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Barbara Falconer Newhall

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

  • A CASE OF THE HUMAN CONDITION
  • MY EVER-CHANGING FAMILY
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On Writing & Reading

Here you'll find author profiles as well as mini – and not-so-mini – book reviews. I’m a writer who loves to talk about writing, so if you like to write I hope you’ll stop by now and then for some writing tips and to chat about the writing life.

John Shelby Spong: Christianity (Some of It) Is Bunk

September 11, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

John Shelby Spong book jacket, Eternal Life: A New Vision

Former Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong minces no words: It’s time to ditch the two principle beliefs of Western religion. First,
that God is other. And second, that we are alienated from God, guilty as hell, and in dire need of atonement. Read more.

A Case of the Human Condition: He Never Called Me Back . . . Why?

August 21, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

book jacket for Why He Didn't Call You Back by Rachel Greenwald.

The book’s cover was fuchsia, its title blunt: “Why He Didn’t Call You Back.” Just what I needed years ago when I was young and single and wondering why so many guys would take me out once or twice — then disappear without explanation. Gone. Evaporated. Poof. Read more.

Noah Lukeman on the Colon, That Most Majestic of Punctuation Marks . . .

August 14, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="374"]Noah Lukeman portrait. Noah Lukeman[/caption]

Ever since I read Noah Lukeman’s treatise on the comma in a 2006 issue of The Writer’s Chronicle, I have been a fan. A devotee. No, let’s face it, a groupie. Read more.

The Writing Room: If It’s Religious, Can It Be Art?

August 10, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Religious art. A rose wind in a church. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Is religious art an oxymoron these days? Can “great” art address matters spiritual in the modern era? Read more.

More Thoughts — on Sex — From/To/About Lauren Winner

August 7, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Something I’ve learned about current trends in evangelical Christian sex: it’s sexy. Note, for one thing, the voluptuously unfolding magnolia on the cover of Lauren Winner’s book, “Real Sex”.

Writing Room: A Week With Lauren Winner — Of “Girl (Woman) Meets God”

August 3, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Lauren Winner, author of Girl Meets God, is anything but girlish. First of all, she’s a woman, not a girl — she’d like that to be clear. She also has a tough, incisive mind.

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

July 31, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

jon krakauer photo

I don’t want to read a book about people dying on the slopes of Mt. Everest. I don’t want to read about murderous Mormon polygamists. Unless, that is, it’s Jon Krakauer telling the story. In which case, I’m in. Read more.

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

The Rhetorician in the White House — Or, How I Learned to Love the Passive Voice

Barack Obama at pyramids during 2009 cairo visit.

The passive sentence gets a bad rap — it’s weak, it’s vague, it’s passive. But sometimes a neatly turned passive sentence is just what our ever-shrinking world needs. Obama’s Cairo speech is an example. 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!

The Writing Room: If It’s Religious, Can It Be Art?

white blossoms of flowering tree up close

Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder – But What If There’s No Beholder?

Wanxin-Zhang's-Inauguration-Day-2009-large-ceramic statue. Photo by BF Newhall

Amazing Clay — More Wonderful Stuff from the Berkeley Art Center Show

Two flowers, one thriving, one not remind me of Ann Patchett and her friend Lucy. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Ann Patchett — My Brand-New Favorite Author

MORE DON'T MISS!

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