Book Openers

As a little kid I always had my nose in a book. And now that I'm thoroughly grown up, I still do. Below you'll find author profiles (lots of memoirists) as well as mini – and not-so-mini – book reviews.

Beware. The Decluttering Craze Could Leave You Holding the Designer Handbag.

March 12, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 9 Comments

Everybody’s decluttering, including my friends and family, and sometimes other people’s unwanted stuff ends up on my doorstep. Read more.

A Book of Poetry for Kids — Including a Poem From Me

August 14, 2021 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 6 Comments

Poetry for kids that inspires gratitude, by Emily Dickinson, Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro, Kenn Nesbitt and — me. Read more.

A Book of Essays From Cartoonist Cathy Guisewite — Did She Write It or Did I? Sheltering at Home Week 26

September 12, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 6 Comments

Cathy Guisewite’s thoughts about life in “Fifty Things That Aren’t My Fault” look a lot like the thoughts running around in my own brain. Read more.

Bay Area Authors: Your Chance to Meet Some Cool Ones (and Me)

April 4, 2018 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

Want to have some fun with interesting company, sip a cocktail, bid on a silent auction to benefit our Walnut Creek libraries and meet some cool Bay Area authors — like Don Lattin, Joyce Maynard and, um, me? Read more.

WNBA — 100 Years of Advocating for Women, Writing and Books

October 30, 2017 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

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, […]

Ann Patchett — My Brand-New Favorite Author

October 26, 2017 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 1 Comment

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.

A Chance to Get Acquainted With That Muslim Next Door

May 4, 2017 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 5 Comments

Two days after September 11, a friend warned Sumbul Ali-Karamali, a Muslim American, that she should display an American flag outside her house. Ali-Karamali, is author of “The Muslim Next Door: The Qur’an, the Media, and that Veil Thing.” Read more.