Tag: essays

• Book Review: The Optimists by Brian Platzer

  I’ll begin this review of The Optimists by Brian Platzer with a quote from another reviewer on Goodreads: I’ll admit, when I finished this book I immediately went to Goodreads to look at some of the reviews, a few 5-star, a few 1-star, and then I turned to the 3-star reviews. Near the top I…

  michardillo

  May 15, 2026

  books

  animal cruelty, ARC, book-review, book-reviews, books, Brian Platzer, English, essays, fiction, Goodreads, literature, Little Brown and Company, middle school, NetGalley, novel, NYC, reading, teacher, teaching, The Optimists, writer, writing

• Book Review: Food Person by Adam D. Roberts

  I picked this up from the Librarian’s Choice shelves at my local public library (shout out to Aspen Hill Library in Montgomery County, Maryland). Two things caught my attention. First of all, that cover is an eye catcher for sure. The second thing was the starburst blurb on the front cover, “A savory meal of…

  michardillo

  April 9, 2026

  books

  Adam Roberts, author, book-review, book-reviews, books, bookstore, contemporary-fiction, cookbook, cookbooks, cooking, debut novel, Essay, essays, fiction, food, Food Person, Goodreads, Gourmet magazine, Home Cooking, Julia Child, Knopf, Laurie Colwin, library, literature, More Home Cooking, New Yorker magazine, non-fiction, nonfiction, novel, NYC, reading, recipes, Ruth Reichl, short stories, Steven Rowley, writer, writing

• My March 2026 Reads!

  Only four books but they were ALL 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 EACH!!!

  michardillo

  April 4, 2026

  books

  Alexander McCall Smith, book-review, books, Change the Recipe, cookbook, cozy mystery, essays, fiction, food, Goodreads, José Andrés, Kindle, literature, marcelle bienvenue, march reads, memoir, NetGalley, nonfiction, novel, reading, Richard Wolffe, Robert Thorogood, The Lost Language of Oysters, The Marlow Murder Club, The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts, writer, writing

• Book Review-Change the Recipe: Because You Can’t Build a Better World Without Breaking Some Eggs by José Andrés with Richard Wolffe

  “It’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission” is a saying that could be the theme of José Andrés’s latest book, Change the Recipe: Because You Can’t Build a Better World Without Breaking Some Eggs (Ecco Hardcover, April 22, 2025, 195 pages), written with Richard Wolffe. That saying is often attributed to the late Rear…

  michardillo

  April 2, 2026

  books

  author, Bethesda, book-review, book-reviews, books, Breaking Some Eggs, Change the Recipe, COBOL, cookbook, cooking, death, Ecco Publishing, Essay, essays, family, first career, food, Gaza, Grace Hopper, grease traps, Haiti, internet, Israel, Jaleo, John Steinbeck, José Andrés, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Luis Miranda, Maryland, memoir, microwave omelet, non-fiction, nonfiction, online viral sensation, paralegal, reading, recipes, rice and beans, Richard Wolffe, Russia, The Grapes of Wrath, Ukraine, World Central Kitchen, writer, writing

• Book Review: Food for Thought by Alton Brown

  I’ve been watching Alton Brown cooking shows since way back when Good Eats first came on the air. I loved the combination of science and food, and how Alton made the how and why as important as the taste of the final dish. My younger daughter and I watched many an episode together, loving his…

  michardillo

  October 9, 2025

  books

  Alton Brown, book-review, books, cookbook, cooking, essays, food, Food for Thought, Gallery Books, Good Eats, Iron Chef America, reading, social media, Southern, writing

• Teachers: Those Who Can’t Teach? Not On Your Life!

  What profession do you admire most and why? Full disclosure, I am a teacher. I taught full time from 2007 to 2020, middle school English and literature. Then covid hit and I sat out (per doctor’s orders) the 2020-2021 school year since I wasn’t old enough for the vaccine yet. A shift in administration created…

  michardillo

  August 11, 2025

  Essay

  Catholic school, certification, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-2027, education, English, essays, grad school, language arts, library, literature, middle school, reading, retirement, secondary education, teacher, teaching, writer, writing

• Book Review: Rainbow Fish and the Great Escape, written and illustrated by Marcus Pfister, translated by David Henry Wilson

  NorthSouth Books, via NetGalley, graciously offered me an ARC of this children’s book, Rainbow Fish and the Great Escape by Marcus Pfister, translated from the German by David Henry Wilson. Seeing the cover of this book brought on a flood of memories for me. This is book #10 in the Rainbow Fish series, the first…

  michardillo

  June 24, 2025

  books

  ARC, author, book-review, books, children’s books, David Henry Wilson, essays, illustrator, literature, Marcus Pfister, NetGalley, NorthSouth Books, Rainbow Fish, Rainbow Fish and the Great Escape, reading, translator, writer, writing

• Book Review: Little Alleluias by Mary Oliver

  Reading Mary Oliver is sort of like feeling your heart pounding in your throat, threatening to break at any moment. I feel sadness at the very beauty of her words, and then I feel mad because I can’t replicate that same beauty with my own. I am trying very hard to be a writer. I…

  michardillo

  May 27, 2025

  books

  book-review, books, dog, essays, Grand Central Publishing, literature, Little Alleluias, Louise Miller, Mary Oliver, Natalie Diaz, nature, NetGalley, nonfiction, novel, poetry, prose, reading, writer, writing

• Book Review: Rachel to the Rescue by Elinor Lipman

  I’ve been a devoted fan of Elinor Lipman since 1988. I had just moved from Louisiana to Maryland for a new job in exciting downtown Bethesda. I lived near the Bethesda Metro and walked to my office building just a block from the Metro’s food court. Between work and home I had to pass a…

  michardillo

  February 22, 2025

  books, Essay

  book-review, books, Elinor Lipman, essays, fiction, library, literature, muckraker, novel, political climate, politics, Rachel to the Rescue, reading, Trump, tweets, twitter, X

• Book Review: You’re Not a Real Dog Owner Until … by Scott Dooley and Jason Chatfield

  As much as I love reading, I am relatively new to graphic novels, comics, manga, and other illustrated works. I requested an ARC of You’re Not a Real Dog Owner Until … by Scott Dooley and Jason Chatfield to broaden my perspective on this mixed media form of literature. (It didn’t hurt that I am…

  michardillo

  January 28, 2025

  books, Essay

  Andrew McMeel Publishing, book-review, books, cartoon, dog, dog owner, essays, graphic novel, Jason Chatfield, literature, manga, NetGalley, nonfiction, Puccini, reading, Scott Dooley, writer, writing, You’re Not a Real Dog Owner Until…