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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
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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.

Drumroll! I’ve Just Written My 600th Blog Post.

June 12, 2021 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

my 600th blog poast

Here’s my 600th post on a blog that’s seen me through births, deaths, a major house remodel, a pandemic, and some dark nights of the soul.  Read more.

Joyce Maynard — Famous Author, Terrific Teacher

January 23, 2021 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Joyce-Maynard-author

If you’re thinking about taking a writing class with Joyce Maynard, I’d say go for it — on your laptop or at Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.  Read more.

Writing Tips From a Famous Author — I Put on My Best Socks to Get Them

January 22, 2021 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

balega-socks famous author class

I’ve got years of writing experience to my credit. Why in the world would I spiff myself up to take a writing class from that famous author?  Read more.

Polarization in America: Here’s Something You Can Do About It

November 28, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

polarization-in-America people-who-think-like-you wrestling-with-god-in-bookstore

This book is one writer’s response to polarization in America. She asks you to give it to someone who thinks like you — and someone who doesn’t. 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

Cathy-Guisewite-cover-subtitle

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.

Watching People Working With Their Hands — Why Am I So Fascinated? Sheltering in Place Week 25

September 3, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

concrete-being-poured working with their hands

In Bologna they call them umarells, men hanging around building sites, watching people working with their hands. I’m an umarell. Here’s why. Read more.

Why Do ‘Those People’ Make Me So Mad? A Philosopher Sheds Some Light. Sheltering at Home Week 20

July 29, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Stars and Stripes. In a message to those people, a man hangs the American flag on the front of his house. Photo by Barbara Newhall

When we address “those people,” do we really want to be heard? Or do we just want to get mad, feel righteous and force our desired outcomes on those “other” people? Read more.

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

The Lost Art of the Telephone Conversation — Here’s What Happened to It. Sheltering at Home Week 14

the lost art of the telephone conversation

I know why young people do all that texting. It’s because 21st-century wireless phones make for a lousy telephone conversation, and kids want to — talk. 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 cluttered desk and computer of a busy writer. Photo by BF Newhall.

The Writing Room: My Flesh Is Weary — Too Much Book-Writing, Not Enough Yoga

The blue and white cover the 1992 Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual.

Making Friends — Trying To — With the Dread Serial Comma

making-sandwiches-for-homeless

The Homeless — What They Really Need From Us (A Little PB&J, a Lot of Love)

leonard-cohen-documentary

Widowed: John Donne, Meet Leonard Cohen — And Send Us a Song, Please, From the Mystery Beyond

MORE DON'T MISS!

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