Author: michardillo
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Book Review: More Than Enough by Anna Quindlen
I had a solid reading month in December, with three great (4-stars each) books, and my reading year of 2025 was overall fabulous, with FIFTEEN 5-star books of fiction! so naturally, I wanted to start 2026 with a very successful read. I looked through my list of TBR books in NetGalley and decided on More…
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Sedentary Should Be Secondary!
What are your biggest challenges? Like quite a few people I suspect, I “follow” a lot of fitness routines on social media. Tai Chi. Chair Yoga. Asian Pilates. Japanese Walking. Chinese Baduanjin. Shaolin. Couch to Fitness. And then there are the fitness instructors/influencers. Justin Agustin. Grow Young Fitness with Deron Buboltz. Align with Wellness with…
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My December Reads
Solid month of reading with this triplet set of books! All four stars and really good!
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Scent
What makes you feel nostalgic? I wrote this essay a while back. It just happens to answer this prompt perfectly! Thanks to winter storm Jonas, a/k/a #Blizzard2016, I had an unexpected “winter break” from teaching, and I must say I have really enjoyed my #snowcation. Sandwiched nicely between my Christmas break and my Easter break,…
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My Top Ten of 2025 (and some honorable mentions)
Last year, I documented my favorite reads of the year in an essay, My Top Ten of 2024, and it was difficult narrowing my list of 60 books read down to 10 favorites. This year, I had an equally tough time because I had a great reading year with a total of 70 books, and…
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Something to Write Home About
You get to build your perfect space for reading and writing. What’s it like? One of my top ten favorite movies is Something’s Gotta Give (2003, Sony Pictures) starring Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton. When Diane Keaton passed away recently, my husband and I rewatched this movie in tribute to her distinguished acting career. Rewatching…
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Book Review: The Star from Calcutta by Sujata Massey
The fifth installment in the Perveen Mistry series, The Star from Calcutta by Sujata Massey, is to be published March 3, 2026. I started this series in 2019, when I was recuperating from surgery to repair a a broken ankle, and read the first two books in quick succession. I really enjoyed the third and…
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Are you twins? Are you cousins?
Tell us about your first day at something — school, work, as a parent, etc. In 2002 our family embarked upon a monumental adventure: we moved to a foreign country for two years for my husband’s job. I asked for a leave of absence from my longtime job as a commercial real estate paralegal, but…
Michelle Blanchard Ardillo 