The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin” proves a critics favorite. Read more.
WNBA — 100 Years of Advocating for Women, Writing and Books
By Barbara Falconer Newhall Join me on Nov. 5 at Book Passage Corte Madera for a lively panel on women in the world of books. One hundred years ago, before women had even won the right to vote, an organization called Women’s National Book Association — the WNBA — was founded to support women writers, […]
Whose Second Amendment Is It? The Gun Lobby’s? Or Gun Owners’?
I’d like to shut my mouth for a minute and give gun owners a chance to take responsibility for how the Second Amendment they cherish is implemented. Read more.
Ann Patchett — My Brand-New Favorite Author
I’ve got a new favorite author. It’s Ann Patchett. Step aside Marilynne Robinson and Annie Dillard, Leo Tolstoy and Richard Ford. You, too, Philip Roth. Read more.