<p>The perfect book for anyone feeling, of late, as though the barbarian hordes are besieging all that is sacred and precious. Abbey, Edward. Desert Solitaire. New York: Ballantine, 1968. Print. Genre: nonfiction (nature/politics&#8230;enviropolitico?) Summary: Edward Abbey, a rebel-rousing UNM graduate, goes to work for the National Parks Service. He endures a year in Arches, Utah, where&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2017/02/22/desert-solitaire-by

<p>Much like a quark, this book is small yet packed with the powers to either grip or unravel the universe. Oliver, Mary. A Poetry Handbook. New York: Harvest, 1994. Print. Genre: nonfiction (craft book) Summary: Winner of the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize, and all-around linguistic seductress Mary Oliver shares her insights on the&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2017/02/08/a-poetry-handbook-by-mary-oliver/">Continue reading <span class="scr

<p>If you think of all the water on earth fitting inside a tanker truck, then all the freshwater would fill a bathtub. A lot of that freshwater is trapped in glaciers and ice we can&#8217;t access. The accessible freshwater would fill 9 soda cans! Strauss, Rochelle. One Well: The Story of Water on Earth. Rosemary&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2017/01/18/one-well-by-rochelle-strauss/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">One Well by Roc

<p>Can you guess America&#8217;s largest irrigated, non-food producing crop?? Hint: It covers 63,000 square miles, according to NASA satellite imagery. Hint hint: It swallows 19 trillion gallons per year. The answer is grass. Ordinary front-lawn grass. Now, it may not seem like an atrocity to soak our lawns with freshwater. After all, 326 quintillion gallons&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2017/01/11/the-water-wise-home-by-laura-allen/">Continue read

<p>Chef&#8217;s Table. Produced by David Gelb, Andrew Fried, et al. Boardwalk Pictures, City Room Creative, FINCH, 2015. Genre: docuseries (cooking&#8230;and so much more) Summary:The promoters and producers would have you believe that every episode of Chef&#8217;s Table profiles one of the world&#8217;s leading chefs for 45-55 minutes accompanied with pleasurably slow, sensuous, sumptuous shots of&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2017/01/05/chefs-tab

<p>Let&#8217;s play a game! A what-if guessing game. What if all your dreams came true in the New Year? What if, instead, your worst nightmares actually happened? What is something you&#8217;d never imagine befalling you and what if that very thing occurred? I know. I know. The zen-ists find it terribly unfashionable to play such&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2016/12/30/the-pinball-plot/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">The Pinbal

<p>Strayed, Cheryl. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. New York: Vintage Books, 2013. Print. Genre: memoir (specifically, one of those young-woman-in-crisis-goes-a&#8217;-traveling memoirs) Summary: This book is Eat, Pray, Love meets A Walk in the Woods. Despite a mostly impoverished, sometimes rough childhood, Cheryl grew up generally loved by everyone but herself. Soon after&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2016/12/14/wild-by-chery

<p>All year, I have been training for a half marathon. My first, in fact. Not only that, my first long-distance running event since high school track, when the longest I ran was the 2-3 circles required to hurl a discus. Month after month, I logged the long miles for training. October loomed and the event&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2016/11/01/outcomes-vs-expectations/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Outcomes vs Expectations</s

<p>When the Sharks Gather: How Rituals Can Make Us Better Writers Before I write, there&#8217;s this little thing that I do. Call it a ritual. I do it the same way every time. And according to neuroscience research, my little ritual is actually priming my brain to deliver a focused and confident writing session. Here&#8217;s&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2016/06/03/when-the-sharks-gather/">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">When the

<p>I&#8217;m going Old Faithful and spewin&#8217; some really exciting news here: In honor of the National Parks Service Centennial, my latest article, &#8220;Striking a Balance,&#8221; appears in the May/June issue of Cobblestone magazine! For a century, the Parks have teetered on a tightrope slung between the demands of sharing their natural splendors with millions of&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2016/05/16/striking-a-balance-national-parks-by-j

