Category: books

• Travel for Beginners

  I know almost nothing about soy sauce. I know I like to dip my sushi rolls into it and I know that the colored tops of the soy sauce bottles on the tables in Asian restaurants denote whether the soy sauce is regular (red) or low sodium (green). I know it is one of the…

  michardillo

  February 7, 2016

  books, Essay

  A Moveable Feast, A Week in Winter, Africa, Asia, Asian, Bangladesh, Baton Rouge, Beryl Markham, British, Circling the Sun, Ernest Hemingway, Europe, Hadley Richardson, Ireland, Irish, Kenya, Kirstin Chen, Louisiana, Maeve Binchy, Memphis, Monroe, Nell Freudenberger, New Orleans, Paula McLain, pub, reading, Singapore, soy sauce, Soy Sauce for Beginners, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, The Newlyweds, The Paris Wife

• The White Hills of Rockville

  Author’s Note: Some of my more liberal-minded readers might not agree with my positions in this essay, and that’s okay. Read or don’t read, the choice is yours, these views are mine. In the words of General Douglas MacArthur: “Last, but by no means least, courage-moral courage, the courage of one’s convictions, the courage to…

  michardillo

  January 24, 2016

  books, Essay

  #blizzard2016, A Day’s Wait, Abortion, Catholic, Catholic school, Catholicism, Chris Coleman, Ernest Hemingway, Hadley Richardson, Hills Like White Elephants, John Steinbeck, Jonas, literature, March for Life, Pauline Pfeiffer, Pro-choice, Pro-life, Roe vs. Wade, teaching, The Old Man and the Sea, The Sun Also Rises, Washington DC

• The Adventures of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

  It’s halfway through the second quarter of the school year and I’ve finally reached my favorite part of 8th grade literature, the beginning of an extended unit on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. First we read his short story, “The Adventure of the Speckled Band”, which serves as a warm-up to third quarter when we take…

  michardillo

  December 6, 2015

  books, Essay

  8th grade, A Study in Scarlet, Africa, Agatha Christie, Belgian Congo, Body of Proof, Bones, C. Auguste Dupin, Columbo, Dr. House, Dr. Joseph Bell, Dr. Watson, Edgar Allen Poe, England, Heart of Darkness, Hercule Poirot, Joseph Conrad, literature, Monk, Perry Mason, Psych, Queen Victoria, Rizzoli and Isles, Scotland, Sean Spencer, Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, teaching, The Adventure of the Speckled Band, The Great Mouse Detective, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Mentalist, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Mysteries of Laura, Victorian Era, Vienna, Walt Disney

• The Second Mrs. de Winter: Not Your Mama’s Cinderella

  Despite what Walt Disney’s mega-marketing machine would have you believe, he did not create Cinderella. The story may have originated as early as 7 BC, but its European roots date from the mid 1600’s. The basic story line does not vary much: the prince or other wealthy man saves the poor orphaned girl from a…

  michardillo

  August 9, 2015

  books, Essay

  Academy Awards, Alfred Hitchcock, Atlantic Ocean, Baton Rouge, Broadway, Cinderella, Cinderella story, Cornwall, Daphne du Maurier, Disney, Du Maurier, English countryside, gothic, Hollywood, Julia Roberts, Kits Browning, Louisiana, LSU, Manderley, Maxim de Winter, Monte Carlo, Oscar, Prince, Rebecca, Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, Richard Gere

• A Love Letter to Laurie Colwin

  Everyone has a list of people, either alive or deceased, that they would love to have dinner with. I’m sure there is a BuzzFeed list of the top candidates for those lists, chock-full of celebrities and famous people. For me, however, at the top of my list, is Laurie Colwin. Born and raised in Manhattan,…

  michardillo

  July 12, 2015

  books, Essay

  food essays, Home Cooking, Janet Yake, Jeff Gordinier, Juris Jurjevics, Laurie Colwin, lemons, Lemons and Limes, literature, Manhattan, monotypes, More Home Cooking, New York Times, non-fiction, Rosa Jurjevics, teacher, teaching