When I invited my desk calendar to influence my reading plans, I was hoping to explore a city like this. Previously I could not have named a single Moroccan author—now there are several on my TBR list—and from the moment my research began, my starting point was clear. Tahar
Everything I knew about cities, when I was a girl, I learned from stories. One novel that stood out for me was Marilyn Sachs’ Amy Moves In, a story which has a family moving into an apartment in a city, where Amy has to start at a new school
Although it was a challenge to find Kyoto within these four walls (without access to the public library, still in lockdown), it was easy to find Paris for May’s Here and Elsewhere. And if my calendar image looks familiar, it’s because a photograph of the same scene has frequently
Welcome to the fourth journey inspired by my desk calendar—first described en route to Copenhagen, then London and Havana. Just this random spark, my curiosity, and my library card: everything I needed to expand my horizons, to counter the inclination to withdraw when the news seemed menacing. But
How pleased was I, to flip the calendar to March and see Havana. Later last year, writing a review of Teresa Dovalpage’s new mystery novel for The Chicago Review of Books, I realized just how little I knew about Cuba. And #HereandElsewhere started with my wanting to look for
