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Barbara Falconer Newhall

Veteran journalist Barbara Falconer Newhall riffs on life as she knows it.

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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.

Two California Poets: One Romantic, the Other Not So Much

June 4, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

writers. cover of book of poetry by Rebecca Foust, "Paradise Drive," 2015.

Ina Coolbrith palled around San Francisco with Mark Twain, Jack London and Bret Harte. Rebecca Foust hangs out with PTA moms. Both are California poets. Read more.

Jeff Greenwald and Kevin Griffin — A Funny Buddhist and a Happy One

May 28, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

Buddhist author Jeff Greenwald. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Jeff Greenwald is a master of the upstart art of finding God funny. Kevin Griffin writes about the commonalities between Buddhism and 12-step programs. Read more.

Armistead Maupin: The Man Who Wrote the Quintessential San Francisco Novel — On a Newspaper Deadline

January 23, 2014 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 6 Comments

Tales of the City author Armistead Maupin reads from "The Days of Ana Madrigal" at Book Passage, SF Ferry Building

Army’s assignment was to show up at the offices of the San Francisco Chronicle every weekday morning and produce seven hundred words, give or take. The challenging part was this: Unlike most newspaper journalists, Army did not sit down to his Selectric typewriter fortified with a fat notebook of stats and quotes. Army’s job was not to report the news. It was to make it up. Read more.

Books I Might Read If I Weren’t So Danged Busy Writing My Own

November 28, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

cover of don lattin's book "Distilled Spirits."

 

So many books. So little time. And a manuscript deadline — Dec. 1 — looming so near. Debbie Blue’s new book. Don Lattin’s latest. John Shelby Spong’s thoughts on the Gospel of John . . . and so many others. Read more.

The Lost Poems of Jane Johnston Schoolcraft — A Native Michigan Voice Rediscovered

September 19, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 8 Comments

Pine and oak trees growing on a bluff along Lake Michigan. Photo by BF Newhall

In the process of moving their collection, the librarians at the Illinois State Historical Library came across some boxes of old documents. One of them contained a lost cache of writings by Jane Johnston Schoolcraft, a little known Ojibwe poet from Michigan. Read more.

. . . And Two Books I Did Read, Sorta — By Lauren Winner and Anne LaMott

April 7, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

Anne LaMott at a reading of her book "Help, Thanks, Wow." Photo by BF Newhall

Yesterday I wrote about five intriguing books that have come across my desk in recent months, good books that I never got around to reading. Here are two more books — by memoirists Anne LaMott and Lauren Winner — that I’ve actually managed to blast through in a couple sittings each. Read more.

Good Books I Haven’t Really Read: Anna Quindlen, Stephen Prothero, David Talbot and a Book About French Love . . .

April 6, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 5 Comments

Portrait of Marilyn Yalom, author of "How the French Invented Love' with a lipstick kiss on her cheek. Photo by BF Newhall

There are seven intriguing books currently languishing on my bookshelf, crying out to be read. Books I’ve dearly wanted to spend quality time with in the past year, but haven’t. And that’s because I’m writing — and promoting — a book myself. Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

SXSW: Quirky, Lovable Austin, Texas

Cartoon of LBJ showing off his scar in the Johnson Presidential LIbrary in Austin, TX. Photo by BF Newhall

Austin, Texas, is quirky – in a good way. During a recent visit, every bridge, park and intersection I encountered in this Central Texas city made me smile. Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

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TO MY READERS

Please feel free to share links to my posts with one and all and to quote briefly from them in your own writing, remembering, of course, to attribute the quote to me and to provide a link back to this site.

My Oakland Tribune columns, btw, are reprinted by permission of the Trib. With the exception of review copies of books, I do not accept ads or freebies of any kind. Click on the "Contact" button if you have questions. Enjoy!

 

DON’T MISS!

A totality disappointment: An eclipse chaser lies on the ground for a better view of the total eclipse August, 2017, St. Joseph, MO. Photo by Barbara Newhall

A Totality Disappointment in St. Joseph, Missouri

jon krakauer photo

Book Openers: Jon Krakauer — A Macho Writer Who Hooks Me in Every Time

TThe Bay Area Book Festival Berkeley, California. Rob Bell signed copies of his "How to Be Here." and talked about "shall I write another book?" Photo by Barbara Newhall

Write Another Book? I Dunno . . .

communityi-of-writers-2022

A Week With Fellow Writers — Surprising Me With Gifts

MORE DON'T MISS!

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