<p>Bérubé, Michael. The Secret Life of Stories: From Don Quixote to Potter, How Understanding Intellectual Disability Transforms the Way We Read. New York: NYUP, 2016. Print. Summary: Regardless of whether a book features a disabled person, says Bérubé, all literature on the whole is haunted with intellectual disability in some way. At times, disability sparks or corrupts motives,&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2016/05/11/the-secret-life-of-stories-

<p>Magoon, Kekla. How It Went Down. New York: Henry Holt, 2014. Print. Genre: YA (Rashomon) Summary: The tragic shooting of a young black man rips apart an inner city neighborhood. The white man responsible for the killing walks free. Sound familiar? Sadly, this tragic scenario expends gallons of newspaper ink and hours of news coverage&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2016/04/22/how-it-went-down-by-kekla-magoon/">Continue reading <span class="screen-

<p>Dumas, Alexander. The Three Musketeers. 1844. Trans. Lowell Blair. New York: Bantam, 2004. Print. Genre: fiction (classic literary romance) Summary: Young firebrand d&#8217;Artagnan leaves his country home penniless. He has only a horse and a note from his father egging a favor of a friend to please make his son a Musketeer. Hot-headed d&#8217;Artagnan loses&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2016/04/06/three-musketeers-by-alexander-dumas/">Continue

<p>White, T. H. The Goshawk. 1951. Ashland, OR: Blackstone Audio, 2015. CD. Genre: nonfiction/nature memoir Summary: White chronicles his misadventures and many mishaps in an attempt to tame a goshawk. He knows only what he has learned from old books. Nonetheless, he is driven by his love of the medieval and ancient cultures who reserved the&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2016/03/23/the-goshawk-by-t-h-white/">Continue reading <span class="screen-rea

<p>Bridgeford, Andrew. 1066: The Hidden History of the Bayeux Tapestry. London: Harper Perennial, 2004. Print. Genre: nonfiction; Medieval history Summary: Following the Norman conquest of England in 1066, a 70-meter embroidered tapestry was commissioned to record the event. At a glance, the tapestry seems to celebrate William the Conqueror&#8217;s victory; however, Bridgeford takes a much&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2016/03/16/1066-by-andrew-bri

<p>Doidge, Norman. The Brain&#8217;s Way of Healing: Remarkable Discoveries and Recoveries from the Frontiers of Neuroplasticity. New York: Viking, 2015. Print. Genre: Nonfiction (although don&#8217;t be surprised if you often think you&#8217;re reading scifi!) Summary: Imagination heals chronic pain. Meditation reverses blindness. Walking stops the onset of Parkinson&#8217;s. Red LED lights heal arthritis or physical disabilities caused&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="htt

<p>Today, I&#8217;m as happy as a maggot in pus because my short story, &#8220;Body of Knowledge&#8221; appears in the the February 2016 issue of Muse Magazine for Kids! Based on true events in 19th century Dublin, the hair-raising tale follows four teens on a&nbsp;midnight&nbsp;errand to rob a grave! If I&#8217;ve done my job as a&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2016/02/04/body-of-knowledge-graverobbing-by-jennifer-mason/">Continue reading <span cla

<p>Murray, Paul. Skippy Dies. London: Penguin, 2010. Print. Genre: literary fiction (for adults) (I argue: YA contemporary) Summary: Howard (the coward) returns to teach at his alma mater, Seabrook College. Howard never achieved the fame and fortune that is expected of Seabrook graduates. Instead, he muddles through his life and relationships burdened with the secrets&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2016/01/27/skippy-dies-by-paul-murray/">Continue re

<p>Wein, Elizabeth. Code Name Verity. New York: Hyperion, 2012. Print. Genre: YA historical fiction Summary: World War II historical fiction of the most gripping kind! Either the protagonist, Julie (AKA &#8220;Verity&#8221;) spills her guts about her spying exploits or her Gestapo torturers will&#8230;well, spill her guts for her! Critique: This book is an epistolary thriller (thought&hellip; <a class="more-link" href="https://jynnemason.com/2016/01/20/code-name-verity-by-eli