Tag: writing

• Book Review—Pope Leo XIV: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy by Christopher White

  As an American and a Catholic, did I ever, in my wildest dreams, imagine an American pope? Absolutely not. But, on Thursday, May 8, 2025, that is exactly what happened. My husband and I were both home (freshly retired) and were having lunch at our kitchen counter. After we finished eating, my husband was cleaning…

  michardillo

  September 5, 2025

  books

  book-review, books, Catholic, Catholic Church, Catholic school, Christopher White, Conclave, Confirmation, Councils, Italy, Jesuits, Kindle, Loyola Press, Mass, NetGalley, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis, Pope John Paul II, Pope John XXIII, Pope Leo XIV, social media, Society of Jesus, St. Monica, Synod, Vatican, Vatican II, writer, writing

• My August Reads!

  Another month with travel which meant fewer books read. But I did a lot of writing: 17 essays and/or book reviews! Onward to September! No travel, so I hope to read a lot more!

  michardillo

  August 31, 2025

  books

  book-review, books, reading, writing

• Pharrell Taught Me Well

  What positive emotion do you feel most often? The lyrics of the 2013 hit “Happy” by Pharrell Williams really do answer this question for me. Clap along if you feel like a room without a roofClap along if you feel like happiness is the truthClap along if you know what happiness is to youClap along…

  michardillo

  August 17, 2025

  Essay

  classroom, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-2032, findthejoy, happiness, Happy, Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana, Pharrell Williams, reading, school, social media, teacher, teaching, 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

• 30? Could be 3,000!

  List 30 things that make you happy. In no particular order except for #1 Edited to say that my husband noted I didn’t list CHEESE. Well, I did say it could be 3,000!

  michardillo

  August 4, 2025

  Essay

  30 things that make you happy, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-2020, Jetpack, self-care, Wordpress, writing

• Book Review: Sugar and Spite, An Agatha Raisin Mystery by M.C. Beaton with R. W. Green

  Mystery is by far my favorite genre, and within that genre I tend to gravitate toward cozy mysteries. Add to that a Scottish author and, well, I’m all in. Everyone has a guilty pleasure when it comes to their reading life, and for me, the Agatha Raisin mystery series falls squarely in that court. With…

  michardillo

  August 1, 2025

  books

  Agatha Raisin, ARC, book-review, books, British, cozy mystery, death, England, fiction, food, Hamish MacBeth, M. C. Beaton, Macmillan Publishers, mystery, NetGalley, novel, R. W. Green, Ray Bradbury, reading, Sugar and Spite, The Homemade God, The Quiche of Death, The White Octopus Hotel, writer, writing

• Book Review: The Homemade God by Rachel Joyce

  The Homemade God by Rachel Joyce was recently published on July 8, 2025 by The Dial Press, an imprint of Random House. I was offered this ARC by the publisher because of my interest in and book reviews of several other books published by Random House, such as Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano, one of…

  michardillo

  July 21, 2025

  books

  Ann Napolitano, ARC, art, Artist, book-review, books, debut novel, family, fiction, hello-beautiful, Italy, Kindle, Lake Orta, literature, London, Maggie O’Farrell, mystery, NetGalley, novel, painting, Rachel Joyce, Random House, reading, The Homemade God, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, writer, writing

• Book Review: The White Octopus Hotel by Alexandra Bell

  NetGalley is a digital platform that provides book people with FREE advance reading copies (ARCs) of books yet to be released in exchange for a review written and posted on their site, on Goodreads, on Amazon, on your own social media. Sometimes you are offered a book, but more often you request a book that…

  michardillo

  July 9, 2025

  books

  #Currently Reading, Alexandra Bell, Amazon, Ann Napolitano, Anne Tyler, ARC, Belle Epoque, book-review, books, death, Del Rey, Elizabeth Strout, England, Eve Shaw, Evie Woods, fiction, France, Goodreads, grief, historical fiction, Kaytee Cobb, Kindle, literature, London, magical realism, Max Everly, Meredith Monday Schwartz, NetGalley, novel, octopuses, Penguin, podcast, Ray Bradbury, reading, realistic fiction, Richard Osman, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, tattoo, teacher, teaching, The Lost Bookshop, The White Octopus Hotel, writer, writing

• Book Review: The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer: A Mystery by Ragnar Jónasson

  The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer: A Mystery by Ragnar Jónasson (St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, September 2025) is my first piece of Icelandic literature. I enjoyed it very much…until the very end. To say that the ending is abrupt and unsettling is an understatement. This is the second book I’ve read THIS MONTH…

  michardillo

  June 27, 2025

  books

  Agatha Christie, Akureyi, Anthony Berkeley, book-review, books, Death at the Sanotorium, domestic abuse, domestic violence, fiction, Golden Age Mysteries, Iceland, Icelandic literature, Josephine Tey, Minotaur Books, NetGalley, novel, Ragnar Jonasson, reading, Reykjavik, sequel, St. Martin’s Press, The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime 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